Anime that have most successfully skewered Christianity

[primetech]

This list is only for purposes of warning the community here, should they care (and I hope they do). There's enough anime out there to, well, not watch your God mocked in front of your face for six hours.

I was thinking of compiling a top-ten list of worst manifestations of Christianity/Christian leaders/role models in anime. Here are a few random thoughts from my findings thus far.

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt: Garterbelt is a priest who looks Catholic, and while he's a "good guy" he seems way far too into both boys and bondage to be very good at his job. (Ten-year-old jokes about priests' criminal activity for ten-year-old mentalities will thus abound, I'm sure). God is manifest as a woman, from the calves down, at least, with high heels perfect for... you know, I'm not even going to go any deeper into the sexual stuff.

Hellsing: Both the Protestant and Catholic churches seem wrapped up in killing vampires in various levels of vigilantism. Throwing in a lot of pseudo-Christian mumbo-jumbo they create a Vatican with an Iscariot division hellbent on destroying vampires, enlisting the help of Anderson, a half-human half-monster priest-thing that would rather kill anybody who stands in his way while compulsively quoting the Bible than maintaining any shred of sanity.

High School DxD: And this is when it really gets bad. Instead of your benignly Christian characters, the priest here is psychotic to the point of wanting to rape one of the nuns at his own church, let alone the "demons" that populate the world. (My friend later assured me well after I stopped watching it that he was really a villain after all, in case that wasn't obvious).

In addition to the rampant nudity and violence and the constant casting of lust and demons in a good light, an innocent nun-character is turned into a demon and appears irreconcilably damned for hell... and that's apparently not a bad thing. Reading the Bible becomes painful for her, so during the rest of the series she becomes eye candy, stripping herself for the main character in an attempt to have sex with him (during one of the OVAs, the sole purpose of which is apparently to show off skin. What a nice double purpose -- sex and violence is good (the same friend as before told me "screwing girls and fighting monsters" was the sole purpose of it), and that hell is good and heaven is unattainable. What a great message, wrapped up in worldliness.

Let's Bible: In the tradition of making everything into a teenage girl, Jesus has gotten the treatment as well. Cue the inappropriate... it's been a long time since I "read" this so most of the storyline is lost in my mind, but... avoid.

[goldenspines]

A majority of Christian symbols and historical references is what is usually seen in anime, and the actual relationship with God (the basis of the Christian faith) will rarely be addressed because to the general Japanese society, Christianity is just another interesting religion with a lot of interesting themes (mainly referring back to Catholicism, because that was originally the form of Christianity that was introduced in Japan) that could be comparable to using themes from Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Meaning, they make good plot devices because of their historical tales, symbols, and themes (take the romanticized "fallen angel" for example).

So, while the titles you posted are unsavory for sure, they are all much more worriesome in other areas rather than "Christian-bashing" terms, as you touched on briefly. I would discourage watching both Panty and Stocking and High School DxD on sexual content alone before any "bad religion" came into play.
And the least of your worries in Hellsing is the religious content, though it does play a prominent role for historical reasons (though Hellsing is fantasy, in case anyone is confused by that. Granted, we still haven't dis-proven that the nazis used vampires to start a war...).
Funny enough, I think Hellsing (or the OVA, Hellsing Ultimate, more so) touches on a lot of interesting factors concerning human nature and religion. But that aside, the anime is full of ripping heads off, shooting people, blood and guts everywhere...so yeah, not something I'd be recommending to anyone under the age of 25. XD;

Your post is a bit confusing to me since I have yet to see an anime where God is mocked or Christianity is bashed (and I've seen quite a lot of anime); I more often see examples of where I can see Him and His influence. It's odd/unpopular, but I've actually grown more in my relationship with God because of a lot of the anime I've watched. Though, if you go into anime looking for an accurate portrayal of the religious traditions/symbols/themes of Christianity, you won't find them because that's not the goal of anime creators (not to mention there is only a small percentage of Japan that actually is Christian). More often than not, you'll find something similar to religious European art; romanticized Bible stories and figures used solely for the purpose of telling stories (to illiterate commoners back in those days). This is where a lot of angel and demon imagery come from.
I mean, it's not to say that anime that bash Christianity don't exist somewhere, it's just that I haven't given the time to watch it because it was either stupid, not interesting, or not worth my time so I didn't watch them long enough to find out (that was the case with Panty and Stocking as well as High School DxD, which I justed ended up wiki-ing. I'm so sorry you put yourself through watching them).

