Did anyone know about this?!

[animeantics]

This site was mentioned in an article by Focus On The Family:

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/read/read/a0003619.cfm

[minakichan]

I know there's a lot of hate for PluggedIn, but I actually like it; I feel like it's informative enough and tells too much rather than too little, and it doesn't really try to force a judgment down readers' throats. That said, \o/ that they link back here, it's good for parents to know such resources exist rather than blindly banning everything under a blanket statement.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I don't know... I'm getting a lot of "ZOMG A CULTURE DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN?!" vibes off of it.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]Yeah...I think I remember reading that a while ago.

You know, it does my heart good to see that anime is starting to get a positive rap in some people's eyes. For a long time, anime and manga has been seen as being nothing but cartoons with big eyes and other equally big...enhancements...now people are starting to see anime as being the artform that we know it is![/color][/SIZE][/font]

[Stephen]

Just tossing this out, despite how you may or may not feel about Plugged in, NO BASHING. We have had threads in the past that have turned into firefights over this.

[animechica]

I don't know... I'm getting a lot of "ZOMG A CULTURE DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN?!" vibes off of it.

Yeah, same here.

I felt the article was alright for the most part I guess, even though I definitely don't like the "WE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL!" tone it seems to have been written in, as if anime is more dangerous an influence than our own American shows.

I mean, I agree with them, anime has a lot of sexual perversion, violence, and spiritually non-Christian themes. Then again, so does our entertainment, a fact that IMO they need to point out in the same article. A lot of people will look at other cultures and shake their heads in disgust while totally missing the fact that their own culture is full of trash.

That said, I got pretty angry when I read this:

Christian youth are as attracted to the dark world of anime as their peers are. One reason may be that artistic teens are captivated by its imagery and eagerly imitate the style in their own sketchbooks. Sales of the How to Draw Manga books have topped a million units in the U.S. Budding artists create unique characters to identify themselves among the brotherhood of avid fans called otaku. It’s not unusual to find teens in church hallways chattering more excitedly over each other’s artwork than about what happened in youth group.

As an artist who draws primarily in this style, what they seem to be implying really bothers me. I don't really understand why they felt the need to include that last sentence. Is it just me who feels attacked by that statement?

[That Dude]

I've met some of the plugged in editors personally and hold them in the highest respect but I wish that they'd also show some of the good side of anime.

[animeantics]

I don't know... I'm getting a lot of "ZOMG A CULTURE DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN?!" vibes off of it.

Hmmm...I love Pluggedin, but I was also a tad bit offended over this article, and I got a bit of that "vibe" too. I mean, look at our AMERICAN Entertainment *points to adult swim cartoons*. Not all anime is bad. Some is, but some isn't. Some is as clean as a toddler show while still being entertaining for teens, which is something I love about anime. I think as long as you're careful, anime and manga is absolutley fine.

[SnEptUne]

Hmmm...I love Pluggedin, but I was also a tad bit offended over this article, and I got a bit of that "vibe" too. I mean, look at our AMERICAN Entertainment *points to adult swim cartoons*. Not all anime is bad. Some is, but some isn't. Some is as clean as a toddler show while still being entertaining for teens, which is something I love about anime. I think as long as you're careful, anime and manga is absolutley fine.

The same applies to novels. Many mainstrean novels, especially those "romantics" one that reinforces sexism, has left me in disgust. But there are many great novels, that have good messages and don't view people as objects.

[animeantics]

The same applies to novels. Many mainstrean novels, especially those "romantics" one that reinforces sexism, has left me in disgust. But there are many great novels, that have good messages and don't view people as objects.

YES! We shouldn't be careful in just anime and manga, but with Movies, other TV shows, books, music...in everything, really. And if we all looked hard enough, we could find fault in just about everything.

[LadyRushia]

I've read this article before. It was one of the articles that convinced me I was evil for liking anime until God showed me otherwise and told me what I could do with it. The problem is that the author is assuming that anime is a genre rather than a medium with many different genres. Yes, there are the spiritually bad and pornographic ones, but they are only two, albeit widely popularized, sections and do not represent anime as a whole. It's not entirely the author's fault, but he should have taken the time to truly research anime before writing this article. That or, like others have said, he should have talked about entertainment as a whole because this really comes across as a bias attack.

[animeantics]

I've read this article before. It was one of the articles that convinced me I was evil for liking anime until God showed me otherwise and told me what I could do with it. The problem is that the author is assuming that anime is a genre rather than a medium with many different genres. Yes, there are the spiritually bad and pornographic ones, but they are only two, albeit widely popularized, sections and do not represent anime as a whole. It's not entirely the author's fault, but he should have taken the time to truly research anime before writing this article. That or, like others have said, he should have talked about entertainment as a whole because this really comes across as a bias attack.

I also dealt with a bit of guilt after reading the article...but I've been thinking about it, and like I said earlier. I'm being careful, so it's okay.

But, anime is not ALL bad, and the author seems to think that it is. I also agree that the author should've done a bit more research.

