>>17766131>>17768536In my opinion middle/high/secondary school becomes a focal point for almost all people in modern society, especially those cultures/countries with highly homogenized education systems. It's a mandatory life phase all children go through, and the school environment becomes a microcosm of society, with the system purposely trying to "prepare" you for adult life. Things like high school bullies, cliques, social standing and above all, academic achievement become centralizing towards the growth of children as this is basically all they know and experience in their daily routine for the next 5 years or so, and it is especially impactful on their psyche considering it happens in their formative years. Why do you think the best bands you've heard, or the best games you've played were the ones you experienced in your teenage lives? Perhaps in the realm of anime and manga, creators fall back onto these settings because it, ironically, seems to be a simpler story to tell, especially when it feels like those bygone years in highschool seems to be where they could've done something in their lives, instead the cold, dreary and oftentimes cruel experience known as adult life.
Perhaps then it becomes even more ironic that a lot of the things you've learnt and experienced in high school would become redundant as you grow up. Bullied/beaten up for liking anime? You're protected by laws from any sort of physical coercion. The things you've learnt in class? Most of them not even used in your work field. The so called friends you made back then? How many of them are still in contact with you? I'm not trying to say that everything you've gained from those years are bad, it is just sad that such a homogenized system that feeds the monotonous adult society genuinely rids a child of the opportunity to be their true selves. Sure, there are some kids that have the foresight to see beyond and the will to persevere, but at the end of the day, they are kids, still trying to figure out what they want to do in their lives.
I'm sorry this has become a sort of rant on the education system in general, but it's one of the reasons why I like stories of adults going back to their alma maters and see how the kids of the next generation really aren't that different than how we were, like GTO.
