Why are people so against anime?

[averygamerdude]

I'm an 18 year old boy that lives in the southern United States, and I'm a HUGE anime fantatic. (Obviously, since I'm on these forums) But, there's a problem... 90% of the population in my state are against it. Since I'm from the south, a lot of people are strict republican conservatives, so they hate anything even the teeniest tiny bit inappropriate. Like I remember at my old school I was watching anime (Dirty Pair if you must know) in the computer lab, and yes, I did have permission. But the principal was strolling by, monitoring us. But at that very moment, one of the main characters flipped her skirt up to get out a pistol that was between her legs, and then he told me to come to his office.

He asked me why I was viewing "wretched filth" and I just told him that I was watching an anime and I wasn't aware of what was gonna happen. He asked me if other animes had "sexual content" and I answered: "Well, yeah. Every anime has at least one." He then told me to go back to what I was doing, and I did. He then said over the intercom that he was gonna impose a strict censorship policy, because he looked up on the internet that anime is "obscene and violent". I was pretty much the only one in the entire school who knew what he was talking about and was affected. I watch any of my favorite anime, because they all had pantyshots. I was so mad...

Now closer to the present, I found out that a local church had planned a protest against an anime con that I happened to be going to, and they were gonna send angry letters to companies that license anime in the US. They weren't joking about the con part. They said that anime "is tainting the minds of our children with violence and sexual imagery". They said that anime should be heavily censored and have messages about God and Jesus in them. I wanted to throw up.

People say that anime is obscene, but they contradict themselves because they also say it's for "little kids".

So I wonder, why is everyone where I live so against anime?!

[DOmus]

At least in the place where I live (Peru) people are a little bit more open to this kind of things, but that doesnt quit that there are many others that are against it and they dont even know why.
Like in school, around 2-3 years ago I discovered animes by a friend (and I will always be thankful to him)and then I openly accepted that I liked, but some of my friends looked at me like "Dude, what do u like those things" or they told me even worse things, so I explained the pros and many other things to them, but they kept that prejudice when it did have any sense, but with the past of the years they are ok with it, and even some of them asked me to show them an anime to know what was the good thing about them(and I was happy about that), with the time I discovered that there were other ones in my school with the same taste, but most of them didnt talk of that since they were afraid of the reaction, wich is sad(I dont know how are they know since I have already ended school).

In my house though, it was harder(even when they were the one that showed me DBZ), at the beginning, everyone was against it(my dad is still agains it), but I kept my resolve, and now is like"dont ask, dont tell"(though now Im able to but some merchandise without problems), well, since I draw and I won rewards in contest they kinda felt proud and that helped, but it ends there. Im going to keep on until they accept it.

At the end, I can say that its some prejudice that was born from lack of knowledge, with time and showing them some animes that will fit them, people can become more open to it, also it helps in how open mind people can become were u live, that helps a lot.

[Akito Kinomoto]

Let me safely say as someone who attended middle to high school in North Carolina, I've never if hardly ever dealt with that bullshit for manga. And there's usually 'worse' things in manga.

A short answer for the non-anime fan's disdain for anime is chancing on the wrong work at the wrong time; my first impressions weren't glowing either, though I--and a lot of others here--knew how to look past the surface, and that's probably the difference maker. I also seriously wonder where your principal got that information on anime from; obscene and violent? Did he go on Urban Dictionary? Fox? Not exactly the professionalistic look-up I'd expect, but then again, maybe I'm really lucky to never had a principiss. Oh, and scapegoats. Because every group needs a cover for failing to address the real issues they need to look at. Y'know, like domestic violence.

I will say though, throwing all anime under the bus as having some amount of sexual content probably wasn't the best course of action.

