Evil comic books?

[JSSebastianoP]

I am a fan of the Japanese style comic books, or manga.
I like the story elements of Love Hina and Negima by Ken Akamtsu. On the downside, they include nudity.
Does this cross the line or am I okay reading it just to follow the plot (provided the plot itself is not evil; but that is a whole other argument)?
Opinions?
Peace.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

Keep in mind that manga are the creations of a culture in which Christianity is a very small minority, thus they don’t quite share the same values. However, most of the time, I’ve seen nudity in manga (and it’s motion-picture cousin anime) played either for laughs (case in point a sight joke in Neon Genesis Evangelion involving a young guy who got startled while taking a bath and a toothpick holder; I think there were a number of similar gags in “Love Hina” ) or for artistic symbolism (ie. magical girl undergoing a transformation)

 

[CWBetts]

How important is the nudity to the story/situation? The same could be asked of graphic violence. Is it absolutely necessary to get the point across?

 

[Sam_Maloney]

The human form is beautiful, and is widely depicted without clothing in art within the Vatcian.

The ultimate question is what effect this is having on YOU. If you find yourself thinking more sexual thoughts, you certainly aren’t doing yourself any favor, whether or not the art in question is technically sinful.

 

[edwest2]

If it inspires sexual thoughts, don’t read it. You don’t have to understand a thing about Japanese culture to know that if it leads to sin, stay away.

And don’t buy the “it’s art” argument. I’ve seen that one used plenty of times. Only be concerned about how it affects you.

Peace,
Ed

 

[MarcoPolo]

If it inspires sexual thoughts, don’t read it.

Ditto.

 

[jmcrae]

Reading it is fine, as long as it doesn’t disturb your peace - it’s part of the culture of our time, and thus, part of your education.

I trust you don’t turn to it for moral guidance, or imitate the behaviour of the characters portrayed in it.

If it disturbs your inner peace by causing you to have sexual thoughts or to think of violence, then obviously you would need to avoid it.

 

[JSSebastianoP]

Thank you all very much for your help.
Peace.

 

[CAROLOFTHEBELLS]

I have never seen any of it, but I find the subject interesting as a former library employee. While preparing for a job interview, I discovered that a county official where I live tried to get one of the books pulled from the shelves of the county library after a complaint was made by a parent. This caused a problem because he insisted it be pulled without going through the process of challenging it. So, similar to banning a book from a library. Apparently, the problem picture was supposed to have depicted beastality involving a nude female fairy. Yet, reports of the picture say it can be interpreted differently. In the end, as I remember, the book was moved to a different section of the library, with art books instead of comic books. The whole thing caused quite a problem between the Board of Supervisors and the Library Director.

The library I used to work for was in a town that was a little more religious centered. We probably would have just pulled it! In fact, we probably would not chosen it to be part of the collection. (There is always the inter-library loan system anyway, as a way to get around that.) I should probably take these things more seriously, but I find the both the rules and the supposed sanctity in libraries of free exchange of information to be sort of humorous.

On a moral ground, I believe that what we see can effect us.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

How important is the nudity to the story/situation? The same could be asked of graphic violence. Is it absolutely necessary to get the point across?

Fan service is often used for comic relief (especially in the case of Ken Akamatsu who’s one of the manga industry’s prominent fan service kings). In the case of both Negima and Love Hina, the humor comes from the lead male making certain ‘accidents’ happen and gets punished as a result.

However, regardless of the nudity. Both actually have very good stories. It would be such a waste if you dropped them just on the basis of nudity. It’s like me not watching Passion of the Christ just cause its gory. I’m not trying to justify the sexual stuff in them but they really just come with the package.

If it inspires sexual thoughts, don’t read it. You don’t have to understand a thing about Japanese culture to know that if it leads to sin, stay away.

And don’t buy the “it’s art” argument. I’ve seen that one used plenty of times. Only be concerned about how it affects you.

I can see how the stuff can inspire sexual thoughts on the reader but… I bet if all those guys who got turned on by reading those ended up in the shoes of the main character, they’d be more concerned about staying alive than trying to ‘sneak a peek’. Trust me, in anime, peeking on girls could cost you your life. Reading that stuff actually taught me to have more respect for women (not to mention realize just how scary they can be when angry. >.>;;; )

 

[CWBetts]

Fan service is often used for comic relief (especially in the case of Ken Akamatsu who’s one of the manga industry’s prominent fan service kings). In the case of both Negima and Love Hina, the humor comes from the lead male making certain ‘accidents’ happen and gets punished as a result.

