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HORRIBLE message anime teaches to Japanese children


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MaxSouth



Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 11:40 am Reply with quote
In the world of Full Metal Panic! anime, it took nine months for the pair to just hold hands. The same goes for almost all anime ever.

While it would be ridiculously unrealistic in most countries of the world, this, sadly, can not be said about Japan. This is about how actively real Japanese go into relationships, meaning in a large part not engaging in them, according to statistics.

While I commend the authors of anime for being realistic in this regard, it should be noted that with a message to children like this, no wonder Japan is going to extinct.

The ministry of culture of Japan should suggest that anime studios creating characters that actively engage in relationship. Children should see role models that are actually close and together, not just loving each other separately or not interested at all, which also happens often in anime.

But, of course, this is not going to happen since it is a cultural taboo or something like that. Close relationships are still something almost obscene, the society is very prudish about this.

All while we can see endless violence and gore, which is always, for some reason, considered to be moral enough, even though it is also a horrible message to teach to children. (The aforementioned Full Metal Panic! and countless other anime normalize domestic violence as a joke; let alone the non-joke violence.)

The hypocrisy is truly outstanding as violence, which is actually harmful and immoral, is considered fine, but not close relationships, which are healthy, harmless and perfectly moral according to secular moral standards.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6867
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 3:20 am Reply with quote
Most of these anime air late at night in Japan, and are not seen by mass audiences, especially not children. And there's always some degree of dramatization when it comes to getting into romantic relationships in any media -- writers drag out the process and the "will they or won't they?" tension as long as they can, in order to keep viewers more interested. Nothing to do with relationships being less "acceptable" than violence.

Whatever's causing the decline in romantic/sexual relationships in Japan, it isn't anime.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23789
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:38 am Reply with quote
Declining birth rates and shrinking populations are happening in a number of countries. Hell, even China's population is dropping. What exacerbates the declining population of Japan is its refusal to do what some countries, like my own - Canada - are doing to combat declining birth rates: i.e. boost immigration levels. That's also why Japan is so actively developing robotics... they know they won't have as many people to look after their old people. That last is kind of joke and kind of not.
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Saeryen



Joined: 26 Aug 2020
Posts: 900
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 5:35 pm Reply with quote
I think OP is looking at a very small category of anime. When I think of good messages from anime for kids, I especially think of Pretty Cure and Cardcaptor Sakura, which are all about the importance of hope, feelings and bonds between people.

Also Natsume's Book of Friends, which is about the value of kindness and how you can heal from trauma. And a whole lot of series (particularly shoujos) tackle mental health and how you can heal and you should be good to people who are having struggles.
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gsilver



Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 618
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:28 pm Reply with quote
Part of it is the crazed otaku (as in "real" otaku, and not the international loan word use of just an anime fan) and "purity" culture. Some of them freak out if it's even implied that their crush isn't "pure"
There have been articles on this site about some incidents that occurred because of this. Not only with actresses daring to have a life outside of work, but even because of fictional characters.

Sometimes, anime makes me think WTF?
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MaxSouth



Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 2:48 pm Reply with quote
I did not write that the anime is "causing" anything, but it surely brainwashes children growing into what they become, contributing to the whole phenomenon.

Every bit of the issue should be addressed, but it is not happening due to the aforementioned "purity" culture, which suggests that relationships are unpure, dirty.

It is a sign that the Japanese society is still very conservative in almost every direction, and in a harmful way.

Ironically, conservatism/traditionalism should help the population to grow, but in the case of contemporary Japan, it is detrimental and leads to the same result as the most liberal child-free, one-person family approaches.

This is because conservatism has its roots in the rural culture, where people are not locked into their one-person cells like they are in their flats in big cities. The "purity" culture originally was meant to keep brides intact to arrange a beneficial marriage for a clan, while people were all knowing each other and communicating closely with significant risks of unwanted -- in the view of parents at least -- relationships. Thus, those puritanic morals were helping to build big and robust families.

