100% of the fan service containing shows could just be adult cast. I don't understand why that's so hard. More adult cast shows in general would be nice. Why's everyone gotta be a highschooler, man?
I think the idea is that the majority of the consumers and viewers of anime and manga are teenagers. To pull in that audience, the characters would have to be relatively the same age for the audience to relate to those characters.
Culturally high school is like this wonderful time of freedom before working age begins.
A lot of these high school shows were watched by me as a high school kid. And living my shit life, they taught me emotional and social things I wasn't gonna learn otherwise. And I finished shows back then knowing even at 18 or 19 they would be obsolete and childish in my life. I was wrong, but I did grow out of anime by about age 22.
But as an adult now? Please make some adult shows. Some of the most intellectually challenging and creative works are centered around 16 year olds. UGH.
Disclaimer: This is a joke. Pls don't stone me lol
I'm going to get flamed here, but my personal thoughts are that if someone can get their rocks off looking at these cartoons of underage girls and it's enough to satiate their desire that they don't do it in real life, then I don't mind it at all. Heck, I even strongly encourage it.
It's a victimless crime. Just let them have it if it doesn't hurt anyone.
Edit: VICE did a great video about this. I encourage you guys to check it out. https://youtu.be/Ky3HqvT3M8E?si=RqYHZ5EfSN5M2liw
Has there ever been an established correlation between people who're into underage animated characters and real underage people? It could easily be two completely or almost completely separate groups of people so it might not be helpful at all. Still not harmful either I suppose as I tend to be in the camp of no victim= no crime...
When I started watching anime, the characters were my age. Now I'm significantly older, but I still like similar characters than I used to in a similar way than I used to.
I've also seen Japanese schoolkids in real life, and while I find them adorable the same way I find any kids adorable, I have absolutely zero interest in them in the way I do towards the fictional characters. They are two completely different things for me now.
But it cultivates the desire rather than addressing it. It's complicated, but I think the danger from pulling more people in is much greater than the potential benefit of keeping hardened cases out of society.
You're arguing that sexual orientation can be trained or influenced by our media, which is the exact argument that the Conservative right has been using to ban books (and everything else). It's also an argument that has been proven groundless time and time again.
