this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2025
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Nothing wrong with liking cartoons, I re-watch Gravity Falls probably once a year or so.
Just saying I think adults should try and engage with media with more adult themes.
A lot of animation does have adult themes. I've always found it kinda weord though that animation for adults tends to be more childish than animation for children.
yeah the good "all-ages" shows have layers that kids don't notice for adults to enjoy
I don't remember the exact quote or where I read it, but Hayao Miyazaki has basically said that he refuses to do this with his movies because he feels like it would insult the intelligence of the kids who watch them, and that he also believes that that refusal is a big part of why they are so appealing to adults as well.
It's an interesting argument imo
idk, I sometimes watch so-called "adult" media (like Netflix action-thriller type series) and that shit bores me to tears most of the time, albeit not always, because I can watch something very boring if it has even mildly interesting camerawork/direction. I don't think there has been a YA-ification of media aimed at adults where you'll still get some difference in content but the plots and the ideas are boring, formulaic and wouldn't even be that compelling if they were original.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you that anime is somehow better on average (it's not, except maybe for One Piece tipping the scale by sheer volume, but I don't even watch that), but I think it makes a much bigger difference how selective you are than the target demo or generic content labels. I know a decent number of adults (who admittedly work much harder than I do, I'm not judging them here) who watch hours of absolute mindless dreck daily, 98% "adult-oriented" stuff, and all I could think about watching with them is how juvenile the stories are no matter how often addiction or pseudo-""realistic"" political intrigue* or whatever are involved.
But I also would agree that unless you're interested in pedagogy or media studies, there's probably no level of discriminating taste that makes in not weird to be 35 and a fan of shows written for barely-verbal children (e.g. Peppa Pig) beyond watching it with a kid you're taking care of or something.
*usually secret cabals, bad cops messing it up for the good cops, or Sorkinism, so not actually realistic, but it sells itself that way.
anime can be better because japan's literacy rate is higher than the US.
I reject the idea that median anime is better but a full discussion of why would be soul-crushing (
) and wouldn't apply very much to the sorts of shows that I'm talking about (though there are "teen dramas" like Euphoria* that are arguably slightly more depraved than the common anime tropes and very popular in the US)
*I looked it up to make sure that I wasn't mixing it up with another show that I mainly know from people dunking on it, and did you know that it's adapted from an Israeli show? Looking it up, it appears the "content" in the original is very similar, which was probably a significant reason it was adapted.