December 2025 newsletter upload

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 	"link":"2025-11-1",
 	"title":"November 2025 Issue",
 	"desc": "To unmask the stories that linger after the credits roll, MASK’s latest newsletter is trading the punchlines for some serious reflection. We’ve curated a collection that dissects the tragedy of the Ghost of Sparta, questions the frantic pace of the anime industry, and redefines the weight of Heroism. From the ethics of power to the quiet reality of loneliness, this edition covers the full spectrum of emotion."
+},
+{
+	"link":"2025-12-1",
+	"title":"December 2025 Issue",
+	"desc": "While the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder, Manga and Anime Society Kharagpur presents its December release of the newsletter. There’s a lot of food for thought on the plate: talking about parallels between JEE and anime; The contributions of the “big three” or even an overview of romance genre itself! And for dessert, a hilarious must-read for One Piece fans: If Zoro was a navigator! Did we cook?"
 }
 ]

templates/newsletters/2025-12-1/01#no-plot-armour.njk

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+{# Ready for review #}
+<div class="page">
+    <div class="article-full">
+        <h2>When Reality Has No Plot Armor</h2>
+        <br>
+        <div class="article-author">By: Phelkros</div>
+        <br>
+        <div class="article-content">
+
+            <p>I’ve been watching anime for about three years now, ever since I started my JEE prep. It quickly became a small escape and a source of motivation. Maybe I started watching anime to feel what the main characters felt, that mix of confidence, struggle, and belief that they could always climb higher. Watching those main characters work so hard really motivated me. Just like me, we all have our own reasons for watching anime, but the common thing among us is that we all love that moment when the MC comes back stronger than ever, more determined, more powerful, absolutely killing it. The flashbacks of all his training, sacrifices, and determination hit hard. We feel inspired, it lights something in us, it whispers maybe we can do it too. But then reality kicks in. In the real world, no amount of training guarantees a win. There is no last-minute plot twist to save the day, no plot armour to protect us. The motivation does not last forever, problems pile up, and sometimes you find yourself even below where you started, no matter how strong that initial impulse was. And yet, even when reality does not play fair, the effort still matters, because anime does not just show us how to win, it shows us how to keep going even when we lose. Even if we try our hardest and still fail, that is okay, because the effort, the growth, and the spirit to rise again are what truly matter. Anime teaches us that, too.</p>
+
+            <p>In anime, a training montage lasts a few minutes, and the hero returns stronger than ever. In real life, though, weeks or even months of effort can pass without any visible progress. But maybe that’s the real lesson, not about quick results but about the patience and discipline it takes to keep training even when no one’s watching. In those short montages, what really inspires us isn’t the sudden transformation but the main character’s mindset, the discipline, perseverance, and determination to improve, no matter how many times they fail. That constant hunger to grow, that never-ending focus to move forward, is what we should really learn from them.</p>
+
+            <p>But not everything comes true the way it does in anime. Plot twists don’t magically appear, and there’s rarely anyone waiting to change your story or pull you out of a bad phase. In real life, you’re the one who has to take control, rewrite your story, and decide what comes next. Anime often mirrors real life more than we realise. It shows failure, loss, and self-doubt, but also the courage to stand again. That’s what makes it more than just entertainment. It quietly teaches us the importance of persistence and resilience. The lessons come wrapped in vivid, sometimes dark visuals that leave a lasting mark. And even though those story-changing twists might not exist in reality, the spirit behind them, that will to rise, adapt, and keep going, is something we can carry into our own lives.</p>
+
+            <p>During my JEE journey, I used to watch anime and see the main characters always finding a way to win. No matter how bad things got, they’d always rise again, stronger than before. Somewhere along the way, I began to believe that my life would follow the same path. I thought that even if I slacked off, I’d still manage to crack JEE in the end. That overconfidence was my biggest mistake. I stopped giving my best when it actually mattered. And when the results came, reality hit me harder than any anime twist ever could. I hadn’t made it. I was broken, disappointed, and completely lost. That phase was rough. The motivation I once got from anime was gone. Real life didn’t have background music or a last-minute comeback scene.</p>
+
+            <p>But it was around that time I watched Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and that honestly changed something in me. It wasn’t just a fantasy story about alchemy. It was about consequence, effort, and redemption. Its main idea, “The Law of Equivalent Exchange,” to gain something, you must give something of equal value, struck me. I made a realisation: I couldn’t trade laziness for results or distractions for success. No matter how much you want something, you can’t gain without giving. That simple truth changed everything. I rebuilt my focus, my patience, and my habits from scratch. And when I gave JEE another try, I got into the IIT. Not because of anime alone, but because that story reminded me what real effort means. It showed me that motivation fades, but discipline stays. Reality doesn’t come with plot armour. It only has a plot that you shape with your hard work. That plot can end in a big win or a loss, and that completely depends on you. Life, just like anime, keeps moving, but only if you do. And that’s what I learned. The journey will always matter more than the result.</p>
+
+            <p>The victory, story, and last-minute moments we see in anime might not be plausible to echo in reality, but surely the lessons are. And that's something we need to fixate on in our minds: our efforts aren't futile even if we lose or things don’t go according to plan. Because, unlike anime, life's not about winning every arc. It's about showing up for every episode. Unlike anime, our stories don’t have plot armour. There’s no sudden power-up in the middle of an exam. No sensei appears right when we’re about to fail. And no “main character energy” guarantees a happy ending. Sometimes, even after giving our best, we still fall short. Maybe we don’t have a script or background music, but the struggle and perseverance, that’s all real.</p>
+
+            <p>And maybe that’s what truly connects anime and life, not the victories but the will to rise again. Because even when we lose, we’re still growing. Even when the story doesn’t go our way, we’re still becoming the protagonists of our own journey, no plot armour required.</p>
+
+            <p>That’s the beauty of it. No plot armour means no guarantees, no scripts, just chaos and choice. In anime, the author writes the story, shaping fate to protect the hero. But in reality, no one’s writing for us. There’s no divine rewrite, no convenient rescue arc. Every setback, every win, every twist, it’s all ours to carve. Maybe that’s what it truly means to live: to walk through uncertainty without armour, to keep weaving the web of our own fate. Not following a script, not waiting for a twist, just writing and rewriting, until the story feels like ours, not waiting for any plot armour to accompany.</p>
+
+            <div class="article-end"></div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+</div>