said by tsu9:Not really. You should go take a look at the latest lineups and tally all of the "mature" ones compared to the "kiddy" ones for a good idea of what's shown. Fansubs, while nice, are not an accurate representation of the full breadth (or depth) of the spectrum. Why is this? They sub what they want to see, which oftentimes is the more gritty/Mature stuff first with lesser groups focusing on random older shows or the bizarre kids stuff (I mean, truly weird; but we're not much better).
Really though, both sorts have their place. I remember a while back, I used to think certain series were completely cool/awesome/"Mature"; and looking back.. I really had no concept of it. Stuff I'd watch years ago (well, types of shows), I probably wouldn't touch with a forked stick these days. I'm not saying that's the "norm" but rather that our likes and dislikes, and the way we observe shows/how they impact us forms our opinions on this matter.
Like, I still think Nausicaa is one of the best movies I've ever seen. However, it is undeniably geared towards a younger audience despite my perception that it's a more "Mature" title. It might be that I glean additional meaning from the show, now, which would extnd its shelf life, but I can't argue that it was specifically engineered for kids.
Now, shows like we've mentioned before with a specifically more "mature" bent, like Monster or Elfin Lied.. well, American cartoons have had things like this in the past (but really nothing to quite the same extent due to societal norm differences). Take Gargoyles, the mid-90's Batman, and perhaps the 90's X-Men show for example: they're both designed for a younger audience, but feature very prominent hooks into an older audience. But, like Japanese shows, for every "mature" show, there are literally dozens of shows that defy any kind of, uh, brains.
The "Mature" titles are the exception, really. What's slightly different is that Japanese culture allows for more mature themes in comparison to ours, so it looks like they have a stronger focus on such, when in reality, they're still marketed to kids for the most part. It's mostly perception (on ourpart) and cultural difference, but even still, there are
far more non-Mature shows than there are ones that we'd call "Mature."
On the contrary, I don't limit myself to fansubs. I keep tabs on nearly the whole spectrum myself (thanks mainly to blogs like this one »
randomc.animeblogger.net/ and information sites such as »
animenfo.com as well as good ol' Google). And there's a lot out there that can be deceiving as to what's "kiddy" (especially when the stuff known as Fanservice is thrown in). Perhaps "Mature" is a bit restrictive in classification, because a whole lot of titles, while not "mature" enough to say earn an R rating like Shuffle! did, I still find quite inappropriate for the really young viewers, hence can't be classified as "kiddy". Some examples are Magikano (another "magical girl" show, and these generes tend to give first impressions as "kiddy") and Tactical Roar (an action sci-fi series - for little boys? Think again; also this one isn't being subbed yet). What do they have that makes me judge them inappropriate for kids? All the panty shots, groping, skimpy outfits, yuri (aka lesbinaism) and what have you (but the lack of explicit nudity rates them below R). And there's another thing - the story. The really good ones, they can be a bit complicated for the kids to understand too, or perhaps have some taboo topics (eg Koi Kaze, which deals with incest).
Anyway to each his own. There will always be those who will generalize that 100% of animation is for kids (in much the same way they say Video Games are meant for kids, hence the political campaign on banning M-rated games), and there's probably nothing we can do to change their views.
Of the animes I've purchased, only...three titles were "blind dates" so to speak. The rest were the result of having seen it first, either at a friend's or through fansubs. The main reason I buy this way is I prefer to buy my anime in box sets, and I like to know if it's good before investing.