Can anime be too violent sometimes, or do I have a problem?

(Warning: this post contains slight spoilers for Akira and Kill Bill)

So I've been consuming media for a large part of my 22 years of life. I watch movies, tv shows and the like from many different genres. Some of them are non-violent and some more violent. When it comes to live action, I can sit through some pretty heavy scenes and handle it just fine. The only issue with live action stuff I have is that I tend to cover my ears during horror movies when the sound drops down, usually signaling a jump scare and the accompanied blast of sound. Don't get me wrong, I still get on edge or get emotional to some degree if the moment is earned. But generally speaking I can't think of one live-action movie that I had to stop watching because it made me so emotional. Anime, however has been a real issue.

I've tried and failed on several occasions to watch anime movies that depict violence to the level that a live action film would try to depict. Akira comes to mind as one example, my sisters who are into anime were watching the end scene and I had to shut to my eyes and leave the room. Kill Bill put this weird dichotomy in sharp relief do to the intensely violent anime that had me extremely anxious, but then I largely laughed at the live action stuff, especially the scene inside the Tokyo night club.

Is there something wrong with me? Is there anyway I can learn to handle anime violence better? I'm not an anime for anime's sake guy, but I like good movies and tv. If that means watching anime, so be it. But I feel like my aversion to this stuff is depriving me of experiences I might otherwise enjoy. I do realize that everyone has there own threshold, I'm just curious if anyone has any coping mechanisms or experiences the same thing. Thanks in advance to anyone who shares their experiences, your input is very much appreciated and valued.

I mean...it's only a problem if you think it's a problem, right? There's no committee out there mandating that you have to watch All The Things That Are Good(tm), and you'll be penalized if you don't watch something because it makes you uncomfortable.

Live-action violence and animated violence are very different things - in tone, in presentation, and technology. Sometimes there can be some crossover, especially with live-action stuff that leans heavily on CG, but I'm not that surprised that one of those bothers you while the other doesn't. I say don't force yourself to engage with something you don't like, because there's hardly any payoff that's worth it.

I am curious if you have this problem with violent games, though? Those might be different because they're interactive, but what about violent cutscenes?

@thebrainninja: Violent games don't have the same effect on me, generally I stay calm and composed. I'll feel tense if there is genuine tension, but it never gets to a point where I have to stop. That doesn't mean I revel in the violence though, unless it's a game like Doom (2016) where the violence is very much not to be taken seriously an is in fact fun/comical to behold. I mostly handle video game violence like Dan handles it in the quick look for Doom where Doom Guy rips a skull in half and Dan just laughs at the ludicrous thing that just happened.

While I can't really offer any advice on overcoming an aversion to violence, I will say that the end of Akira is pretty damn gruesome. Not only that, but there is a lot of emotional investment into the characters and seeing... well what happens to them is pretty dark. For that matter, many anime that want to depict any sort of graphic violence will do so on an extreme scale. Just a matter of the general tendency for anime to exaggerate things. If you have a more difficult time handling that sort of thing, the best I can offer is do a quick google search and see if the show has any sort of infamous reputation for extreme violence. Either way, there's still plenty of anime hallmarks that don't approach anywhere near those levels of violence.

I felt physically sick from the end of Akira, though Kill Bill didn't phase me one bit. I think it's because I had never seen the kind of body horror stuff you see in Akira, whereas Kill Bill is pretty par for the course in terms of fantasy violence in media.

There's nothing to be ashamed about if something is too much for you. I think it's more important that you take care of yourself rather than try to stick something out in the name of not missing out or being tough. One strategy I've used is if something in particular bugs me, I'll try to find out what effects were used to make it happen. Demystifying it helps a lot. Another thing I'll do is look online for other people who have had the same reaction as me; I'll google something like "Kill Bill, violence, gross" and see what comes up. Even just seeing that I'm not alone in feeling this way can help a lot. Try not to be too hard on yourself! :)

@chainreaction01: Thank you, I actually hadn't thought to google for those specific things before I watch a movie. Usually I just google for "Yeah, Neh" and plot blurb to get me interested.

