Shojo Beat, OK for 12?

[CardCaptorConnor-EX]

Hi,
I have a question regarding Shojo Beat.  Do you think it is OK for me (a 12 year old) to read?  After all, it is rated T+.
I am mostly worried about nudity and violence.  The occasional curse word is OK.  Baby & Me is rated T for adult situations, but I was able to handle that.
Please reply ASAP, or at least before Shojo Beat Issue 1 goes out of print! :mrgreen:
Arigatogozaimasu!!

[Negima]

:shock:  *spit take*
Sorry, that caught me by surprise.

I don't think I've ever thought of Shojo Beat containing nudity.  Curse words are probably pretty minor, nothing like... you know the ones we're talking about.

*Goes off the compare manga ratings*
Just to give you an idea of ratings, "Full Moon o Sagashite" has a teen rating.  So does Tokyopop's Fruits Basket.  If you know about that series, you know there's mostly comical/minor fighting, no nudity... okay, technically there is but you have clouds of smoke covering everything except the heads when they change back to humans.

Anyway, summarized, I'd say yeah, it should be perfectly fine for a 12 year old.

[sumomo_san]

Godchild and Kaze Hikaru have a bit of graphic violence in it. Kaze Hikaru has more of the battle scenes, but Godchild can be a little gorey. But as long as the sight of inked blood doesn't make you faint, or unless you are terribly terribly squeamish then you should be okay. Nana probably has the most curse words and nudity, but it really isn't all that bad. There's nothing in there that they wouldn't sell to you knowing your age or anything. I'm pretty sure any parent of a level headed 12 year old would be perfectly fine allowing them to read it after flipping through the pages. As Negima said there are strategically placed towels or smoke puffs in front of anything that they wouldn't want you to see.

[CardCaptorConnor-EX]

Godchild and Kaze Hikaru have a bit of graphic violence in it. Kaze Hikaru has more of the battle scenes, but Godchild can be a little gorey. But as long as the sight of inked blood doesn't make you faint, or unless you are terribly terribly squeamish then you should be okay. Nana probably has the most curse words and nudity, but it really isn't all that bad. There's nothing in there that they wouldn't sell to you knowing your age or anything. I'm pretty sure any parent of a level headed 12 year old would be perfectly fine allowing them to read it after flipping through the pages. As Negima said there are strategically placed towels or smoke puffs in front of anything that they wouldn't want you to see.

Sumomo-san, could you possibly compare the violence to the anime versions of Ruroni Kenshin (sp?) and Princess Mononoke with Godchild and Kaze Hikaru?  These are probably the most violent anime shows I have seen.  And about Nana... I read somewhere (Anime On DVD Forums, I think) that there are bath scenes and that there is some frontal nudity.  About how many times does this pop up?
And to anyone...Absolute Boyfriend?  How bad is this?  I know there has to be something...all the pictures of this series on ShojoBeat.com are some shirtless guy.
Thanks for your replies guys!

[sassy_lassy]

Sumomo-san, could you possibly compare the violence to the anime versions of Ruroni Kenshin (sp?) and Princess Mononoke with Godchild and Kaze Hikaru?  These are probably the most violent anime shows I have seen.

Now is that the unedited Rurouni Kenshin DVDs... or the Cartoon Network Rurouni Kenshin?

If it's the unedited, then you should be fine with the violence in Godchild and Kaze Hikaru.

Godchild is also Teen rated in it's gothic nature and storylines. Bit mature for tweens unless they are already understanding of such things.

And about Nana... I read somewhere (Anime On DVD Forums, I think) that there are bath scenes and that there is some frontal nudity.  About how many times does this pop up?

From what I've seen it's all in the same scene. It is female nudity but it isn't sexual. Merely when she jumps out of the bath and stuff... The sexual stuff isn't quite in your face... as much... heh.

And to anyone...Absolute Boyfriend?  How bad is this?  I know there has to be something...all the pictures of this series on ShojoBeat.com are some shirtless guy.

Well... I don't consider it 'bad' but I'm sure to some parents and sheltered teens it would be. There is a mature overtone but it's covered with cute humour and stuff.

I wouldn't necessarily reccomend it for a 12 year old... more like a 13 + manga. But you never know, it really depends on how mature one is in the mind.

*shrug*

[sumomo_san]

I don't really like Rurouni Kenshin so I couldn't compare those, but as for Princess Mononoke and Kaze Hikaru they are probably on the same levels. Since Kaze Hikaru is mostly just battle and whatnot it would most likely be fine. As for Godchild though it has more gore and the 'gothic nature' sassy_lassy mentioned. Absolute Boyfriend so far hasn't had anything worse than shirtless guys, that they've shown at least. They imply that Night is naked but they never show it of course, and any 'questionable' activity is always light hearted due to the nature of the storyline. If you wanted me to I could scan in a page or two of each series to give you an example (as long as thats legal xD) I've read all of them up to the most current one and so far Baby & Me and Crimson Hero are hands down fine. It's probably Nana and Godchild I'd worry about most.

[rarnom]

Hi,
I have a question regarding Shojo Beat.  Do you think it is OK for me (a 12 year old) to read?  After all, it is rated T+.
I am mostly worried about nudity and violence.  The occasional curse word is OK.  Baby & Me is rated T for adult situations, but I was able to handle that.
Please reply ASAP, or at least before Shojo Beat Issue 1 goes out of print! :mrgreen:
Arigatogozaimasu!!

Hmmmm, don't you think that you should be asking your parents this question?    :wink:

Speaking as an older type person and a parent I would not want my 12 year old reading Shojo Beat.  I subscribe and I have read it and I find some of the content too mature for a 12 year old.  I say just read the A and T rated titles until you are 14.  

The right thing to do would be to ask your parents.  If they say yes, then you are good to go.

[Dustin]

I agree with Rarnom, this is more a question for your parents.

Ethically speaking, I would say no, personally.

Mostly because of Godchild. Don't get me wrong, I love Kaori Yuki's works, but most of the events in Godchild would probably be best suited for teenagers. Theres alot of murder, sexual situations, etc etc. Some story archs also contain mentions of incest and various other things that would probably drive a parent up a wall.

Still, I think this would best be a question for your parents or legal guardian to determine. Ask them about it, and have them buy an issue to review and come to a conclusion on.

If some of the stuff bothers them, you can always ask them about the good stuff, and perhaps get the graphic novels of whats ok for you to read.

Though, thats just my opinion.