Don't Knock It Till You Try It Tuesdays: Anime Edition

I have a bit of a complex about anime.  My dad (who happens to be Japanese) used to make fun of me for watching Dragonball Z late at night when I was in high school on Cartoon Network.  He would pad downstairs and come into the living room and say "cartoons again?" and shake his head embarrassed and pad off.  But may I also add here that he loves the movie "Enchanted" (so do I, but I'm not a sixty year old man that doesn't live in NY).  So my point is there is an inconsistency here.  

Since I'm applying to teach English in Japan I started watching anime again under the pretense of "getting used to hearing and learning the language" (yeah sure).  I take improv classes so I found myself drawn towards the more comedic shows.  These anime follow the same rules I was taught in my New York improv classes.  Thusly

So here are my top three in order.  They are awesome.

1) Ouran High School Host Club

A poor tomboy girl is mistaken for a boy by the Ouran Host Club and is roped into joining the club to pay back a valuable vase she had broken by accident.  The Host Club is basically a boy club which entertains girls with parties and dressing up.  All the boys in the club have a particular quirk the girls at their school find appealing and all are excessively charming.  The club finds out early on she is a girl and she ends up becoming the overprotected best friend of these rich socialites (although she still dresses up as a boy and entertains girls to pay back the vase).  All of the characters are hilarious and they play with so many gender concepts it boggles the mind.  My personal favorite are the devilish twins.

2) Fruits Basket

A girl is orphaned when her mother dies in an accident and her extended family is unable to take care of her.  She survives by living in a tent in the woods until she stumbles upon the house of a boy from her high school.  His family (we end up finding out he has much extended family but just his uncle and cousin live with him) find out her living situation and invite her to live with them.  She quickly finds out the family secret- certain members of the family when hugged by members of the opposite sex turn into animals of the Chinese zodiac.  They eventually turn back to their human forms, but they are naked.  Which as you can image promotes various awkward encounters.  Again, all of the characters are hilarious and this show is the epitome of cute.

3) Kamisama Kiss

A high school girl who is turned out on the street homeless (we have a pattern here if you haven't noticed) is unknowingly given spirit powers by a god.  She is then shoved blindly into her duties as a god to run the god's small shrine.  She wrestles not only with impending dangers to the shrine but also dealing with the shrine's fox overseer who she eventually starts having a thing for.  Those cute little kids that are the shrine's helpers are the best.  The show is also a nice lesson in Japanese culture and shrines.

Note: Yes yes yes I know these shows can be considered a little sexist and some of the jokes are a little bit wamp wamp but really give them a try!  It may not be the feminist manifesto, but it has some girl power.  You can watch all of these shows on Hulu, and at least two out of the three on Funimation and Youtube.