Anime for conservatives

Is there an anime which is NOT for kids or family-oriented, yet acceptable to conservatives or actually cater to people on the right?

Really depends what kind of conservative you mean. From what I've read from Hayao Miyazaki's interviews, he seems a bit conservative at times and I think it also shows in the movies, but not in a Ronald Reagan worshiping kind of way.

Well, Highschool Of The Dead's author seems to be pretty hard-right. It would be good to have a better idea of precisely what you're looking for, though.

Japanese conservatism is not going to be the same as Western conservatism. The best you can hope for is to find a show that is theoretically about 'working hard' and running with that.

Yeah. I mean conservatism for you Western audiences.

I suppose the last third of NANA will do, now that I think about it.

That's still extremely broad.

Since you're from the Philippines, I'll assume you're Catholic and you're talking about Catholic conservatism. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find an anime that conforms to Catholic values.

I think I'll suggest Madoka Magica or Higurashi. The former's Faustian in nature, which has deep ties to Christianity, and Higurashi's value outside of the murder premise is actually The Power of Friendship.

edited 18th Jun '11 9:25:43 AM by LiberatedLiberater

This. There's probably plenty of conservative anime out there, but it's conservative by Japanese standards, not Western ones. (And even then, the West is far from unified in what "conservative" means - even the liberal parts of US politics are conservative by the standards of some countries).

So... what particular aspects are you looking for when you want conservative values?

Yeah, are we talking, "Government intervention in economics should be limited, if not lifted entirely," conservatism or, "Family Values!" conservatism that's so popular with the (not-)kids these days?

The former, man. The latter can be boring sometimes.

Moshidora is the only one I can think of off hand.

Economic conservatism is harder to find because economics is usually rather boring.

However, there are some that have the more general philosophy of individualism and independence. (Although those themes will be rare in Japanese anime).

• The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya leaps to mind.
• Angel Beats maybe.
• Martian Successor Nadesico
• Crest Of The Stars has the odd format of the Designated Villain representing a more "conservative" perspective. Yet our protagonist actually agrees with them more from a philosophical sense, but his personal loyalties lead him to support the Evil Empire.
• Spice And Wolf maybe?

There are several more that don't explicitly address the issues, but the presentation seems to assume conservative economic values.

• Maison Ikkoku
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Full Metal Panic
• Whisper Of The Heart
• Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu

edited 18th Jun '11 10:00:33 AM by Sackett

Liberated Liberater: I really don't think Higurashi is what they're looking for... are you joking? I know friendship moral and all that, but that can't change its initial image, which is definitely not suited for this particular purpose.

I've often thought, half-jokingly, that One Piece has a pretty radical libertarian stance (JAPAN OUT OF UN!).

The former, man. The latter can be boring sometimes.

I don't think anime is where you should be looking for Randian fap material.

Just a thought.

Please, the whole "sexually aroused by conservative talking points" meme is as tired as it is immature. (Especially since people who employ it are likely to be less prudish than average about sex, so it's a mite hypocritical.)

He's basically looking for conservative/libertarian fanservice, I think the the comparison is quite warranted.

I've never heard, say, Holmesian pastiches referred to as fap material. You're deliberately muddying up two completely different kinds of fanservice there.

EDIT: This is literature, and you're probably going to have to order it online, but if you've got a thing for space travel, Michael Flynn's Firestar series is a great story and a great big Hayek-thumper.

edited 18th Jun '11 11:24:20 AM by DomaDoma

Showa Monogatari?

Hmm, fiscally conservative anime. I don't think there is any. Fuck, I can't even think of an anime besides C The Money Of Soul And Possibility Control that even focuses on economics in general.

...Wait. Does Spice And Wolf support the idea of free trade and a capitalist economic system?

edited 18th Jun '11 1:09:41 PM by Sparkysharps

Wow. And I thought threads were stupid in Yack Fest.

Can't you just read Atlas Shrugged or something? Why anime?

edited 18th Jun '11 1:10:10 PM by Sporkaganza

Also, Conservatism has a very real meaning. That clashes a lot more with Libertarianism far more than it can be reconciled. Almost all real forms of Libertarianism are all in heavy conflict with real forms of Conservatism.

Conservatism tends to be about preserving things. Tending to be about morals, traditions, and hierarchy. Instead of individualism, new ideas, and equality.

edited 18th Jun '11 1:31:06 PM by Ukonkivi

Most of the conservatism you're going to find in anime will be pro-isolationist stuff, I'd imagine - Japanese conservatism for a Japanese medium. From what I've heard of it, Moshidora might have some of what you're looking for, but you're not likely to find economic stances in anime, I think. Like someone up above said, radical nationalists are vindicated hard in Highschool Of The Dead, but there's no point when someone turns to the camera and says 'If only there were a truly free market, this zombie nonsense would never have happened!' Because they don't use the word 'zombie'.

edited 18th Jun '11 3:16:37 PM by RedSavant

Little bit... but not really. Its more the hypocrisy of the church denouncing the goals of the merchant class (read Lawrence and his fellow traders) as excessively materialistic while using their moral authority with the general populace to influence laws in such a way as to direct trade through their agents and as such increase their own wealth.

And even then that's only really present in one arc and most of the antagonism from the church comes more from the fact that Lawrence is travelling with a being that the Church classifies as a demon. Economically, Spice and Wolf is more concerned with showing how the medieval European economic system worked than in advocating for any aspect of it.

That sounds rather like the criticisms that economic conservatives make of socialist governments. So yeah, watch the fuck out of some Spice And Wolf.

Economics is also generally just plain awesome.