I could not help but notice that someone at the Daily Emerald actually believes that anime is destroying America’s youth. This is a ridiculous claim. If the replacement of American cartoons by Japanese ones destroys American society, then we must assume that cartoons are the largest, most important aspect of American society, which I hope no one is willing to argue. I cannot, however, defend the fact that many of the most popular Japanese cartoon series were based merely on commercially successful trading card games; a phenomenon that does not happen in America. (Transformers was based off of a commercially successful series of action figures, not a trading card game. Keep it straight.)
First, many people claim that Japanese cartoons expose children to poor values, such as trapping exotic animals and forcing them to do battle. Somehow, apparently, this is different from claiming that Harry Potter teaches kids to practice witchcraft. In addition, keep in mind that some of the most iconic American cartoons, such as Bugs Bunny and company, are these days rarely ever aired. If they are, it is only after heavily editing them in order to keep children from being exposed to racism, murder, and deviant sexual activity. If Pokémon is going to teach my daughter to train exotic animals for battle, then Wile E. Coyote is teaching her that if at first you don’t succeed, take a smoke break, and then invest in heavy explosives. The worst that will happen is that your skin will turn black, and your hair will poke straight out the back of your head. Second, it needs to be pointed out that Japanese cartoons are not a new phenomenon. They arguably began with Astro Boy in 1963, which is now enjoying a Sunday night time slot on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The point is that Japanese cartoons have been a part of Japanese society for at least a generation. Being the case, surely Japanese children have been affected such exposure, yes? Well, there are about 12 times as many murders every year in the U.S. as there are in Japan, about 20 times as much rape, and 80 times as much theft. If these cartoons do indeed instill such horrible values in people, then what are we doing to our children to make them such criminals?
Finally, condemning all Japanese anime because Pokémon is devoid of positive values is horribly unfair. Such a claim ignores the cinematographic masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle), Satoshi Kon (Paranoia Agent, Paprika), and Hajime Yatate (Cowboy Bebop). If you don’t want your kids watching anime, don’t let your kids watch it. Just, please don’t say anime is destroying our youth. That’s just silly.
Steven Harris
Cottage Grove