Is Anime a bad influence? No, it’s just entertainment – Anime Helpful or Hurtful

Anime Helpful or Hurtful

Out of all the topics in the world, the one that really sets me off is the fact that people say anime is a bad influence. I mean really, you Bakas(Idiots in Japanese), anime is just entertainment not an influence. There may be some anime out there that isn’t appropriate for kids, but we are warned if it is or not, by the rating. One man known as Elon Glucklich once said that anime series are, ‘chipping away at our collective moral fiber.’ He also says, ‘Unless something is done to reverse this trend, we’re going to be looking at millions of high school dropouts who don’t see the point in going to college unless it teaches them to capture magic crystals.’ My question is, what collective moral fiber and what crystals. These days we are so addicted to drugs, alcohol, or electronics, and which is the reason why we dropout. Anime is just a way for people to entertain themselves. 

Kids are influenced by them because of one of three reasons; they don’t know the difference between right and wrong, they can’t tell what’s real or not, the parents don’t tell them not to mimic the shows because they aren’t real. Some anime warns us not to sit too close to the TV and watch with the lights on. Other than the one episode of Pokemon that caused seizures, they have been careful to make sure it doesn’t happen. They also made sure that the animes were given a rating so that kids don’t watch them.

With all the different kinds of anime out there, calling all anime a bad influence is like Saying Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is one. Comedies, Romance, and a whole lot of others pose no threat. What about Popeye the sailor or Tom and Jerry? Are they a bad influence? What about NCIS, CSI, Las Vegas, or Law And Order SVU. Are they a bad Influence? NO! They are all meant to entertain us. Some are comedies while others are serious and violent.

There are the occasional psychopaths who watched anime, but that doesn’t mean you immediately place the blame on anime. In 2013 over in Russia, a couple of parents wanted the manga Death Note to be banned from Russia. Ok I get what they’re saying, their fifteen year old daughter jumped out of a thirteen story building committing suicide and leaving a note by four volumes of it. You don’t just jump to the conclusion it was because of it, it probably just happened to be there. Maybe she was being bullied at school and Death Note calmed her down. Maybe it worked to a point where it didn’t work anymore so she killed her self.

Glucklich has no idea what he is saying. If he has seen as many anime as I have, he would know that all they are is entertainment. He needs to do research on both sides of the subject before he makes an assumption. If you assume, then you are making an a** out of you and me, as the word implies.  One person on yahoo answers known as GREYSNIGHT said, ‘It is different age groupings and the anime they give to America is nothing like the ones in Japan or even like the mangas. If you have a small child you should start with old Pokemon. I wouldn’t let a seven year old to watch Naruto or anything on the anime network channel. But it is all about the ratings and if its straight from Japan or has been dubbed in America.’

With all the negative attention anime is getting, people see it as bad or inappropriate in various ways. There are anime known as hentai(won’t go into detail) that go with that negative connotation. But not all anime is like that or disgusting in that same way. My main question is why, why do people instantly think all anime is bad or inappropriate. With shows like Queen’s Blade, a fan service anime(Which I don’t recommend), give shows like Itazura na Kiss, a romance, a bad reputation.

Elon Glucklich is man who is like everybody else, someone who only sees the negative connotations in these shows, and instantly blames anime. Glucklich needs to find a hobby and shutup. People like him are society’s way of rejecting something that it doesn’t understand. So to those who are like that I have one thing to say, pack your bags and go live on the moon you heartless bastards.

Anime is not a bad influence on people and doesn’t harm them. They are meant for entertainment and nothing else. If people are influenced, then they don’t know what they are doing and weren’t taught what is between fiction and reality. So in conclusion anime is not harmful or helpful in any way shape or form.