What Is Anime? A Parent’s Primer, Best TV Shows to Binge Watch

If you’re a regular Plugged In reader, you may have noticed an uptick in the amount of anime TV and movie reviews on our site. That’s no coincidence: Whereas the consumption of anime was once an aspect of “nerd culture,” the medium, like other once-nerdy hobbies (playing Dungeons & Dragons, for instance), is quickly becoming more and more mainstream.

How mainstream is anime? A recent Polygon survey found that 42% of Gen Z respondents report watching anime content weekly, compared to 25% of Millennials, 12% of Gen X and 3% of Baby Boomers. The same survey further notes that only 25% of Gen Z’s members keep up with the NFL weekly.

What’s more, prominent brands, including McDonald’s, Duolingo and Puma, have likewise capitalized on the popularity of anime to boost sales. The BBC even writes on how anime has “taken the West by storm.”

What Is Anime, Anyway?

For those unaware, anime isn’t a genre so much as it is a medium. The word derives from a shortened version of the Japanese word “animēshon,” which, unsurprisingly, refers to any animated work. Linguistically, the term is typically used to describe any animation that originates from Japan—as opposed to Western animation, for instance.

Similar to how Marvel adapts comic books for the big screen, many anime shows and movies are based on manga, which are Japanese comics or graphic novels. Polygon noted that manga—which differentiates from Western comics in that they’re read right to left and are typically black-and-white—rose in sales by 280% in 2021 at American bookstores.

Because the term anime essentially just describes where an animated work originated, its topics can range as widely as the rest of the entertainment landscape. Some movies and shows feature deep, heavy and contemplative topics (such as Grave of the Fireflies). Others can be soaked in action and adventure (such as My Hero Academia). And some might just be far too inappropriate for your family.

With such a wide range of potential content concerns, it can be helpful to understand some other key jargon related to the medium. Anime and manga alike fall into various genres. And while some can be slated under genres with which we’d be familiar—such as drama or comedy—some iterations fall under specific terms that’ll be foreign to a newcomer. To help you start navigating a medium growing in popularity, we’ve put together a list of prominent anime genres with which you might not be familiar. And after that, we’ll note some of the common issues that, while not indicative of every movie or show in the medium, do appear often enough to merit a warning.

Genres

Different kinds of anime are not immediately divided by plot descriptions but are instead primarily labeled by age demographic. It is important to recognize that these distinctions are based on where its manga was originally published. Also important: anime’s age categories aren’t determined by any sort of MPA rating system.

For instance, if a show is described as a shonen TV show, that means the manga on which it is based likely originally appeared in a magazine which prints stories intended for 12-to-18-year-old boys. So while content in the show should generally match the age demographic associated with it, some shows can certainly toe the line of what’s appropriate for that age range. The following terms all describe the age demographic to which a title is meant to appeal:

• Kodomomuke. This term translates to “intended for children” and targets age groups younger than 12 years old. These stories tend to have moral lessons and heavy emphasis on the value of friendship and family. Popular examples of this genre include Pokémon, Digimon and Beyblade.

• Shonen. Literally translating to “boy,” shonen anime aims to entice boys between the ages of 12 to 18. This genre typically features a larger-than-life teenage or young adult male protagonist and a whole lot of action, adventure and fight scenes, sometimes with a lot of blood. In the United States, shonen anime tends to be the most popular type. Typical lessons include perseverance, fighting against evil and the value of friendship. Popular examples of this genre include Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, Death Note, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball and One Piece.

• Shojo. Shojo is the opposite of shonen, translating to “girl” and intended for female audiences between 12 and 18. The genre often contains a female lead and frequently contains a romance plot, though other shojo may focus on mysteries, action or fantasy. Due to many shojo anime titles focusing on romance, some may contain lighter sexual content. Typical lessons include self-love and acceptance, compassion and a variety of social issues. Popular examples of this genre include Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket, Komi Can’t Communicate and Princess Tutu.

• Seinen. This genre targets adult men (those 18 and older). The content is typically more graphically violent, and it may contain foul language and sex. Likewise, many stories are often (though not always) dark, and they don’t always have happy endings. Common themes explored in seinen anime include politics, philosophy and realism. Popular examples of this genre include Vinland Saga, Berserk, Made in Abyss, One Punch Man and Cowboy Bebop.

• Josei. Continuing down the list, josei targets adult women (those 18 and up). Like the shojo genre, josei anime tends to focus on romance. However, these romances also tend to be more realistic in the positives and negatives that come with them, and they can be sexually explicit. They can sometimes dive into LGBT relationships as well. Meanwhile, other josei stories simply focus on non-romantic issues relevant to adult women. Common themes explored in josei anime include issues in relationships, various moral and philosophical questions and realism. Popular examples of this genre include Paradise Kiss, Chihayafuru and Honey and Clover.

