One of my earliest memories is the theme song to the cartoon hit “Speed Racer” from the late ‘60s. Even though that series is more than 35 years old, it shows how a popular form of Japanese animation, (anime) was already capturing the hearts of American fans like me. I loved how Speed Racer’s car, the Mach 5, had James Bond-like gizmos for every situation. Speed Racer certainly faced peril, but he and his trusty Mach 5 always prevailed.
Fast-forward three decades, and anime and its print-version counterpart, manga, along with their related video games, card games and other paraphernalia, have become a cultural force. Thousands of titles have made the jump to the West. Some, such as Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon, have gained widespread household recognition, while others, such as Gundam and Akira, are popular standouts among anime devotees.
Anime’s and manga’s popularity have been driven by a Japanese approach to animation and storytelling. Its enormous popularity in Japan, and increasingly in the United States, means there’s a wide spectrum of content to consider. Some of which may be OK, some definitely not OK. As Christians, how are we to think about these popular forms of entertainment? To begin answering that question, we need to understand a bit of the history of manga and anime.
From a Continent Far, Far Away
American fans of these two animation genres have witnessed an explosion of choices as they have become more popular here in the last 20 years. But anime’s and manga’s roots reach back much further.
Manga is simply the Japanese word for comics. Literally, it means “random or whimsical pictures.” Though the term has been used since the 19th century, not until after World War II did manga begin gaining popularity in Japan.
Similarly, anime is Japanese animation, and its style is heavily influenced by manga. The first widely popular anime series was Osamu Tezuka’s “Astro Boy” in 1963. The show’s main character sported the distinctively large eyes that have since come to distinguish the genre from other animation.
Like American comic animation, manga and anime come in many flavors. Some of the most popular types of stories are space opera (sci-fi sagas) and mecha (featuring giant battling robots), but plenty of other action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and martial arts stories exist as well.
Not Kids’ Stuff
Unlike in America, manga and anime enjoy broad popularity among children and adults. That means some stories are aimed at young readers, while others cater to adult audiences and include profanity as well as sexual and violent images. Though some rating systems do exist, they are inconsistent and not universal. Often it can be hard to tell from a manga cover or an anime title exactly what you might find inside.
Kyle (not his real name) found this out the hard way. When he was 12, Kyle became an anime aficionado but quickly stumbled into its dark side without intending to. “One day when I was browsing a new Web site,” he says, “I suddenly found myself looking at [animated] sexual acts.”
Soon, Kyle was hooked. Only when his sister discovered what he’d been looking at did he get the help he needed to say no to the addictive habit. Kyle describes what he’s learned: “God wants me to replace all those sinful images with His truth and to look at women as sisters in Christ, not sex objects.”
Sexual content is not the only potential problem with some manga and anime. Because Japan is a land steeped in a variety of non-Christian religious traditions and superstitions, spiritually problematic characters and storylines often pop up. Angels, demons, vampires, priestesses and sorcerers frequently inhabit manga and anime stories. In the 2002 anime feature Spirited Away, a multitude of spirits indwells everything from rocks to the sun. And the Saturday morning cartoon “Shaman King” involves a teenager who invites a ghost to indwell and empower him — not a good idea! Mix in the graphic violence that frequently accompanies these spiritually dark stories, and you’ve got a recipe that violates a command from Paul: “I do not want you to be participants with demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20).
Getting Biblical
With these potential problems in mind, we must consider how we can evaluate whether a particular anime movie or manga comic book is OK to enjoy — or something to avoid.
Scripture is our starting point. Though God’s Word doesn’t talk about Japanese animation, the Bible does provide plenty of guidance for the content issues we might run into. Philippians 4:8-9 gives some solid and broad guidance: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Think for a minute about that list of words: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. This is a great verse to revisit time and time again not only with anime and manga but also with all our media decisions (such as movies, TV shows, video games and music). Does the manga or anime story you’re interested in meet these criteria? Does it line up with the truth of Scripture? Do the characters make noble choices? Are their motivations and actions pure? If not, there’s good reason to think twice about picking it up.
