I have loved anime as long as I can remember watching it... which was back in the 4th grade.

Most anime I watch have moral lessons or "little truths" that make life seem somehow clearer in a way. Like Fairy Tail teaches the power and pricelessness of friendship and family. Sailor Moon teaches that no matter how hard, good is better than bad. Kamikaze Kaittou Jeanne taught that even if you aren't perfect or good at anything, you are still worth something. Pretear taught that you shouldn't let fear of failure and being alone keep you from living life to the fullest. All these hold dear places in my heart for various reasons.

As an artist, I have enjoyed using for getting new skills to improve my own work. Rather proud. However it has opened my life up for criticism by concerned family and friends. "People aren't really that skinny. That isn't realistic." is often the most heard phrases from their list. Despite showing anime drawn to real live people (all asian because only asians have that skinny of a body) they were against my watching, reading, and drawing of it.

I understand. Really, I do. In America, there are several people I know who loved Sailor Moon and desired to be as skinny as her. Even I wanted her long legs, which I don't have despite being tall myself.

In the end, is manga and anime actually bad for kids, teens, and adults to enjoy?

lmfao Of course they're unrealistic, because it's manga, not a portrait. You should tell them that 'People don't have huge eyes like Jon Arbuckle from Garfield or have no mouth like Dilbert but I don't hear you complaining about them' or 'People don't look like squares and triangle like Picasso's works but I don't hear you saying anything about it', etc. XD

And hell no it is not bad for enjoyment at all. It's like saying cartoons are bad entertainment when millions of people enjoy them every day. Just look at the popularity of Spongebob Squarepants, which features a talking piece of kitchen sponge. >__>

Of course, deliberately violent or pornographic manga/anime aside, because of the potential of it corrupting minors...

You certainly have a point. No one has the large eyes that many cartoon portray. Scarily, a lot of the Koreans I talk to said that they will get plastic surgery when they are in university in order to be pretty like westerners... and they plan to make their eyes more rounded... not realizing that a lot of westerners love asian eyes the way they are. All of it seems to come from the entertainment world.

I think manga/anime is or can be as bad as any cartoon or comic. They're made up and illustrated, so the creator can make the characters do pretty much anything imaginable and have an appearance that's incredibly unrealistic. Which can be great for storytelling but maybe not so great for those who might be influenced by what they read or watch.

When I read the title, I was thinking that manga and anime may be bad for health simply because people might be so immersed in reading or watching that they become shortsighted or that they end up neglecting their health because of manga and anime.

You know, you have a solid point. I was so immersed myself in Shugo Chara and then later in Fairy Tail that until they stopped... I couldn't live in the real world very easily. The same thing happened with Pretear and Kamikaze Kaitou Jeane... I wanted to be in those worlds instead of my own life... facing their struggles and battles instead of normal conflict I would have faced if I had lived my own life.

Haha, that's a bit unhealthy I guess, I know I've daydreamed about living in a manga/video game world enough.

But then, the same could be said for just about everything that isn't real, like all fiction stories, all sci-fi stories, movies (Avengers, Superman, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc), bed time stories (Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, etc.) ....I certainly know that a lot of kids dream of growing up to be Superman or some princess waiting to be rescued by their prince on a great white horse.

So, as long as you can keep fantasy and reality apart and not neglect your own health (such as reading/watching through a mountainpile of manga/anime and forgetting to eat/drink/bathroom breaks), it's fine as a hobby.

I like how you put that. I'm guilt of all the above in the normal department. Then only thing I have forgotten before is meals... and that was due to drawing. While I watch anime, I often snack or eat something. But is there an age that is too young or too old for manga and anime?

Me too. I usually just skip meals back in college because I didn't want to go out and get myself food. And I often neglect sleeping when I'm on a reading/drawing spree.

And no there definitely is no age that is too young or old for manga/anime, depending on the contents. (as obviously a pornographic manga/anime would not be suitable for people below the age of 18 at least, and I know a few that are creepy/gory enough to warrant being age-restricted as well)

There are manga/anime for all ages, there're manga/anime for kids (Doraemon, Hamtaro, Ninja Hattori-kun, etc), for teens (Naruto, Bleach, Skip Beat, etc), and adults (Berserk, seinen/josei genred series, etc).

