Why are adult animated shows UGLY?

[@Liuss]

Why the HECK does yt keep unpinning my comments smh Here are my links :) ➤ Twitch: www.twitch.tv/Liuss (Monday & Friday @ 7PM CT) ➤ Twitter: twitter.com/Liuss_Ink ➤ Insta: instagram.com/liuss_ink/ ➤ Discord Server: discord.com/invite/R8JHEq3

[@alejandroscoyt.7032]

Yes

[@Shrimps-]

hi

[@Kattlarv]

Because you are linking bad no-no sites, according to Al G Rythm.

[@JayFaychAych]

what the heckity heck!! oh my flipping hecking heckity heckin goodness!!!!1!1! what the heeeeeeeck!!!

[@williamgalindo2899]

The helluva boss & H ashen Hotel writers Care about the writing and art style. It's the new And best Adult cartoon show ever.

[@valeriechern]

My biggest issue with the adult cartoons is that when they use "adult" as a synonym of "vulgar" and not "mature"

[@YouKnowImOnMyPeriodYah]

Exactly! I’m no prude but maturity isn’t all about sexual themes and violence. That’s actually really damaging if you think about it

[@randompromises1038]

BoJack's character models could be better, I won't lie, but their animation _is_ good and most importantly, it's mature but does not try to shove it down their audience's throat. It treats its audience exactly like adults.

[@Duckless137]

I feel like there are some shows that do vulgar well, like Helluva Boss, but that's because it literally takes place in hell, and the main cast is a company built around murder, so the violence fits the theme. But for a lot of shows that are just centered around a somewhat normal family, it just doesn't work as well.

[@Stickmon_]

@@Duckless137nah, that show is just cursing/sex = funny

[@Duckless137]

@@Stickmon_ There are a lot of elements of that, but there are also a lot of deeper character connections.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

It's funny how a show like Bluey meant for toddlers is more mature than most "adult" animated shows

[@Dave102693]

Ikr?

[@gn2b445]

you give Aussies some VB's and anything can be accomplished 😂

[@mertensiam3384]

It really is, and it's more visually appealing too!

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

@@gn2b445 What is VB?

[@JackRogers-x9e]

only man children would watch a little kids shiw

[@badenbaden1372]

the reason anime is so much cheaper is because the studios don't pay their animators

[@Liuss]

smh :/

[@scentedcandle5949]

Sad lol

[@occmglxy8251]

But the South Korean and Filipino animators working on US shows also aren't paid properly.

[@milkiioreo5622]

Except UFOtable, they pay their animators nicely, that's why their animation is top notch Edit: they actually hired some freelancers, and the president committed tax fraud, but MAPPA payed their animators high

[@Noobclock666]

What about they get paid more when the anime episode is done?

[@bobbodaskank]

Bluey has more to say to adults than the last fifteen years of "adult" animation combined.

[@I-Love-Mythology]

That’s not fair, Bluey’s too good of a show to be compared to “adult” animation

[@slyngn7847]

Bob's Burger is also a good one.

[@thefatbob3710]

Invincible and all the other super hero related shows:

[@zineprixmenu4373]

Bojack exists

[@dilfandyourmomlover]

you never were so wrong my guy. Bro Forgot about Bojack Horseman

[@djkidna]

I’m sad there was no respect given to The Boondocks. That show was pioneering in an age of the ugly adult animated sitcom. It was beautifully drawn, beautifully animated, and knew when to focus on comedic satire to drive home a point and when to pull back and let a serious moment be and let it breath and be taken seriously.

[@lacyhotel]

i am a stone

[@illuminAxel_Productions]

@@lacyhotel i am stoned

[@lacyhotel]

@@illuminAxel_Productions that the builder refused?

[@thealtisback5885]

​@@lacyhotelI am the visual

[@soraxstacy1477]

Best thing about The Boondocks, like South Park, no one was safe and every joke landed where it needed it

[@Suspectedhuman]

The main reason that I think people see cartoon as something for children is because its seen as a genre not a medium

[@ARCWuLF]

Japanese studios barely pay their animators. Seriously. They make like the equivalent of 10 cents a frame in many circumstances. In my college (where animation was taught -- not my major) we'd hear horror stories of students who went to Japan to draw anime and ended up burning out because they couldn't draw fast enough to make any money and were basically homeless and living on instant ramen.

