Deciding if OOTS is appropriate for a child-which pages should I show a kid's parent?

[EphU437]

Hi. My son (12yo) introduced OOTS to his friend, a gamer who was introduced to D&D by his mom. The friend's mom asks if OOTS is age-appropriate. I'd rather not offer a bottom-line recommendation, instead, I'd like to give her the facts to let her draw her own conclusion. I'm thinking to give her a list of the pages with the most mature/least child appropriate content.

I'm posting here to ask your help in identifying those pages that contain the most child unfriendly gore, innuendo, etc.? Thanks!

[Coppercloud]

It's kind of a weird question to ask for reasons not to read the comic :smalltongue:
That said, here are my answers:
- because of the drawing style there's little enough gore ; sure there's violence, but it isn't exactly graphic.
- as for sexual content/innuendo I think these (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0355.html) 2 strips (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0622.html) are about as explicit as it gets, plus maybe Belkar's comment here (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0688.html) in the second panel.
- as for child-unfriendly language, Xykon (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0659.html) and Belkar are probably the most common offenders but it doesn't go very far (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html).

Although my preferred solution would be to advise the kid's mom to read TOotS herself, especially since she's already into D&D. But that's just because I recommend the comic at any occasion I've got.

Those were my proverbial two copper pieces ; hope that helps!

[Precure]

Sexual content:

Last panel (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0690.html)
Second part (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0752.html)
Rogues (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0035.html)
7th panel innuendo (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0069.html)
Porn and voyeurism (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0082.html)
Innuendo and voyeurism (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0123.html)
Implied rape at last panel (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0020.html)
Implied rape at last panel (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0757.html)
Last panel (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0088.html)
Last panel (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0028.html)
Non-consensual kissing (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0316.html)

Gore:

Last four panels (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html)
Eye scream (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0655.html)
Eye scream (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0445.html)

Dark:

Suicide (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0448.html)
Genocide (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0639.html)
Gender dysphoria: from 234 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0234.html) to 249 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0249.html)

[dancrilis]

I think it depends a lot on the mother in question.

For instance we have slavery and the physical abuse of the slaves (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0511.html), we also have the leader of the slavers argue that they are really the oppressed ones (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1208.html) - you can read that in a lot of ways but one of the ways is that a powerful individual claims to be oppressed and uses that to justify any actions that their people take.

That could lead to a nuanced (or less then nuanced) political discussion that a lot of people might be uncomfortable with and might be particularly uncomfortable exposing their child to - and others might think it is a great thing to have their child read and think about.

Which leads to:


advise the kid's mom to read TOotS herself


This likely being the best advise (although the mother should also likely know that the comic if free online and as such if their 12 year old wants to read it they will likely be able to read it with or without permission).

[hroþila]

This is hardly a novel thought, but it's just so funny that we're combing the comic for every instance of anything remotely sexual while all the ubiquitous violence taken together only gets one passing mention

Personally I think there's nothing here that would be inappropriate for a 12-year-old kid. While of course that's up to the parents to determine, I wouldn't want to collaborate with any parents that would deny their 12-year-old kid access to media over anything so mild

(This is a highly culture-dependent topic so I expect people to disagree)

[Precure]

This is hardly a novel thought, but it's just so funny that we're combing the comic for every instance of anything remotely sexual while all the ubiquitous violence taken together only gets one passing mention

More than half of the strips have violence in them, that would be pointess to list them.

[Tzardok]

Sure, but one could look for the darkest examples. Now, I'm generally of the opinion that children are fine with more than we usually trust them to, but that's parental choice. The scenes most likely to be disturbing are IMO Xykon's bouncy ball of insanity and the rise of Darth Varsuvius. Show her those two (plus a few nicer ones, so she doesn't believe it's all like that). If the mom thinks those are alright, the rest of the comic should be alright too.

[brian 333]

I would recommend that the mother read the comic and make her own decision for practical reasons, (you appear to be having difficulty with the decision,) and for cultural reasons, (each parent is responsible for his child's social development.)

Give your honest appraisal, (which appears to be that there are mild issues of violence and strong or sexually charged language,) and let the mother know that you enjoy the comic.

In my personal opinion, an evening watching a broadcast television show has far worse imagery, language, and innuendo than the entire comic. But my opinion on this subject does not matter.

[KorvinStarmast]

I would recommend that the mother read the comic and make her own decision for practical reasons
This is the path forward.

[InvisibleBison]

I would recommend that the mother read the comic and make her own decision

This is the path forward.

Assuming, of course, that the mother has enough time to spare for the project. OOTS is not exactly a short comic, and reading even a representative sampling would be a substantial endeavor.

[Precure]

OK, tried to add some non-sexual content to my original post.

[Metastachydium]

Sure, but one could look for the darkest examples. Now, I'm generally of the opinion that children are fine with more than we usually trust them to, but that's parental choice. The scenes most likely to be disturbing are IMO Xykon's bouncy ball of insanity and the rise of Darth Varsuvius. Show her those two (plus a few nicer ones, so she doesn't believe it's all like that). If the mom thinks those are alright, the rest of the comic should be alright too.

I'd add Redcloak's crushing the resistence. (Room decorated with dead bodies? Check. Not one but two Implosions? Check. Person messily torn apart by giant Devil? Check.) Maybe Malack killing Durkon too. Oh, and speaking of Redcloak, Durkon and Implosions… That one's quite the sight too. Wilder than most death scenes, actually, in its drawn-out glory.

[Synesthesy]

If you want my 2 cents, there is nothing in the Order of the Stick that can't be seen, sex do exists in many other medias (and we are still talking about tiny sticky figures) and the same applies to violence (and we are still talking about tiny sticky figures).

