In a current messageboard group I am in we are having an age debate. Age seems to be such an issue in the modern age, some people gravely fear the onset of old age while others welcome it. Ageism and ageist comments are not 'pc' yet it might appear that everything has an age, an invisible boundary at which becoming a certain age prevents or enables you from pursuing an activity. There are such things as age 'boundaries'; at the movies, for drinking, marriage, owning a credit card, driving a car, but these limits are imposed to protect. Society has instilled its own limits as part of formalising, categorising people by age into what they can and can't do, and it always isn't an affliction of the very old for whom ageism seems to touch more than most.

From personal experience I have experienced 'ageism'. I am not yet 20 yet for an interest of mine I have suffered ageism. Not serious, just something I can't understand why people have to be ageist about me. I do admit I have a belief of 'right age' for certain things but only when it may harm someone, e.g. I would be ageist about a 60 year old wearing tight twentysomethings clothing but I would not be about other things. This group is based around anime, and it is for anime that I suffer a sort of ageism. I am forced to hide my interest, to be secretive for fear of being labelled 'weird', 'a child', 'a geek' etc. I can understand the geekishness, and the weirdness, it is not 'mass' entertainment to watch animated stories, often strong in subject, and not in ones native language. Plus to be an anime fan you have to be pretty into it, tapes and series are hard to come by in many countries (even the USA), like-minded friends are few and far between, few understand it and it is expensive. Anime fans are obsessive and tend to know a lot about their subject, I guess to a non-anime person, two anime fans in a conversation about anime would sound as if they are talking in code. But I'm not discussing the relative oddities of my interest, its the ageism that concerns me especially given the subject matter of some movies.

For the uninitiated, anime is a Japanese term derived from the French pronunciation of 'animation'. Also known as Japanimation, this medium of cinema accounts for 1/3 of Japanese cultural exports (which given computer games and technology is quite impressive). Why animate some people do ask, isn't live action more 'credible'. Well anime is anime, it wouldn't be as attention grabbing being live action. There are somethings the pen can convey which an actor cannot. For example 'the apocalypse', it features in many films, and yet while using cgi it is possible to create a credible post-apocalyptic live-action city, enacting that exact apocalypse works better with the unbounded fantasy of animation. Plus there are some films, violent in animation, which earn an 18 cert. Some of this may be due to its being animated - i.e. it is not THAT bloody but being animated pushes it up a rating. Or because at the other extreme, if it weren't animated, it wouldn't pass for a rating at all. 'Genocyber' for example would be a banned film for its extreme gore, as would 'Iczer-1', 'Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm', 'Akira' and 'End of Evangelion'. At the same time these films have Themes. Very strong themes which would not be suitable for people below the age-range. Currently only 'End of Eva' springs to mind as I watched it yesterday (with a full understanding of what it implied) and my god that film is deep and disturbing and quite scary. I actually took notes while watching it of bits which impressed upon me for later analysis. I think it would be my dream to see End of Eva in the cinema.

All which brings me to my original point. Ageism afflicts anime, oddly in two contradictions. One; the proper 'you are too young to watch this' which is correct as it adheres to traditional ratings, but children should not be denied by generic stereotyping (something else which we poor anime fans suffer). The second is the insane but western-viewpoint driven 'you're too OLD to watch this'. Yes you really do get too old to be able to watch films about the End of the World which heavier religious connotations than 'The Ten Commandments'.

'You are too young to watch this' - fair enough point. BUT only as long as it is understood that anime is a medium, not a genre, i.e. don't stereotype it all against the typified western view of 'animated ultra- violent porn'. There is an anime for all ages, and it needs to be treated like any film rating. A child can watch a childs anime, although it does need to be highlighted that while innocent, wholesome anime exists, the Japanese tend to be more liberal.Especially concerning love and homosexual relationships (which are thoroughly outcried against in America in an animation) can be commonplace. Not 'Queer as Folk' though, it concentrates on actual love. Wholesome ideas of friendship, mild fantasy by the 'mahou shoujo' or 'magical girl' syndrome and the fulfillment of ones dreams. Series like Card Captor Sakura, cute, girlish and not exactly harmful. There are progressions of anime, too many series with too many genres exist.

Someone once commented that only in anime can genres mix wildly together in large combinations. There are different series for different audiences. If you want to watch the ultra-violent stuff, by-all-means it is there, it exists. But as does the gentler shoujos, or the political, or the comedies, and all are anime. If I am too 'old' for anime then I challenge these labellers to sit watching some of the deeper films, something like 'End of Eva' or 'Ghost in the Shell' or 'Perfect Blue' and then say if that is for children or at least am I 'too old' to watch this. The response would probably be 'the Japanese are pretty screwed up', not so. 'Perfect Blue' is a thriller, part-slasher, I guess something like Hitchcock. If it was live-action, now that would be ok. But animated, no because it's 'for kids' and how can we show kids these things? The truth is in that, it is NOT for kids, it is for Adults.It is 18-certified, it would be 15/18 if it were live action.

The ages for anime are the same as the ages for any movie. We shouldn't feel ashamed of being fans at an 'old age'. Animation is the medium, not the genre. Disney films are part of the Animation Genre, Japanimation is a Medium. I'm not asking for everyone to become anime fans, I quite like its quirky cult nature, all I want is more understanding, a little less of the 'its a cartoon, aren't you too old for it?'. We're never too old for a good movie, if it has a good story,good acting, holds your attention then it should be a good movie to be enjoyed by anyone, whether it be animated or not.