Hi all, I’d like to find some anime for my 9 year old daughter. So far, she’s watched: Little Witch Academia & Kaleido Star.
She doesn’t really like anything too dark or violent. Thanks!
Edit:
Thanks for all the responses, some great suggestions!
Angelic Layer, Azumanga Daioh, Fruits Basket, anything Studio Ghibli, maybe Spy x Family.
Plus one for Spy x Family
I’d suggest “How to Keep a Mummy” from a few years back. Super cute and wholesome.
TV Shows
- Sailor Moon Crystal
- Spy x Family - there is some light spoiler 1 in the beginning
- Pokemon
- Dr. Stone - Profanity/Partial Nudity non-gratuitous spoiler 2 (my 9 yr old loves this show)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- The Legend of Korra - LGBTQ Themes spoiler 3
1
murdering
2
“ass,” “hell,” “d–k,” “s–t”/ backsides, cleavage, revealing outfits, characters imagine each other in sexualized poses (but without sexual activity)
3
Korra is bi-sexual
Movies
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Ponyo
- Spirited Away - illicit substances and blood spoiler 1
- Kiki’s Delivery Service - smoking
1
There are references to smoking and the drinking of sake. In one scene, a dragon trying to protect the main character is attacked and returns injured and bleeding from the mouth
I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense AKA Bofuri
Majo no Tabitabi. A very enjoyable magical adventure. Episode 8 has a jump scare that she might not like, so skip that one or watch it yourself first and decide. The episode itself starts with a warning about this so you don’t need to remember which one it is.
Somali – another magical adventure, I don’t recall it containing any scenes that a child would be uncomfortable with.
Ancient magus bride was a cute fairy tale type anime
While I absolutely love the show, I don’t think it’s a good fit. OP said nothing too dark and the show literally starts with the protagonists willingly selling herself to slavery. It does get more lighthearted from there, but then it gets dark again when the antagonist is introduced.
You know, I was half expecting people to troll and suggest something like “Made in Abyss”.
Hahaha, that one is DARK.
I think I would recommend Yume-iro Pâtissière
Non Non Biyori, Mitsuboshi Colors, and K-on are pretty light-hearted, slice of life, comedies that would all be good
Spy x Family
Cardcaptor Sakura
Bocchi the Rock
Nichijou
Spirited Away
Toradora
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken
Dragon Pilot
Komi Can’t Communicate
Violet Evergarden
Your Name
As much as I am a fan of Spy x Family and Violet Evergarden, they are more for more mature audiences as they have quite the adult themes. Violet Evergarden is set in a war world and although the story is not set in the war itself, the flashbacks (especially THAT scene during the attack on the fortress) are nonetheless too violent.
Spy x Family might seem like a wholesome family anime but it has underlying political and war themes. Bond’s arc as well as Yor’s assassination techniques in Ep 2 is something that I would not really recommend to a nine year-old kid. There’s car explosions and use of dogs for warfare
I’d veto Spy x Family and Violet Evergarden; the violence they have is quite brutal, and the themes I think are fairly adult.
Many of the Ghibli movies should be perfectly fine (My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty, …).
This was going to be my suggestion, Ghibli has made some really phenomenal shows.
BoFuri is cute and sfw, no real violence.
Kuma Kuma Bear falls in the same area.