Questionable Anime (no fighting please)

Postby **Psycho Ann** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 11:10 am

I had this anime in mind for the "titles you won't see" thread that got locked before I could get there ^^;;

Anyway, I watched all the episodes (I think it's around 13 episodes) again a while back (a year? So sorry if my review isn't that accurate, I'm going by memory) and the bottom line is.... STAY AWAY.

Summary : Vampire themed anime. That alone should have you eyeing the anime warily from a distance. In short, a British Protestant organization known as Hellsing protects the unknowing human citizens from the terrors of the undead. The leader is the strong Sir Integra/Integral Wingates Hellsing and she (yes, SHE) has a "secret weapon" in dealing with the undead... a powerful vampire named Alucard.

The anime revolves around the mystery of FREAKS; "fake" vampires made by a mysterious group from magic infused microchips that are inserted into humans. There's also a rivalry between Hellsing and Iscariot (the Catholic Roman based "un-dead hunting" organization).

Iscariot is the "bad guy" in a sense here, so Catholics might object heavily... But with the amount of occultic stuff fused with both Protestant and Catholic teachings we all should shake our heads at this one. We have another "crazy" priest here, one that would make Wolfwood look like your friendly neighborhood pastor. Anderson is violent, ruthless, and INSANE.

It's actually a high quality anime with great art, voice acting, soundtrack, cool characters (go Integra!), and the plotline is actually kinda original.

Once you take out the excessive violence, gore, explicit language, occultist stuff, nudity, sexual adult situations, frequent wrong uses of "Jesus Christ", and bashing between Protestant and Catholic fractions, ...... it's a good anime.

Personally I loved the opening and ending songs and as an anime fan I find it very well done--but as a Christian.... Well. That's another story.

Postby **Stephen** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 1:52 pm

Hope you dont mind that i changed the title Ann. :sweat:

I think its nice having a thread where people can warn others of anime they have seen that others might want to avoid. Some guidelines though...if you have an issue with something someone said...PM them...lets not turn this into a debate. If you don't agree with someone, its not wrong to state your opinion....however arguing won't be tolerated. I think with maturity...this thread can work just fine. Personaly, as far as Animes I have seen that I would say to avoid....I would say Ninja Scroll. While some love the art...there is too much nastyness to redeem it.

Postby **Psycho Ann** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 2:21 pm

It's okay Shatterheart! ^^ I was just a bit confused where the thread gone to :grin:

Then I saw my name beside 'Questionable Anime' and I actually thought to myself, "Hey... I don't recall making that thread!" :lol:

(I'm slow in the afternoons)

Ninja Scroll... Hm, I'd say Ninja Resurrection goes into that category too.

Ah, I'd also advise to stay away from most vampire animes like Vampire Hunter D, Vampire Princess Miyu (though this one isn't as graphic as the others), and Blood : The Last Vampire.

Vampire Hunter D : Whoa, watched it when I was still in my early Junior High days :sweat:

Violence, gore, nudity, language, and occult themes.

Vampire Princes Miyu : I watched it during my Junior High too... can't really remember much but I recall violence and gore.

Blood : I admit honestly that this is one of my fav anime. The whole atmosphere of the anime is immensely well done. The graphics and overall quality is also superb. But again, the usual apply--violence, gore, nudity, very slight language and the main character's hatred for God.

But Hellsing is the most disturbing from all so far (that I've seen).

Postby **Enrico Maxwell** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 10:56 pm

I find it fascinating that you suggest for people to stay away from certain anime with questionable themes while at the same time saying you enjoyed them. What are the criteria here?

From a purely Christian viewpoint, anime such as Earthian and Angel Sanctuary, which portray "angels" in sexually questionable ways, would seem obvious ones to miss. (Of course, Genesis also mentions angels in a sexually questionable light. =P) Series such as Yu Yu Hakusho, which deal with a wholly-unchristian view of the afterlife, would also be inappropriate, yes?

While Hellsing may not be appropriate for the squeamish or the unsure in their faith, I don't think it is necessary to write it off entirely. I found it somewhat surprising to see a main character as forthright in her faith as Integra. The soldiers of Hellsing are constantly praying before going into battle as well. The portrayal of Anderson is rather intense, but I don't think it was entirely wrong. (And yes, I'm Catholic. ^^) I do think that we have to take an active role in combatting Satan. Perhaps not quite so active as Anderson, but I'm not as opposed to it as some others seem to be. That's my take on it, anyway.