However, regardless of the nudity. Both actually have very good stories. It would be such a waste if you dropped them just on the basis of nudity. It’s like me not watching Passion of the Christ just cause its gory. I’m not trying to justify the sexual stuff in them but they really just come with the package.

I can see how the stuff can inspire sexual thoughts on the reader but… I bet if all those guys who got turned on by reading those ended up in the shoes of the main character, they’d be more concerned about staying alive than trying to ‘sneak a peek’. Trust me, in anime, peeking on girls could cost you your life. Reading that stuff actually taught me to have more respect for women (not to mention realize just how scary they can be when angry. >.>;;; )

I have never seen more blatnat rationization in my life.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I have never seen more blatnat rationization in my life.

Disagree if you want but have you actually read them? I have and the more I read, the less attention I paid to the nudity and more to what was happening. Manga does that. (Its the same with the fight scenes)

 

[Eucharisted]

I am a fan of the Japanese style comic books, or manga.
I like the story elements of Love Hina and Negima by Ken Akamtsu. On the downside, they include nudity.
Does this cross the line or am I okay reading it just to follow the plot (provided the plot itself is not evil; but that is a whole other argument)?
Opinions?
Peace.

I’d be more worried about the ideologies in manga, such as aura, magic, and praying to false gods. It’s why I don’t like manga all that much anymore, apart from the fan service and lack of emotion and story in most mangas, which I really got tired of.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I’d be more worried about the ideologies in manga, such as aura, magic, and praying to false gods. It’s why I don’t like manga all that much anymore, apart from the fan service and lack of emotion and story in most mangas.

Dude. Those are just props in the story. Stuff like aura, magic, and invoking divine power are no different than us real people using martial arts, weapons, and atomic bombs. (The only difference being that anime characters use them at a much higher frequency )

 

[Eucharisted]

Dude. Those are just props in the story. Stuff like aura, magic, and invoking divine power are no different than us real people using martial arts, weapons, and atomic bombs. (The only difference being that anime characters use them at a much higher frequency )

No, no it’s not. I advise you to pick up the Catechism and read up on the Church’s teaching, because if you don’t think New Age and magic are evil, than you’re going against the Church’s teachings. I’ll keep you in my prayers.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

No, no it’s not. I advise you to pick up the Catechism and read up on the Church’s teaching, because if you don’t think New Age and magic are evil, than you’re going against the Church’s teachings. I’ll keep you in my prayers.

For your information, I have studied those particular teachings far more deeply than you think. It goes all the way to exorcism and believe me, that’s actually one of the very things that I find most intriguing about being Catholic.

However, that never stopped me at all in enjoying harmless fantasy fiction. Why? Because I know what real magic is. What real magic looks like. What real magic does. And finally, I know that all the magic, spells, and super powers I see in manga are not real magic.

 

[celticsfan1983]

As a comic book lover, I’ll throw my two cents in. The fact that magic is being portrayed in a fictional manner is what makes it, in my eyes, ok to read about. It’s not as if comic books are advocating that you use magic and pray to false gods, etc. in your daily life.

It’s no worse than The Wizard of Oz or stories about Merlin. Just exercise caution, and if it’s leading you down a slippery slope, axe it. If you can handle it with maturity, then enjoy it (but don’t be suprised when you have to defend your practices).

 

[edwest2]

Disagree if you want but have you actually read them? I have and the more I read, the less attention I paid to the nudity and more to what was happening. Manga does that. (Its the same with the fight scenes)

So, nudity, what’s the big deal? As a professional writer who works in the media, nudity means nudity. They don’t put images of pretty girls in anything except to get you to notice them.

Nope. Your comments don’t wash. And yes, I’ve read manga.

Peace,
Ed

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

So, nudity, what’s the big deal? As a professional writer who works in the media, nudity means nudity. They don’t put images of pretty girls in anything except to get you to notice them.

Nope. Your comments don’t wash. And yes, I’ve read manga.

Peace,
Ed

Which ones in particular? Have you seen the ones the OP was mentioning?

 

[JSSebastianoP]

So, nudity, what’s the big deal? As a professional writer who works in the media, nudity means nudity. They don’t put images of pretty girls in anything except to get you to notice them.

I’ll agree with Lost Wanderer here , the more you read it, the less you notice it. Like, for example, when it starts to get cold in winter, we notice it as something odd. But, then, in the middle of winter, the cold just becomes a fact that we accept and we notice it less. There are countless examples like that.
Peace.