But it's the human relationships that eventually take front and center in Silver Spoon. When the characters learn that one of their friends is facing a major dilemma between chasing his dreams and supporting his bankrupt family, the conversations that follow are somber and heartbreaking. This concept of conflict between the wants of the individual versus the wants of the family is omnipresent in the episodes, and it envelops many of the characters, including Aki and even Hachiken, whose father looks down on him for his life choices.



These are issues that will hit close to home for anyone who has ever felt familial pressure to do something or be someone else. The vast majority of us may not know what it's like to have to wake up early to milk cows, but we can all appreciate the desire to be accepted for the type of person we want to be. In many ways, that is the over-arching journey in Silver Spoon: the long road of self-discovery, the experiences that shape and mold who we want to be, and our struggle to find inner and outer acceptance of our final answers.

On the surface, Silver Spoon can seem like just a collection of agricultural jokes, or a rehash of the various city-kid-goes-to-the-countryside stories that abound in pop culture, but underneath the manure gags and slapstick is a very open and honest look at some of the basic things that define who we are and how we live. It has been one of my favorite series to come out in the last few years, and every time I watch it, I find something new to appreciate about it. I heavily recommend it to anyone who enjoys digging for meaning in unlikely places.

This week's shelves come to us from Robert, who seems to have stumbled into the anime addiction in the same way that many of us have.

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