Usso-M wrote:I agree with the staff at FOTF that if a program corrupts our mind, the God wouldn't want us watching it.
Watching a crystal lewis concert may corrupt some people's minds... And (ok, this is going to kill me to say this) watching eva may not corrupt some people's minds... Actually, more to the point "It is not the things we take into our bodies that make them unclean, but it is what is in our hearts already" and our hearts take what we take in and make us unclean (yeah, I know this verse was talking about FOOD and not entertainment, but I think it applies to entertainment as well.)
It really matter's what we can handle... If watching CB makes you sin, well... Simple answer really, don't watch it... I'm having to cut out a lot of my favorite shows right now because it's dragging me down... That doesn't mean that my neighbor will be sinning by watching the same shows, but if I am, I need to stop... That is what FotF never identifies...
However, God also would like us to have an open mind, don’t you think. Not too open, allowing the Devil to seep in, but not to over generalize and give kids and adults a wrong idea about something. Your site is really helpful for parents and their children as a guide to what the entertainment community throws at us.
However, I am writing to you about an art medium known as anime. You’ve done several reports on anime, and while I think they’re good about telling parents what’s out there, it seems about 90% negative. There are good things about anime too, or more specifically, good programs. Anime isn’t a genre, it’s an art form.
Just like movies have positive things about them, and maybe even a moral or lesson or two, anime can remind us of how God wants us to act, and perhaps teach us a lesson. I bet a show or two can even be linked to a bible passage! [This part sounds reaaaaaaaaly corny, doesn't it}
No anime show or movie is perfect. But I’m willing to sit through some violence and profanity if a show is entertaining and has a positive message. Now, don’t take what I just said the wrong way.
Trust me, they most likely will... Their view is that the message gets diluted by the violence and language, and therefore made not worthwile in most cases (as I said, Two Towers being one of the few exceptions) And, aside from the vioence and language is their view on fantasy (with the very strange exceptions of CS Lewis and Tolkien)
By the way, the "Open mind" terminology is oft used by very liberal politicians and people opposed to Christianity as the only way to heaven (Jesus as the only way to heaven.) "Open Minded" has too much of a negative stigma attatched to it, and that wording will cause a lot of problems... I think really what God wants is for us to truely live how the bible mandates and not how our culture or our heritige or our father's uncle's cousin's view on parts of what the bible said, but mostly european culture that metamorphosised into american culture would mandate... And that is not as easy to state in simple terms as the very dangerous terminology of "Open Minded"
If a show has over 50 profanities, with ton of nudity and blood gushing violence, I probably wouldn’t want to see it. But isn’t that in real life? As we get older, aren’t we mature enough to handle it in small amounts, as long as it’s not gratuitous or obscene?
considering their history, this statement gave them much room to tear down what you said, that you're just being influenced by the "evil anime" or those "pornographic Japanese cartoons."
Also, they have heard the reality argument before and it doesn't phase them... I think a good look at the book of judges may change their minds on the violence issue, but they seem to believe there is a difference between something written and something displayed...
*insert good animes here, which I haven’t gotten to yet*
Grave of the fireflies would be a good start.
More current anime are becoming cleaner, or it would appear so. It seems like several of titles you reviewed are older titles, released by American companies of course. Back in the early 90’s, companies were trying to appeal to a more select, mature audience. Now that anime has blossomed in popularity, a much much wider range of anime is available- ones that I can watch with my mom (Master Keaton) or my little sister (Junkers come here, Sherlock Hound, etc.).
Their paranoia of anime is about the unknown, the wildcard nature... The fact that these "unhip parents" are not going to be cool enough to discover which ones are ok... Basically the argument that most of them are not bad, or some are not bad doesn't fly... It's the unknown factor, the fact they may not know what is what, that's what they target. And that's why, with many parents (though not all, we have some parents here so it's not all christian parents), their argument is concrete and infalliable.
Also, it must be noted that it was not Japan that cleaned up their act, it was the fact that anime got more popular in the US and canada. That meant that PG and PG-13 calibur anime had an opening... See, because it was foreign, the only way to draw people into it was to A. Bring kid stuff and remove all the Japanese culture from it (speed racer, Kimba, Astroboy) or B. Take the most shocking and weird stuff and draw the rebellious, angry, and depressed college age and new millitary recruits who were bored(Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Urutsukidoji, La Blue Girl (the latter two of those four being OFF LIMITS to pretty much every christian...)) There were PG and PG-13 anime the whole time, it's just that they never found their way over here at that time because no one would have watched them in the US because of the stigma attatched to animation.
[quote]That’s all I’ve done so far. Good? Comments? Feel free to quote a part of my letter and, like, criticize it to your hearts content ^^]
I'm scared of that... Scared of what it could mean for me... And other people here, but I made my thoughts known. It's up to you now, I suppose.
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0000403.cfm
Arigato, 
I have no more to say but that I believe FOTF to be rather hypocritical and to be making blanket judgments on all anime and all anime fans. ^sigh^
:lol::lol::lol::lol:
I've heard that the original Japanese version has Satoshi (Ash) cussing a lot, but the American dub does not, and the companies that televise it are very strict on their edits of possible objectionable material (much to the annoyance of some older pokemon fans, but...even so, those things weren't too bad). Pokemon was made for a mainstream audience in Japan, from teens to little kids. Kids are captivated by the cute little animal-creatures in it, and it has some good values to take away. Ash Ketchum displays a great drive to reach his goals and great courage in dire situations. He has a great love for his pokemon, and the series, in that way, teaches kindness to animals. The villains in the series, Team Rocket, are bumbling at best, and are there mainly for comic relief. It's very fun, and the series teaches the value of reaching for your dreams.
