Help me find an anime

[Fox12]

This is a special thread, since I'm not actually looking for an anime for myself. After I showed her several of Miyazaki's films, my twelve year old sister has expressed a potential interest in anime. While I want to support her interests, whatever they may be, I also want to make sure she sees things that are appropriate for her age group (so not NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, ect). You could also consider thi s a "my first anime" list.

So far she's seen Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and Howls Moving Castle. I have considered showing her Kino's Journey as well. I would appreciate some suggestions of NON-Ghibli films, but there are several guidelines I'd like to set up first.

1). Obviously, something appropriate for her age. She doesn't really like gore, and while she enjoyed Mononoke, anything more graphic than that would probably scare her. She had to close her eyes during a few scenes. Also, I'd prefer something without too much language. There can be plenty of action, just not anything too intense. Basically, keep it pg-13 (at most).

2). No fanservice, which pretty much goes with point 1. I don't want anything with Code Geass style service shots or creepy old Master Roshi's. This isn't about whether or not fanservice is good or bad. This isn't about whether or not it adds or takes away from a story. This isn't about whether you enjoy it or dislike it. I just don't want her to associate self worth with physical beauty, especially at such an impressionable age, and I feel that any show with fanservice would undermine this. This is why Ghibli films were so appropriate, since they tend convey the sort of message I would want her to see.

3). Something with a positive female message/role model. It doesn't have to have a female protagonist (though this could be a bonus). It doesn't have to have a heavy handed feminist theme. It just needs to treat women with respect, and not as objects. A harem anime, for instance, would certainly not qualify, even if it were "clean" so to speak.

I thank you for anyone who has any suggestions.

Edit: Also, I'm open to all suggestions, but as someone pointed out dubbed would probably be better than subbed.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I can't think of a suitable anime series at the moment (I may edit this later) but there is one anime film that come to my mind that isn't Studio Ghibli

Spoiler: A Girl Who Leap through Time

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Summer Wars, directed by the same guy who made A Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It's funny, heartwarming, and all around awesome.

That's the only one I can think of right now, since some of my other favorite anime are... a bit on the violent side.

 

[Llil]

Little Witch Academia is a really good one and it matches all three of your criteria. It's just one 25 min short film (although they are making a second one), but it's one of the best examples of children's animation I've seen in a while. It's really nicely animated, and the characters are likeable and well written (especially considering the whole thing is just 25 minutes). And the story, while pretty basic, is well told and fun to watch.

I'm not sure if there is a dubbed version available, but if subtitles aren't a problem for her, it's definitely worth checking out.

 

Also, you can never go wrong with the 1990 Moomin animated series. It was easily one of my favourite shows growing up, and I can't recommend it enough. It might be intended for kids who are a bit younger, maybe, I'm not sure, but it's still good and worth trying out.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Some people may disagree with me on this, but maybe try Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Yes, it is known for being dark, but it's the kind of dark that I think would still be appropriate for a younger viewer. It's 12 episodes long, it's not too graphic (less so than Mononoke), there's no fanservice, and it features a mostly female cast. Each of whom are strong, well-written characters ranging from ages 13-15. While it may be dark, it does have a positive message at the end. While there might be some scenes that would scare her, from what you describe, I don't see that as a negative thing. I don't think children should be taught to shy away from such things, but instead confront them. I think Madoka would be a good title to slowly ease her way into some more darker stuff. I think a 12 year old would be able to handle it, especially if you're considering showing her Kino's Journey.

Or maybe I'm just a sadist, who knows?

But as Scarim Coral and Crazygirl17 mentioned, a few other Mamoru Hosoda movies would be good, too, like The Girl who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and The Wolf Children.

 

[Shadowalker]

All of the above recommendations are good. I'd suggest introducing her to them in this order - Little Witch Academia, A Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and Madoka Magica. This is probably the order from "most kid-friendly" to "least kid-friendly", imo. So it's probably a good progression to take. Of them all, Madoka Magica is the one I like the most, so if she can handle the darker tone of the show (dark, but with minimal gore), there's a good chance she'll like it.

 

[NotThePANTSU]

Good animé that is completely devoid of any and all fanservice might be a little difficult.

First series that come to mind are "Hanasaku Iroha" (which I think is likely to be precisely what you are looking for), "Nagi no Asakura", and "K-On". Maybe "Non Non Byori"?

"Toradora" is one of my all-time favourite series though it contains a small amount of fanservice slapstick situations so you may take issue with it.

I also quite like the message behind "Gatchaman Crowds" but it contains a level of violence you may deem unacceptable, mostly in the last episode.

If anyone suggests "Puella Magica", promptly smack them.

 

[Fox12]

snip

Well shoot, if it weren't for the "No Fanservice" rule I'd almost recommend Gurren Laggan. If only because all the characters (yes, even the slightly fanservice-y female characters) are badass and the overall theme is to be who you are and screw ANYONE trying to take your independence from you/bring you down.

