Would you let your kids watch FMA? :)

[Cheesemon]

Reading a lot of English articles and forum threads on FMA, everyone seems to agree that FMA is too violent for children.

But my experience in Japan, interacting with people of all ages, I've found that FMA's popularity peaks around the 12 and under crowd. In fact, I asked all the elementary classes here if they like FMA, and most of the kids raise their hands. My neighbor's kids are 5, 6, and 8, and they love FMA too. It does seem that most Japanese parents have no problem with their kids watching FMA.

So putting Western censorship, activists, and the parent television council aside, would you let your kid, whether you have one or not, watch FMA? What would be your tolerance level in regards to age? Is it too entertaining to be irresponsible? XD

Personally, I find most of the violence not gratuitous, most of it is backed by a reason. However, I think 8 is still a wee bit too young for this kinda thing. ^^

[CaSe-]

Yes i would, because no one regardless of age should miss a masterpiece that is FMA

[Scrumhalf]

My kids would have to be at least 15 before I allow them to watch mature series like FMA.

I try to restrict & refrain my 11-year old nephew from watching anymore FMA, yet he still manages to sneak on my desktop and watch eps while I'm at uni or work. Dodgy little bugger; next time I'll take drastic measures.

[Fei-san]

Dont think it's much gore in FMA, yup i would allow a kid around 10 year old to watch it

[Mr_Paper]

Personally, I wouldn't let a twelve year-old watch Fullmetal Alchemist (Indeed, I am the person who voted 'No').

It's not that there is an overly large amount of violence or gore in the show, rather I don't believe it's themes of death are appropriate for children of that age to watch. It is largely a question of cultural acceptance, Japan, being far more liberal with what they let their children watch, does not have any problems letting small children watch such a show. However, in North America parents go to great lengths to prevent their children from watching the same type of show.

@Scrumhalf - Password the PC and turn it off or lock it while you're not around. Problem solved.

[evil|plushie]

Yes, because when I die, I want my kids to perform human transmutation on me -_-

[Migs]

I'm with Mr. Paper on the no.

I don't think kids at that age quite understand the themes and situations being shown in the series, and their focus will be in the action and gore sequences, which tend to have an effect on them. The purpose of the show is lost on the young viewers.

[gangsta905_04]

dumbass..
neways..i dont want my kid(s) to see ed grab psirens boob that episode...looks like he was havin fun

[Grona]

Nuuuuu, there is way too much in the way of mind fucks in this show. It's mature to say the least, even with the humor it dosent overshadow the whole bringing back the dead at the cost of ones flesh.

[Kimbley]

Probably not under twelve, unless I think they're mature enough to handle it.

[Sonhex]

I'm not a parent but as a rule I'd say no, FMA is often too intense and violent for kids of that age. I wouldn't want my 12 year old son or daughter watching Nina getting splattered across a wall, Gluttony or Basque Gran getting their heads exploded, Hughes slicing Envy's throat or Izumi wretching up blood.

I'd be less worried about them seeing Ed groping Psiren or watching Lust's ample boobs in each episode however. They'd see worse on MTV anyway and would be embarrassed by it more than anything else.

[phoenixfire92983]

I think it kinda depends on how mature your kid is. My brother is 11 *almost 12* and he loves FMA. He's used to all the gore and such from playing games like sc and warcraft, so thats not really a issue for him. But really, there isn't that much gore in the series anyways. Probably one of the most intense scenes was where Ed and Al tried to transmutate their mom.

Its kinda surprising, but its not the violence and action that he cares for in the series. Rather its the complex plot that revolves around ed and al. I think thats what has grabbed not only him, but you guys as well. FMA is not your ordinary anime...I would easily put it in my top 5 fav. list.

There's def. shows I would never let my bro watch like hentai or more extreme animes like ghost in the shell. But FMA is really quite tame compared to other animes, and its his favorite show to watch. I would probably limit FMA to only 10 years or older because the plot is pretty complex for a anime (it might get a little confusing for some kids) and kids also need to have the reading skills to read subs pretty fast.

[hooliganj]

I think FMA would make an excellent show to watch with my kids, since it deals with violence and death on a much more responsible level than most of what they can see anyway. If the kid asks why there's so much splatter in a game of Doom 3, all I can really say is that the people who made it want it to look gross, but if the kid starts asking questions about Nina, Hughes, Scar or anyone else in FMA, the answers might actually lead to a real life lesson, and we should never be afraid to teach our children about life.

A 5 or 6 year old probably wouldn't understand what was really going on anyway, an intelligent 8 year old might worry, but the lessons learned would be worth it, I think. By the time they reach 12 or 13 years of age, I'd probably make sure that my kid had seen FMA, or something similar. Talking with your kids about violence and mortality is just as important as the birds and the bees.

