Is Anime Demonic?

DrHuk&Duck

DrHuk&Duck

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We have a very good family friend whose daughter got really obsessed with anime over the past few years, everything from the comic books to the cartoons to the collectibles. We noticed that as she got more and more into it, her personality changed and she became more “goth.” We started to feel almost uneasy around her; quite frankly we questioned whether she was under the influence of some type of demonic spirit.

Interestingly enough, in conversing with her dad recently, he mentioned his now high school daughter had just gotten saved, despite being in church her entire life. I mentioned to him our past concerns about his daughter’s obsession with anime and it being potentially Satanic, and he laughed and said it was interesting that I mentioned that, because his daughter had recently told him that in one room of the house where she had a lot of those items from when she was was a couple years younger, she always felt like there was a demon or spirit in the room. I don’t think they ever connected it to specifically the anime, but they were wondering what it could be.
 
When I went through high school, I saw many kids like that. I really do think it’s just a harmless obsession, and eventually she’s going to grow out of it.

It isn’t something new, and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a full-grown adult loaded up with anime garb.
 
By the Book said:
When I went through high school, I saw many kids like that. I really do think it’s just a harmless obsession, and eventually she’s going to grow out of it.

It isn’t something new, and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a full-grown adult loaded up with anime garb.
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I hope you’re correct. I posted one of the rather harmless pictures of anime, but they can get very dark and disturbing, enough that I won’t post here.
 
Anime is like any other genre of entertainment. It can be used for any purpose a creator desires. It's used in porn, it's often used for dark "adult" themed "entertainment" nowadays.

Early examples of anime were Gigantor and Speed Racer, cartoons that were definitely better suited for youth.

Like any genre, it's neutral. It can be used for all age appropriate entertainment or it can be used for nefarious purposes, like Gigantor.
 
I would like to say a whole lot more on the subject that I’m going to, but I’ll just say this, I don’t like it nor the edgy darkness that it often drapes itself in.
 
abcaines said:
Anime is like any other genre of entertainment. It can be used for any purpose a creator desires. It's used in porn, it's often used for dark "adult" themed "entertainment" nowadays.

Early examples of anime were Gigantor and Speed Racer, cartoons that were definitely better suited for youth.

Like any genre, it's neutral. It can be used for all age appropriate entertainment or it can be used for nefarious purposes, like Gigantor.
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You make some good points. When she initially got into the anime stuff at around age 10, it seemed very innocent and cutesy, such as drawings of people and animals with big eyes, colorful hair, etc. But by the time she was 13, it had become dark, demonic and monster like material. This happened to be around the same time she became goth and apparently announced she’s “bisexual.” I’m glad a year later I’m hearing she’s slowly phasing away from the anime and is becoming interested in church again. I still believe there’s a connection between her obsession with the dark anime and the other items. I can’t help but wonder if the early, non threatening anime works as almost a gateway drug to the darker anime genre.
 
Is anime demonic? A complex question. The answer is "yes, " but with qualifications.

Personally, I like a fair number of anime series. I'm not really a Japanophile as such; but I've found entertainment value in Japanese media such as movies or TV, probably more than the average person whose exposure to anime is more or less limited to Sailor Moon or Dragonball.

Japan is not a Western nation. Their national religion is Shinto, meaning that culturally at least, most Japanese are operational animists, believing spirits reside everywhere and in everything. Their entertainment reflects that worldview, far more than typical Wesern television reflects Christian values: anime is filled with gods, supernatural beings, and good and evil spirits that are just simply part of the world. Characters will go to shrines to ask for good fortune in finding money or romance. In that worldview, that just simply works.

By contrast Christianity is outside of the Japanese mainstream; only around 1% of Japanese are Christians. There's a historical reason for this: during the Edo period, Japan pursued an isolationist policy with respect to the West, and part of the reason was specifically to keep out Christian missionaries and their perceived corrupting influence. So Christianity is as exotic to the Japanese as Shintoism is to North Americans. In many anime, Christian churches (especially Catholic ones) take the same place as a "weird New Age cult" might in Western programs.

Be aware that Japanese broadcast standards are different from ours; there may be more latitude with respect to depictions of nudity, sexuality, or harsh language. And what is relatively tame on TV might be presented uncensored on streaming sites or DVD.

So on the one hand, don't uncritically evaluate the details through a Christian interpretive grid. Are there demons? Sure. But by the internal logic of the program, they're not necessarily fallen angels. They could be spirits inhabiting the natural world, consistent with Japanese mythology, maybe good, maybe evil, maybe even the hero. But the creators are probably not trying to be satanic.

But on the other hand, be disecerning: you will discover things that are un-Christian or at odds with Christian morality. Judge whether you want to expose yourself or your children to those.
 
As a child, I only got into Dragon Ball Z, but the extent of demonic material was very limited. Honestly, some of this stuff is no different than Jackie Chan movies.

I don’t have kids, and it looks like I’m not ever going to have kids, so I’m not in a position to give parenting advice. I’ll only say that if she’s not out of that game by around 18, then it might be a cause for concern.
 
By the Book said:
As a child, I only got into Dragon Ball Z, but the extent of demonic material was very limited.
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And yet Dragonball is loosely based on Journey to the West, a Chinese novel about a Buddhist monk and his three companions, who are monsters, travelling to India in search of sacred texts. Along the way, they have to battle demons in pretty much every chapter. Buddhist rather than Shinto, but still coming from a worldview in which there are spirits everywhere.
 
By the Book said:
I’ll only say that if she’s not out of that game by around 18, then it might be a cause for concern.
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I wouldn’t expect kids to be heavily into anime at 18 or older, but the point is, what has the dark anime from their younger years led the now 18 year old kids into.
 
