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Why is there an overwhelming lack of adults in action anime?

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Aug 30, 2021 7:43 AM
#1
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Jul 2016
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I honestly find the lack of adult characters, especially adult MCs in action anime to be really lacking, especially if we compare it to very old times where atleast they were a bit more present.

From major examples that are popular or somewhat popular i can only count a few like, Fist Of The North Star, Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun, Hellsing, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Black Lagoon, One Punch Man, Psycho Pass, Golden Kamui, Seirei No Moribito, Dorohedoro, Gintama (Yes i know is a comedy but still has its overarching plot with a good amount of action).

But the thing here is that a lot of these examples are really old, and some of them are already considered relics from the past, plus the gaps between each one of these tend to be pretty large, which shows how lacking is the industry regarding adult type of action shows as a whole in comparison to the ones featuring kids or teenagers, which are created in mass. And the adults are used as either supporting characters or relegated to some random SoL animes.

Almost everything regarding action nowadays is filled with your typical self insert middle to highschoolers, loser and wimpy teenagers that have to save the world, with almost the same set up and character arcs of "weak to strong" type of thing, be it battle shonen, be it isekai, be it a generic visual novel adaptation, etc. A very recent example being Tokyo Revengers, which is a show featuring gangsters, but everything is carried by 14 years old kids running the cities while riding bykes, making the whole thing very cringe in my opinion, it doesnt help that the MC has to be the wimpiest character ever, despite having the mind of a 26 years old, but still is potrayed as your generic loser self insert teenager MC.

And it impress me the amount of difference it has with western media aswell, where a lot of action content are featured by adults. Basically all the popular superheroes with the exception of Spiderman are adults, aswell as popular action figures like John Mclaine, John Wick or Beatrix Kiddo. Hell the entire cast of the MCU is filled literally with adults, and these movies are aimed at the same target audience of your typical battle shonen.

Does Japan has something against adult characters? why there is a lack of anime especially action ones with a lack of adult characters or adult MC? I feel there should be more of this type, because adult characters tend to have more freedom and avoid the typical cliches the teenager ones tends to fall off, on top of having more unique outlook of life as a whole imo, i cant help but feel we are reaching to a creative bankrupcy by how things are now.

Please tell me your opinions, do you prefer there were more action shows featuring adults or youre fine with always being teenagers?

TheBlackPlagueAug 30, 2021 7:56 AM
Aug 30, 2021 7:51 AM
#2

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Mar 2020
1665
This is something i wanted to ask too maybe because lots of mainstream action trend to be shounen so thats why they are have teenager mcs since the target audience is young boys
As for isekai most wants to start a new life so they born as a baby and then we see their journey from there or straight summoned as teen human or some object or creature? overall isekai have lack of adult human mcs too if you omit there past life selves but they do still have mind of an adult such as Rimuru or Tanya or Rudeus or Arthur.

Another thing i feel like Korean System and Chinese Cultivation novels uses more adult mcs than JP Isekai novels

Also Shojos are like that too teenagers mcs this time its Young Girls who are targeted so you have better luck with seinen and josei
Aug 30, 2021 7:53 AM
#3
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Jul 2018
561788
Almost everything regarding action nowadays is filled with your typical self insert middle to highschoolers, loser and wimpy teenagers that have to save the world, with almost the same set up and character arcs of "weak to strong" type of thing, be it battle shonen, be it isekai, be it a generic visual novel adaptation, etc. A very recent example being Tokyo Revengers, which is a show featuring gangsters, but everything is carried by 14 years old kids running the cities while riding bykes, making the whole thing very cringe in my opinion, it doesnt help that the MC has to be the wimpiest character ever, despite having the mind of a 26 years old, but still is potrayed as your generic loser self insert teenager MC.

Maybe try watching something that isn't Shonen or targeted towards a younger audience?
Aug 30, 2021 7:57 AM
#4

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May 2021
717
try watching some action Seinen shows
Aug 30, 2021 7:58 AM
#5

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Oct 2011
1313
It depends on the target audience of anime you're watching under action anime. If it's shounen you'll always see a teen MC because the target audience is teens so it relates to them. If it's a seinen it's usually always an adult MC because it relates to adult males.

