Help!

So recently three guys that live close by committed suicide. They said an anime was the cause of the suicide, and in this certain anime you had to kill yourself or get killed to get the next level or something like that. This ring a bell for anyone? I was just curious to see which one it was. Not to start a debate or anything

Did they say which anime? Or what about the anime could have disturbed them? I can only think of psychological anime with gore that could... but they would have had to be really disturbed even before watching it to go as far as suicide. I don't believe any anime can turn someone without big problems suicidal.

No I think they were trying to figure out as well. I didn't think the Anime would be the sole cause of the suicides. I feel like depression could have alot to do with it, and maybe they just used this specific Anime to... glamorize(I think that is the word I'm looking for) their deaths.

The only thing that comes to mind or closest to that is Persona, but that's a game where you would shoot yourself to summon monsters.. Still that's a stupid excuse to kill oneself.

They probably watch something twisted and physiological that changes their minds on how they think about life and couldn't handle it. Personally, I don't know what anime did this, but this is a problem for the rest of the otakus. It's bad enough to hear from others that video games are the cause of violence in the world. Next, they're going to blame anime on suicide incidents. :(

No anime will make you want to commit suicide. That's just dumb. They were probably already messed up to begin with. That said, I can only feel pity for adults who, no matter how much they like something, can't tell the difference between 'it' and real life.

I agree with the OP, they most definitely were using it as a scapegoat. I have depression, and I know many others with depression worse than mine, even some who hurt themselves or attempted suicide in the past, and anime was NEVER a cause for them feeling worse, even if it's a depressing anime like Serial Experiments Lain or Elfen Lied. You'd have to already have been suicidal and/or seriously delusional before watching anime like that to kill yourself, and even then, it's the stuff before anime that likely caused it.

Could someone possibly be so attached to a show that they become depressed that our world is so different to that show's world? I feel like this could happen. I'm not saying that anime's will directly want you to commit suicide. but way more indirectly such as the scenario above, I feel like that could be a possibility. Though, as Key said, I feel they would have to already have been messed up or depressed to begin with.