Hold on, isn’t it obvious that anime, manga, and video games are only the work of fiction? What’s there to ask?

Depending on who you ask, some will say that anime is purely fictional simply because it doesn’t resemble anything in real life.

It’s only for entertainment purposes. And it would be best to take what you see in the anime with a grain of salt.

That’s what you’ve been telling yourself and convincing others to do the same.

You even go as far as shunning people for believing such things, accusing them of having anime and manga corrupting their minds.

For whatever reason, you can’t seem to fathom why anyone would believe anything being portrayed in the anime is real.

Well, here’s the kicker for you – regardless of what anime you watch, they’re not entirely works of fiction.

And yes, even the fantasy ones.

The definition of a work of fiction

First off, here’s the definition of fiction according to Wikipedia.

Fiction is the classification for any story, or element of a story, derived from imagination and not based strictly on history or fact.

Fair enough. But this is what many of us tend to miss when it comes to anything work of fiction.

However, some fictional works are claimed to be, or marketed as, historically or factually accurate, complicating the traditional distinction between fiction and non-fiction.

So, what does it mean then?

Well, you can say that the story you engage with is a blend of facts and fiction.

If you have a basic understanding of the theme and topic, then you won’t have a hard time differentiating facts from fiction.

They’re more common than you think

I’m sure that you come across a handful of manga where the characters happen to be real people.

And even if they don’t, the story can also be based on a true story or event.

That seems to be the case with historical anime and manga where we have historical figures as the characters.

Case in point – The Elusive Samurai manga and anime.

Whether the real Hojo Tokiyuki can escape the enemy’s attack fluidly, even the narrow ones, is something that we’re not sure of.

But we do know characters in the manga and anime are indeed based on real people.

Another one is the Oh! Edo Rocket anime.

Unlike the characters in The Elusive Samurai, the characters in Oh! Edo Rocket is fictional. And so does the story since it revolves around an alien who wants to go back to the moon.

But the life depicted in anime is based on the real-life during that era.

Of course, the stories that blend facts and fiction aren’t just limited to historical anime.

You can see something similar in other genres as well.

Dr. STONE comes to mind since it’s a story that revolves around solving problems using science in the post-apocalyptic world.

Why it’s hard to tell the work of fiction apart

It’s hard to tell what is true and what fiction is when the Japanese authors and mangaka make the factual parts as vague as possible.

So, what’s the logic behind their actions, you ask?

The reason for that may have something to do with them wanting to avoid controversy and backlash from their work.

And it’s even more so when the story is focusing on a sensitive topic such as suicide and religious cult.

Remember the news about Hana Kimura’s mother making a fuss about one of the episodes in Oshi no Ko coinciding with Hana Kimura’s death anniversary?

It doesn’t seem like skirting around the story that revolves around sensitive topics is working, does it?

Yes, I won’t deny what Hana Kimura’s mother said was causing a stir considering that the airing of the episode was close to her death anniversary.

But I can bet that Akasaka sensei may already expect something like this to occur because of the nature of the story in Oshi no Ko.

With someone well-known such as Hana Kimura’s mother making a fuss about it, what did he do to defuse the situation then?

Believe it or not, he didn’t do anything. He just lets the issue run its course which is a smart thing to do.

Of course, that could be the advice given to him by the lawyer not to engage with Hana Kimura’s mother.

Even if he didn’t receive any advice from the lawyer, it’s still better for him not to issue any statement since it can make the situation much worse.

Just to be clear what we see with Oshi no Ko is a rare case.

But most authors and mangaka managed to dodge the bullet even if they had a story that revolved around sensitive topics.

But some anime and manga can make them obvious too

While a handful of anime and manga tend to make sensitive topics vague in their story, some can be as blatant as you can get.

That seems to be the case for anime and manga which highlights the social problems in Japanese society.

Strangely enough, we tend to see this in-your-face approach a lot more in the manga than in the anime.

I can’t say for sure why, though. But I’m guessing it may have something to do with manga having less restriction when it comes to taboo topics.

Take this webcomic that talks about the stress of Japanese work life. That sure is an honest confession, if you ask me.

And then we have another manga in the same vein, ReLife.

The manga depicts what it feels like to work in a black company and Japanese companies’ perception of job hopping.

For the context, job hopping is unlikely in Japan since companies tend to hire new graduates and employ them until they retire.

If you don’t understand the Japanese work culture, then you have a hard time grasping why Kaizaki couldn’t get a job after he quits the first one.

Not all anime are focusing on serious issues

Okay, I won’t deny a story that blends facts and fiction tend to have a darker theme. But there are also a handful of them that are pretty light-hearted.

One of them is the Outbreak Company anime where a guy named Ichirou Sasaki is working with the Japanese government to bring the Japanese culture to the Holy Eldant Empire.

Yes, the idea of bringing the Japanese culture to a different world may seem absurd to some.

But that’s what the Japanese government did through their Cool Japan initiative. The purpose of the campaign is to spread the Japanese culture outside Japan.

Of course, spreading the Japanese culture to a different world altogether won’t be a walk in the park.

And there are times when Sasaki has to rely on brute force to protect himself.

But overall, it’s a pretty light story compared to any other anime and manga I’ve mentioned so far.

Characters’ personality traits are real too

It’s funny that some people think that the characters’ behavior in anime and manga are made-up behaviors.

Sure, they may not question the behavior when the characters have good manners.

But someone with a twisted personality such as Satou from the Happy Sugar Life manga?

There’s no way someone like her exists in real life, right?

Sorry, buttercup. This type of people does exist.

And unbeknownst to you, you could be one of them.

In writing, the only way to make readers feel attached to the character is to make him or her more relatable.

And one of the ways to make them more relatable is to make them more human.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

There’s no way you can make the characters relatable if they’re not based on actual human behaviors.

And if you think the sci-fi and fantasy genre is the exception to the rule, you’ll be hard-pressed to find out that it’s not either.

Out of many genres, this is the genre by far that needs to portray humans or whatever creatures they have realistically the most.

Sorry, your favorite story isn’t entirely a work of fiction

It’s easy to brush off what you’re consuming as something fictional when you don’t have much knowledge about the topic presented in the story.

So, how can you tell when what you’re consuming does have some facts in it?

All I can say is to be curious about what caught your attention in the story and do some research on it.

Who knows you may learn a thing or two thanks to the story, right?

If there’s one place where you can learn new things and random facts, it will certainly be fiction, be it anime, manga, light novels, or video games.

P.S. Since we’re talking about the story not entirely a work of fiction, if you’re looking for a light novel that blends facts and fiction, then you may enjoy reading any of my books.

Wondering what kind of books I write?

You can have a look at them right here on my Payhip store. Use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG to get 25% off on your purchase:

Books by Sekina Mayu