CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Ok, heres the deal, Anime is great, Anime is full of emotion. But seeing as this is a christian forum I felt that I could ask a question thats been bothering me for a while. While anime is in many ways great it tends to invoke powerful emotions that, at least for me, often make me wish I was in these stories, friends with these characters, and away from this mundane world. Is this healthy? Is watching something that often makes you wish for something you can't have, a world you can't live in, healthy for the mind? And even more specifically, the soul? I know some people see it as a simple way to have fun and enjoy good stories, but when they actually make you feel emotionally drained and bored with life I begin to wonder If its hurting more than helping.

Maybe I'm thinking way more than I should. But I doubt I'm the only one thats felt this way. A common example that you may also be dealing with this is if you find anime girls/guys more attractive than those in real life or are an extremely huge follower of anime conventions etc.

What do you guys think? Serious answers only please.

<Osaka Note: Hey, Shuji. You're pretty new, so I'm sure you didn't know but we ask members to avoid "double posting." That's when you post two comments back to back. Instead, we ask that if you decide that there's something that you wish to add to your post, just hit the "edit" button located in the lower right hand corner of your posts and just add whatever you feel you need to add there. It's been fixed, and it's not that big of a deal, but just try to keep that in mind in the future!

While anime is in many ways great it tends to invoke powerful emotions that, at least for me, often make me wish I was in these stories, friends with these characters, and away from this mundane world. Is this healthy?

I would say it's pretty normal. That can happen with anything. We as humans want change to occur. We want our lives to be exciting and focused upon. We want to see what it's like being that girl or guy living alone in an apartment going to Highschool searching for that perfect love. We want to be those heros saving the girl in epic sword battles. We want to be those guys with guns preforming secret-ops missions or piloting giant mechas and fighting enemies. Us guys probably want to have the flowing bishie hair and smooth face that the girls (both in anime and real life) adore.

We as humans fantasize about everything. I wouldn't say it's unhealthy, but I would say too much of ANYTHING can be a bad thing. If you start obsessing about being in an anime, then I think the limit has been broken.

Everything in moderation, that's what I have to say. Anything can become unhealthy if you have too much of it.

agreed. Everything in moderation is a good call. Ive done that for a while. Its just hard sometimes when things get boring.

Having been where you have are, I can just say "Yes, it can be unhealthy." I was once at a point where I spent WAY too much time thinking about my manga and anime. It was unhealthy and unproductive. However, as you can probably see by the fact that I'm a moderator on an anime/manga message board, I'm still a fan of anime/manga. I still watch and read it. Why, given what I've just said?

Because, as so many suggested, I found the balance. We all have weaknesses. For some, that will be discontentment. If you find that discontentment being stirred up by anime/manga-- take a break. I did that for a short period of time, and it was just long enough to get my head screwed on right. Paul said that all things are lawful, but all things are not profittable. There's nothing wrong with watching good anime, but when watching that anime causes you to be discontent or sin-- then it is wrong. With that said, I can't say "Don't watch anime again!" In fact, I don't think it would be right to say that. Afterall, we could apply the same logic to anything in life: "I'm bored. When I'm bored, I want to eat. I become discontent when I'm not eating. When I'm not eating, I find myself wishing I was eating." If that were the case, I wouldn't tell you: "Don't eat." I would tell you to set up a schedule to moderate your eating. You see, it's not the food that's the problem. It's the out of control desire to eat that's a problem.

If I were you, I'd think about cutting back or cutting out anime for a while so you can adjust your heart. When you mind and emotions are back where they need to be, then you can start watching anime again, if you want.

I had a difficult time deciding whether or not it was worth posting here. Hopefully my different perspective will be helpful or at least produce solid discussion. Let me start by making clear that I'm not condemning where I differ.

Personally, I experience anime and all forms of entertainment differently. I have absolutely no desire to be in the situations involved and indeed most of the time I am glad that I am not.

Shuji wrote:I know some people see it as a simple way to have fun and enjoy good stories, but when they actually make you feel emotionally drained and bored with life I begin to wonder If its hurting more than helping.

I am inclined to say you wonder correctly. There are perfectly innocent things I have ended because they were life-draining for me. As far as helpful advice, however, I'm not sure what I can offer. Perhaps you could reflect on how you watch anime. Some friends of mine tend to become obsessed with a series and immerse themselves in it for hours and hours, and I think this contributes to the feelings you describe. Or it could be that it would be better for you to watch anime casually with friends instead of alone, if that is how you do it. Given that I don't know you there is little I can say for certain.

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:We want to see what it's like being that girl or guy living alone in an apartment going to Highschool searching for that perfect love. We want to be those heros saving the girl in epic sword battles. We want to be those guys with guns preforming secret-ops missions or piloting giant mechas and fighting enemies. Us guys probably want to have the flowing bishie hair and smooth face that the girls (both in anime and real life) adore.

