Parents and Anime do not mix...

[TinyRedLeaf]

My mother's been bugging me (pun intended) to play Moyashimon as soon as I got back from home the last few nights. "I want to see that cute bacteria cartoon," she says.

I agree with Vexx and SeijiSensei - you have to show your parents the right stuff to convert them. My mother loved Spirited Away too, by the way.

[Meirin]

My mum used to watch anime with me when I was a toddler and even bought my first few manga series for me (Doraemon, Ranma 1/2, Sailormoon etc). She probably remembers some of the World Masterpiece Theater anime we watched together when I was little even better than I do.

Growing up, I'd often rave to my family about the more surprising twists and turns in a serie's storyline. They know that I have too much manga for my own good (moving house is a pain) and that I like to collect figures and artbooks. They tolerate my addiction but doesn't really encourage it. Like most Asian parents, they understand that my generation grew up with the stuff in our childhood and it doesn't bother them as long as my hobby doesn't get in the way of my studies and my everyday life.

[cheyannew]

I'm not quite up there with SeijiSensei, as I'm only a 30something, but the kids and I've watched anime since they were born; obviously I don't let them watch things like Wolf's Rain that're too violent and frankly didn't make much sense to ME let alone them (they are both barely under teenager-hood btw). Heck, they've asked *ME* to watch thigns with them; we're catching up on Bleach episodes right now, and I admit it's not as bad as I had thought it'd be. Naruto, though, no, thanks, I couldn't stomach it past 2 episodes.

I think it's the same with any hobby; your folks may not understand it, but so long as you do it in moderation, respect any boundaries they've set forth, and communicate, there won't be an issue.
If they don't understand it, that's fine, we're parents, there will ALWAYS be things we don't get. But if you communicate "Hey, this is what I'm into, it's not breaking any laws or anything, I know it may not make sense to you but it's safe", and don't try to sneak around doing things, I suspect they'll just shrug and say "well, it could be worse". If your grades slip they'll probably say it's the anime but you can prevent that by doing what you need to and THEN watching anime
My mother never understood the whole BBS thing, but I told her I could be out smoking pot or continuing to drink (I was a teenage alcoholic), so she chose the lesser of the evils and I BBS'd a lot LOL!
If the worst my kids do is watch anime, I'm all for it.

[alamarco]

My parents don't mind. My mom actually likes the figures I purchase and comments on how they look. She also loved the idea of wall scrolls as she was only familiar with posters. The only time I think they'd say something is if they say me watching something like To LOVE-Ru.

If they do dislike something you can easily combat their argument. Most people think anime is just for kids. However, as we all know, anime can have deep and dramatic storylines. It's almost like American TV, but more developed and animated.

[KasumiGirl]

Psssh. My dad loves anime.
My mum pretty much watches anything my dad does, therefore she doesn't mind it.

The only thing is, he has kind of a different taste in anime to me. He likes everything. Honestly. He does buy alot of anime merchandise for me though.

[WanderingKnight]

I've always had the intention of showing something to my parents, but since none of them understand English, that'd mean looking for Spanish subs... and I certainly don't feel like it. I'm just lazy

My dad watched some time ago a few episodes of Cowboy Bebop, but that's arguably a very "Western" anime in terms of style and narrative.

[Shana]

My dad doesn't care. Actually, the few times I go to another country, he teases me with "Are you going to buy anime this summer?" and I say no, or use my poor-cat-like eyes to make him buy anime/merchandise for me. Though the rest of my family says "You watch those japanese cartoons?" except my cousin

[oompa loompa]

Originally Posted by KholdStare

They definitely don't mix for me. I don't even hint anything anime in the presence of my parents.

that makes two of us

[Fei-san]

My dad keep asking for good series to watch, so just to piss him off i mention great masterpieces like "Naruto, DBZ and Bleach" he dont like anime yet, wonder why

[Alleluia_Cone]

I think anime like Millennium Actress, Spirited Away, and Grave of the Fireflies can be appreciated by viewers of all ages and background.

[Claude]

My dad's been reading manhwa since he was young so I think he'd watch anime with me...only if he could read the subtitles in english fast enough. He does watch martial arts flicks with me though.

[Whitemoon648]

Not that i care that much about what they think of me watching anime,

But My dad makes fun of me, But my Mom is cool with it. A few times, i told her about few anime and she said she would watch it when she has time.


And As for my sister, i have shown her a few and she said it was ok but would rather watch real movies .

As for myself i used to love watching anime when i was younger , but i am actually starting to get bored of it.

I guess its an age thing.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Whitemoon648

As for myself i used to love watching anime when i was younger , but i am actually starting to get bored of it.

I guess its an age thing.

I don't think it's you. As far as I'm concerned, 60% of all anime don't reach my mark, and I'm too lazy to search for the majority of the other 40%. More a manga person here.

OT: Is there a "Parents and Manga Don't Mix" thread?

