Silly 20 year olds, Anime is for kids?!

Great Debates
1

Forgive me if this topic is within this message board somewhere. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m new =)

clears his throat Here I stand before the masses to say, I’m 20, going on 21, and I look at Anime, and or, Japanese cartoons. And I do so with great pleasure. I’ve been recently told that these are the actions of a 12 year old, as opposed to that of a 20 year old. Now, why exactly is my DragonBallZ(Too be a little more exact) watching looked upon negatively. Do YOU think me immature to watch Anime?!

Some people say that Anime was created for a more mature audience (ie, Dominion Tank Police, Akira, etc,.) Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong. Should I take the mental abuse and personal attacks towards me, or should I step up and kick some butt, like Goku is STILL trying to do. Man, hasn’t it been 2 weeks yet?!

I HAVE SPOKEN!!!

2

12 year olds cannot afford anime.

i mean really animes are for mature audiences only(most of them:))

3 
Don't feel so bad. I just turned 24 and only recently got into the whole anime thing. Ever since I bought my DVD player I've been snatching up movies, both animated and otherwise, like they were hotcakes. Some of it is actually quite enjoyable. Mainly I like the art and the action since most of the plots leave a lot to be desired.
 And if you thought liking anime was bad it gets much worse. I also wake up every Saturday to catch Batman, Superman, and Batman Beyond! And while I'm up I watch Pokemon and Men in Black. Although I admit to being a little embarassed about liking Pokemon.

Marc

4

It’s this weird prejudice we have that animated cartoons have to be children’s shows; like how The Simpsons is really for a mature audience (not in the sense of being feelthy but in the sense of being sophisticated - yes!). Anime and manga are definitely viewable by adults sans shame. In fact, quite a lot of same is rather sexually explicit (in Japan, at least… it’s usually censored by the time it gets to the bluenoses over here.)

5

Well, I’m 33 years old, And I like animated shows in general and anamie as well. Enjoy what you like, and don’t worry what others think. T’other day I was walking through the park, saw some swings, started swinging , and a lady walked by and asked me quizically"Aren’t you a little old for that?" I just smiled and kept swinging. **** her, I had fun, she’s probobly got an ulcer the size of Chicago.

6

Well, in my Japanese culture class I researched anime (one of the most fun reports i’ve ever had to do), and what I found is, Anime is made for all age levels in Japan. Especially Manga (comics). It’s not like cartoons in the US where it’s intended mostly for adults, but some inuendo is snuck in to amuse the parents. Quite a bit is for adults, and they have animated porn (called hentai, or perverted in Japanese). There is even an anime based on the novel by Murasaki Shikubu, “The Tale of Genji” (it’s kind of dry, i think, but interesting because the novel it’s based off of is very old). There’s als “The Grave of the Fireflies” (i think that’s it), which is about two children’s fight to survive after the firebombing of Tokyo in WWII.

I suggest for those who tell you that anime is for children, tell them that they should go rent a copy of Ghost in the Shell. They’ll see just how much that one was made for children ;).

7

Or they’ll tell you it’s terrible, how this has been produced to corrupt the children >:D

And anyway, even the stuff that WAS made for children, can be enjoyed for technical or aesthetic reasons, or just 'cause you need to flush out all the dead seriousness from your brain once in a while.

Heck, some people like to go into the woods all weekend with weapons to hunt deer, some like to spend all Saturday waxing their car, some spend all night looking for back-masked messages in recordings, some like anime. If they’re having fun and it’s legal, its fine with me…

jrd

8

Whoever told you Anime is for kids was mistaken, and could only have been more wrong with great effort.
There is Anime for all age levels, likewise there are American cartoons for adults as well as children.

There are more anime for mature audiences than there are in american cinema. So it stands to reason that someone might confuse your Anime with cartoons.

Don’t let it get to you. There are literally millions of adults around the world between the ages of 18-35 that enjoy Anime.

Check this out, if you want to see what I mean…
http://astro.temple.edu/~jrubinst/otaku/index.html

9

Watch “What’s Opera Doc?” or watch “Gigantor”?
Watch Bugs outsmarting Peter Puma, or watch Astro Boy?
Watch Rocky and Bullwinkle help Captain Peachfuzz rescue the Upsydaisyum mine from Boris and Natasha, or watch Tobor the 008 man?
Watch Cecil rescue Beanie yet again from Dishonest John, or watch Marine Boy?
Watch Roger Ramjet or watch Speed Racer?
Watch Tennesse Tuxedo, Chumley and the Go-Go Gophers, or watch Kimba the White Lion?

From what I was subjected to, I’d never guess that anime was for kids.

Unfortunately, given what I remember about the quality of the animation, the characters, the story lines, the sight gags, and the overall amusement quotient, I’m not prepared to embrace the notion that it’s anything I’d walk across the street to see as an adult, either.

