CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Now, I know that there are anime series that one may find unsuitable. It may contain overly excessive sexual content or violent graphic material.

What I am wondering is...what anime shows do you all consider to be offensive to the Christian religion? Shows that make fun of Christianity, that put it in a negative light, and things like that. They are out there, and it really gets on my nerve to find an anime that has such ideas.

I would list the ones I am offended by, but I just know some of you may think I am too sensitive

Listing titles isn't offensive. Going into detail might be though.

There's a lot of titles in the review that fall into this category, such as the notorious Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, which really mutiliates the teachings and ideas of God.

However, just because a show seems offensive to Christians does not mean that it actually is. Let's take Chrono Crusade for example, a show that has a nun teaming up with a devil. This has blasphemy written all over it... or does it? One of the most rewarding parts of the show is seeing the devil Chrono reconciling for his own sins with the nun Rosette's help, a classic reminder that even those of us who are steeped in misdeeds are not beyond God's forgiveness.

Hmm...

These kind of threads are really tricky. We have to shut down a bunch where people get upset that "[insert name of anime] is my favorite! How can you say that?!?" etc. If this thread ends up getting locked in a bit, don't take it personally.

Splitter 2.0 wrote:Listing titles isn't offensive. Going into detail might be though.

There's a lot of titles in the review that fall into this category, such as the notorious Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, which really mutiliates the teachings and ideas of God.

However, just because a show seems offensive to Christians does not mean that it actually is. Let's take Chrono Crusade for example, a show that has a nun teaming up with a devil. This has blasphemy written all over it... or does it? One of the most rewarding parts of the show is seeing the devil Chrono reconciling for his own sins with the nun Rosette's help, a classic reminder that even those of us who are steeped in misdeeds are not beyond God's forgiveness.

See, thats one show I would ist

For Chrono (Chrno) Crusade, I don't care about a devil and nun joining up. But I did feel that God was portrayed quite negatively in the end. But, just this guys opinion.

But, yeah, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne...wow. You are right about that.

But, yeah (again), I just want everyones' opinions. Be as sensitve as you want, if you wish

*EDIT*

If this thread gets too heated, which I did not intend it to become, please feel free to close it. I hope no one gets too angry over it, though.

"Ghost Stories" -- the English dub only, not the original Japanese series -- might be offensive to Christians, if you consider an over-the-top, bible-quoting, you're-going-to-Hell-in-a-handbasket evangelical teen as a main character.

There are certainly other objectionable parts to Ghost Stories, although mostly of the kind that only make sense to those who understand the double entendres anyways, but some Christians may (perhaps justifiably) take umbrage at this character in particular.

i think Hellsing would be worth mentioning. not that i've read much of the manga, but i've read enough to say that it IS a pretty blasphemous manga...

I'm just waiting for Ashley to find this thread, since she loves KKJ. XD;;

The most obvious one I can think of is Angel Sanctuary. But that's on the "do not discuss" list. So you could just read this.

http://www.animejump.com/index.php?module=prodreviews&func=showcontent&id=58

Best review EVER!

I'm curious. Do you mean misrepresenting Christianity, or attacking it?

Maybe Mai-HiME? The church turns out to be some crazy evil organization or something.

Fish and Chips wrote:I'm curious. Do you mean misrepresenting Christianity, or attacking it?

Attacking mainly, but misrepresenting could fall under the offensive category, since the show may try to, say, make Christianity look like its nothing but extreme militant type Christians, like Ghost Stories, as ClosetOtaku pointed out.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I've seen a few Animes that skew the Christian religion for the sake of creative liberties, but sparse shows that were actually hostile towards it.

How about Rurouni Kenshin? His search for atonement stands in sharp contrast to the free forgiveness that we have in Christ, making this a supremely anti-christ series worthy of bannination.

Chrono Crusade.

Aion Says mean things about God which could offend people

~Ran

I would disagree.Then again I am a Calvinist and not an Arminian.

As far as it goes I can't really think of any show that I have seen that would
qualify for this topic.

How about Azumanga Daioh? It pretty clearly shows pagan rituals, fortune telling, and mood magic. Also enchantment of items for luck. As such it is completely out of line with Christian beliefs and could poison a believer's mind with sin.

ClosetOtaku wrote:"Ghost Stories" -- the English dub only, not the original Japanese series -- might be offensive to Christians, if you consider an over-the-top, bible-quoting, you're-going-to-Hell-in-a-handbasket evangelical teen as a main character.
Some Christians may (perhaps justifiably) take umbrage at this character in particular.

You are definitely right. She takes God's and Jesus' names in vain and she is just kind of a parody of evangelical Christians, especially televangelists in my opinion.

Sousei no Aquarion - I actually stopped watching this one because it disturbed me so much from a twisted religion perspective (not to mention there is yaoi, violence, and fanservice it). It totally twists the idea of angels/creation. It does't ever mention one supreme "God" though so I guess now that I think about it, it wasn't necessairly an attack on Christianity directly.

Actually that's the only one I can think of that actually offended me...

