"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep, and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life, and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived." -Henry David Thoreau, as quoted in Dead Poets Society

The themes in Dead Poets Society are about life, death, passion, "Carpe Diem" (seize the day), and "sucking out the marrow of life." Now, I'm not a poet, but when I heard those words the first time I watched Dead Poets Society, I honestly didn't even bat an eye at what they meant. It actually wasn't until the death of Robin Williams that I went back to re-watch the movie for the first time in a decade. It was then that those words started to stir something within me.

I didn't just want to live life... I wanted to live. I wanted to be proactive... I wanted to live deliberately & with purpose. To "suck out all the marrow of life".

What does it mean to "suck out all the marrow of life"? Thoreau is talking about fully immersing yourself in every moment and to even do mundane activities with your full attention. To be completely devoted to and involved in those moments. It also refers to pulling the marrow out of bones, which is where all the flavor resides - the bone marrow is what is extracted from the bones and is dissolved when we make stock.

We take beef bones, and boil them, thereby sucking the richness out of them, and into the water. That stock can later be used to flavor other foods. Just like the life we live to the fullest can flavor the lives of all of our friends around us. Sucking the marrow of life is essentially taking that flavor of life, enriching your own with it, along with those around you.

Hinami offers to help Tomozaki learn all of the tricks to win at the "game of life." Tomozaki feels he is a "bottom-tier character," and unable to succeed in the unfair game of life where the rules don't make sense. Life, he feels, is imperfect, and is not worthy of his time and effort. Hinami sets goals for him so that he can live deliberately. With goals, one has a path, and with a path, one has direction. We see Tomozaki go back and forth, learning more, taking more in, and learning to seize the day by completing those goals.

Tomozaki discovers more about himself, and realizes that he wants to be an active participant in life, but not by wearing masks to hide in each situation that Hinami has taught him to use. By the end of the season, Tomozaki has started to see what it means to live with "true desire"; to "suck out all the marrow of life," and to make sure that you live deeply with no regrets.

This is my first time ever reviewing an anime. I might end up spoiling some plot points, so if you don't want to be spoiled, you may want to stop here.

I didn't watch the original, nor have I read the manga. I was told that I should watch it, but I didn't really dig the art style of the original, so I always just set it on the back burner for when I had some extra time. I can honestly say that at this point, I'm glad that I did it that way.

Being able to watch this story unfold, without prejudice or knowledge of where it's going, has been such an amazing experience. It's pretty safe to say that I am always going to be a fan of this show.

The things that they've set up in this season, and the things that they've delivered to us already are extremely well written. The execution is also really well done for me as the anime is beautifully drawn and edited. The music choices have all been poignant, and well thought out. I think I've listened to "One Step Closer" over 50 times on Spotify.

The characters in this anime are so full of depth. Even when a character has only minutes of screen time, you can get a really good feel of the type of person they are. Tohru and Kyou are easily my favorites out of them all, with Hatsuharu rounding out my top 3. I know people say that Tohru is too perfect, but I think the last episodes of the season prove that she is not perfect. Kyou is probably the best tsundere that I've watched since Aisaka Taiga. Hatsuharu is such a gentle soul, and I really appreciate his duality.

Arisa and Saki's side stories punched me in the gut so hard, along with Momiji's. There are so many characters in this anime, but the fact that they spent multiple episodes on these two really helped flesh out more of Tohru's character arc as well. They also allowed us to see more of Tohru's mom, and the kind of person she was. Momiji's story, and his mom having her memories taken so that she forgot about him just broke me into 1000 pieces.

I don't think I've cried so much for an anime series before. Out of 25 episodes, I cried for 20 of them. I'm a bit of a soft touch, but there is just something about this anime that just speaks to me on a personal level. I'm middle-aged, and have lost both of my parents. So Tohru's determination just strikes me as so profound, because I've gone through the things she has, and I did not remain as strong as she has.

Overall, this anime is something truly special, and I cannot recommend it enough for anyone that likes the genre.