Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Is Animation Only For Kids In The US?
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5316 |
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It is worth mentioning that before Flintstones and Yogi Bear, American animation was mostly made for adults.
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DontmesswithKarma
Posts: 491 |
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Animation is getting there, well, at least over here in Ireland.You hear people on the radio constantly raving that stuff by Cartoon Saloon is far better than Disney, and on top of it ends up selling massively well. I think its the case for all Europe really, where its the very experimentive, avant-grade type animation thats appreciated here. Of course, commercially Dreamworks and the likes dominate, but there is more and more talk over here of the really experimentive stuff, Which I think is the start of this "renaissance" he mentioned.
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Merxamers
 Posts: 720 |
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I find it interesting to hear that there only a few hundred thousand "anime fans" in Japan. We hear all the time about how thin the anime industry is stretched, and the terrible working conditions the animators live with. Additionally, in my opinion at least, there are WAY too many shows that come out every season- far too many for any but the most dedicated viewer to watch or buy. So, all this for only a few hundred thousand fans? I guess the industry has accepted relying solely on selling a few thousand units at $200 dollars per disc; it seems like it would be healthier for everyone if fewer series were made every year, but those that were made reaped the benefit of the more concentrated resources.
I have to wonder if there are more "niche" anime fans in the US than in Japan, at this point. Even though I watch a lot more anime than most people I know, I have many friends who have seen shows like HunterXHunter, Attack on Titan, One Piece, Gargantia, or Tokyo Ghoul. This is almost surely due to the increase of online streaming options, and that pretty much any show can be picked up on DVD by the curious consumer for about $40. |
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omiya
 Posts: 1826 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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When Ichirou Mizuki started singing songs for anime, that wasn't taken seriously either, but he took singing anime songs seriously.
See: http://www.mizuki-spirits.com/info/message_english.htm |
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John Thacker
Posts: 1006 |
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There is the occasional breakthrough show like Attack on Titan. And there are a reasonable number of people that admit to liking the occasional anime even though they are quick to say that they aren't those kind of fans. There's a certain level of awareness for some properties, but overall I would say that there are fewer shows that are popular with a wide audience yet with continuity and occasional mature themes these days than in the 80s and 90s when things like Yawara or Touch were pretty mainstream. Still, stuff like Code Geass is popular enough to be the subject of pachinko slots, in addition to the more mainstream standbys.
When my wife and I were visiting her aunt's family in Yokohama recently, we did talk to one of her cousin's about this. She's a fan of the occasional show like Psycho-Pass or currently Joker Game (but not fujoshi, FWIW.) She doesn't stay up late to watch shows, because that's ridiculous. She watches them later on her computer by various methods including streaming. The depiction in Oshiete Galko-chan is fairly accurate. Many people will watch one or two things recommended by obsessive fans, but don't make a big deal about it. But it is still pretty darn niche, and the real money in the industry that supports it comes from the obsessive fans. Do at least note with regards to pricing that used sales of media are very common, and rentals are not. So most shows can be found pretty easily in Japan for half the original MSRP or less, if you're willing to wait, and typically in great condition. |
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Topgunguy
 Posts: 258 |
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Less shonen battles and more Golgo 13 and Master Keatons, please.
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5316 |
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The director of Michiko to Hatchin said that it was aired at a certain time of night so that office ladies who just came home could watch it. I'm sure that adults who aren't "into Anime" still sometimes watch it on TV.
There is something that is confusing a lot of people, what is nature? Bunny Drop for example is nature and aimed at older people with kids, while Attack on Titan is very violent, but is aimed at a younger audience. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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I think that question desperately need rephrasing:
Why hasn't the USA animation industry adopted the japanese business model? The average comic book reader in the USA is in the 35-44 age range. We have live action adaptions of said comics which are obviously targeted towards adults (albeit teenagers might also enjoy them). Yet when disney or warner make an animated adaption (even if its made by a japanese studio for japanese audiences), those are obviously targeted toward kid (no fanservice, innuendo, violence or adult/RL themes). wtf!? We hear each and every season a continuous rant (could be called a hum) about how there is at least one series that is similar to Infinite Stratos, yet no one mentions that those series are but infomercials to push the original light novel sales. Heck, after the push Konosuba got last season you can bet there will be lots of new novels (and therefore animated adaptions) that use the Slayer's formula which konosuba used. So, when I am going to get an Incredible Hulk cartoon that portrays Jim Wilson death due to aids? This is but an example of many great stories that over the years have appeared on comic books but were either watered down or neglected when an animated series was created. I bet there are people that would pay Aniplex prices to get a disc copy of such great comic stories adapted to an animated medium (I am partial towards an adaption of Peter David's run in The Incredible Hulk) and would feel pride that their country is doing something on the same level as japanese anime companies. Last edited by mangamuscle on Mon Jun 06, 2016 12:53 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Nyren
Posts: 702 |
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I feel like that wasn't really what the question meant. In the US the vast majority of animated works are broadcast on channels like Cartoon Network and Disney, and the vast majority of them are really stupid kiddy comedies. They're mindless. You used to have shows that crossed the boundary, like Looney Tunes, Thundercats, Teen Titans, Samurai Jack, and hell even Powerpuff Girls and KND has their moments. Oh, and Ed, Edd, & Eddy. There'd be sex jokes, blood, death, comments on suicide, etc. You don't get that anymore unless its from a show that is purposefully targeting older audiences like South Park. And now that I think about it, Invader Zim was probably a good example of a great show with mature themes at times.
