Anime

Anime: kids' stuff

Everyone knows about anime. Even those who haven't got a clue about the topic will have at some point come across Pokémon, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Naruto, Dragon Ball etc. And fans of anime will certainly be familiar with the problem that the films and series are dismissed as childish. Children's television. It's an opinion we have never understood, and yet we still encounter it today. It's time for a reckoning!

Blood, murders and naked skin

Yes, lots of manga and anime characters are extremely young. But that doesn't mean the reverse is true, i.e. that the stories are kids' stuff — quite the contrary! Look at Detective Conan, for example: Shinichi Kudo is transformed back into a schoolchild by a poison and now solves murders under the alias Conan Edogawa. The whole thing is a hardcore crime series with everything that goes with it. So not exactly brimming with child-friendly murders. (Are there child-friendly murders? That's a topic for another day ...) And the fact that a young pupil solves cases faster than adults is by no means an argument that a series is aimed at children — after all, The Three Investigators largely attracts an adult audience.

In fact, now we think about it, anime are often so inappropriate for children they are censored before being broadcast in Germany. That is what happens both with Yu-Gi-Oh! and Naruto, although different approaches are used. Some of the overly revealing characters on the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards quickly throw on a full-body suit, while in Naruto certain areas are covered with dust clouds or fog. Another example of this is that many anime have age restrictions of 16 or even 18, and are even limited to night-time broadcasts on television. Whether it's Deadman Wonderland or Attack on Titan, the blood flows liberally and more people die than can be healthy for a child's understanding.

But adult content is primarily characterised by the storyline rather than blood and naked skin. Which is why we don't want to miss a mention for the famous anime, such as those from the renowned Studio Ghibli. From Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away to Howl's Moving Castle, all these films are world-renowned and deal with profound themes that might be too dark or scary (or both!) for some children. Grave of the Fireflies, for example, describes the journey of two siblings whose father was killed in the Second World War and whose mother succumbed to her injuries after an incendiary bombing. Just kids' stuff.

Inspiring topics for any age

Perhaps an even more important question is this: do we even have to persuade anime critics that it is not essentially children's television? We don't think so. Sure, it's something we like to discuss but ultimately, it's what we think that matters. And we know for sure that many of the series and films have made a lasting impression on us. Most of us are well over 30 years old and still just as enthusiastic as when we used to throw our school stuff in the corner and switch on the TV. (Sometimes we even did our homework first). Yes, we grew up with our favourite characters. And, in the same way, our favourite characters grew up with us. Think about Son Goku or Naruto, for example.

That's why we still watch anime today. To be honest, we actually like watching anime more than we did back then because there's so much more choice! This includes relatively new themes, such as Demon Slayer, or productions from streaming providers like Netflix and the fantastic (albeit far too short) adaptation of Castlevania. It's hard to imagine the cultural landscape without anime. And let's not forget all the anime merchandise we could hardly have dreamed of back then. There's always something new to discover, either linked to the classics or brand new themes: from high-quality collectible figures to cool T-shirts, manga and even sweets. It is no coincidence that our anime shop has become so important in recent years. And it has never felt like kids' stuff to us.