Maryland: Ranking of Kings
Maryland’s close proximity to DC makes Ranking of Kings a shoe-in for them. Stories about rulers, politics, and governments that are possibly run by actual devils will always be popular with them, no matter what age or fantasy realm they may take place in.
Massachusetts: Golden Boy
Kintaro Oe, Golden Boy’s plucky protagonist, is a law school dropout. As such, he’s basically a hero to anyone attending Harvard Law in Massachusetts. Forget the degree, forget the debt, just ride around the country on your mountain bike getting into comic mischief and flirting with women of various professions instead.
Michigan: Hunter × Hunter
Michigan loves Hunter × Hunter, but much like the shape of the state itself, they are divided on how to correctly pronounce the series’ name. People in the lower peninsula will tell you it’s “Hunter ECKS Hunter,” while people in the upper peninsula will say “Hunter… Hunter.” Good information to have before you decide to visit Michigan, for your own safety.
Minnesota: Monster
Thanks to the world famous Mayo Clinic, Minnesota has a lot of doctors and healthcare professionals residing there. As such, it’s no surprise that Monster’s protagonist, the brain surgeon Dr. Tenma, absolutely hits home for them. Of course they are going to nitpick every little medical thing they can find, but it doesn’t dampen their love for the series in any way.
Mississippi: Hajime no Ippo
Ippo, the good boy of boxing, is beloved by the down-home folks of Mississippi. They respect his good manners, like that he helps his mom on her fishing boat, and can deliver an absolutely devastating Dempsey Roll.
Missouri: Serial Experiments Lain
The people of Missouri have gone on record in saying that this series almost uncannily predicted a lot about the pratfalls of modern society, and the dangers of being “way too online”.
Montana: Trigun
The anime, the manga, the remake, the movie, whatever– Montana loves Trigun!
Nebraska: Dragon Ball
To be clear, this includes Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and even Dragon Ball Super. The story of a humble country boy who grows up to fight alien warlords inspired the citizens of Nebraska to be the best that they can be.
Nevada: Kaiji
Anyone who has spent time in Las Vegas can relate to the struggles of Kaiji Ito and his crippling addiction to gambling and high stakes situations. One second you’re on top of the world, the next you’re walking across steel beams to impress a bunch of rich people willing to throw money at you just to win it all back. Only in Vegas!
New Hampshire: Outlaw Star
Outlaw Star’s badass manifest destiny into space speaks to New Hampshire’s state motto of “live free or die”. There’s a lot of space criminals out there, always arm yourself and take no prisoners.
New Jersey: Bleach
For reasons I can’t explain, this just makes sense. Bleach is just the New Jersey of anime.
New Mexico: Breaking Bad
It’s not an anime but it’s really good and they like it a lot, okay? Let them have this.
New York: Akira
Eyyyy, New York, baby! Let’s Go Mets, baby, love da Mets! Tetsuo, you betta watch your ass! New Yorkers like to pretend that Akira is happening in New York instead of Neo-Tokyo. Matter of fact, it’s got a lot of them petitioning to change the name to Neo-York just because it sounds cooler and more cyberpunk.
North Carolina: Jujutsu Kaisen
What can I say, this anime is really popping off right now. North Carolina absolutely went nuts for the prequel movie too, and the manga is flying off store shelves there. They can’t pronounce the name correctly whatsoever, but lord love ’em, they appreciate this series anyway.
North Dakota: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
North Dakota just really appreciates Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s closer-to-the-manga adaptation. Sure it may be a little more by-the-books shonen, but it’s just a great story filled with amazing characters where everyone has an important role to play.