Your point may still be valid, but I'm an exception to this generality on all accounts.

Hmmm. Well, ever since I was a kid, I've imagined myself being part of stories I enjoy (whether that's a book, or anime, or anything else), and wished I knew the characters--in fact, as a kid, I had an imaginary friend that was actually partially based on an anime character (Joy from Superbook, in case you were wondering).

The thing is, though, I think I always knew it wasn't real. I maybe pretended to talk to Joy and thought about her personality (for a long time, actually--to the point where my Mom thought I was getting too old for it and started to wonder if something was wrong with me), but I never believed she was actually a real person.

Actually, I never really grew out of that. Instead now I don't talk to Joy and pretend she's swinging on a swing set next to me. I've created my own characters, and started to write their stories. I'm actually hoping to be a fantasy novelist now.

So...I don't know if that sort of thing is exactly unhealthy...at least, to a point. I think it starts to get unhealthy when you let it become an obessesion, or when you start to let the lines of reality blur. Having an active imagination is actually a GOOD thing--as long as you keep it in check, and as long as you don't let it dislike your own life. Actually, since you're feeling so disatisfied, it might be better to pull yourself away a bit--limit your time watching anime. Maybe you should try writing your own characters and stories, too. For example, go people watching at a place with lots of people--say, a mall--look at the people there, and try to come up with personalities and stories for those people. You might discover a talent for it--and it might help you realize that this world isn't so mundane after all.

We definitely need entertainment in order to cope with the busy world, and anime definitely fits the bill in doing just that. Escapism, whether in our imaginations or our interactions with entertainment itself, is healthy just as long as it isn't a total replacement for reality.

What you said about anime making you "bored with life" seems kind of like a red flag to me, though I am not sure the extent as to how you see anime making life boring. It certainly helps to pause and investigate the reason as to why you're focusing so much on anime or the fandom itself. I was in the same boat you were a couple months ago, pondering the question of if I was taking anime much more seriously than the other priorities in my life. It turned out that this was true, and that I had to make the decision to drastically cut back my anime watching/spending. Doing so has helped me understand why it is that I was an anime fan and how much of a presence anime should really have in my life.

It seems that the questions you're asking is something you have to figure out yourself, with regards to what is it that you're getting out of anime versus how much it is impacting your journey in life. But if you ever do reach a decision in taking a break from anime or to re-adjust your watching habits, you'll find that the time spent away from it will give you a better understanding of your concerns.

Anyone can go overboard,

But its not "unnatural." It takes a certain mindset to have such a strong penchant for fiction and the characters that inhabit it. Alot of people express these character affections through fan fiction, character art, ect. Myself, I adore the character Minmei from Macross: Do You Remember Love? (NOT ROBOTECH!!). That character is important to me, she resonates a certain something and I am keen to looking up fanart, fanfiction, artbooks soundtracks posters ect you name it with that character. I'm a perfectly healthy person, I just happen to adore a certain fictional someone from a certain ficitonal world. Like I said, it takes a special mindset to appreciate the world within your mind, and people who don't understand that are quick to label others nerds, geeks, or losers.

So while were at it, yeah too much of almost anything can be a bad thing. Even someone who does nothing but eat, sleep and pray in his closet his entire life is a failure as a Christain because "faith without works is dead."

On a side note, I noticed you had Shuji from Saikono as you avatar, I'm guessin a particular favorite of yours huh? Mine's Mayama from Honey and Clover, I'm just like the guy (save for the art major) so I particularly resonate with him, just my 2 cents.

Shuji wrote:Ok, heres the deal, Anime is great, Anime is full of emotion. But seeing as this is a christian forum I felt that I could ask a question thats been bothering me for a while. While anime is in many ways great it tends to invoke powerful emotions that, at least for me, often make me wish I was in these stories, friends with these characters, and away from this mundane world. Is this healthy? Is watching something that often makes you wish for something you can't have, a world you can't live in, healthy for the mind? And even more specifically, the soul? I know some people see it as a simple way to have fun and enjoy good stories, but when they actually make you feel emotionally drained and bored with life I begin to wonder If its hurting more than helping.

Maybe I'm thinking way more than I should. But I doubt I'm the only one thats felt this way. A common example that you may also be dealing with this is if you find anime girls/guys more attractive than those in real life or are an extremely huge follower of anime conventions etc.

What do you guys think? Serious answers only please.

One way you could. say, "deal" with this problem is roleplay. It's like taking part in a story. Basically, what you do, is play as a pre-made character (for example, if you were doing a Naruto Roleplay, you could be Sakura, or whomever else you'd want to be), or you can make your own character to fit into the enviornment that the other characters, whom would be played by other people online in a forum/thread, are interacting in. From there, you can either make up some sort of plot, and have the characters in the RP do something, or they can just talk, or whatever.