Most people outside of Japan seem to think that manga/anime are for kids, but in fact it is just like the American cartoons where for kids could have their Cartoon Network stuff and adults could read Spiderman or something. My dad is one of those who think that they're for kids and keep on telling me to stop reading those things because I'm an adult already, for years and years despite my telling him and pointing at him how many other people my age (and older) are doing the same thing. I also showed him a picture of this guy who was wearing a suit and looked like a manager with gray hairs reading a copy of Shonen Jump on the JR that I took on my trip in Japan. So far, I've been making progress; he hasn't been bugging me about my reading manga as much anymore, though he still nags when I watch Spongebob on TV.

Yeah... no... SpongeBob is bad for health. Mental health. Really not a fan. However I get what you are saying. It is nice that he listens to you and respects you.

Haha, yeah, I've been trying to stem off the Spongebob watching for a while, but I still can't resist every time I see an episode I haven't seen before. My brother likes to watch the one with the dog and the boy wearing a rabbit ears hood, and the one with the beaver with the stork working at a park with a candy machine for their boss.

My dad's more lenient. My mom, not so much. Her nagging is like, legendary.

lol, so it my mom's. Only her nagging isn't just nagging, it is manipulative blackmail too. *groans* I feel like a child just saying that. I've loved anime for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I wanted to talk to my mom about the shows I watched... but I quickly learned that nothing earned me a harsh lecture faster than trying to be open with her. Saved it for online friends instead.

Haha, yeah. My parents don't understand why I like my manga so much. Talking to them about it is just frustrating so I just talk to my friends instead.

Funny how that works. You would think that those you grow up with like family would understand you more than those you only see at school and suck...

Haha, generation gap I guess. I certainly have a lot more to talk about with my brother...he shares his video games and book with me.

That is pretty sweet. I have a twin brother... he is my best friend. We talk anime and games all the time.

... Both my parents don't understand the appeal to it.

My brightest moment would be that.
"Do you know the Hong Kong (real life) drama you love so much copy ideas from the manga that you said is for kids?"
8D

About content. Really, as mentioned, manga is just like books and all kinds of medias, it has genre target audience and age limits. Whatever Maimai's parents/whoever mention about how UNREAL the manga is... they don't realise that they are always surrounded by unreal stuff. Even the mature real life drama is NOT real, by plot, since it is fiction. XD

The thing with my parents is that my mom thinks that nothing outside of the Bible and Christian testimonies is worth anything. She even said the Flintstones was evil. My stepdad is all for history related things, fiction or no, as long as it is based on history. Especially WWII history.

I'm more in for other things. Mainly anime that gives a message of hope. How to live your life without telling you how to live your life. You know? It is fantasy, but it makes you believe that you can do anything and reach that which means so much to you.

Why dwell into the history that you CAN'T change?
Currently the most important thing is NOW and FUTURE.
I am anti history.XD

Beside, if it is about god.
Until proven it is there, currently god could be consider 'unreal' too... x.x

It can be considered bad for a growing teenager who is just basically discovering "the real world" and it really skews what reality is. This can apply to any sort of media like films and television though.
This is from personal experience. :/ I'm just realising all this now. I have all these expectation of what life should be like and how things have to be. How I should behave, what love is and how people are meant to act and all those lovely things. It's not that healthy mentally because you bring yourself down because life just doesn't match up to whats on the screen but it's easily overcome if you try and separate the two.
All and all though it isn't bad to enjoy. ^__^

It is hard to justify that what type of content would suit to the job of 'discovering real world'... for teenagers.
If unreal, it is like fantasy, dramas with real life element. Real to the point to life is full of obstacles.
if real, it is like biography/documentaries... real to the point of cannot separate the real and tv.

So, human life.
kids are feed with fantasy/fairy tale. unreal.
teenagers need to know the difference. real.
Adult prefer fiction for entertainment. unreal.

I just find it... a roller coaster ride. From one extreme to another.