[@Liuss]

Very unfortunate 😔

[@mr.foxasmg]

That's just so sad to hear

[@fillerbunnyninjashark271]

This is what happens when a market is saturated with people. It drives wages down. Why would I pay someone more when there's 100 people waiting behind them willing to work for even less

[@Oybpvey]

@@fillerbunnyninjashark271not really. Cs is over saturated and pays very well.

[@quazar-omega]

​@brandonalexanderpaguio9803 is it really? They always say there's plenty of demand and not enough people. I guess it's in the US though, in my country you could apply with top grades and be completely ignored, probably because you lack "experience", uff

[@joshuabarnett6500]

Fiona and cake did it right. No overuse of cussing. Violence that fit the story. Beautiful art style

[@favour911]

exactly, great example

[@starcymarcy]

agreed

[@mikubrot]

i mean it's more of a teen show then an adult one, but it still works

[@directorforplastic7929]

@@mikubrotyoung adult, if you will

[@qwertyuoqwertyuo6508]

then, also by pendleton ward, there’s the midnight gospel. it’s a beautiful *adult animated* show.

[@leechion2933]

Bojack Horseman was oine of those shows that sat perfectly in the middle of both worlds. Ugly yet cute, raunchy but can be very fuckin serious, edgy but on the dot. It was one of those shows that caught you off guard the first season. You expect another crappy adult humour show that might make you nose exhale a few times, but no. It makes you laugh, angry, and sad in the first season. Instantly grasped me into the show. I binge watched it for days. Afterwards I had a different outlook on how the world is, which is what an adult show should do.

[@Sagelikesmiku]

I feel like the Artstyled played into it, It was good but not the best. I think they knew that if they did anything slightly better it would be too expensive and netflix would get rid of them. But I like the artyle, It feels right.

[@CampingforCool41]

Yeah when I watched the first episode it seemed to me like it was just another shitty adult animation with raunchy jokes. But I’d heard good things and kept watching. It really is an amazing show, but it’s hard for me to want to watch again because of how dark it gets.

[@cookiesyruplover]

Bojack Horseman is an amazing and well written show because every episode built up the next. The continuity and character development (or lack thereof) is shown with purpose and intention. Everyone who wants to see a show properly handle adult themes should see it (themes like childhood trauma, depression, societal expectations, identity, abuse, marital problems, drug and alcohol addiction, harsh showbusiness reality etc.) It's phenomenal how they make a dark show have funny moments too. If I could describe the show, it's very human. The most human show ever.

[@arthas640]

Bojack was one of those "once in a decade" if not "once in a generation" kind of a show. Not many could handle topics as well as it could or bounce between super serious and totally wacky. That episode where Bojack first starts his Secretariat movie and keeps saying the line "what are you doing here!?!" in totally goofy, wacky, comedic ways all episode and has to keep redoing the scene over and over until he finally masters his characters mindset and delivers that one totally serious, almost soulless ad flat "what are you doing here." is a perfect example of how that serious could be both funny yet mature and it was done so well that it didnt feel remotely melodramatic but you could feel how despondent Bojack/Secretariat was in that scene.

[@LankyMF]

I watched the first two episodes and quit because I thought my mate who recommended it was yanking my chain. Then he convinced me to at least watch episode 3 and I saw the light

[@alexinitalics188]

I'm personally a fan of Bee and Puppycat.. Whilst having quite a cutesy art style, it is technically animation for adults, mainly young adults as it mostly deals with Bee learning to grow up (but not in the typical 'coming of age' fashion)

[@rosibel-RBFC]

I love bee and puppycat too :) Whos your favourite character?

[@pinkperfumefairy9205]

Bee is a fcking robot bro

[@gummypuss69]

I don't usually like anime but I really enjoyed that show. Very quirky and original.