[AkuGelap]

hahaha for me,my father is the one make me like anime when i still child.i think it Doraemon.even my teacher recommended it to watch.even it show some nude (shizuka bath scene),my teach say it ok just to skip it.i still watching anime even im 31 year old now.but now i know many anime have violence and more fanservice but if u check some anime have age restriction example like Gintama is for 15+.at my country problem not the anime but company that licensed it wrongly .some anime not suitable for kid n it be release as Everybody(E).after that family will blame anime.2 year ago i always send complain to company n goverment entertainment dept about wrong label of age restriction but no result.

[Psyco Diver]

Heh I live in NC also...

Anyways I was a straight up otaku in middle school/high school (late 1990s into early 2000s) I will say this, the view point of anime has come a long way since then in the USA. If you were into anime back then you were the bottom rung of the geek scale, hard core video gamers look down on us lol. Funny because I was very much into sports but I also hid my love for anime for ages so no one really ever knew. I noticed most schools have a anime club in them now and on top of that I went back to college a couple years ago and then amount of people that were openly into anime was amazing.

Suffice to say its coming around, people are starting to recognize anime as a legitimate entertainment media source

[GreyZone]

Here in Germany I only know of 3 mindsets:

1. You "know" anime and watch it yourself
2. You think "anime = pokémon"
3. You are either completely oblivious or completely indifferent about anime

[SPARTAN 119]

In you're case, you're dealing with religious conservatives, and they are opposed to ANYTHING that does not fit in their narrow-minded worldview: Anime, much of the Western media, video games, education about of birth control, evolution, gay rights, any other religion, pretty much anything foreign, free thought. Anything that does not support their narrow interpretation of religion (and reality in general), they hate it with a passion.

Sadly, there isn't really much you can do about these people, if you need to stay on good terms with the person in question, like your school administration, don't talk about things that might offend or antagonize them. If it's just some random person, like those idiots picketing an anime con, just ignore them. These people yelling and holding up signs in the street aren't converting anyone, so in the end, they are just preaching to the choir.

If you want to find friends with similar hobbies, it might be hard to do in high school, you are 18, so you should be going to university soon. Try looking for an anime club at your university, there is one at my university, and I'd assume if you're going to any major state university, there should be one there too.

That said, if you're trying to convince someone who is not a religious whackjob that anime is a serious medium, you might want to try showing them a "gateway drug" anime, something that is not too fanservicey, and has an engaging plot which can be relate able even to a western audience.What makes a good "gateway drug" anime ultimately depends on the person's tastes, for instance, I introduced a family member who likes mystery stories to Death Note, even though they still do not watch anime regularly, they thought it was pretty good, and now realize it is a serious medium.

[IceHism]

Besides the fact that anime is foreign, getting conservative and religious older people in the west to like anime is a thing that is doomed to fail.

[SPARTAN 119]

Originally Posted by IceHism

Besides the fact that anime is foreign, getting conservative and religious older people in the west to like anime is a thing that is doomed to fail.

I meant the who gateway drug anime thing for people who are more open minded. Like I said, probably best to ignore the closed-minded idiots, beyond that, all you can do really is support free expression and oppose censorship.

[LightDragonman]

Indeed.

Heck, I am a Christian, and I have a humongous love for the anime medium. Really, all you can do is ignore the bigots and think for yourself, while finding a good gateway series to introduce others to.

[Ghiest Cid]

Strange thing though. I went to a catholic school and they tolerate such things as long it doesn't affect the studies and it is not ecchi . They only told us to analyse it very thoroughly. Also the popular past time in the elementary and secondary are pokemon cards , you gi oh and magic the gathering cards. Only times these are banned are during the week before exam week and exam week itself.

[Mahou]

Originally Posted by GreyZone

Here in Germany I only know of 3 mindsets:

1. You "know" anime and watch it yourself
2. You think "anime = pokémon"
3. You are either completely oblivious or completely indifferent about anime

I agree. During my secondary school time (when I started with mangas), I only knew a handful guys who read mangas or watched animes. And during my university time, people knew roughly about it, but weren't bothered with me being a fan of it.

When I first showed my mother a manga or an anime episode(?), she was like "They are only grunting, shouting, etc." Well, too bad it was Dragon Ball where those scenes had been more frequent By now, they don't mind it anymore.

