Parents' Guide to

Kekkaishi

By Matt Springer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Mild anime that's light on action and heavy on talking.

TV Cartoon Network Kids' Animation 2010
Kekkaishi Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

dudecool25
dudecool25 Adult
April 14, 2022
age 13+
VeryProudParent
VeryProudParent Parent of 9 and 12-year-old
June 6, 2011
age 8+

My 13-year-old son is obsessed with this show; 8-year-old is bored.

This show does contain violence and a confusing plot, but the minute my 13-year-old saw it, he fell in love. My 8-year-old just says "What..." and usually wanders off to go do something else. I've seen it before, and the worst it has is some sexual innuendo, mild language, and violence (there was only one scene with a pedophile that bothered me).

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

KEKKAISHI follows Sumimura Yoshimori and Yumikura Tokine, two junior high kids who act as protectors of the land of Karasumori, where supernatural creatures are irresistibly drawn. Both are descendants of Kekkaishi, or an exterminator of monsters. The two vie against each other to be heir to the family throne even as they battle monsters together to defend their land.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (14 ):

As the tidal wave of anime series has swept across the country from Japan over the past decade, it's brought a completely new style of animation and storytelling. In most important ways, anime series like Kekkaishi are just as fantastical and escapist as childrens' cartoons have always been, even if they don't have nearly the educational value of many younger-kid-targeted shows. At the same time, the heroes of many anime are themselves younger kids, making these series as much about viewers identifying with the heroes as they are about viewers vicariously enjoying the thrills of fantasy adventure.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that it seems as though most anime is as impenetrable to adults today as shows like Transformers must have seemed to our parents, or Howdy Doody may have seemed to theirs. Having said that, Kekkaishi specifically seems more talky and slowly-paced than other contemporary anime series; the fantastical elements are there, but the stories get bogged down in the minutiae of the relationships and mythology.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about fantasy violence versus real violence. How does it feel to watch imaginary monsters hurting people as compared to watching people hurt each other?

  • Kekkaishi is an animated series originally produced for Japanese audiences. What are some of the cultural differences between the life of a school-age child in Japan versus the life of a child in the U.S.?

TV Details

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