[@OswaldHemair]

Bee and puppycat is not an adult animation?? Its rated a 12 on Netflix and on most TV show websites falls under the 'kids animation' genre

[@alexinitalics188]

@@OswaldHemair It's more of a teen/young adult show. It's not really inappropriate for kids to watch but it does specifically deal with depression and loss and the responsibilities of becoming an adult. I really like it as an example of a non children's animated show that doesn't use constant innuendo and gratuitous violence to say "hey! I'm not a kid's show!" There's nothing wrong with those shows but it's a nice change of pace

[@ricardodavis4730]

Here's a related question. Why are adult cartoons overly violent?

[@Liuss]

Cus they wanna be edgy as frick 😎

[@Chris2005Brazil-Thug]

My Cartoon Is Also Violent but Same Level as The Last of Us and Game of Thrones

[@Randomlad56]

A feeble attempt to seem ‘adult’

[@onorebakasama]

Because you won't see THIS in your bright-colored baby cartoons! This is ADULT. Violence! Sex! Race jokes! Unnecessary cruelty! Ow, the EDGE!

[@paracanthushepatus1547]

Because adult such childish or because adult hate real life action😂

[@axolotlsandpie]

I went to see princess and the frog today, and it was cool to see how many adults/teenagers there were, and how they laughed at all the jokes. the world is finally healing i think

[@patrickcarter2829]

Similar experience. Went to a college theater that was playing "Fantastic Mr. Fox," it was pretty well received; I was surprised by how many laughed at certain jokes.

[@axolotlsandpie]

@@patrickcarter2829 dude fantastic mr fox is so good

[@Mewmewio]

@@patrickcarter2829dude based fucking movie

[@synsvids]

@@patrickcarter2829 That's my favorite movie!

[@arthas640]

True with many Pixar and animated Disney films, ditto MLP. Some theaters will even have special "adult only" airings of some movies like those since they know there's tons of adult fans and want to give adults an opportunity to see a movie without loud kids.

[@jjettswriting]

Writers of adult animation don't generally put in the effort to write great stories because they think animation is for kids.

[@QxvdXIfvlMs]

Family Guy is great dough.

[@sonicfanboy3375]

​@@QxvdXIfvlMs*was It kinda fell of

[@Ikeasharklol]

​@@QxvdXIfvlMstho*

[@KudoRedfox]

@@QxvdXIfvlMs It became crap like the rest of "adult animations"

[@muffetmissulena6540]

@@QxvdXIfvlMsNo it isn’t.

[@realdragon]

In defense of cost of production: In Japan animators are overworked and underpaid, also 1$ have different purchase power

[@Liuss]

True :/

[@angelinebena9675]

It still doesn’t make sense how expensive family guy costs honestly I was shocked

[@mocapcow2933]

@@angelinebena9675I’m shocked it doesn’t cost more. How many people that are apart of the process and some of them still aren’t paid well. Anime might be better sorry wise, but it’s hard to support the industry when most people behind the scenes are getting paid as much as like a 16 year old on their first job in America or other western countries

[@jeremybottoms7619]

Fionna and cake is the most modern example of adult animation done right it doent have ti be super raunchy and tell joke after joke

[@moxxy8626]

Says the guy with a Helluva Boss profile picture

[@jeremybottoms7619]

@moxxy8626 yea I know helluva boss is kinda the opposite of this but it takes place in hell and when ever a episode does focused on story its really good also I mostly just like the music I'm honestly thinking about changing the picture to just been kinda lazy

[@Donottouch-zm2qo]

@@moxxy8626 yeah? Ur point?

[@lemonmeat]

@@moxxy8626 your username being "moxxy" (being the character in the pfp's name) makes this so god damn funny

[@smilingfriend10]

@@moxxy8626that has nothing to do with the comment 💀

[@dipbert]

Smiling Friends is a masterpiece. Adult animation doesn't HAVE to be serious. It can be absolutely hilarious if done properly. Adult animated sitcoms have no variety anymore. Smiling Friends is all variety. It doesn't even have one set art style. There's amazing use of claymation, rotoscoping, and just funny details that tie the whole show together. It's THE perfect adult animated comedy.

