In contrast with the past, anime addiction is becoming more and more uncontrolled, especially among youngsters. We've seen fictitious characters such as Spiderman, Superman, Frieza, Naraku, Makoto Itou, Skeletor, Diva, the Joker, Megatron, Enbo,... flying, becoming invisible, stopping a running train, and emitting bullets or destructive rays from their fingers, killing people, making love,... Let us keep in mind that ongoing improvements in media technology have left children, even seasoned observers, struggling to separate fact from fiction. In fact, the younger the child, the less he can distinguish his internal world from the real world.
The word "anime" is often defined as animation or "kotaku" in Japanese. It's a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sometimes sexuality. It's generally characterized by good storylines that makes the youngsters hook up. Hence, it has become a trend for youngsters. But too much exposure to anime can cause a postivie and negative effects to its viewer.
The Good
- Some researchers have found that one great benefit that anime has on youngsters was to "increases" social interaction.
- Anime can help a child with a serious injury to overcome anxiety and stress before surgery.
- Some youngsters have enhanced their drawing skills and imagination by watching anime.
- Anime can help children to learn Japanese language and culture.
The Bad
- The so-called social interaction is sometimes triggered by the fact that some youngstres have generally been victims of a stereotype that casts them as antisocial and unapproachable because they are not sharing the same passion with the anime fans. Once they become anime fans, they're immediately accepted, sometines in bad company.
The Ugly
- Anime addiction can affect youngsters with a propensity for behavioral problems to do or follow what they've watched.
- There are stories of children jumping to their death from buildings thinking they were 'invincible' like their superheros (e.g. Kevin Morais, ), Some committed suicide after seeing their favourite character die (e.g. Leonid Hmelev,..), and others can be exposed to sexually explicit contents by watching Hentai (Japanese anime characterized by overtly sexualized characters).
Up to parents to monitor what their children are watching.