Ask John: Is Uncut Yu-Gi-Oh Still a Kids’ Show?

Question:
I have heard many people say that Yu-Gi-Oh in its uncut form is not a children’s show. I’ve always been under the impression that the target audience in Japan was kids to young teens. Am I wrong or are the people who claim that the show isn’t for kids deluding themselves into thinking that they’re not obsessed with something that is designed for people much younger than they are?

Answer:
There should be no question whatsoever that Yu-Gi-Oh is a children’s show. The current episodes are broadcast on Japanese television at 6:30 PM every Wednesday night. For reference, other anime TV series broadcast in the 6:30 to 7:30 weeknight time frame include Crush Gear Nitro, Beyblade G-Revolution, Machine Robo Rescue, Pokemon, Pluster World, and the live action Sailormoon: all shows intended for children and early teen viewers.

I’ll admit that I haven’t seen any Yu-Gi-Oh anime since watching the first few episodes of the 1998 first TV series, so I don’t know exactly how (relatively) mature the show gets. But based on my experience with similar shows and my familiarity with trends in Japanese animation, I feel confident in saying that the darkest, most mature episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh probably don’t remotely approach the degree of adult content found in anime TV series like Devilman Lady or Berserk or Evangelion. Fans that claim Yu-Gi-Oh is not a children’s show are technically incorrect, but I do concede that their argument may have some foundation.

Because Yu-Gi-Oh is very dear to its hardcore fans, these fans tend to sometimes exaggerate their defense of the show to make a point. While their argument may be hyperbolic, the point may be valid. It’s not uncommon for Japanese children’s anime to deal with violence or sexuality or contain nudity. Detective Conan, for example, is broadcast in the family friendly 7:30 PM Monday night time slot. Yet weekly episodes of Detective Conan routinely contain graphic shootings, stabbings, poisonings, and even decapitations and graphic blood splatter. In fact, by relative standards, the show was considered so gruesome that Fox Television reversed its decision to bring the show to America because it was simply too graphic for American television. Yet Detective Conan is one of the highest rated and most watched anime TV series in Japan, meaning that it’s not only teen and young adult hardcore anime fans that watch it. The show, with all of its bloody murders intact, is watched by Japanese children and families.

Japanese culture is simply more receptive to depictions of violence and sexuality than American culture is. Unlike American culture, which seeks to protect impressionable children from exposure to scenes of violence and sexuality, Japanese culture considers these themes a natural aspect of life, and therefore acceptable (within “reasonable” bounds) for presentation to children. So Yu-Gi-Oh is a children’s program. But the original Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh may not be suitable for viewing by American children. That’s not to say that it doesn’t include content that puritanical American moral watchdogs consider unsuitable for child consumption.

The reason why some American anime fans find themselves constantly defending their obsession with “children’s cartoons” lies in the Western misconception that animation itself is a children’s medium. While I can’t defend Yu-Gi-Oh fans that claim Yu-Gi-Oh isn’t a “children’s show,” I can refute the implied negativity behind the accusation that anime fans are “deluding themselves into thinking that they’re not obsessed with something… designed for [children].” I believe that the fact that shows like Detective Conan and Yu-Gi-Oh do contain “mature” content and deal with adult concepts establishes the fact that these programs may be created for children, but do not condescend to children. The fact that Japanese children’s anime include nudity and violence and sexual content makes them different from Western children’s cartoons and makes them a legitimate subject for not only appreciation, but also critical comparison and study by Western afficianados. Shows like Yu-Gi-Oh are children’s shows, but they’re not like American children’s shows. That’s what makes them interesting and worthy of evaluation by particular American viewers. Anime series like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh may be intended for Japanese children, but they are created by adults and sometimes include adult material or deal with adult topics and themes. In effect, there’s no reason for American anime fans to feel ashamed of enjoying imported Japanese children’s cartoons. By watching unaltered, imported Japanese anime, Western viewers gain an appreciation for Japanese cultural values and the differences in Japanese versus Western tolerance levels for intellectual and artistic treatment of mature subject matter. For American viewers, watching imported, unaltered Japanese animation isn’t just entertainment; it’s also a educational experience. Naysayers may scoff, but watching episodes of imported Japanese language Yu-Gi-Oh is going to educate an American viewer far more about cultural diversity than watching episodes of Dexter’s Laboratory or Spongebob Squarepants.