[@christianvondruska8244]

It's like an adult Amazing World of Gumball

[@SuPeRHeRoDuDe3124]

michael cusack is fucking hilarious

[@jambott5520]

​@@christianvondruska8244the amazing world of gumball if zach hedel infested it with whatever cosmic horror resides within his skull

[@christianvondruska8244]

@@jambott5520 I mean, that pretty much describes TAWoG anyways.

[@Jane-oz7pp]

I kept hearing that... so I put it on.. 12 year old me would have felt very adult watching it, but that's all the praise I have for it. It's boring, tired 2010s humour with ugly art and an overabundance of obnoxious sounds blasting from episode one. Also I'm really bored with all the "every adult cartoon has to talk about depression" shit. I'd like a little escapism from my mental illness every now and then, not be forced to think about it constantly by people who think it's soooooo inspiring when depression is on screen.

[@lunarp056]

One show that i really like is aggretsuko, about a red panda girl just basically living a normal life while she sings metal in karaoke to relieve the stress of her work, the art style reminds of hello kitty but the themes they actually talk about are aimed at adults, things like learning to notice when the person just isn't right for you, the troubles finding work as a older adult, parasocial relationships and other stuff while also being funny.

[@tessfabled4115]

That's because Aggretsuko is by Sanrio haha (the company behind Hello Kitty!)

[@cara-seyun]

That’s a good show

[@FoxUnitNell]

​@@tessfabled4115I remember in animal crossing pocket camp, there was a hello kitty promotion and aggretsuko was an item.

[@CampingforCool41]

I think a lot of “children’s” animated shows in the west have better snd more thoughtful stories than adult animations because the writers/creators feel more of a sense of responsibility to their audience. When you know kids are going to be watching and absorbing what you put out there, you feel more obligated to create something that will be good for them in some way- and plus you also want to make it enjoyable for adults that might watch too. Obviously there are a lot of shitty kids shows too but a lot of them you can tell have heart and passion behind them.

[@hollyberry0602]

Absolutely. My absolute favourite examples of shows I watched during my teenage/adult years during hard times were MLP and Sofia the First. Both, in my opinion, better than a lot of shows I have seen for older audiences. Not all, but they're definitely up there as some of my favourites. Also kids shows make you feel good! I think there's something innately comforting about something for kids. So no matter how bad or bleak the situation, everything will be okay. You don't always get that security with a show that isn't for kids, I feel like it's more likely to perpetuate drama or add things in for shock value.

[@the_seer_0421]

The fact that a lot of "adult animation" is more childish than actual "kid shows" that often touch on serious/adult topics and also take them seriously is just irony at it's finest.

[@seigeengine]

They're also actually also making animation for adults, since parents are usually sitting beside the kids watching those movies.

[@alexisauld7781]

@@hollyberry0602 I feel like this applies for anime as well! Take a look at the Precure seasons that came out in the 2010s in particular, which are very much aimed at young girls, and can have a plurality of simple stories which are still an absolute joy to watch as an adult, and when they want to tell something more serious, can *really* hook the viewer in. I find myself getting attached to characters and storylines in a fashion I found I never could with series that are supposed to be aimed at an older audience, such as Bleach or DBS. The art and animation being brighter and more stylised and just generally fun also draws me in a lot more than the edgy, gaunt character designs with a million shadows/scars/etc ever were able to. (I could throw in some shoujo>shounen shade here, but that would detract from my point :P ) Sometimes shows made for a younger audience really do feel like there's more heart and soul behind the writing and animation. Shows made "for adults" seem to take the meaning of those words as "for edgelordy f*cks" and they just do have anywhere near the level of appeal.

[@ryansmith8]

"Why are most adult animations comedies anyways?" PRIMAL HAS ENTERED THE CHAT

[@paracanthushepatus1547]

because the older a person is, the more childish his attitude

[@QWERTY-gp8fd]

@@paracanthushepatus1547 no. old people would be wise af

[@oksomynameisjeff4212]

​@@QWERTY-gp8fdi think you would be surpised how most adults handle maturity.