I guess they figure most teenage boys like action anime which is why usually a lot of Shonen will be as such with teenage MCs.
Aug 30, 2021 7:58 AM
#6

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Apr 2021
337
Action anime are targeted towards middle school to high school aged boys so the MC's would be of same age too. It's the same reason isekai MC's are usually adult salarymen who hate their life lol
Aug 30, 2021 8:01 AM
#7

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Aug 2020
1296
shounen MCs are mostly teenagers but in most shounen there are many adults as well, the MC and his/her friends are the younger ones but almost every shounen has adults and strong ones too, Expect Tokyo Revengers, adults are dead there
Aug 30, 2021 8:01 AM
#8
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Jul 2016
335
PiyushSan said:
Almost everything regarding action nowadays is filled with your typical self insert middle to highschoolers, loser and wimpy teenagers that have to save the world, with almost the same set up and character arcs of "weak to strong" type of thing, be it battle shonen, be it isekai, be it a generic visual novel adaptation, etc. A very recent example being Tokyo Revengers, which is a show featuring gangsters, but everything is carried by 14 years old kids running the cities while riding bykes, making the whole thing very cringe in my opinion, it doesnt help that the MC has to be the wimpiest character ever, despite having the mind of a 26 years old, but still is potrayed as your generic loser self insert teenager MC.

Maybe try watching something that isn't Shonen or targeted towards a younger audience?


The thing is not even Seinen is safe from this, action seinen as a whole is very narrow to begin with, and some of the popular action seinens such as Kingdom or Vinland Saga are also featured with teens as MCs, stuff like Gantz aswell.
Aug 30, 2021 8:04 AM
#9
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Jul 2016
335
chronofantasy said:
It depends on the target audience of anime you're watching under action anime. If it's shounen you'll always see a teen MC because the target audience is teens so it relates to them. If it's a seinen it's usually always an adult MC because it relates to adult males.

I guess they figure most teenage boys like action anime which is why usually a lot of Shonen will be as such with teenage MCs.


Plenty of seinens also have teenagers as MCs aswell, such as Kingdom, Vinland Saga, Gantz and more
Aug 30, 2021 8:05 AM
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Jul 2016
335
Cuckoo_Clock said:
try watching some action Seinen shows


They have a lot of teen MCs too.........
Aug 30, 2021 8:12 AM

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Dec 2016
2747
I think they are trying to make the shows more marketable to their main audience which are teenagers. Their logic could be that teens would not find adult characters relatable, which may have a negative effect on sales.

So they are playing it safe with teenage main characters because they want to be sure the series will make money.

Also by your list only 2 anime are very popular among anime fans. They can't compare with numbers of Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Full metal alchemist etc which all feature a teenage cast.
DrSexyAug 30, 2021 8:15 AM
한 번만 살지만 제대로 하면 한 번이면 충분해요
Aug 30, 2021 8:16 AM

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Mar 2020
816
Well According to japan and general science people around the ages of 16 to 25 are the most physically appropriate for such activities because after the age of 25, the body slowly loses its steam and our bones become weaker, and our healing capability decreases making fighting in general difficult.. thus most action anime involve characters around these ages. As far as mainstream is concerned.PLease... I have heard this alot and frankly old anime shows are no better in this..(I have seen a number of them.. Its just a typical excuse to say old was better because this and that...without even mentioning the pros of shows and mangas that air today or mentioning the cons of previous anime s(There were alot of plot holes in previous shows mostly as well) People just pick the most famous one from that time and compare it with lowest of the low today..Thats not a fair comparison frankly..
With addition to that, action in general is not a deep or great genre in anime or anything because not alot of people know how to write good action. Though in anime and manga it is somewhat better if nothing else.
Aug 30, 2021 8:27 AM

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Oct 2011
1313
DeepRiver said:
chronofantasy said:
It depends on the target audience of anime you're watching under action anime. If it's shounen you'll always see a teen MC because the target audience is teens so it relates to them. If it's a seinen it's usually always an adult MC because it relates to adult males.

I guess they figure most teenage boys like action anime which is why usually a lot of Shonen will be as such with teenage MCs.


Plenty of seinens also have teenagers as MCs aswell, such as Kingdom, Vinland Saga, Gantz and more


Yeah, I'm not saying they all do just usually they do for the most part. There's exceptions but to be fair the other two mentioned are historical pieces where the characters age throughout. I don't see them exactly as a show for teens with teen characters because there's plenty of adult characters which tend to outshine the MC at times too.

But I think it does have a lot to do with in Japan they thinking teens have more energy and represent hope. Usually adults are stuck in their ways unless they are really young adults and have less energy and they're usually shown as always working. That's why even isekai starts out with an adult mc who ends up dying and going into a fantasy world as a kid/teen. So maybe it's a culture thing in Japan too where work ethic is more important than anything else for adults in Japan.
Aug 30, 2021 8:36 AM

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Aug 2020
3266
Really? What about Blade of the Immortal, No Guns Life, Berserk, Yasuke, Noblesse, Fugou Keiji, Vivy, Great Pretender, Lupin III, Kengan Ashura, Inuyashiki etc these are all shows released in 2016+ where would you put them?

So no i don't think so. You simply have to watch more anime. I myself am not a seasonal watcher but even i can name this many and that's just those with "adult mcs". We're not talking about simply "adult characters in action" anime. If it was that then even the most popular ones like Vinland Saga, Fire Force and Fate series have a bulk.
Aug 30, 2021 8:42 AM
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Jan 2021
412
DeepRiver said:
PiyushSan said:

Maybe try watching something that isn't Shonen or targeted towards a younger audience?


