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Anime have always found a way to make an impact on people's lives. While largely perceived as a form of entertainment with over the top action scenes, charming humor and beautiful visuals, anime in their expression are not limited to just this. Every once in a while fans are treated to an anime that ends up being more than just an entertaining show, leaving a lasting impression on its viewers long after they have finished it, by making them resonate with its message.
One subject that has been depicted beautifully in various anime is social anxiety and its impact on a person and their surroundings. Social anxiety is a disorder not everyone can relate to, but it needs to be understood by all nonetheless. Here are some of the best anime that tackled the problem of social anxiety and delivered an astounding narrative in doing so.
5 Komi Can't Communicate
Komi Can't Communicate is of the best representations of the difficulties a socially awkward person has to face on a daily basis. The show stars Komi Shouko who is treated as a Queen by her classmates, but in truth she lacks the ability to socialize with her peers. Her crippling social anxiety renders her enable to speak even a single word to another person.
However, after being able to befriend her first friend Hitohito Tadano, she is determined to overcome her anxiety and make one hundred friends before she finishes high school. With Tadano's aid, Komi is eventually able to figure out ways to cope with her anxiety and slowly starts to make more friends.
4 Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Jinta Yadomi was a fun and energetic boy who used to love playing around with his close group of friends. But due to the tragic passing of one of the members, Meiko Honma, the group drifted apart with each of them having to deal from the guilt of Meiko's death in different ways. Jinta ended up becoming socially withdrawn and distanced himself from everyone. That is until the spirit of Meiko Honma, or Menma one day appeared before him, and asked him to grant her final wish in order for her to pass onto the afterlife.
The only problem however, is that Menma cannot remember what her wish was. Initially Jinta thinks that Menma is just a hallucination caused by the summer heat, but he soon realizes she is real and out of the guilt for not being able to save her, agrees to find out and grant her wish. But in order to that he will need the help of his estranged friends.
3 Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 is a relatively light-hearted show, but it does not shy away from addressing the social anxiety of its main protagonist Shigeo Kageyama, a.k.a Mob. Mob uncovered his psychic potential very early on in his life and discovered that negative emotions can cause him to lose control over his powers and hurt others.
Since then, Mob has tried his best to keep his emotions under control, however this led to Mob becoming social awkward and not being able to read atmosphere around him. One day Mob seeks out the help of Arataka Reigen, a con artist who claims to be a psychic. Reigen, upon seeing Mob's potential as a psychic takes him under his wing. Together the two go on many whacky adventures that ultimately end up helping Mob grow as a person.
2 March Comes In Like A Lion
Rei Kiriyama is a professional shogi player and is considered an elite class player in the world of shogi. As such he is under immense pressure to prove his capabilities from both the shogi community and his adoptive father. Seeking a sense of independence, Rei moves out of his adoptive home and starts living alone in Tokyo, but due to his socially reclusive personality he is not able to properly care for himself.
However, things get better for Rei when he befriends the Kawamoto sisters, Akari, Hinata, and Momo who live with their grandfather. The sisters try and help Rei break out of his shell, and help him deal with his struggles involving loneliness and his past. Tough Rei is grateful to have formed this unique bond with the three sisters, he continues to struggle with his emotions.
1 A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice is a beautiful anime film, nothing short of being a masterpiece. The films star's a deaf girl named Shouko Nishimiya who despite trying her best to get along with her peers in elementary school ends up being bullied horrendously. In the aftermath of the bullying Shoya Ishida gets singled out and blamed for the events. While, Shouka ends up transferring to a different school, Shoya is left to deal with the consequences and ends up being bullied himself.
Years later, Shoya's actions still haunt him and have made him socially distant from everyone around him. But when a chance encounter bring Shoya and Shouko together once again, he sets out on a journey of redemption by righting the wrongs he did to Shouka, and thereby liberating himself from all the anguish he feels.