100% of the fan service containing shows could just be adult cast. I don’t understand why that’s so hard. More adult cast shows in general would be nice. Why’s everyone gotta be a highschooler, man?
I think the idea is that the majority of the consumers and viewers of anime and manga are teenagers. To pull in that audience, the characters would have to be relatively the same age for the audience to relate to those characters.
And for the older audience, it is a form of escapism back to the days of their youth where all they had to worry about was their love life and school exams instead of taxes and toxic work culture and societal norms and their love life.
well and they got into anime when they were in high school. I don’t understand the ask though as not all anime is full of high schoolers. Its like saying something about music that only applies to pop music.
This could also be said of American shows tbh.
Teenagers have emotional growth that up the tension/perceived stakes
I guess that does make sense. A lot of dramatic behaviour doesn’t fit what how most established adults behave
At the same time, I don’t want to see a lot of teen drama. Gimme some more Mushishi, gimme some more ACCA
Culturally high school is like this wonderful time of freedom before working age begins.
A lot of these high school shows were watched by me as a high school kid. And living my shit life, they taught me emotional and social things I wasn’t gonna learn otherwise. And I finished shows back then knowing even at 18 or 19 they would be obsolete and childish in my life. I was wrong, but I did grow out of anime by about age 22.
But as an adult now? Please make some adult shows. Some of the most intellectually challenging and creative works are centered around 16 year olds. UGH.
I’m going to get flamed here, but my personal thoughts are that if someone can get their rocks off looking at these cartoons of underage girls and it’s enough to satiate their desire that they don’t do it in real life, then I don’t mind it at all. Heck, I even strongly encourage it.
It’s a victimless crime. Just let them have it if it doesn’t hurt anyone.
Edit: VICE did a great video about this. I encourage you guys to check it out. https://youtu.be/Ky3HqvT3M8E?si=RqYHZ5EfSN5M2liw
Has there ever been an established correlation between people who’re into underage animated characters and real underage people? It could easily be two completely or almost completely separate groups of people so it might not be helpful at all. Still not harmful either I suppose as I tend to be in the camp of no victim= no crime…
When I started watching anime, the characters were my age. Now I’m significantly older, but I still like similar characters than I used to in a similar way than I used to.
I’ve also seen Japanese schoolkids in real life, and while I find them adorable the same way I find any kids adorable, I have absolutely zero interest in them in the way I do towards the fictional characters. They are two completely different things for me now.
I feel you’re treading in similar waters to a thought experiment I’ve pondered before:
Imagine you either remember or fantasize about a sexual situation that occurred while you yourself were a minor with another minor. Is there something inherently wrong with becoming aroused by this? What if you’re fantasizing about a situation where you were underage and something happens with someone who is not? Does anything change if you write it down? What if you draw it? Is it less wrong if you’re imagining to be the underage person than if you imagine you’re the older one?
I don’t have any answers to any of this of course, other than it feels less wrong when you’re imagining/remembering yourself to be an underage person in these situations as you can sort of retroactively consent in a way?
I guess the takeaway is probably that fantasy and reality are too different to be judged the same, and the only danger arises from those who start blending the two.
It might sate a number of them, but unhealthy addictions tend to have a nature of escalation that makes the fantasy no longer possible to limit to just drawings or other mediums. Providing, in any way, is implicitly enabling that ‘addict’ to seek higher thrills. The harm comes after.
I agree. This is just like violence in video games really.
You’re arguing that sexual orientation can be trained or influenced by our media, which is the exact argument that the Conservative right has been using to ban books (and everything else). It’s also an argument that has been proven groundless time and time again.
Fetishes absolutely can. Mine partially came from going to far the YouTube rabbit hole when I was young.
Like any other porn or adult material, that would be entirely on the parents to be aware of and guide their kids’ media consumption.
They don’t know anything about anything online. But I’m trying to say that it can shape preferences.
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Was it proven to be groundless, though? There are studies which show how media, like social media, influence body image and also social norms and values. The research on the effects of pornography is largely inconclusive and some say there is an effect.
This meta study claims they found a connection between aggressive behaviour and the consumption of (violent) porn. But I can’t find an open access link: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-Meta-Analysis-of-Pornography-Consumption-and-Acts-Wright-Tokunaga/91048b61adb1b989423920a6b0f344210bc725ed
I am not sure if one can boldly claim that the media consumed doesn’t influence a person.
I also think there is a difference between what conservatives claim, which is mostly that your sexual orientation gets influenced by media, versus the claim at hand, that watching animated porn of underage characters increases that preference or even makes it more extreme.
This isn’t a political issue, total freedom is not possible under any world view anyway, so saying “the Nazis did it” isn’t enough justification to abandon censorship when it comes to harmful media.
You’re assuming it’s an unhealthy addiction. How do you know it’s not a mental disability? Or a post traumatic experience?
Even if it’s an addiction, how someone treats an addiction for drugs varies across the board for even the same drug.
Currently there are no victims. Restricting the medium has a chance it makes things worse. Who knows. If we restrict it, we might see more Catholic priests in Japan.
But it cultivates the desire rather than addressing it. It’s complicated, but I think the danger from pulling more people in is much greater than the potential benefit of keeping hardened cases out of society.
You’re arguing that sexual orientation can be trained or influenced by our media, which is the exact argument that the Conservative right has been using to ban books (and everything else). It’s also an argument that has been proven groundless time and time again.
Pedophilia isn’t a sexual orientation
Source? Because every medical article I’ve seen states it is. We’re not talking post-puberty 16 year olds, we’re talking prepubescent little kids.
Could you link yours? I’d rather not go digging though that stuff right now.
I’d compare it more to a fetish.
https://psychcentral.com/disorders/causes-of-pedophilia
TLDR: There’s a ton of potential causes, and it’s an underresearched topic. There’s no real way to change the preference, only deal with and mitigate urges.
But this doesn’t mitivate the urges then if you want to put it that way.
Do you have evidence that it cultivates desire? Or does it satiates urges?
Why do we even need to address it? Like, If these people live a fulfilling life and are a functioning member in society, who cares what they do at home?
I don’t know if there have been studies done. I’m just speaking from my experience with a different fetish. And I would have rather not been exposed to that.
I’m sorry if you’re struggling with a fetish. Anecdotally your experience and what happens differ from others. The thing is, you can choose to avoid these fetishes if you want to. On the flip side if it’s illegal, you won’t be cured of these fetishes, instead now be on the hook legally if you engage in it.
Nice did a great video about this. Check it out. https://youtu.be/Ky3HqvT3M8E?si=RqYHZ5EfSN5M2liw
Disclaimer: This is a joke. Pls don’t stone me lol
“Oh no don’t worry… she only looks under age… she is really a demon angel of the fifth realm who is 900 years old but was born on our planet exactly 8 years ago… that’s why she looks and act so young… you just don’t understand…”
/S
Isn’t that exactly the point though. That they are NOT underage ? It’s like if a midget had the exact right perportions as a child, but IS 18+ would anyone that has sex with them be deemed a pedophile?
Yes… but It’s the second part of my point that make people uncomfortable… the fact that character was still born ‘8’ years ago and looks and acts like a kid in our world
I’m sure they don’t care as long as the animators get paid
Having a happy life
The Good Ending
I think one of the slight problems with anime is it does sort of lend itself to drawing young characters. Simple rounded shapes and flat colour shading inevitably result in your characters looking very young unless you put a lot of effort into making them look old, but then they just look old, it’s hard to do young adult in a way that they are obviously are young adults and not mature kids.