[@BattleBeast5]

Invincible, Castlevania, Blood Of Zeus, Dota, Seis Manos, Marvel Hits Monkey, The Legend Of Vox Machina, there are many good adult animated cartoons...

[@zeejay92]

Dawg, the ending for Primal IS a comedy though. Really though, it falls under that "edgy and violent" banner. Which, yeah, it fits for the theme, but it doesn't mean it isn't what it is.

[@chrisz7494]

I as a 26 year woman can personally vouch for being immediately sucked into Puss in Boots the Last Wish. Visually stunning, well written, lovingly made. Little bit predictable story but that can be EASILY overlooked when the sum total is so well made

[@anothermiddleschoolburnout8816]

I feel like being predictable really worked for that movie. We are at a point in time where a lot of stories, for better or for worse, try to be subversive. It's gotten to the point where you're expecting a plot twist or a twist villain. Hell, the entire Shrek franchise is built on subverting fairytales. The Last Wish not having a big twist was the biggest twist of all.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

I would love to see an adult animation with the art and animation quality of the 30s, 40s and 50s, similar to what Animaniacs did but expand to other animation of the era.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

Have you seen Cuphead?

[@Dr.Freeman...]

@@MASTEROFEVIL thats a game though

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

@@Dr.Freeman... Netflix adapted it into a show

[@Dr.Freeman...]

@@MASTEROFEVIL damn i forgot lol

[@Mizuki-dx5cu]

We need more Cuphead!

[@Sandstimes]

It sucks that so few studios are willing to try and fill this massive gap in the market, arcane and castlevania already proved there is absolutely a market for serious western adult animated series. Its good to see there are slightly more of them now at least lol

[@arthas640]

i think a large reason for the success of anime in the west is the desire for mature animated programs. Look at some of the top rated anime by many adult weebs and you'll see tons of seinen and Josei, anime genres aimed at adults, and even a lot of the shojo and shonen anime (anime aimed at teens) are still closer to western adult animation than kids shows.

[@hollyberry0602]

I think Arcane is a beautiful example (and I think Castlevania would probably count too but I haven't seen it) because it doesn't try to be adult for the sake of it. It's an absolute work of art artistically, but also with it's story and content. It's a very heavy and emotional show and doesn't sugarcoat it, but also doesn't go overboard on things like gore and swearing. Anything that would make the show more adult feels right where it was added, and not like it was just thrown in there because they could.

[@legometaworld2728]

To be fair, Castlevania is almost indistinguishable as a western series, down to it being based on a Japanese video game.

[@sydneygorelick7484]

​@@legometaworld2728I agree, Castlevania is VERY anime, all the way down to the visual language it uses. The rest of it is true though, it's full of action and drama and humor and it feels like adults talking to and for adults, it takes itself seriously, isn't sanatized or censored (there's LOTS of blood), and all around feels very tasteful and, and like it respects its audience. It does all those things arcane does with its tone and pacing, perhaps with less atmosphere since there's no pop music montages, but with the same level of panache and finesse and awareness of its tone.

[@Jane-oz7pp]

I wouldn't say they're adult animation, they're clearly aimed at teens

[@Mc.Scrumpy]

You could never convince me that big mouth is a good Show

[@Es_gee]

Who on earth thinks big mouth is good???

[@elokin300]

@@Es_gee mostly 10 year olds

[@sonicfanboy3375]

​@@Es_geeRotten Tomatoes critics

[@DudesOnline]

We aren't gonna convince you about something that isn't true

[@nintenmax3DU]

Big mouth seemed interested when I first heard of it but the way they executed the show was terrible.

[@regis_c]

Personally, I thought adult animation was made ugly *intentionally* to scare away younger kids who accidentally stumbled upon the show

[@Yoyo-s8q]

Me too

[@arthas640]

That could be true. People will even critcize adult animation if the visuals are too similar to kids cartoons. Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Happy Tree Friends, and Please Hug Me I'm Scared all got some criticism that amounted to "why would you make something so mature that could be mistaken for a kids show" and some have even complained to the creators because they let their kid watch it thinking it was a kids show.