I have seen anime where my intelligence is mocked though. XP

[/post that no one will care about or read because wall of text lol]

[primetech]

"put yourself through"
--> I hardly deserve that compliment; I had a stage of watching anything before wising up with my viewing, so figured I might as well throw that list out there. High School DxD was a bigger fluke; it took an episode and a half and prying my friends for information about its content to get that far.

Stupid as it sounds, I used to be less offended by violence and sex than bashing of my own religion; while the other two were indirectly detrimental to me, the other (mocking God) I took as an immediate, direct offense to what I believed in. It's the difference between knowing there are people in the world are getting bullied somewhere, versus seeing your girlfriend getting pushed around right in front of your face. That might be an apples-to-oranges comparison, but I couldn't stand for something that was so personal.

[Xeno]

In addition to Goldy's post, I feel I must add that


Nothing means what you think it does.

[KazeShiki]

Goldy said pretty much everything already. These stories may be depicting Christianity in a negative light, but the creators really aren't thinking about the religion when they do so. They are just taking the ideas as the basis for their story (or lack thereof). I assure you, anime/manga incorrectly depicts Japan's own culture and history far more than Christianity, but it's not like they're trying to mock their own country. Just look at how many Oda Nobunaga and/or Sengoku period based stories/games there are and how incredibly wrong most of them are (most recently and blatantly, Nobuna comes to mind). For High School DxD, you can find a million LNs with the exact same script except this case happens to use heaven/hell and angels/demons instead of whatever million other battle scenarios are out there. You notice it most due to its religious affiliation but in reality, it's one of the many, many copycats that change one little thing and pass it off as a new work to get more sales.

That said, there's nothing wrong with you avoiding this stuff if you find it insulting but I do think you're reading way too much into this.

[Nate]

But Hellsing is a good anime.

[DarkNozomi]

If you don't like the series or are uncomfortable with the content, I'd recommend not watching it. You seem suspiciously well informed for someone who asserts that these series are inappropriate depictions of Christianity.

Ironically, one of the best counter examples is listed under the "do not discuss" titles, so I'm prohibited from posting a rebuttal to your argument. In any case, I'm somewhat suspicious as to why you want to compile a "top ten" list. It's one thing if people are commenting on bad anime as they come across them, but why do you specifically need ten ranked examples? The only way I could see that being useful is if someone wanted to publish an article on how "bad" anime is.

[skreyola]

I totally see your point, DarkNozomi, but I will say that I'd love to have a list of anime titles that are best avoided, so I could avoid them. I have accepted that, for various reasons, I'm not going to find one, but there it is.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Are you implying that God being manifested as a woman is a bad thing? Helloooo, patriarchy!

[primetech]

If you don't like the series or are uncomfortable with the content, I'd recommend not watching it. You seem suspiciously well informed for someone who asserts that these series are inappropriate depictions of Christianity.

Ironically, one of the best counter examples is listed under the "do not discuss" titles, so I'm prohibited from posting a rebuttal to your argument. In any case, I'm somewhat suspicious as to why you want to compile a "top ten" list. It's one thing if people are commenting on bad anime as they come across them, but why do you specifically need ten ranked examples? The only way I could see that being useful is if someone wanted to publish an article on how "bad" anime is.

Okay, take out "top ten" if you don't like it. And in case you didn't see my other post, I used to be indiscriminating about which anime I watched... in retrospect a lot of the stuff I watched was bad. Christian friends who actually looked at anime for its moral content told me it was bad. And guess what, I've found a vast majority of anime is bad, if based on morals.

