Support NeoGAF

[Victor Omega]

I find it surprisingly difficult to relate to anime protagonists today.

Now, I've never been one to say I need a character to have to same race or gender to be relatable. But when it came to a character's age, even as a child growing up in the 90s, I've always felt older protagonists in anime, and their progression was more..... tangible and grounded.

If I could speak on western animation for example; Superman, X-men, Thundercats, character with either Young Adults or, in the case of Batman/Bruce Wayne, Midlife, I felt that ”looking up" to those character's as role models were more important then being simply "relatable".

It seems Japanese animation, anime, (and even most Western animation) have lost that older (age 30s-50s) role model character for more age-specific (age 12-19) characters.

Gone of the days of character like Spike from Cowboy Bebop, Kiba from Wolf Rain, or the ensemble cast in Ghost in the Shell.

Today, most anime can be group together as "Kids vs Adults" where adults have 'destroyed or corrupted" the world in some way and kids, with their "free spirit" must save it...in some way.

But I feel that there could be just as much older, Midlife protagonists in anime as much as there are adolescence.

Who are some of your favorite older adult anime main characters?

 

[triplestation]

that's why i stick to older anime such as WWF

 

[Shadowplay1979]

anime all starring young teens who hate themselves and are afraid of relationships with women/men started in the 90s and i mostly blame Evangelion for that.

I miss the 80s where even if it had teens or young adults they wanted to be adults and went for the older love interest...not the 13 year old.

 

[DESTROYA]

I always thought Elmer Fudd was cool

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

that's why i stick to older anime such as WWF

 

[Great Hair]

Just rewatch animes from the 80s and 90s.

 

[Celcius]

One of my favorite older animes is Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

 

[Spukc]

My favorite anime these days is the simpsons

 

[Blade2.0]

Berserk

 

[InertKiwi]

I'm looking foward to The Way of the Househusband becoming an anime some time this year. Aside from that, Golden Kamuy is pretty good.

 

[Happosai]

Thoughts on this? @SLoWMoTIoN

I tried to box modern anime in the same way. I may nitpick about the digital art style and excessive use of moe characters; but I do believe there's still some anime with strong adult characters.

 

[Kev Kev]

Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo are the only two anime I like, and I think it has a lot to do with the characters being older and the themes/stories being a little more mature.

 

[Richard Packer]

The target audience are man children who can't let go of their youth. So it makes sense the protagonists are aged the way they are.

 

[NahaNago]

Yeah, I really would like the characters to at least age up to college age so I don't feel I'm at risk of going to jail when I'm watching some of these anime.

 

[InterMusketeer]

High school (and to a lesser degree college) is seen as the highlight of your life in Japan. After that, it's just working yourself to death at some shitty office job. No wonder there's not much interest in manga and anime about adult life; For most Japanese it sucks balls.

My suggestion is gonna be Mushishi though. It's set in ancient(?) Japan, and follows a travelling doctor who treats people affected by paranormal creatures called "mushi." I'm not sure how old the MC is, but he looks to be in his thirties.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

This is because of the work culture in japan, their best years are literally in high school, everything after that is just to be a good boy salaryman.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Thoughts on this? @SLoWMoTIoN

I tried to box modern anime in the same way. I may nitpick about the digital art style and excessive use of moe characters; but I do believe there's still some anime with strong adult characters.

I couldn't relate to protagonists from older eras either so I don't get this thread. I watch or read things to see others not myself. Hell most of the shows I watch (modern) are snail pace and are usually about nothing.

 

[The Pleasure]

I always thought Elmer Fudd was cool

Are you a Fudd Packer?

 

[Mistake]

There are anime with younger cast which are fairly serious, and not your typical shonen/shojou trash. But if you want stuff with older characters there's.... s-CRY-Ed, Break Blade, Hellsing, Jojo, Outlaw Star, Speed Grapher, Wolf's Rain, Jin-Roh, Vampire Hunter D, A.D. Police
to name a few

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Just watch Kaiji or Akagi or something.

I read some fire trash manga recently that is getting an anime in April I think. Tournament fighter but they're all full grown men either historical figures or gods:



Gotta actually go out and look for these things.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Cowboy Bebop
Mushishi
Monster
Berserk
Samurai Champloo

It turns out that it is actually quite rare.

 

[Happosai]

I watch or read things to see others not myself.

