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Answerman - How Do I Introduce Anime To My Kids?


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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5294
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:08 pm Reply with quote
Just Passing Through wrote:
It might be worth revisiting shows that have played to Western children and served to hook them on anime without them knowing it, shows like Ulysses, 31, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Battle of the Planets, Around the World with Willy Fog, Sherlock Hound, Nadia, Secret of the Blue Water, Oban Star Racers, they've all been ensured to be child friendly for local broadcast, and they are all dubbed, and they'll introduce your young uns to anime without dealing out too many cultural specific tropes and cliches.

The only problem there is the animation will be dated, so best get them used to it before they see too much modern CG animation to get set in their ways.
Up until a certain age, kids will watch absolutely anything that is animated, I introduced the ones my Mother looks after to an aniamted show from the early 90s and know of them ever commented on the animation. I think you could get them into anything going up all the way to 11, maybe older.
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EricJ2



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 4016
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:16 pm Reply with quote
Niece and nephew are now in college, so their first childhood anime exposure was pre-streaming (good old days of DVD!)--
But after the usual round of Ghibli titles, including seeing Ponyo in a theater, they absolutely ate up Castle of Cagliostro--The one where everyone in Lupin III's gang is nice, even Zenigata and even Fujiko. Anime smile
But being told it was Miyazaki, but it was also "sort of like a spy movie"...they couldn't wait to watch it fast enough. Fortunately, I also had my old Streamline tape of Miyazaki's two Lupin v2 episodes as chaser.

Also, before Robert Downey Jr. or Basil Rathbone, their first exposure to Sherlock Holmes was on my carefully guarded DVD's of Sherlock Hound, which they even asked to show to friends.
The trick is in getting kids off of Miyazaki, and before the "proper" dub of Card Captor Sakura, that never used to be possible.
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AnimeLordLuis



Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 1626
Location: The Borderlands of Pandora
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:18 pm Reply with quote
I recommend Power Puff Girls Z for a girl and Deltora Quest for a boy there's an English dub available for both of them and those two series are great for any age. Cool
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JennLegacy



Joined: 12 Oct 2013
Posts: 105
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:21 pm Reply with quote
Forgot to plug in Show By Rock in my other post. It's Sanrio's attempt to appeal to an older otaku audience, but you'd never guess it with how much it screams "kids' show" half the time. There's a few suggestive jokes, but they're so brief that they're likely to go over her head. The dub is great and even translated the songs.
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CatSword



Joined: 01 Jul 2014
Posts: 1489
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:21 pm Reply with quote
My little sister hates most anime, but I showed Azumanga Daioh and Sgt. Frog to her when she was around 8 and she loved them both.
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meowneko



Joined: 21 Mar 2017
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:30 pm Reply with quote
My love for anime "secretly" started like that. It was when i made a retrospect of what i really liked to watch in my child and pre-teen years:

    Dragon Ball (be it the first one, Z or GT)
    Sailor Moon
    Tokyo Mew Mew
    Cardcaptor Sakura
    Sonic X
    Magical Doremi
    Medabots
    Digimon Tamers (and the ubiquitous Pokémon)
    Ninja Hattori
    Kiteretsu
    Doraemon
    Kochikame
    and later One Piece

and realized the common link was they were all anime, i realized i have been an anime enthusiast since....2001 Razz

Infact Kochikame, Cardcaptor Sakura and Tokyo Mew Mew are amongst my all-time favourites, i'm even rewatching TMM and CCS (although in the proper, Japanese-voiced, eng-subbed way, and not dubbed like i did on TV back as a kid) because i never got round watching them sequentially (kids channel used to change schedules as one breathes) and i always wanted to get a grasp out of the story of those ones. Eh, i think that's because with these two i was already 11-13 (yes, i watched TMM at age 13.) and really engaged into them, where as with the other ones i enjoyed the laughs and the fights more than the actual story.
As much as i wanted to catch up on kochikame as well, when i searched for it about 2-3 years ago it was incredibly difficult to find. Many only have access to some episodes.

But this is me. I'm the kind of guy who can enjoy Fairy Tail or Another as much as he can enjoy Cardcaptor Sakura or Tokyo Mew Mew. I'm as much shonen as i am a bit of shoujo. And that gets me back to the point:

As a starter, determine your child's age group. Surely it won't be wise to show incredibly complex anime to a toddler, and vice-versa. If your child is a toddler show him/her simple, colorful anime that will stimulate their senses and grab their attention.

Then, if applyable, determine what your child likes, and never ever ever ever try to filter between so called boys anime and girls anime. I'm an example of how a guy turned into girls anime and enjoyed it as much as the guys anime. So what if your boy likes Toradora? So what if your girl likes Black Lagoon? To each their own.

My recommendations are based on my experience as someone who has stopped being a kid just a decade ago:


[list=]
For ages 3-6 something along the lines of Doreamon, Magical Doremi and Ninja Hattori.
For ages 7-9 i'm confident today's kids are able to grasp Tokyo Mew Mew and Card Captor Sakura. Might show them Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and the OLD yu-gi-oh! as well. Also, Sonic X.
For ages 10-13 they might be on their way to anime bliss, but if not try to use some of the more mainstream anime today, like Fairy Tail, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, etc... Or, try to see what they like to watch and find anime like that. For instance, if they like horror stories, try Mirai Nikki or Another. If they like mind games, have a look at No Game No Life. If they like romance, well the anime world is full of those i'm sure.

That's for series. Now, what i'd really like to have done as a kid but didn't regret from watching as a young adult is Studio Ghibli films,
especially My Neighbour Totoro. That, and also some OVAs related to the animes i mentioned above.