I personally don't see anything wrong with it. Manga to me is a better version of any American comic because the overall lessons and morals often surpass anything American. No offense intended. I myself am American and many people I know don't have anything to do with Anime because it is cartoonish to them, but there are some really adult ones and yes some kid ones. But I don't see how it would effect your health. Japan loves their anime. It is advertised everywhere and everyone knows about it. Sure, some of the bodies are unrealistic, but the Japanese have a crazy imagination and the men love those anime ladies with skinny waists and ginormous breasts.. I've always noticed that. xD And sure, being like that would be nice. having long legs, a small stomach, nice breasts, that's the dream of every American woman, I think, but I still don't see it hurting anyone.

I enjoy it for the story and for the character developments. Every anime the characters go through one phase and grow in to another one and it is nice to see a change in my opinion because they all teach such a valuable lesson. Even Pokemon does - that show teaches kids to never give up and to always keep trying no matter what. That friendship is very important. I mean, I watch it still and I'm almost 21, but I know more kids watch it than adults.

My mother thought it was good for me to explore other cultures and let me buy anime/manga every weekend if I did my homework. So I grew up with it!

When I moved in with my dad and step mom when my mom passes they treated anime/manga as a form of the devil.... My step mom threw all my stuff out and had me take church school to purify my mind... Though she let's her son play games and watch american cartoons.......

On topic I think it's how much you watch/read if it's just a relaxing hour a day it's ok but if you ignore life to watch anime or read manga then that's unhealthy.

Anything you do that you ignore life is unhealthy.
Like~ even over studying, over working also led to unhealthyness.
I have even heard of cases where some students' have weak health because they don't have regular meals when they sink into study mode.

Originally Posted by Wonderlands

It can be considered bad for a growing teenager who is just basically discovering "the real world" and it really skews what reality is. This can apply to any sort of media like films and television though.
This is from personal experience. :/ I'm just realising all this now. I have all these expectation of what life should be like and how things have to be. How I should behave, what love is and how people are meant to act and all those lovely things. It's not that healthy mentally because you bring yourself down because life just doesn't match up to whats on the screen but it's easily overcome if you try and separate the two.
All and all though it isn't bad to enjoy. ^__^

That happened in some ways. I assumed that if I lived life and was strong, that should the day come where I couldn't handle something, a boy would come and encourage me on. That didn't... exactly... happen...

Originally Posted by Velvet

I personally don't see anything wrong with it. Manga to me is a better version of any American comic because the overall lessons and morals often surpass anything American. No offense intended. I myself am American and many people I know don't have anything to do with Anime because it is cartoonish to them, but there are some really adult ones and yes some kid ones. But I don't see how it would effect your health. Japan loves their anime. It is advertised everywhere and everyone knows about it. Sure, some of the bodies are unrealistic, but the Japanese have a crazy imagination and the men love those anime ladies with skinny waists and ginormous breasts.. I've always noticed that. xD And sure, being like that would be nice. having long legs, a small stomach, nice breasts, that's the dream of every American woman, I think, but I still don't see it hurting anyone.

I enjoy it for the story and for the character developments. Every anime the characters go through one phase and grow in to another one and it is nice to see a change in my opinion because they all teach such a valuable lesson. Even Pokemon does - that show teaches kids to never give up and to always keep trying no matter what. That friendship is very important. I mean, I watch it still and I'm almost 21, but I know more kids watch it than adults.

Very good points. Thank you for sharing. I watch a lot of anime yet and am 24. I also have learned that it isn't so much was I see as much as the plotline that is important.

Originally Posted by MinakoAxule

My mother thought it was good for me to explore other cultures and let me buy anime/manga every weekend if I did my homework. So I grew up with it!

When I moved in with my dad and step mom when my mom passes they treated anime/manga as a form of the devil.... My step mom threw all my stuff out and had me take church school to purify my mind... Though she let's her son play games and watch american cartoons.......

On topic I think it's how much you watch/read if it's just a relaxing hour a day it's ok but if you ignore life to watch anime or read manga then that's unhealthy.

I'm so sorry hun. I know someone who is similar to your stepmom.

Originally Posted by xuvrette

Anything you do that you ignore life is unhealthy.
Like~ even over studying, over working also led to unhealthyness.
I have even heard of cases where some students' have weak health because they don't have regular meals when they sink into study mode.

That is the case here... I have students who at finals in July won't eat because they want to be skinny for summer but they are pulling all-nighters too.

Maimai, is the school pressure high over there?