Panties, boobs, underage girls with older men, short videos with sexual innuendos that are so easy to see through they're transparent, brutal violence... these aren't just occasional instances, anime appear to thrive on them. So yes, now that you mention it, a lot of anime is bad. Ignoring it requires a lot of effort.

[Shao Feng-Li]

The titles just using the various clergy are one thing, but that "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt" title, and such, holy crap.

[Xeno]

If you don't like the series or are uncomfortable with the content, I'd recommend not watching it. You seem suspiciously well informed for someone who asserts that these series are inappropriate depictions of Christianity.

Ironically, one of the best counter examples is listed under the "do not discuss" titles, so I'm prohibited from posting a rebuttal to your argument. In any case, I'm somewhat suspicious as to why you want to compile a "top ten" list. It's one thing if people are commenting on bad anime as they come across them, but why do you specifically need ten ranked examples? The only way I could see that being useful is if someone wanted to publish an article on how "bad" anime is.

Okay, take out "top ten" if you don't like it. And in case you didn't see my other post, I used to be indiscriminating about which anime I watched... in retrospect a lot of the stuff I watched was bad. Christian friends who actually looked at anime for its moral content told me it was bad. And guess what, I've found a vast majority of anime is bad, if based on morals.

Panties, boobs, underage girls with older men, short videos with sexual innuendos that are so easy to see through they're transparent, brutal violence... these aren't just occasional instances, anime appear to thrive on them. So yes, now that you mention it, a lot of anime is bad. Ignoring it requires a lot of effort.

And by contrast other forms of video media aren't? I'll use shows on AMC alone, which are all rated PG-14, to draw a comparison here.
Mad Men is loaded with misogyny, racism, sex, one episodic storyline had to do with Sally (Don's daughter) masturbating, it shows EVERYONE over-indulging in various vices ranging from smoking to alcohol abuse to illicit drug use to extra-marital affairs (Don cheats on his first wife Betty constantly).
The Walking Dead is pretty much nothing but gratuitous violence and gore.
The Killing was a story about the brutal murder of a teenaged girl that may have been sexually involved with an older man.
Breaking Bad is about making crystal meth, and it contains a ton of other highly questionable content.
All of these shows contain partial nudity/people in their undergarments at some point.

And you've found a lot of anime bad based on your own personal morals. You don't like to see these things/don't see that they add anything of value to what you're watching and so you take issue with it. If it makes you feel dirty inside to watch anime then don't watch it, but don't go around telling people what they should and shouldn't watch because somehow your own personal opinion of a show's content is somehow the best in the universe.

"I don't like that."
"How do you know you don't like it if you've never even tried it before?"
"I know I don't like it, and I know if I tried it, I'd like it even less...you like it? You eat it!"

e: if you really want to make yourself feel mad though, just watch Evangelion. Any version of it, be it the series or Rebuild. Monsters called Angels, progenitor creatures called Adam and Lilith, explosions in the shapes of crosses, loads of terms and stuff taken from ancient Jewish mythology having to do with things like the Door/Chamber of Guf. And yet none of it has anything to do with what it was pulled from, and a lot of it is there just to be pretentious and confusing. But given what you've said, it'll make you mad because they're using things.

[DaughterOfZion]

If you walk into Panty and Stocking expecting anything else than what you get, off the wall sex and gross out humor- among other things, you have no one and nothing to blame but yourself. I doubt you would watch South Park without expecting to have some of your sensibilities offended.

[DarkNozomi]

Panties, boobs, underage girls with older men, short videos with sexual innuendos that are so easy to see through they're transparent, brutal violence... these aren't just occasional instances, anime appear to thrive on them. So yes, now that you mention it, a lot of anime is bad. Ignoring it requires a lot of effort.

