Day: February 8, 2015

What My 11 Year Old Watches Part 1

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Part of my main purpose of starting this blog was to not only express a few thoughts as an anime fan, but to also provide parents with a few tools before they let their child watch a show. Rather than try to rate a show by age or other guideline I decided to just list a few things that parents may (or may not) find offensive so they can make their own decision.  Everyone’s sensibilities are different.

Today I decided to list some of what my 11 year old watches. This is not a suggestion for you, but just what I have (rightly or wrongly)  let him watch.

The long form shows

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Naruto and Fairy Tail. I am not a fan of long, ongoing shows myself (I am too impatient, I like my stories wrapped up), but he likes them. Aside from some fighting, one may object to some skimpy clothing in Fairy Tail, but these shows are largely fine.

Still Airing

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Sailor Moon Crystal. The reboot of the classic Sailor Moon anime which is supposed to more closely follow the original manga. He kind of resisted watching this at first, but when he finally did, he really got into it. There is very little that is objectionable here.

The Most Objectionable on this list

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Sword Art Online. One could argue that there are some dark themes and violence, but I don’t think any permanent damage will be dealt upon his psyche. Plus he will have a better idea of what to do if trapped in a immersive video game than non-anime viewers.

The Best Comedy

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Sgt. Frog. Good god is this show funny! The English dub is what I am referring to as well. The original, Japanese show contained a lot of topical and pop culture references, so when it was dubbed by Funimation they re-worked it for an American audience. This is one show where the dub is better.  There are a few off color jokes, but no worse than you’d see on The Simpsons or Bob’s Burgers. Watch this show. It is too fun!

It Had Tanks

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Girls und Panzer. It has cute girls driving tanks. What is not to like for an 11 year old boy? Nothing really objectionable in this show.

The Biggest Surprise

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AKB0048. Pop idol group fighting to bring their music to entertainment restricted planets using the power of hope and mechas. A flimsy premise, but enjoyable nonetheless. It was a way to further promote Japanese pop idol group, AKB48, but as long as you accepted that fact it was fun enough. My son really got into it. Singing the songs, dancing along. It surprised me how much he liked it. It is a largely harmless show. The only thing that irked me, which shows up in many school based anime as well, was the obsession around body image and dieting. I know this is a reflection Japanese culture, but I know esteem around weight and body image can be a real problem for many people. Keep that in mind. And if you watch it with your kid, have conversations around this subject if it is a concern for you.

These are a few of the shows he’s watched and enjoyed. There are more, there will always be more.

Why Babymetal??? Because. That is all.

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I admit it. I like Babymetal. It is not all that surprising: I like metal. I like j-pop. Why not like the combination of these two things.

Babymetal formed as an offshoot of the female idol group, Sakura Gakuin. The producer, “Kobametal”, wanted a way to feature Suzuka Nakamoto’s (Su-metal) vocals and thus came the idea for Babymetal. With two back up singers/ dancers Moametal and Yuimetal to provide contrast along with an extremely talented backing band you now have this powerhouse of j-pop vocals over brutal technical metal.

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And it has worked….

But can they win over metal fans? I would say: to some degree: Yes! They played (successfully at Sonisphere without getting booed or laughed out of the place.

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They have met some of metal’s biggest acts (admittedly they had no idea who they were meeting half of the time).

Babymetal-and-ChthonicWith Taiwanese Death Metal band: Chthonic

babymetal5They recently collaborated with Power Metal band: Dragonforce.

download (7)They met the “nice old men” , Thrash Metal giants: Slayer.

BrylJm3IUAAE4HK As well as another of the “Big Four”: Anthrax.

Oddly (or not) enough they also have toured with Lady Gaga.

Does this have anything to do with anime? No, not really. But I do believe that if AKB48 could have an anime based off of them, so could Babymetal. I somehow envision them fighting demons with the power of metal and j-pop. To whoever develops this idea into a show: you’re welcome.

Listen to Babymetal, love Babymetal. Head-bang and dance. Enjoy, because life is too short to take things to seriously all of the time.

They’re All Lesbians Dad…Accept The Yuri

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At least that is what my 15 year old son said to me…

Puella Magi Madoka Magica was the first “magical girl” anime that I had ever watched. I am glad I did as it remains as one of my favorites.

I was not very familiar with “magical girl” anime, but was aware that it was a sub-genre at the very least.

I had started to watch it once because it was put out by Shaft (also responsible for Bakemonogatari, Mekakucity Actors, and Nisekoi) and I was a fan of their work. I got put off at first during the first episode thinking: “Oh this is going to be too cutesy for me.” So I set it aside.

Several months later I was looking for something to watch while I was folding laundry and thought I’d give it another try. By the third episode I was hooked and my perception was changed (all who have watched the series know why).

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I am not going to say much about the story line except that is about some middle school girls who become magical girls to fight witches. This maybe a dull description, but the show is anything but dull.

The art direction is great and a real joy to watch(complete with Shaft head tilts).

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It also features some great music from Claris and Kalafina.

But is it Yuri??? Maybe, I don’t know or care really. If there were middle school girls in love, it wasn’t illicit or exploitative. I know a lot of fans will say it is (and perhaps the 3rd movie Rebellion sheds some light on this) and that is fine. My son, who is gay, perhaps sees (rightly or wrongly) a relationship that I overlook or downplay. And I think this is good, that he sees something that positively reinforces his worldview.

I highly recommend Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Beautiful art, great story, good music, and Shaft head tilts. What more could one ask for? This is a show I definitely return to.

Attention Parents: There are some dark themes and a few deaths. Also, get through the show a little before getting your kid the cute Kyubey plushie. Just trust me on this.

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And remember …..

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