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[redchild]

Absolutely true. The thing that always baffles me is that animation has become become geared towards kids in the west, but that this hasn't happened in countries like Japan. Has anyone ever investigated how and why this development took place?

I can only give some guesses.

Japan has a long history of art that emphasizes aesthetic line quality and graphic design, which I think is why anime has remained so prevalent and popular. The Western world's art tradition is saturated with realism and fidelity to nature. However, Europe also has a strong record of intricate patterns and graphic works, so I doubt it's simply just because Western art tends to be more realistic or that animation cannot thrive in an art environment that prefers realism.

I think it was the huge success of Disney probably led much of the Western world into thinking that animated cartoons are children's fare. When one thinks of animated cartoons, one would probably think "Disney" first and foremost. Rival studios attempted to best Disney at their own game, meaning, they would produce works that are aimed at children. So you've got the majority of studios in the animation industry all competing with each other for the same target audience.