I was thinking the other day that it may seem like I am always vetting every single thing my younger son watches and he is always asking to watch things that aren’t appropriate for his age (in my view).
That really isn’t the whole story.
Yes, I do pre-screen many things to see if they are okay for him to watch.
And yes, he does ask to watch things that aren’t appropriate for him at times.
But there is much more that he watches.
One Piece
Among his favorites is the sprawling epic of Monkey D Luffy and crew. I have barely watched this show. I’ve seen it when it is on and have watched one of the movies, but never have dedicated any time to the show myself. Now I know it is a bit fan-service-y and there is some cursing, but over all this is a title that I never felt like I had to restrict (or just never did).
Fairy Tail
Lucy joins the magical guild Fairy Tail and encounters Natsu who is on his quest to find the dragon, Igneel. Much like One Piece, it is a long form anime with many characters and long story arcs (not as long as One Piece mind you). It has many of the same qualities as One Piece, but probably less cursing that I’ve noticed (although I could be completely wrong on this). My son loves it. Watches it. A dedicated fan.
Naruto
To me it was the show where the kid (Naruto) is always yelling for some reason. I didn’t watch it. My younger son, however, dedicated a lot of time to catching up to the entire show this year (in all of it’s incarnations). I never felt like he needed to be steered away from this title.
And now for the “cute” stuff…
My younger son likes “cute” shows. He really does. and this makes some viewing even easier since there are rarely things that I find objectionable in these shows.
Love Live!
A show about school idols (singing group). I never watched it, and never felt like I should have to. His older brother had already watched some of it and would have said if it was bad in any way. He really loves his idol shows.
AKB0048
Idols fighting for freedom in space and singing. What’s not a 12 year old to like? This is a favorite of his and he owns both seasons, thank you very much. I actually was the one who introduced him to this show and I was surprised at how much he took to it. The only thing that bugs me about this show (and many anime with teen girls) is how they sit around and have them talk about their breasts. This is such weird fan pandering that is so consistent that it is an accepted part of the landscape of these kinds of shows, but I find it annoying nonetheless.
The Everyday Tales of a Cat God
A goofy comedy about a lazy cat god that gets kicked out of the god’s realm for being too much of a slacker and has to spend time here on earth without many of the special privileges they enjoyed before. It is a silly, cute show. Admittedly, I have not watched much of it. But it seems largely harmless.
Place To Place
A cute,slice of life, school comedy. It’s clever. Well written. Amusing. And very cute. He loves this show. It is his favorite comedy net to Sgt Frog. I have watched a bunch of this show and it is largely good, harmless fun.
So there you have it. Shows I never really said no on or screened too in depth. Sometimes you do need to throw caution to the wind and not assume everything out there is harmful to your child. There is a great amount that is very accessible to younger viewers. These are among his favorites.
Soon I’ll be back to more regular writing I hope.
Thanks for reading.
*I do not own any of the images contained in this post*
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