[@hollyberry0602]

Scares me off too lmao I can't stand shows that look horrible. Old animation is fine, cheaper animation is fine. But intentionally ugly just puts me right off.

[@antares3030]

Nickelodeon exists tho

[@KillerCrewmate2526]

Lol let me introduce happy tree friends lol

[@CitySpiritual]

I believe that a show's definitive age rating isn't its definitive judgement. Shows like The Owl House and Adventure Time cover incredibly serious topics like government opression and existentialism, and its such a shame that they're brushed aside from the bigger light due to their appearances.

[@kittenzrulz]

Indie Adult animation (even if mostly directed at teenagers) is also thriving, shows like Lackadaisy have beautiful art styles and amazing stories.

[@Blueskies2513]

family guy's animation always ALWAYS A L W A Y S makes my blood boil it is so static and linear, like, bro, YOU HAVE THE MONEY HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE THE CHARACTERS MOVE SLIGHTLY LESS LIFELESSELY As an animator i know the struggle of producing animation especially 2d animation but seriously, why dont they just hire more animators, THEY HAVE THE MONEY

[@mikoartz5006]

family guy is perfectly fine in my opinion some things dont need to be heavly animated bc of its silple art style and plot, but things like insidejob and simpsons simply cant have that type of animation style cause it would hurt it. but fuck the ppl who think art styles that adult puberty tv show is actually good cause its not

[@Liuss]

They CAN do it too. They've done better animation when it was for a joke. (When they did a Disney parody.)

[@zappyapp]

more animators =/ better animation

[@Blueskies2513]

@@zappyapp the animators are all trained and have been through college or university, either the animators aren't that good, or they don't have enough to make it look good

[@onorebakasama]

I believe they absolutely do not want to. They have a formula going in Family Guy. Low quality, low effort, high viewership, high profit. If it consistently puts butts in seats, why mess with it? Its success brings the possibility of the network making other similar shows. But if you increase the animation quality, that's a smaller profit. The audience would expect the increase in quality to translate to other properties, and then it wouldn't be as successful when they choose to trim the animation budget later back to Season 1's wooden animation. Best to keep that soulless, wooden animation consistent, and just say "this is what adult animation is!" instead of taking the risk to actually put in effort. And that's why, as he said, this garbage is what companies churn out.

[@bloxymobile7838]

As someone in the process of writing a story based adult animated show, this was a good bit of encouragement. Keep up the good work!

[@Spiderjepo]

What’s the story I’m an animator

[@Blueskies2513]

smiling friends is the only one that does it right, instead of making the characters ugly as a joke about certain people, smiling friends makes people ugly becausae they can and because it is Zach Hadel

[@OblivionFalls]

Smiling Friends! They've done a perfect job of finding an art style that feels "not for kids" while still being very fun and appealing. It's not ugly at all, it's just goofy :>

[@dj-um7el]

Well that makes sense, you mentioned Clone High and Spiderverse, they're written and made by the same people. Also what's considered for adults over here in the US a lotta the time can be considered for older kids or teens over in Japan.

[@cara-seyun]

Yep Character death shown on screen? PG 13 in the US More than a single scene with profanity? R rating Heaven forbid, sex of any kind, even just implied? R rating at least, NC 17 if you’re unlucky

[@CrilTump]

​@@cara-seyundeath vs sex which is worse? Sex to the USA

[@rainbowawakening]

Fionna and Cake, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Blue Eye Samurai are new adult animated shows that give me a lot of hope for the future because I think we’re finally in the turning point for the better 🙏

[@bongochongo8467]

It’s fascinating how someone as underrated as you can create things genuinely better than big KZbinrs. Great vid btw!

[@Liuss]

Thank you! 😭

[@Barakon]

I think it’s also that adult cartoons are insecure about being cartoons.

