Within anime, there is the stereotype that many shows depict either pedophilic undertones or even incestuous implications. And while the vast majority of anime do not depict these themes, it is the ones that do that garner attraction.
Though pedophilia is often not explicitly depicted, there is a trope of characters (typically female characters) that appear as small or child-like but are beings that are hundreds to thousands of years old. It is easy to see how this trope can be seen as “pedo bait,” a term coined to mock actual pedophiles. Unfortunately, because the trope has become so normalized there are anime-watchers who defend the oversexualization of child-like charaters because “They’re a thousand year old god! That means they’re legal!”
But that is not the only taboo topic. Incest is also a trope that is stereotyped within anime. Typically depicted with a brother being obsessive or overprotective, to the point where he wants to be the only man in his sister’s life. This becomes another trope that also gets heavily defended, by saying that it’s normal for a brother to act that way (even if it is clearly unhealthy and more than just a sibling relationship).
However, with the case of both tropes, even though there are defenders of the tropes it is becoming increasingly taboo and looked down upon. And with time hopefully it becomes a trope of the past, seeing as shows rarely depict such topics now.
I found this article interesting because it reminded me of the first class discussion, where we gave opinions as to what should and should not be legal. Given that pedophilia is a serious label and crime to engage in, the fact that there is media out there that indirectly encourages such behavior could have people argue that it should become illegal for morality sakes and retribution.