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There are no serious western cartoons meant for mature audiences
(Want a serious IJBM thread? Here we go.)
So we all know about the Animation Age Ghetto. We all know that here in the States (and probably in other western countries), people think of cartoons as the purview of little kids. In a start contrast to Japan, where cartoons are used for, like, every genre of story and setting, alongside live-action.
Now, this is changing. We've had The Simpsons for many years, but starting in recent years we had a rise of non-kiddie western cartoons--King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, Futurama, and various stuff on Adult Swim (such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Venture Brothers).
But all of these shows are comedy of some sort. With or without coherent story, they're there to mock, satirize, parody, and otherwise make us laugh at the subject matter at hand.
When will we finally see some animated shows and movies from the west that present teens-and-above subject matter in a serious manner? (i.e. drama rather than comedy)
One thing that bugs me about this is how the live-action industry basically has a stranglehold on teens-and-above drama series. And because it's much harder to do all sorts of weird fantastic stuff with special effects on real actors than it is to do it in animation, you get a lot less creativity in U.S. television series, especially when it comes to setting. So many shows are about police investigations, working in an office, living in an apartment, dating and relationships, and such.
The only animated western thing that I can think of that isn't comedy but is adult-oriented is the Yellow Submarine movie.
Put it another way: a common sequence of events in Japan is that a manga series gets published, achieves significant success, and then gets made into an animated series. Well, similarly, we have things like superhero comics (which, despite the name "comic", are drama-oriented stories, as you know), but what happens when you adapt them to a moving-picture format? The either become kiddie cartoons (think Batman: the Animated Series, and such), or they become live-action movies (think The Dark Knight and such). There are no animated Spider-Man, Superman, or Batman feature films.
This bugs me.
So we all know about the Animation Age Ghetto. We all know that here in the States (and probably in other western countries), people think of cartoons as the purview of little kids. In a start contrast to Japan, where cartoons are used for, like, every genre of story and setting, alongside live-action.
Now, this is changing. We've had The Simpsons for many years, but starting in recent years we had a rise of non-kiddie western cartoons--King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, Futurama, and various stuff on Adult Swim (such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Venture Brothers).
But all of these shows are comedy of some sort. With or without coherent story, they're there to mock, satirize, parody, and otherwise make us laugh at the subject matter at hand.
When will we finally see some animated shows and movies from the west that present teens-and-above subject matter in a serious manner? (i.e. drama rather than comedy)
One thing that bugs me about this is how the live-action industry basically has a stranglehold on teens-and-above drama series. And because it's much harder to do all sorts of weird fantastic stuff with special effects on real actors than it is to do it in animation, you get a lot less creativity in U.S. television series, especially when it comes to setting. So many shows are about police investigations, working in an office, living in an apartment, dating and relationships, and such.
The only animated western thing that I can think of that isn't comedy but is adult-oriented is the Yellow Submarine movie.
Put it another way: a common sequence of events in Japan is that a manga series gets published, achieves significant success, and then gets made into an animated series. Well, similarly, we have things like superhero comics (which, despite the name "comic", are drama-oriented stories, as you know), but what happens when you adapt them to a moving-picture format? The either become kiddie cartoons (think Batman: the Animated Series, and such), or they become live-action movies (think The Dark Knight and such). There are no animated Spider-Man, Superman, or Batman feature films.
This bugs me.
Comments
Avatar would have been way better if it were a serious story and not some kids show.
But, in the face of criticism for being an animé fan, I must ask: What's the western analogue to Noir? What's the western analogue to Kiddy Grade? What's the western analogue to Eureka Seven?
The most I can point to is the western analogue of Studio Ghibli, which is Disney. And for what it's worth, I've been wondering if there's an animé analogue to Law & Order, which is my favorite western TV show.
Hello, western media industry, you're not helping at all!
I'm not sure. From what I heard, most live action shows in Japan are dramas about salarymen and college students.
Well, in the meantime I actually edited my post to say "animé analogue" rather than "Japanese analogue", for what it's worth.
^ What is Quantum Leap?
Unless you're making some sort of joke about how "mature" and "adult" are often merely used to mean "includes sexual content", which is clearly not the meaning I'm using here.
There are things like Justice League: New Frontier and Hulk Vs., both rated PG-13. Carrying on the tradition of things like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which was praised by Siskel and Ebert when it came out. In a sense, sure these are "kids cartoons". But I'd wager that a lot of people watching the slightly heavier superhero cartoons, would be at least close to the same age range of those watching the anime.
Back when I was hanging out in the Sonic forums, a lot of the fans there seemed to be into the violent anime, very few of which were above drinking age. (It's also hard for me to keep track of these age gauges, since I saw Terminator 2 when I was nine but saw Princess Bride when I was eighteen. I still can't tell you whether either one is better suited for children, teenagers, or adults.)
And why is it that they all have to be comic book adaptations and all of them have to be superhero themed?
Why can't I just have a nice sci fi thriller that doesn't have a shitty budget and that isn't based on Star Wars or Star Trek?
...Aeon Flux?