Anime/Manga - Discuss Japanese cartoons and comics here; NO CULTURE WAR DOOMPOSTING!

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I find that the fact so many western fans want to call their favorite cartoons anime speaks more to the sad state that the label "cartoon" finds itself in popular perception. It's so often linked with childish entertainment that people desperate to justify why the shows they like are "legitimately good" like to throw it into the anime label that gets associated with more thoughts of "not for kids" (which ignores how a lot of anime is made for kids). It just speaks to the poor state western cartoons find themselves in where they aren't taken seriously by most people even when they are perfectly capable of telling engaging/mature storylines because companies are more interested in just treating them as children's entertainment. Even when they decided to try an adult cartoon the bulk of them are just awful comedies with the most juvenile humor.

I think the association isn't so much with being aimed at children as it is with being in a strictly comedic genre. The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park are all pointedly aimed at older demographics and massive mainstream successes in their own right, to the point of being outright pop culture icons; ironically, cartoons which aren't comedies first and foremost seem to be perceived as children's entertainment in the West.
 
I think the association isn't so much with being aimed at children as it is with being in a strictly comedic genre. The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park are all pointedly aimed at older demographics and massive mainstream successes in their own right, to the point of being outright pop culture icons; ironically, cartoons which aren't comedies first and foremost seem to be perceived as children's entertainment in the West.
It’s not so much that “cartoons that aren’t comedies” are seen as children’s entertainment, but that “cartoons that aren’t comedies” meant for adults are almost completely non-existent.

It’s just such a weird mindset to me because kid’s cartoons ARE pretty varied in genre. You have sitcoms, but you also have a good chunk of action of various genres, and stuff that for lack of a better term could probably be called slice-of-life. But for adult animation, you’re going to have a tough time finding something that ISN’T a raunchy sitcom. I dunno why they think that kids who grew up watching cool cartoons wouldn’t also want to watch cool cartoons but with more serious stories and mature themes when they grow up - it’s really kind of a baffling chicken-or-egg thing for me. Were cartoons pigeonholed as “children’s media” because nobody made “serious” adult cartoons, or did nobody make serous adult cartoons because cartoons were pigeonholed as children’s media? Where and when did this start?
 
It’s not so much that “cartoons that aren’t comedies” are seen as children’s entertainment, but that “cartoons that aren’t comedies” meant for adults are almost completely non-existent.

I think the popular sentiment up until the millenial generation started maturing(to use that term fairly loosely) was that you shouldn't take a cartoon seriously beyond a certain age. Hence, nobody thought that a drama-heavy cartoon was worth making for the adult demographic, outside of a few cartoon movies(e.g. Heavy Metal/Fire and Ice/War of the Worlds Goliath).

Where and when did this start?

I think Disney started the trend of story-focused animated content being made for kids. The real answer is, adult-oriented animated drama just never started in the west.
 
Surprised how no one mentions Studio Ghibli movies or Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh! as the best starter entry anime to watch. If not that, you can always try Digimon.
Super late but even as a die hard Yu-Gi-Oh! fan I feel like if I had to recommend it, I would do it subbed the first go around or at least pick up the original manga first. Yu-Gi-Oh! Isn't one of those anime's you can just spin a wheel and jump into a random episode since each duel takes about 2-5 episodes, unlike Pokemon where you can usually go "eh this looks funny" and go from there.
As much as I love the english dub since I grew up with it, and it's hysterical now since it feels like a abridging, Yu-Gi-Oh! hit's different when you watch it subbed and unedited.

Another anime I would recommend if your into musicals is Nerima Daikon brothers. The dub is hysterical and the rental song has been stuck in my head for ages.
Ouran Highschool Host Club is also a nice romance anime I watched growing up and I STILL THINK IT NEEDS ANOTHER SEASON DAMMIT!
Thriller wise, Future Diary isn't too bad, but I'd say watch the dub for SURE but thats my shitty opinion.

Movies I don't have any great recommendations but Akira is a goodie, and nobody ever talks about King of Thorn. I enjoyed that movie.
 
It’s not so much that “cartoons that aren’t comedies” are seen as children’s entertainment, but that “cartoons that aren’t comedies” meant for adults are almost completely non-existent.

It’s just such a weird mindset to me because kid’s cartoons ARE pretty varied in genre. You have sitcoms, but you also have a good chunk of action of various genres, and stuff that for lack of a better term could probably be called slice-of-life. But for adult animation, you’re going to have a tough time finding something that ISN’T a raunchy sitcom. I dunno why they think that kids who grew up watching cool cartoons wouldn’t also want to watch cool cartoons but with more serious stories and mature themes when they grow up - it’s really kind of a baffling chicken-or-egg thing for me. Were cartoons pigeonholed as “children’s media” because nobody made “serious” adult cartoons, or did nobody make serous adult cartoons because cartoons were pigeonholed as children’s media? Where and when did this start?
I think that all cartoons should be comedies started back when cartoons were a thing and they were shown in theatres to adults. They always been raunchy and comedic. Disney was pretty much the first when it came to dramatic storytelling animation for children.

It didn’t help animated content for adults was always sexual and/or comedic like with Fritz the Cat and the Simpsons which popularized adult animated sitcoms. Regardless of your opinions on them they were trendsetters on what animation for adults could be in the west.
 
Going into the debate which anime to start on. Shonen shit is the best for newcomers, especially modern one like Demon Slayer. The alternative is to take anything that's casual bait.

People like yo recommend niche or complicated shows for first time viewers that will probably do more harm than good.
 
Going into the debate which anime to start on. Shonen shit is the best for newcomers, especially modern one like Demon Slayer. The alternative is to take anything that's casual bait.

People like yo recommend niche or complicated shows for first time viewers that will probably do more harm than good.
Demon Slayer is a pretty good standard to start with, imo. It's not too long of a story, the animation is good, and its a beat-for-beat traditional shounen.
 
/a/ goes off on a tangent:

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I'll never forget the thread that this was posted in.
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More Nagatoro suffering.
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I'll never forget the thread that this was posted in.
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More Nagatoro suffering.
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i’ve said it before, but the people who really like seeing Nagatoro getting crushed like this feel like the kind of incels who can’t tell the difference between genuinely being bullied and flirting teasing.

The original comic where she pretended she already had a boyfriend and senpai basically walked away from that shit and it made her cry - valid. But manga Nagatoro is a whole different character. This stuff feels like angry incels.
Is it animated? If yes, it’s by default anime. Disney cartoons are anime.
it was genuinely surprising listening to a Hololive “anime karaoke” stream that included songs from Frozen and Little Mermaid, because you sort of forget that anime in Japan literally means all cartoons, but I agree with most people that outside of that context, it means Japanese animation.
 
i’ve said it before, but the people who really like seeing Nagatoro getting crushed like this feel like the kind of incels who can’t tell the difference between genuinely being bullied and flirting teasing.
If that was the case, people wouldn't like Takagi-san.
 
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