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out where you're getting your anime from... The occasional panties shot is the only thing on here that I come across even semi-occasionally (and even then, it's generally done for humor rather than lust). I can't remember the last time I saw an uncovered boob in anime, it may have been Project A-ko though (again, done for humor and not sexualization). Underage girls with older men? The worst I can think of is Sailor Moon, and even then it was a high schooler and college guy. And the never did anything except kiss. Violence is subjective; is a mechanical suit destroying a robot better or worse than a fistfight between school rivals at lunch hour? In any case, virtually all violent content I've seen emphasizes the need to protect good over evil; at the very least the victimization of innocents isn't glorified as being right.

What concerns me is the short videos you mention with sexual content... I know almost nothing about them, except that it's the sort of material you need t actively seek out. Generally pornography is not shy about explaining what it is all about; so I find it unlikely that you're coming across that material by accident. I never accidentally view such things.

But really, if you don't like anime, don't watch it. If your faith is so fragile that you fall at the slightest hint of something bad (especially when such "bad" material is presented clearly as antagonistic; something for the hero to overcome) then go watch Veggietales.

[goldenspines]

Okay, take out "top ten" if you don't like it. And in case you didn't see my other post, I used to be indiscriminating about which anime I watched... in retrospect a lot of the stuff I watched was bad. Christian friends who actually looked at anime for its moral content told me it was bad. And guess what, I've found a vast majority of anime is bad, if based on morals.

Panties, boobs, underage girls with older men, short videos with sexual innuendos that are so easy to see through they're transparent, brutal violence... these aren't just occasional instances, anime appear to thrive on them. So yes, now that you mention it, a lot of anime is bad. Ignoring it requires a lot of effort.

That is your opinion and that is okay! If most anime bothers your faith and relationship with God, then don't watch it! But you need to remember that just because you think something is bad doesn't mean that it's the truth for everyone. (Refer to Romans 14.)
You must be looking at anime fan sites if you're finding all the stuff you are mentioning though; the short films, underage girls with older men, etc. (or worse, you're looking on the MAL forums. D8 ), because while I know where to find this stuff, it's pretty easy to avoid. (Basically, if you saw a fire pit in front of you, would you jump into it? Of course you wouldn't. That's what it is like.)
But my definitions may be a bit different than your own. For example, I'm referring to avoiding anime that are explicitly fanservice shows (sexual or violent) or just have those general trends in their plots, while you may consider the bikini clad pirates in One Piece as BAD. Or, if you saw Heartcatch Precure, all the kicking and punching of the bad guys may be considered brutally violent to you. I don't know. Is there any anime you do like/consider "okay"?

So how do you find good shows to watch if you want to continue watching anime? Since you seem to have a knack for finding ecchi genre and R rated anime from your list with no problem, I'd suggest asking for recommendations from others instead of finding your own (tell people what sort of stuff you don't like in anime and what stuff you have liked in the past). Or rather, until you learn how to research a bit better before you watch, it may be helpful to gather info from others who have seen more series that are wholesome.
Basically, go watch Giant Robo if you want something uplifting, morally excellent, and beautiful. It's the best example I can give.


Or, you know, you can not watch anime and it won't bother you! ^_^

[Mullet Death]

I'm kind of on the same page as this Primetech guy here. It's not like my faith is so weak that just because something animated suggested or flat-out said my faith and everything I care about is stupid that I'd stop believing or practicing it. Nevertheless I consider anime to be art, and I like my art to have positive messages; I like walking away from a work of art that tried to lift me up and bring me closer to God and things that are virtuous and good rather than towards philosophies and behaviors that are opposed to Him.

[primetech]

I'm kind of on the same page as this Primetech guy here. It's not like my faith is so weak that just because something animated suggested or flat-out said my faith and everything I care about is stupid that I'd stop believing or practicing it. Nevertheless I consider anime to be art, and I like my art to have positive messages; I like walking away from a work of art that tried to lift me up and bring me closer to God and things that are virtuous and good rather than towards philosophies and behaviors that are opposed to Him.

It's those constant themes that become more obvious, the more you watch anime, those things that get repeated over and over again. They aren't all bad, either, they're just noticeable and become more ingrained over time.

you've found a lot of anime bad based on your own personal morals.

