My interest in anime stems from a background in graphic design and a long-term interest in sci-fi and fantasy. I had minor exposure to anime from childhood via television series like Kimba the White Lion and Speed Racer.

During the last couple of years, I have developed a more serious interest in anime, and I've been involved in online discussions about anime in both Christian and general anime-themed online forums.

Some recent encounters spurred me on to writing this series of articles.

The first was a series of conversations I had with a 12-year-old girl at church this past fall as we prepared for our Christmas play. I discovered that this young lady was a big fan of the anime series Inuyasha (airing late at night on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block).

She also had joined the web site Fanfiction.net (which has a policy that only 13 year olds and older can join) and was writing and publishing on the site Inuyasha and Harry Potter fan fiction.

Further conversations with my own children confirmed that both viewing of anime in broadcast and DVD form...and downloading of anime off the internet...has become extremely popular among pre-teens and teens.

The second, and more disturbing situation, that inspired me writing this FAQ was a young poster that I ran into on a popular anime message board (which also has a policy of only allowing participants over the age of 13). This poster not only made it clear that she was 12 years old, she also proclaimed that she enjoyed viewing yaoi and yuri (hard-core gay porn anime). Upon questioning the poster, she also claimed that her mom knew of her viewing habits and didn't mind (um...sure, kid). In my opinion, the issues that this young girl presented are troubling.

I recognize that many parents are not well informed about anime. Parents may also not be aware of the availability of certain kinds of content on the internet, and the legal and moral issues surrounding downloading of such content.

There is not a lot of information published on the internet about anime focused on a parental perspective, so as a parent and an anime fan, I'm happy to take the opportunity to educate other parents about the topic.