Watch Anime With Your Kids

Anime has this weird stigma around it. Many people associate anime with people who are outsiders or who are a bit different. This stigma likely comes from the fact that anime was not very popular in the United States for a very long time, and generally you had to search it out to find it. Add on to the fact that the animation style is a bit different than what most are used to, and people start to think it is weird.

Guess what. For years I was one of those people who thought that way. It wasn’t that I had ever watched or seen anime, I just thought it looked weird and never gave it a chance. I’d see it on TV or online somewhere and just think that there was no way that I could watch something like that. The jerky animation style gives off the vibe that it’s not well done and that it must be amateurish in nature.

The things that you’re teaching your own kids about trying new foods and doing new things is something that you should be practicing as well. Don’t judge something simply by the way it looks - give it a chance and see if you might actually enjoy it. You need to go into new experiences with an open mind and give it an honest chance. If you expect to hate something, then you likely will.

There’s a good chance that your child will enjoy anime. Anime is far more widely available than it used to be, and there are many shows that are available these days in the United States. While you may have had to search pretty hard to get hold of anime before the days of Netflix, these days you can find a lot of options on basically any of the streaming services. There are a lot of choices.

Anime has a huge range in terms of genre. I’m by no means an expert, but you can think of anime similar to television shows - you have comedies, romance, thrillers, and so forth. You have serious themes and not so serious themes. You have blood and gore, and you have happy loving relationships. While anime is animated, that doesn’t mean it’s got basic premises everywhere - it can get complex.

That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. While anime isn’t super popular in the Western world, it is unbelievably popular in Asia. From birth to death you will find people that enjoy anime in Asian countries. Anime is by far the most popular form of video entertainment in Japan and in many other Asian countries. Families will sit and watch anime together in the evenings and have discussions about it.

If you find that your child is into anime, and you never really have given it a chance, now is your turn to give it a try. Let your child help guide you to what to watch with them. Sit down, put your phone down, and give it a real chance. Have your child watch with you as well (even if they’ve already seen it). After you’ve watched a few episodes, step back and see what you think. Discuss the show with your child - it could be a real bonding experience.

Anime isn’t weird, it’s just got a different style than you may be used to. The stories can be just as complex and enjoyable as others that you like. Watch your kids favorite shows with them and find out what they find interesting in it.