How much violence can you handle?

[rocklobster]

When I first got into anime, I noticed that it seemed more violent than Western animation. As I've gotten older, I've come to tolerate some of the violence because I think it can be a necessary evil in certain circumstances. But there are still some times when an anime has been too violent and I was not entertained: Tokko, Akira, and Ninja Scroll come to mind. But then there are titles like Ghost in the Shell, Full Metal Alchemist, Berserk, and Blood+ that I liked in spite of the gore because the storytelling was good enough to allow me to overlook it. So, I was wondering what everyone else's level of tolerance is and what anime you simply stopped watching because it was too violent, or what overtly violent anime you're actually surprised you enjoyed.

[Neane]

I never really have been bothered with Anime Gore. The only one that disturbed me was Shigurui: Death Frenzy. (I stopped watching it at Episode 9) It's very, very Violent.

[A_Yellow_Dress]

I really enjoyed Baccano! The story had me hooked on episode one before things got really gory and I couldn't stop watching. I just covered my eyes at those really bloody parts.

But I prefer little violence and much much less gore. (None is great!) It's not as big of deal if it's implied, but gore kinda makes me queasy.

[Atria35]

Let me put it this way: the anime that got me hooked was Baccano!, and it was the second or third anime I ever watched.

After that, nothing really bothered me except for the nail scene in Higurashi. It's animated, and animated gore does not bother me.

[GrubbTheFragger]

Well I am a horror nut, and I was not fazed by either Gantz or Elfen Lied so gore does not bother me. Oh yeah and I didn't find Akira gory, it had moments but nothing that bad.


Yeah I am a bit twisted hehe.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Honestly, I've never had to 'tolerate' violence in anime. It doesn't bother me at all.

Well, except when our hero's potential romantic interest beats him silly past the point of amusement. That's just annoying.

[SIZE="1"]Poor Shoma. :<[/SIZE]

[MomentOfInertia]

I Haven't had any problem with the violence in the anime I've seen.

Of course I don't think I've seen any really violent anime yet, but I doubt it'll bother me. I'm not very squeamish ... at all. *goes to play some Gears of War*

Honestly, I've never had to 'tolerate' violence in anime. It doesn't bother me at all.

Well, except when our hero's potential romantic interest beats him silly past the point of amusement. That's just annoying.

Poor Shoma. :<

But that wasn't violence]Poor Shoma 8<[/SIZE]

[MightiMidget]

I always found myself to have an exceedingly low gore tolerance (it took me a few years to watch all the way through Lord of the Rings Heads should stay attached. Just like every other body part.). But after being recommended Darker Than Black and assuming that it was probably no gorier than a PG-13 action flick based on the person who recommended it and getting the "surprise! blood! removed hearts and levels of chunkiness and slicing and dicing" here and there I realized that animated gore didn't really bother me a whole lot.

But Baccano! took a lot of talking myself into, and after that I kind of gave up on avoiding things because of a gore worry. Baccano! was so good that I was perfectly willing to potentially traumatize myself (which I didn't).

Goriest thing I've seen I'd rank as Claymore or Blood-C though. The latter made me feel sick, though Claymore didn't really...for some reason. Haven't managed to work up the nerve to try Elfen Lied yet though.

Seems like Baccano! has a general ring of changing suspected standards/tolerances. xD

EDIT: Oh yes! Reasons for what's too gory to be enjoyable? When plot and character development is almost entirely sacrificed for the sake of sheer shock factor. Then I get really annoyed and it isn't fun anymore...(my thoughts are seriously disjointed tonight. bother.)

[Wallachia]

So long as the story is there, I don't care. Like rocklobster said, it can be a necessary evil in certain circumstances. However, when the gore is there to entertain the viewer for shock value and so forth, then I start to get a little bored. Not to mention I don't even find it very interesting in the first place. It's better to keep our internal organs where they should be.

I really dislike it when gore is over-the-top. High-pressure blood and whatnot rubs me the wrong way, like an English teacher looking over poor grammar.

Haven't managed to work up the nerve to try Elfen Lied yet though.

I've seen Elfen Lied, and I don't have good memories of it.

It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I do remember it being complete garbage with incredibly poor, implausible characters and tired stereotypes everywhere. I don't know why it's listed under the horror category in most places. There certainly wasn't any horror with naked girls running around all the time (unless that scares you.)

[Maledicte]

Elfen Lied was somehow past my violence tolerance level, and I'm a fan of Hellsing. Perhaps it was just the level of gratutiousness (word?) and the fact it was played so seriously, while Hellsing had its tongue firmly in cheek (or was otherwise cackling like a maniac). But basically what I can handle in a live action film, I can handle animated.

[sandalwood]

I have watched Baccano! and I really enjoyed it, but only because there was so much win outside the violence.

I can handle a lot of it, but I don't enjoy it for the most part - e.g. I hate Slasher films and I can't even stand Elfen Lied. I guess I can handle violence as long as it isn't too indiscriminate and just plain awful, like in Elfen Lied. After all, it's just a cartoon, so it's not very realistic or anything - that's why I could watch more anime violence than live action.

(no offense to those who like EL - that's just where I draw the line).

[GeneD]

I love Baccano and didn't have a huge problem with the Higurashi seasons, although strangely I still need to work up to watching more of the Hellsing OVA even though I've seen the series. The violence in Afro Samurai also put me off. Violence in anime is the thing that I generally have the least problems with though.

