Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Taboo: Anime You Dare Not Watch

Last night I was hanging with a friend that happens to be into anime.  We got into a short discussion about Dance in the Vampire Bund, and it lead me to what I hope is an interesting line of features for the site.  I'll be running with the 'Taboo' theme for a few posts today, and I hope you'll enjoy reading and commenting on them.  I mean, it's always fun to talk about taboo topics, right?!


As I mentioned, my discussion last night was revolving around Dance in the Vampire Bund.  If you read my review of the series, you no doubt know what kind of taboo I'm talking about.  That discussion had me thinking about all the taboo topics that anime likes to delve into.  While I'm sure age-related taboos come into the minds of many, there are plenty of other taboo situations that crop up.  It all depends on what your beliefs are.

To say that violence isn't taboo would be simply incorrect.  While it's true that many people are desensitized to violence nowadays, I still find the violence in anime to be a step further.  I guess if I had to pilfer a term, I'd go with the old 'ultra violence' that we heard about in A Clockwork Orange.  Anime violence is sometimes very over-the-top and quite brutal.  I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, but there are plenty that would view this type of content as taboo.

That's just one example of taboo visuals and topics in anime.  There are a million others to discuss, but I'm leaving that up to you guys.  What anime do you refuse to watch due to a taboo topic in your own mind?  Did you ever watch a series only to hit upon an episode that absolutely shocked you, keeping you away from that series from here on out?

2 comments:

  1. I go into the mindset of watching anime to expect everything. So nothing really is taboo to me. So I may not agree with the mother/son incest, but if it's in a really good anime, I'll watch it.

    I know...that was an extreme example.

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  2. I think it has to do with the fact that, somehow murdering anime girls is somehow,...sadder than killing real woman. Not that it isnt sad, its just something about murdering a pretty with those big eyes.:D

    But I'm all for breaking that taboo.

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