The Japanese and cartoons

[Suraah]

Hi!

I've seen some clips on Youtube and I was surprised to see that even Japanese people who are 25, or older, like Japanese cartoons and use mangas and other pictures. They seem to be so common in Japan.

In Europe it's different. Children and teenagers watch cartoons but then it's over. The are adult and don't watch such programmes anymore.

Can anybody tell me more about this as it really is in Japan?

Thank you,

Suraah

[YoungOne31]

In Japan, there is a special breed of nerd, called Otaku. They are the people who never stopped watching anime, and are completely obsessed with everything to do with the particular anime they watch. Apart from the Otaku, Japanese adults may still watch the ocassional episode of a series, or watch anime series' that are specifically aimed at adults. It really is such a different culture there, and I for one, love it.

[MMM]

Interesting that a first time poster would respond to a first time poster.

What clips on Youtube show people over 25 enjoying anime?

[edelweiss]

So I guess you have never heard of the Simpsons, or Futurama? Or how adults all over the world watch them? I'm pretty sure I've seen Simpsons merchandise in every major European city I've been to...

There is nothing inherently "for children" about animation as a medium for storytelling it's just been primarily used that way in many parts of the world. Japan has a lot of anime that is geared towards children but they use it as a story telling medium for all ages - just like live-action features. Many adults in Japan will be interested in a specific title if it's part of a general genre that interests them (mystery, adventure, romance, comedy, horror) but they do not consider themselves "anime fans", they are very selective about what they will watch. Or they just love the the funny popular shows that everyone else watches like Crayon Shin-chan, much like people loving the Simpsons.

Some stories are popular enough that they get not only a animated series but also a live action series or movies like Death Note, Honey and Clover, Nana, Great Teacher Onizuka and Gokusen.[

[PockyMePink]

In every country there are adults who watch cartoons. You may not see it in your country, but I assure you that it happens. However, cartoons are normally aimed at kids, and few aim higher than that. Those that aim higher are usually watched by mostly teens, but the occassional adult you will find enjoyes it as well.

This happens in just about every country, not just Japan.

[steven]

I have personally heard Japanese people saying things along the same line as "anime is for kids" and "I don't really watch it any more since I've grown up" or "I don't watch it because I've grown up".

As far as the people I've talked to before go (I've never really participated in conversations specifically about manga or anime myself because i'm not really into it), I think that most middle school students and above read manga. You can probably walk into any conbini in Japan and see some old guy reading a comic book, so I think that never really goes away. However, as far as cartoons go, in my conversations with pre school/elementary school kids, I've noticed that they are more into anime than most other people. That is my feel of the situation- but keep in mind I'm not particularly into that stuff so I probably don't hang out with that crowd too often.

Another thing I think is worth mentioning is that, at least for the poeple I talk to, most people don't have a bunch of TVs in their house. They might have one in their living room and that's it. Therefore young teens will often go to their room and read manga rather than going in their living room to watch anime, which might be intrusive on their parents. Now that I think about it, that might be the appeal to "portable games". I don't usually see kids with their PSPs or DSs out and about, but a lot of kids I talk to seem to own one and play it regularly. I suspect they play it in their room.

I couldn't find it in a quick search, but maybe there is a survey/some statistics on how many TVs there are per household on WhatJapanThinks (which is a cool blog by the way). I tried the Japanese Statistics Bureau website but didn't really come up with what I was looking for.

I think PockyMePink has it dead on.

[willgoestocollege]

There are plenty of cartoons for adults but I haven't watched anime in a long time though.