There is a common perception among many people that cartoons are only for children. The general idea is that cartoons are geared towards kids. The only exceptions are a few cartoon comedy shows aimed at older audiences like The Simpons or Family Guy.

While nearly all cartoons in the U.S. are aimed at the youth, I want to examine how the Japanese view animation. In Japan, cartoons and animation are referred to as “anime” and different shows target different demographics ranging from infants to middle school girls to working men. The huge variety of anime caters to people of all demographics. Animation is used as a story telling medium just as live action also is. Some stories are more easily or better told in an animated form than in live action.

In the U. S. and many western countries, cartoons are almost immediately mentally connected with children’s entertainment. And because of that, they’re taken slightly less seriously and viewed as less realistic than film with actual human actors.

However, such a barrier is far smaller in Japan and cartoons can be taken with the same level of realism as human actors. This idea is even apparent in the art of centuries past. While Europeans struggled to make lifelike and photo realistic paintings, the Japanese drew stylized, cartoon-like pictures of people and scenery. The Japanese have a far easier time accepting a serious story in the form of a cartoon.

If we take a step back and just look at the raw possibility of animation, it is amazing. Films with human actors require elaborate sets to be constructed and trained actors and much preparation for any action. For example, think about how much work must go into filming a realistic explosion on a live action set.

In contrast, doing something like that in animation is much easier and not limited to what can be constructed. With animation, it’s possible to draw completely new things and worlds and that is much easier than creating them as props. The Japanese have different aesthetic tastes and easily utilize the capabilities of animation to tell stories. Animation has great potential to create great settings and scenes.

Do you think the word “cartoon” is automatically associated with “children?” What do you think about countries like Japan that utilize animation as a serious story telling medium to many different demographics?