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+Anima


ssjup81

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Hello all. I just reread this series for the millionth time and decided to write about this series here.

 

 

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The image was kind of big, so I put it under a spoiler.

 

Good old +Anima, definitely one of my all-time favorite manga series that ended much too soon. The story centers around a 12-year-old orphan boy named Cooro. He's what you call a "+Anima". +Anima are those who have some type of an animal spirit which is most common with children who usually obtain these if going through some kind of a traumatic experience. The animal spirit that the child gains usually ends up saving that child's life. They say that the spirit leaves the child once it's no longer needed. Cooro is an unusual case, though, as he was born with a +Anima...the crow.

 

Usually, in this world, people hide their +Anima features. For instance, Cooro has black wings and such, but he can easily hide them and bring them out at will. Cooro is also an unusual case because he's very open about his +Anima (despite being feared as his black wings have people associate him with bad luck) and is quick to show that he is a +Anima. In other words, he's the most comfortable with his +Anima (as well as the character Senri but that's due to his background [loosely based on Native Americans]). Cooro also can sense when one has a +Anima spirit. He's in search of other +Anima, but the reason for this is unknown until later on as well as Cooro's backstory in full.

 

He eventually befriends three other +Anima characters: 11-year-old Husky (fish), 16-year-old Senri (bear), and 11-year-old Nana (bat). All three received their +Anima spirits in traumatizing ways. The group is traveling together trying to find a place to belong and survive, as +Anima are discriminated against and in some areas of their world, they're kept on as slaves. Due to traveling with them, Cooro gets to the point where he's glad he has friends and not as concerned with his original objective of finding +Anima.

 

It's a very interesting series and I highly recommend this underrated series. It's interesting because the kids end up facing prejudice, being feared at some points, slavery, etc., while just trying to find a place to belong.

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  • 2 years later...
2 hours ago, Wedgy said:

One of my favourites back in the day. It started with a sort of vague aim with a cool concept, but I think it started getting way better once they started exploring the implications of a society with the presence of the +Anima. I have to say I never found much love for Husky, even given his background. But maybe he could resonate with someone else, like how Nana did with me due to similar experiences. I loved Senri as well. He wasn't one for words but acted as a protector to the rest of the kids.

Great manga. Would be cool to see an anime based on it!

I don't think I really had a favorite character. I really couldn't relate to either of them, but I'm going to go with Senri. I liked them all about the same, though, but Senri I always wanted to hug because he was just so adorable. I don't know how anyone can read this series and NOT love Senri. Hm, but thinking about it, seems I could kinda relate to Cooro. There's one thing he does that mirrors me so well. If someone makes a decision, he doesn't try to talk that person out of it. Like,

when Husky left because Nana joined.

Cooro was pretty much like, "Well, it's his decision and choice, who am I to talk him out of it."  Cooro would make a terrible salesperson...just like me. I'm like, "Would you like to buy this?"  If the person says, "No thanks." I'm like, "Okay."  So yeah...I'm like that and so is Cooro.

Anyway, yeah. It did start off vague. Cooro just said, "Oh, I'm looking for other +Anima" and that was it. I like how we saw how Cooro was getting used to being around people and befriending them. Despite his simplistic demeanor, there was more to him than that and the last volume showed us why he's so mysterious and why up until that point, we rarely ever knew what he truly felt or thought, unlike those like Husky and Nana who were pretty open about what they felt and how they felt. 

When it came to interactions between our main four, I really found Husky and Nana's interactions some of the more humorous, but mainly because of Husky being a "woman hater" and having to be around Nana. I liked how

 

he lightened up around Nana and even viewed her as a friend and comrade after a while...when he made that pendant for her, saying that it suited her more than jewels...that was just so adorable and sweet of him to say. I was also under the impression that Husky was starting to fall for her anyway towards the end of the series and was using his, "You can't talk to girls, it's awkward" silliness as an excuse. lol

So yeah, I really liked this series a lot and I think an animated series would've worked for this maybe around the early to mid 2000s. Seems a lot of stuff now is all flashy and stuff. This is kind of a down-to-earth type of series. I think it would've been nice to see a continuation, to see

 

how the kids managed. Did they ever find a place to belong? Did they ever lose their +Anima spirits? I doubt Senri ever will and Cooro has always had his and has been the most comfortable with it, so maybe not him either, but given how Nana and Husky gained theirs, would they eventually lose them?

. Stuff like that.

Edited by ssjup81
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