Should anime focus on psychological spectrum as well?

I am not sure if Japanese Anime is a very good medium to seriously address suicide let alone address depression in a meaningful way. I even remember back in the late 80s and very early 90s they use to have afterschool programing on western TV before cartoon programing would air that would specifically touch on sensitive issues like teen pregnancy to criminal delinquency. All of which were seen as complete jokes because the atrocious acting just made such programing more humorously cringe to watch than anything else. Where the demo it was actually trying to target never took any of these programs anywhere close to serious. They were seen as complete jokes by almost everyone I knew at least. Video media in general is never a good way to address sensitive issues when it's primary goal is to entertain the audience. Because any real serious messaging just comes across as perverse, insincere, and a completely gratuitous exercise. It's just a completely insincere way to try to meaningfully address serious issues and problems by thinking such programing can actually help fix anything.

The closest Japanese Anime I have ever watched that tries to deal with real life depression and suicide is "Welcome to the N.H.K.". Sure some people who might watch something like "Welcome to the N.H.K." might randomly think twice about trying to go down such a life path, but it certainly doesn't help anyone who is already suffering from serious depression or one already on the verge of suicidal tendencies or even people who are already suffering from hikikomori disease. "Welcome to the N.H.K." is simply just not a true deterrent to curb hikikomori disease, fix severe social withdrawal, depression, or even suicide.

Trying to seriously address real life problems that can't be fixed easily and actually thinking consuming media entertainment can meaningfully address them is like thinking the best way to address a serious injury or even a broken leg is to simply just walk it off.

If anything Japanese Anime mainly perpetually contributes to such things as depression if one is already suffering from a severe case of it. Giving it's audience temporary relief of escapism without addressing the real underlining issues they might have. Specifically if one is already a shut-in who spends their entire life just consuming Anime every day and all day long.

@ColourWheel That programme you describe does sound terrible and i'm not surprised it got laughed at

But, that's the thing, it's when people try too hard to touch on sensitive issues that it turns into something ridiculous, there are anime though that include these issues as a story element in ways that it developes naturally without trying to be virtuos, and those are the shows that resonate with people, of course they can't cure things like depression, but they can help people identify what and why they're feeling, they can teach people how to tell what the warning signs are if the people close to them are experiencing such things without being taken as a joke, if the people watching pay attention to these details

As for this "If anything Japanese Anime mainly perpetually contributes to such things as depression if one is already suffering from a severe case of it", i'm sorry but i'm gonna call BS

It's not anime that conrtibutes to depression, but it's things like you're surroundings, upbringing, toxic relationships, those are things that contribute to depression, taking anime away form someone who's depressed isn't going to magically get them to seek help, in fact it'll likely make them spiral and lose even more control, adressing the latter toxic elements in their life will however start to get them on the right track to recovery

I never said Anime specifically contributes to depression. You took my words completely out of context completely ignoring the rest of what I had to say. I really don't see how you don't understand the point I was getting at here calling it BS. So I will try to explain myself better for you to understand. If this doesn't help then just keeping thinking what I have to say is BS and that will be the end of it...

Escapism is only a positive thing when dealing with depression when one is filling their life consumed with themes that will offer a source of emotional support or motivation. Otherwise it's just exercise in futility.

When most people reach an appropriate age of being able to consume vast amounts of Anime (Early to late teens). Most modern seasonal Anime is usually not always flooded with the most positive things to specifically help with depression. Because even light hearted Anime is not always truly light hearted 100% of the time. Any exposure of depictions of intense or even slight emotional distress or even trauma can easily exacerbate feelings of sadness and hopelessness for anyone who is truly depressed. In fact it's more than likely for these things to be present in seasonal Anime if one is consuming something they have yet to experience watching.

Sure taking Anime completely away from someone who is suffering from depression might not solve their issues, but unless someone is getting real professional help Anime isn't going to help fix anything for them other than temporary relief at most. The longer someone is suffering from true depression the harder it becomes to meaningfully address it and even complicate things.

As an example someone with a severe case of depression trying to watch "Welcome to the N.H.K." for the 1st time will likely not help them in the slightest.

Also as a Parent who has a daughter in her early 20s now, I would have not let my daughter consume her life with Anime when she was in her teens if she was to ever really suffering from severe Depression. Since she has been living in Japan with relatives, I would have tried to advise my Wife's parents to have cut her off from such things and try filling her life with more positive forms of Escapism if anything and also help to seek for professional help for her. I remember when she came home one year from one of her 3 school breaks, She was extremely depressed about a boy she had a crush on. Sure it was not a severe case of depression but she was still emotionally destressed because she tried to open her feeling to the guy right before she came home to visit and was badly rejected. Sure I could have left her alone but instead I spent as much time with her as possible and even taught her how to play Upright bass. We even went out to buy her own Upright Bass together and we played music together almost every day during that time period in December to January till she left for school again that year (I literally bought her one of the most expensive Yamaha Upright Bass they had). She still plays Upright Bass to this day and she has told me how therapeutic it has been for her in her life even as recent as a few months ago when she was really stressed out over something that I won't get into personal details about.

