I've been watching anime series since I was 3. Of course, at that time I had no idea there was a specific name for japanese cartoon.
When I was around 6 or 7, I used to watch an anime called "King Arthur" (I don't know what the original title was). It got on my nerves, because several characters died in the course of the story. I was so used to all those (American) cartoons where no one ever died, that I got agravated at "King Arthur," so I decided that I should no longer watch it. After a few months, I pondered about it and finally understood that it was time to accept death as a natural part of life. So, as you can see, that anime was actually a good influence for me. Pity it was no longer being broadcasted when I decided to give it a second chance. ^^U
Since this thread contains several old posts on religion, I'd like to offer the point of view of a religious person: me. I haven't been raised in a particularly religious family. I became a Spiritist at age 17 because I wanted to--and I'm glad I did. Although Spiritism isn't a religion per se, but rather a doctrine that merges Philosophy, Science and Religion (Christianism), I consider myself a very religious person. My views on many subjects are heavily influenced by Christianism. Still I don't have a problem with anime and manga, not even when the stories deal with controversial topics like extreme violence, incest and the such (yaoi/yuri are NOT controversial topics for me because I accept homossexuality as a natural fact of life).
So, as you can see, not all religious people are against fantasy. But then again, the fact that us Spiritists don't believe in Satan, fallen angels, Hell and the such certainly helps a lot.
As for the folks who mentioned Buddhism as a cool religion, I must say I had similar feelings about it when I studied it at school. In fact, my interest for Buddhism was one of the factors that ultimately led me to become a Spiritist.
Like To Chat?
