5 Occupations, Hobbies and Activities You Won't Believe Have Anime About Them

A lot of topics anime deal with feel overdone and tiring — there seem to be endless anime about starting a band, for example. Of course, this is not a reason to dismiss them entirely, but sometimes, you just feel like watching something more unique. Thankfully, there are quite a few obscure activities that get their spotlight in anime as well.

Karuta (Chihayafuru)

The Japanese card game of karuta (specifically, the uta-garuta variation) is not something an average viewer would have heard of — and definitely not something you’d expect to have three seasons of an anime about. Chihayafuru, however, executes its premise beautifully, making the game look extremely interesting, while also having arguably one of the best love triangles in recent times. Despite its unusual premise, it quickly captured the hearts of many fans all around the world.

Pottery (Let's Make a Mug Too)

Tajimi, a city in Japan’s Gifu prefecture, is famous for its pottery traditions. It may be surprising, however, that there’s actually an anime set in it that focuses on the topic. Let's Make a Mug Too (Yaku nara Mug Cup mo) is a unique slice-of-life anime telling the tale of four girls engaging in this — seemingly obsolete — art, and it actually makes it look interesting. Yet another proof that you shouldn’t judge an anime by its concept alone, it also can educate the viewers on the matter — after all, pottery is not a topic many otaku are knowledgeable about.

Tabletop board games (After School Dice Club)

After School Dice Club (Houkago Saikoro Club) focuses on a group of girls playing board games. While tabletop gaming is far from a niche hobby in real life, it doesn’t sound like something one could make an anime about. After School Dice Club, however, proves that notion to be wrong: it is surprisingly fun and easy to follow — and also extremely realistic, making references to dozens of board games that actually exist in reality.

Shamisen music (Those Snow White Notes)

There are many music-themed anime — but most of them don’t deal with the classical Japanese art of playing shamisen, a unique string instrument. Those Snow White Notes (Mashiro no Oto) is a story of Setsu Sawamura, who gave up on playing the instrument in the past, but recovers his love for music. It’s a solid drama anime that went under the radar of many fans — don’t miss out on it.

Tea ceremonies (Hyouge Mono)

Despite being a show about samurai set in the Sengoku period, Hyouge Mono hardly has any action. It rather focuses on Sasuke Furuta, a man obsessed with tea ceremonies. This sounds like a weird thing to make an anime about, but it just works — it’s a great story of one man’s internal conflict. Being a vassal of Oda Nobunaga himself, Furuta struggles between his political career and his love for fine arts — and the anime is a great journey through his life.