A Parent's Guide to Anime

Please Contribute!

If you've watched an anime video closely enough to itemize and describe the instances of nudity, profanity, sexual situations, and violence, and if you believe you're capable of writing a short review in readable English, please submit a review!

Do I have to be a parent?

No. People of all ages have submitted reviews! Many of our contributors are college students who love anime and hope that it finds a wider audience.

NOTE: We will not accept reviews submitted without your name or if it is submitted under a pseudonym. If you're not willing to stand behind your own words, neither are we. We can keep your bio or e-mail confidential at your request, but we do require your information if you wish to have anything posted on this site.

How should I write the review?

Reviews should contain the following material:

• Summary. A description, including a brief plot summary and comments on the quality of animation. Indicate whether you're reviewing the subtitled or dubbed version. If you're reviewing the dubbed version, please comment on the quality of the dubbing.




• Inventory. As detailed as possible, of material that parents might find objectionable. Be sure to comment on violence, nudity, sexual situations, and profanity.




• Discussion. Important--Please indicate whether this title contains any material that parents might use as a springboard for discussions with their children, including Japanese-American cultural differences or interesting ideas raised by the video. For a good example of this, see the Pon Poko review.




• Rating. Please suggest a Parent's Guide rating.

G (suitable for family viewing)
PG (judgement call, parental guidance advised)
M (recommended for mature audiences)
X (for adult audiences only)



• Readable form. Write a narrative review using complete sentences--don't just submit an outline or numbered list.

Remember, be as specific as possible. The more specifically you describe the content of the anime you're reviewing, the more you'll help the parents who use this page.

Please note that not all the reviews published here meet these criteria--we've made them available as a service to parents, but we'd like to see more detailed, substantive reviews. For a good example of what we're looking for, see Project A-KO.

Do I have to review every video in a series?

That would be nice, but some series are too lengthy (I'm thinking of Ranma, naturally). We'd like to see individual reviews of OAVs and movie-length features, though.

What about hentai and extremely violent videos?

Please note--we are not accepting any reviews for H anime unless they are appropriately written. Parents don't want a detailed plot explanation of this kind of thing; the fact that it is hentai is enough to discourage them from showing it to their kids. It's perfectly alright to send in a review for H and extremely violent videos as parents are likely to see them in the stores; just keep in this in mind. For a good example of what we're looking for, see Crying Freeman.

Can I submit a "second opinion" review?

Please do! For an example, see the Patlabor review. Many of the existing reviews are rather thin and we would welcome more detailed submissions.

Where should I submit?

Send your reviews to parents@abcb.com, or simply submit using the forms below. Most reviewers choose to send them via e-mail; I would prefer that you do this rather than use the form as people tend to spend more time writing the reviews in e-mail. Also, forms have a tendency to cut off very long paragraphs in mid-word. Please feel free to do either. You will receive a reply within 1-2 weeks.