Postby **Psycho Ann** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 11:57 pm

Heheh, can't a smoker tell his friends not to smoke less they suffer like him? Something along the lines here. I confess I'm still not strong enough to fully let go of my "worldly roots". I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy the anime--that's for sure. But as someone who thought over the anime in a Christian frame of mind, I find the content best not to be touched.

If a smoker tells his son not to follow in his steps and the son replies, "Well, you're doing it!" I'd like to see it isn't matter of who is doing what. The bottom line is that smoking IS NOT HEALTHY and one should not do it. Regardless the person telling is doing the act or not that really isn't the problem. The son is merely looking for an excuse to take up smoking while re-directing his guilt to his father since "dad's still smoking even if he knows it's bad".

Face it, we're all still swimming in sin here and God made it clear there's no big or small sin. Hehe, eventhough I'm saved, I still can't truly stop sinning (thank Him, He loves us just the same) but I can at least make an effort for others not to follow my path.

The Hellsing plot itself isn't THAT bad, but you really can't ignore the excessive violence, gore, language (especially the episode where Yan curses off Interga with "f" words and threathening to rape her dead body over and over), sexual situations (homosexual in some cases) and others that I can't list completely without taking too much time.

In the end, none of us can force anyone here NOT to watch the anime. But as this thread goes, it serves as a *WARNING*.

Animes like YYH or DBZ or any other Eastern religion type of afterlife actually doesn't do as much "damage" as the ones that "distort" Christian/Catholic religions. I read all the YYH manga (yes, Togashi is one of my fav mangaka) and I regard it as pure fantasy since I KNOW the concept of Eastern afterlife is bull.

The trouble with animes portraying Western beliefs is that it would convey a WRONG message about our faith to the ill-informed. That is more damaging then an anime that has a really ludicrous "afterlife". Westerners aren't prone to easily believe that King Enma would be there to sort people off into heaven or hell (heck, the majority of them DON'T believe in heaven or hell). But they WILL believe that Christians/Catholics are full off corrupted principals.

If that isn't damaging... I don't know what is.

Just my two--uh, HUGE cents :red:

Sorry if I offend anyone >_<

Postby **Ashley** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:18 am

I completely agree with Ann, all the way down to the issue about King Emna being less damaging than the Hellsing crew.
We really are trying to make clear warnings about anime so (hopefully) no one would buy and anime and get hooked, then find it has absolutely horrible stuff in it that no one told them about. Trust me, I've been there and it hurts. It's also hard to give up, like our psycho pointed out.
Yes Alex, we have to be active against Satan, which is why CAA has some projects going on. :grin:

Don't think we're gonna sit around and let Satan claim the anime/manga world for himself without a fair fight! (Well, unfair, considering we'll win eventually.)

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:28 am

General agreement, general agreement.

I'd like to add along with Ashley and Ann that while Satan is the "father of lies" his lies are a good deal more deceptive than pure untruth. He likes to come at you with a message that is essentially truth, and then bend something just a bit. It would be foolish to believe that the devil wouldn't use truth to further his own lies.

Isn't that what the original sin was about? God calls us to be more like him, and at the root of Lucifer's rebellion was an urge to be more like God. And eventually that become the goal to become greater than God. Sure, blatant lies are bad, but also keep a lookout for the tricky little ones.

Postby **Stephen** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 12:09 pm

Originally posted by Alex Anderson
But at least now you know I'm thinking things I won't say before the sensative eyes of this dolling community.

Say what? Care to explain that?

Postby **inkhana** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 12:42 pm

Originally posted by Shatterheart
Say what? Care to explain that?

Yeah, I'm interested in that one myself....

Postby **Will Smith, Jr** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 1:29 pm

Okay, so I took the time to catch up on previous posts on both the threads of animes that are questionable.

What's happening is this - Prov. 27:17 (NIV) "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Or (KJV) "...so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

We are all at different levels of maturity in Christ. The purpose of these posts were simply to challenge us to examine what we view in light of our relationship with Christ. As we mature, our level of discernment increases and we are able to see the wool our adversary tries to pull over our eyes and the world's eyes.

So, let's continue to do this in love and let us keep things above the belt.