Following this distinction, anime also falls into various topic-based genres. While many will be familiar with genres like sci-fi, action or horror, below are genres that are more common to anime than other media.

• Slice of Life. Slice-of-life anime focuses on the mundane, intentionally containing a slow, episodic pace in order to mimic life for most real-life people (though in some cases, these shows may focus on the daily lives of outlandish characters). A subgenre of slice of life is called iyashikei, meaning “healing.” It tries to show the small beauties of mundane life, such as the enjoyment of surrounding nature or tension-less activities. Fans of lighthearted sitcoms may enjoy the slice-of-life genre. Popular examples of this genre include The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., The Way of the Househusband, Fruits Basket and Aria.

• Mecha. This popular form of anime centers on giant robots, often ones that do battle with each other or giant monsters. While they can sometimes adhere to the laws of physics, they likewise can contain aspects of magic. Popular examples of this genre include Mobile Suit Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann and Code Geass.

• Isekai. Isekai literally translates to “other world,” and it features a protagonist who, through magic or other means, is transported into a different realm and must learn how to live there. Western audiences might identify Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia as having isekai qualities. Popular examples of this genre include That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Spirited Away, Sword Art Online and Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World.

• Ecchi. This is the kind anime you’ll want to avoid—and to help your children stay away from as well. This genre intentionally contains light sexual situations that can be designated as “soft porn.” It derives from the first letter of the far more graphic hentai, another genre which translates to “pervert” and features explicit sex and nudity. For obvious reasons, we won’t list examples for this category, but we want parents to be aware that this category exists.

Concerns to Note

As you’ll note from our reviews, pretty much every piece of entertainment potentially has something negative to consider. And just as a genre might broadly suggest what content issues you might expect (violence and spiritual themes are common in horror movies, for instance), there are likewise concerns that rise above others in frequency with anime, too. While there are always exceptions to that rule, be mindful of the following three issues that pop up in anime more often than other problems do.

• Sexualization. If there’s one stereotype that anime is unable to shake (and which, in many cases, is unfortunately true), it’s the unnecessary sexualization of its characters—usually its female characters. In many shows, women can be drawn with ridiculous proportions and are seen in revealing clothing. In other instances, which some viewers deride as “fan service,” animators intentionally take moments throughout a show to focus on a female character’s body parts. Or they’ll intentionally put the character in a situation that compromises her dignity in some way. This becomes disturbing, as some shows may even use the same tactics on underage characters. It is common for viewers to ask online if a show contains “fan service” before they watch to avoid such objectifying issues.

• Heavy Violence. Some shows contain heavy amounts of violence. Fights in the shonen genre tend to accentuate the amount of blood the characters lose as well as the toll taken on their bodies as they battle. The popular series Attack on Titan, for instance, is infamous for its bloodshed, depicting people struggling to survive against man-eating titans. Other shows, like Promised Neverland, even depict the death of children.

• Spiritual Themes. Many shows dive into Eastern spiritual themes. While some are casual references to Eastern philosophy, others can incorporate these ideas more fully. Death Note, for instance, features a land full of gods of death and the means by which they take human lives. Meanwhile, Record of Ragnarok incorporates traditions from across the globe to depict a battle between man and the gods. While these ideas are often used more for entertainment value and to explain a show’s otherworldly setting than any sort of proselytizing, parents will still want to be aware how shows can dabble in spirituality.

Conclusion

Like the realm of television, it’s unfair to classify all anime as good or bad. I’ll admit that, other than prominent shows such as Pokémon, I didn’t pay much attention to anime for a long time, believing that every show was going to be filled with the aforementioned issues. And while it is true that some shows contain these themes, there are plenty out there that don’t—and they may even tell a good story.

My advice, therefore, is not to reject the medium altogether, but rather to treat it as you would any other streaming service. When you hop on Netflix, Disney+ or Prime, for instance, you know that there are plenty of movies and TV shows that are just plain garbage and should be avoided.

But if you’re coming to Plugged In, you also already recognize that there are pieces of entertainment on those streaming platforms that are worthwhile, shows and movies that provide positive messages and don’t fall into the same pitfalls as others. (After all, we previously listed Spy x Family as one of our Top 5 TV shows of 2022.)

And as anime becomes a more recognizable medium in the Western world, we’d encourage parents to use this guide as a way to push their children away from problematic shows and towards helpful ones.