Personally, my entertainment media shifted from manga & anime to manga only to Visual Novels only. Don't want to know how people would react when I told them that I love ergoge

[Draco Spirit]

I think part of the problem is that to watch anime, you have to go out and look for it. So people never watch that first show and realize OMG some of this stuff is awesome.

The other issue is Japaneses tastes are a bit more liberal with rude jokes and general fan service material and it can sometimes put people off. A good example would be Spice and Wolf. A show you could watch on quiet Sunday morning, with a touching romance and medieval economics... were the female lead runs about naked every so often.

Another way to put it is everyone see's this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLLN5tHpUYE

But misses stuff like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlL7J-FG_RU

Result is, everyone thinks anime all about naughty tentacles, but interestingly enough a lot of people don't tend to treat Studio Ghibli material with the same brush, I have friends who 'don't watch anime', but love Studio Ghibli... so there the wedge towards acceptance I suppose!

[Fizix]

Originally Posted by Draco Spirit

I think part of the problem is that to watch anime, you have to go out and look for it. So people never watch that first show and realize OMG some of this stuff is awesome.

The other issue is Japaneses tastes are a bit more liberal with rude jokes and general fan service material and it can sometimes put people off. A good example would be Spice and Wolf. A show you could watch on quiet Sunday morning, with a touching romance and medieval economics... were the female lead runs about naked every so often.

Another way to put it is everyone see's this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLLN5tHpUYE

But misses stuff like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlL7J-FG_RU

Result is, everyone thinks anime all about naughty tentacles, but interestingly enough a lot of people don't tend to treat Studio Ghibli material with the same brush, I have friends who 'don't watch anime', but love Studio Ghibli... so there the wedge towards acceptance I suppose!

TBH, while I agree, from the people I know who don't get anime, it's not just because they see a lot of fan service, but also the OTT action sequences (like the second video). They assume that there isn't much depth or plot there, that it's all eye candy of varying types.

I feel that there is too much fan service though, it puts me off even though I'm aware of the interesting plots and characters, and I'm liberal.

I don't think you need to be an OTT conservative for that, some of it's downright inappropriate and a lot of it is just cringeworthy in the most juvenile ways. Some people can look past it and ignore it while others can't. It's a contentious topic amongst fans of the medium, whenever you see reviews of a show, fan service is a mixed bag in how it's received. You can't be surprised when people reject it because of it, even though the OP example may have been religiously motivated, it often isn't and it isn't right to assume that someones a prude because they are turned off by it, especially when a lot of it looks like the kind of thing little boys snigger at. That's not an issue of liberal / conservative tastes.


Also, worth reminding ourselves, a lot of these shows are aired in the early hours of the morning, that should tell you a lot.

[averygamerdude]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

In you're case, you're dealing with religious conservatives, and they are opposed to ANYTHING that does not fit in their narrow-minded worldview: Anime, much of the Western media, video games, education about of birth control, evolution, gay rights, any other religion, pretty much anything foreign, free thought. Anything that does not support their narrow interpretation of religion (and reality in general), they hate it with a passion.

Sadly, there isn't really much you can do about these people, if you need to stay on good terms with the person in question, like your school administration, don't talk about things that might offend or antagonize them. If it's just some random person, like those idiots picketing an anime con, just ignore them. These people yelling and holding up signs in the street aren't converting anyone, so in the end, they are just preaching to the choir.

If you want to find friends with similar hobbies, it might be hard to do in high school, you are 18, so you should be going to university soon. Try looking for an anime club at your university, there is one at my university, and I'd assume if you're going to any major state university, there should be one there too.

That said, if you're trying to convince someone who is not a religious whackjob that anime is a serious medium, you might want to try showing them a "gateway drug" anime, something that is not too fanservicey, and has an engaging plot which can be relate able even to a western audience.What makes a good "gateway drug" anime ultimately depends on the person's tastes, for instance, I introduced a family member who likes mystery stories to Death Note, even though they still do not watch anime regularly, they thought it was pretty good, and now realize it is a serious medium.

