Introduction

Yep, I’ve watched more anime and manga dubs since last time. And I’ve learned more.

Courage

Even though I pretend I’m not, I’ve always been a cowardly person, and there is a good reason for this: I chicken out of many things.

Several years ago, my wife bought me a birthday present that I could never have imagined: a ride on an acrobatic plane. This was such a wonderful gift because my dream in life was to be a fighter pilot.

And it was wonderful. I loved it.

But I chickened out. The pilot did an aileron roll at one point, and I panicked slightly; it turns out that being upside down in a plane is a frightening experience for me.

Normally, it would have been my turn to attempt it at that point. I tried, but I chickened out. We spent the rest of the time flying over the beautiful rock formations around Las Vegas.

I still have wonderful memories of that flight, and I hold on to them tightly. But I sorely regret that cowardice.

So those are the kind of things that I fail to do. I’m a coward.

But…

There is a typical case in anime and manga where courage is required: “confessing” love. Of course, that’s just anime and manga being weird.

How about I just talk about dating in general instead?

How did I do in dating? I tried. I really tried.

Of course, I’m no good with women. I got rejections by the boatload, even for first dates.

And I mentioned in the last post that I’ve “pushed the atmosphere,” or stood against social pressure.

Anime and mange made me realize that both of those things require courage.

So maybe I do have courage. In fact, courage in dating and standing against pressure is more important than courage in recreation like flying acrobatics.

The end result is that a plain guy like me is married to a beautiful, smart, all-around incredible woman. Because I was the only guy that asked her out.

So courage is important, but especially in certain things. Have courage in those things.

Confidence

While I may have gotten the girl with courage, she does not like my lack of confidence.

I implied it before when I said that I pretend to not be a coward.

I’m more full of insecurities than Wreck-It Ralph.

So my confidence is full of holes. It’s more holes than confidence.

This is my wife’s least favorite part of me and for good reason: anime and manga demonstrate that confidence matters.

Men and boys who are confident draw others to them. Same with women.

Wreck-It Ralph 2 easily demonstrates why: people who lack confidence tend to complain a lot; they tend to have insecurities and seek approval or fish for compliments. They also tend to be negative, usually about themselves, but also about others.

Those traits drive people away, and the lack of them draws people in.

This is why confidence is important. Basically, honey attracts, bitter detracts.

Conclusion

There’s not much to conclude, except that you can learn good things from just about anything that isn’t thoroughly bad.

Also, build your courage and confidence.