[TopazRaven]

I think it depends with me, I don't like blood and gore even in anime, yet I can handle some shows better then others it seems. I tried watching Elfen Lied for example and couldn't get past the first episode. Yet I was fine with Wolf's Rain and Ginga Densetsu Weed which were both anime where their were plenty of scenes of canines ripping each other apart and on off chances killing people. I also saw a few episodes of Hellsing and was fine with that one as well.

[GrubbTheFragger]

Elfen lied is VERY violent. By saying I've seen it is not saying I enjoyed it. It had some substance with a tragic story but due to the fan service I didn't enjoy it.

[Seto_Sora]

Baccano! and Killzone 3 both pushed me over the edge. Now I can tolerate most gore in anime or video games. I did reach my limit in Kill Bill... that movie I can't stand just because its so gory. I know its crazy but that made me positively ill. Also, reality/doctor type gore will make me positively ill. I can't stand it. But as long as I know its all pretend, i'm totally cool with it!

[ABlipinTime]

I don't watch things that are violent. There is some violence for plot effects, but the worst I've continued to watch was Cowboy Bebop. Anything more than that, I'd quit watching.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I really don't see why animated violence would be any different from the violence you'd be exposed to in a live-action movie, so my tolerance level of the two is the same. But I might just be weird, because once I get into it, any fictional story I'm experiencing becomes like real life to me.

Let's see, I think the most violent/bloodiest/goriest animes I've seen would have to be Samurai Champloo, Claymore, and Baccano! I managed to stomach those, but especially in Baccano! there were some parts where all the blood and violence kind of made me feel sick. I guess if all the characters were as into the blood and killing as Ladd Russo, it would be too much for me, but because of the story and some characters who weren't completely despicable, I could handle it.

[Vii]

Violence hasn't really bothered me. I mean, I've been mildly surprised when a show is gorier than I expected, but it's really not a problem for me.
The third anime I ever watched was Fullmetal Alchemist, which had a little bit of blood and gore. I've also watched the first episode of Baccano! (I've been meaning to finish it), which has more. Neither perturbed me.

I'm tempted to say that because it's animated, the gore isn't as shocking, but that's not really the case; I've watched some fairly violent live action movies as well and have had no problem with them either.

Perhaps it's just because I know it's not real, even in live action movies n' stuff.

But then again, I'm the girl who once watched people on Animal Planet do surgeries on animals, while eating my lunch, when I was 11.
But that's more like gore and not violence.

Ultimately, I agree with Fu, violence just doesn't bother me.

[Seto_Sora]

Meeh! Meybe its just me but live action can really bother me. I mean Baccano! did not phase me... but I just watched Immortals with a friend the other day and I seriously couldn't handle much of the violence... it was kinda disgusting. I dunno... video game violence doesn't bother me either. Meybe its just because I've been exposed to anime and video game violence more than I have live action. Its a theory anyway. lol

[bakura91]

For me it would depend on the context within the story. For example Fist of the North star and Violence Jack both have similar post apocalyptic settings and invincible heroes but I love Fist of the North star because if you watch it all the way through it actually has a very positive message. While Violence Jack comes of as really nihilistic and violent for the sake of shock and nothing else. (I know has violence in the title but you get what I mean.)

[Juliannesan]

I have never had a tolerance for high violence. The only violence I understand to a degree is when there is war involved or it's tastefully put into the plot to help understand what mishap happened. But just throwing it in there unnecessarily drives me nuts. There is no point. Same with nudity.

[Sapphire225]

I can handle quite a good deal of violence. I've watched popular anime such as Elfen Lied, Higurashi, Umineko, Hellsing, Berserk, Gantz etc. without being too disturbed.

This could stem from the fact I watched horror movies with my family and probably got used to it.

[Gigavine]

I firmly believe that using the minimum amount of violence to defend others, self, or potentially the human race is okay, even if body parts fall of. I really do not like senseless violence, but used as a form of defense, I can tolerate almost all of it. Face slaps are sort of questionable to me, but they often depend on the motive.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

I've survived "End of Evangelion", "Highschool of the Dead", "Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan" and "Blue Gender" to say the very least. So I have a pretty high tolerance level.

[Hiryu]

I think I'm more sensitive to pain and suffering than killing.

[seaglass27]

I think I'm more sensitive to pain and suffering than killing.

Me too.

[Neane]

Violence Jack (I know has violence in the title but you get what I mean.)

Ah yes, Violence Jack. Not the best anime ever made.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I can handle a fair bit of violence but not stuff like Saw 2. That was too much for me. Strangely enough, I can handle violence more in live-action than in anime. Yes, you heard that right.

[Umbreon0]

I can handle violence to a moderately high degree. It never really fazes me unless it show organs. There are worse things than blood.
I find it funny, however, how anime characters seem to have 50+ gallons of blood.

[KeybladeWarrior]

I can tolerate a rather high level of violence and blood in anime and to a decent degree in live action shows and films. Shows like High School of the Dead or Vampire Hunter D do not bother me. Something like the Saw movies might gross me out.

Suffering is a bit of a problem depending on the situation. If it is quick, I don't have a problem. If it is for a longer period and done to a likable character, I can get emotional.