"John W." wrote:

> Now you know darn well when someone says Anime they're not talking
> about Anpanman.

No, you tell me. What does anime mean? When talking about tv anime in
Japan, it is mostly for kids, though one should not generalize anime as
kid's programming (or porn). I don't know where to see tentacle porn on
free tv, and there would still be shows for children featuring child and
teen heroes and heroines, even if there weren't perverts also interested
in them.

> > > My son (5) loves anime, though he's probably only seen one or two
> > > shows/movies.
> >
> > As long as he had other interests, and average social skills, what
> would
> > be wrong with your son watching shows along the lines of Anpanman,
> > Sazae-san, or Chibi Marukochan, or NHK cartoons or children's
> programming?
>
> My sone thinks Anpanman is pretty dumb.

It is simplistic. It was also unique. Perhaps my children's' favorite show
now that they are six and four, is Jusitiriser. My son's obsession with
Pokemon may have ended, thankfully, though I do not blame Pokemon for his
behavior. On the contrary, his love of Pokemon could be used to control
his behavior.

> You seem to be like a lot of folks;

Hardly.

> animation does not equal children's programming no more than
> children's programming equals animation.

Recall it is I pointing that out to Ernest, who generalizes anime as
(tentacle) porn or kiddy shows, while crowing about the significance of
Japanese cinema and the greatness of a literal handful of movies or
directors, as if that somehow made it a more legitimate form of culture or
entertainment.

> Certainly there are good shows out there; but there are some that are
> definitely intended for an older audience

By US standards, probably most. While it is true that tv anime may be
mostly aimed at even preschool children in Japan, that does not mean the
storyline or content treats them like children. In a superhero show,
characters may fight, occasionally bleeding or suffering serious wounds.
Friends argue. A new villain who commits some atrocious act to establish
their villainy may appear and be killed in each episode. Necessary choices
and sacrifices are made. Even the protagonist or their love interest may
die some gruesome or pitiable death. The end of the series may be
decidedly unhappy. While I do not welcome gratuitous violence or
portrayals of sexuality in shows aimed at children, I prefer the more
"realistic" portrayal of life which may be seen in Japanese programming.

> yet are still watched by kids because parents believe
> animation=children's programming.

That is the fault of parents, not the Japanese, if they do not know of the
depth or range of Japanese anime or manga, and do not monitor or control
their children's television viewing habits. Even Japanese may not like
their children to watch the crude and vulgar Crayon Shinchan, or shows
with more violence like One Piece, and restrict their children. Video
stores should also be more careful when handling anime, than to put any
old anime in the children's category, or to slap an adults only label on,
just because it is anime, or because it is NOT children's anime, like I
used to see at Blockbuster years ago, which also serves to confuse.