Do you Agree with This Article?

[Maledicte]

It says "This week only", but it's pretty much the same article I read a year ago. (which led me here, by the way.) They've only updated a few of the titles listed, but that's about it.

They're so harsh on Miyazaki films, I have no idea why.

[mitsuki lover]

I haven't heard of FUNimation getting to do the uncut Yu-Gi-Oh! until now.Must not have been mentioned where I generally look.
The Beatles analogy is still off though,ultra-fundementalists were attacking Rock
as early as Bill Haley And The Comets.
It seems like the only reason they wrote it was to have an excuse to bash anime and feel self righteous and good whilst doing it.

[Wave]

Yes, I do agree with this article. Face it, most anime is bad. However a lot of people do get carried away and say that it's all bad, but this article didn't say that.

I would have to agree on this point. Most of the anime that I have seen has very few redeming qualites. As a mater of fact thats part of the reson I joned this sight I was hopping that I could find some more harmles anime.

BUT WHAT AN OPERTUNITY WE HAVE!! Think about it! Anime is so pobuler, we could take real adavtege of this! If we put a well made anime seres on the market that had christion themes we could do much the kindome of heven.

[Heart of Sword]

They're so harsh on Miyazaki films, I have no idea why.

Probably because they're well-known (a few, like Spirited Away, came out at theaters).

[Mr. SmartyPants]

BUT WHAT AN OPERTUNITY WE HAVE!! Think about it! Anime is so pobuler, we could take real adavtege of this! If we put a well made anime seres on the market that had christion themes we could do much the kindome of heven.

Problem being that people generally perfer "asian anime" over "western anime" or even asian-y looking anime made in the west

[Heart of Sword]

Problem being that people generally perfer "asian anime" over "western anime" or even asian-y looking anime made in the west

Very true. I'm always wary of American anime for some reason.

[Neko Niisan]

Anime is just like everything else in this world. It can be used or it can be misused. It effects everyone differently. Yes Hellsing is a little Bibically inaccurate (ok, a lot) and we have to ensure that people don't take their knowledge of Christian theology from it but it is just fantasy. It's made up, not real. As long as we don't run away with it there's no harm done.

But...

That is not to say that there is no such thing as bad anime/manga. Things like Earth Invaders Beastality; which is basiclly aliens invade earth, capture all the women, strip them nakes and rape them; then something isn't quite right. Yet things like Azumanga Daioh or Astro Boy, if anyone finds them to be evil then I'm sorry, they are looking for them to be evil.

I agree with the knife type analogy (sorry, can't remeber who posted it otherwise I'd give credit), anime is just another tool that be be used as a suitable means of entertainment or it can be used as an excuse for humanity to release in darker side to the world.

P.S. The Beatles stink, and being from Liverpool I have every right to say that.

[Scribs]

They're so harsh on Miyazaki films, I have no idea why.

To be quite frank, I think that many of their points are valid, and warrent a bit of though on our part. Spirited Away does contain alot of pagan ideas, and for those of us old enough to diferentiate between those and the truth it isnt a problem, but for younger children it could be a bit confusing and misleading. If I had kids I would not let them watch Spirited Away at a young age. Around 11 or 12 perhaps but not much before. A kids mind is a precious thing and anime, even the more inocent ones could be dangerous without the power of discresion.

[DaughterOfZion]

ha ha ha yeeaah.not really.and thats only 7 anime.hardly enough to prove a point.and they olny had a one sided argument.but i am thankful for it.id never be here if it werent for that article.

[uc pseudonym]

It seems like the only reason they wrote it was to have an excuse to bash anime and feel self righteous and good whilst doing it.

I don't think it's necessary to be that harsh. The purpose of their magazine is to inform parents about new media trends from a Christian perspective. That perspective happens to be very conservative, so this is to be expected, but their intentions are fairly pure.

[meboeck]

[quote="Plugged In"]Kids surfing the Web for info on their favorite shows often encounter a publisher’s more mature products, or fan sites containing pornographic art and stories. A simple Google search of “animeâ€

[GrubbTheFragger]

yes that is a very valid point cuz i my self have found not to search for anime on google unless my secrity settings are up and ready to keep stuff like that away

[Htom Sirveaux]

If you go looking specifically for reviews & opinions of Asian pop culture from a Christian perspective, you're pretty much bound to find more negative input than positive. In fact, since it's such a small window compared to all the other review sites out there, you'd quite likely (if, that is, you already know enough about the genre) know what you're getting into and be intentionally looking for it just to find something to sneer at and look down on. I'm not necessarily accusing the starter of this thread of doing that, maybe his intentions were genuine. But it just doesn't seem right.