Sensitivity to violence no matter what you're watching is indicative that your threshold for violence is going down, and now you're reaching your limit faster. Being desensitized to violence is part of culture, but I do think as we grow older, it's natural for us to recognize something is affecting us more than it used to. I want to include that I, too, have become more sensitive to violence, enough to where I rarely watch a rated R movie anymore. I used to watch rated R movies a lot more, but not as much these days. I have also played a lot of M rated games, too, but I'm slowing down in my consumption of them. I think it's natural to change in this way and that the change is handled differently for people.

Parts of Akira are... unsettling, though most of them don't really come in at the very end from what I remember.

Perhaps you're just not desensitized to it? Or maybe you're subconsciously expecting it to be much tamer because it's a cartoon? Maybe you should try watching Baccano or Perfect Blue or Ghost in the Shell?

Everyone has a threshold. Some people can watch a horror movie just fine but Saw and Hostile are just a few steps too far. I have a problem watching live action suffering. There are a lot of shows and movies I will not watch because the suffering it portrays. I have a threshold and I don't feel weird about it. Neither should you.

Just going off your examples, maybe it's the specific type of violence (as another user mentioned). Akira is closer to some body horror stuff than it is to Kill Bill. Have you ever seen any Cronenberg? How about Korean thrillers, those can get pretty fucked up. Even something like The Raid movies is probably a little rougher than Kill Bill. Have there been other anime that bothered you? Though, I'm struggling to think of anime that I would consider "violent" that don't seem like they're trying way too hard to be grotesque.

@meissnerd: Thank you for sharing. Demystifying something is something I hadn't thought of. Although I'm not sure that works when it comes to anime for me, because more or less that super gory thing just happened to that person in that universe. It's the difference between there being a rational explantation like, "That was just ketchup and good makeup work.", versus, "Naw, that anime person totally got cut in-half and it wasn't some special effect.".

@yi_orange: As far as Kronenberg and Korean thrillers go, I'm a little light on that knowledge. I have seen Snowpiercer, but that movie was pretty exaggerated on a premise level that I had a hard time taking it seriously. Although when all those dudes show up in the train car with axes and hoods, I got really tense and covered an ear to get ready for the sound to blast through the speakers. As far as anime that I know get me, I've seen about 60 seconds of Berserk and I knew I couldn't handle that stuff. Even hearing about the stuff like that one rape scene and the graphic killing of a small child all made me really dread ever seeing stuff from that show by mistake. The stuff that gets me are body parts being ripped off, heads just exploding, and other generally gory deaths.

i will say that older anime with less fidelity to it has very little effect on me. I've actually been able to watch Gundam and enjoy it a lot. Although the Thunderbolt stuff really pushed some buttons for me. especially part 1 where you see the guys arm get chopped off in first person.

Maybe. I just watched the first ep of iron blooded orphans idk if I can continue it. And I thought msg was violent but it's Disney compared to that.

Akira didn't faze me. But then it had an interesting end line to follow...felt sorry for one character. Star of the West, or whatever it was, did put me off some.

The blood gushes...

I would have (without reservation) considered it healthier to watch some forms of porn then see people slice and dice apart their opponents.

Different people have different thresholds for what they can tolerate/enjoy etc. If I find something too crass, too violent, too dumb, I stop watching it, reading it, playing it, whatever. I have better things to do with my time than do something that makes me uncomfortable or that I just straight don't like.

Not to be "that guy", but it's quaint to hear someone having a problem with violent anime compared to harems, and I can go on and on about my disdain for that sect of anime fans so I won't even get started.

Some anime can put out some very disturbing images, that's for sure. I had a hard time with Attack on Titan because those giant dudes just freaked me the heck out. Even some of the stuff in Miazaki movies can be unsettling.

I wonder if it's not the medium but the cultural differences. Maybe there are images common for the Japanese that are disturbing because they are new to us.

depends, I don't necessarily make this into a gross out by pointing out other media. But I do notice you are comparing yourself to your sisters.... and maybe to them, they have context to more violent things in their mind then to what they are seeing?

When you say emotional when it comes to watching anime over live action and what have you, what emotion are you referring to exactly? I mean, are you getting sad/scared when someone dies a gruesome death in anime, but you're okay with it when it happens in a live action? If it's sadness, maybe it's just your way of empathizing with the thing you're watching.

