Age Appropriate Anime

[Shroopy]

I am thinking of starting an anime club at school. Some anime I am thinking I might be able to show are:
-Tsuritama
-World Trigger
-most of Poyo Poyo
-Squid Girl
-possibly Non Non Biyori

I have watched some Non Non Biyori, and it seems fine to me. However, my mom saw that the manga is rated 18+. Can you people out there tell me if the anime is ok?

[Midori]

I've skimmed through a few chapters of the manga of Non Non Biyori and it's pretty much the same as the anime. I can't imagine it being 18+, so that sounds like a mistake.

[Mullet Death]

Umm, Non Non Biyori 18+? Really? It's slice of life... I have not read the manga but the anime indicates there is absolutely nothing in this series that could warrant such a rating by any stretch of the imagination. Are you sure your mom didn't see some stupid doujin based on the series?

Non Non Biyori itself is very tame and innocent, with its only possibly troubling content from a Christian perspective being the perceived "yuri" relationship between Hotaru and Komari. I hesitate to even bring that up because it's one of those stupid anime things that can be interpreted very differently, in the sense of Hotaru simply having a deep non-romantic affection for her "sempai" Komari. Komari herself most definitely does not view Hotaru in any inappropriate way, and though she is the oldest girl in the group, she is short and looks like a grade schooler. In other words, Hotaru's love for her childlike sempai is one of the show's gags and little more. It's a lot like the relationship between "Katanashi-kun" from the Working! series and his beloved chibi sempai Popura. There's also a few scattered moments of "fan service" that amounts to nothing more than beach appropriate attire at the beach.

The point is, Non Non Biyori is perfectly fine. If I had any younger kids, it would be one of the few series on my shelf I wouldn't worry in the least about letting them watch. It's great. If anyone here holds a different view, then by all means, I'd like to hear their reasoning.

[Mullet Death]

As for other shows you could show at the club, there's always Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Nichijou, and Kids On the Slope to add to the list. Those three are very clean and very good.

[Kraavdran]

Non Non Biyori is actually on my "to watch" list. From what I've gathered, it is actually a seinen anime (target audience is 18-40ish). However, "seinen" is just a demographic, not an indication of content. So, that doesn't mean that is has objectionable content (necessarily). It just deals with concepts/ideas typically suited for adults. An example might be unemployment and seeking a new career path for a 30 year old... compared to the typical shounen anime that is set in high school. But, all that said, that might be where your mother heard that it was for 18+.

In the case of Non Non Biyori, from what I've gathered, it does not contain any objectionable content. I don't honestly know why it is even considered seinen. In fact, looking it up on myanimelist.net (http://myanimelist.net/anime/17549/Non_Non_Biyori), I see that it is rated PG-13. In my opinion, they tend to rate stuff a bit higher than they should anyway.

Ultimately, it is good to respect your mother's wishes. But, I think that you probably could respectfully show her the entry on the myanimelist.net website (or, perhaps request a review of it here on the CAA). Perhaps that would reassure her enough.

I don't know your family dynamic or anything, but you might even offer to watch some of the series with her. I can understand her concern, so that might be the best way to dispel any misconceptions.

[Mullet Death]

I hadn't even thought of the whole demographic thing. That's probably what the fuss was about.

[Fantasia]

I'm going to agree with the other replies and say that Non Non Biyori would be completely fine to watch. It's a wonderful slice of life series, and the only content concerns are what Mullet Death mentioned.

Some other anime you might be interested in watching are One Week Friends and Mushi-Shi.

[Shroopy]

She actually told me to check here. It wasn't that she had a problem with it, she just saw 18+ somewhere and wanted me to check here. Thanks!

[Shroopy]

Oh! I just realized: your signature, Mullet Death, is the first grader from Non Non Biyori!
Btw, smilies are not working anymore.

[skreyola]

Non Non Biyori is very clean, very tame. Squid Girl is more risque than NNB, and even that is pretty tame.

You might also check out the ARIA series: Aria the Animation, Aria the Natural, and Aria the Origination. They're about a trio of apprentice gondoliers on Mars. There's a little bit of Eastern mysticism in them, but it's not a heavy part of the series. Mostly, it's just slice-of-life stuff, very peaceful and relaxing, about the day-to-day challenges of learning to drive a gondola.
You might also check out Cross Game. But be prepared to cry through a couple of episodes. And laugh the rest of the time.

