anime

[evenifigoalone]

Well, I've seen threads about Doctor Who on here. So why not? Any anime fans? I seriously doubt it, but hey.
I've done a search on anime mentions on this a couple times just out of curiosity. :laugh: I think I remember seeing one post from a long time ago where someone mentioned Dragon Ball. Just starting this thread out of curiosity, really.

There have been a few Christian animes. Super Book was one I remember from my childhood. It was about some kids who found a Bible, and experienced some adventures in different Bible stories.
Also, some of the cartoons that aired during the '90s were anime, and it seems a lot of people don't realize it. Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, Dragon Ball Z, etc.

 

[dyanmarie25]

I am a huge fan of anime. I am more interested in slice of life genre such as School Rumble, Special A, Hyouka, Kaichou Wa Maid Sama. Toradora, and Fruits Basket. Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon used to be my favorite shows when I was a child.

 

[SynodOfDort]

This is pretty neat!

Japanese culture fascinates me. While it leaves a lot to critique and evaluate, the country is seemingly like no where else in the world. While I was skeptical of anime and manga when I was first introduced to it (Haibane Renmei, to be exact) I was impressed with the depth of thought and artistic talent that was often brought to the table. Shinto and Buddhist philosophies are often at the forefront, but Common Grace is still readily prevalent in a lot of the works as well as important lessons for Christians.

If I was recommending a first series for someone to dip their toes in anime I would point to Haibane Renmei and Usagi Drop. The former has heavy Roman Catholic undertones but remains a fantastic series nonetheless, the latter series is simply heartwarming and a great intro to the anime art style.

Currently rewatching Attack on Titan - (in the GODLY format - with subtitles, not dubbed.)

Haibane Renmei, Usagi Drop , Death Note, Sakamichi no Apollon, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Cowboy Bebop, and Barakamon (manga; haven't watched the anime) have also been on my list recently.

 

[SynodOfDort]

I might as well post some links to Christian resources for those interested.

The Christian Research Journal published some pretty good articles on manga/anime!

"More to Manga?" by Seth Hahne
"Gross National Cool: Manga As Theological Reflection" by C. Wayne Mayhall

Another great place to check out if you are looking for more broad Christian perspectives is the Beneath The Tangles blog. There are quite a few contributors, but afaik they are all within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. As long as you are aware of that it is a great place to search for a more Christian view at individual manga and anime titles as well as geekdom in general.

"Beneath the Tangles is where Ichigo Kurosaki meets Elijah the Prophet; where Haruhi Suzumiya meets Father Abraham; and where Monkey D. Luffy meets Jesus Christ. It is the meeting point between anime and Christian spirituality. We hope to foster an open community where Christians and non-Christians alike can engage in conversation about anime, manga, and belief."

Finally, the Christian Anime Alliance runs a bulletin board dedicated to Christians who wish to discuss anime and manga.

 

[evenifigoalone]

I haven't visited these forums in a while. Wow, a lot has changed!

Currently I am into Dragon Ball. They got a new show this year called Dragon Ball Super.
Other anime I'm currently watching include Gurren Lagann, Ghost Stories (the English dub, which is basically an official abridged version because the show did so poorly in Japan they were just like "do whatever you like with this"), and the ongoign Blue Exorcist manga (which I am a big fan of).

My favorite animes include Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood, Clannad/After Story, Soul Eater, Sword Art Online (mainly the first arc), Angel Beats!, and M adoka Magica.

 

[SynodOfDort]

^ Yes, the forums have changed quite a bit... definitely for the better. The phpBB software version in use before was quite old and full of vulnerabilities.

My favorite animes include Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood, Clannad/After Story, Soul Eater, Sword Art Online (mainly the first arc), Angel Beats!, and M adoka Magica.

FMA was fantastic! I personally liked the manga better than the anime - have you read it before?

And you like Clannad? I have heard about it but never checked it out... it looks like the manga is great!

 

[evenifigoalone]

^ Yes, the forums have changed quite a bit... definitely for the better. The phpBB software version in use before was quite old and full of vulnerabilities.



