Is anime too atheist?

[serenity2517]

None of my friends are into anime because they think it's too atheist but I keep watching it because I know it's not a sin and Jesus will accept me anyway. Besides some anime has christian stuff in it. I see crosses all the time. What do you guys think

 

[Mankin]

First of all, religion is a concept that is not dealt with very often in anime. At best, they'll throw in a few Budhist/Shinto references since those two religions are a strong part of Japan's culture.

As for the crosses, sometimes animes throw in symbols of Christianity because Japanese people generally consider it to be an exotic Western religion(kinda like how we consider eastern religions exotic).

Since Japan is largely a secular country, sometimes the world view in anime is generally secular.

For the most part, animes don't dabble in religion so if you're worried about atheist influences, you don't need to worry about anime.

What animes have you watched so far?

 

[serenity2517]

I've watched some of neon genesis evangeleon, some rozen maden, and some naruto. One of my friends cosplays and I love her costumes so she got me into the anime.

If anime doesn't dable in religion it means it is atheist though right?

 

[Qyöt27]

If anime doesn't dable in religion it means it is atheist though right?

No. Atheism is the intellectual position that a god or gods do not exist, not the lack of a focus on religion. Anime is no more 'atheist' than an American sitcom that has nothing to do with religion as the source of its comedy, or other types of media that don't focus on it either.

That also said, 'anime' is not a monolithic entity - it's simply a generic term for Japanese animation. Each show is different, has different focuses, and has different plots. You can't judge the entire animation industry over there based on the viewpoints of show X or show Y. Think of it the same way you'd treat classic literature or Saturday morning fare like Looney Tunes - when did those ever deal with religion? Classic literature might, if something about the plot had to do with the church or what all, but most of it has nothing to do with religion or faith. That doesn't make most of our literary heritage 'atheist', though.

Just be informed about the shows beforehand. Filter them the same way Western TV and movies are - there's plenty that are perfectly appropriate, there's others which are more hit or miss depending on one's convictions, and then there's others that are certainly not appropriate whatsoever.

Also of note, the translation from Japanese to English is not always completely accurate, and things can come out sounding worse in English than they would have in the original. For instance, Japanese has several generic words for mythological creatures - youkai is one such word, and doesn't have an adequate English translation. Youkai doesn't say anything of the creature's intentions - you can have some that are good and some that are bad, or others that really don't actively care either way. The problem when bringing such series into English, is that a lot of companies have, for whatever unforeseeable reason, used the word 'demon' to translate youkai (to be fair, though, the way the Greek word 'daimon' is used in the original Greek mythology is a tad more accurate, but still not entirely). Obviously that's a problem, as from a Christian perspective there's no such thing as a good demon. That whole issue could have been averted by not using such a bad translation.

 

[Riddik7]

anime athiest? heh this topic always gives me a chuckle....

it's like saying a fantasy book is athiest... it's not a matter of it's not specificaly christian. there are so many out there done it's like saying a jello is red... sure some may test your faith if you are not strong in your faith, but they are none the less entertainment meant for entertainment purposes, even if some do occassionaly have very religious themes (yes there are religious based anime out there, lots in fact... i watch so much anime that i can vouche for this) but even so most were not meant by the author to be a religious anime but it was merely a part of the story line...

D Gray Man is a good example of a religion themed anime... it has a christian base to the story line but it is meant as a part of the story line. and should not be taken as fact but as a story... if you read a book and one of the characters in the book is the devil it does not make the book satanic...

 

[SAint Mark]

Anime as a genre is not atheist no more than movies or books are atheist... It depends on the anime/movie/book. In general I'd venture that few anime series have atheist undertones.

 

[Witchy Bee]

Japan does not create anime with any religious/atheist bias. That ridiculous.

 

[Bryant the Believer]

One of the Gundams (I forgot which one) had a character name Setsuna Seise (or something like that) he was an atheist, but as far as "normal" anime, no, some say because anime has a lot of sexual innuendo that it is ungodly, but that is no different than some American programs like Jerry Springer, even Two and a Half Men, (which Jake is a kid) has sexual scenes. So I don't think anime is atheistic unless it says something atheistic like it says "there is no god" or something. As a former atheist, I know a lot about the subject.

 

[Azureknight 773]

Japan does not create anime with any religious/atheist bias. That ridiculous.

Perhaps Gundam OO will prove it to you.

One of the Gundams (I forgot which one) had a character name Setsuna Seise (or something like that) he was an atheist, but as far as "normal" anime, no, some say because anime has a lot of sexual innuendo that it is ungodly, but that is no different than some American programs like Jerry Springer, even Two and a Half Men, (which Jake is a kid) has sexual scenes. So I don't think anime is atheistic unless it says something atheistic like it says "there is no god" or something. As a former atheist, I know a lot about the subject.

