 This was the
oldest gathering of the Otakon weekend. Instead of teens and college students,
there were mostly adults in their 30's and 40's at this Sunday panel discussion.
This was a place for parents to talk about the challenge of raising anime
fans - and what it's like to become an anime fan at a time when the mature,
mundane world doesn't understand the appeal of that art form. On the podium
from left to right are Sue Monroe, a librarian, parent of two and an Otakon
volunteer staffer; Pete Prellwitz, another Otakon volunteer and father
of five boys; and author and librarian Gilles Poitras, who uses anime and
manga to attract youth to discover literacy and libraries. |
 "My family
thinks this is all pretty weird," Monroe said about her appreciation of
anime. "My friends take it with a grain of salt. When my students understood
that I watch anime and found that I knew all about Gundam Wing, it gave
them a new perspective. It told them they wouldn't have to be boring to
be an adult." While Monroe came to anime from her appreciation of science
fiction and Prellwitz has collected comic books for years, other parents
are learning about anime from their children, attracted by Sailor Moon,
Pokemon and Dragon Ball. Many parents accompanied their children to Otakon,
following closely as their costumed youngsters paraded through the halls
and shopped in the dealers' room. The panelists said that adults can get
hooked on anime through their childrens' enthusiasm, but there's the potential
pitfall of the parents objecting to the sexier or more violent shows. |
 Japan's cultural
sensibilities are different than those in most of North America, but parents
may not understand that, said Poitras. "They're going to be surprised,"
Poitras predicted about the growing number of adults who will take a closer
look at the anime watched by their children. He pointed to the Crayon Shin-Chan
series, popular in Japan, about a lecherous young boy who pulls on womens'
underwear and has trouble keeping his pants on. That series is much in
the comedic spirit of South Park, which has been criticized by some reviewers
as going too far with its humor. However, Shin-Chan is considered a tame,
funny family show in Japan. |
 Poitras said
that video companies need to help parents know what to expect, and their
"mature" labels don't give enough information about show. Poitras said
that Viz Video had labeled Ranma 1/2 as a "sexual martial arts comedy"
when the show was a gender comedy, about the differences between males
and females and not about sexual attraction. At the panel, Poitras had
a list of anime suitable for general audiences, ranging from Kiki's Delivery
Service and My Neighbor Totoro to Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Card
Captor Sakura and Future Boy Conan. Prellwitz added that he hoped that
future Otakons would add programming for children, and urged parents to
tell convention organizers what form that programming should take. |