Yes, Josie and the Pussycats, Scooby Doo, the Archies, the Three Robonic Stooges, Peter Potamus, Jabberjaws, Touche Turtle, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm as teen-agers, Clutch Cargo, Johnny Quest, Hong Kong Phooey, Atom Ant, and Secret Squirrel were abominations in the sight of the LOWered, and whoever came up with Strawberry Shortcake, Smurfs, and the SuperFriends needs to be taken out and shot, but American cartoon culture had saving graces, that simply were not in evidence in any anime shows during my formative years.

Anime had no Bob Clampett, no Tex Avery, no Chuck Jones, no Jay Ward, no Fred Quimby, no Walter Lantz, no Mel Blanc, no Daws Butler, no June Foray, no Edward Everett Horton, no Hans Conried, no Paul Frees, no Max Fleischer. No multi-plane camera work. No shorts. No product that could command the love and loyalty of a true scion of the era of the electronic babysitter. Or at least not this one.

I didn’t find it funny (the purpose for the existence of cartoons).

I didn’t find it avant garde (not that I would have given a rat’s patootie if I had).

I found it boring and bewildering. Boring, because, well, it just was. Bewildering, because I couldn’t fathom just why I was supposed to be attracted to this stuff.

So, you go ahead and enjoy your anime. This customer was lost to the form a generation ago.

I do recognize that anime offerings to the American market are more diverse now than back in the sixties and seventies. But non-anime cartoons appear to be enjoying a renaissance of their own, and with the limited amount of time and opportunity that I have for indulging in cartoon-watching, I find that Dexter’s Laboratory, The Simpsons, the Animaniacs, Rugrats, and Cow and Chicken are just going to crowd Pokemon right off the schedule.

10

I am 30. Anime kicks ass.
Gunsmith Cats and Akira are among my favorites. I also like New Dominion Tank Police, Wings of Honneamise, Space Battleship Yamato (I mean, come on!), Cockpit Tales, Ping-Pong Club, Kite, Black Jack, Airbats, etc. etc. Mostly highbrow stuff with hot babes and cool machines … All I ask from anime is that the art be ravishing and the writing be better than Not Bad.
The stuff which is REALLY for kids (DragonballZ, Sailor Moon etc.), I ignore. The genre of giant man-shaped robots (Gundam etc.) I can take or leave, usually the latter.

11

Anyone who claimed anime/manga is only for kids hasn’t seen “Grave of the Fireflies” or read “Barefoot Gen.” In fact, said person would be demonstrating that they have no idea what the hell they’re talking about.

–Calredic

12

I’m just now getting into anime (I’m in the south, things are slow down here :wink: ) and what I’ve seen was not for kids. Before my cable became too expensive I found the Sci-Fi Channel’s Saturday morning Anime show and finally had a reason to get up before noon again. I’ve always liked animation and it is rather refreshing to watch something geared toward adults. It beats most sit-coms for entertainment value. :wink:

BTW: a friend of mine has uncensored SailorMoon episodes from Japan. The plot may be geared for youngsters but those quick-change scenes are full nudity over there.

Chrisbar

13

With, or without pubic hair?

14

Andros said:
“With, or without pubic hair?”

Although I haven’t seen Sailormoon specifically, (and if I ever do please, please shoot me) but based on other things I’ve seen in the same vein, I would say that it probably did not have articulated pubic hair. Shading, maybe. It’s a kid’s show first and foremost, it doesn’t focus on photorealistic nudity. I think that most kids would find pubic hair really unattractive, so out it goes. Nipples, on the other hand…

Of course, as I am sure you know, if it’s erotic animation you’re after, you can do a hell of a lot better than Sailormoon. :cough:Urotsukidoji:cough:

15

Without. I haven’t seen any actual hentai anime, but nudity–sometimes intended as titillating, but just as often not–is commonplace in “regular” anime and manga. In all the anime/manga I’ve seen, I have never seen any attempt to even hint at pubic hair. Excepting facial and/or occasional chest or arm hair on guys, no “normal” anime character (i.e., one who’s supposed to be strictly “human,” not a monster/demon/demihuman/etc.) I’ve seen has had hair anywhere but on his or her head.

I remember reading that even though nudity is generally acceptable in Japan, there is a specific cultural taboo against showing pubic hair. I’m not sure how strictly this is adhered to these days, though–I’ve never seen a Japanese skin mag (I hear there’s no shortage of them), but I can’t imagine that they’re all just “topless” or “facing away from the camera” shots, or that they force everyone who models in one to shave themselves bare.

Obviously, though, in anime/manga this is no big deal. They just don’t draw it. I could get into anime iconography and all that at this point, but I think I’ve already typed enough about the lack of pubic hair on anime characters to get everyone else on the board wondering just how much free time I have, not to mention how I spend it. So I’ll just leave it at that. :wink:

–Calredic