What you said there... spot on. Many may think that I'll defend any thread that praises retro anime and down plays modern. I try to discourage dividing between the older and new outside the respective community threads we have for them on GAF. I personally watch anime for the same reason as @SLoWMoTIoN in a way. To me, it's a creative escape from any reality of mine. The fact that new anime is being created gives younger generations a chance to escape their own realities and unlock the creative side of their brain. I'm in 30's and the older I get the more I tend to focus on the artistic experience or joy ride I get from anime.

 

[Alfen Dave]

Thats because you only watch mainstream popular Shonen.

It has always been like this.


Plenty of manga/anime with adult, older protagonist, especially the older ones.

 

[teezzy]

You'd probably be better off just watching King of the Hill or something dude

 

[SirTerry-T]

Vinland Saga, Dorohedoro, Golden Kamuy, Run With The Wind, Wave Listen To Me...there have been a few in recent years.

 

[Dacon]

There's plenty of anime with adult protagonists though?

Some even have elderly protagonists.

You gotta look past all of the super popular shit though. There's plenty of hidden gems.

 

[BaneIsPain]

Big dipper forever

 

[Dacon]

That I can immediately think of:

The Zone of Enders anime

Coyote Ragtime Show

Cowboy Bebop

Monster (this one is super good imo)

Inuyashiki

One Punch Man

Gangsta

Samurai Champloo

Patlabor

Mushishi

Berserk

Lupin the Third

EDIT: Oh and Gate, I enjoyed Gate.

 

[Arkam]

You'd probably be better off just watching King of the Hill or something dude

Lets be real. the general populace would benefit from the therapeutic experience that is King of the Hill. So many morals per episode. Plus the deference to the elders that the OP is longing for.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

The target audience are man children who can't let go of their youth. So it makes sense the protagonists are aged the way they are.

Basically all that needs to be said. The anime fans as a group became more and more insulated as time went on. This is the same as all the jRPGs pondering to loli and waifu crowd.

 

[Greedings]

Anime is for children.

 

[Victor Omega]

Thoughts on this? @SLoWMoTIoN

I tried to box modern anime in the same way. I may nitpick about the digital art style and excessive use of moe characters; but I do believe there's still some anime with strong adult characters.

I couldn't relate to protagonists from older eras either so I don't get this thread. I watch or read things to see others not myself. Hell most of the shows I watch (modern) are snail pace and are usually about nothing.

That understandable, I too watch Batman for example for the same reason. The problem is anime, which is supposed to be more diverse in storytelling and maturer content, has been giving us Avatar: The last Airbender(a good show I might add).

I'm simply questioning why is there more of one age group than another in anime.

What you said there... spot on. Many may think that I'll defend any thread that praises retro anime and down plays modern. I try to discourage dividing between the older and new outside the respective community threads we have for them on GAF. I personally watch anime for the same reason as @SLoWMoTIoN in a way. To me, it's a creative escape from any reality of mine. The fact that new anime is being created gives younger generations a chance to escape their own realities and unlock the creative side of their brain. I'm in 30's and the older I get the more I tend to focus on the artistic experience or joy ride I get from anime.

I think your confusing the OP with Old Anime vs Modern Anime. Im actually seeking Old Protagonists in anime regardless of Era. (And its the problem that's being raised here that reveals many older character can only be found in older anime.

 

[INC]

Weebs cant fap unless there's suspect jail bait, its how they roll

 

[Fbh]

Modern anime mostly sucks.
Come read manga instead.

Like Vagabond (it'll never have an ending though so be aware)

Or Berserk (which might also never get an ending but you'll get to enjoy a couple of chapter every year for as long Miura lives)

And 20Th Century Boys (or most stuff by Urasawa really)

And Dorohedoro (which does have an anime adaptation but it's of the ugly Ps2 CGI type and doesn't do the awesome art style justice:

And Planetes (which is quite different and so much better than the anime adaptation)

 

[Codes 208]

My favorite anime is DBZ and it starts off with Goku at 22 (not including the OG dragon ball) and by super he’s a grandpa so there’s that.

 

[Sakura]

There is plenty of anime with adult characters. There are several shows airing this season with adult characters.
You probably just don't actually follow anime OP, or you are only aware of the most popular stuff, which is generally aimed at a younger demographic/starring younger characters.

 

[YCoCg]

Is Space Dandy modern? It's 8 years old now but the main character is in his late 20's.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

That understandable, I too watch Batman for example for the same reason. The problem is anime, which is supposed to be more diverse in storytelling and maturer content, has been giving us Avatar: The last Airbender(a good show I might add).

Avatar isn't anime.