Technically if it's not "your" religion you won't have an quams changing it to fit how you want, so you can't really blame the authors. There's tons of other anime/manga series out there that have twisted mythology and religions other then Christianity(poor Norse mythology!).

hmmm, would trinity blood count....i dunno somehow i just think christians and vampires don't mix....i still kinda liked the show though

Nah. It still shows Christianity in a positive light. And Esther is a great model of her faith.
Before anyone mentions Fullmetal Alchemist, I want to say this: while it is true that there is an evil clergyman in the series, I don't find this offensive. After all, we must always be on the lookout for false prophets. Besides, the homunculi are great archetypes for the Seven Deady Sins they are named and modelled after.

rocklobster wrote:Nah. It still shows Christianity in a positive light. And Esther is a great model of her faith.
Before anyone mentions Fullmetal Alchemist, I want to say this: while it is true that there is an evil clergyman in the series, I don't find this offensive. After all, we must always be on the lookout for false prophets. Besides, the homunculi are great archetypes for the Seven Deady Sins they are named and modelled after.

Aside from a few choice characters saying they don't believe in a god, there's really not all that much offensive religious material, if you even count that (I try to see it in a more general theistic light than Christianity specifically). The Seven Deadly Sin's personalities are well suited (moreso in the Manga), and even the evil clergyman is a false teacher (who exist in every faith) of an unrelated religion (Letoism). Really, beyond the first chapter/episode (Ed's famous speech), there's not much to protest.

Kaligraphic wrote:How about Rurouni Kenshin? His search for atonement stands in sharp contrast to the free forgiveness that we have in Christ, making this a supremely anti-christ series worthy of bannination.

Hmm, interesting. I was a little iffy about RK, especially during the time Kenshin fought against the Christian, Shougo Amakusa, during the Meiji arc. But the more I watched that part of the story, the more I thought it was pro Christian, due to the several characters that are very good and are Christian. Still, you never know...

rocklobster wrote:Nah. It still shows Christianity in a positive light. And Esther is a great model of her faith.
Before anyone mentions Fullmetal Alchemist, I want to say this: while it is true that there is an evil clergyman in the series, I don't find this offensive. After all, we must always be on the lookout for false prophets. Besides, the homunculi are great archetypes for the Seven Deady Sins they are named and modelled after.

I heard a couple VA for FMA are Christian, so thats interesting. I never watched the show before (only the opening, which has an awsome song), but I did play the games on PS2. The first was fine...but the second, well, you pretty much fight against an "evil church". I felt that it was a little bit anti-Christian.

I'm wondering to hear people's opinions here on Haibane Renmei.

And to the guy who said RK is un-Christian, they had to be true to the times. Imagine if someone came along to you and told you you weren't following the right religion. You wouldn't believe a word they said. How is this any different from missionaries back then?

Being offended is a pretty personal thing. I've strived to be unoffended as much as possible.

That said, short of graphical sex and violence, very little offends me in anime. If I happened across an anime that made a point out of degrading Christ (note I said Christ, not Christianity), then I would probably be offended. While I have seen a few that are wrong on who Christ is and what Christians try to be, I have yet to see that.

With Rurouni Kenshin, why would they think anything else? XD

The Rurouni Kenshin and Azumanga Daioh comments sounded very much like sarcasm to me due to the way they were phrased.

Fighting against evil churches and religious symbolism rarely bothers me. And I haven't yet actually seen an anime that directly and intentionally mocks Christianity.

Dyne wrote:Hmm, interesting. I was a little iffy about RK, especially during the time Kenshin fought against the Christian, Shougo Amakusa, during the Meiji arc. But the more I watched that part of the story, the more I thought it was pro Christian, due to the several characters that are very good and are Christian. Still, you never know...

I'm 99.9% sure that Kaligraph is being facetious in regards to his comments on Ruroken and Azumanga. XD What I think he's basically saying is that almost every anime (or medium of entertainment in general), in one way or another, goes against what Christianity as a whole teaches, whether it's disrespect to a parent, murder, lying, homosexuality, etc. Of course, this is really no different than what any other form of media, be it American or Japanese, has the capacity to portray.

'Course, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Kaligraphic. XD

I think Corrie and MasterDias are right. Kali's going to extremes to show that ANY anime can be taken as offensive to Christianity, even the cutest, innocent anime shows I've ever seen like Snow Fairy Sugar or Full Moon wo Sagashite.

That's why I fail to see the purpose of this thread. I think we all agree that as a non-Christian nation, Japan sees Christianity as another interesting foreign religion that can be used as flavor (similar to Norse and Greek mythology for us). To that end, nothing Japan produces is going to get it completely right, and very seldom (if ever) is Christianity used in a negative way.

As for the comment about School Ghost Stories and the main character who beats people over the head with a Bible or whatever, I'll just say that even in America that's going to be the stereotypical representation of a Christian. So who's to blame here, the people who wrote this series for making Christians look like that, or ourselves for looking like that?

*ding, ding, ding* Radical Dreamer has it exactly. Any portrayal of the world that is, really, will have some elements that we may not agree with, whether we're talking about atheism or buddhism or people drinking Pepsi when we favor Coca-Cola (flip/replace beverages as you like) - the simple fact is that if I look for a depiction of life that contains only elements with which I agree, all I end up with is an idealized image of myself.

For me, the key is the attitude in which Christians/Christianity is portrayed. Like Nate said, to the Japanese (at least those creating anime and manga), Christianity is a cool mythological fountainhead for ideas, not necessarily a philosophy to be considered.

Someone else (I forget who) mentioned earlier in this thread that there's a difference between being antagonistic towards Christianity (which I think to be the case with NGE, but that's just me) and misunderstanding/misrepresenting it (which is why I have no qualms about KKJ--yes, the view of God is extremely screwed up, but I don't think it was done maliciously). To me, that is the key question: did they mean to mock it, or is it stemming from a miscommunication/misunderstanding of the truth of God?