Anime 101: The Power of Friendship

The power of friendship is a curious thing. Make a young shounen weep. Make another shounen sing. Friendship has always been prevalent in cartoons, live-action T.V. shows, and novels. Friendship makes the world go round and much like some of your favorite protagonists have shown, it’s an incredible source of power. Whether or not you believe in the power of friendship, there’s no doubt that you’ve seen it have an impact on a major battle or even at the climax of a story arc. Sometimes an entire plot is centered around friendship, but why is friendship so prevalent? Why does friendship have such an important role in these plotlines? Why are we asking you questions that you can’t even answer because this is a written text? Let’s find out.  What is the Power of Friendship? First, we’re going to explain what the power of friendship is. Have you ever seen the protagonist or someone in an anime getting obliterated? We’re talking a beatdown that would even make Broly say “I think that’s enough.” Well, more often than not, the tide of the battle changes in an instant. The person who’s been getting beaten down turns the tables on their opponent. Sometimes they conveniently remember a technique or even unlock a new technique that they’ve never used before. This is usually spurred by a flashback of friends or family, a friend yelling words of encouragement or the protagonist yelling something about friendship before going into another gear and wrecking their opponent. The antagonis…