Overall the animes that I know wouldn't break the rules; granted asking for a "positive female message" seems pretty pointless imo how about just a positive message in general? would be Mushishi (seriously, if you little sister loves the outdoors and things like that... this show is like a Nat Geo documentary remade as an anime with some occasional drama and magic thrown in), perhaps Kino's Journey (granted, I haven't seen enough of it to make a full guess of whether it doesn't break the rules or not), Lupin III and Detective Conan may be a bit old, but they've aged well enough that a kid can still enjoy them. 'Course a few may be a bit freaked out by some of the murders in Detective Conan.

When she gets older, and if she's still interested in anime, chances are she'd love Death Note. A lot of people do.

And, to be fair, just because a series brakes one of the rules doesn't mean that it's bad. It may just mean that she's not ready for it yet. I liked Gurenn Lagenn, for instance, but I probably wouldn't show it to her right now. If she gets interested in anime and wants to explore stuff when she's older, than more power to her. Also, it's not so much that a series needs to have a strong feminist undertone to it so much as it just needs to treat women with respect, since I would like her to grow up to respect herself.

In any case, I like a lot of the suggestions I've seen. Thank you to everyone whose posted so far!

 

[gritch]

I would recommend Sound of the Sky (Sora no Woto). It's about a group of young girls in the military stationed in a fort out in the nosebleeds just messing around for the most part. Most of the show is just the girls hanging out and becoming better friends but it ends with the them having to struggle to stop a war from breaking out between two nations. I don't really recall there being too intense violence even towards the end. It's cliche and wasn't really my taste but it might be exactly what you're looking for here.

 

[madwarper]

If she's a fan of Miyazaki, how about you go old school, back to his directorial debut; Future Boy Conan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Boy_Conan].

Spoiler

And, there's the aforementioned Little Witch Academia, assuming the you feel the one "melting" minotaur scene is appropriate for her.

Spoiler

 

[mecegirl]

Magic Knight Rayerth
Dennou coil
Angelic Layer
Log Horizon
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun

 

[Casual Shinji]

The World Masterpiece Theater cataloge might be a good source for anime aimed at a younger audience. It's all these series based on classic literature, like Anne of Green Gables, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Moomins, and Peter Pan. It's anime that feels very much in the same vein as Ghibli both in aesthetic and characterisation. Miyazaki himself even worked on one of the shows, Heidi. Don't make her watch Dog of Flanders though.

She might also enjoy Escaflowne, since it's one of the few mech/adventure anime with a girl protagonist (that doesn't flash her tits). And it's also just a fun show to watch. Not too heavy or violent either, but a bit dark at places.

And other than that, Little Witch Acedemia is an excellent choice, though unfortunately a little short.

 

[Kaimax]

From the recent seasons this year
Barakamon
A Story about a young calligrapher, who has to spend some time in a remote Island in Japan after punching one of the Judges for "belittling" his award winning work for being to Rigid. Besides living there to clear his head, he's trying to find his own style.--the anime focuses on the relationship between him and the Island Villagers and the way they live that will influence his writing style.

Gekkan Shojou Nozaki Kun
A Romantic Comedy (Emphasis on Comedy), about a girl who's in love with a guy who's secretly a shoujo manga author. The series is full of comedy making fun on the tropes of the shoujo genre.

Isshukan Friends
A Romantic/Friendship story about a boy, who's curios about one girl in his class who's known to be cold to her classmates. He musters courage to ask her to be his friend, only to be declined because she has a Memory problem. Specifically her memories about her "Friends" get's reset every week.

a Bit Older
Chihayafuru
A anime about Competitive Karuta (Traditional Japanese card game about poems), it revolves around a girl named Chihaya and her childhood friends and their promise to play Karuta again in the future as a team. It goes abit as a usual "sports genre" but it really explores the beauty of Karuta and the surprisingly tough competitive part of it.

Tari Tari
A Story about a girl, who just stopped playing the piano despite her talents, because her past problems with her mother. One of her friends who's in the choir club tries to get her to play for them.

 

[4RM3D]

I would recommend Sound of the Sky (Sora no Woto).

Damn, ninja'd

Very well, in that case: Aria [http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=2659].

Also, at the moment I am watching Glass Mask [http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=2994]. Not sure how it ends yet, but so far it's definitely recommended for a 12 year old girl.

 

[Subbies]

I second Barakamon, it's a really fun show. Otherwise I suggest Ichigo Mashimaro (strawberry marshmellows) which is adorable and hilarious at the same time. For something more serious, Gatchaman Crowds is great, fun and has some serious undertones as well as Persona 4 the animation (or the new one which is actually exactly the same: Persona Golden the animation). I'll try to think of a few others but right now thats all I have.

Edit: What about FLCL?

 

[loa]

Why is evangelion not ok if she watched freaking princess mononoke?
And if she can take mononoke, she can also take fullmetal alchemist and death note.
Oh also digimon tamers, that's pretty good too if you can manage to stay away from the terrible, butchered american version (and even that one isn't fully ruined. Kinda).

 

[Fractral]

The Air film is pretty good. It reminded me a bit of some of the more upbeat studio ghibli films, although it has a fairly sad ending. On a similar note, Ano Hana might be a good one to look at- it deals with a group of friends trying to overcome the loss of one of their number and is pretty safe. Angel Beats might be good as well, although it has a few dark moments and quite a bit of comedic violence.