They think that they are going to sell this anime stuff to kids. I believe that they will be sorely dissapointed by the sales. The reason: the Japanese don't believe that all cartoons are for kids.

It kind of irritates me that in America cartoons have received this odd reputation for being a medium solely designed for kids. Here's the thing: The reason people started making cartoons is because the special effects are so much easier when it's just a drawing. You can do anything that you want in a cartoon, there are no limits. The earliest cartoons in america, were showcases of this ability. If you watch an old Betty Boop, or Foxy cartoon, you'll see that it's a non-stop collaboration of animals dressed like people doing impossible things with their bodies, and all of the items (cars, mailboxes, houses, whatever) have faces and can talk. These cartoonists were cramming about as much sillyness as possible into a seven minute space. This was novel for awhile, but soon only children were able to appreciate the almost non-existent plot lines, and over used jokes and sight-gags.

The next evolution of cartoons came with the color. Things got less zany, and the humor became more based on the situation that the characters were in, rather than what they were able to do with their bodies. I guess you could say that it became less of a freak show. Although, the main characters were all still animals in the Warner Bros. cartoons. This stage in cartoons came in sync with the disney feature cartoons which portrayed real people, doing possible things. Still, the plots were lacking.

The reason that the cartoons never really developed into a more mature medium in America, is because they already had this stigma of being only for kids. Adults don't watch cartoons, because they are silly, and lacking in plot. If adults don't watch cartoons, then why make cartoons for adults. It's a simple marketing decision, but that doesn't mean that we should help perpetuate the cycle.

I've talked to many adults (It's just one of my hobbies). Sometimes they will ask for movie suggestions (just polite conversation). If I recommend an animated movie of any kind, I'm very likely to get this response: "Animated? Cartoons are for kids." A lot of people feel this way, and it's not just older people. Some of my peers (twenties) feel the same way, and the sad part is that they never give it a chance. To me, this is just as bad as saying, "It was made with a camera?! Bah! I can't watch movies with live actors!" See how silly that sounds?

Example: Saturday night I rented "DBZ: Tree of Might" for myself and four of my friends to watch. This is a good anime movie, that I knew that they would enjoy. Predictably, half of the group refused to watch it, on the grounds that it was a cartoon. They knew nothing about it, and dismissed it out-right, I was very dissapointed in them.

All that I'm trying to say with this is that you people (yes, you!) need to atleast give the animated shows the same chance that you give to other shows, and I don't mean watch one anime and make your decision about them based on that, they're not all the same like they used to be. Each show and movie is as individual as the shows and movies that rely on cameras and computers. Some are for children, some are for every one, and some are definitely for adults. Some are action oriented, some are romance oriented, some are dramatic, some are silly, and some are just plain stupid. But don't write them off because of the few stupid ones, or because you think that they are for children. You already know not to judge a book by it's cover. It's time that we all learn not to judge a show or a movie by its medium alone... You could really be missing out on something good.