In Ephesians, Paul gives further instructions on rejecting the old ways of the world and embracing new life in Christ: “You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. . . . Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. . . . You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds” (Ephesians 4:17, 19, 22-23).
Paul says being a Christian means no longer thinking about life the way we did before we had a relationship with Jesus. Instead of watching violent, degrading or spiritually inaccurate anime or manga and saying, “It’s no big deal,” we must recognize these things for the worldly influences that they are and reject them.
Getting Personal
The problem with so many unbiblical aspects of our culture today is that you don’t even realize when you’re being conformed to its mold. Besides using Scripture to evaluate your choices, each would be wise to ask some tough questions.
First, what do you find appealing about anime and manga? Some may be drawn to the artistic style of Japanese animation. It looks different from what you’re used to seeing. Others find the promise of action and adventure magnetic and can’t wait to see what happens next to their favorite heroes. There’s no right or wrong answer to this question. Just be honest with yourself about why you’re interested.
Second, what part of the story or characters do you identify with? There’s usually something about our media choices — whether anime, movies or music — that we connect with. Personally, I’m sometimes drawn to characters who are outsiders, who prevail against the odds. Something in me relates to them as underdogs. When I realized that I’m drawn to such characters, it caused me to ask, Is that the right way to think about myself, too? Does God see me that way? In fact, I’m anything but an outsider to God. He loves me deeply, and He wants me to be actively engaged with others.
Third, what is the fruit (the outcome) of your interaction with anime and manga? The fruit of Kyle’s habit was a dangerous addiction that caused him to hide the truth about his life from his family — definitely not a good place to be. What about you? Do manga and anime cause you to pull away from your relationships with friends and family? How do you think these entertainment forms influence the way you see others? In Kyle’s case, out-of-bounds anime twisted the way he saw women, something he now recognizes was dishonoring to them and to God.
Fourth, where might anime and manga take you down the road? Perhaps Kyle didn’t know some of the problematic stuff in anime — but you do. Given the potential problems, consider carefully whether this hobby is really worth the risks.
Finally, what do your parents and spiritually mature friends (or teachers) think of what you’re looking at? Their input is an important part of the process of discerning whether something is acceptable or not. By getting another perspective, you can measure your own viewpoint.
Trusting God With Our Desires
From my own experience, I think it’s safe to say that trusting God with our interests, such as anime and manga, is one of the hardest things we’ll ever do. Sometimes our hearts fixate on something and have a hard time admitting God wouldn’t be pleased with our choices.
Over the years, I’ve learned God doesn’t want to take the things I think are cool away from me. He wants to do so much more than that. He wants me to know that my heart will find satisfaction only in Him — a lesson I keep learning.
God wants us to come to Him with the things we love and say, “Here it is, Father. I’ll trust You with it.” Sometimes, He’ll say, “Thanks, son. That’s really not going to give you what you’re looking for, so I’ll hold onto it for you.” Other times, He gives us freedom to enjoy particular interests and hobbies. Take your interest in anime to God and open-handedly submit it to Him, asking God to let you know exactly how He wants you to respond.
Though I was into American comics as a teen, I never got into anime or manga. But several times God has asked me to let go of things that weren’t in my best interest. In high school, He convicted me that my fantasy role-playing game habit was out of control. I spent more time thinking about an imaginary world than living in the real one, and it was consuming my life and exposing me to potentially dangerous spiritual influences. So I threw it all away. The same thing happened with some of my secular music in college: God challenged me to be more discerning about my musical interests. Each time, I believe He has blessed my willingness to trust Him with these things.
I believe He’ll bless you in amazing ways as you learn to trust Him with stuff like anime and manga. Ultimately, walking with Him is the adventure of a lifetime — and He doesn’t want you to miss a single minute of it dabbling in things that don’t honor Him. 
