Is Anime really more mature than Western cartoons?
- Thread starter boholikeu
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Just like everything it varies, there are some animated works from the west that are really mature in theme(part of me wants to say Heavy Metal) and then there is spongebob. Anime is the exact same way. Both tend to run the whole spectrum so in reality the question is more or less pointless. Anyone who says anime is just trying to justify speaking in wapanese and the outrageous expenses of their cosplay.
Depends on the anime. Dragonball Z isn't mature at all. It essentially consists of "Good Guys vs Bad Guys" and "Yay friendship!".
Stuff like Hellsing couldn't be passed of as for children in a hundred years though. Vampires beating the shit out of Zombies, Nazis and Catholics in gore fuelled satanic battles can't really be called childish.
Stuff like Hellsing couldn't be passed of as for children in a hundred years though. Vampires beating the shit out of Zombies, Nazis and Catholics in gore fuelled satanic battles can't really be called childish.
Yes... yes it can. The gore, blood and innuendo in the entire series is utterly and completely childish, just like the villains, the plot, the chip- controlled vampires, the release- states, all of it. But the themes about what it means to serve someone else, the relationship between Alucard and Police- girl.. The presentation of Integra, and maybe even Alucard's ongoing effort to find a reason to live, even though he's immortal. Police- girl's different but similar problem with being alive (in a manner of speaking)..wewontdie11 said:
I mean.. you can't find anything like that in any cartoon aired in "the west". So there you have it - anime, that's not made to really be serious, still manage to smuggle in interesting themes in a way that western cartoons can't do. It'd be political, it'd be controversial, and most importantly - unpopular.
Which is why most special effects and animation over here is actually drawn in Taiwan, I guess..boholikeu said:
Whoa hang on a second.nipsen said:
Yea I agree with you about the themes as western cartoons never even try to be deep or make their characters more than 2D in most cases but are you saying that you could see a vampire blow somebody's shins off with high calibre pistols then taunt them as they slowly bleed out before transforming into some kind of demonic abomination and devouring the person with a hellhound appendage, on cartoon network?
I don't think so somehow.
I was referencing blood/sex content of the shows mainly in my other post. That's how censors and most of society decide what is suitable for children or not. But as I said I do also agree with you about the themes. Anime deals with a lot more taxing issues, relationships and social dynamics than say Spongebob.
..well, the blood too. Or that people actually die. Might shock people or something. Specially when it's targeted at young teens, see.. Who never have obsessions with death at all.
I mean, people brought up several perfect examples of how this works - networks pick up something that isn't supposed to be very deep in the first place. And then they actually censor out anything that could provoke people very consciously. In the same way, any of the references to politics or indoctrination in Animaniacs, for example, is buried down somewhere in between a fart and a honking clown- nose ("Yes, Pinky! Tonight we shall take over the world!"). It never fails, and it's by design. Any series coming out in animation that flirts with character development is, essentially, something along the lines of: "oh, dear, my (very non- specific but allmighty and good)god, I am so hurt by seeing this big animal suffer, and now I must help it. And it will become my friend, even though I wanted to make it my dinner".
Early episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, though, had several different formats, lots of experimentation with plot- devices, different rules every show - fuzzy perspectives, indirect story- telling, inner soul- life, entire episodes that take place seen through the eyes of one of the characters. That's at least experimentation with the format that is very interesting.
Or the Superman vs. Batman movie - plays like a good episode of The Dark Knight, and has enough elements to fill a perfectly ordinary feature film. So there's one example of plot- development as well. True, Batman in general escapes scrutiny because it's seen as just a super- hero thing (and no one talks about the drug- addicted DC version anyway), so it's cool, apparently.. I guess if they knew what Mark Hamill is brainwashing the youth with now, after he left the Luke Skywalker character behind..
But yes, the themes in Batman are there. It's possible to watch The Dark Knight and come away with something else than ritalin- fluffies behind the eyes.
Then it's Aeon Flux - this pushes taboos, and explores human enterprise in a merciless way that doesn't brand anything in good and evil, but in a choice and the reasoning for it. Clearly targeted at 16-18 something and up as well. And, I don't know, carried Liquid Television single- handedly for as long as the series existed..
But you know - those are the only examples I can think of of animation that happens to have been sponsored by western money, intended for a western audience - that wasn't piled into the heap with comedy and children's television - and it's only just. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Disney's Fantasia, or something.