[@inovakovsky]

The biggest reason I can see why adult animated sitcoms seem to have questionable quality in designs and animation is because animation and visuals do not make or break the quality of media, but the writing. Simpsons creator Matt Groening cited the early 1960s Jay Ward produced Rocky and Bullwinkle as a good animated show because of the writing despite the show having sub-par animation (due to errors as the first show with out-sourced animation that ended up worse than the intentionally self-deprecation to match with the humour). Even the people at Pixar agree that a good story can save bad animation but not the other way around. Adults are into the characters and humour while kids are more likely to find more joy in visuals. That and slapstick can be perceived as "infantile". There are successful adult animated shows with story arcs. Bojack Horseman and F is For Family. However, this is due to them being on Netflix which want shows to end in cliff-hangers to get viewers to binge watch. Prior to that in the west, story arcs are meant for 1 hour drama shows. The idea of doing 13 animated one hour episodes would literally double the already expensive budgets, hence why prior to the 2010s, almost all adult animated shows are blatant sitcoms and their showrunner see themselves competing with other life-action sitcoms (even try hire their writiers), like Modern Family. Family Guy has a $2 million budget because it has been consecutively on the air for about 20 years. The staff, especially the writers and voice actors, gets pay raises every year/contract, and most of the staff have been there for years, so they have big, big salaries. The budgets are not going to hiring more people but to raises of people who been there for almost as long as we are alive. The Family guy camera tilt is most likely meant to be more "down-to-earth" instead of "cartoony" because it is sitcom, in which such directing renders the show grounded to be taken almost as serious as the live-actions sitcoms they are competing. Heck, the idea of a camera zooming in is ambitious since zooms are only used for "mock-umentary" shows like the early US version of the Office and Modern Family. Adult Animated Shows would use promotions on TV and online. IRL promos are meant for merchandise. Anime is way cheap because the animation staff barely get paid at all. There were shows like Futurama that would interact with fans online, such as Futurama, in which showrunner David X. Cohen would take feedback form the fans to use serious sci-fi instead of mocking sci-fi. Animaniacs and The Simpsons would even satirize their online detractors as basement dwelling trolls. However, both western sitcoms and anime have minimal interaction with fans because episodes take months to make, in which memes would become dated by then. It is not that adult sitcoms deal with mature themes, e.g. adulatory on the Simpsons, drug addiction on Americans Dad, nihilism in Rick and Morty, redemption in Bojack Horseman. It is more of that people are surprised that kids shows are attempting to address themes beyond a 1980s PSA message at the end of an episode. This is because these shows got popular and networks become more lax with restrictions as long as the showrunners produce episodes on time and budget. Again, due to streaming services, sitcoms are beginning to have at least continuity and even arcs. Keep in mind, sitcoms have humors derived form situations (from plots) and characters, hence the audience laugh because of the context of a character, not just that a funny thing was said. Overall, the premise behind your video is very worthy of a discussion worth starting, but I thought it could be excited with more direct citing of examples. The big reason for why is that the screenwriting takes priority.

[@Dave102693]

And the writing is usually mediocre with most adults animation, but we do sometimes get a Boondocks, earlier seasons of R&M, Futurama, etc.

[@mintyreview6794]

holy this is the writing of a netflix documentary

[@inovakovsky]

@@mintyreview6794 Thank you! I have been into the history and process of animated media since I watched specials at the end of Disney film VHSs. I read Thad Komorowski's "Sick Little Monekies: the Unauthorized Ren and Stimpy Story", Mike Reiss and Matthew Klickstein's "Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons", and Michael Barrier's "Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age". I watch KZbin channels like ElectricDragon505, aka AniMat, who makes Animation Lookback.

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

Perfect summary.

[@inovakovsky]

@@Dave102693 For sure, like media in general. Few shows are overall good with some are only good for a few seasons. The rest are mediocre.

[@auliamate]

Watching this with hindsight of Inside Job AND Close Enough getting cancelled is pain😢😢😢 Great points, can we get a W for Invincible getting the recognition it DESERVES?

[@c.a.1494]

I could advise if you liked Inside Job to give Disenchantment a chance if you haven't though.