[pathyfinder]

I would watch it with my girls if they were under say 10. I never hid death from them. When they were young I showed them the flat dead squirrel on the road "look he didn't hold his mom or dad's hand when crossing the road. he won't get another chance to do anything" THey learned WHY to wait and why to look when crossing a road. Well that is a lame example but I've seen grown women run and shield their kids from a dead frog in park a few times (or any other poor dead little critter) and they think they are helping their kids.

I rather BE there when they do experience things so they have the knowledge to handle and cope with it. (discuss etc...)

Somewhere my mom or dad told me "hey you know, the road runner in real life wouldn't really come back to life in the next scene" so I didn't drop anvils on my chickens head well you get the idea.

My girls could always handle more blood than I. Most likely because they played gory games at their friends house. All they have to do to get me to leave their room is put in a gory game.... I'm a wimp.

[Sai]

Well i'm only 14 and i watch it I'd let my kid watch it, I'd be thrilled if they had any intrest in anime whatsoever

[TrueKnight]

If my kids arent 15 or above I wont let them watch it, because I dont want to screw my kids heads so much that they're thinking about life and death and such when they should actually enjoying themselfs with their friends (good ones) rather being a person who thinks TOO much, not to mention goes on experimenting on life creatures like ats and dogs.

so...No.

[Ombrenuit]

I believe people are way to sensitive about violence on television. I mean, in the early 90s kids were watching power rangers in the west, X-men, spiderman, transformers, action shows. I watched all kinds of violence on television, and in movies as a child, and I'm a pacisifist. I'm very much against war. I think Full Metal Alchemist is not too violent for children. My argument is based on that "thinking too much" is a good thing, ignorance is horrible, I want my children to be thoughtful and accepting of things in the world, I never want to hide things from my children.

[Scrumhalf]

Some of the things that irritates me when kids watch FMA out there is they have the tendancy to classify & treat FMA as if it was (similiarly/or on the same level) like Naruto, DBZ, or any other general-rated series.

[Gravi-T]

Originally Posted by Ombrenuit

I believe people are way to sensitive about violence on television. I mean, in the early 90s kids were watching power rangers in the west, X-men, spiderman, transformers, action shows. I watched all kinds of violence on television, and in movies as a child, and I'm a pacisifist. I'm very much against war. I think Full Metal Alchemist is not too violent for children. My argument is based on that "thinking too much" is a good thing, ignorance is horrible, I want my children to be thoughtful and accepting of things in the world, I never want to hide things from my children.

I totally agree with you. I watched those kind of shows as a little boy too, and look at how I grew up to be! Perfectly normal! Well... almost.

I watched Knight Rider, The A-Team, MacGyver, Power Rangers and so on. They were not animated, but still violent. I think children would react worse with non-animated violence than with animated violence. I mean... okay, I went and pretended that I was Jason from Power Rangers or Donatello from The Turtles, but I didn't actually get affected by it in a negative way. It was more like a way to expand the limits of my imagination.

Yes, I would let my child watch FMA. No, he/she wouldn't be able to grasp what the show actually was about, but I didn't realize WHY the Kali-worshippers tore people's hearts from their bodies in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but I knew that it was bad, and I got scared. But that doesn't mean that I didn't like it!

I would be MORE concerned with the language barrier with FMA. Since this child (around 5 years old) barely understands English (seeing how I am Swedish, and not American or whatever you guys are), how would they deal with a Japanese show? But since I am a language freak, I'd probably teach my children many languages, like I did. And since my uncle lives in Japan, I'd probably move there and raise my children there. Or I'd turn American and force the children to read English all the time, so they can read subtitles. That way, they learn much faster. That's how I learnt both English AND Swedish. Watching subbed TV-shows taught me (and some people I know) a great deal of English, and since I barely read any books as a child, the TV was the only way for me to read (not counting comic books or magazines).

So, TV/Movies is a great way to TEACH kids things. Like pathyfinder said, it's better to be there with them and discuss the things that they react to.
And FMA is a great show, not only showing that not listening to adults is wrong, but we also get to see how the things we DO has consequences.
Resurrecting mom -> Homunculus created, lost limbs and body.
And it shows rights and wrongs very distinctively, I think.

IF the child is going to be raised beside the TV, then FMA is the perfect series for that! But I'd wait a couple of years until he/she could read, because they understand things better when they are smarter (I consider reading being a big step for "being smart").

[inu-fma88fan]

well i would say no not cause teh violance and gore but the fact that most kids won't get the meaning or the theme or the show. they would probably prefere more action too. and this alchemy theroy stuff and deep complicated relationship might make the anime look boring.. but hey i don't have kids so i don't really have a say

but once the kids are mature enough to fully enjoy fma, i will gladly show it too them^^