"Being a man" is not an easy thing to do. There's no real guide to how to be an upright citizen, how to honor and care for your one true love, or what to do when your back is up against the wall. We have to discover it for ourselves, both through experience and through the literature available to us. It teaches us to dream, to strive for greater heights, and to fight for what's important to us.
These stories are weaved into a number of titles that we watch. Some have a really strong message, while others use it casually. Either way, as long as the story makes an impression upon you, and gives you something you can take to heart, then it's done its job in adding to your narrative of what it takes to be a man. It doesn't matter if they pilot giant robots or simply play guitar, there's a lesson in there for you.
Today, as part of Man Day, we're highlighting ten shows that teach you something very important about what it takes to be a man in every sense of the word, using not only your fists, but your mind and spirit too. It's important to stay true to yourself once you've discovered it, and I hope watching these shows will help you on that path.
Down in the comments, we'd love to hear what shows touched you personally and have inspired you.
Gao Gai Gar
Remember when you were seven years old and watching shows like Transformers and Power Rangers? Well, Gao Gai Gar has all of that excitement PLUS the spirit of a hot-blooded man. Each episode of Gao Gai Gar may be formulaic, cheesy and seizure-inducing, but the absolute pride that everyone takes in their job, from President Taiga on down, will surely fill you with manly spirit.
By the end of the night, you'll be authorizing Final Fusion. Having that sort of faith in doing the impossible is the first step to being a man.
Naruto
Naruto is the best of the big three shonen protagonists when it comes to being manly. He gets the shit beat out of him. Constantly. No matter how many times he gets cut down or beaten within an inch of his life, something inside him pushes him to get up and keep going. Despite all the hardship he goes through, Naruto still believes he's going to save his friends and get the girl.
And you know what? He will. That's what manly spirit teaches you.
BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
Koyuki, our little protagonist in BECK, isn't very manly. He gets pushed around, is full of indecision and can barely speak up for himself. Yet this show isn't about throwing punches or becoming the world's strongest disciple. It's about discovering yourself. The show is all about self-discovery, especially when it comes to music, and what it means to grow up.
Learning more about yourself is one of the most critical parts of becoming a man. If you can't have confidence in who you are, how can you keep on fighting?
Black Lagoon
You think you know who you are now? That's good, because we're going to completely turn your life upside down. Rock teaches us how to roll with the punches and adapt to a lifestyle that is not what you originally signed up for. He goes from the comfortable yet boring life of a salaryman to being an accomplice in hijackings, murders and god knows how many other crimes, all while trying to keep a shred of his own humanity in the process.
Rock teaches us that even when the Devil has the hots for you, it's important to remember who you are and stick to your guns.
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Everything in your life is going right. You've been promoted to your ship's captain, you're about to marry the woman you love, and it seems like everybody is your friend. Then you get arrested for some reason and thrown into prison for half your life. Now what?
Time to take revenge. The Count of Monte Cristo reminds you that even after so many years, someone who has gone and caused you great suffering and anguish should not get off scott-free. You may have to bide your time and hold out hope, but never let yourself be beaten by others.
G Gundam
Really, this show is just giant robots punching each other over and over again. But it never gets old. Remember: only men can effectively pilot Gundams. Put a woman in charge and you get Allenby, a crazy girl who's controlled by her emotions.
Great Teacher Onizuka
Once you've settled yourself and gotten an image of who you are, suddenly these punk kids test your limits. You're playing on their turf, and are constricted by rules that you have to learn as you go along. So what, do you just cow down and take their abuse.
Not in a million years. If you learn anything from Onizuka, it's how to beat people at their own game. When you break the rules, you break them so spectacularly and produce such amazing results that they can't fire you. If you're up against the ropes, don't give up. Fight back with all you've got, and you'll come out on top.
The Legend of Koizumi
You want to protect your country? Then you'd better take a lesson from former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who will do anything, and I mean anything, to protect his country from the horrors that await if he loses a game of mahjongg. He'll take on all comers: The Pope, Hu Jintao, George H.W. Bush and his eternal nemesis, Kim Jong Il in order to keep Japan safe, and show off the power of the Rising Sun.
What Koizumi teaches us is that if someone threatens the land you live in and love with all your heart, do all that you can to defend it. That's part of what it means to be a man.
K-ON!
Sorry, needed to take a break from all this "being a man" stuff for a minute before we tackle the last leg of this feature.
Gurren Lagann
When you've found that one girl who you love more than anyone else, enough to put a ring on her finger, you've made a commitment: you are going to fight for that woman for the rest of your lives. If she gets taken? Well, be ready to punch a hole in reality and duke it out with the antithesis of humanity in order to get her back.
Remember that when you're telling a girl you love her. You should honor your words, and be ready to do whatever it takes to make her happy and keep her safe. That's the biggest lesson in Gurren Lagann, and you had better not forget it.
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And GTO made me a man