Now the majority of American animation consists of low-budget comedies that get rid of the mature themes in exchange for mindless fun and cartoon violence(beating up inanimate objects or people made of candy.). They don't really teach you anything. And then over in Japan a lot of the shows you mention as being kid friendly or more family oriented, have more in common with 80's and 90's American cartoons than they do anything that is current. Stuff that parents would be hesitant to show their young children over here. Sure, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are fairly kid friendly(Though the Japanese version of Pokemon has its moments and Yu-Gi-Oh can only do so much to dispel the darkness of its plot sometimes.), but then you have One Piece and Naruto. The 4Kids version of One Piece was more kid friendly, and that was the point of all their BS censors, but the Funimation version? Only slightly, everything else strikes me as an early teens audience target. Same goes for Naruto. What is appropriate for kids in Japan is not the same as what is appropriate for kids in the US. And the expectations of animation are different. So sure, the notion that animation is strictly for kids is outdated, but at the same time the vast majority of US animation is targeted specifically at small children and don't really have anything for older audiences, save for a few shows like South Park, Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, Rick & Morty, and anything you see on Adult Swim(Toonami not included.). |
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MajorZero
Posts: 359 |
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I always laughed at two things: a) people getting angry at someone who calls anime cartoons. b) people who brag about how "mature" anime is.
The truth is, you don't need to constantly show scenes of death, desperation and sex to touch upon serious subjects. Moreover, those things are extremely popular among puberty age boys, not the best company for an adult. I guess what people really mean by "mature" is that anime has a lot of shows with the huge amount of action in them, plus, from time to time, you'll get good psychological thriller or drama, something that American or Western TV animation rarely does, probably because those genres more than prominent in live-action segments of TV. By the way, ExoSquad and Megas XLR were more interesting than 99.9% of Japanese mechas. Last edited by MajorZero on Mon Jun 06, 2016 12:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Topgunguy
Posts: 258 |
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AoT is violent? Please, most of the chows the titans do is offscreen. Sure, some blood squirts out but you never see anything gruesome. It's rated G compared to Samurai X, the Fist of the North Star movie and Violence Jack.
It's like comparing Jason Bourne to Rambo. Rambo is hardcore and Jason Bourne is pansycore. |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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To put this in perspective, there are many more Hikikomori (a "conservative estimate" from a few years back put numbers at 200,000 but it could be more like a million: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23182523) |
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psiho66
Posts: 23 |
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Ok first I don't understand why people always say that One Piece and Naruto are aimed at kids when its a shounen which covers the ages from 12-18 you have many things in them which you would never see in the other series you mentioned like Pokemon or Doraemon and the other shows that are aimed at kids but Naruto and One Piece are aimed at teens.That out of the way saying that the anime marked in japan isn't big Im pretty sure is incorrect if that were the case then they wouldn't be making so many shows each season if it didn't have a market and money in it and when an anime adaptation is made of something it almost always boosts the sales of the source material making it sell millions of copies.While its wrong to say that every person in Japan watches anime the people who watch it are in the 10 maybe 20 million from the hardcore to the casual.Saying that its mainstream is wrong but saying that its niche is wrong as well if that were the case then by logic there wouldn't be so many anime shows,movies,games,Live action adaptations and more,it goes against logic.
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Brent Allison
 Posts: 2444 Location: Athens-Clarke County, GA, USA |
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So which studio cuts production first? The industry isn't OPEC, and even cartels have their limits on enforcing production quotas. As long as there's a glut of hopeful animators and studios running them into the ground on the assumption that they will win the industry lottery (unlike the other guys), these dysfunctional conditions will continue. It's not like the PRC where the state can tell the entertainment industry to stop making stuff. Instead we get to see the prisoner's dilemma play out in this industry over and over again. |
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4371 Location: New York |
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Two shows can be credited for the demise of any non comedic adult animation IMO: Arrow and The Flash. The first two shows to do what animated comic book shows have done for years, but make it live action and not cheesy. When that's possible, why bother with a medium people consistently view as inferior?
Upon retrospect, Megas is a giant super robot Family Guy joke. "Remember X? It's funny because it existed." Compared to half of Japan's better mecha shows, it's objectively bad. Last edited by Beatdigga on Mon Jun 06, 2016 1:10 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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