One more anime to add: If anyone comes to you and says anything about "Legend of the Overfiend," make like Joseph and RUN!!! This is a hardcore hentai series that I was unfamiliar with several years ago and I got burned big time. Totally repugnant and a trap, especially for young men struggling to maintain purity.

To Ash and Shatterheart - Right on! Keep on keepin' on. I'm proud of you guys. Thanks Ann for your review because that blessed me.

I love you, Alliance.

In Christ,
Will

Postby **Gypsy** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 1:37 pm

Crosses Hellsing of her "anime-to-see" list
... oh wait a minute ... it wasn't there to begin with.
Nice review, Ann, it's appreciated.

Postby **Stephen** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 1:38 pm

Good to see you around...be sure and post a lot and stick around ok?:thumb:

Postby **blue elf** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 2:01 pm

I'd just like to add my 2 cents to this thread by saying that I agree with Ann's review of Hellsing. Although I have to admit I haven't seen the whole series. I used to own the first dvd and it did have a lot of gore and adult themes and such. I also agree with the thing about twisting the truth doing more harm than purely fantstic things, like say Inuyasha(heh, anyway:sweat: )
Back to Hellsing, while I liked the animation and the theme I found it a bit too mature at some times for my viewing tastes. I loved Alucards design though, but I'm a sucker :sweat:

for vampires. Ok, I'm done sharing my opinion. Think I'll go crawl back into my cave now.^^
-Lisa

Postby **Psycho Ann** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 3:07 pm

Thank you guys! I'm glad it was of some help ^^

And now, another "questionable" anime. You know, I think I watched more "bad" animes more than clean ones since in Indonesia anime is so easy to obtain and most of them are bad to begin with. Not to mention I used to be a anime fan first and foremost before I got serious with Him. So again, this review is made from memory and might not be completely correct (in technical terms)

Well, this time the anime is called Golden Boy.

Watched all the anime episodes (there's a manga but I didn't read it since it's WAY too graphic) since a friend said it was hilarous. Yes. It is hilarious and I had a hard time breathing from laughing too long.

BUT.

One could really question if the anime isn't hentai (the anime isn't considered to be in that category since it lacks really explicit scenes). The amount of sexual references, nudity, and adult situations is even more outrageous than the Austin Powers series (which I admit I found hilarious too).

Summary : It's mainly the story of a college guy (I forgot his name O_o;; I think it's Kiyoshiro.... or something like that) who goes out into the world to "study" and learn all he can about life. He's a highly emotional person and over dramatizes small things (which add to the humor aspect of the anime). He's dorky and seems like an idiot at first but we soon find out he's a genius and a brilliant martial artist. He's also a PERVERT. In fact, he draws hentai and in the last episodes they show him and an anime animator trading tips on how to draw hentai -__-

He meets various types of women/girls along the way and solves their problems and although all the women/girls hate him at the beginning of the episodes--he manages to make them lust/love him by the end to which he ends up leaving. The "accumulation" of these women serve a purpose in the last episodes when he saves a small animation company from ruining their last movie.

Good things : It teaches you--in a way--about not judging others from appearances or even first impressions. Never giving up. And... um... gee, I think that's it.

Bad things : I don't even know where to start. There's hardly any violence or gore but the R-rated material is staggering. Really REALLY not an anime to watch less you want to slip and slide into temptation. Regard it as hardcore hentai--run.

Postby **Psycho Ann** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 3:27 pm

Wow, two from me! Again, I watched all the episodes and not the manga (which has a drastically different plot from what I hear).

Excel Saga the anime is--whacked.

It's basically a spoof of nearly every genre of anime from sci-fi, horror, shoujo, shonen, sports, action, drama and even spoofing dating simulation games with the characters from the Excel Saga manga.

It's one of those animes that you have to keep your eyes glue to the screen unless you miss a joke and if you're watching the subs--a skill to read VERY fast is needed since the main char, Excel, has this rapid-fire non-stop way of rambling contiously. I praise her seiyuu for being able to spout PARAGRAPHS in ONE breath O_O

The anime has no point really, just pure, undiluted humor. At first the humor is clean and just insanely funny (I laughed to that point where you CAN'T laugh anymore). Whatever violence is either overly exaggerated to a point that it takes on a "Tom and Jerry" effect or made so--so--stupid that there's isn't time to object to it since you're probably rolling around on the floor in tears.

