Gaurav Rathore
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With the ever-growing influence of anime, it wouldn’t be surprising if your kid parrots anime-anime day and night. However, it might get you wondering what anime truly means.
Anime is a specific type of animation that originated in Japan but has now become a household entertainment subgenre, enjoyed by both teens and adults alike.
To uncover more about anime, jump straight into the blog and learn what it means, its origin, subculture, etc. So, let’s get going!
Quick Answer:
Anime is a specific type of animation originating from Japan, usually aimed at adults and children. These creative works often range from kid-friendly content to sexually explicit imagery, and thus, might pose some risks to children.
Anime is a style of animation originating from Japan that is typically aimed at both adults and children. This style of work is often characterized by striking color graphics, carefully plotted characters, action-packed plots, and futuristic or fantastical themes.
The ‘anime’ word, pronounced as AH-nee-may, is a shortened term for the Japanese word ‘animēshon’, which translates to animation.
Undoubtedly, anime is extremely popular in Japan; however, the thing to note is that the US is the second-leading country with the most anime fans (otaku), followed by the Philippines.
The roots of anime can be traced back to the early 20th century. During the mid-1930s, animations were a well-established alternative to the live-action industry.
However, it was only in the 1960s that anime started to gain some attention from the Japanese people, which later spread to other countries.
In the 1980s, it gained favorable attention in the United States and became the golden age of anime, which gave rise to many beloved titles, such as Dragonball Z, Captain Tsubasa, and one of the most popular creations to this date, Studio Ghibli.
Later, in the 1990s, it started to become mainstream because of inventions like DVD technology and the Internet, which made it easier for otakus to get hold of famous anime and their dubbed and subbed versions.
Anime has a pretty dedicated and strong fan base, which is widely known as the anime subculture, or ‘Otaku’ (a term for people dedicated to anime and manga).
This subculture includes people with a deep love for the Japanese culture and their works, like manga and anime. Otakus are truly passionate about anime and the characters; hence, they often participate in events, like conventions, cosplays, and fan fiction.
Unsurprisingly, the subculture also has anime magazines (Anime Insider Otaku USA), video games (Sword Art Online), and anime music videos (Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits), especially aimed at avid anime lovers.
Kids use anime to refer to Japanese animation with vibrant characters, colorful styles, and complex plots with striking similarities to ‘Sci-fi’.
Here is a list of examples of how your teen might be using anime in conversations, so let’s take a look!
Whether an anime is appropriate or not solely depends on the content it shows kids.
Anime is an art form that is similar to live-action movies and paintings. However, anime productions have various genres, ranging from kid-friendly to sexually explicit.
With over 1,000 episodes where every episode leaves you on a cliffhanger, it can become an inseparable addiction for kids.
Not only that, kids may find it hard to comprehend which anime is kid-friendly or which is not, which increases their chances of coming across bloody or violent scenes or pornographic content.
As these creative works often feature profane language and obscene imagery, I recommend you adopt some preventive measures to protect your child. Here, I’ve listed some safety tips, so let’s take a look!
Check the age rating of the series your kid’s planning to watch, and proceed only when it fits their age. However, these ratings are often inaccurate; hence, you must check out the genre to learn whether it includes sexual or violent undertones.
If you are worried about the possibility of mature scenes, you can sit with your child to watch it together. It will be a good parent-child activity that will allow you to learn more about your child.
To prevent addiction and the possibility of being subjected to mature content, you can install parental control on your teen’s device.
As a responsible parent, you must set clear boundaries for your child’s screen time. However, you must avoid being demanding and forceful; otherwise, it might upset your angsty tween.
Anime can be a good source for your child to gain cultural knowledge and can offer your child a deep understanding of the concepts of life.
However, it is only possible when the anime matches your teen’s maturity level. Thus, I recommend that parents put extra care into the content their child watches.
Anime is considered different from cartoons as it has visually distinct features for characters and has more limited movements.
Anime is used to refer to a specific type of Japanese animation.
Although a good deal of anime is child-friendly, some have mature themes that might be unsuitable for kids.
Anime refers to animated works originating from Japan, while manga refers to Japanese comic books or graphic novels.
