Have you ever considered that some people ever your own parents might be hiding prejudices against the Japanese? I mean you all this crap about things like Pokemon, Naruto, being evil.

Some groups in the United States believe Pok¨¦mon to be Satanic in origin. [1] After the US release of Pok¨¦mon Yellow, there was a sudden widespread criticism of it passed through Christian congregations primarily by word-of-mouth. The claimed parallels between Pok¨¦mon and Satanism include:


Pok¨¦mon parallel demons. They are captured and must be invoked to perform tasks.
Magical 'talismans' (gym badges) are necessary to control many of them.
'Magical' stones are used to evolve certain Pok¨¦mon.
Pok¨¦mon 'evolve'. Evolution precludes literal creationism, therefore Pok¨¦mon denies some forms of Biblical interpretation. However, it is possible the word was meant to mean in the pre-Darwinian manner; that is, to literally change over time.
Many Pok¨¦mon have paranormal or psychic powers. These powers are not stated to be derived from God and therefore, according to some Christian doctrine, must stem from Satan (although this is not stated either).
Many Pok¨¦mon embody or practice Asian spiritual and mystical concepts. For example, some practice martial arts, which some Christian groups denounce as a gateway to pagan religions. The game world also incorporates Asian traditions about elemental forces.
Some Pok¨¦mon (such as Houndoom and Murkrow) resemble witches or demons.
Also, when the Pok¨¦ Rap is sung in English, the lyrics ¡°gotta catch ¡¯em all¡± are alleged to say ¡°I love Satan¡± or ¡°oh Satan¡± when played backwards [1], which is known as ¡°backmasking¡±. This has left some Christians and Christian organizations believing that Pok¨¦mon subliminally encourages Satanism. However, backmasking in general is highly controversial and debatable, leaving room for much skepticism.

Still, most people (including many Asian Christian congregations) [citation needed] dismiss these claims to be nonsense, and attribute many of the alleged protests to urban legend. The surprisingly small number of original protests (as opposed to reports of protests) seems to reinforce this belief. It would be incorrect to state that the Christian religious community is monolithic in this matter, since most mainstream sects of Christianity are utterly indifferent to Pok¨¦mon. Catholics do not actually lax of the situation compared to Protestants.

The alleged outcry was enough to move the Holy See to comment, in an official statement on April 21, 2000:

The Vatican has announced that the trading-card and computer-game versions of Pok¨¦mon are ¡°full of inventive imagination,¡± have no ¡°harmful moral side effects¡± and celebrate ¡°ties of intense friendship.¡± Whether that extends to the TV show, His Holiness didn¡¯t say. The New York Post, quoting a Thursday story in The Times of London, says The Vatican made its announcement on its satellite TV station, Sat2000, run by the Italian Bishops¡¯ Conference.-from the New York Times
There are also allegations against ¡°Pok¨¦mon¡± citing liberal views on morality, particularly among Christians. These include the immodest dress of some of the female characters in the show, the use of the phrase ¡°kick your ass¡± (in actuality, ¡°kick your Grass¡±, referring to a type of Pok¨¦mon) in the lyrics of a song (What Kind of Pok¨¦mon Are You?) in the show, though the phrase was later removed and replaced with different lyrics, and a certain character (James), wearing women¡¯s clothes in several episodes of the show, giving some the impression that he is a transvestite. Normally, when James dresses up as a woman for these ploys, his female partner Jessie also dresses up as a man, to further confuse their identities. (Ash generally fails to see through their disguises anyway, but the cross-dressing makes it that much more difficult). Such cross-dressing for both characters can also be seen in Pok¨¦mon Puzzle League, in the Spa Service mode. It is, however, notable that James¡¯s voice in the English dub of the anime has gotten more effeminate as the series has gone on [citation needed].

Judaism and Buddhism
The Pok¨¦mon trading card game has been criticized by members of the Jewish community for its use of the swastika [citation needed], the most widely known symbol of Nazism, which they hold is inappropriate for children¡¯s toys. Nintendo says that this is a matter of cultural misunderstanding, as the swastika and a similar symbol, the manji, have been used in East Asian cultures as a symbol for ¡°good fortune¡± by the Hindu religion for thousands of years. Even today in Japan, the swastika is not necessarily associated with Nazism, and most maps not only in Japan but also in Korea and Taiwan use a small clockwise upright swastikas, manji, to indicate the location of Buddhist temples. Moreover, Buddhist and folklore artifacts frequently bear swastika ornaments; a tiling of interwoven tilted swastikas is commonly seen in the Seoul subway system.

The manji was shown only on a Japanese version card and was excluded from the North American release. However, these Jewish groups attacked the Japanese version distributed in the U.S. by unauthorized import. As a result of this controversy Nintendo stopped using this symbol even in the Japanese version. [2] This raised a public backlash in Japan for being intolerant towards the symbols of the Buddhist religion for the sake of avoiding controversy.

