Francesco Panto rarely felt comfortable in his home country of Italy.

Born and raised in Sicily, he loved playing with stuffed toys and staying at home while other boys his age were expected to be running around on soccer fields.

“I was shy and withdrawn, and you’d find me crying all the time,” Panto, now 33, recalled in fluent Japanese.

Even in his childhood, he found his calling from Japan, where he currently works as a psychiatrist. He passed the difficult exams to obtain a Japanese medical license only seven years after he started learning the Japanese language.

He says he owes his remarkable accomplishments to anime.

It all started when Panto was 10 years old and glued to the TV screen showing the Italian version of the “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” anime series.

He was fascinated by how an ordinary schoolgirl could transform into a superhero with the power of the moon to fight evil while delivering her signature phrase: “In the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”

At the time, “Dragon Ball,” another TV anime series from Japan featuring a hero who becomes stronger as he defeats his enemies, was popular among Italian boys.

But Panto was more attracted to the nobility and beauty of the girl characters in “Sailor Moon,” “Magic Knight Rayearth,” “Miracle Girls” and other shows.

He was bullied by boys who said he was behaving like a girl.

Panto felt suffocated by peer pressure and was worried about being unable to fit in with other boys.

Around that time, he watched a TV program about Japan. The show introduced beautiful landscapes and traditional culture from across the country.

It also covered social issues, such as “hikikomori” recluses.

LONGING FOR JAPAN

Unable to find a place in Italy where he belonged, Panto identified himself with recluses in Japan and felt an intimate connection with the country.

“After watching the program, I told my mother, ‘I’ll live in Japan in the future,’” he said. “I was 11 years old.”

He added, “Many people show a negative reaction when it comes to anime and video games, but I was able to see myself objectively and accept my weaknesses, thanks to anime.”

As he found himself through anime, he became eager to learn about the human mind and body, as well as the secrets of life.

Panto studied hard and entered medical school at a university in Rome.

Although he grew up in a single-mother household, his single aunt and others provided support.

As a second-year med student, he came across a life-changing anime.

“Neon Genesis Evangelion” featured traumatized characters suffering from various complexes.

Panto was shocked by the anime’s profound story and the complicated portrayals of feelings experienced by the characters.

He previously had a vague desire to visit Japan, but he developed a concrete travel plan after watching the anime.

Panto could not afford Japanese language classes, so he learned an entire kanji dictionary by rote to improve his proficiency.

He memorized all 4,000 kanji characters in the dictionary in just three months. He also repeatedly read a grammar book until he memorized the whole book.

But the most useful study material for him was “Detective Conan.” He watched the anime show over and over and transcribed all dialogue.

After learning Japanese on his own for about one year and three months, he took the Japanese Language Aptitude Test for non-native speakers.

He went for the highest N1 level, which requires a linguistic ability to understand Japanese used in a wide variety of situations.

Panto passed the exam on his first attempt, although even native speakers have difficulties scoring full marks on the N1 test.

He came to Japan in 2015 under a scholarship program offered by the Japanese education ministry and studied under Tamaki Saito, a professor at the University of Tsukuba who is a leading figure in research on hikikomori.

PASSING EXAMS

Panto had already obtained an EU medical license, but he had to pass the national exam for medical practitioners to work as a physician in Japan.

He also had to pass an exam required for those who haven’t graduated from junior and senior high schools in Japan to assess their medical knowledge and skills in Japanese.

His unwavering determination to work and become a member of Japanese society helped him push through the difficulties.

After passing both exams, he obtained a Japanese medical license in 2018, only seven years after he started studying Japanese. He then completed a trainee period at Keio University.

Panto currently works at several clinics in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

He is concerned that mental health problems tend to be neglected in Japan.

“Hikikomori issues have become a social phenomenon, and the suicide rate is particularly high here compared with other developed countries,” he said, adding that Japanese people feel strongly uncomfortable about seeing a psychiatrist.

‘ANIME THERAPY’

Panto remembers how he sympathized with anime characters and was comforted by them.

“Japanese anime is complicated and profound. I think there are people who can be helped with the power of its storytelling,” Panto said. “I think we can make them feel less hesitant about seeing a doctor if they can receive treatment while they enjoy anime.”

In modern psychology, professionals use narrative therapy, which focuses on the power of storytelling, and cinema therapy, in which movies are introduced as part of treatment, to help their patients.

Panto has come up with his own psychotherapeutic method, which he calls “anime therapy.”

He is now trying to develop intervention measures to support hikikomori recluses using narrative works and dialogue.

In 2022, he published a Japanese book titled “Anime Therapy,” which was released by Kobunsha Co.’s Shinsho imprint.

His next book, an essay in comic book form about his life, will be published by East Press Co. in May.

However, Panto has set his sights on an even bigger goal.

“It’s about working on an anime production that will transcend ‘Evangelion,’” he said. “I want to continue my clinical practice and research to gain a deeper understanding of the human psyche and play a part in producing a piece of work that will earn its place in the history of Japanese anime.”