Nerd Tutorial Podcast: Episode 58: Anime for Kids Tutorial

Topic: Anime for Kids

Today, I traveled a very FAR distance to come and visit my Sister-in-Law and discuss Anime with her. Previously, I showed my nieces 'My Neighbor Totoro', which they loved. Which sucked for me, because this was AFTER me and mom got back from Japan, where we saw Lots of Totoro just hanging out. Had I show the girls this before we went, we could have gotten some killer stuff with them in it. That being said, there's quite a bit of children appropriate Anime out there, and I'd love to get my nieces interested in the medium as a way of expanding their view points, and also having someone new to talk to about anime. My Sister-in-Law gracious welcomed me in to her home, and we talked anime turkey. If nothing else, give this woman a round of applause for raising two very well adjusted little girls, and also her first time ever doing a podcast.

What is Anime:

In Japan, any kind of animation, whether traditional 2d animation or 3d computer graphic animation, whether from America, Europe, China, or Japan, for Adults, Teens, or Children, all animation is considered anime.

In America, while there is no uniform consensus on what Anime does or does not include, I presume it to mean animation either from Japan or with heavy influence from Japanese Animation. This means I would include some American properties, like Avatar, as Anime. This means you can include Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Digimon, and other shows broadcasted on TV because they came from Japan, thus anime.

Common Themes of Anime

Unique/Colorful Character Designs
Interesting worlds
Mascots/unique creatures
Semi-realistic human proportions
Largely human cast
Attention to Physics
Stories that are more nuanced
Characters are Moral and Upstanding typically

Types of Anime Demographics:

Kodomo-muke (3-10 children)

Typically shows aimed at small or young children in elementary age

Shonen (10-18 Boys)

Typically Boy’s action/sports for young teens to adults

Shoujo (10-18 Girls)

Typically Girl’s Romance/themed for young teens to adults

Senin/Josei (Adult/Mature Audience)

Shows aimed toward adult audiences, tend to focus on more mature/nuanced topics or life

Hentai (Pornographic)

Porn…. No really, that’s what it is.

While Children, Shonen, and Shoujo are aimed at their demographics, there’s a wide range of audiences that enjoy these shows too. Many Shonen or Shoujo fans continue to enjoy these shows well into adult hood, while many teens continue to enjoy anime aimed at Children.

Types of Anime Shows (Genre)

Actions/Adventure
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Space
Mecha

A show in which character pilot humanoid/animal based machines

Sports
Mystery
Magical Girl

Shows were girls transform into Magical heroines

Card/Game

Shows were the premise revolves around a card game or type of game, often used for promotions of other games/properties available in real world.

Romance
Slice of Life

Show in which share the happenings of everyday life and the adventures around it.

Healing

Shows that are meant to be relaxing and heartwarming when watched.

Idol

Shows resolving around creation, management, production, or life of an Idol group consisting of 3 or more guys or girls, typically girls

School/Work

Shows where the primary location for the show revolves around school(typically high school) or at work.

Children’s Anime

Anime is shown at all times of the day, but most particularly in the mornings and evenings. Anime typically shown in the mornings are usually aimed at children or younger demographics, while anime shown in the evenings are often aimed at teens and adults. While a majority of children anime is shown in the morning, there are still some Shonen or Shoujo shown in the morning as well, and even some popular children’s anime is shown in the evening as well. Anime typically can hold key evening times, including 8pm, 9pm, and even 10pm time slots, denoting its importance/prevalence.

Children’s anime tends to be simpler in scope and programming, often choosing to do a monster-of-the-week format instead of a long running story. This means that the show often resets itself at the end of every episode, save for new characters, abilities, or statuses that are intended for use in later series. Or the episodes are often self-contained stories: utilizing a few or single major character and other supporting characters to tells an individual story.

Children’s anime tends to be educational on some levels as well, teaching history, sciences, morals, or repeating important life lessons.

There are four major types of Children’s Anime:

Western Adaptations