Parents just don't understand

When you're growing up, you feel like your parents are everything you strive not to be.  At some point in our lives, be it years or weeks, we all look at our moms and dads as the epitome of uncool.  It just comes with the parental territory.  They have to police their kids and keep them from doing things that they deem unsafe.  You don't really respect or understand those ideas until you get older.  I thought I never would, and here I am realizing just how right they were.

Of course, that doesn't mean your parents are right with absolutely everything!  In my internet/real life travels, I've noticed something about a majority of parents.  When it comes to anime viewing, parents really don't seem to understand why their kids are into it.  It's like a completely foreign world to them, no pun intended.  Is it really all that hard to grasp?

Some of the issues might stem from the cartoons that were around when your parents were kids.  They were used to cartoons being all in the same style.  There were either Warner Bros. style cartoons with wacky slapstick and visual gags, or Disney films that were events in and of themselves.  I truly respect both of those styles of animation, but I also understand that there's more than those types.  You parents just don't seem to get that!

I know it took awhile for my parents to see what anime was all about, and even now I really only have one parent that appreciates anime.  It's almost like some parents don't see how cartoons can be serious instead of just silly, and they are for all ages instead of just kids.  It's a mentality they grew up with, and if we've learned anything about parents, it's very hard for them to roll with the changes that today's generation embraces.

How do you parents feel about anime?  Do they give you trouble for watching?  Do they watch with you?  Do they not understand anime and don't bother to try?