But be warned, it seems that the director (Shinichi Watanabe--who cameo himself in every episode as Nabeshin along with the original manga author, Rikudo) got more "brave" in the later episodes and the humor ended up with more and more sexual material.

Also, if you managed to get hold of the true last episode special--don't watch. It's basically an episode where the makers stuff anything they weren't allowed to put in on television. They purposely made it EXTREMELY gorey (they even spoofed their own opening sequence by adding blood here and there), much nudity, and much adult situations (which includes a distasteful scene between a girl and a pedophile scientist). Think something on the lines of the South Park movie.

Excel Saga is a must for those who like a good laugh but I recommend you only watch it if you're okay with ceasing to watch after the episodes take a turn for the worse.

Or better, don't watch at all less you fall into temptation to keep watching :lol:

Postby **Gypsy** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:38 am

I've read a couple reviews for Golden Boy in Animerica, but none of them mentioned how adult this series was - they only stressed the humor involved. And I've wondered about Excel Saga a few times, but the previews I've seen were just too weird for me to be interested enough to persue actually watching it. Thanks again, Ann!

Postby **Enrico Maxwell** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 9:03 am

I've read a couple reviews for Golden Boy in Animerica, but none of them mentioned how adult this series was

That's odd. Normally when I see reviews for series like this, the review is quite obvious about the "ecchi content". (Or course, usually the reviewer is putting those aspects forward in a positive light...)

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 9:09 am

That's one reason I'm grateful for the anime reviews this site offers. Other producers aren't gaurenteed to mention everything a Christian would find objectionable, much less some darker themes. Thanks especially to Ann, but also to all the other people who take the time to review.

First, Ban all the Trolls. . . · Postby **MillyFan** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:44 am

Originally posted by Psycho Ann
I had this anime in mind for the "titles you won't see" thread that got locked before I could get there ^^;;

Anyway, I watched all the episodes (I think it's around 13 episodes) again a while back (a year? So sorry if my review isn't that accurate, I'm going by memory) and the bottom line is.... [B]STAY AWAY.

Summary : Vampire themed anime. That alone should have you eyeing the anime warily from a distance. In short, a British Protestant organization known as Hellsing protects the unknowing human citizens from the terrors of the undead. The leader is the strong Sir Integra/Integral Wingates Hellsing and she (yes, SHE) has a "secret weapon" in dealing with the undead... a powerful vampire named Alucard.

The anime revolves around the mystery of FREAKS; "fake" vampires made by a mysterious group from magic infused microchips that are inserted into humans. There's also a rivalry between Hellsing and Iscariot (the Catholic Roman based "un-dead hunting" organization).

Iscariot is the "bad guy" in a sense here, so Catholics might object heavily... But with the amount of occultic stuff fused with both Protestant and Catholic teachings we all should shake our heads at this one. We have another "crazy" priest here, one that would make Wolfwood look like your friendly neighborhood pastor. Anderson is violent, ruthless, and INSANE.

It's actually a high quality anime with great art, voice acting, soundtrack, cool characters (go Integra!), and the plotline is actually kinda original.

Once you take out the excessive violence, gore, explicit language, occultist stuff, nudity, sexual adult situations, frequent wrong uses of "Jesus Christ", and bashing between Protestant and Catholic fractions, ...... it's a good anime.

Personally I loved the opening and ending songs and as an anime fan I find it very well done--but as a Christian.... Well. That's another story. [/B]

Hey, thanks for the review-that's one series I won't be interested in:sweat:

Oh, by the way, there is this *strange* crossover fanfic at fanfiction.net where the cops from Law and Order are arresting Anderson and Wolfwood for murder. It would have been an interesting fic except that the writer was incredibly bad technically as a writer (I'm talking, "wonder how this person passed 9th grade" bad) and tried to make up for it by basically turning it into a gorefest.

Postby ***Bonbon*** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 2:39 pm

that is what i'm about to do to my computer if it shuts down agine!!!!!!:comp:

Excel Saga only watch it EDDITED
there got out the needed info

little Blood;tring to kill her own animator;swearing;and she dies in the first 5 min. when a smoking univers brings her back to life so the story can go on. there more details on the next message

Postby **Destroyer2000** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 7:29 pm

I watched Hellsing from around Episode 9 or so to the end. It was interesting, and Alucard was cool, but not in a good way. I dunno how to say it...it's just like some tough guy thing that makes you seem awesome. I can imagine Alucard VS Sephiroth. Anyway, Hellsing, the f word use in it was done in America by the American translators to 'Americanize' it and a good job they did. One character had that word, not to mention other choice words, coming out every breath. The occultic content is high, and so is the gore and violence.

