Parents to blame for this?

1. 0

   LoliHeyposted 8 years ago

   Parents to blame for this?
   
   The other day, I stumbled upon an article about a 15 year old boy who killed himself.  He died because he was in love with an anime character named Ikaros.  Really in love.  So much in love that when she was killed off the show, he took his own life to be with her.  As if that wasn't horrific enough, after the suicide, Ikaros actually was resurrected back onto the show in a future episode.  The parents want anime banned, blaming it for the cause of his death.  Are they to blame?  Is the fact that the kid was mentally ill to blame?  Thoughts?
   
   

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2. 78

   Jeremy Gillposted 8 years ago

   No, this isn't anime's fault. Plenty of series of all genres kill off characters. Harry Potter, Star Wars, heck even Disney feature character death. I'm sympathetic towards the family, but it's not anime's fault that this young man chose to take his own life.

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3. 72

   dashingscorpioposted 8 years ago

   
   
   One would hope a 15 year old knows the difference between animation and reality. However immaturity varies.
   Anyone who takes their own life chooses to do so ultimately  because they're unhappy with their life. Killing off Ikaros may have been "the final straw" in already miserable life existence.
   There is also a difference between being mentally ill, immature, depressed, and anti-social. For all we know this kid retreated to a "make believe world" because real girls never accepted him.
   There's a very good chance his parents had no idea what he was dealing with socially at school or in his neighborhood. Teenagers and parents tend to live in parallel universes which rarely intersect unless there is a problem.
   I know when I was  a teenager I rarely confided in my parents. They had no idea what I might be dealing with socially or relationship wise. Teens like to believe they're adults.
   Kids hide a lot of things from their parents!
   Most parents would be shocked if they knew what their teenagers were really up or contemplating.

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4. 60

   FatFreddysCatposted 8 years ago

   So in other words...
   
   "We want to ban something that is enjoyed by millions of people around the world without any problems, because our kid was screwed up."
   
   ...sounds legit. Good luck with that.

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