[goldenspines]

Pluggedinonline is helpful in the sense of finding out what and how much bad content there is in a movie. I like to know this so I don't go spend my money on a movie that throws trash into my head(that's just my own personal preference, though).
But that's really it.
That certain article you posted is rather biased(even for them) and even misquoted a member off another Christian anime site I frequent and refused to correct the quote after the admin of that site asked them to do so. Plus, that article is rather old, so I wouldn't really take it that seriously.
Instead look on both sides of the coin instead of one. ^_^

[rocklobster]

someone needs to send this article's writer a copy of Haibane Renmei stat. That might change her mind.

[animeantics]

Pluggedinonline is helpful in the sense of finding out what and how much bad content there is in a movie. I like to know this so I don't go spend my money on a movie that throws trash into my head(that's just my own personal preference, though).
But that's really it.
That certain article you posted is rather biased(even for them) and even misquoted a member off another Christian anime site I frequent and refused to correct the quote after the admin of that site asked them to do so. Plus, that article is rather old, so I wouldn't really take it that seriously.
Instead look on both sides of the coin instead of one. ^_^

I agree that PI in very helpful, but sometimes their articles like this are a bit off. And you're right, it is a bit old...

[Song_of_Storms]

So true.

I somewhat agree with PluggedIn. If anything, parents should be aware of what's actually going on. Just because its a cartoon does not mean its child friendly. So, don't ban everything just because parents aren't doing their job. n.n ( *re-reads* ) Hmm... I hope that doesn't sound negative. >.>;

[animechica]

I also dealt with a bit of guilt after reading the article...but I've been thinking about it, and like I said earlier. I'm being careful, so it's okay.

In my experience I've noticed that sometimes we might not even realize some of our entertainment is actually pretty opposite from what we believe. An example could be movies with a lot of violence. As Christians we believe we must pray for our enemies and bless those that curse us, right? But, we watch movies where revenge is a staple and there's a lot of killing and stuff, and we've kinda become desensitized to that, so it's like "Oh, it's fine, it's just a movie anyway, we don't necessarily enjoy the violence and we aren't going to emulate it." However another Christian who doesn't really watch TV might decide to watch one of those kinds of movies and be shocked and appalled that other people want to watch the violence.

Since we all have our own level of desensitization to things like violence, sexual tones, and "bad religion", some of us might watch a show that contains that stuff and not really think about it, and others can watch the same show and get really hung up over all the sinful behavior the show portrays.

I know it's not good to be desensitized to sin, but it seems to me that a lot of people who are very sensitive to it, are so sensitive that they have a hard time functioning with people who do not live by the same principles, you know? I think we all need to be able to point out, "Yes, this show does contain a lot of _____ and _____" but at the same time at least be able to appreciate the show for the good things about it.

I'm not entirely solid on that opinion, but I think it's practical, I mean, nothing's ever going to be perfect in this world, so we have to learn to separate the good from the bad, but accept both as reality and not let ourselves be so hung up on the bad things that we miss the good things...

Sorry if I'm rambling ^_^;

[minakichan]

It’s not unusual to find teens in church hallways chattering more excitedly over each other’s artwork than about what happened in youth group.

As an artist who draws primarily in this style, what they seem to be implying really bothers me. I don't really understand why they felt the need to include that last sentence. Is it just me who feels attacked by that statement?

Offended? Nope, not really. I definitely go to church to talk about anime with my friends more than doing church-y activities. I'd say it's accurate for some people, and you're taking it way to seriously if you interpret "not unusual" to mean "every single teen does this, no exceptions."

YES! We shouldn't be careful in just anime and manga, but with Movies, other TV shows, books, music...in everything, really. And if we all looked hard enough, we could find fault in just about everything.

Yes.

But.

Do you really expect them to come in with an article discussing every single media in existence? "Hey parents, you should watch out for general stuff that your kids are exposed to. Some of it might be bad."

That's not terribly helpful. For parents who are unfamiliar with anime, when they see their kids reading manga with pantyshots, they start to wonder. Yes, other media have "problems," but parents know that novels and movies exist. Anime is foreign to them, so it needs an explanation. Better to say "some anime have a lot of sexuality" than to have parents draw their own conclusions that ALL anime have a lot of sexuality. Regardless, I don't see the article as "generalizing" per se, any more than you have.

Also, PluggedIn kind of exists to find the "wrong" in everything else. They don't really have the time or resources to review every anime ever, so they give advice on what to look for. Some of the things you "look for" in anime are slightly more specific to the media, you cant deny that.

someone needs to send this article's writer a copy of Haibane Renmei stat. That might change her mind.

If the author says "some anime has bad elements" and you give hir an anime with no bad elements, sie will not suddenly decide to say "no, actually, anime is all wholesome and innocent."