Nah, I get you. Anime and manga can't weirdly get extremely violent to a point you might not see in live action. People referring to Cronenberg have right to a certain point, but even that I don't think is quite the same. It just seems to me like the more violent stuff I've seen in anime has some sort of malice attached to it, you know? People screaming for help before a painful or gruesome death or torture.

It's weird, while I don't have much of a problem watching anything, those do leave me with a strange, uncomfortable feeling similar to the kind I would get watching actual real violence/death vs live action movie violence and death. I'm not exactly sure what it is.

Either way, you shouldn't feel conflicted about it. It's in fact quite good. It shows you've got at least some sort of empathy. For me it's violence against animals. I have a really fucking hard time watching videos of animals getting tortured, killed, beaten or any of that type of shit, it makes me mad like nothing else.

Its ok to turn away from the level violence you saw in Akira which to be fair is up there in the WTF did I just watched scale. Anime can get very detailed on the violence its presenting and like you said its somehow feels more real, sure you know its a "cartoon" but that doesnt take away from the fact that same cartoon is showing a dude getting cut in half or worse. For me I just grew along side it, I was 12 the first time I saw Akira so by the time I was 17 I had seen some very messed up anime and that level of violence didnt shock me that much.

People have different levels of tolerance for violence, musicals, peppers, sex, and so on. It's completely normal. Quick examples in my case is the newest season of OitnB - something that happened there had me gripping the couch hard and almost yelling at the screen. While I'm desensitized to most forms of movie/game violence, any violence in real life affects me deeply. Sometimes a form of media can breach that comfort zone and feel realistic, and those few times can indeed be startling.

Oh and I also belong in the club of not being able to see animals be harmed, fake or not. Just can't handle it and since we love horror movies in this household we always look up "does the dog die?" so we're prepared to skip any potential animal-hurting scenes.

Some of the stuff in Neon Genesis Evangelion got to me a bit when I was a kid, but more in a creeped out than a grossed out way.

@laxbro19: It sounds like you have more of a "quirk" more than a problem. Sort of a "Hey, want to know something strange about me? I don't like watching violent animation, but violence in movies doesn't bother me a bit. Yeah, I don't understand it either. It's just always been like that. Strange, huh?" type situation.

It sounds like that's all it is. Not a big deal, just something about yourself that you should accept and learn to live with. I believe lots of people have something like this about themselves. I used to know someone who was so disgusted by certain bugs, she had issues with even saying their name aloud. She had to write it down in order to tell me which one, and even that really made her uncomfortable.

People are weird, man. What can I say. As long as something like that doesn't get in the way of you living a happy life, why bother trying to change your natural feelings about it?

I think Akira is just kinda messed up. It's a little "too real" in context, while Kill Bill is this absurd caricature of violence. I like them for sure, but I think it's what surrounds the violence that unsettles you and not the visuals. At least that's how it is for me. As far as leaving the room or whatever, we all have our limits for this stuff. Trainspotting and A Clockwork Orange were too much for me, but I made it through. :(

There is some very extremely violent anime out there that is unsettling to watch, but I don't think it's any worse than what you can find in live-action movies. I think I have a higher tolerance for anime violence than live action violence though. There are a lot of gruesome moments that come to mind from various anime that would I could not watch if it was live-action. And I absolutely cannot watch horror movies with gruesome violence.

Kill Bill didn't bother me, since it was too over the top to feel visceral and real.

@jaycrockett: I heard people talking about Attack on Titan, and I watched the trailer for it and boy there was some stuff in that trailer. It was really gruesome and the Titans creeped me out really bad.

@ntm: when I say I'll get, "emotional sometimes", It just means I feel whatever emotion the movie is trying to get across. If it's funny I laugh. If it's scary I'll tense up. If it's really cathartic, which doesn't happen very often, I'll shed a few tears. But that has only happened on less than a handful of times. Specifically I got misty in Toy Story 3, Rocky 2, and Philadelphia. Philadelphia was watched in class as part of a business law class I took as a senior in high school. That ending montage is really something else.

Yes anime can be too unsettling especially in the last episode of the old Berserk anime. and don't get me started on Elfin Lied

I have the exact opposite problem. I can handle the some of the worst violence in video games/anime (Hellsing is a personal favorite, for instance), but as soon as it's real people, no matter how bad it looks, I cringe and can't deal with it. Like, I can't handle any slasher movies because they get to me really bad.

