Hentai isn’t the only type of anime you should watch alone or with friends. Whether it’s the sexual content, overall weirdness, or excessive gore, there are some anime that your parents just don’t need to know you’re into. Unless, of course, you like having awkward conversations with your parents about the adult scene they just walked in on. So, for those of us looking to avoid a repeat of the “birds and the bees” talk, here are five anime you shouldn’t watch around your parents.
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma
Based on the shōnen manga of the same name, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma follows Sōma Yukihira, a teenager who aspires to become a chef at his father’s restaurant, Yukihira. Unfortunately, Sōma’s father, Jōichirō, gets a new job that requires him to travel abroad, and he consequently closes down the restaurant.
Before he leaves, he asks his son to prove himself as a chef at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, a prestigious culinary school in Tokyo where students face each other in food competitions called Shokugeki (food wars). However, only a few manage to get in. Despite the low acceptance rate, Sōma lands a spot at the school. Throughout the series, viewers watch the aspiring chef overcome various challenges, including a number of action-packed Shokugeki.
While the delicious food is the main reason you should watch Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, your parents are sure to focus its less savory parts. The questionable, perverted camera angles, oversized breasts, and sexual innuendos (eating good food is literally an orgasmic experience) that cater to the male gaze will lead your parents to believe you’re watching actual food porn.
Shadow Star Narutaru
Twelve-year-old Shiina Tamai spends her summer holiday at her grandparents’ house. While there, she comes across a starfish-shaped creature, and they quickly become friends. Tamai even gives the creature a name: “Hoshimaru: The Round Star.” When Tamai returns home for school, she notices that other kids have formed bonds with Hoshimaru-like creatures as well. Unfortunately, Tamai soon discovers that not all the creatures (or their human masters) are as friendly as Hoshimaru.
Don’t let Shadow Star Narutaru upbeat opening song and Pokémon-like creatures fool you. It’s a show that you shouldn’t watch with your parents or at night. The brutal murders and psychological torture are kicked up a notch when you involve kids. It’s guaranteed to make your parents uncomfortable and keep them up at night, especially if they’re new to anime.
The show also explores the messed up things parents in this show put their kids through, including sexual abuse and murder. Do yourself a favor and check Shadow Star Narutaru out in the daytime. Your parents will thank you for it — and you’ll, hopefully, get a full night’s rest.
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls
Within the last few years, the anime fandom has accepted the horror and gore genres thanks to shows like Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul. However, there are still titles that are too graphic for other people, especially your parents, and Corpse Party: Tortured Souls is definitely one of them.
The horror series follows a group of students who gather at their school to say goodbye to a friend. One of the many traditions that Japanese students do is to perform a ritual to remain friends forever using small paper charms.
What they don’t realize, however, is that their ritual is somehow connected to an elementary school where several gruesome murders have occurred. While performing the ceremony, they get transported to an alternate dimension brimming with vengeful ghosts from the past. Now, they must work together to escape this hellish place — or risk remaining with the spirits forever.
Gore, guts, and children torturing children are the main reasons why it would be best to watch Corpse Party: Tortured Souls alone. Just imagine if your parents walked in on the scene where some kids get stabbed in the eyes and have their tongues cut out of their mouths. It would change their whole perception of you.
Prison School
Hachimitsu Academy is an all-girls boarding school known for its draconian rules. This school year, the administration has decided to all boys to enroll also. Kiyoshi and his four friends — Gakuto, Shingo, Joe, and Andre — are the only male students to get into the strict academy.
However, Hachimitsu isn’t your typical school. The administration severely punishes its students by sending them to the school’s prison — for even the most minor of infractions. Of course, the boys soon get themselves into trouble and must spend a month in jail. On top of that, they’re in for some heavy punishment at the hands of the vicious members of the Underground Student Council (USC).
Prison School, at first glance, seems like any other harem anime. However, the kink level rises exponentially when the boys get to prison to receive their punishment. From getting beaten with a riding crop to getting a karate-style whooping, the boys love every bit of punishment dealt out by USC — which is composed of women with breasts so unrealistically big their clothes can barely contain them. And if your parents walk in on you watching this, they’ll hardly be able to contain their disappointment.
Mad Bull 34
Cop movies and the ’90s go together like cosplay and anime. In fact, these police tales have become synonymous with the decade. It became so popular that even anime got in on the trend. Mad Bull 34 follows Japanese-American rookie officer Daizaburo “Eddie” Ban as he joins one of New York City’s toughest precincts, the 34th. His new partner turns out to be the infamous John Estes, known as “Sleepy” to his friends and “Mad Bull” by his enemies, whose personality is even bigger than his massive build.
Sleepy has no problem shooting first and asking questions later, which often lands him in trouble with his superiors. Throughout the four-episode special, Eddie and his partner solve various crimes involving murders, prostitution, and drug trafficking. Despite being total opposites of each other, they manage to make the streets of New York a safer place for everyone.
While the series uses extreme violence to move the plot forward, this isn’t the only reason why you shouldn’t watch Mad Bull 34 with your parents. The anime is full of clichés and stereotypes that highlight the darker aspects of ’90s American culture. So, if you don’t want your parents to think you’re into racial slurs and offensive humor, then don’t watch Mad Bull 34 with them — or anyone, really.