[-KarumA-]

here they dotn mix either, my mom watched FMA with me and found it so weird that there was a iron suit walking around that talked so strangely compared to hsi posture, let alone she couldnt get the hints etc. and thus never got to understand the storyline
i guess she was mroe annoyed with the use of characters, fma's All, FMP being a little goory in some die scenes, the constant screaming of gundam etc.
she did like gibli though but shes never able to keep up with the storyline

my dad is the same, all of a sudden when a show starts hes asking me things that are going to be explained, at episode 1 he already wanted to know why Al was an armour lol and even with things explained he still asks cause he forgets XD

as for manga they never tried that before, cause they see it as comics lol
adults and comics arent cool or so the majority says

[vel]

My parents seem not to care about waching anime.
But, one day I waching anime, my mother just appeared on the service scene and said " I know these animes need sexy scene".
I couldn't retorted XD.

I think its an age thing too.

[Mystique]

Sometimes, it's all about 'marketing' and how you present foriegn concepts to peeps :P
EG: Miyazaki - the very much needed bridge between western attitudes on 'cartoons' and anime in general.

Mother: Why are you wasting your time on japanese cartoons!?
Kid: These are actually enjoyable mum, it teaches us about the environment and it's not like cartoons here, there's anime for adults too.
*shows 'Princess Mononoke*
(remember, that one that actually had A-list American VA's,)
*shows 'Spirited Away* (The one that won an Oscar)
Mum: These are still cartoons.
Kid: Not really, these ones <insert, GITS, Blood Movie, Animatrix, Kill Bill?> >.>
Kid: As you can see, these have different artistic styles and GITS is actually philosophical really! It's called 'anime' after the english word 'animation', but to the Japanese that means animation generally, no matter the genre or age. The only difference between this and Hollywood is that this is all hand drawn, no live actors.
You should try some with me.
*at this point, think of the kind of movie genre they like and match with anime*

-If all fails still, lol then it's probably simply a generational thing in the sense that their mentality is firmly grounded in belief of:
cartoons = kids

(But hey, japan has a similar stance on it's own anime too...)

Mine don't have any issues with it, even now I'm in my 20's.
It's my dad's fault for babysitting us (me and sibling) on Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons etc, thus eventually we discovered Anime in our teens and continued on with that

[sa547]

I have no issues about me watching Negima while my dad's around, but as for my sister, she thinks that me dabbling in the culture and making Marimite wallpapers right in front of her computer thinks I'm wasting my time the wrong way and not earning something from it...

But screw it, like the Ugly Duckling, today's wallpaper/avatar/signature freak may soon gets the job as a professional CG artist; scanslator may someday becomes a skilled translator; a fansub editor soon becomes a top-class video editor for a broadcasting company; or a fanfic writer blossoms into an acclaimed novelist. It just takes time and guts to prove to the naysayers that it's possible to earn more than just the paycheck... It's the respect.

That's what'll tell my sis if I manage to survive a year in the job I'm holding right now.

[Halibel-sama]

My dad watches anime. DBZ, Yuyu Hakusho, Naruto, Hunter X Hunter and Prince of Tennis, are anime's that he has watched.

My mum, not really. Though she doesn't mind my watching anime.

[Vidofnir]

I've always considered my parents to be a rare breed. They have never hidden anything away from me, like movies with violent or sexual themes (back then horror movies were still scary, how I miss that scare factor now). They are very open minded and I am allowed to do whatever I want as long as I don't bother other people.

About anime, they thought I was watching some standard cartoons at first like pokemon (which I watched daily years ago) but they quickly learned that there was more out there, including the more "extreme" examples like shows that focus on blood and gore, hentai, lolicon and stuff like that. And they have no issues with anything of those. Of course they understand it's not all like that.

Actually I've slowly been able to increase my mother's interest in anything Japanese related. She watches every Japanese movie and anime that gets broadcasted now, she's converting the garden into Japanese style and she's learning the language to keep her aging mind active.

In short, there is no reason to complain about my parents and I can talk with them about anything.

[cheyannew]

Originally Posted by soulassassin547

I have no issues about me watching Negima while my dad's around, but as for my sister, she thinks that me dabbling in the culture and making Marimite wallpapers right in front of her computer thinks I'm wasting my time the wrong way and not earning something from it...

But screw it, like the Ugly Duckling, today's wallpaper/avatar/signature freak may soon gets the job as a professional CG artist; scanslator may someday becomes a skilled translator; a fansub editor soon becomes a top-class video editor for a broadcasting company; or a fanfic writer blossoms into an acclaimed novelist. It just takes time and guts to prove to the naysayers that it's possible to earn more than just the paycheck... It's the respect.

That's what'll tell my sis if I manage to survive a year in the job I'm holding right now.

I chuckle at how many people go "you'll never get anywhere doing that!"
My father said the same thing about my playing games, and then I started working for EA (as does my husband) so he had to eat those words