Do people usually 'grow out' of Anime?

[Umihito]

I'm curious as to whether people (especially Western) usually grow out of anime or not?

The majority of people I see talking about it or being major fans of it are either in their young or mid teens.
Of course there are many older fans of it which I don't deny, but they seem to be in a relative minority.

So have you personally watched a lot of anime before and stopped now?
Or has someone you know or know of grown out of it?

When I say this, I don't mean anime that's MEANT for children such as Pokemon or Dragonball Z, athough I have no doubt there's probably older people still watching those somewhere out there...

I'd consider myself someone who has grown out of anime. I'm 18 and I just don't find it appealing any more. All the mainstream anime just seems a little too younger-oriented to me, and I don't even find any non-mainstream animes that much different. There are maybe one or two series I still hold onto, but nothing near the amount of series that I watched before.

[Ronin4hire]

Anime is a style not a genre.

You obviously think it's for kids.. but considering some anime out there almost requires a degree in philosophy to watch I'm guessing you're watching the wrong stuff or you can't understand some of the heavier ones.

[Umihito]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Anime is a style not a genre.

You obviously think it's for kids.. but considering some anime out there almost requires a degree in philosophy to watch I'm guessing you're watching the wrong stuff or you can't understand some of the heavier ones.

Oh yes I do realize it is an art form and a style, but these days it just seems that the real artsy types of anime aren't popular any more, the market just seems saturated with Harem Comedy or Mecha.

The thing is, those animes that require degrees to watch aren't exactly going to be 'everyone wants that' stuff. Most Westerners I see are into all mainstream animes. And yes I know that not ALL Westerners are, but you have to admit it's most of them. All anime forums I've seen are saturated with 'Bleach' this and 'Naruto' that.

When you say some of the 'heavier ones,' could you give me some examples? I've seen some pretty psychological animes and they're the ones that usually stick with me.

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Umihito

Oh yes I do realize it is an art form and a style, but these days it just seems that the real artsy types of anime aren't popular any more, the market just seems saturated with Harem Comedy or Mecha.

The thing is, those animes that require degrees to watch aren't exactly going to be 'everyone wants that' stuff. Most Westerners I see are into all mainstream animes. And yes I know that not ALL Westerners are, but you have to admit it's most of them. All anime forums I've seen are saturated with 'Bleach' this and 'Naruto' that.

When you say some of the 'heavier ones,' could you give me some examples? I've seen some pretty psychological animes and they're the ones that usually stick with me.

Stand Alone Complex is the only series that I can really say I've seen that is kinda heavy but I'm aware of others.

But in saying that I really enjoyed Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. While they weren't exactly heavy they weren't for kids and managed to avoid most of the archetypes you refer to.

Then there are the movies of course. Studio Gibli being the obvious reference.

[MMM]

Actually, anime is a story telling medium, not a style. The same is true of manga. There may be rules and codes, but every artist has his or her own style, unless she is borrowing someone else's style.

[SCIFFIX]

Seinen Anime are really getting rare nowadays. I think "Shiki" is a seinen anime, have you watched?


Shonen style are more easy to win popularity I mean, in that reason they are more numerous. Resuming It's more easy make some money with Shonen Anime.

But there are some old Seinen manga, I recommend Sanctuary.

[Eunice]

I think I'm the opposite. No matter how hard I try, I can never get in to anime.

[WingsToDiscovery]

Originally Posted by Eunice

I think I'm the opposite. No matter how hard I try, I can never get in to anime.

I'm the same way. Even here in Japan where it's obviously much more accepted, I still have the angst from back in the US that prevents me from getting into it.

[File0]

Originally Posted by Eunice

I think I'm the opposite. No matter how hard I try, I can never get in to anime.

I think you're not, but I'm the opposite, as I never watched anime series or read manga before I got my degree x) ... but I really enjoy it now as I'm getting older.

[GoNative]

Originally Posted by WingsToDiscovery

I'm the same way. Even here in Japan where it's obviously much more accepted, I still have the angst from back in the US that prevents me from getting into it.

Don't quite understand this. What sort of angst is associated with anime in the US?