The Christian Anime Fan

I've read a lot of articles online that have discussed this controversial topic. I know Christians who are anime fans, and I myself watch a good bit of anime and enjoy it. But I have gotten looks and words from other Christians who feel this isn't in line with the scriptures. So I wanted to write about this confusing topic. Should a Christian watch anime?

Now a lot of anime is not appropriate and does not glorify God. But there are a lot of good quality ones that have important moral messages and are just plain fun. If you're a parent, then it really is just what you feel comfortable letting your child watch. There are websites such as http://www.christiananime.net/ that can help you understand the content in an anime before watching it.

TWWK at Beneath the Tangles writes:

"Many people probably wonder how I can hold these two things, Christian faith and anime, together with any integrity. And I have to admit: it’s not always easy. Then again, nothing is easy when you’re dealing with stories, no matter where they come from or who tells them: my faith teaches that we’re fallen, after all. And stories form the way we look at the world, and the ones we identify with closest become part of our very identities. We have to know whose story is guiding our lives." 

If you are having doubts about whether you are doing what is right, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Is What I Am Watching Glorifying God?
2. How Am I Benefiting From Watching This?
3. What Kind of Impact is this Having on My Life?

1. Is What I Am Watching Glorifying God?
I realize that there are a lot of different opinions when it comes to what glorifies God and what does not. But it comes down to this: If you feel guilty about it, or feel that Jesus wouldn't approve of what you are watching, don't watch it.

2. How Am I Benefiting From Watching This?
There can be a lot of benefits from watching anime. However, this also comes with a negative side. For example, while Ouran High School Host Club may have a lot of good morals about friendship and being yourself, the inappropriate situations/language/themes pretty much overshadow that. I'm not saying that anime should be always educational and never have any negative themes, but it there should be a significantly more amount of positive, upright themes than the negative.

3. What Kind of Impact is this Having on My Life?
Sometimes we get pretty obsessed with stuff. For me, this is a constant struggle, and I have to constantly remind myself of what is most important. If you can't think about anything else, you should stop. (I mean, this applies to everything) When what you are watching starts to take over everything about you, it's unhealthy. As TWWK said, we have to know whose story is guiding our lives. As Christians, we are to follow God - we must keep this is mind in everything we do/watch.

Well I hope this was helpful. Please realize that these are all my personal opinions and I apologize if it hurt anyone's feelings.

The One on Anime and Manga

I have to admit, I have a lot of obsessions, even though The Doctor is the biggest. I really love reading Manga and watching Anime. I am currently reading Tsubasa, which is apparently a spin off of xxxHolic, which I haven't read, and most likely won't. Tsubasa has 28 volumes, I just finished the 22nd book. I really like the story, but it is sometimes hard to follow. It still continues to amaze me how complex graphic novel plots can get. I'm not going to go into the pretense of the story, but it is a great series.

I have read La Corda d'Oro, which is by far, my favorite Manga. I love music, and at one point wanted to go to music school, so this was really perfect for me. It's not really that popular, but I really loved it. The art was brilliant and it is my favorite style of Manga. (Which I believe is Abbreviated Realistic)

I also occasionally watch through an anime. The first one I ever watched was Clannad. Bad choice. But not because Clannad is a bad anime, rather the contrary. It was brilliant, and the best. It ruined all the others. (man, I CRIED) Yes, hands down, Clannad is my favorite. I watched Princess Tutu as well, one of my friends had been bugging me about it for quite some time. If you can get past the unrealistic art (which some people prefer) and the annoying voices, it's really a great story. I just HATED the ending though. I'm one of the those people where if the ending isn't perfect, it isn't worth watching.

I just finished what I believe to be the first season of Full Metal Panic. I really liked it. (I don't normally like violent animes, but this was ok). It's kind of an old anime, but you really can't tell from the art. It's still really good.

I'm not really sure what category movies with Japanese style artwork fall into. Are they called anime movies or something else? I've only seen two- Howl's Moving Castle and 5 Centimeters Per Second. Don't watch the later, it's awful. But Howl's Moving Castle is awesome, definately one of my favorites. I plan on watching more like it when I have more time.

Anyway, so I think I will probably start Death Note when I finish Tsubasa. It's apparently a good manga.

FYI: I LOVE Tomoya.