Postby the_wolfs_howl » Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:19 pm
Kaitou Saint Tail is very kid-friendly, though it's also very shoujo (much drama about oh-no-does-he-like-me), so it might not be that interesting, depending on your tastes. But it has one of the most positive perspectives on Christianity that I've seen in any anime - the main character goes to a Catholic school and prays with her friend (who is a nun-in-training, if I remember correctly) before doing her magical transformation each episode. Premise: A middle-school girl is secretly a famous thief, who steals things Robin Hood-style, to help others. A detective's son is trying to track her down.
Rurouni Kenshin might be worth looking into - it's very shonen like Pokemon and DBZ, full of action and all that. I can't remember about language, but I think the violence is about the right level for your siblings' ages. There are some intense moments, and the first arc has to do with the opium trade, but I think it should work. Premise: A wandering samurai gets caught up in various schemes in the Meiji era, being forced to fight despite his resolve to never kill again.
Tsubasa Chronicle would probably also work pretty well. It has very sweet character interactions, fun action of all sorts, and an intriguing plotline. I don't remember any language, and there's not much blood until the OVAs, which get a bit more intense. The only downside is that they never finished the anime, so you might be left hanging if you don't want to finish off the story with the manga. Premise: When the princess loses her memories, her best friend has to team up with a band of unlikely heroes to travel across dimensions to gather up her scattered memories.
D.Gray-man is another good shonen series with great characters, fun action, and not much language that I can remember. It might be a bit iffy because it's based around a Church fighting Akuma (demons), and the main villain can be rather blasphemous. The main problem, once again, is that they never finished the anime - and Hoshino-san hasn't even finished the manga either. Premise: A young Exorcist joins the Black Order in their fight against the Akuma, bringing with him a mysterious destiny that could spell the end of the world.
Haibane Renmei is one that would probably work, but I'm not sure. It's an absolutely beautiful story about friendship and finding your purpose, but it can be quite sad and intense at times (there are main character deaths). There are one or two instances of the d-word in the dub only (incidentally, the sub and dub are both excellent and sound almost exactly the same), and there is one scene with quite a lot of blood - the main character sprouts wings and screams in pain. For the most part, though, Haibane Renmei is a very slow, soft kind of story that just feels very soothing and beautiful. Premise: A girl wakes up without any memory of who she is or where she was before, and she learns that she is a creature called a Haibane, with a halo and wings (not supposed to be an angel, despite what it might seem). The anime follows her attempts to fit into her new home and discover what she's supposed to do.
I know you're looking for series, but in case you want some good kid-friendly movies:
Any Studio Ghibli movie other than Princess Mononoke or Grave of the Fireflies
One Stormy Night (A wolf and a goat befriend each other despite the prejudices inherent to their species.)
Scamper the Penguin (Two young penguins get separated from their families and embark on a dangerous adventure to get back home.)