Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: PG
Parental Guidance Advised

Reviewed by Jane Nagatomi:

Kusakabe Maron seems like your typical junior high school student. She's bright and cute, and a member of the gymnastics team, but is also living alone while her parents have gone their separate ways in the midst of a divorce. Neither parent has taken Maron however, and so she goes through her daily life with her close friend and neighbor Miako. However, not only is Maron a student, at night as the need arises, she transforms into a thief, making off with various pieces of art as well as pieces of junk. Her ulterior motive in the thefts? To seal away evil demons which have come to possess the various items which she then seals away. The demons, upon being sealed away take on the shape of chess pieces which are indicative of their relative strength. Weaker demons are pawns, and stronger ones, knights or higher.

It seems that the devil is once again trying to destroy God and has sent forth minions to steal people's souls. It's up to Maron to thwart the devil. However, Maron is still in high school and has problems of her own. Will she be able to find the strength and courage in order to battle evil while at the same time building friendships as a normal Grade 10 student? And will she be able to keep her identity as the thief Jeanne from her best friend and aspiring future police officer, Miako?

Parent's Guide Rating:

yellow (parental guidance advised)

This series, while fun to watch, definitely will not be for all people. Parents will wish to note the following:

1. this anime is based very loosely around Christian religion and makes use of some Christian icons and references. Predominant theme of possession of items as well as individuals by demons/evil spirits.
2. a thief who "steals" in order to seal away evil demons in God's name (based on Christianity). Because sealing the demon makes the item it was possessing disappear, she is considered a thief.
3. there are some scenes of assault, minor sexual assault, striking of children, verbal abuse, etc. due to the possessed nature of individuals.
4. there is no real nudity although there is at least one scene in the bathtub. Also, some leering by male characters and comments about girls figures etc.
5. Finn Fish initially is an angel sent by God but later in the series we find that she had been captured by the devil and is working for evil.

Violence: Primarily due to possession by one of the evil spirits. Because of the idea of sealing away evil spirits, possessed individuals are often violent towards family members. However, their attitudes change quite dramatically when the evil influence is removed.

Also, earlier in the series, when Sindbad is competing directly with Jeanne to capture the demons, he often resorts to ruthless measures including burning down a home. This would be a good opportunity to discuss the idea of "the end justifying the means" of accomplishing a goal.