In many Japanese anime, the main character is not exactly a model student.
They don’t shine in class.
They don’t have many friends.
Sometimes, they stop going to school altogether.

At first glance, this might look like a story about failure.
But strangely, these characters don’t feel broken.

Take Anohana.
Jinta doesn’t go to school, not because he is lazy, but because time stopped for him.
Something important was lost, and he didn’t know how to move forward.
The story is not about forcing him back into the classroom.
It is about slowly facing what was left behind.

Or Horimiya.
Miyamura doesn’t “improve” himself in a dramatic way.
He doesn’t suddenly become popular or confident.
He simply meets one person who sees him as he is.
And somehow, that is enough to change his world.

What is interesting about these stories is that school is never the real goal.
Belonging comes first.
Understanding comes first.
Returning to society, if it happens at all, comes later.

Maybe that is why these stories feel comforting.
They quietly say:
If you couldn’t fit in before, that doesn’t mean you failed.
Sometimes, growing up looks like standing still for a while.

And maybe that is also a kind of progress.