Think of it as a text-based version of Dungeons and Dragons. You can do basically anything, within realistic boundaries, of course.


You can do this on a whole bunch of forums. If I were you, I would start with the neopets roleplay forums, where you can learn the ropes without being flamed to hell, and advance onto my personal favorite RP forum, Gaia online's Barton Town RP forum. There's also one here, but they call them RPG, but it's the same thing.

Just try it out. It'll make a LOT more sence over time.
Either that, or write a fanfiction, which you could post on Fanfiction.net, or mediaminder, or something like that.

That's what I did atleast.

uc pseudonym wrote:Your point may still be valid, but I'm an exception to this generality on all accounts.

Well you're just weird. Kidding. But in all seriousness, you seem to be a more down-to-earth person that most other people around here anyway.

Is too much anime bad for you?: YES.

I have the SAME problem. It's gotten to the point where right now I'm thinking I just shouldn't watch anime at all. I simply think about it too much, get too involved in the story and characters. Something so unproductive isn't worse it to me. But that's just me, and limits are differant for everyone.

Shuji wrote:While anime is in many ways great it tends to invoke powerful emotions that, at least for me, often make me wish I was in these stories, friends with these characters, and away from this mundane world.

I know exactly how you feel, but you're right, this isn't a good thing. Real life relationships should always be foremost in your mind... something I'm SERIOUSLY struggling with right now. It's so much easier to think about things you'd LIKE to do, who you'd LIKE to be, how you'd LIKE your friends to act... than to uncover your eyes and see the beauty God has provided in the pain of real life.
REAL LIFE IN ALWAYS BETTER BECAUSE IT'S REAL.

If anime is becoming an escape, you might want to take a break from it for a while and just pray about what lines you should draw. Get closer to God, the most important relationship of all.

If you need to talk, PM me. Like I said, I'm going through some similar stuff to what I mentioned above. I'll be praying for you, man.

Yea, I really appreciate it. I probably should take a break from anime I'd say. It's not necessarily that its becoming an obsession, because I definatly do not watch it every day, or close to that. It just seems to be on my mind alot more than it probably should be. It doesnt help that most of my time is spent inside my mind anyway.

Shuji wrote:Yea, I really appreciate it. I probably should take a break from anime I'd say. It's not necessarily that its becoming an obsession, because I defiantly do not watch it every day, or close to that. It just seems to be on my mind a lot more than it probably should be. It doesn't help that most of my time is spent inside my mind anyway.

Yeah, I understand totally. That's the same problem I have. It's not necessarily anime - it's just overthinking much.
But really... I don't think thinking a lot is a bad thing. Analyzing and dreaming up new things is a wonderful gift from God. I think at some point, though, we need to turn our dreams into actions to further God's kingdom.

This is definatly true, but when thinking too much leads to unpleasant thoughts (and boy do I have those) thinking too much isnt good. Imagination is one thing. Over-analyzing everything and thinking up the "worse case scenario" is another.

By chance, have you ever read The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams? Or perhaps seen the anime Paranoia Agent? Both have themes of escapism (How ironic) and how people should avoid methods of escapism, as they are ad-hoc and only end up to your own destruction. They are both my favorite screenplay and one of my favorite animes, respectively.

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:By chance, have you ever read The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams? Or perhaps seen the anime Paranoia Agent? Both have themes of escapism (How ironic) and how people should avoid methods of escapism, as they are ad-hoc and only end up to your own destruction. They are both my favorite screenplay and one of my favorite animes, respectively.

yup, I own paranoia agent. Ive often wanted to be hit by "Lil' Slugger" heh
Well, not really.. But that sure would be a good story wouldn't it.

There is nothing wrong with a healthy fantasy life. Getting lost in the world the creators are making is a large part of the enjoyment for many people. Artists go to great lengths to paint a picture of a believable world full of wonderful characters that you'd want to meet.

There’s definitely a line there somewhere that you’d not want to cross, but that line would not be the same for everyone. Actually believing you are in the other world definitely seem to be beyond the line regardless.

I would think the healthy thing to do is turn your fandom into something positive. Get into the industry, draw or write your own, just go to cons and make a positive impact on the lives of other fans through your god-like, Christ centered attitude.

Radical Dreamer wrote:Everything in moderation, that's what I have to say. Anything can become unhealthy if you have too much of it.

Agreed. My addition would be that how much is unhealthy depends on the person. Everyone reacts differently to different stimuli, so no one here will be able to tell you how much is too much, that's something you need to figure out for yourself.

The thing is to be willing to take a break every once in awhile.Perhaps once a week
or even a couple months.
When I first started out I took a break of several months.
Remember anime isn't your lord and master,it's entertainment so it won't hurt for you to take a break from it every once in awhile,or at least not watch so much.
Try starting this Lent by trying to watch not as much.