It’s not often I read anime blogs, articles and especially news from other sites.
Every now and then though I’ll come across something and be baffled by the:
- Ignorance
- Propaganda
And out of context criticisms and opinions related to anime. And what it “supposedly” does to you.
There’s a lot of pseudo scientists writing articles in a way that assumes what they say is an actual fact. Which is dangerous when paired with influence and authority.
I’ll be focusing on this and breaking down each point that’s been made.
1. Anime is bad because it’s fiction
Take a look for yourself at the image. It says:
“Anime is bad is for you because It pulls you into a fantasy world instead of letting you be in reality.”
This article starts off claiming anime is bad because it pulls you into a fantasy world. The odd thing is this is written by a so called academia website.
The argument is “instead of letting you be in reality.”
This is an elementary argument and nothing but drivel put together to “sound” smart.
- Harry Potter is fiction.
- So are video games.
- Films are fictional.
- Cartoons are fictional.
- Drawings are fictional.
- Art is fictional.
- Novels are based on fiction.
- Folklore is fictional.
All these “other” things are fictional, with only one of them still criticized to this day. And that’s video games.
My question is: why is anime “bad” for being fantasy while other works of fiction are “not” bad?
Is Spiderman, Superman and Batman “bad” for pulling you into a fantasy world? Or is it good because a person says so according to an agenda?
Is Dexter’s Laboratory “bad” because it’s a cartoon where reality doesn’t exist?
You can see this article makes no sense and is written in a nonsensical way, almost for the sake of it. It’s almost as if they’re criticisms were pulled out of a hat.
2. Fan service
“In anime the first few episodes they have is inanest but when you get deeper in the episode it’s start showing woman with bigger boobs, and start putting on short clothes that you can see some of their skin.”
]divider]
If you’re wondering what inanest means, the definition is “lacking in substance” or nonsense in one word.
The way this article is worded tells you a lot about how hard the writers trying to claim anime is bad, and their lack of real knowledge of “what” anime is.
They even started by saying “in anime”, meaning not some anime.
First of all – anime is NOT a genre. It’s a medium just like films, games or music.
Within the medium there’s:
- Romance
- Fantasy
- Psychological
- Slice of life
- Horror
- Comedy
- School
And dozens of others. Some of which have “fan service” in them.
The constant hypocrisy I see with these empty arguments is American films, TV shows and other forms of entertainment also have fan service.
- Half naked men with 6 packs.
- Certain types of women.
- White Knight characters.
And other versions of “fan service” are swimming through western media all the time.
It’s a petty criticism that holds no real weight or value, and is easily destroyed with equal facts.
3. Violence
“ For example a school girl likes a boy and other girls like him and she thought the only way to win the boy is by killing everyone in her sight.”
What they’re describing here is a Yandere. But that’s besides the point of their “anime is bad for you” message.
The hypocrisy here AGAIN is:
- Films
- TV shows
- Documentaries (which are real)
And other forms of entertainment all have violence. Especially when it comes to “fantasy”.
This myth people spread about fiction causing violence, hatred, or anything in between has been proven over and over again.
None of these mediums are considered bad for you either. Except anime and video games (so they say).
In this case though – anime is the target, and the point being made is mute and holds no weight in the real world.
4. People die from watching anime
“People can die from watching anime. Many people have died trying to be their favorite anime character. For example Leonid Hmelve, age 14 died by jumping off an apartment building after his favorite TVcharacter (Itachi) died.
Some people are being send to the hospital trying to do techniques that action anime does.
When you dig deeper to anime it can change your emotions, personality, and behaviors. When you watch anime you can copy your favorite character and it can change your appearance and who you are. Watching anime can make you dumb.
Some anime cannot teach you anything at all, it only teaches you how to make a fantasy world where you cannot come out of.”
You can’t make this sh*t up. It’s there in black and white.
What this person is doing is cherry picking and using confirmation bias to “prove” themselves right.
The case this person’s talking about is a teenager who committed suicide because of Naruto.
A case that happens 0.01% of the time in the anime community.
Or any other community people cherry pick “news” from to stereotype it as a whole.
People don’t die from watching anime, people die when they have self esteem issues. This type of thing rarely happens in the anime community or any other.
Instead of focusing on the real issue and actual solutions, these outlets blame anime as a whole to deflect from the truth and push a narrative.
And to the point of “some anime can’t teach you anything at all”, the same is true for ALL mediums. And yet they’re not painted as bad.
That’s obvious.
The agenda here is shameful and pure propaganda.
5. You can become a hikikomori by watching anime
“You can become a hikkomori by watching anime. “Hikkomori” are people who completely withdraw from any form of social interactions,isolating themselves from others. They usually lock their self in a room by their self.
Anime are some of the reasons that people don’t get boyfriends or girlfriends. Because they are imagining their lovers instead of going out to the real world and find one.”
Their main last point is anime is bad for you because you can become a hikikomori.
In Japan a Hikikomori is someone who’s a shut-in. Someone who isolates themselves from society.
The flaw of this point yet again is anime is NOT the culprit. No medium is the culprit for this behavior.
It’s a simpleton argument because you don’t have to “think” too hard about it. But in reality when you think hard enough you see this behavior is a result of something deeper in that person’s life.
- Maybe their shy.
- Or insecure.
- Or hate their own physical appearance.
- Or their parents died.
- Or they lost their job.
- Or they were rejected.
In other words – real life problems lead people to use outlets LIKE anime to deal with their issues.
It’s ridiculous to use anime as a scapegoat when anime or any other medium is never the problem to begin with.
It only shows the level of intelligence people are willing to indulge in because it’s easier to be lazy and make brash, out of context and weak arguments for why someone does something.
The writer finishes by saying this:
“Conclusion that watching anime is far worse than just watching cartoons.
I have learned that watching anime can sometimes lead to injuries and death. When you try to copy your favorite anime character it change emotions, appearance, and how you speak.
Some anime can have too many bloody scenes to the point you hate the anime. Some anime can lead you to watching hentie and it can half naked woman or just plain naked.
Watching anime can make you be a hikkomori. And plus anime can make you be in fantasy world that you can never comeout.”
“Hentie” – they obviously meant Hentai but that’s another story in itself.
It clearly shows the level of ignorance and lack of understanding of the subject they touched on.
I wonder when the ATTACK on anime will stop. I doubt it’s stopping anytime soon.
One more thing: the website isn’t an education affiliated site, despite having “.edu” in its domain name. That explains the nonsense coming from some writers on there.
Source: www.academia.edu/36836619/Why_Anime_Is_Bad_For_You
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