Honestly, the worst part of Akira for me is when he steps on a glass in the hospital. I think I actually had to look away for that and none of the other stuff, though the "guts falling out" scene a little ways in is burned into my brain from seeing the movie way too young.

@chocobodude3: I have seen 0 seconds of Elfin Lied, but from what I've heard I think I'll keep it that way.

Welcome to subjectivity.

Violence hasn't gotten me to stop watching an anime so far but I had to stop watching Junketsu no Maria because the attempted rape was too much for me. I've thought about trying to watch it again since I was enjoying it up until that point but I doubt my reaction would be any different and I'd probably end up dropping it again at that scene.

There is probably something wrong with the rest of us tbh

Nothing wrong with how you feel. Sometimes it is just violence ass violence for no real reason. And it is okay to feel uncomfortable with that. Kill Bill is a masterwork of setting tone in a film and that is why it may work better for you. Chase your bliss and don't worry about it too much of you dont want to watch something that is disturbing to you.

Also maybe try Flying Witch? Its good and everyone is happy and nice

I am generally pretty okay with fantasy violence. I will say this though, some of the things I have watched and read in comics or manga are almost too much for me. With a movie/comic like Sin City, for example, I loved the violence and gore and reveled in the heroes getting back at the villains in gruesome ways. I think it's so stylized that I just can't see it as "real" and instead enjoy it as a visual spectacle. Now, on the other hand, there are certain parts of Akira that make me squirm a bit. I think, like others have said, it's definitely more because of the body horror aspects of the film, and I actually find the stuff that happens in it more "real" than something that is way more over the top in execution. It's science fiction and outlandish, but it's executed in a way that makes me, as the viewer, feel more invested in it and more horrified by it.

Also, there are certain manga that I dislike a lot because I feel like the violence, and sex, adds absolutely nothing to the title at all. Take something like the Witchblade Takeru Manga. HOLY CRAP. I know the regular Witchblade comic is certainly violent and sexy, but the manga just took that to the stratosphere, and it was pretty badly handled all around. I just remember someone growing a penis-like appendage at some point (maybe multiple times), and in another instance a girl who looked barely out of grade school got stabbed through her mouth with a sword, maybe? I just know I finished it and immediately turned around and sold the TPB on ebay with ample warning that it was an adult book. It just seemed needlessly gross and shocking, and also poorly executed, and that's when I kind of tap out on stuff like that.

I think everyone has a threshold where they can accept certain amounts or types of violence in their media. Some people are fine with people being hurt in movies or games, but can't watch animals being hurt in the same way. Some people are fine with violent beatings or murder, but can't stomach torture or rape. Some people like slasher films but can't watch body horror like The Fly or Videodrome. It's all personal preference and your threshold may be totally different than mine, but that's okay. No one says (or should say) that you have to like Akira or anything else.

Sounds like its a problem for you, so its your personal limit. Everyone has different limits and things they are "hypocrites" about in. Personally, one of my limits = violence to small children. One of my wife's = anything with cannibalism. I don't think anime is anymore violent than movies, TV, or games...they all have a wide range of content. That being said, anime has been graphic for a very, very long time...you just don't have the detail or fidelity that you do in films.

but then I largely laughed at the live action stuff, especially the scene inside the Tokyo night club.

Yeah, I don't know what to tell you there. If you don't like/can't handle something I'd just stay away, no reason to force it. I do think its odd that animated violence effects you worse than that done in live action but everyone's different.

Seeing as how I like Elfen Lied and Kite more than most people, you're probably on to something.

@chu52: I watched Keke's Delivery Service or something when I was 5 and that was actually a good time. Was there a scene in that movie where the witch lady rescued a guy from a falling blimp?

Yes, anime can get really violent. Seeing animated intestines explode is a mite queasy for me.

You are fine

The rest of us who didn't blink at it (like myself) are likely the ones who have a problem.

Akira could be pretty unsettling at times, where as kill bill is just over the top/cheesy. So I dont think your reaction is weird.