[freerock1]

I'm wondering if we're all reading the same article here. To me, it seemed like they were just trying to point out examples of what to stay away from (in their eyes), but at the same time saying that there are alternatives and guidelines to follow if you really want them, and that it can have application in the Kingdom. I think the quote they cited from Anime Angels stated that point nicely.

I would have liked to see a few more examples of the positives in anime and a little less emphasis on the negative. But in the writer's defense, it did seem she was trying to be open-minded to the idea of anime being used for good, especially in the last paragraph. And with anime, as with any entertainment form, we have to use wisdom and be discerning about how much of the objectionable content (or perhaps more so, the underlying themes) we're taking in.

Okay, he read it. :p

I very much agree with this.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[Debitt]

To be quite frank, I think that many of their points are valid, and warrent a bit of though on our part. Spirited Away does contain alot of pagan ideas, and for those of us old enough to diferentiate between those and the truth it isnt a problem, but for younger children it could be a bit confusing and misleading. If I had kids I would not let them watch Spirited Away at a young age. Around 11 or 12 perhaps but not much before. A kids mind is a precious thing and anime, even the more inocent ones could be dangerous without the power of discresion.

Scribs does bring up a very valid point here - as I might have mentioned before, not only Miyazaki's films, but a lot of other anime contain elements of Eastern religion. I don't think the original writer of this review pointed it out, but maybe they should have - anime can be just fine for an older child who has powers of discernment. After all, anime IS mainly targeted at older audiences; many people still seem to treat it like these series are targeted at kids, which they're not...maybe therein lies a bit of the understanding problem?

I just woke up from a 10 hour Nyquil induced sleep. =X I'm probably not making any sense.

[jon0]

I agree with a few points, but overall I didn't agree with the article. I don't get it, why do people feel as though anime is some evil form of entertainment. Whoever wrote this article obviously has very strong opinions on anime and I don't see what talking among ourselves until were blue in the face is going to do about it. but it is a good idea to voice our opinions.

[Heart of Sword]

The fact of the matter is, a great number of people have this thing called 'a stick up their *ahem*'.

It messes with their heads if left unattended. Ideally, they go out into the world, get some wisedom, and pull that stick out. However, some folks stay closed up in dream land, losing more touch with reality every day.

Hopefully, the author will pull that stick out eventually.

The author could just as easily say we have a stick up our "*ahem*" because we won't admit that most anime is very bad. *shrug* I think it's a matter of opinion, and that there aren't enough facts to support either side...though I do lean more towards the author's opinion.

EDIT: The post I quoted was removed...oops.

[Stephen]

Last post bump. Nothing to see people. Move along.

[Arnobius]

Personally, I think this is one of their most valid points, especially when it comes to fan art on the internet. If I'm ever looking for anime pictures online, I have to go to crazy lengths not to run into unwanted stuff. And the article does make a very clear distinction between hentai and the rest of anime.

Keep in mind that not everything on the web is actually of the anime. My mother looked up Sailor Moon on line and found a hentai image site. So she believes that this is what anime is and that her son (me) is watching pornography.

The point is it IS fan art, not the real anime, and reflects the morals (or lack of) of the artist, not the anime in those cases. Someone could post pornographic Disney pics to the web, but it wouldn't reflect the real content of the show.

The parents should be informed and aware, and should be aware of what their kids watch or do on the web. Problem is this article is scare mongering and attempts to be a substitute for parenting. "Well, I don't have time, hmm this article says it's pretty bad. Sorry, no anime in this house"

[Joshua Christopher]

Instead of confronting the real problems (bad/lazy parenting), people too often try to go after the easiest targets. Usually that's video-games, but in some cases it can be anime.

[Bobtheduck]

I don't think it's necessary to be that harsh. The purpose of their magazine is to inform parents about new media trends from a Christian perspective. That perspective happens to be very conservative, so this is to be expected, but their intentions are fairly pure.

This is the last I'll say on anything political: I vote conservative, but take TV and movies liberally... Or perhaps moderately, I suppose.

I have disliked FotF's perspective on media for a long time. I wish they could separate what is made for kids with what is made for Adults... I mean, their review on To End All Wars was nauseating. Violence is a required part of some stories. Even though Dobson openly supported Passion of the Christ, it still got a negative write-up in Plugged-In... I'm gonna take that as Plugged-in tends to be even more conservative than the company that owns it, which amounts to me not listening to what they say... Of course, this anime article is MUCH better than their previous one... Oh, if you are hating on FotF for this, you would have rioted if you'd read the last Anime Article they wrote...