In my opinion, the best answer is: are the values of this comic good for a kid? I think yes. I would be happy if my son would learn some of the message the Giant put in this comic.


Then, I know some (fondamentalistic) ultra chatolic parents that wouldn't like the fact that in the ootsverse omosexuality is normal. If someone would have asked me the question in my country, this would have been probably the major problem they fear. I ignore how it is in other parts of the world.

Then again, I'm Italian. We have worse images, language and innuendos in our parliament. So, don't be afraid of comics ;)

[Peelee]

Then again, I'm Italian.

You have my sympathies. :smalltongue:

[Errorname]

Hi. My son (12yo) introduced OOTS to his friend, a gamer who was introduced to D&D by his mom. The friend's mom asks if OOTS is age-appropriate. I'd rather not offer a bottom-line recommendation, instead, I'd like to give her the facts to let her draw her own conclusion. I'm thinking to give her a list of the pages with the most mature/least child appropriate content.

I'm posting here to ask your help in identifying those pages that contain the most child unfriendly gore, innuendo, etc.? Thanks!

I'll say that I read OOTS for the first time at that age, none of the new comics are worse content wise, and nothing within was particularly upsetting to 12 year old me.

[Savil]

I'd recommend to check 394 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0394.html), I'd say it's one of the worst offenders in explicit talk about sex (and also talks about murder, for bonus points).
If it's ok, the rest should be also passable.

[Lord Torath]

I remember an earlier thread about someone who didn't want his 9-year-old daughter reading Don't Split the Party. They said it contained concepts she wouldn't be ready for - until she'd read the first three books. :smalltongue:

If the experience of my kids is anything to go by, they were daily hearing far worse in the halls of middle school than anything they'd come across in The Order of the Stick.

That said, I think my advice would be to advise the mom to check out the comic herself.

[Rynjin]

OotS is in general more tame than your average Shonen anime, and definitely much less graphic. Given that those are literally aimed at kids 12 years and up, that give syou a good starting point. Doe sthe mom let her kid watch anime? If so, OotS is perfectly fine.

[Coppercloud]

I wholeheartedly agree with all the excellent posters above :smallsmile:
In my initial response I tried to give an off-hand sample for the requested themes but there's nothing in the comic I personally would deem shocking to a 12-years old. Using "shocking" as a synonym for "potentially traumatizing", because while there are definitely dark moments and grief over the death of innocents, the comic overall is far from bleak. It will have heart-wrenching scenes, but that's just the sign of good writing and ultimately the ending will be happy (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0331.html).
I took the violence more or less for granted, since it's an adventure in a world where getting paid to kill things is a cornerstone of the economy (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0357.html).

I would compare it to the Star Wars original trilogy: it may be dark and violent at times but it's nonetheless accessible to children above ten. But then again, a parent knows their kid best, so it's ultimately up to them to judge.

[Michaeler]

This is the path forward.

This is the path forward.

[woweedd]

Honestly, i'd say, if I were a parent, i'd worry most about the violence. There's a shocking amount of straight-up dismemberment going on, enough that it would pretty much defintley get an R-rating were it not for the artstyle. If they're 12-18, sure, but below that...Hm. I'd say it depends on the parent.

[Kish]

I wouldn't bother to mention anything sexual; there's nothing out of bounds for a twelve-year old.

But if I had been twelve when I read it, #639 would have given me screaming nightmares.

[EphU437]

Thanks for all the responses, esp. those who provided links and esp. esp. Precure for providing so many links!

[Omomuro]

Honestly, i'd say, if I were a parent, i'd worry most about the violence. There's a shocking amount of straight-up dismemberment going on, enough that it would pretty much defintley get an R-rating were it not for the artstyle. If they're 12-18, sure, but below that...Hm. I'd say it depends on the parent.

A good example of the gore in this comic would be this one, I feel: https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html

[Coppercloud]

That's probably the best example, but I would add the comments in the next two strips about "force-feeding the dead man's intestines to the guard" and "pulling it out the other end". I, for one, am glad that it was only told, not shown.

[Blue Dragon]

I started to read OOTS for my daughter only after she made thirteen because there is a lot of innuendos, double entendrés and violence. I also leave some things alone or don't dwell to much on it.

[ZhonLord]

I started to read OOTS for my daughter only after she made thirteen because there is a lot of innuendos, double entendrés and violence. I also leave some things alone or don't dwell to much on it.

Such as a mostly unclothed Elan mid-seduction of an aggressive sorceress (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0159.html)?

[b_jonas]

Here are my recommendations.
#417 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0417.html) where Hinjo tells Haley that she should take the war more seriously because many soldiers will die.
#639 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0639.html), #843 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0843.html), #944 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0944.html) about Vaarsuvius genociding black dragons, which is among the darkest themes of the comic.
#753 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0753.html), #959 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0959.html) in case this parent is particularly squeamish about homosexuality.

[Precure]

Hinjo used to look like O-Chul. Weird.

We also need a list for heterosexuality.

[hroþila]

#753 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0753.html), #959 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0959.html) in case this parent is particularly squeamish about homosexuality.
[/list]
If this parent is squeamish about homosexuality I'd recommend shutting up about it so that the kid at least gets access to some LGBT-friendly material

[warmachine]

In my opinion, graphic depictions of violence aren't the potential problems, it's the characterisations, moral attitudes, and philosophical questions. For example, Belkar enjoys hurting people and this is tolerated by the protagonists. Xykon has fun with murder and torture and it seems he'll never suffer comeuppance. Azure City falls and neighbouring countries don't really care. The Dark One is assassinated by those who invited him to negotiations. The gods deliberately set up the monster races to suffer and die at the hands of adventurers. The genocide mentioned above is also a good example.

I can't see this being a problem for a twelve year old.