Yeah. Pretty much everybody where I live are religious conservatives who attack people like me that love anime and panties.

But I already have friends who share my interests, and I'm not going to college.

I'm also not trying to convince anyone to like it, because I'm autistic and people like me usually don't get upset whenever someone has a different opinion.

I wouldn't care about people like this, but they are pretty determined to reach their goal, and they may get their demands to happen if they show enough determination. D:

I swear, I don't know what I'm gonna do if one day I turn on Iczer-1 and the main character is gonna talk about Jesus Christ...

[Psyco Diver]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

In you're case, you're dealing with religious conservatives, and they are opposed to ANYTHING that does not fit in their narrow-minded worldview: Anime, much of the Western media, video games, education about of birth control, evolution, gay rights, any other religion, pretty much anything foreign, free thought. Anything that does not support their narrow interpretation of religion (and reality in general), they hate it with a passion.

Sadly, there isn't really much you can do about these people, if you need to stay on good terms with the person in question, like your school administration, don't talk about things that might offend or antagonize them. If it's just some random person, like those idiots picketing an anime con, just ignore them. These people yelling and holding up signs in the street aren't converting anyone, so in the end, they are just preaching to the choir.

If you want to find friends with similar hobbies, it might be hard to do in high school, you are 18, so you should be going to university soon. Try looking for an anime club at your university, there is one at my university, and I'd assume if you're going to any major state university, there should be one there too.

That said, if you're trying to convince someone who is not a religious whackjob that anime is a serious medium, you might want to try showing them a "gateway drug" anime, something that is not too fanservicey, and has an engaging plot which can be relate able even to a western audience.What makes a good "gateway drug" anime ultimately depends on the person's tastes, for instance, I introduced a family member who likes mystery stories to Death Note, even though they still do not watch anime regularly, they thought it was pretty good, and now realize it is a serious medium.

Well that's the pot calling the kettle black, do you actually know people like this or are you generalizing? I have lived in the north and in the south and I will say everyone gets treated the same and acts the same as any other area I have lived in. Religion and political ideals maybe different but people still act the same. I've found this post completely narrow minded because you generalized a while people based in misconceptions, not different on how people may view us anime fans

The real problem is cultural difference, for decades animated shows were focused on children, this made the cultural viewpoint that animated shows are for kids. In America adults don't engage in children's activities, if you do it is considered abnormal. Where as in Japan, animated shows are considered the norm since shows are designed for both children and adults. Its a norm there, after that just throw some misconceptions and there were have the foundation of the problem. As I said though in my 15+ years of watching anime things have been changing for the better, it isn't a overnight change because were talking about changing a societal viewpoint

[Jan-Poo]

Originally Posted by Psyco Diver

Well that's the pot calling the kettle black, do you actually know people like this or are you generalizing? I have lived in the north and in the south and I will say everyone gets treated the same and acts the same as any other area I have lived in. Religion and political ideals maybe different but people still act the same. I've found this post completely narrow minded because you generalized a while people based in misconceptions, not different on how people may view us anime fans

But he didn't mention any specific group of people based on geography...

[El psy congoline]

I live in Australia and as far as i know people in australia dont think its wrong but they would just think oh thats weird but watch it if you want.Almost everyone or at least everyone I know at my school loves anime to the extent that the "cool kids" even watch it including kids that play footy and stuff. I think it's weird that different country's see anime in such different ways. good luck with watching anime hope you draw some more and if you enjoy it make an alright career out of it.

[Psyco Diver]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

But he didn't mention any specific group of people based on geography...

To me the post appeared to be responding to the OP, and since the South has been the underlying theme of the original post I stand behind what I wrote

[RichardFromMarple]

It's a problem when cartoons (not just anime) are considered just for children & any that aren't suitable are considered weird.

I remember my Mum wondering why I liked Daria, as she thought it was too "girly" for me to be watching it.