My daughter has picked up an interest in Demon Slayer, however having watched a little I think it’s too violent/mature.

I’d love to foster her interest in these things, by trying out an alternative anime that hits similar notes while being more age apropriate.

Any recommendations?

  • PoastRotato@lemmy.world
    12·
    1 year ago

    My Hero Academia is also violent, but it’s a bit less graphic than Demon Slayer, and it’s themed around super heroes/villains so the concept may be more approachable for a child. It’s one of my personal favorites, but fair warning: The themes do get somewhat more mature as the show goes on.

    If your kid has an interest in science, Dr. Stone could be a great fit. Contains some violence, but it’s mostly about a super genius recreating modern technology using primitive resources after an apocalypse.

    Another one in the science vein, Cells at Work tells the story of anthropomorphic cells living and doing their jobs in a human body. Again, some violence, but it’s mostly cartoonish and shouldn’t be much of a worry for a kid.

    Fairy Tail is also a good choice, especially since its audience skews younger than the other recs I’ve given here. It follows a group of wizards at a famous guild as they take on quests and go on adventures. Very kid-friendly with a huge backlog of episodes.

    On second thought, maybe give Fairy Tail a miss due to the fanservice. I apparently blocked all those scenes from my memory when watching as a kid.

    • stonehopper@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      Hero academia: actually does become pretty graphic as series goes on Dr.stone: good pick Cells at work: safe too but not in the genre as demon slayer Fairy tail: not kid friendly at all because of all the ecchi

      • PoastRotato@lemmy.world
        5·
        1 year ago

        Oh damn, you’re definitely right about Fairy Tail. It’s been so long since I’ve watched it I completely forgot about all the fanservice. It’s bizarre though, because if it wasn’t for that it’d fit right in with other “Saturday morning” kids anime like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon

    • fireweed@lemmy.world
      41·
      1 year ago

      I’ve only read the manga, but I found Dr Stone to be really misogynistic, in a low-key but pervasive way. Nearly all the female characters (especially in the first half) are vapid and highly sexualized. Maybe the anime is better? MHA’s female characters are also overly sexualized, but at least they’re as well-developed as the male characters.

      Also to be clear, Cells at Work: Code Black is a spin-off which is NOT age appropriate (albeit the superior series IMO).

        • fireweed@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          Again, I’ve only read the manga so I don’t know how they’re portrayed in the anime, but:

          Yuzuriha: primary purpose is motivation for the male protagonist (ala Miho Asuki in Bakuman)

          Kohaku: min-maxed strength and dexterity at the loss of intelligence, wisdom, and self-initiative (and I’m sorry, but that is one ridiculously skimpy outfit, especially given her acrobatic role)

          Suika: pre-pubescent characters (thankfully!) usually bypass misogyny/hypersexualization so I don’t include her in my assessment

          And then there are the other first-half characters, like:

          Ruri: helpless sick girl (omg that shot of her being fed medicine)

          Kirisame: zero self-initiative (mindlessly follows orders), and that outfit makes Kohaku look like a nun

          And a bunch more that I don’t remember because it’s been a while since I read the series.

          The first female character I didn’t feel at least a little uncomfortable about was Chelsea, who I think is actually a strong character and the first (non-child) female character to be accepted into the group for her insight, smarts, and decision-making skills, AND her design is not sexualized (almost as if she stumbled in from another series). But she appears quite late in the series, hence my comment about the first half. Some of the American female characters are also okay, but not great (and again, introduced in the latter half). But even towards the end, the male characters are in nearly all the leadership positions, and the female characters are left to play support.

          I don’t mean to single out Dr Stone; you could do a similar analysis for most anime and nearly all shonen series. But especially given the gender imbalance in STEM, it’s unfortunate to see more business as usual.