Even young children know what a hero is. For example, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. They have superpowers and positively influence the people around them.
As a child, you were probably often asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Common answers are, ‘I want to be a pilot! An astronaut! A doctor!’ and so on.
However, I was entirely different. As a child, I often watched the anime Naruto, so I naturally answered, ‘Teacher, I want to be a ninja!’ Everyone laughed when they heard that. Then the teacher asked, ‘Tommy, why do you want to be a ninja?’ I replied, ‘Because ninjas can fly, disappear, and use cloning techniques.’ The teacher said with a laugh, ‘That’s interesting, Tommy.’ Then I said, ‘Teacher, why are you laughing? If it’s weird, I’ll change it. Then I want to be the King of Pirates. I can go to various places, make many friends, and find treasures.’ A classmate shouted, ‘Tommy, let’s create a pirate crew together. I want to be a member of Tommy’s pirate crew.’ ‘Really? Then, from now on, I’m the captain,’ I said with a laugh. Those were very happy times.
When I was in elementary school, I would watch anime in front of the TV right after school without even changing out of my uniform. No one was at home. My parents were at work, and my sister had not yet returned from school. But I wasn’t lonely because Luffy and Naruto were with me. Besides, it was a usual thing, so I was used to it.
You can learn a lot from anime. Especially these two main characters, Luffy and Naruto, are special to me. Although I know they are fictional characters, they have had a significant impact on my life. (Of course, separate from the support of my family and parents.) Thanks to these two characters, I wanted to learn Japanese. I wanted to go to Japan to meet them. Because of meeting these two, I became interested in Japanese culture.
Luffy has many companions. A living skeleton, a talking reindeer, and a robotic human, for example. No matter how they look, Luffy considers them as friends. He wants to become stronger and protect the people around him. Naruto is the same. These two characters live inside me. They are my heroes.
Who is your hero?