It was a late spring evening, and I was folding laundry before heading to bed. The setting sun streamed through my bedroom window as my middle son asked me if I’d watch something with him. It’d require twenty to thirty minutes. Despite it being almost bedtime, I said sure. What else do you do when your eighteen- or nineteen-year-old son asks to spend time with you? He got his dad, and together the three of us curled up on the bed and were pulled into the strange world of Sword Art Online.

This introduction to anime was perfect for us. The artwork was beautiful, the plot easy to follow, and the eventual ending twenty-five episodes later satisfying. From there, our son suggested other anime shows, and even a movie or two. Then came the time when we made our three youngest children gasp and hold their collective breath when my husband and I said we’d found an anime on our own to watch.

That was seven or eight years ago. The kids have grown accustomed to us spending our evenings watching anime–either with them or without–and recommending shows for them to watch.

What is anime?

Some people think anime is any animated work and is just for kids. They couldn’t be further from the truth! In reality according to the Oxford definition from Google’s dictionary box, anime is “a style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children.” Notice that it’s aimed at adults first. In fact, there is one version of anime that you definitely don’t want your child watching–Hentai. This is explicit pornographic anime.

So, if anime is designed for adults why are young teens so interested in it? Meriam-Webster’s definition adds that it is “characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes”. With the art, plot, and intriguing characters, teens are sucked in as well.

The good and the bad

Don’t throw the baby out with the bath. Just because one section of anime is bad, doesn’t mean all of it is bad. That would be like saying because there are horrible movies made, we’ll not watch any movies. In reality, anime is that–a type of movie or TV show that is done with an animated style. There are multiple art styles and character types.

Just from these two images, you can see the vast difference in art style.

The bad

Focusing on the bad first, there are things to be aware of as a parent. Not only is there Hentai, there are themes that can permeate this genre.

• Endings

Anime originated in Japan, and that means there are different worldviews. Some shows have more of an eastern mindset with what my husband calls a ‘terrible’ ending. There isn’t the hope-filled message. As a family, we’ve learned to veer away from those.

• Fan Service

One thing that struck me when we first started watching were the specific ‘camera shots’ that focused on anatomy. I soon learned that it was purposefully done. Some shows have this more than others, but it plays to the fascination with the sexual–low cut shirts, short skirts, etc. This is done to please the audience more than for any plot-driven reasons.

• Character Types

Another thing to be aware of is the cross-dresser. Again, some shows have this more than others–just like watching Netflix has more of a chance you’ll have same-sex couples than other outlets.

There’s also a strange fascination with siblings finding each other attractive. When I’ve seen this, it tends to be they’re not truly related, but still it left a strange taste in my mouth.

The Good

There are many good things in anime as well.

• Culture

From tea to honorifics, from rice balls to taking your shoes off at the door, the Japanese culture shines through in anime.

• Language

There are two ways to watch anime–subbed and dubbed. Subbed is with subtitles while listening to the original Japanese voice actors. Dubbed is with English voice actors. Our kids taught us it’s best subbed. The unique thing about that is I’ve now picked up specific Japanese words, and although, I can’t understand Japanese, I can tell where different words. It’s almost like I should know what they’re saying.

• Stories & Characters

What bookworm doesn’t love to fall into a new world? Anime provides an insatiable amount of new worlds, new stories, and some even enable you to follow your favorite characters for hundreds of adventures! According to Google, the longest anime has over 7,000 episodes! That’s a lot of story and world to explore.

• Genres

I’ll do a separate post on the genres, but there are as many genres as there are in books. From slice of life to mechanized robots, you’ll find it in anime.

Family Time with Anime

We learned early on that the best way to integrate ourselves into our kids’ lives was to do things with them. We’ve played games, watched movies, played video games, and watched anime together. I’d recommend screening anime before watching with young children, although there are specific shows just for them, and watching it together with your teens.

Do some research first, and then dig in. Explain to your child that you might not finish watching a specific show. My son’s favorite anime was nixed within the first ten minutes. He wishes we’d give it another try, but the religious connotations were too strong for us to continue.

Save time to discuss with your children afterward. Don’t set your time to only encompass the twenty or thirty minute show. Add in five or ten minutes to talk about what you saw. You may be surprised at the various discussions it’ll open up. There may even be spiritual aspects, as the authors of Finding God in Anime have seen.

Where to start?

This is always a bit tricky. I’ll have some anime lists in the next several weeks, but a good place to start is with the anime listed in the devotional Finding God in Anime. You can watch the anime and read the devotional that goes with it.

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There’ll be more to this series, but for now, this is a good beginning. Let me know what you think, and what anime you started watching with your child. You can leave a message here, or come over to my Discord server and share with me there.