Adult animation: violence and mature rhetoric with childish emasculation
Animation has been a staple for children. Speaking to a younger audience still growing in their younger years and playing along with the fictional characters. Children distinguish between the cartoon characters and the real people. The fake out was a distraction from the real world. Television shows were mainly guided to children to pass the time. Much of the detached parenting was hustled by consuming television programming. The cartoon generation grew up and continued to watch television. Thinking on their feet creators began making real-life content which spoiled into children programs as well. Real life plots are a sign of maturity and age. Cartoons are childish.
Ironically, even today most cartoons are sit-coms while the action oriented are real life. People who watch anime whether for the Japanese or the hero’s journey thrillers are full force programs not satirical projects. Even children today perceive cartoons as an obvious fiction for laughs not to engage with the story. Think of the episodic features of the sit-coms in contrast to the anime stories. Yet the action centre is becoming more embroiled today with dramas like BoJack, Harley Quinn, Final Space. Yet all ensure comedic ties to not forget its satirical origin. The action though a centrepiece of the show is placed on the outskirts. The jokes are at the front and said aloud with audience applause. A time to be a child again. To enjoy the fiction but with reservation. Not to enjoy too much.
Boomerang plays old cartoons from The Flintstones to Ritchie Rich. Shows designed for children. Even the Simpsons was a family show. The adult target was only necessary with television’s continued success. For much of the programs real characters were played alongside series lines. Thinking of shows in the 80s like M.A.S.H, Cheers, A-Team were real shows with enduring plots. Children who grew up with cartoons became more obsessed with their jargon. Cartoon lovers feeling childish would watch Scooby Doo or other old television programs. Enjoying the shows from their youth lacked the mature content but were compelling. There was an enjoyment so shows like Harvey Birdman were made to appeal to these audiences. The early adult cartoons remained in the mature atmosphere without the indulging content. Only later in the decade did Family Guy and South Park become staples of adult content. Satirical, political and sexual. Playing on their teenage carnality.
A new age has blossomed to facilitate an enjoyable evening of classical satire. Comedic for the couple to feel childish with more mature nature. Fictional enjoyment in the merit of desired plot lines. The former geek culture of pictured comic books are beloved by the mainstream. Even making animated superhero films with gore and sex. Following a growing young crowd pursuing this genre despite their old age. Comic books are not in but comic book adaptions are. Cinema makes the story alive showing the fictional progression in real time. A desired motive by fans. Yet this medium is less mainstream than the Netflix crowd. Even anime is becoming more mainstream with Netflix having an extended category for countless shows. While Dragon Ball is an old classic, newer creations are also becoming relevant for younger viewers.
Stigmas are falling off. It is no longer weird to watch cartoons so long as you are watching an accepted cartoonish program. Even BoJack raises criticism but many for its fictional construction. There is a difference between Family Guy and BoJack. The former is all satirical with little serial characterisation. Serial shows are real life dramas. Watching seventy seasons of General Hospital, thirty seasons of Law & Order or seventeen seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. These serial shows follow character’s but replace and change up over time. A funny example of this is Doctor Who which has run for so many years serially but changing doctors and thus plot lines. Continuous programs make new content with new seasons focusing on a new theme. Much reputation but with new focuses.
The animated universe has yet to reach this point with the exception of BoJack and Final Space. New shows are attempting to create serial animations. Rick and Morty does this very well. While it is action related with much satire the show runners explicitly mock its construction. Harmon constantly directs the main character Rick to indirectly break the fourth wall to tease the episodic and serial relation. The cartoon is designed for more mature audiences at the same time mocks the audience and social trends of the time. It shows cartoons for what they are as fictional messages instead of the show themselves. Adults are unable or unwilling to see cartoons as children see them. Children are not decoding metaphors but enjoying the experience. Lost in the show. Adults are seeking messages that are openly comedically displayed to them. The satire is described while in BoJack it intentionally devised to enjoy the character’s growth. Still there is resistance to not only do so but to even accept it.
Anime is far from acceptance. Its longstanding creation has enabled fans to balance the show’s experience with its themes. Anime is intentionally heroic and valuational. Shows like Naruto and Full-Metal Alchemist are hero’s journey personified with powerful themes and yet censored by American stations for more childish audiences. Driving anime devoid of its full extent only delivers it further to children. The stories remain timeless. Even if projected to children, the messaging is timeless. Sexual innuendos are not necessary to make a good show. Just as books are timeless like reading To Kill a Mockingbird or even Harry Potter. Blending the nature finds enduring enjoyment. The foreignness plus the animation hurts its mainstream appeal but the growing animated concern furthers its gradual acceptance. Finding an ally in Final Space. Unlike BoJack, Final Space stays away from sexual innuendos and mature exclusivity. Not only is it not a sit-com but it is also complex for teen audiences. Hilarity is a part of television but the full extent of animated thrillers is still far fetched.
Uniquely Archer and Harley Quinn both provide necessary action. To meet the adult fascination it follows with the consistent themes. There is a lot of adventure and serial nature especially with Archer. The comedic element is at its core though. Final Space avoids many of the classic comedic tropes for a full action flick. Netflix has begun to engage in supplying vast adult animated series recently. The widely praised Arcane and Castlevania. Recently a show called Cyberpunk 2077 made its debut. On Amazon Prime, Invincible and Vox Machina have had quite a luring effect. Ironically all of these are based fictional programming. The Netflix ones are correlated with notable streaming games and the Amazon prime are comic book and voice actor streaming. Each due play into adult themes. the comic book setting adds the gore to stabilise its motif with adults. The others seem to represent a thrilling crowd who adore their childish adaptations. Castlevania games were hot in the 90s and 2000s for young adults to fancy and the others are games that young adults enjoy today. Final Space seems to lack much of the adult impression and yet still finds its wake amongst them but the new syllabus is stretching into recognising the niche for adults. Do adults need the sex, gore and language? Maybe. If not then it is just anime (even if its not an adaption).
Adult animation is a mix bag with emotional resistance to the fictional adaptation on screen. Moving in a positive direction. Even making children’s shows more mature. The Clone Wars television show had many pitfalls in the childish content. A blend is brewing. It is a matter of time. Anime is currently ahead of the curve with shows like Cowboy Bebop and Attack on Titan but suffers from other matrices. Waves are advancing and time will tell but adults will always wish to be children once again.
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