Because of the existence of the idea that "animation is for children", the development of many animations is limited. When you watch the national comic, you feel very deeply, there are some pictures that children can't accept, and the animation may face some unnecessary trouble.
But this view is not only found in China, but also in other countries where animation exists, even in the United States, which is recognized as the world's first animation.
But with the development of animation, many people have begun to gradually change this view, and adults can also watch animation.
01. Japanese animation in the United States
Although the United States made the world's first animation "The Humorous Appearance of a Funny Face" in 1906, with the introduction of subsequent animation, it affected the animation production of Asian countries such as China and Japan.
However, japan has taken the lead in the large-scale operation of animation as an industry, and after the establishment of Toei in Japan, animation has become a major industry in Japan, and the annual animation production is very large.
In other countries, if they want to play animation, it is obviously more affordable to choose works suitable for their own countries directly among Japan's massive animations than to find a team to produce.
South Korea even because of the long-term introduction of Japanese animation, many people mistakenly think that it is Korean animation, many behavior patterns in life imitate the behavior in animation.
The same was true in the United States, where Japanese animation was introduced in 1961, and for a long time it was only used as something for children to watch on weekend television, and some of it was circulated through video tape rental.
Later, with the increase in the number of introduced animations, Japanese animation was boycotted by parents and the media in the United States, who believed that Japanese animation was "full of violence and pornography" and was not suitable for children to watch.
In the media at the time, Japanese animation and "adult animation" were once equated, and many Japanese animations were banned from being broadcast on television.
02. The rise of mecha sci-fi animation
After entering the 1970s, Japanese animation began to produce new themes, such as "Space Battleship Yamato", "Star Wars" and other science fiction animations.
At first, such animation could not be broadcast on television, but could only be transmitted through videotapes, and when young audiences who were accustomed to animation on television saw such a subject on videotapes, they were all dazzled and spread these animations between cartoon fans and science fiction fans.
Since then, Japanese animation with similar themes such as "Space Pirate Captain Harock" and "Galaxy Railway 999" has also achieved a good response in the United States, and young audiences are more and more eager for the story of outer space adventures, and Japanese animation has gradually opened up the market in the United States.
Later, the TV station also noticed the potential of this type of animation, so despite the strict restrictions on animation by all parties, it began to broadcast animations with violent pictures similar to the "Star Wars" theme.
At the same time, a large number of cartoon fans have set up organizations larger than science fiction fans, and even spontaneously printed periodicals to promote Japanese animation, held some animation exchange meetings from time to time, and so on.
In 1980, when Osamu Tezuka went on a business trip to Hollywood, he had contacted these animation enthusiasts, and later Osamu Tezuka organized more than 30 Japanese animators and manga artists to visit the United States in his own name.
Until this time, anime fans were still in a state of "generating electricity for love". Due to the lack of obvious commercial benefits, animation has always been a topic of discussion in small circles, and many adults still do not change the view that "animation is for children", and believe that Japanese animation is all "full of pornography and violence".
In 1986, Japanese animation enthusiasts in the United States published the first professional edition of the Japanese animation magazine "Anime-Zine", although this edition of the magazine only three issues before discontinuing, but since then published a number of similar magazines, to let more people understand and accept the original intention of animation has not changed.
With the increase in manga fans, many large and small events about anime have also been held, and since then, many media have begun to pay attention to this group, some publishing houses have also begun to publish some Japanese comic books, and television has also increased the number of Japanese animation.
But what really changed the idea that animation is for children was not publishing houses or TV stations, but the teenagers who liked animation in the 70s.
03. Changes in public perception
By the end of the 1980s, the young audience that originally liked animation had grown up, and although the mainstream view was that "animation is for children", they had different understandings of animation when they grew up watching animation.
When they saw more teenagers who were as obsessed with Japanese animation as they were, they realized that this would be a promising market, and some stores specializing in or concurrently selling Japanese animation and related products began to appear across the United States.
It wasn't until 1998 that some anime broadcast on television began to justify the name of Japanese animation, using phrases such as "Japanese animation has animation for children and teenagers, and animation for adults" to guide the public's voice.
Since then, more audiences in the United States have gradually begun to accept adult animation, and the country has also produced adult animation such as "The Simpsons", "King of the Hills", "South Park" and so on, and now, animation has become part of American pop culture.
epilogue
From the introduction of Japanese animation in 1961 to the beginning of the name of Japanese animation in 1998, it took American audiences nearly 40 years to gradually change the view that "animation is for children".
Although there is the help of capital, the rise of small audiences has also played a crucial role.
For a long time, Chinese animation was also limited by "animation is for children".
Now some domestic animation-related creators also happen to be "old two-dimensional" who grew up watching animation, and animation is by no means naïve in their hearts.
With their efforts, many of the animations now are not limited to children, and we can see Chinese animations of different themes suitable for different ages.
With the introduction of excellent animation, the improvement of related industries, and the increase in the voice of animation creators, the future of Chinese animation will certainly not be limited to "just for children".
This article is originally published by Toot Toot National Comics, only represents personal views, if you have other views on the development of animation, welcome to the comment area to exchange and discuss.