But, this "search for anime will come up with hentai" thing... I posted a thread about this a long time ago. That's true for anything, particularly anything animated... Disney stuff, simpsons, Family guy, thundercats, heck even something like Powerpuff girls will turn up porn... That isn't the fault of the creators of the show... That's just a problem on the internet.

[termyt]

Actually, I believe that is one of the positive aspects of articles like these. The idea that because a parent does not review everything their child does makes them lazy is a popular counter argument to the violence inherent in video games, music, and any other form of entertainment. I, however, believe such an idea is born of ignorance of what the role of parenthood is.

I have witnessed in my own life teenagers complain that they do not have enough freedom or responsibility. They will then turn around and use the argument that parents should know everything their children are doing in order to defend violent video games, etc. I’m not sure you can have it both ways. A reasonable parent must attempt to instill certain values in their children and then trust them to live by those morals and rules when they are under their own supervision.

I have read articles like the one posted here several times and my opinion of it is basically the same. The article does a service by pointing out to parents that they can not trust everything animated and that they should take a look at the cartoons their kids are watching. This article, however, goes too far in that it practically implies that Japan is the Great Satan coming to devour our children or something to that affect. I would have liked to have seen a little more balance, especially since they actually used quotes from this site to defend their position without even a hint of why, if the article is true, a Christian Anime Alliance would even exist.

Someone could post pornographic Disney pics to the web, but it wouldn't reflect the real content of the show.

Could? I'm pretty sure it's been done. Funny the article didn't mention the dangers of looking up Disney on the web.

[Heart of Sword]

I do agree with what has been said about fan-art. As for parents who don't check everything their kids do, they might not be lazy; maybe they just trust their kids.

Luckily, my mother and father understand the whole porn-fan-art, not-porn-show thing.

[freerock1]

Actually, I believe that is one of the positive aspects of articles like these. The idea that because a parent does not review everything their child does makes them lazy is a popular counter argument to the violence inherent in video games, music, and any other form of entertainment. I, however, believe such an idea is born of ignorance of what the role of parenthood is.

I have witnessed in my own life teenagers complain that they do not have enough freedom or responsibility. They will then turn around and use the argument that parents should know everything their children are doing in order to defend violent video games, etc. I’m not sure you can have it both ways. A reasonable parent must attempt to instill certain values in their children and then trust them to live by those morals and rules when they are under their own supervision.

I have read articles like the one posted here several times and my opinion of it is basically the same. The article does a service by pointing out to parents that they can not trust everything animated and that they should take a look at the cartoons their kids are watching. This article, however, goes too far in that it practically implies that Japan is the Great Satan coming to devour our children or something to that affect. I would have liked to have seen a little more balance, especially since they actually used quotes from this site to defend their position without even a hint of why, if the article is true, a Christian Anime Alliance would even exist.

Good post.

I do want to add one more point: What we have to keep in perspective about Plugged In is that their mission is to educate parents of teenagers about what might or might not be suitable for their kids in the mainstream or near-mainstream media. The article isn't necessarily a blanket condemnation of anime for all audiences, but like Scribs pointed out, some of the content in certain titles could become a stumbling block for younger Christians who haven't exercised their spiritual senses to discern between good and evil. I think that's really PI's motivation.

And actually it probably would be good for all of us to use a little more wisdom about what we intentionally intake in any form of media, since the lamp of the body is the eye (Matthew 6:22-23).

Even though Dobson openly supported Passion of the Christ, it still got a negative write-up in Plugged-In...

I didn't really get that from their review. They mentioned that some of the imagery comes from Catholic tradition rather than actually the Gospel account, and they made it clear that it was a very violent film, but the way I read it, they were saying the violence in this case was justified. At least that's the way I read it.

[uc pseudonym]

Plugged-In is separate from Focus on the Family (in that different people head them), but they are obviously related. Generally I have found the magazine to be somewhat less conservative than the organization, but this is merely my opinion. I would ask that we keep this discussion civil and nonpolitical.

I would have liked to have seen a little more balance, especially since they actually used quotes from this site to defend their position without even a hint of why, if the article is true, a Christian Anime Alliance would even exist.

Heh. Good point.

[Heart of Sword]

I would have liked to have seen a little more balance, especially since they actually used quotes from this site to defend their position without even a hint of why, if the article is true, a Christian Anime Alliance would even exist.

Very, very good point!

Are we allowed to send them e-mails? Not hate mails, just e-mails.