Thanks for everybody who wrote in. It was nice to get some new perspectives on my issues. It sounds like I'm fine for the most part, and should just do me and not worry about trying to tough stuff out. It was also interesting to actually write out why feel the way I do about other mediums and see if it logically gelled or not. I guess the major underpinning of the issue is that live action violence is all just an elaborate illusion, and that that person who is dead or dying will be fine. It turns out anime is different because that person isn't an actor and whatever is happening to them isn't a performance at all, making it all the more unpleasant to watch. Although, if you think about it, Anime is the most elaborate illusion because everything that happens in it is not real, so maybe my issues aren't 100% rational.

So this is where we're at with Internet Culture? "I don't have a massive murder-boner and violence makes me uncomfortable...is there something WRONG with me?!"

Nah, duder. Like Slag says: those of us who look at that and shrug "Meh, seen it" are the ones with the problem. There are lots of different kinds of violence too: I'll cackle my way gleefully through John Wick or Mad Max: Fury Road but something like Hostel or the beginning of Robocop where the victims of violence are suffering and screaming, etc., is still pretty uncomfortable. And there's a difference between "realistic violence" (what a lot of Torture Porn depicts) and over-the-top violence (there's NOTHING realistic about Kill Bill).

For the longest I was terrified of anything with blood or gore. Or being scared in general. I never went trick or treating. By the time I saw Akria and Kill Bill I was over it. Still don't like horror movies though. I actually think about this a lot, with personal limits and such. I'm down with stylized violence and blood/gore or even body horror, but cruelty or brutality aren't my thing. That also includes shock value stuff, which there are no shortage of in film and anime. Can't think of anything recently that I had a problem with, since I usually stay pretty far from that stuff.

So you're fine.

No, you are absolutely fine. And I suggest you should never lower your standards just to enjoy something you otherwise think is immoral. Maybe there is fun in say stealing something, and enjoy it because you get it for free. But is it okay to "enjoy" something like that because it has a fun part to it? No, not really.

When it comes to anime, yes, you are absolutely right, it can get VERY brutal and disgusting. But you must understand that what you see highly depends on what you watch. If you watch anime titles like Castle in the sky, Nagi no asakura, Porco Rosso, Wind Rises, Ponyo, Totoro, 5 centemeters, Amaa to inazuma... etc. You will find them very kind, family friendly, heartwarming and very pleasant to look at.

But if rather watch popular hellish dumps like Sword of a Stranger, Higurashi, Tokyo Gohl and Attack on Titan... well then yeah... you asked for it.

Anime should be thought of as a medium rather than a genre. Same with films, if you gonna watch a popular US horror, you will get a popular US horror. But it doesn't mean that every US film is horror and violent like that.

There are thousands of anime without a single drop of blood and fanservice. And there are thousands full of hellish garbage and porn. All one has to do is simply choose wisely which anime to watch.

Personally I don't think that anything can have too much of an element too it, it's all in the execution... However is that to say that certain Anime aren't prone to excessive violence that doesn't improve the quality of the show or enhance plot and/or development in any way? Course not, Like anything it's executed masterfully and it's executed poorly - you just need to find the right one.

I think the extreme violence in anime is meant to give you a reaction. Much like how in Evangelion the violent and grotesque parts in the series are far apart and in between, but they hit really freaking hard when they do happen because it is shocking to see body parts and blood gushing all over the place after a few episodes of just pure teenage angst and story. These moments are purposely made to shock and make you feel something emotional and I think its the same thing with Akira. Despite the conflict between Tetsuo and Kaneda trying to kill each other throughout the movie, it's when Tetsuo turns into the gross baby monster/pile of body parts that Kaneda sees that Tetsuo is more of a victim and his best friend who is suffering rather than his enemy.

Side note: I watched the first season of Hannibal and to be honest, I don't think I can handle a 2nd season.... It's just too grotesque, eerie, and some of the scenes from the cases they deal with are just too intense for my liking. Good show though.

There's sort of a scale with anime. Like the opening of Elfen Lied is pretty fucking violent. Something like Sword Art Online is not that violent at all.

As someone who has very weird reactions to violence, I get what you're coming from. Some things affect me a certain way, while others do not. The violence in The Hateful Eight that has pints of blood shooting out of people and people dying suddenly did not bother me, while Black Swan's scenes that features Natalie Portman's character picking at the skin on her fingers really unnerved me.

Most of the violent anime in my experience tends to be on the horror variety. There are more "mature" shows that have people being shot and stuff like that, but a lot of the gore and darker type of violence is aligned with horror and psychological horror.