Or the Bible's morals.

You don't like to see these things/don't see that they add anything of value to what you're watching and so you take issue with it. If it makes you feel dirty inside to watch anime then don't watch it, but don't go around telling people what they should and shouldn't watch because somehow your own personal opinion of a show's content is somehow the best in the universe.

I'm not telling people what not to watch.

P.S. comparing mainstream anime to AMC doesn't seem quite fair: the ideals in anime more or less envelop all of it. You listed the exception to demonstrate bad TV; I'm just mentioning the rule. I used to get angry when reading Focus on the Family's rundown on anime, now I agree with the majority of it.

if you really want to make yourself feel mad though, just watch Evangelion.

I didn't include that title on purpose (and not just because it's on the "banned" list).

You must be looking at anime fan sites if you're finding all the stuff you are mentioning though; the short films, underage girls with older men, etc. (or worse, you're looking on the MAL forums. D8 ), because while I know where to find this stuff, it's pretty easy to avoid. (Basically, if you saw a fire pit in front of you, would you jump into it? Of course you wouldn't. That's what it is like.)

I didn't actively go out to find this stuff. "Friends" brought it to me. Repeatedly. Said friends I no longer hang out with. Also, see other explanations. I enjoyed anime the most when I decided limits were unnecessary.

[goldenspines]

I didn't actively go out to find this stuff. "Friends" brought it to me. Repeatedly. Said friends I no longer hang out with. Also, see other explanations. I enjoyed anime the most when I decided limits were unnecessary.

See other explanations? XD; Besides being a bit confused by that, I'll move onward.
I already said you putting up limits for yourself is okay. In fact, for every anime fan, I encourage it. It's why we have the reviews system on CAA, so we can give our members (and beyond) info about series before they see them. This is also the reason I personally try to watch a lot of anime, so I can give info to people who need it. But man, even I have limits. If you don't have limits for stuff, you are screwing yourself over already.
Okay, so you weren't too discerning before and would watch whatever your "friends" would recommend to you. That happens and unfortunately, it made a rather powerful impact on you. But now it just seems like you're kicking up dust for the sake of kicking up dust about this because you're upset you were "fooled" in the past.
We have a reviews system and you can go submit a review for the titles you mentioned here (and more!). In fact, since this thread it likely to be buried in a few months, putting reviews in the reviews system is a better option for everyone.

But anyway before you go on your righteous mission to tell all us mere mortals on how a majority of anime is hateful to God, etc. back up, because I already answered that question in my first post.
Call me an elitist (because I am and I have studied this stuff), but your view on anime and pluggedin's view (even though I respect focus on the family for many other things, they missed the mark here) is a narrow one. Or rather, it's culturally insensitive/blind. Granted, there are a lot of anime fans out there that don't understand jack about Japan's culture and how different it is from their own. Everyone assumes that Japan is pretty close to the US culture, except more colorful and cutesy or whatever.

Go, do some studying on Japanese culture if you want to continue this critique on anime, because if you don't know the culture of the media you are talking about, you are missing the big picture.

tl;dr - Go study some Japanese culture, they talk without looking silly. Then, go submit anime reviews to the lonely CAA reviews system too.

[DaughterOfZion]

you've found a lot of anime bad based on your own personal morals.

Or the Bible's morals.

Saying you have The Bible's morals is kind of ridiculous. I highly doubt you agree with Westboro Baptist Church but they would say they're following The Moral's set out by the Bible. I doubt there would be as many different denominations as there are if everyone could agree what exactly the Bible's morals were. Your morals are probably way different than many of this site's members so saying you follow the Bible's morals is just as subjective as Xeno following his own personal morals or me following mine.

[skreyola]

In fact, since this thread it likely to be buried in a few months, putting reviews in the reviews system is a better option for everyone.

Agreed.
More to the point, many people (myself included) don't search the forum for info on a series, expecting it to be in the review system, if anyone has said anything important about it.