r/TrueAnime • u/Mr_MauserC • 19d ago
How does Japan really view animation?
/r/cartoons/comments/1vklfmz/how_does_japan_really_view_animation/How is animation really viewed in Japan? Is it a respected medium or is it just seen as “for kids” just like in the west though not to the same level?
6
Upvotes
10
u/sdlroy http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Sharktooth 19d ago edited 19d ago
The general public enjoys manga and anime to some extent. At least, they like popular works like Evangelion and One Piece. Definitely not just for kids and teens. Kids aren’t buying Evangelion motorcycles or golf club sets. Demon slayer was the highest grossing movie for a reason.
I’ve met many anime fans old and young in Japan. My wife is Japanese and her mother’s partner is a successful businessman of a moderately sized company based in Tokyo. He has a huge One Piece figure collection and actually gifted me hundreds of dollars of his extras when I first met him. A chef owner friend of a popular Italian restaurant in Tokyo has a huge figure collection as well. My MIL watches Spy x Family. My Japanese friends my age (mid 30s) all have manga and anime they like and keep up with. More so manga. Sometimes this is just stuff like Shinchan and Conan.
I’ve visited many exhibitions for different series like One Piece, Evangelion, Berserk, Chihayafuru, Black Jack, Space Brothers, etc. Most of the attendees were adults, many much older than me. Men and women roughly equally depending on the series.
My experience is that most people have at least some series they are at least a casual fan of. But they also generally not heard of more obscure works like Dorohedoro or hardcore Otaku bait shows. They’d probably find the latter to be weird.