Right. Gundam has been using a lot of Biblical terms such as "Genesis", "Messiah" etc and then the worse is that Gundam OO's main character Setsuna is a pure athiest. He eve promotes it by saying "There is no God".

 

[Qyöt27]

Right. Gundam has been using a lot of Biblical terms such as "Genesis", "Messiah" etc and then the worse is that Gundam OO's main character Setsuna is a pure athiest. He eve promotes it by saying "There is no God".

Window dressing. Those elements are used 99% of the time because they happen to be 'exotic' to Japanese culture, same as Western media sometimes toys with Buddhist or generically Eastern motifs because they represent the exotic to us. It's also why those elements - if taken as expository on the religion they were pulled from - reveal extreme misunderstandings a lot of the time. Case in point: Evangelion.

And one character's stance or one show's plot developments don't prove any sort of 'bias', especially not for a large industry. Generally speaking, Japan itself isn't too religious anymore, but hardline atheists are still not common* - the cultural background is one that lends itself more to covering all the bases or adhering to tradition out of personal and social responsibility, which to the West comes across as a fairly agnostic stance. The media will mostly reflect the society as a whole, not a small segment of it.

*I can seriously only recall two or three other characters in all the anime I've watched that made any sort of "there is no God" statements. And if the Completed counter on my MAL profile is close to the real number I've seen, that's at least 190 shows. It's not common at all.

 

[Bryant the Believer]

This is somewhat related to the topic, but is Precious Moments anime?

 

[Mankin]

Japan's Shintoist traditions are far too engrained into Japanese society and culture for it to be a purely atheist country.

As for Precious Moments, the art style may mimic anime to a slight degree but I wouldn't say it is.

 

[LUColt27]

This is somewhat related to the topic, but is Precious Moments anime?

I don't believe it is. I do know that it has a large store/museum type setup in southwest Missouri not too far from Springfield, but that's the best I have.

 

[LordTimothytheWise]

In Naruto they do "pray" a lot, but that does not seem directed to anything/anyone in particular, but I would have a hard time saying that its "atheist". Its certainly not uber religious, but I think they have the sense of people being religious, so they will add prayers and stuff and particularly so when something is supposed to mean a lot to the characters, but they won't be specific about it because its not about the religion.

 

[MoonlessNight]

Japan tends to make anime that is rather secular and defaults to a Buddhist/Shinto way of looking at things when coming to actual religious questions. Which isn't surprising considering that Japanese society is highly secular with a Buddhist/Shinto background. The symbols are derived from everywhere, with a particular emphasis on the gothic and qabbalistic when it comes to the Judeo-Christian, but that's just because they think it looks cool and it worked well for Neon Genesis Evangeleon. However if you get to questions of actual existence of the supernatural, especially just the beliefs of characters (i.e. not talking about the existence of gods in a fantasy setting), it's mainly the standard Shinto backdrop with perhaps some mention of enlightenment or Buddha on top of that.

When it comes to Christianity, Samurai Champloo is the only thing that I can think of that deals with it at all seriously, and that's just because it's the only series that touches on Christian persecution in Japan. Even there it's surprisingly in the background when you consider that the conflict drives much of the core plot (from the background.)

 

[Qyöt27]

The symbols are derived from everywhere, with a particular emphasis on the gothic and qabbalistic when it comes to the Judeo-Christian, but that's just because they think it looks cool and it worked well for Neon Genesis Evangeleon.

It doesn't always have to be. I can name several examples of comedy, romance, etc. shows that are set in Catholic schools, or have characters superficially dress as nuns or priests, although the fact it's still just there for exotic flavor is obvious (even despite the presence of some rather prestigious Catholic schools in Japan). Then again several of said series seem to use the setting, particularly the all-girls Catholic schools, to only enhance the yuri/shoujo-ai subtext that was already present.

 

[PassionFruit]

Anime? Atheist? Well I can say that anime is more 'secular' than actually being atheist. Like some of the posters have said, you can find Judeo-Christian elements in anime, but only used because it's considered cool. I've also read manga where there would be characters who attend Catholic schools.

yuri/shoujo-ai subtext that was already present.

Right, but it can also be said for yaoi/shonen ai, too. Only because I've just read a couple of BL manga where the characters were at a Catholic school.

 

[Riddik7]

gah these threads drive me nuts....

it's like saying that all video games, and all books are athiest... sure there sre some athiest anime shows out there but there are also non athiest ones out there and ones that are completely neutral and dont even bring such a possible topic up in any fassion...

 

[Zeru]

I've definitely seen some Christian manga before! Some girl had it at summer camp. Ooooh...I gotta ask her and get back to you about that.

I haven't seen ANY outwardly atheist manga/anime.

 

[CyberPaladin]

Well anime for the most part is secular not atheist and I can only recall two shows I have seen with main characters were atheist Fullmetal Alchemist and Gundam 00 in those shows there wasn't the caustic attitude directed towards Christianity that you see in American shows.