Ask John: Is All Anime Made for Kids?

Question:
Is there any anime aimed at adult viewers outside of hentai? A friend and I are arguing about whether or not anime is only for kids. He seems to insist that through his research anime is only intended for the 4 -18 year old demographic, and that your average working class Japanese would not have anything to do with anime. I tend think that he’s too broad in his assessment. Who is right?

Answer:
In some regards this is a difficult question to answer because most anime production studios do not specifically announce a primary viewing age target market for their productions, and Japanese television does not have a standardized age based ratings system the way America does. The target audience for most anime in Japan is implied by its content, release format, and broadcast time. It’s not entirely incorrect to say that anime is intended for “kids,” but with a theoretical range of 4 to 18 years old, most countries in the world consider someone aged 18 an adult, not a “kid.” In a broad, superficial sense, it’s true that most anime is intended for younger viewers; however there are numerous exceptions of varying degree, and the definitions of what constitutes “children’s entertainment” is much different in Japan than what it is in America.

It’s easy to cite family films as examples of anime that aren’t exclusively intended for children, but these examples also aren’t intended exclusively for adults. Hayao Miyazaki has stated numerous times that his films are intended for children, either literal children or the child-like spirit of wonder within adult viewers. The simple box office grosses of Miyazaki films in Japanese theaters can be taken as proof enough that it’s viewers of all ages that frequent Miyazaki movies in theaters. In fact, Miyazaki movies are virtually not even thought of as typical anime among Japanese viewers. Miyazaki movies are simply “movies” and virtually required viewing that transcend the association with children’s entertainment. Family programs are also popular among both children and adults, but these programs are often obviously targeted at children. Series like Ojamajo Doremi, Detective Conan, One Piece and Saeze-san earn weekly TV ratings too high to be accounted for by just children and anime fans. Adults and especially families watch these series together, but that doesn’t mean that these series are primarily intended for adult viewers.

Series that American anime fans may tend to think are intended for adult viewers sometimes aren’t. Graveyard of Fireflies, a brutally heart wrenching drama about domestic Japanese tragedy in the closing days of WWII may not seem like a children’s film to many American viewers, but when it was released in Japan, it played theatrically as a double feature with My Neighbor Totoro. Some American viewers may also interpret the drug use and intense violence of Cowboy Bebop as animation intended for adults, but director Shinichiro Watanabe has stated that the primary intended audience for Cowboy Bebop was teenagers. Similar shows including Berserk and Devilman Lady, with their intense graphic violence and graphic nudity and sexuality, were broadcast in 2 AM time-slots, which suggests that these shows were not intended to be seen by children or young viewers.

Examples of anime unmistakably intended for adult viewers are relatively infrequent, although there are enough of them to support a case that not all anime is intended for children. Esoteric art films including Angels Egg and 1001 Nights seem clearly to be intended for adult viewers as these films contain virtually nothing that would appeal to a young viewer. Both films are experimental impressionistic pieces with virtually no action or dialogue. They are both representations of purely art for the sake of art, an abstract concept probably too obtuse for the average child. Anyone that’s seen it will instantly acknowledge Oruchuban Ebichu as anime for adults, but it’s risqué content may nearly push it into the realm of hentai. The two other anime TV series it was broadcast with, Ai no Wakakusayama Monogatari (Little Women in Love), and Koume-chan Ga Iku! (Here Comes Koume-chan) are both examples of “josei” (young adult woman) anime intended for ladies in the 20+ year old age range. Anime titles including Salaryman Kintaro (about a non-conformist independent minded salaryman) and Tsuri Baka Nisshi (a nostalgic comedy about a salaryman who becomes his boss’ equal while they are fishing partners) are examples of “seinen” (young adult men) manga and anime intended for college age and adult male viewers. The heavily political and hard boiled Golgo 13 is another example of anime, and more commonly cited manga, of the seinen variety.

In summation, it’s natural that anime would be primarily intended for younger viewers. Given that anime itself is only roughly 50 years old, and the vast majority of working anime and manga creators are under 50 years old, it makes sense that anime itself would be targeted mainly toward younger viewers.

But anime is not exclusively limited to targeting children. Excluding pornographic anime made for adult viewers, there are anime series and films created specifically for adults. There are “seinen” and “josei” anime titles available, but because these shows are so reflective of adult Japanese culture, and stylistically atypical of anime- these series are often unknown among American fans. Because American anime fandom primarily consists of younger viewers, most of the anime American fans are exposed to is targeted toward young viewers. But the fact that most Americans aren’t aware of adult oriented anime doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.