Every week, the Fandom Post community suggests and votes on a new Top 5 list about something in anime, most often from the current season. It’s our way of highlighting something fun or interesting or strange—or even meaningful—about what’s airing now, or about anime in general.
It’s Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere—which includes Japan, land of anime, of course. But while the Japanese, like most people around their latitudes, enjoy the season in several ways, in anime it’s not as apparent a theme by itself as the three other seasons regularly are. Not beyond those Fall colors in backgrounds, or emblematic bright red maple leaves adorning a title sequence here or there. What happens during the Autumn months is the more common signal to what time of year it is in most shows, especially, it seems, school-based shows.
Here are five examples of What Fall Means in Anime, according as usual to our panel of Fandom Post readers and staff:
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#5: Hiking / Nature Viewing
Appreciating nature is popular in Japan, even for the majority who experience only mere tastes of it in the cities. But as in other parts of the world, making excursions to mountains or other rural area to view the changing colors is a regular pursuit for some. In the early autumn, as the temperatures cool off a little, hiking—a serious Japanese pastime—goes hand in hand with this. It’s not seen too often for its own benefit in anime, however. This is where we recommend the stellar Encouragement of Climb.
#4: Roasted Sweet Potatoes
So roasted sweet potatoes (yaki-imo) are generally thought of as a Winter food item, but the item begins to be eaten and sold in the late Autumn months. Or, really, when the temperature begins to cool and a hot, sweet, starchy treat/hand warmer/mouth burner seems like a really good idea.
#3: School Uniform Change
October 1st, shortly after Fall begins, is the traditional change to winter school uniforms (June 1st for the Summer versions) in Japanese schools. It is for many anime fans, it seems, the most notable signal that the season has arrived in one show or another. Except for the next two choices…
#2: Sports Festival
The second Monday of October is Sports Day in Japan, and (though not exclusively) around that date schools will typically hold their own sports days. Anime loves this one. Always a good chance to bring independent-minded characters together as a team. So much so we come to expect certain things: one character will be unexpectedly good at sports; one (maybe that one) will get injured just before the big race; it will almost always have a happy ending.
#1: Cultural Festival
Culture Day is November 3rd in Japan. Most schools have their compulsory culture festivals on or around that date. It’s touted mostly as a time for a school, from elementary to college, to showcase itself to the outside world, and are often open to the public. Anime loves this one even more. Any chance to put characters in abnormal circumstances, like working together to run a cafe or a haunted house, or just the festival itself. Unless they’re in a rock band, and it’s raining. This, too, often has a happy ending.
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And that’s What Fall Means in Anime. Join us next week for the Top 5 Favorite Anime Mysteries. To have a say in what makes it on that list, and the next list after that, check out the forum thread, read up on the rules, and join the Fandom Post Anime List Project today!