Ransom said:
Is anime demonic? A complex question. The answer is "yes, " but with qualifications.

Personally, I like a fair number of anime series. I'm not really a Japanophile as such; but I've found entertainment value in Japanese media such as movies or TV, probably more than the average person whose exposure to anime is more or less limited to Sailor Moon or Dragonball.

Japan is not a Western nation. Their national religion is Shinto, meaning that culturally at least, most Japanese are operational animists, believing spirits reside everywhere and in everything. Their entertainment reflects that worldview, far more than typical Wesern television reflects Christian values: anime is filled with gods, supernatural beings, and good and evil spirits that are just simply part of the world. Characters will go to shrines to ask for good fortune in finding money or romance. In that worldview, that just simply works.

By contrast Christianity is outside of the Japanese mainstream; only around 1% of Japanese are Christians. There's a historical reason for this: during the Edo period, Japan pursued an isolationist policy with respect to the West, and part of the reason was specifically to keep out Christian missionaries and their perceived corrupting influence. So Christianity is as exotic to the Japanese as Shintoism is to North Americans. In many anime, Christian churches (especially Catholic ones) take the same place as a "weird New Age cult" might in Western programs.

Be aware that Japanese broadcast standards are different from ours; there may be more latitude with respect to depictions of nudity, sexuality, or harsh language. And what is relatively tame on TV might be presented uncensored on streaming sites or DVD.

So on the one hand, don't uncritically evaluate the details through a Christian interpretive grid. Are there demons? Sure. But by the internal logic of the program, they're not necessarily fallen angels. They could be spirits inhabiting the natural world, consistent with Japanese mythology, maybe good, maybe evil, maybe even the hero. But the creators are probably not trying to be satanic.

But on the other hand, be disecerning: you will discover things that are un-Christian or at odds with Christian morality. Judge whether you want to expose yourself or your children to those.
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I don’t recall any type of Japanese anime when I was watching cartoons as a kid in the 80s. If it existed, I’m unaware. I do recall that I was allowed to watch most cartoons, but a couple were off limits. The only two I can recall are the Smurfs and He-Man. I’ve never asked why those were off limits, and I doubt my parents would recall the reasoning so many years later, but researching it now, apparently the Smurfs were tied to the 1980s “Satanic Panic,” though perhaps unfairly. My guess is He-Man was related more to depictions of violence.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I don’t recall any type of Japanese anime when I was watching cartoons as a kid in the 80s. If it existed, I’m unaware. I do recall that I was allowed to watch most cartoons, but a couple were off limits. The only two I can recall are the Smurfs and He-Man. I’ve never asked why those were off limits, and I doubt my parents would recall the reasoning so many years later, but researching it now, apparently the Smurfs were tied to the 1980s “Satanic Panic,” though perhaps unfairly. My guess is He-Man was related more to depictions of violence.
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Anime has been around since the late 50s/early 60s. I used to watch Gigantor and Speed Racer, both from the 60s. Anime was definitely an underground genre in the 80s which is probably when it took on much of its dark image.
 
abcaines said:
Anime has been around since the late 50s/early 60s. I used to watch Gigantor and Speed Racer, both from the 60s. Anime was definitely an underground genre in the 80s which is probably when it took on much of its dark image.
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I think you’re exactly right. I’ve been doing some research and it does seem like anime took a backseat to the more western style cartoons during my childhood cartoon years. I know by the time Pokémon came out in the US, I was probably near the end of high school or just graduated. That’s really the first I remember of anime. I didn’t know it was a thing well before I was born.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I don’t recall any type of Japanese anime when I was watching cartoons as a kid in the 80s. If it existed, I’m unaware.
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Japanese programs really started exploding in popularity in the West during the 1990s, but there were still a number of anime series that were adapted for, and broadcast in the West in the 1980s or earlier:

  • Astro Boy
  • Voltron
  • Robotech
  • Star Blazers
  • Battle of the Planets
  • Speed Racer
Most were in syndication, so not necessarily available everywhere. But when I was a kid in about grade 3 or 4, everyone rushed home after school to watch Battle of the Planets (which I learned later was a heavily bowdlerized adaptation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman--still one of my favourites , at least in the original). A few years later my sister was doing the same for Inspector Gadget, which was actually French and Canadian, but the animation was done in Japan, and it shows. Astro Boy was also on, and although I didn't see Voltron or Battletech, there was a line of related action figures imported from Japan and sold under the name Shogun Warriors.
 
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Ransom said:
Japanese programs really started exploding in popularity in the West during the 1990s, but there were still a number of anime series that were adapted for, and broadcast in the West in the 1980s or earlier:

  • Astro Boy
  • Voltron
  • Robotech
  • Star Blazers
  • Battle of the Planets
  • Speed Racer
Most were in syndication, so not necessarily available everywhere. But when I was a kid in about grade 3 or 4, everyone rushed home after school to watch Battle of the Planets (which I learned later was a heavily bowdlerized adaptation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman--still one of my favourites , at least in the original). A few years later my sister was doing the same for Inspector Gadget, which was actually French and Canadian, but the animation was done in Japan, and it shows. Astro Boy was also on, and although I didn't see Voltron or Battletech, there was a line of related action figures imported from Japan and sold under the name Shogun Warriors.
Click to expand...
I believe Inspector Gadget was my main go-to cartoon, though I see it stopped syndicating in 1985, so I probably watched a year or two of reruns. 1765126961980.gif
 
This was one of my favorites growing up, but technically not an anime. Aired on Cartoon Network, by the same creator of Dexter’s Laboratory.

IMG_0005.webp
 
abcaines said:
It seems to take stylistic tones from anime.
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True of a lot of animation over the last, say, 20 years. There are programs you might reasonably think were Japanese, but aren't (e.g. Avatar: The Last Airbender).
 
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