Whenever I’m writing these articles, I typically pick a YouTube video to play in the background on loop. I was recently recommended the first opening of Naruto (R★O★C★K★S) and I decided to take YouTube up on their offer. Upon watching it though, I was immediately filled with an unusual feeling. I knew it wasn’t nostalgia as I’m quite familiar with that feeling and, upon a few days reflection, I eventually realised that what I was remembering was a faint memory of the wonder I felt when I first began watching Naruto. That realisation made me consider the importance of the element of wonder in storytelling and inspired me to discuss the topic.
There are many wonderful pieces of media featuring children discovering the world and their sense of wonder for relatively banal aspects of everyday life. However, my focus is going to be on stories of adventure throughout anime, manga and video games and how the element of wonder enhances the storytelling.
Whenever I think of the element of wonder in anime, I tend to think of two specific series. The first is a series called “Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water”. Directed by Hideaki Anno of Evangelion, the series sees the two characters, Jean, a 14 year old French inventor, and Nadia, a 14 year old acrobat with little knowledge of her identity, explore the world and encounter amazing sights, technology and discoveries (it helps that the series is loosely based on Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). I can distinctly remember the sense of wonder that I shared with the characters as they traveled and that element proved to be a key aspect of why I enjoyed the series so much.
The other series that I think of when I consider the element of wonder is “Giant Gorg”, an anime directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. We follow the characters of Yuu Tagami, a Japanese boy seeking the truth about his murdered father, and Doris Wave, an American girl whose brother was a former student of Yuu’s father, as they explore New Austral Island, a landmass not found on any of the world’s maps. Their discoveries as they explore the island, such as the titular Gorg, fills these characters with a contagious sense of wonder that the audience can’t help experiencing as they absorb the world of the series.
With regards to manga, one of my clearest memories of wonder comes from when I was reading Hunter x Hunter, a series following Gon Freecss who decides to become a Hunter in order to find his father. While the series is filled with an incredible sense of adventure and discovery, I’ll never forget the intense wonder I felt in volume 32 when we learn that the world isn’t quite as small as it appears. Many series lose that feeling of wonder as they progress but Hunter x Hunter, as of now, still feels me with that feeling even after so many volumes.
Finally, I would like to share perhaps the greatest sense of wonder I ever felt when I was playing a video game. I’ve mentioned before how the first game to have a profound impact on me was Final Fantasy IV which introduced me to a variety of themes and ideas that I’d never seen before. However, the moment that most entranced me when it came to wonder was the discovery of the Lunar Whale, an airship that provided a wide variety of services for my party and allowed me to travel to an entirely new world. While getting an airship in a Final Fantasy game is always exciting, the Lunar Whale remains the most awe inspiring to me in the whole series.
As I’ve grown, I have found that it has become harder and harder to find stories that fill me with the same sense of wonder that I felt as a child. However, that has made the anime, manga, video games etc. that have and continue to make me feel that sensation more precious to me and has made me appreciate the importance of the element of wonder in storytelling in a new light. Let me know what media have made you feel that sense of wonder and awe, what your thoughts on the element of wonder in storytelling are and any other thoughts that you would like to share.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.