Some have compared the primary mechanism of Pok¨¦mon to the generally-outlawed practice of cockfighting. Seen from this point of view, the game consists primarily of Pok¨¦mon trainers capturing and bartering in wild animals, coercing them to fight one another. It also sees various performance-enhancing drugs to give them an edge in the fight. Some people believe that this may encourage children towards acts of animal cruelty and illegal gambling. [4]

However, most fans view Pok¨¦mon battling as a friendly competition between two teams of Pok¨¦mon and their trainers. Seen in this light, Pok¨¦mon are not being coerced to battle by their trainers. There are references to some Pok¨¦mon being territorial (e.g. Pidgeotto[5]), but it is vastly different to the aggressively territorial nature of roosters, who will maim the 'enemy' rooster until it or the other dies. Furthermore, trainers do not relish the idea of allowing two animals (or in this case Pok¨¦mon) to fight to the death, while they merely view from the edge of the ¡®ring¡¯. In both the games and the television show, the audience is taught that fighting is not necessarily a means to an end. In addition to all of the above, Pok¨¦mon do not actually die from battle; they faint or are in other ways unable to battle until they are healed.

This original design of the Pok¨¦mon Jynx (seen to the left) bore a striking, but possibly coincidental, resemblance to entertainers in blackface. A strong case can be made for Jynx being a parody of or homage to the Japanese Ganguro and Yamanba fashion trends, which were extremely popular when Pok¨¦mon was first released, but it can't be denied that blackface-influenced characters have appeared elsewhere in anime and manga - examples can be found near the beginning of Osamu Tezuka's early graphic novel, Metropolis.

As Pok¨¦mon became more popular in the US, this perceived similarity to a racist image from America's past offended some. In particular, it had offended children's book author Carole Boston Weatherford, who accused Jynx of being a racist stereotype in an article titled Politically Incorrect Pok¨¦mon in the magazine Black World Today, shortly after the anime episode Holiday Hi-Jynx aired. Episodes later on are also either banned or cut in USA.

In response to this controversy, in 2002, Nintendo changed Jynx's face from black to purple and its hands from blue to purple in Pok¨¦mon games, a change which would be reflected in the anime three years later in Advanced Generation.

Less publically, Pok¨¦mon has been criticized of racism due to its lack of racial diversity from characters in the video games. Even Brock, who appears with dark skin in the Pok¨¦mon anime, has his skin altered to a lighter pigmant in the Pok¨¦mon video games. Extreme critics claim that this is meant to show the "wonder of an ethnically cleansed world." However, most people consider this theory totally ridiculous, and believe it stemmed from satirical origins

New York, NY, November 2, 1999? The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed a decision by Nintendo of America Inc. to inform creators of a Japanese version of Pokô”n about concerns raised by a swastika appearing on one of the popular children¡¯s trading cards.

In a letter to ADL, Nintendo said the swastika raised valid concerns about cross-cultural perceptions. The card, which was produced in Japan, made its way into the United States by way of unauthorized "third party" importing and sales. The company said the card was not intended for an American audience.

"We welcome this decision by Nintendo. In today¡¯s shrinking world due to globalization, what is deemed appropriate or acceptable by one culture may have a significantly different meaning in another," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "While Nintendo says this is considered an ancient religious symbol of hope in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the image of a swastika in any form has clearly negative and hateful connotations in the Western world."

The symbol, emblazoned in the left-hand corner of a card from the Japanese PocketMonsters Trading Card Game, was intended to represent a "manji" sign ascribed to Buddhism and Hinduism, according to Nintendo. The company, "? Has a strict and extensive review process in place to ensure Nintendo products are appropriate for release in the North American market," said Peter T. Main, Nintendo¡¯s Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing. This particular card was not scrutinized because it was imported through the "gray market," he said. "We have forwarded your concerns to the Japanese creators of the PocketMonsters Trading Card game and are inquiring about future production plans in Japan for this specific card."

And keep hearing all this crap about almost everything Japanese being evil, BUT you don't hear anything about The U.S.'s work's evils. In "Dragon Heart", the very term dragon in Christianity means Satan you don't hear anyone downing that. "Spawn" big time "unholy" stuff in it (good movie, rent it/buy it) with scenes of hell and an "undead" plot, nobody wines about that. The last part in "Walt Disney's Masterpiece Fantasia" the last song is most "unholy" no one complains about that. Finally, the Jews are all complaining about a Reversed Nazi sign being on multiple anime stuff slash Japanese products. The Eastern Hemisphere told the Jews that this Reversed Nazi Sign is in Buddhism is a sign of good fortune but even after witch, the Jews attacked the ship carrying these signs. These people are using the beliefs/ religion as and excuse to get rid of anything Japanese when The United States has all of these elements in the media already and yet people actually encourage more production of this from the U.S... Even my mom wouldn't let me watch anything Japanese (even if an United States show just in Japanese animation) because of it's evil elements witch are found in "Futurama", "South Park", "American Dad", "Family Guy", "The Simpsons", "Robot Chicken", all of which have the same/worse elements in the yet not one complaint about any one United States show. These are just prejudice people who are still ticed off about 12/7 (the bombing of Peal Harbor) and they like using their religion/race and/or anything else that they can come up with to get rid of anything Japanese. Do you know what I have to say about these people? They deserve to have every trace of their existence [themselves, their belongs, all photos, their pets, their houses, etc. (except their families)] chained to a hydrogen bomb and detonated it and send their ashes into space on a course to the Sun. And when you think about it, these people are no different that Stallion, Mussolini, Hoisington, Khan, Sandanna Bin Laden, Sodom Hosain, Adolf Hitler, and all the other human mistakes that were prejudice.

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