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 5:25 am

At this point I've actually seen a fair amount of it, and more or less agree with what Ann said. While it is pretty nonChristian, the Catholic Protestant antagonism of the time was certainly realistic, as was the level of actual piety of those involved.

Postby **true_noir_chloe** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 9:43 am

Ann, I'm a fan. Huh, you were right on all levels of Hellsing and Excel Saga. Although, I have to admit, I couldn't stop enjoying Excel Saga. The jokes on every anime ever created, it seemed, were just fun to watch. I'd say, if you can take it, rent it and watch it just to listen to how fast Excel talks. As you said, the last episodes, were bad, very bad. Hellsing, is a well-done anime, from an artist's viewpoint. It has fantastic music and I have the soundtrack. But, everything you said about Hellsing and Excel Saga were right on, and I appreciate your candid comments.

Postby **Psycho Ann** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 3:13 pm

This thread... is still alive? ^^;; Lol, thanks, I'm glad I can help out a bit ^^

And yeah, Excel Saga is addictive huh? It's just so bizzare you can't take your eyes off ^^;;;

Postby **Mithrandir** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 3:48 pm

Yikes. Yeah, I remember seeing this thread a looooong time ago. Hmm... Does this win the "oldest resurected thread" award?

Postby **Straylight** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 6:33 pm

I think it does. This appeared two weeks after the "new" forums went up... it is indeed an ancient thread.

Postby **Technomancer** » Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:36 pm

Neat. Thread necromancy!

[Altered Beast]Rise From Your Grave![/Altered Beast]

Postby **Da Rabid Duckie** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 8:48 pm

Shouldn't that be "Wise from Yoah Gwave?"

Anyway, I really like the idea of this thread, because I'm heaaaavily encourage constant vigilance about any media and especially informing people about content they should avoid. I'm glad it got bumped up, as I plan on contributing often. :p

Speaking of contributing, avoid Ikkitousen at all costs. It sounds like a great idea, but my goodness... fan service doesn't begin to explain the content of this show. Every three minutes there is at least three of the following: panty shots, jiggling, flapping skirts, torn shirts, bra shots, and side torso shots that focus heavily on the upper chest or cleavage. I mean, even the animation that plays in the middle of an episode (you know, the one before and after a commercial break) is a closeup of a tattoo on schoolgirl's backside. I couldn't stomach more than three episodes of the series. This is EASILY the most blatant fan service show I've ever seen. *shudders*

Postby **Bobtheduck** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 9:50 pm

Wow... This is an OLD thread, so maybe I won't comment on some of the things in here that were said before I got here, and could have changed (made that mistake in a thread for another anime that got resurrected...)

Excel Saga is fine up till the ropponmatsu episode... I think that's ep sixteen... But, then 17 is hillariously funny (but only subtitled and only if you're a fan of the original Japanese Sailormoon) It's best to watch the show subtitled.

Goldenboy: One of those things I'm really ashamed to have watched... And, the worst thing is, it IS funny. I did laugh, but I felt very guilty for it... Plus, in the purely technical details, the most detailed part of the animation was in the nasty fanservice... Funny, because the "total idiot who's actually a genius" is an ok plot device, if given a good plot (the whole plot circled around fanservice and that one device in this show)

Hellsing: Never saw it... Never wanted to.

I'm not really sure about this one, but I was really into "Jungle wa itsumo hare nochi guu" until the doctor had a larger role... He made me really uncomfortable, and I didn't know if I wanted to finish it... I may check it out if a friend gets it on DVD or something... May not... (excel had a similar thing, that was actually worse... *shiver* Of course "rorikon" is a big problem in Japan... It makes sense that a show making fun of it's own (Japanese) culture would have to have that in there...)

Postby **Kenchii** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:50 pm

Hellsing is one of my favorite mangas of all time. ...

Questionable Anime (no fighting please)

Hellsing

Golden Boy

Excel Saga

Re: Hellsing

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