Is it wierd for our parents to like animes?

DeinReich · Post by **DeinReich** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:23 pm

Kathreen wrote:Okay...why do they laugh at you?

coz' I think that's wrong(very wrong)
they should support you rather than laugh at you
i mean my mom and dad supports me
my mom is even the person who looks for anime (mostly Fruits Basket) products for me, like DVDs and the Mangas

They still have the mentality that Anime=Cartoon=Kids show. Thats why. But its not like they insult me because of it.

Knowname · Post by **Knowname** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:36 pm

well ya gotta keep in mind they're your parents, they may want to be there and they have every right to. I certainly wouldn't think it weird in all cases (questionable if they like Nurse Nanako or something... might like Love Hina because of a similar experience but... lolli??). Anyway it's a 'touch and go' issue. You can't fault them for it, they ARE your parents, and they can't fault you for it, you ARE their child. Unless your a 30year old living in your parents basement spending all your money on anime that is -_-.

Brigid · Post by **Brigid** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:01 pm

The whole anime=cartoon=kid's show is wrong. And you'd think most parents would be old enough to know that.

Looney Toons started out as adult entertainment. (Adult as in the main target audence were able to vote, get married, and drink beer.)

Anime are cartoons, since they are animated. But cartoons don't have to be kid shows.

They also don't have to be slut fests like certain "adult" cartoons I could name.

Some grown ups are too grown up for their own good.

Bardiel13 · Post by **Bardiel13** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:33 pm

Well, I've been trying to get my dad to at least respect anime by showing him movies like Akira and such (Grave of Fireflies would've done the trick, but couldn't find it!). All of which he replied: "It was okay..." FINALLY I found an anime he watched and enjoyed: Vampire Hunter D. So, I don't think it's wierd for parents to like anime. Hell, I wish mine DID.

The Origonal Head Hunter · Post by **The Origonal Head Hunter** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:40 pm

My grandad is 61 and still thinks Goku is the shit.

Evangelion Unit 01 · Post by **Evangelion Unit 01** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:32 am

My mother is not really into anime, but she saw vampire hunter D blood lust and loved it same with princess monoke. My father doesn't really care for anime all that much, but I don't think either of there prefrences are weird.

Astria · Post by **Astria** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:00 am

'Is it weird for our parents to like animes?'

To claim that it is adheres to the stereotypical view that, as Brigid and others have pointed out anime=kids show. Granted, many of the anime series that have made an impact in the West have been ones directed at children and a general media explosion (games, books, etc - I'm thinking along the Pokemon, Digimon, Dragonball Z lines here). But not all anime is intended for a young audience. There are threads around here asking about 'hentai' for a start.

It also depends on the age of the respondent, and what anime you're talking about. If you do mean the 'kids' shows, then it might seem 'weird' for parents to watch the likes of 'Dragonball', but its hardly a crime. What parents themselves might think unacceptable, however, is their children watching high-rated anime, those which are rated 15/R or 18/M for example.

This is regardless of what the children in question think of it, of course (my aunt used to get annoyed at my cousin - then 12 - for taping 'South Park' off of Sky, so he could watch it during the day - but that's a different kind of 'adult' cartoon).

My point is that parents' ideas of anime may be based on misconceptions of content, or ideas of just who its aimed towards.

My parents don't *know* I'm into anime. I think my mum would like some of the good films, perhaps the better known ones.

I think one other obstacle between parents and anime is the same that exists between anime's fans and its detractors. That is, to put it bluntly, some people just don't 'get' it. They see, for example, a 'giant robot' anime and assume:

a) this is kids stuff
b) there is no plot beyond something superficial

But...anime of that kind can be enjoyed on different levels. I was recently watching the first disk of 'Evangelion', and was intrigued by the granduer of what seemed to be going on (this isn't just religion, this is psychology...). My brother, 11, was watching too. Despite my reservations on the content - having only heard about the series before - we ended up watching all five episodes back-to-back. The ironic thing is that what parents might think of as inappropriate - the EVA versus Angel fights, perhaps - the 'kids' would hardly notice. As my brother put it at the time 'Cool!'. And I was thinking "No... the thing's gone mad. That's not cool, that's....disturbingly interesting".

(Question - does 'Naruto' count as 'kids' anime? I downloaded 'Whisper of the Beast' bec. it was recommended. Its sheer angst is painful, and I don't even know the series!)

Brigid · Post by **Brigid** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:35 am

You have some very good points. Parents do have a tendency to base their likes and dislikes (at least the stated ones) on what they concider appropriate for their kids. I think it may be the subconcious knowledge that kids will imitate their parents and/or adult role models. Thus choosing likes appropriate for children is important.

Astria wrote: (Question - does 'Naruto' count as 'kids' anime? I downloaded 'Whisper of the Beast' bec. it was recommended. Its sheer angst is painful, and I don't even know the series!)

I don't think so. At least not the unedited version. The title character invents this special illusion of a naked woman, calling it "the ninja centerfold" or something like that. One of the main characters spends a lot of time reading porn.

There's also a lot of violence, people getting impaled, blood spewing everywhere, but this last has more to do with individual tollerances. As a kid I probably wouldn't have had a problem with the violence, but my little sisters would've.

Jan-Taihwo · Post by **Jan-Taihwo** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 11:38 am

My mom dosen't really care about m interest in it (tho i have showed her some movies) and my dad has absolute zero interest in anime BUT, he respects that i like it (tho he can't belive that i will still be liking anime when i'm over 20

)

SarahtheBoring · Post by **SarahtheBoring** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:09 pm

As an oldster (I'm almost 30, my parents are almost 50 and 60 respectively): my mom thinks that everything I do is weird, but she doesn't give me grief about it. She's come to terms with being the parent of a nerd, I think. Just isn't interested in any of it herself. Did you have fun at the convention? Yep. I got some practice in explaining things I like without getting too bogged down in details, which is useful when interfacing with the non-dork world.

I suspect my dad used to watch hentai, but I think that's it. Considering that he's now obsessed with cheesy live-action fighting-chick movies, he might like something like Kiddy Grade, but that's a road I'm not particularly interested in going down.

He's made props for my cosplay commissions and done some background searching for that, so we've had some "interesting" conversations about conventions and fandom and such.

Parents, it's not all bad. Your nerdly child may well move out and have a steady paying job and sensibly budget their insanely expensive hobbies. Fear not.