I mean, people brought up several perfect examples of how this works - networks pick up something that isn't supposed to be very deep in the first place. And then they actually censor out anything that could provoke people very consciously. In the same way, any of the references to politics or indoctrination in Animaniacs, for example, is buried down somewhere in between a fart and a honking clown- nose ("Yes, Pinky! Tonight we shall take over the world!"). It never fails, and it's by design. Any series coming out in animation that flirts with character development is, essentially, something along the lines of: "oh, dear, my (very non- specific but allmighty and good)god, I am so hurt by seeing this big animal suffer, and now I must help it. And it will become my friend, even though I wanted to make it my dinner".
Early episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, though, had several different formats, lots of experimentation with plot- devices, different rules every show - fuzzy perspectives, indirect story- telling, inner soul- life, entire episodes that take place seen through the eyes of one of the characters. That's at least experimentation with the format that is very interesting.
Or the Superman vs. Batman movie - plays like a good episode of The Dark Knight, and has enough elements to fill a perfectly ordinary feature film. So there's one example of plot- development as well. True, Batman in general escapes scrutiny because it's seen as just a super- hero thing (and no one talks about the drug- addicted DC version anyway), so it's cool, apparently.. I guess if they knew what Mark Hamill is brainwashing the youth with now, after he left the Luke Skywalker character behind..
But yes, the themes in Batman are there. It's possible to watch The Dark Knight and come away with something else than ritalin- fluffies behind the eyes.Then it's Aeon Flux - this pushes taboos, and explores human enterprise in a merciless way that doesn't brand anything in good and evil, but in a choice and the reasoning for it. Clearly targeted at 16-18 something and up as well. And, I don't know, carried Liquid Television single- handedly for as long as the series existed..
But you know - those are the only examples I can think of of animation that happens to have been sponsored by western money, intended for a western audience - that wasn't piled into the heap with comedy and children's television - and it's only just. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Disney's Fantasia, or something.
This is actually a really good point. Once again I think it comes down to cost. Animating certain stories is just a lot more economical than creating a live action show.Matronadena said:
I think it'd be just as popular in the US as it is here in Japan (IE not very).nipsen said:
Also, interesting that you mention politics, because that's one area you see very few Anime dabbling in. Sure, very few Western cartoons focus on drama, but a good majority of the ones intended for adults contain political satire.
I actually hadn't noticed that. Most anime, if they use satire, tend to focus on social issues (which they definitely share in common with many western cartoons).boholikeu said:
Could you give some examples? Just about the only satire I've seen in Anime has been of its own medium or otaku.NeutralDrow said:
Anyway, I'm sure there is some Anime with satire, but I still don't think it's very common (like with western cartoons and drama).
Welcome to the NHK, Excel Saga, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei, Hayate the Combat Butler, Gals, and Paranoia Agent come to mind.boholikeu said:
Maybe I'm being a bit picky here, but most of those series only parody aspects of otaku culture rather than taking on big social issues. It just feels a bit like saying Robot Chicken is great social satire because it makes fun of Star Wars dorks.NeutralDrow said:
I do love Paranoia Agent and Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei, though.
I own more mature anime (not porn) than western cartoons but both are probably about equal. I do hate how so many people think something mature has to be really gross, have lots of swearing or just be out right porn to be mature.
In Japan anime is very much something for all ages. Obviously this results in a massive variety of maturity levels within anime. Sometimes it is difficult to find more mature anime that aren't dripping in gore or sexual references but they do exist (Darker than Black comes to mind for me).
People may not know this but porn is actually banned in Japan, so drawn sexual stuff is their weird way of getting around it.
Overall however, anime is less mature than some sort of TV drama, yet it is usually more mature than western cartoons I've seen.
People may not know this but porn is actually banned in Japan, so drawn sexual stuff is their weird way of getting around it.
Overall however, anime is less mature than some sort of TV drama, yet it is usually more mature than western cartoons I've seen.
It depends on the anime watched. I can vouch for certain that the anime shows I watched (Tenchi muyo, Dragonball Z, Rurouni Kenshin, etc..) were more mature in intellgience and content than what the hell ever these new cartoons are supposed to be (The Mighty B? Seriously? That's an insult to anyone's intelligence.)