There is plenty of anime with adult characters. There are several shows airing this season with adult characters.
You probably just don't actually follow anime OP, or you are only aware of the most popular stuff, which is generally aimed at a younger demographic/starring younger characters.

Nobody watched Sakura Quest.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Don’t underestimate My Hero Academia, it has an opportunity to be the best anime ever... Deku isn’t even close to full strength, I just can’t wait till the show is back on Hulu.

 

[MaestroMike]

watched a few episodes of dbz super since yesterday & its the first time i watched an anime in like over a decade its pretty funny and vegeta/goku had been grown definitely looked up to those characters as a kid haha

 

[O-N-E]

Generally speaking, yeah, youths are overrepresented in anime and it makes sense. Younger people are more open to watching anime and I think writers have an easier time coming up with conflicts for youthful characters that aren't set in their ways as an adult. There's still a decent chunk of good stuff focusing on adults or college-age kids, though. Overall a wider variety to choose from than Western toons. Like you mentioned role models, but your examples are all "caped defenders" or underwear super heroes. A bit of that can go a long way, but it's lame how "oversaturated" the western market is with it.

Another thing worth pointing out is that even though so many of these shows focus on teens / kids, they still don't shy away from subjects that Western cartoons steer clear of (unless they're gag shit like Simpsons / Family Guy, which feel outdated at this point).

 

[Richard Packer]

That understandable, I too watch Batman for example for the same reason. The problem is anime, which is supposed to be more diverse in storytelling and maturer content, has been giving us Avatar: The last Airbender(a good show I might add).

Last Airbender was very good. It had a good solid arc. The last good anime I watched.

I was recommended that Attack on Titan show because it's supposedly a mature story. It was just a bunch of nonsense. Of course it's also a bunch of kids fighting stupid shit.

 

[Pejo]

Well don't get me wrong because I enjoy anime, but it's primarily made for high school age kids, so that's who you see in the stories. I think if you want to find some stuff with older main characters, just look for "seinen" tags. There's always going to be some great stuff with older casts.

 

[dave_d]

Cowboy Bebop
Mushishi
Monster
Berserk
Samurai Champloo

It turns out that it is actually quite rare.

I'll second Monster which is one of my favorites which is also one of the few animes I've seen that doesn't feature magic, monsters/ghosts, aliens, robots/space, or super powers.

 

[johntown]

Hellsing Ultimate
Claymore
Gungrave
Overlord
Ergo Proxy
Outlaw Star
Golgo 13
Monster

 

[Mossybrew]

Vinland Saga, Dorohedoro, Golden Kamuy, Run With The Wind, Wave Listen To Me...there have been a few in recent years.

Yeah, Dorohedoro and Vinland Saga have been two recent standouts for me. I sympathize with OP though, I've watched a lot of anime over the last ten years or so since my daughter got into it, it's been something we do together, and over the years anything with a high school cast has become a really tough sell for me, there really is a focus on this age group that grows tiresome especially for an old dude like me. But, like has been mentioned, there's a lot of other good stuff out there, you do have to seek it out as it's not always the most popular shows.

 

[Shouta]

There's a lot of manga with college or older protagonists. Anime not as much because of demographic issues.

 

[SirTerry-T]

Yeah, Dorohedoro and Vinland Saga have been two recent standouts for me. I sympathize with OP though, I've watched a lot of anime over the last ten years or so since my daughter got into it, it's been something we do together, and over the years anything with a high school cast has become a really tough sell for me, there really is a focus on this age group that grows tiresome especially for an old dude like me. But, like has been mentioned, there's a lot of other good stuff out there, you do have to seek it out as it's not always the most popular shows.

Your reply is my own "journey" back into anime almost to the letter
I started watching it again with my daughter...she's the quiet type and my wife and my other daughter refuse to even try watching it.
I have enough years on the clock to remember the first anime popularity wave so I can identify with some of the points the op is making.
The more adult oriented stuff is out there, you just have to look a bit harder for it.

I can understand why the big production firms stick with what they know is going to sell though.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Anime is for creeps

 

[Jeeves]

I'm not usually trying to put myself in the character's shoes when I watch, so I never minded teenage characters too much. But you're right, that is the overwhelming majority of shows, and it's been that way since at least the early 2000s.

It's pretty odd since anime has had a pretty big following for decades now, and there's not really been any effort to target an older demographic at all, which would now include many existing or lapsed anime fans. They won't even take the baby step of putting the characters in college instead of high school.