[bakura_fan]

In my experience I've noticed that sometimes we might not even realize some of our entertainment is actually pretty opposite from what we believe. An example could be movies with a lot of violence. As Christians we believe we must pray for our enemies and bless those that curse us, right? But, we watch movies where revenge is a staple and there's a lot of killing and stuff, and we've kinda become desensitized to that, so it's like "Oh, it's fine, it's just a movie anyway, we don't necessarily enjoy the violence and we aren't going to emulate it." However another Christian who doesn't really watch TV might decide to watch one of those kinds of movies and be shocked and appalled that other people want to watch the violence.

Since we all have our own level of desensitization to things like violence, sexual tones, and "bad religion", some of us might watch a show that contains that stuff and not really think about it, and others can watch the same show and get really hung up over all the sinful behavior the show portrays.

I know it's not good to be desensitized to sin, but it seems to me that a lot of people who are very sensitive to it, are so sensitive that they have a hard time functioning with people who do not live by the same principles, you know? I think we all need to be able to point out, "Yes, this show does contain a lot of _____ and _____" but at the same time at least be able to appreciate the show for the good things about it.

I'm not entirely solid on that opinion, but I think it's practical, I mean, nothing's ever going to be perfect in this world, so we have to learn to separate the good from the bad, but accept both as reality and not let ourselves be so hung up on the bad things that we miss the good things...

Sorry if I'm rambling ^_^]

Yeah. I'm sure some Christian's would be appalled that I like Sweeny Todd (both the movie and the play *the play moreso*). I see a wonderful story where just saying no to revenge could have helped so many people out in the end.

If the author says "some anime has bad elements" and you give hir an anime with no bad elements, sie will not suddenly decide to say "no, actually, anime is all wholesome and innocent."

I think what they mean is that it would have been a better article if they had maybe researched some of the cleaner anime/manga titles, so parents could look into those.

[animechica]

Offended? Nope, not really. I definitely go to church to talk about anime with my friends more than doing church-y activities. I'd say it's accurate for some people, and you're taking it way to seriously if you interpret "not unusual" to mean "every single teen does this, no exceptions."

I guess what kinda bothers me is that they're taking something and then trying to put a guilt trip on people by comparing how much they like it with how interested they are in church-related activities, as if they aren't allowed to have other hobbies and interests they are passionate about.

And I know that, but that wasn't really my interpretation, it was more just the fact that they felt like that had to make a statement like that at all. Like "OH EM GEE! ANIME IS TAKING OVER OUR YOUTH!"

[ChristianKitsune]

yah I found CAA because of that site...almost four years ago....

I don't hate pluggedin, I know who their target audience is... and I often use them for movie reviews...like if I'm going to see a movie and I don't know what it's about and I want to know what kind of content is in it... I don't agree with them on everything, but I do appreciate what they do.

[LadyRushia]

I think it also depends on the themes of a given series. Revenge, for example, is a broad topic that has different aspects to it. What matters is what the anime, or movie, or novel says about revenge (or any topic). One anime may say revenge is good while another says it's unfulfilling in the end. Lecherous behavior may be frowned upon or glorified; love may be deep or shallow; governments may be great or corrupt, etc.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I definitely have nothing against the site, but I just gotta throw it out there that if your kids are more interested in their own artwork than your youthgroup... Well, maybe the problem lies more with the group than the art.

[animechica]

I definitely have nothing against the site, but I just gotta throw it out there that if your kids are more interested in their own artwork than your youthgroup... Well, maybe the problem lies more with the group than the art.

My boyfriend and I thought the same on that, too.

As a general observation of others and even of myself sometimes, it seems like people can be quick to blame your hobbies on the fact that you're not as interested in church-related things. I'm of the opinion that we ourselves choose our distractions and allow them to become more important than our Christian fellowship and lessons. It's not necessarily the fault of the hobby, it's ourselves and our priorities that are to blame...

[Stephen]

This thread....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNhYgYwiPQ8&feature=related

[Mithrandir]

Somewhat along the lines of what's being said recently, I'm quite a bit more apprehensive about kids who are only involved in christian school and church activities than I am about ones who are into anime/manga. As a parent, it's kinda your responsibility to continue to expose the kids to new ideas/things and show them how God fits into LIFE, not just CHURCH.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

/agree

[LadyRushia]

Somewhat along the lines of what's being said recently, I'm quite a bit more apprehensive about kids who are only involved in christian school and church activities than I am about ones who are into anime/manga. As a parent, it's kinda your responsibility to continue to expose the kids to new ideas/things and show them how God fits into LIFE, not just CHURCH.

This.

[KeybladeWarrior]

This site was mentioned in an article by Focus On The Family:

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/read/read/a0003619.cfm

Oh yeah, I have the issue of PluggedIn that contained that article. It helped me find this cool site. \o.o/ PluggedIn, some points I agree with them on others not so much. I find some of their articles to be spot on.

[Whitefang]

Ah, I like how Shin Chan comes on as I read the article...

AND LOL!

In the show, there's a
Sports Illistrated
Women are objects, not athletes edition.

So we have Japanese media (this particular one is quite offensive) pointing out American faults in our own media.

Today is full of ironies.

Now I have to turn this show off..