The thing is not even Seinen is safe from this, action seinen as a whole is very narrow to begin with, and some of the popular action seinens such as Kingdom or Vinland Saga are also featured with teens as MCs, stuff like Gantz aswell.
in Vinland Saga second arc where the story really starts, Thorfinn is not a teenager, he was a teenager in the prologue only
Aug 30, 2021 8:44 AM

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Mar 2016
131
I think it's because most of the popular action genre tends to be Shounen.

Shounen's target group is teenagers, so hence lack of adults character in it.
Aug 30, 2021 8:51 AM

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Jul 2021
329
They are there. It's just that everytime they are either goofy/badass(Gojou Satoru, Dazai) or serious/weak(many unnoticed) adults.
Aug 30, 2021 9:05 AM

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Jun 2016
13905
Most action anime are aimed at teenagers so trying to make the characters relatable to the target demographic makes sense.
DeepRiver said:
But the thing here is that a lot of these examples are really old, and some of them are already considered relics from the past

I'm only 22 but that made me feel old.
MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST
Aug 30, 2021 9:12 AM
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Jul 2018
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It doesn't really matter to me the age of the characters. I'm young myself so I'm not too far off in age to where I can't relate with teen characters. The reason for it could be a matter of demand. Maybe children and teens are a bigger demographic than adults. But I wouldn't want anime to mimic western entertainment. Adult-led western shows are not too far from being generic as teen shows with the drama in relationships, family life, and so on so forth. Shounen shows have their show cliches. But I feel like they're more uplifting and positive whereas adult-led anime tend to be too gritty and edgy.
removed-userAug 30, 2021 9:19 AM
Aug 30, 2021 9:18 AM
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Mar 2020
25
well anime also is a business and majority of watchers are teens.
Dorohedoro and Chainsaw man, both similar series, yet dorohedoro's popularity nowhere close to chainsaw man, even it's adaptation was perfect. Viewers interest more if MC is shounen
At least chinese animation, which is improving rapidly, making more R+ rated show with adult characters. This also will effect japan anime business in future
Aug 30, 2021 9:25 AM

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Dec 2015
2842
I would say you would need to go back a few years in the time and you will not have any kind of problems finding action with adults in, no problem at all.

Aug 30, 2021 9:32 AM

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Jul 2015
359
I've actually watched a YouTube video discussing this very subject. Unfortunately, the video was taken down but I still remember the answers.

Why is there an overwhelming lack of adults in anime?

Target audience/demographic and work life.

Let me explain.

Target audience/demographic:
The main target audience of anime and manga are kids and teenagers. So it makes the most sense for anime/manga production companies to appeal to the target audience who could spend the most money on their product. This works the same way with American cartoons. Companies in America, market to kids/teenagers so that they can make money off of merchandise and toys.
  • So how do Japanese anime/manga companies attract their target audience? Well, what do kids and teenagers like?
    Kids and teenagers like characters who are around their age so that they can envision themselves in these fantastic roles as heros, super beings,... basically someone who is cool/special to escape the reality of their daily stressful school life. And lastly, teenagers, especially males, like attractive females with big boobs. The old adage of 'sex sells' is very true, especially with hormonal male teenagers. This is essentially the reasoning behind the existence of the Harem genre if you think about it.

Work life:
Work life is the most realistic decision with regards to choosing between using adult or young characters. Obviously, this leans in favor of young teenage characters. They don't go to work, therefore they have more free time to do other things than adults. They have less responsibilities, are more dramatic, still young enough to appeal to kids, and are still ignorant of the world that they live in. All of these weakness of youth, work in favor of storytelling and world building.
  • But what about adults characters?
    Most adult characters in anime and manga are people with exceptional skills or talents in exceptional job positions. The escapism is still there but with older characters.

    Take the anime that you mentioned above:
    Fist Of The North Star, Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun, Hellsing, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Black Lagoon, Psycho Pass, Golden Kamui, Seirei No Moribito

    Those main characters can be generalized as a exceptional mercenaries, soldiers or police. These professions are outside the norm in Japanese society, given that most citizens are gov't, office or service workers. So they appeal to the escapism of older adult male anime fans.

Personally, I'd prefer action shows featuring adults than teenagers. Adult characters are more grounded (less idealistic) and are less ignorant than their teen counterpoints.
Anim3PunkAug 30, 2021 9:44 AM
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Aug 30, 2021 11:53 AM
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Mar 2021
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Japanese societal problems is the short answer.
Aug 30, 2021 12:06 PM

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cuz grown ups are lame boomer go back to rewatching gone with the wind pog

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