FMA was fantastic! I personally liked the manga better than the anime - have you read it before?

And you like Clannad? I have heard about it but never checked it out... it looks like the manga is great!

Ah yes! I first watched the 2003 FMA, then Brotherhood, then read the manga because I didn't want the story to end. I was very sad when I finished the manga. lol I need to watch the series again one day, it's the best.

Clannad is fantastic, especially the After Story, which I've watched twice. The original is a visual novel. I've watched parts of walkthroughs of this on YouTube, heard a rumor that it may come to Steam one day. If it does I'm going to get it. I still need to read the manga.

 

[SynodOfDort]

^Sweet! Clannad is going to the top of my watch list now. Speaking of VNs, I saw Narcissu recommended on a Christian blog a while back. (I think it was BeneathTheTangles, but their website is down today.) It was free on the Steam store so I went ahead and downloaded it - just haven't started it yet (like most free Steam games I grab [emoji12] ).

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[evenifigoalone]

Have you watched Psycho Pass? I watched that earlier this year and liked it a lot. (I only watched the first season, heard season two wasn't that great?)

Oooh. I'm also watching Parasyte and Akame ga Kill right now. I forgot to mention those because I'm following them on Toonami. Akama ga Kill just held my interest from the start, and Parasyte I think is actually one of my favorites right now.

 

[SynodOfDort]

None of those three seemed familiar, buy their wiki pages look tempting. I'll give the dubbed version of Psycho Pass a try There really is so much in the world of Japanese media it can be overwhelming!

 

[Don]

May I suggest "Paranoia Agent"?

 

[evenifigoalone]

None of those three seemed familiar, buy their wiki pages look tempting. I'll give the dubbed version of Psycho Pass a try There really is so much in the world of Japanese media it can be overwhelming!

The dubbed of this seems good quality. I can't advocate for the accuracy of translation or not, but eh. The acting quality seems good.

I normally watch dubs when they are available, but I'm realizing there is a lot I miss on by not being familiar with the original language. For example, Goku from DB/Z has a "hick" accent in the sub. Though I am watching the sub for Super and did watch the sub for the latter part of Kai, I would not have known this without reading about it. After reading this article I realized that this actually says a lot about him as a character that you have to be familiar with Japanese culture to understand. I think if I was more familiar with the language (I have a casual knowledge/understanding of it, but no more) I'd watch subs more.

 

[SynodOfDort]

May I suggest "Paranoia Agent"?

I thoroughly enjoyed Mobile Police Patlabor which was also produced by Touhouku Shinsha, so it should be good! From a Christian standpoint, how was the content? (Profanity gets on my nerves, even if it is just in the subtitles.)

 

[evenifigoalone]

May I suggest "Paranoia Agent"?

*adds to list*
I appreciate how many series there are out there. It feels like I'll never get bored.

 

[SynodOfDort]

@questdriven Interesting! I feel like I miss a lot by not knowing Japanese as well. One of these days I going to make it through the Genki textbooks.... I have them sitting on a shelf, but school eats up most of my time.

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[evenifigoalone]

I thoroughly enjoyed Mobile Police Patlabor which was also produced by Touhouku Shinsha, so it should be good! From a Christian standpoint, how was the content? (Profanity gets on my nerves, even if it is just in the subtitles.)

Ahh. I will try to give content advisory when recommending series, then. Some have a higher or lower threshhold than others. I'm young and admit I'm experimenting a bit when it comes to allowable content. (There is a series I regret watching and will not watch again, nor others like it.)

 

[evenifigoalone]

To my understanding, Japanese doesn't have swears in the same way we do. Most of the words that get translated to swears are more about demeaning someone's place in society (or something like that), and the closest equivalent that gets the same point across is swearing, so it's translated that way. (Like the word "teme", I think.)
Of course, if I am wrong then I'd like someone who knows more to correct me.

 

[SynodOfDort]

That's about what I've gotten out of it all too. It irritates me that the translators choose to use English swears rather than a translation of the originals - it would likely add to an anime's character rather than otherwise. Filthy peasants.



[emoji6]