Or, as Marge Simpson said: “You know, FOX turned into a hard core sex channel so gradually, I didn’t even notice.”
While the expansion of manga into American culture is not even close to the same level as Fox, so long as you ignore tentacle sex (Google that one yourself) and the creepy origins of Birdo and Cubone (Cracked.com link), over the last three decades or so, children have begun learning to read from right to left and talking about characters whose names sound to adult ears like harsh sneezes and whose storylines can reach David Lynchian levels of dreamlike bizarreness.
So now that we’re accustomed to characters SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER at the slightest provocation:
Can you hear me now OR DO I NEED TO SHOUT LOUDER!
racing with speed lines behind them:
and reacting with exaggerated expressions:
In Japan, this is considered underplaying it.
Why not teach them how to do it. This page from “Magical Girls & Their Magical Buddies” section of “Mangamania Romance: Drawing Shojo Girls and Bishie Boys” shows budding artists how to create unnatural monsters a la “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” but take the horror out of it by making them SO DARN CUTE!
