Discussion: Is Usagi "all-ages"?

[leonid]

i do think it's all ages. a lot of the adult situations simply go over kids' heads.

the only thing i have concerns for is about explaining the violent deaths to a very young child.

someone aged five or so might have difficulty to coming to terms with that.

don't dismiss violence as a fact of life and expose children to it willy nilly. there is a risk that a child will get desensitized to it.

[Eltanin]

I have a mixed opinion on the topic. I think most stories are ok for all ages (with the exception maybe of the very young), but there are several concepts in some stories that can be hard to understand for young readers. I'm thinking about the "mother's love" story for example. I don't think a story in which a mother organizes the death of her own son is suitable for very young kids, at least not without A LOT of explanations from an adult. And let's remember that even though Usagi follows the code of honor, some of his actions would be questionable under modern moral compass. When Usagi tracks one of his old companions, who fled from the battlefield, and ultimately kills him for abandonning their master, he follows the honor code prevailing in medieval japan, but that kind of action goes against more modern (western?) moral values.

I think when presenting Usagi to kids, one should be prepared to answer questions about the honor values of medieval japan, and/or leave a few stories aside.
Anyway, if kids think Usagi is too violent for them, they will say it. I was myself quite impressionnable as a kid (to stay with rabbits, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" gave me nightmares when I was around 7), and I don't think I would have enjoyed Usagi back then. But I like to think I grew up just fine anyway.
So while I think it's okay to present Usagi stories to kids, I also think it's fine if kids don't want to read them or don't enjoy them because of the violence, there is no shame in it. There is no need to force the bubble to burst, it will dissolve naturally at some point anyway.
Ultimately, it all depends on the personnality of the kid, and the parents are best suited to decide if they want to introduce their kids to Usagi or not.

[Maka]

Ultimately, it all depends on the personnality of the kid, and the parents are best suited to decide if they want to introduce their kids to Usagi or not.

Great answer. peace, maka

[Steve Hubbell]

I have a mixed opinion on the topic. I think most stories are ok for all ages (with the exception maybe of the very young), but there are several concepts in some stories that can be hard to understand for young readers. I'm thinking about the "mother's love" story for example. I don't think a story in which a mother organizes the death of her own son is suitable for very young kids, at least not without A LOT of explanations from an adult.

I think this particular story has a lot in it which is definitely pushing the all-ages boundery, beyond even the fact that the mother instigated the death of her own son even though he deserved it. Luckily, the most significant event of the story happens off screen and undescribed so a lot of readers (young and older) completely miss it. Seppuku and other forms of suicide are not considered in the same way in the western culture as they were in feudal Japanese culture. The way Stan handled that aspect of the story was appropriate for a comic which both adults and kids read.