But in the cities, those "morals" end up working against this.
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getchman
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Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 3:30 pm Reply with quote
It is absolutely amusing how angry the slow progress of a fictional relationship is making you. You can just say you dont like it. you don't have to pretend to care about the children of Japan
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23789
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:00 pm Reply with quote
Laughing

MaxSouth, I hope you don't have aspirations to be a sociologist - you wouldn't be very good at it. I know it's not in your nature to listen to other people, but I assure you that Japan's declining population has nothing to do with "purity" culture or anime relationships. Japan is no longer an agricultural society. There is no need or incentive to have, like, 10 kids, as was the case in the past. Japanese people are not getting married young nor are they having children young. Again, these are traits we see in highly developed countries all over the world. Relax.
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Saeryen



Joined: 26 Aug 2020
Posts: 900
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:32 pm Reply with quote
OP: Anime teaches bad messages
Me: Here are some anime that I think teach good messages
OP: *ignores me*

I don't see why I was ignored...
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9120
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:38 pm Reply with quote
Saeryen wrote:
OP: Anime teaches bad messages
Me: Here are some anime that I think teach good messages
OP: *ignores me*

I don't see why I was ignored...


because its not about bad messages. its about how this fictional story is not realistic enough. You mean well, but it's pointless. Also, Max would absolutely hate everything about Precure
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:27 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, no doubt Precure wouldn't depict "realistic" magical girl warfare.
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MaxSouth



Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Tue Mar 14, 2023 2:10 pm Reply with quote
Saeryen wrote:
OP: Anime teaches bad messages
Me: Here are some anime that I think teach good messages
OP: *ignores me*

I don't see why I was ignored...


There was nothing to comment on. Yes, there are a few shows that have better message about relationships, but it is not the main trend I was writing about.


getchman wrote:
Also, Max would absolutely hate everything about Precure


Blood- wrote:
Yeah, no doubt Precure wouldn't depict "realistic" magical girl warfare.


I did not watch Precure, but whether I would "hate" it or not will depend on just how stupid characters are behaving within the rules of the world that the anime creates. I did watch Cardcaptor Sakura, there are some issues in this regard, but not a lot, so the show is good enough (even though it is not the genre I like the most).

Quote:
It is absolutely amusing how angry the slow progress of a fictional relationship is making you. You can just say you dont like it. you don't have to pretend to care about the children of Japan


Judging by your choice of words and attitude, the angry one here is you. Anybody can compare the detailed arguments I provide to angry outbursts you do, simply because you can not constitute a counterargument.

Blood- wrote:
I know it's not in your nature to listen to other people, but I assure you that Japan's declining population has nothing to do with "purity" culture or anime relationships. Japan is no longer an agricultural society.


Rather it is in not your nature to listen to other people since I explained exactly the point you are making in my earlier comment: that the society is not rural any more. No need to explain me my own message. However, there is more than that since most societies of the world have ceased to be agricultural, but the birthrate in them is not even remotely close to the disaster Japan is experiencing.

So yes, it has lots to do with the "purity" culture, as gsilver formulated it.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23789
PostPosted: Tue Mar 14, 2023 6:07 pm Reply with quote
It's true that Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world at 8 births per 1,000 people. However, there are other countries that are in that neighborhood:

Portugal: 8.2

Taiwan: 8.2

Greece: 8.3

South Korea: 8.3

Italy: 8.5

Germany: 8.5

There are about 30 countries in total who have birthrates below 10 per 1,000. Is purity culture responsible for those, too?

Even my country, Canada, only has a birth rate of 10.2 per 1,000 (i.e. a mere 2.2 per 1,000 higher than Japan) and I ASSURE you that purity culture plays no role here.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9848
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:01 pm Reply with quote
@MaxSouth

So you are saying that instead of being plain entertainment that anime should be retooled to be a propaganda mouth piece for the government. Specifically to push the government's attempt to increase the birthrate. Frankly, I don't want anime or any other entertainment to become overt propaganda, no matter how desirable the message.

As to the message, you are apparently pushing for anime to give the message that teen sex is a good thing. Don't kid yourself, "close relations" between healthy teens don't always lead to sex, just most of the time. Holding hands and kissing are the first step onto a slippery slope that leads directly to sex. I really don't think Japanese teenagers are any more immune to that than western kids. Hell, given the attitude manga and anime have to kissing, they might as well have sex, they have already been intimate.
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Beltane70



Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 3891
PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:35 am Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
It's true that Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world at 8 births per 1,000 people. However, there are other countries that are in that neighborhood:

Portugal: 8.2

Taiwan: 8.2

Greece: 8.3

South Korea: 8.3

Italy: 8.5

Germany: 8.5

There are about 30 countries in total who have birthrates below 10 per 1,000. Is purity culture responsible for those, too?

Even my country, Canada, only has a birth rate of 10.2 per 1,000 (i.e. a mere 2.2 per 1,000 higher than Japan) and I ASSURE you that purity culture plays no role here.


Even the US is low at 12.012 births per 1000 people for last year.
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