And anime made for older audiences doesn’t need to be violent, either.
Summary:
There is a misconception that anime becomes more mature if it shows blood and violence.
It is not true, and redefining terms like “shounen” and “seinen” only confuses people.
The misconception partly comes from the OVAs of the 90s, but there’s actually no correlation at all.
There seems to be a sentiment among some fans that anime for the older audience should include way more blood and violence than anime for teenagers. Not only is that not necessarily correct, but there is actually no direct correlation between the two. Mature anime isn’t always violent, and just because there are brutal fights in anime doesn’t automatically mean it’s made for a more mature audience.
We should not redefine the demographic terms
Yes, anime for older audiences can get away with showing more blood. However, that’s not necessarily a staple of it — just look at seinen manga, which could include anything from March Comes In Like a Lion (3-gatsu no Lion) to Vinland Saga. It is, of course, also not a reason to go and try to redefine the terms like “seinen” and “shounen”. A manga demographic depends on the magazine it is published in — and the anime, in turn, depends on the manga it is adapted from (if it is even adapted from one at all). The terms like “soft seinen” that some fans are trying to use only mislead and confuse people. Yes, some shounen series feature more violence than others (Attack on Titan comes to mind, and even Naruto was quite bloody in its early arcs), but that doesn’t mean anything.
Historical context
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the Western market was flooded with OVAs, a lot of which were extremely violent and gory. The reason was quite simple: they were extremely cheap to license. Combine that with the notion that animation “is made for kids” that was popularized during the time, and the reason for the misconception about the topic will become clear. However, in recent times, it seems like people are starting to become more accepting of the fact that animation can have any target audience.
Anime made for adults are not necessarily mature, either
It is also important to remember that technically, an anime being made for an older audience does not necessarily mean it is more mature. Yes, an older audience will probably recognize and understand more complex themes. However, they don’t need to be present in the work, either: something like Is the Order a Rabbit? (Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?) is obviously marketed towards a more mature audience, as is usually the case with slice-of-life shows, but it does not make you think about the matters of life and the universe itself. It is just a relaxing, feel-good anime.
And anime made for older audiences doesn’t need to be violent, either.
Summary:
There is a misconception that anime becomes more mature if it shows blood and violence.
It is not true, and redefining terms like “shounen” and “seinen” only confuses people.
The misconception partly comes from the OVAs of the 90s, but there’s actually no correlation at all.
There seems to be a sentiment among some fans that anime for the older audience should include way more blood and violence than anime for teenagers. Not only is that not necessarily correct, but there is actually no direct correlation between the two. Mature anime isn’t always violent, and just because there are brutal fights in anime doesn’t automatically mean it’s made for a more mature audience.
We should not redefine the demographic terms
Yes, anime for older audiences can get away with showing more blood. However, that’s not necessarily a staple of it — just look at seinen manga, which could include anything from March Comes In Like a Lion (3-gatsu no Lion) to Vinland Saga. It is, of course, also not a reason to go and try to redefine the terms like “seinen” and “shounen”. A manga demographic depends on the magazine it is published in — and the anime, in turn, depends on the manga it is adapted from (if it is even adapted from one at all). The terms like “soft seinen” that some fans are trying to use only mislead and confuse people. Yes, some shounen series feature more violence than others (Attack on Titan comes to mind, and even Naruto was quite bloody in its early arcs), but that doesn’t mean anything.
Historical context
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the Western market was flooded with OVAs, a lot of which were extremely violent and gory. The reason was quite simple: they were extremely cheap to license. Combine that with the notion that animation “is made for kids” that was popularized during the time, and the reason for the misconception about the topic will become clear. However, in recent times, it seems like people are starting to become more accepting of the fact that animation can have any target audience.
Anime made for adults are not necessarily mature, either
It is also important to remember that technically, an anime being made for an older audience does not necessarily mean it is more mature. Yes, an older audience will probably recognize and understand more complex themes. However, they don’t need to be present in the work, either: something like Is the Order a Rabbit? (Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?) is obviously marketed towards a more mature audience, as is usually the case with slice-of-life shows, but it does not make you think about the matters of life and the universe itself. It is just a relaxing, feel-good anime.