@ColourWheel



If by out of context you mean i didn't quote the entire paragraph here it is, i read the whole thing before replying and my answer on the matter doesn't change


Yes, i agree with this point, which is very different from what you said in your previous post "If anything Japanese Anime mainly perpetually contributes to such things as depression if one is already suffering from a severe case of it. Giving it's audience temporary relief of escapism without addressing the real underlining issues they might have"

And anime can in fact give that emotional support/motivation, it's not a cure, and it doesn't work for everyone, and yes, if it's used souly as a distraction it is futile, but futile means useless, it does nothing, it does nothing good, and it also does nothing bad, it's not contributing to depression, it's not making it worse


... ... i'm sorry but i think some of my braincells just died reading that

I'm not sure if you realize this, but human psychology is so much more complicated than "oh you're depressed? you need positive vibes to help you get out of it"

You don't seem to take into account that different people will have different personalities, different things that trigger them, different causes to their trauma, depression, or other mental health issues

You can have two people with depression, and one will be drawn to all the positive kawaii fluffy comedies as a way to escape the darkness, while the other will be drawn to the very darkness they're experiencing, maybe it's carthartic, maybe they want to feel a connection to those characters so similar to them, maybe they're just finding ways to feel at all, and a 3rd person might seek a mix of both as a way to feel those emotions but with a lighthearted goofiness to soften the blow

I'm sorry but who are you to say what will exarcebate those feeling and what will help let them out in a healthy way? Who are you to say what "truely depressed" is?

I know it might not look like it with how i behave on MAL, but i'm traumatized as fuck, i've had some very shitty experiences, my brain feels like it's been shattered and glued back together over and over again, that's not exactly a recipe for being all happy and cheerful

So if i'm depressed and should be (by your logic) seeking out things that are flooded with positivity... then why am i so drawn to the dark explorations of the human mind? Why am i drawn to anime with characters who've had the same shitty upbringing as me? Why am i drawn to stories that'll rip your heart out?


Wow, now where did i hear that before?

I get you don't agree with what I have to say but I have a very small violin to play for you here when you say something like this.

When I was in my early teens I was random beaten-up half to death by a group of 12 guys being targeted by some local gang as a gang initiation when I was simply just walking down the street alone minding my own business. I just happened to be picked on because I was Asian (today it would have been considered a hate crime) being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't know how you would feel being literally beaten-up half to death while being called racial slurs but I could imagine it wouldn't be fun for anyone.

I literally have a titanium metal plate in my head, had to have my entire jaw restructured, and was completely traumatized by the entire incident for quite a while after. To this day I still have to see an endodontist occasionally due to complications to my teeth and mouth having almost bi-yearly Surgery to my mouth. My head was literally shattered and glued back together again and even suffered multiple severe concussions that effected my thought process in early high school. I won't even get into how expensive it has been for me to for over the past 2 decades to keep privately covering my own dental and health insurance where on average it has cost me almost 3 time more than the average premium plans most people can get due to my own health complications.

The effects of this one incident of dramatic brain injury has caused my thought process to start fading even in my early 40s where I have forgotten things in my past as early as late childhood and early teen memories I once held dear being able to use to clearly remember even just less than a decade ago.



As one who has experienced true depression at an early age I think I am entitled to my own opinion on the matter.

With that said you are entitled to your own opinion too.

It is rather naive to believe that anime can fix the problems of depression and suicide. Hint, hint it is capitalism that is at the root of the world's problems. Thinking that capitalism can fix the world's problems is downright silly.

@ColourWheel I'm sorry you went thru that

On the depression part, yes, we are both entitled to our opinions, that's why the "truely" part didn't sit well with me as everyone is going to experience it differently

I don't think watching anime is the way to go. If someone needs help, they should seek professional assistance.

@JustMaya I am the one who's taking professional help since June. It helps but it's still not easy. I still got numbness attacks. I am pathetic.

@Peeti It's great that you're seeking help, and that's a strong step forward. Healing takes time, and you're not pathetic for feeling this way. Keep going, you’re doing your best.

Not sure what you mean by help, but there's already a good number of anime which have quite indepth focus on depression and other mental health struggles (even suicide, though it's depiction is rarer) even though they aren't always outright stated but are presented thru more subtle character writing, and having someone on screen you can relate to in that way can def help, at least that's my experience

Anime that have great psychological depictions in these aspects imo

• Oshi no Ko
  
• Banana Fish
  
• Black Clover
  
• Erased
  
• My Hero Academia
  
• Buddy Daddies
  
• Code Geass
  
• Digimon
  
• Full Metal Panic
  
• Fullmetal Alchemist
  
• Given
  
• Hunter x Hunter (1999)
  
• The Apothecary Diaries
  
• Noragami
  
• Orange
  
• Perfect Blue
  
• Psycho-Pass
  
• Rainbow
  
• Re:zero
  
• Attack On Titan
  
• Soul Eater
  
• Spy x Family
  
• Sword Art Online
  
• Tokyo Revengers
  
• Versailles no Bara
  
• Vinland Saga
  

Everyone goes through life and experiences differently. Media like anime are usually for entertainment purposes. Though some shows may relate to us in one way or another, they should be taken as a form of reference rather than a medium for treatment. If a person is facing mental health issues, he/she should consider professional help.

In our current society where we are facing lots of wars and turmoil, diseases, and in micro scale like home, work and/or study demands, people are getting more stressful in life. There are also some who have reached the level of burnouts or are already in the state of depression to suicide ideation and attempts. It is therefore essential to recognise the warning signs of mental health issues and seek help from a mental health specialist. Early intervention is critical in preventing more severe mental health problems that may interfere with an individual’s daily activities. Appropriate care and support are necessary to improve the mental health and quality of life in the long run.

Other ways of non-pharmacological interventions that may help to relieve stress can be self-help strategies (eg. exercising, eating healthy, stress-relieving techniques, having a hobby, socialising with friends who can "lift you up"), or going for psychotherapy if life stressors get too overwhelming for us to handle.

Don't wait till it is too late to seek help.

@ProGoddess I am taking professional help. 1500+ medicines in less than an year. I am surviving.

@Peeti

It's good to know that you are coping and managing well with the help of a healthcare professional. Counseling helps too.

Take care!

"on psychological spectrum"

To quote the show Captain Scarlet - "S.I.G." (which comes from "The spectrum is green") - https://gerryanderson.fandom.com/wiki/S.I.G.