UK: Manga: "Gateway Drug" to Crime

[rugrats1]

According to the Anime News Network, Britain's "Daily Mail" editorialises in the 11/21 edition that "adult versions" of Japanese manga may lead to "child murder, incest and rape" by youths.

This is after the UK Reading Society issued a list of manga that they considered to be appropriate reading among teens, in their effort to encourage more reading. But The Mail said manga can lead to the reader's search for more violent and more pornographic manga, ending with crime. (Practically replaying the maxim about pot being a "gateway drug" for the harder stuff.)

All I can say about this is, "give me a break!" Reading manga does not lead to crime, and I haven't heard of anyone committing any crimes after reading violent or hentai manga. And their parents should already be aware of their child's reading habits, not to mention that most manga dealers know better than to sell hentai or violent manga to youths.

Any comment?

[Puppet Master]

According to the Anime News Network, Britain's "Daily Mail" editorialises in the 11/21 edition that "adult versions" of Japanese manga may lead to "child murder, incest and rape" by youths.

This is after the UK Reading Society issued a list of manga that they considered to be appropriate reading among teens, in their effort to encourage more reading. But The Mail said manga can lead to the reader's search for more violent and more pornographic manga, ending with crime. (Practically replaying the maxim about pot being a "gateway drug" for the harder stuff.)

All I can say about this is, "give me a break!" Reading manga does not lead to crime, and I haven't heard of anyone committing any crimes after reading violent or hentai manga. And their parents should already be aware of their child's reading habits, not to mention that most manga dealers know better than to sell hentai or violent manga to youths.

Any comment?

I was thinking the same thing because this sounds similar to the bullshit they have been giving video games for years.

[Andromeda18_]

All I can say about this is, "give me a break!" Reading manga does not lead to crime, and I haven't heard of anyone committing any crimes after reading violent or hentai manga. And their parents should already be aware of their child's reading habits, not to mention that most manga dealers know better than to sell hentai or violent manga to youths.

Any comment?

I think you're absolutely right! What's with our society and this tendency to blame violence on TV, video games, anime, manga, books, etc?! As if violence hadn't been around since a time when none of that existed. Groups of parents have been saying the Harry Potter books turn children into wannabe witches (as if that was a bad thing) and they've even tried suing J. K. Rowling! What is wrong with people?! I've watched violent movies ever since I was young, I read some pretty violent manga, play video games, etc, yet I don't feel like going around killing people or hurting them. And since when is sex a bad thing?! Why is it that people keep thinking that watching anything sexual is going to turn their children into some perverted monsters? Jeez! They're the ones who turn sex into a bad thing. If they didn't treat it like tabu it wouldn't be tabu, children wouldn't end up repressed adults. It's like those parents who find some porn magazines hidden somewhere in their child's bedroom and get all mad at the kid as if he had done something seriously bad! That really makes me angry!

[Puppet Master]

I think you're absolutely right! What's with our society and this tendancy to blame violence on TV, video games, anime, manga, books, etc?! Groups of parents have been saying the Harry Potter books turn children into wannabe witches (as if that was a bad thing) and they've even tried to sue J. K. Rowling on that account! What is wrong with people?! I've watched violent movies ever since I was young, I read some pretty violent manga, play video games, etc, yet I don't feel like going around killing people or hurting them. And since when is sex a bad thing?! Why is it that people keep thinking that watching anything sexual is going to turn their children into some perverted monsters? Jeez! They're the ones who turn sex into a bad thing. If they didn't treat it like tabu it wouldn't be tabu, children wouldn't end up as repressed adults. It's like those parents who find some porn magazines hidden somewhere in their child's bedroom and get all mad at the kid as if he had done something seriously bad! That really makes me angry!

It's really stupid and its just a way for people to not admit their own faults. They don't want to admit that they may have done something wrong or their kids just screwed up. I still don't get what what makes people think their kids having porno in their bedrooms is bad. I don't see what the big deal ity is personally I would be surprised if I didnt find any and a little worried lol

[tsunami]

I do believe there are manga that shouldn't be read by teens. I've read many manga volumes in my day and some of the hardcore horror novels are pretty crazy. But I agree there isn't much evidence proving that seeing something makes you do something. Then again everytime a psycho does something seen in a movie, book or other media of course they say that made the psycho do it. I swear everything the old saying is true : "everytime I like something they stop making it". :p

[takumi25]

Its true that everything we see in this world affects the way we are. That doesnt mean though that we can blame these things for what we did. I watched the movie "super size me" and it was about this guy who wants to prove that fastfood stuff is not healthy. You can always find something bad in everything but its up to you to choose for yourself. These things are there for you to exercise your freedom and learn from your decisions. Sex is not bad at all if you do it with responsibility and in proper places :p. Never blame something as a result of your decision coz it makes you look stupid.

[Homeless Joe]

i think if people are messed up in the head to do that stuff in the first place, then it was inevitable, they were going to do that anyways.

[wrxh8r]

The rockstar lawsuites anoy the crap outa me.
On another note Salad fingers is disturbing

[Blight]

I was thinking the same thing because this sounds similar to the bullshit they have been giving video games for years.

The rockstar lawsuites anoy the crap outa me.

I wrote a seven page research paper on the affects of video game violence on people and all the real "evidence" that scientists came up with in their experiments is not only subject to interpretation but an interpretation of things we don't really know about. Short way of putting it is that what scientist are measuring when they say that it makes people more violent is that is makes their brains more active then scientists interoperate that as being more violent. If you really want a good example of what I'm talking about look at these results http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp784772.html
and then read what Jeffrey Goldstein has to say about them http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2...stein.html
(cause he totally destroys their credibility )

I wish people would just start taking some damn responsibility for themselves. Blaming things on circumstances and inanimate objects just encourages more behavior along the same lines. If you are sick enough to rape someone and then blame it on a book, you just need the unholy hell beat out of you. :mad: The stupidest part about the article is that what the kids are reading is all right but they are worried that it will make them want to go get the more adult (not xxx) stuff? Isn't that the principle of what further learning is about; you move past the kiddy stuff to expand your mind.

PS I hate the PTA; just had to add that. :p

[WandererX12]

I don't know. After reading/watching pornograhic and violent manga or anime, there is nothing enjoy more than going out and raping small girls with my many tooth filled gelatinous appendages. Then when my media induced lust has been calmed, I like to kill then all with swords twice my own height.

[vegeta76]

all i have to say: this is a load of total crap. :mad: :mad: :mad:
if people dont know the difference between fantasy and reality, then they have no buisness reading the stuff in the first place...
these are just like the idiots who blamed merilyn manson for the columbine shootings.. imean WTF :mad: :mad:
as for the bit about the porn: who the hell cares. i certainly dont object to it lol :p i mean cmon. its not like if your kid looks at porn their gonna be scarred for life

whoever complains about these things has way, way, way too much time on their hands.

[Puppet Master]

Too much free time and too little education....

[vegeta76]

Too much free time and too little education....

good point

[gubi-gubi]

This is mainly down to Manga Entertainment and the image they portrayed of anime and manga in the UK with the titles they released and audience they aimed at. If you mention anime (manga everyone seems to call it here down to damn Manga Entertainment) people automatically think of violent rapes etc. I think that this is why anime hasn't taken off here due to that image sticking to all Japanese entertainment.

[WandererX12]

But "Manga Man" clearly states, with a grin so evil it should scare away all small children, that parental discretion is advised. Man did I hate that sticker.