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Anime - Not Necessarily Children's Cartoons

There is a common misconception here in America - that animation can only be children's cartoons. Thanks to companies like Disney, that make only children's movies, this has become common American thought. When an American thinks of animation, he thinks of  the Rugrats and Powerpuff Girls, or Cinderella. But as you and I both know this is truly not the case; anime is not necessarily for children. Contrary to popular belief, anime is created for all different audiences and age groups, with widely varying subjects. And the animation can be even better than Disney's quite often.

(Excerpt taken from an article on http://lrkp.leachdesigns.com/anime)

..However, it is unfortunate that Singaporeans have come to accept Disneyfied animation, but not anime, as an acceptable medium for serious and realistic storytelling. No one bats an eyelid at adults swarming to watch "The Lion King". But tell them you're going home to watch "Rurouni Kenshin", and they give you the look.

And the same rings true here in America. When I tell someone in school that I am a fan of Japanese Animation, they ask me "Isn't that for kids?" or say, "Geez, man, grow up." Actually, if they were to watch anime, they would be the ones growing up. Because instead of watching one of those crappy and extremely stupid American reality TV shows (except Survivor that one's good), they would be watching a show with action, adventure, with an actual storyline (not something you see in kiddie cartoons). If the anime is really good, it gives you that sense of awe when you turn it off, like "wow, that was incredible".

(Quoted from an unknown source)

Anyone who says that anime is kids cartoons has either: A. Obviously only seen pokemon, digimon, or hamtaro. B. Not seen a single half episode of anything else.

I mean, try and take some time out to watch Akira or Naruto (or Kenshin or..) and you will see what I am talking about when I say anime has true meaning. They get into such deep philosophical debates that I don't understand half of them. Even the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga is like this. And I can guarantee you that stuff like this is NOT meant for children (ok maybe Yu-Gi-Oh! but nothing else). When I watched Rurouni Kenshin the other night on the Cartoon Network Saturday Night block, in the spot after Teen Titans and before Jackie Chan Adventures (fakime), it just didn't seem to fit in.

And then there's the blood. Even a show like Dragonball Z that is highly regarded as kiddie cartoons here is America has blood and swearing all over the place if you watch the subbed. And there is so much blood in Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho that if you find yourself watching the edited version you won't be able to tell what's going on, for example someone falls down but the sword slash that sliced open his leg wasn't shown. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember anyone's leg being sliced open in the cartoons I watched when I was a kid. And please, I don't even need to waste my breath on the amounts of sexual content on some anime, stuff you would NEVER see on kid's cartoons.

In Japan, anime is considered like an art. "The cinematography and other elements of professional film making are all harnessed in the making of Japanese animated films." Anime such as Ghost in a Shell use integrated computer graphics that you NEVER see in American cartoons. Anime producers experiment with creative lighting, camera angles, and backgrounds, and focus on minute details that American animators would never consider bothering with. That is the difference between American and Japanese animation itself.

Therefore, we can plainly see that just because a show is animated doesn't mean it has to be for children. Yet the previously stated misconception is still the standard American thought due to the severe lack of good animated American TV. Sadly, most people who put down anime (everyone in my school) will never be willing to actually watch a few episodes of something. They'll be too busy watching "The Stupidest Acts Ever Caught on Tape*" instead.

*Yes that's an actual show