What is Kid-Friendly Anime?
Kid-friendly anime is animation designed for children and adolescents. It follows a tried-and-true formula of stories, characters, and visuals that appeal to its audience of kids and teens.
Kid-friendly anime is generally light-hearted and focuses on themes these generations can identify with like friendship, explorations, discovery, and courage. The art styles are also small and cutesy, although that doesn’t mean the content has to be so.
While some adults may believe that all anime is not appropriate for kids, that’s far from the truth. There are actually many titles of anime that children and teens can enjoy.
Below we list some of the best kid-friendly anime titles and why they may appeal to your children and adolescents.
Popular Kid-Friendly Anime
- Pokémon
For over two decades now, Pokémon has been a beloved mainstay in the realm of kid-friendly anime. It centers around the adventures of Ash Ketchum – a boy from Pallet Town on a quest to become the best Pokémon trainer in the world – and his rag-tag team of Pokémon. Along the way, Ash and his friends explore the lands, meet new characters, and battle other Trainers. Older children and teens love it for the intense battles and cute characters, while younger children love it for the cast of lovable critters.
- Hamtaro
This is one of the cutest anime you can find. It follows the daily adventures of a hamster called Hamtaro and his group of friends. They solve mysteries, help others, and are always getting into amusing and entertaining scrapes.
- Digimon
Digimon is one of the most popular anime franchises to come out of Japan. It follows a group of kids who are cast into the the Digital World, where they must find a way back home while engaging in adventures with their Digimon partners. Digimon offers several seasons of wonderful entertainment for both older kids and younger kids alike.
- Yo-Kai Watch
This an inspiring adventure story about a boy named Keita and his living watch that can summon an array of colorful and often mischievous spirits known as Yo-kai. Together, Keita and his newfound Yo-kai friends go on all kinds of comical misadventures, encountering a wide array of strange and entertaining Yo-kai. Older kids and teens can enjoy the action and drama that come from Keita’s missions, while younger children will relish the colorful adventures and characters.
- Cardcaptor Sakura
Cardcaptor Sakura follows a ten-year-old girl named Sakura who must recover magical cards scattered all around the world. To do this, she must cast magic spells and use her wit and knowledge to capture them. For both boys and girls, it offers a smart and likeable heroine and a classic “magical girl” storyline. Older kids will love it for the imaginative setting and the exciting battles between Sakura and the cards, while younger children will appreciate the colorful, fun presentation.
- Princess Tutu
This is an enchanting anime series about a duckling named Ahiru who is transformed into a human girl. With the power of the Prince, she must save the prince from his curse and retrieve pieces of his broken heart. Throughout this incredibly adorable series, Princess Tutu combines fairytales, ballet, and lighthearted comedy to provide a moving and enjoyable story. Kids of all ages can easily get lost in its delightful world.
- Gintama
Gintama stars an oddball group of misfits and outcasts who battle aliens, handle odd jobs, and run rampant through a city filled with comedic and chaotic delights. It’s a light-hearted show with plenty of humor and interesting characters, sure to make anyone laugh. Gintama blends traditional anime artwork and lively stories full of strange and exciting characters, appealing to children of all ages.
- Princess Jellyfish
This whimsical anime series follows three young women living in Tokyo and their adventures as they try to make their dreams come true. With cute visuals and likable characters, Princess Jellyfish inspires viewers to follow their dreams. And its themes of female empowerment and friendship will especially resonate with girls.
- Ace of Diamond
This sports comedy anime series focuses on the tag-team antics and triumphs of an ace pitcher, Sawamura Eijun, and his teammates at Seido High School. The series follows their journey to the national championships and all the highs and lows along the way. Kids and teens of all ages will enjoy the mix of humor and trash-talking, as well as the thrilling baseball action.
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has a surprisingly complex plot, with themes of family, justice and overcoming adversity. It also boasts of lovable characters, well-choreographed battles, and plenty of magical girl power. Despite a few mature themes, it’s an easy show for children and teens to enjoy and a great way to introduce them to the concept of magical girl anime.
The kid-friendly anime genre is full of wonderful stories and characters that children and teens of all ages will enjoy. While there are some titles that are a bit too mature for younger audiences, these above titles provide enough action and fantasy to entertain any age range. It is your job to make sure though, that your children or teens understand the content and understand what is appropriate for their age.
