to ban DD from watching Anime?

[SmellsLikeTeenBedroom]

My 11yo DD has just told me her group of friends (Y7) are into Anime. She has watched a couple of things they suggested and said she likes it.

This rings alarm bells for me. I've read bad things about anime: misoginistic, hyper-sexualised, pornograpgic, unhealthy body image, confusing messages about gender, furries.

However, I dont know nearly enough about this. I'm sure there must be good and bad anime (Pokemon etc) but is there a way of distinguishing (without watching every bloody video with her)? I'm inclined to just keep dd away from all of it, but maybe that's an overreaction.

I am not afraid to ban my dd from something all her friends are allowed, but feel like I need to be able to explain why, and at the moment I can't.

(Just to pre-empt any "just tell her its because I said so"/"you'rethe parent" responses: yes, obviously I know that, but if I'm creating a division between dd and the rest of her friendship group at a time when transition to secondary school and making friends has already been so disrupted, I need to know it's worth it)

Anime is just Japanese animation. Get her some Studio Ghibli stuff, it's fabulous and has great female characters.

I watch anime. Some of it is rubbish, just like a lot of YouTube or quite a bit of broadcast TV is demeaning sexist rubbish.

There are however lots of amazing animes. Maybe you could watch the movie Your Name to get a sense (it had global acclaim, and a 98% rotten tomatoes rating). Studio Ghibli is wonderful, with strong female characters. Demon Slayer might be a bit strong for her (though no stronger than lots of other slightly violent shows that teens can watch), and is run by a woman.

Like a lot of things, there's good and bad out there, banning the whole genre is a bit like saying that you'd like your daughter not to listen to any pop music.

Some anime is fab

I mean technically pokemon is anime. Would you ban that?

You’re thinking about hentai which is sexual. There are grown up anime stuff and that would be a no show for me

If you’ve not even watched it then how can you possibly know what it’s like?

You’ve formed a prejudice based on what, exactly?

There is some really good anime that is totally fine for kids and teens. Some though is pretty pornographic so maybe check first! Definition doesn't need an outright ban though. Anime has encouraged my older children to draw and read.

I think you’re confusing anime with hentai

Look at Studio Ghibli, it’s cute films as far as I know. Have you watched any of the films she likes? Do some research because I don’t think it’s reasonable to say she can’t watch any anime

Definitely doesn't need an outright ban

Was going to say the same as others - it’s a wide genre so just make sure you know what she’s watching rather than banning full stop.

Definitely not. I grew up watching Pokémon and cardcaptors on CITV. Which was just after school TV. If it's ok for CITV it's ok for her. I'd recommend cardcaptors and sailor moon.

My dd (now 15 and yr 10) went through an anime and tumblr stage when she first started secondary school. She did go a bit weird with it and I had notes from her about how anxious and sad she felt, I also think she may have thought about beings trans if im honest. I took away tumblr but not the anime and her out of characteristics went too. She still likes anime but doesn't read the sexualised and quite frankly weird types of anime anymore.

You so have to be really careful with anime and with manga. So much of it is made for adults and not suitable for kids. My DS is 13 and we’ve been caught out a few times with books and with cartoons.
I use the website common sense media to find out what other people think of different programmes. I have discussed it with DS and explained why some is appropriate for him to watch and some is not.
The other thing to be aware of is that some series have been adjusted to make them okay for kids tv (e.g. Dragonball), but the books are not appropriate at all. It’s a bit of a minefield!

Studio Ghibli has some gorgeous films, I'm not overly into cartoony shows but dp loves SG so they have been on in the background from time to time. I normally end up getting sucked in! They really are lovely films.

YABU. Studio Ghibli feature strong young female characters who are very normal looking. All on Netflix. My daughter is a big fan of Silent Voice. Absolutely beautiful film that deals with high school bullying and redemption of the bully. My kids have been into Ghibli since they were tiny.

Anime is just Japanese animation. Get her some Studio Ghibli stuff, it's fabulous and has great female characters.

This. my DD is in her late 20. She was into studio Ghibli (and pokemon)

Anime is more than a genre - it is an entire media experience and of course as a parent you have to make sure that it's age appropriate. Yes, there is a lot of adult content out there, just like western TV has South Park, Rick and Morty, Bojack Horseman alongside anything from Peppa Pig to Steven Universe in level of age ranges.

Don't ban it, it will just make it something she will find online without passing it by you. I tried it myself (Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon) but generally it's wasn't for me, though still love Pokemon games. The satirical Abridge version of Yu Gi Oh on YouTube was absolutely hilarious though.

I think you are getting a bit het up about it and confusing it all into one weird "thing".

My daughter is really good and always checks age ratings. She is 13 and some of her friends watch unsuitable stuff. DD is very careful and will often ask me to watch stuff with her to share the things she likes.

If you ban it you’ll just make it more appealing and if she manages to watch any in secret she could end up watching some really disturbing stuff (just like other types of TV). Assuming it’s all bad is like thinking all western animation is bad - but something like my little pony is nothing like family guy. There are different genres within anime and yes some are really not appropriate but others are great.

There is loads of good stuff. Studio Ghibli as others said, offshoots of that like Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Other films include summer wars, the girl who leapt through time, boy and the beast, mirai.

I don’t know as much about series as the ones I’ve seen are not ones I’ve shown my DCs. I know some of my DD’s friends like things like My Hero Academia.

I agree with the studio ghibli stuff.

There are some shocking themes in some anime. You do need to maybe do research, watch some to work out what is ok with you. My husband has started watching it with our teen to guide the themes so to speak. Still more violent than he is comfortable with but at least they are finding some that don’t oversexualise the female characters as much. As I say, as much. They are still drawn with emphasis on proportions etc.

My teen acknowledges there is some very anime being watched by their 14 yr old friends. They don’t like the same ones as many of their friends.

Tbh. We kept fairly strictly to age classifications for tv and movie watching. That has helped enormously with many shows, such as Riverdale (which they saw at a friends party at 12 and thought was icky anyway). But you know what I mean. No 15 + shows if you are 12.

Do they read Manga? Might be an easier entry point if your DD is determined.

Good luck.

Thanks for the comments.
I'm sure there is a lot if good anime out there, I just have no idea how to sort the good from the bad. Any advice/websites/tips from people in the know would be really useful.

@Mrsjayy

I think you are getting a bit het up about it and confusing it all into one weird "thing".

No. It is important to acknowledge that some of these Anime are not for 12 year olds.

And to know which is ok and which is not.

No getting ‘het’ up at all. Just good parenting.

I talked with my 11year old about the fact that it was a wide genre and if there was stuff she felt uncomfortable with, to leave that book/film. We discussed the ways that stereotypes are used in books and why and she's even criticised a couple of the book series she enjoys for their portrayal of female characters and usage of stereotypes. So actually raising it, as a possible issue with her, has massively improved her critical reading skills! I also age checked the books we bought because I know nothing about the genre and wanted to make sure we weren't buying something that was far too adult!

We started with Manga, the One Piece series is good and has hundreds of books!

If you do let her, i'd be careful and look through the content first to start with.
I used to work at a local library and we had a lot of anime books (comic strip in the form of book?) in the teen section.
Looks all fine on the surface but then hidden sexual bits. Some explicit bits including one page depicting a blow job, ejaculation and all.
Also pictures of girl getting slapped by boy.
I can't remember the name of the series, but something v popular and mainstream to be stocked at a small public library.
YANBU to be concerned.

Loads of anime is fine. Attack on Titan for example - very popular series, has won awards, nothing to be concerned about.