Gorgeous

[Mr Cat Dog]

Japanese entertainment, be it anime or manga, has a reputation in the West for being overtly sexual, especially in comparison to their Western equivalents ('cartoons' for anime, comic books for manga etc.). I can remember a while back that some parents' groups seriously considered advocating for some anime to be removed from Cartoon Network because of its sexual overtones, despite the groups never having seen the anime in question: its' Japanese-ness was enough to freak people out. (And yes, I'm aware Japanese-ness isn't a word!) Maybe it's the association with hentai, which doesn't really have a Western equivalent, but among laypeople, anime seems to give them a slight concern.

First, do you think Japanese entertainment is overly sexual? Second, if so, is this necessarily a 'bad' thing?

(KWC #2)
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[digi-kun]

I think it's more that they throw it in your face instead of doing it subtly like all the older cartoons, or at least with more modern anime. I mean, a lot of the older cartoons can be REALLY sexual, but most of that humor is pretty subtle. There is also the part where Japan tends to allude to the hentai and R-18 doujin out there, along with the fact that they pump out a lot more R-18 material, especially animation-wise.

The whole rapelay incident on amazon didn't really help either.

EDIT: oh right, to answer the question. Yes and No. While some may not have the implications, the problem is that the ones that do tend to be very blatent about it.
For the other one, it really depends on the anime, most AmeriMoms tend to see the worst and apply it as a stereotype to the rest.

 

[Chirm]

I think the Japanese have the right idea. American censorship is comically nonsensical insofar as you can't say **** on television but you can show as much gore as you'd like. It's really a mad system. By the same token, you have shows like Dragonball--whose intended audience is clearly children--directly referencing the naked female body and minor sexual acts therein. The idea, at least from my perspective, is that this sort of thing is more comedic than psychologically harmful. Makes sense to me!

 

[Archenoth]

I think that Japanese entertainment is a bit more sexual... And no, that isn't a bad thing. So many people need to lighten up about human sexuality. Having media devoid of it because it's "horrible", yet allowing people to get gibbed, bloodied, decapitated, and killed in a show seems a bit weird to me.

It just seems to be a topic that people are really sensitive (heh) about. Sensitive to a fault.

 

[Aether]

Not overly sexual, per se, just a lot more sexually liberated. It's different there compared to the United States, where sexuality is massive taboo and considered more obscene than gory violence in most cases. It's actually pretty unique in that respect, England for example can depict most sexy programming unrestricted by censors after 9 PM, if I remember correctly.

 

[Kano Shuuya]

I wouldn't call it overly, it's just more normal for them, and they're used to it. If they were to tone it down suddenly, it would be weird to them. It's not like they throw hardcore sex into everything, and it's not all too bad in my opinion. I like that they treat it lighter than some of the rest of the world. What's considered rated PG13 here, is sometimes rated G in Japan, and as odd as that is to us, I actually find it interesting, and always wonder why the USA can't loosen it's tie and learn something from it.

Another thing is that anime tends to over do more than their TV dramas, which is.. odd. xD;

I mean it's normal to see a completely pervy anime.

But then I watch J-dramas, and sometimes there isn't even any kissing. Or kissing is as far as it goes, and there's nothing pervlicious at all during the entire series. I like that, and it's refreshing that J-drama's aren't driven by sex, but I'm still always surprised.

 

[Ryoutarou]

Japan is a very modest country as far as every day people go, so you'll have a hard time finding anything that goes to the level of sexuality in anime when it is there. Those J-Dramas tend to run in primetime spots on TV while a good portion of anime that people watch are late night shows, so they're definitely more free to do what they want. This is why I think it's amusing that the anime can be described as liberated while the reality is much, much tamer and this tends to come through in most of their live action productions. (like, so much so that one of the shows I watched, which was pretty open about dealing with topics like homosexuality, self harming, and alcoholic addictions, had its big "two people finally become a couple" moment be those two characters...holding hands) But, you know, anime in general is still seen as a thing only super geeks are into over a certain age over there, so a lot of shows don't try to emulate them too much and stick to those troupes already out there in their medium.

 

[Esper]

To say that anime is overtly sexual is akin to saying movies are overtly sexual: it's true in certain cases and not in others. It's only the view that animation is/should be for younger audiences that makes anything that goes beyond the purity ideal of Disney seem sexual. Most anime is as tame as your average Disney animated classic.

I'd say that, as far as mass media goes, things that come out of Japan are a lot less sexual, or at least the percentage of the country's overall media is less sexual than that of Western countries. The dramas that ^^^ mention are prime examples. Where you might see a lot of adult and/or sexual themes are in manga, but then compare that to your average superhero comic.

 

[Oryx]

To say that anime is overtly sexual is akin to saying movies are overtly sexual: it's true in certain cases and not in others. It's only the view that animation is/should be for younger audiences that makes anything that goes beyond the purity ideal of Disney seem sexual. Most anime is as tame as your average Disney animated classic.

Exhibit A: Disney being tame​

I think it's kind of like a "you win some, you lose some" situation. Yeah, there are a lot of show that are completely sexual and full of fanservice, but then there are some that are the opposite of fanservice and have no relation to anything sexual. Then there are the ones in between, more like cartoons here, where they're not blatantly sexual but they have the innuendos there that you won't catch as a kid.

 

[Nagaraja]

Fan-service and Hentai are two completely different things. We have the same thing here in America.
That's what the rating system is about.
Example

In "Americanized Ratings"
Megaman; G
Sailor Moon: PG/PG13
Rosario to Vampire Capu 2: PG13
R is teh same as hentai.
Bible Black : NC17-HENTAI

It's really no different than here, or most other countries.

 

[Overlord Drakow]

Sometimes I do feel that Japanese animes are too sexual yeah. I don't mind if it's in moderation but if it's spammed too much I don't like it.

 

[Treecko]

I dont think anime is isn't any more sexual than American cartoon. Even in Disney films there are hidden and obvious sexual material such as the gif Toujours posted. Animators have place hidden sexual meanings in childrens cartoons for years just for adults to notice and also be entertained. Though their children may not get what they're laughing at, but years later they discover these and find it funnier. Both American and Japanese shows have sexual content in it, just in different amounts depending on the show's rating. I also believe that American society is becoming more and more sexual in the media. You can see that in most movies and tv shows; most of them usually have at least one sex scene in it. Though it mainly depends on the rating and what's considered appropriate in that country.