Kekkaishi
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this anime series may bore younger children as the scripting relies heavily on long dialogue scenes to convey the plot rather than dynamic character action. While the battles between good and evil on the series do involve mostly broad fantasy violence, there are also occasional moments that are unexpectedly bloody, though not necessarily graphic or detailed -- a body covered in blood after being defeated, for example.
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User Reviews
- Parents say
- Kids say
My 13-year-old son is obsessed with this show; 8-year-old is bored.
Kinda violent but still really good!
Really Common Sense
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?
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
- Premiere date: May 29, 2010
- Cast: Barbara Goodson, Bryce Papenbrook, Laura Bailey
- Network: Cartoon Network
- Genre: Kids' Animation
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Available on: DVD
- Last updated: September 21, 2019
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
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