And that's my long post. [/list]
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NadiaYumi



Joined: 08 May 2017
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:30 pm Reply with quote
When my brother and I were growing up (him being 3 years older than me) we got into anime all on our own, obviously not realising at the time. We liked it so much because we chose to watch it. It's about the child themselves having the autonomy over what they watch, because if they're forced to watch it then there's no way they're going to like it.

That aside if you want them to love anime it's not really about what you watch more that you set it aside as a special activity that you and your kids will do together. Make it a special time, like every night you all curl up on the sofa and watch a child friendly anime together. Then it's much more likely that they'll enjoy it, because they get to spend time with their parent(s) as well as enjoying some classic anime goodness.

Anime that my brother and I watched together were Pokémon (original-Johto), Cardcaptors and Sailor Moon. We watched the dub and honestly that helps so much as it means you can show it to them at a much younger age. Sailor Moon was more my thing than my brother's but we both loved the other two shows. So I'd recommend those three!

I think watching just cartoons in general will give them a taste for animated media, so naturally it will flow into an appreciation for anime as they get older, as the anime you probably want them to watch is for an older audience.
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Blackiris_



Joined: 06 Sep 2013
Posts: 535
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:32 pm Reply with quote
I really wouldn't recommend Patema Inverted for very young children. It has some moments that can be quite creepy, especially in the beginning. Here in Germany it got a USK 12 rating.

Other movies suitable for children:
- Mamoru Hosoda movies
- Mai Mai Miracle
- A Letter to Momo
- Children Who Chase Lost Voices
- The Piano Forest
- Brave Story (the book is far better, though, and also available in English)
- Summer Days With Coo
- Witch Sisters Yoyo & Nene (not available in English, though)
- The 2015 Sindbad movies (available on Amazon Video)


Movies only available in Japanese I would recommend:
- Magic Tree House (based on the famous children's book series)
- the two dinosaur movies You Are Umasou and Anato o Zutto Aishiteru
- Niji-iro Hotaru: Eien no Natsuyasumi
- The Tibetan Dog

As for TV shows, I'd always recommend the World Masterpiece Theater shows, but alas few of them are not available in English (many of them were releases in France, Italy, Germany and Spain (I think), though).
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
Posts: 4125
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:36 pm Reply with quote
I would actually recommend a few of the slice of life things out there depending on if having a dub is a necessity. I'm a little surprised that Kemono Friends wasn't recommended yet. It doesn't have a dub, and probably never will, but I honestly don't know if that's going to matter much if I'm showing my 2 year old kid anime. Also, I've always intended to make them bilingual from the get-go, so it could really double as a teaching tool! Laughing
I'm a little less particular when it comes to things being age appropriate, probably due to my own unusual upbringing, but I fully intend to show my kid Hunter x Hunter when he turns 5 or so. The show delves into some incredibly dark stuff later on, but it's a brilliant show and full of themes that I want my child to experience. Also not super averse to fanservice, but the lack of it in HxH is certainly a boon to those who might care.
Kemono Friends(no dub)
Pretty Cure/Glitter Force
Sailor Moon
Hunter x Hunter
Ghibli
Digimon
Fullmetal Alchemist(probably around 7+ age for my kids)
Hanasaku Iroha(no dub)
K-ON!
Yuki Yuna is a Hero(7+)
Sound Euphonium(10+)(no dub)
Kyousougiga(7+)(no dub)
Little Witch Academia(this should've been mentioned by more people!!)

A lot of other things. I really would just want to inundate them(not force obviously) with things that carry themes that I find important like working hard, and caring for others, and being open-minded.
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Asterisk-CGY



Joined: 09 Mar 2007
Posts: 398
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:44 pm Reply with quote
Cheberushka Arerere was something I came across a while back, very much in the kids show design.
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epicwizard



Joined: 03 Jul 2014
Posts: 420
Location: Ashburn, VA
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:48 pm Reply with quote
The kids anime that I highly recommend are Beyblade Burst (it seems so underrated), Yo-kai Watch, and Mysterious Joker (another underrated anime, though, unlike the previous two anime I mentioned, no American dub exists yet).
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WingKing



Joined: 27 Apr 2015
Posts: 617
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:53 pm Reply with quote
I'm not a parent, but I do see what parents and kids are interested in when they come to the library, and a couple of other fairly popular picks in the "toy commercial" category are Yokai Watch for slightly older kids (I think it broadcasts with a TV-Y7 rating in the US) and Beyblade. If someone's looking for a more "under the radar" show for a 7+ year old who can read subtitles, Kaitou Joker (streaming on Crunchyroll) is a great choice. That's a phantom thief adventure/crime caper series. It's well-paced and fun, and it has segments where they "pause" the show and explain to the kids how the main character pulls off his tricks. Even as an adult I've enjoyed every season of it so far.

Edit: ninja'd by epicwizard. Good picks, though!
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dark_bozu



Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 208
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 2:29 pm Reply with quote
relyat08 wrote:
the lack of it in HxH is certainly a boon to those who might care.

Have mercy on kids Smile. HxH is an awesome anime, my favourite shounen, but I wouldn't risk and show my kids that Chimera Ant arc.
IMHO the great anime which most of kids would be fond of is one punch man. It does have a great animation, good humor and interesting characters.
Boku no hero academia/ansatsu kyoushitsu would be good too.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 2:33 pm Reply with quote
Can't offer much advice besides having your kid hooked to screens as late as humanly possible.

Early tech usage like TV, tablets, phones, etc. seriously stunts social and speech development.
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omnistry



Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 1015
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 2:36 pm Reply with quote
When she gets old enough to read subtitles (or if you're looking for something that'll be visually soothing), I highly recommend Non Non Biyori and Kin-iro Mosaic. Also, despite its bad CGI, Kemono Friends is definitely a good fun watch for kids.
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