[KazeShiki]

Non Non Biyori is actually on my "to watch" list. From what I've gathered, it is actually a seinen anime (target audience is 18-40ish). However, "seinen" is just a demographic, not an indication of content. So, that doesn't mean that is has objectionable content (necessarily). It just deals with concepts/ideas typically suited for adults. An example might be unemployment and seeking a new career path for a 30 year old... compared to the typical shounen anime that is set in high school. But, all that said, that might be where your mother heard that it was for 18+.

In the case of Non Non Biyori, from what I've gathered, it does not contain any objectionable content. I don't honestly know why it is even considered seinen.

This is correct. Non Non Biyori is published in a seinen magazine, with a demographic aimed at 18+, so that must be where the 18+ rating came from. However, terms like seinen/shounen/shoujo/josei do not inherently say anything about the content, although you can make generalizations. More importantly, the classification is based solely on what magazine it is published in; the term does not actually refer to the manga but rather the magazine as a whole (which contains 10+ manga of varying content). There have been cases where manga have switched publishing magazines, causing a change in the demographic despite the content remaining the same because again, seinen/etc. just tells you the demographic of the magazine it's published in.

As for why something like Non Non Biyori (or K-On, which is also seinen) would be published in a seinen magazine when so many Westerners will think of mature themes if it's aimed at 18+ , this is in part due to the Japanese culture. Due to high stress work life, male adults are far more interested in reading something relaxing than teenage boys (hence the contrast in shounen so often being about hot blooded fighting stories). Even if you disagree, keep in mind these magazines have questionnaires that readers send in to gauge what sort of story is most popular among what demographic; the magazines understand their target audience very well, and thus you get stuff like Non Non Biyori and K-On being in seinen magazines.

[the_wolfs_howl]

You might also look into Kodocha (bear in mind that I've only seen the first 20 episodes). It's a crazy, fun shoujo about a child actress, and while it's definitely geared at a young audience, it actually talks about a lot of really deep topics that are relevant to many people of all ages. Stuff like death, suicide, child abuse, divorce, abortion.... Content-wise, other than the subject matter of topics I just described, it's pretty clean other than a few instances of things like pulling down someone's pants (off-screen) to embarrass them, or a boy touching a girl's chest to annoy her.

[MomentOfInertia]

You might also look into Kodocha (bear in mind that I've only seen the first 20 episodes). It's a crazy, fun shoujo about a child actress, and while it's definitely geared at a young audience, it actually talks about a lot of really deep topics that are relevant to many people of all ages. Stuff like death, suicide, child abuse, divorce, abortion.... Content-wise, other than the subject matter of topics I just described, it's pretty clean other than a few instances of things like pulling down someone's pants (off-screen) to embarrass them, or a boy touching a girl's chest to annoy her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc8dFL9Mk0o

[skreyola]

Tha linked PV is... um... interesting...

[Kraavdran]

Hey,

So, my sister and I started watching Non Non Biyori, like we were talking about above. We were having a difficult time trying to figure out why it was made for an older male audience, despite being a slice of life anime about 4 young women.

My sister stumbled upon an article that did a good job of explaining, I thought. So I wanted to share it with everyone who, like me, was confused for its "seinen" rating.

"these girls are supposed to make us recall daughters or nieces rather than classmates. Something happens to some of us once we pass a certain age, particularly around 30 or so. We stop concentrating on sex and violence and start being nurturing and caring. And once a little girl comes into our lives, we quickly learn that we have no more need for shame. And if we do, then the fourth tea party in as many days will cure us of that.
And that's where moe SoLs are marketed: adult males with kids, particularly girls... a.k.a., seinen magazines.
Well. I could be wrong. But it's a good theory regardless."
source: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments ... ri_seinen/

My sister also found a cool article about why it is seinen, but it took a different approach. It looked at how certain elements of the series were easier to decipher (and sit through) for an older audience, compared to a younger audience. (link: http://lineofflow.com/2014/08/23/why-is ... as-seinen/)

Anyway, I hope that you found that as interesting as I did.

[skreyola]

The first quote made me smile.

If you haven't gotten far into NNB, I would recommend watching the first and second season interleaved, as that seems to be the correct chronology (2.1, 1.1, 2.2, 1.2, etc.). But if you watch them straight through, it should still be just as therapeutic.
Nyanpasu!

[shooraijin]

Fascinating quote, Kraavdran. The quote "And if we do, then the fourth tea party in as many days will cure us of that" made me laugh out loud. It certainly will!

[Kraavdran]

Skreyola, That's really interesting, I'll consider doing that. Since I'm watching with my sister, I'll check to see what she would prefer. Thanks! Also, Nyanpasu.

Shooraijin, I also laughed out loud when I read that. It is quite accurate.