Should I show Adolf to my father?

[LikeThePhoenix]

So, I had my one volume of Adolf lying on the floor, and my dad asks me if that’s my book. If course I go off on my, I’m not a Nazi because I read books about WWII, then he tells me he wants to read it. I was shocked. I only have one volume and it’s one of the middle ones but I can easily wait for the new version to come out. Now the big problem , the rape. It’s not that bad compared to Tezuka’s other work. In fact I was looking on amazon and it says for 13+ But I still don’t know if I should it to my father. He doesn’t read much and I think it’s a great opportunity, my parents are both avid Christians (I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter as a kid) , so I just don’t know. Advice?

[strobe_z]

Hmmm... that's a difficult question to answer - especially since I don't know how old you are. However, I'll make a few points (in no particular order) that might help with your decision.

- Adolf is definitely not a kid's story. There's a reason for that 13+ rating. It's got some complex themes going on, which younger readers might not fully grasp.
- On the other hand, if your Dad is interested in reading it, he's most likely doing it because he wants to know what you're up to, and what your interests are. It'll be pretty clear pretty quickly that (despite the title) the series far from glorifies Adolf Hitler. It's hardly on the list of skinhead recruitment books.
- While a lot of Tezuka's more mature works have some pretty intense scenes, they're hardly graphic - especially by today's standards. Japanese culture is a little more liberal in regards to depicitions of nudity, but Tezuka is usually careful to convey the power of a scene without going for cheap shock value.
- Tezuka was a humanist. He found value in all life... so two of the biggest themes in Adolf are a) war is terrible and makes good people do terrible things and b) life finds a way.
- The title "Message to Adolf" is playing on the idea that three men with the name Adolf... by chance really, can affect, even indirectly each other. It's a kind of compare and contrast exercise.
- Usually the biggest criticism of Adolf is Tezuka's handling of the Jews. He was trying to make a point, but he just didn't know Jewish culture all that well. So some of the actions have a very "Japanese" mentality to them. Japanese would "right a wrong" in one way...
Jewish people might handle it differently.
- Finally, if you only have one or two volumes, you might want to wait for the upcoming Vertical release to give your dad the whole picture. However, there's some pretty insightful essays written as forewords to each of the old Viz/Cadence books. They might help as well.

I hope that helps. Keep in mind, your Dad probably is just looking out for your best interests, so the best tactic is to be upfront (i.e. no hiding) and discuss any issues in a mature way.

[Saruta]

I really don't see the issue, and I'm a Christian. While there is a rape scene, it is non-explicit and the moral evaluation of the rape is evident in the depiction.

There is a subtle thing where a Christian might not feel well, but one has to watch out for it. Yuki is shown "going to church" when first meeting Sohei, but apparently reverts to Shinto (?) when married to him. But you can explain this as a cultural expectation of the wife following her husband. Yes, the first, and nominally Christian, husband is bad; but this is just reality, some people go to church and are bad.

There is no anti-Christian message in the book. Tezuka was not a Christian but he wasn't confrontational about it.

[Huscheli]

On the other hand, if your parents didn't even allow you to read Harry Potter (what the hell o_O) then maybe it's better to just not show it to him. But yeah, it doesn't have any explicitly anti Christianity stuff in it, but then it doesn't have anything against any religion so....I don't know.
Did you show it to him?^^ What was the reaction?