Articles
Anime had been brought up in a number of academic articles, sometimes praising the work and other times questioning its moral impact.
In 17Thomas (2012) diffrent anime and Manga published after the Tokyo subway sarin attacks were examined to determine their representation of cults. This incident was a gas attack in Japan by a group of religious extremist. After this incident religion was targeted by the public saying they brainwashed their followers. It is also worth mentioning that for a time popular media was blamed for the incidents, as people thought it weakened the social morals of Japanese youth. It was also thought by some that manga's creation of fictional worlds made it difficult to distinguish fiction from reality.
This is a familiar story as in western countries the same argument is made against video games.
In 6 Frohlich (2012) he uses Death Note specifically as an example of Apocalyptic Religion. Apocalyptic religion is present in many religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and revolves around God's judgement on the wicked. In this article Apocalypticism is concerned with the end of the world and final judgement of humanity. It is also said to give hope for the future, as one day God will return and right all the wrongs in the world making a new paradise. It is also mentioned that apocalyptic religion can serve as a "cloak of pseudo-righteousness that some leaders have used to define evil and punish other".
Both of these definitions define the Death Note series.
However Frohlich (2012) does not only show apocalyptic religion in Death Note but also criticize Light's ethical behaviour and numerous sins that make him a "despicable main character". He is a narcissist, incapable of loving anyone but himself, a manipulator, and of course a murder.
He compares the series to the events in Revelations where God releases plagues upon humanity when the wicked are punished and have no chance to repent their sins- likewise Light gives those he feels are evil no chance of redemption.
Frohlich (2012) also takes issue with the creator's view of the series asking "Do the creators of Death Note agree with the ideology the series encourages?" The answer to this question is difficult to determine, as the creators only give ambitious responses Frohlich (2012) states that because Death Note was originally targeted at a young audience by "not making a strong declaration of his ethical intent, readers are left to accept the ethics of Death Note at face value." At face value Light could be interpreted to be in the right, crime rates drop while he was acting as Kira and rise after his death, he maintains relationships with friends and family throughout the series, feels no guilt for his actions, remains the top student in Japan, and because all humans go to the same place after death he will presumably face no consequences for his actions. Frohlich (2012) conclusion of the message at face value of the Death Note series is that killing bad people makes the world a better place and claims that the "theory is expressed in such a black-and-white terms that it is impossible, in the world of Death Note, to see morality any differently."
However many do not criticize the influence of anime and instead praise its contribution to academic socitity. 16 Robbins' (2014) article is about bringing anime into academic libraries, she claims that anime acts as a way to introduce people to a new culture. Within anime viewers are exposed to japanese values, family life, religion, spirituality, ethics and the study of Japanese language. Anime supports a cross cultural and interdisciplinary studies including different views of history, war, politics, ecology, and sociology, Overall anime is praised this article and the author recommends several which should be included in academic libraries for their use in many different disciplines of study.