[@ArtisticlyAlexis]

Awe, I'm so disappointed to find a great channel that doesn't upload anymore. What a well laid out video, edited really nicely too!

[@Liuss]

Thank you for saying that! I've currently been focusing on growing my DBD channel lately but I'll be back to work on this channel soon enough :)

[@cara-seyun]

The return

[@eztak.]

It's kinda of funny that the characters in hazbin hotel, which are literal demons, are better looking than most adult animations today

[@Blueskies2513]

love death and robots is one of my favourite animated shows if i had a show i would probably make something like it, it is just a bunch of random shorts put together into a show and it works

[@mavericktjo4548]

If I remember correctly, that's called an anthology series

[@Total_Misplays]

I agree. Been obsessed with that, hoping for a 4th series soon.

[@EasternStory]

I love shows with thwt kind of style, stuff like Nichijou or Saiki K really hit the spot for me

[@kolpkii]

dudeee i loved that show

[@nebulizerr]

When I was a kid my dad would love watching Spongebob with me and now as an adult we still watch spongebob sometimes.

[@Tygermite]

This is why Helluva Boss exists. It can be crude with its cussing and does have a lot of sex jokes, but above it all, it still values characterization and storytelling the most. The latest episode had a scene where it could've easily just been an over-the-top gag scene with the character being mean-spirited, but instead opted for a really wholesome moment that further made the character we saw complex. It also doesn't rely on satire and pop culture jokes.

[@higherquality]

5:30 That lament is flat out unfounded. Series like "Tear across the dotted line", "Tuca and Bertie" and "Bojack Horseman" dig deep into serious topics

[@moxxy8626]

I LOVE Tuca and Bertie

[@kazukikjp]

"Why are adult animated shows ugly?" *[insert the Mr Crabs meme here]*

[@badconnection4383]

The definition of "adult" in a lot of these shows is often more childish than the supposed "kid's show."

[@Alatsno]

I'm glad I'm not the only victim of the Robot Chicken intro.

[@Refrigerator_girl]

I think this is part of the reason indie animation is so popular nowdays, we get to have mature adult themes and beautiful unique animation styles at the same time

[@redwings13400]

Arcane is really the only major produced adult western animation I can think of that's not a comedy, and it turned out to be incredible. There are some other good shows that are also animations aimed at adults, but its definitely an underexplored medium. Animation is for kids because studios targeting kids are the only ones willing to invest in serious animated projects. Its a self reinforcing cycle.

[@shri8547]

inside job was one of the best ‘adult cartoons’ with a rlly charming cartoony art style and good story and it literally got cancelled 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@rclark777]

Fantasmagorie (1908) isn't actually the first animated film; that honor goes to the works of Emile Reynaud, who created his Theater Optique projection system in the 1880s, at least a decade before film became popular.

[@toxic_tomb1238]

I get that its cheaper, but do they really have ti make the design ugly? Even if the animation itself is bad, the least they could do is make the design appealing to look at, like south park

[@cheese.86]

The Midnight Gospel is among one of the best shows I have ever seen. I advise everyone to give it a shot even if they arnt into the trippy/spiritual/philosophical scene.

[@Synthesyn342]

I think a big reason for this is creativity. For an adult animated show, you have a completely empty slate. You can do whatever you want, so why not just make something simple? It’s easier and doesn’t need to be so complicated. But for kids shows, everything down to the concept and creation has to be challenged. It practically forces you to be more creative, leading to better products in the end.

[@Canide]

imagine if the video actually ended at 0:08

[@rockalinebellosa7907]

Gotta appreciate Harley Quinn. It has pretty animation and the characters look really nice. And it’s raunchy and violent but I don’t think they completely overdo it like most. And at least the violence makes sense given their villains.

[@Rootiga]

2:43 It's UNREAL how accurate this statement is. As a kid, sometimes I would just turn the TV off and go to bed after the robot chicken intro started. It terrified me. As an adult though, great show. lol

[@letzplayosaurus]

the only good example of animation i could think of on adult shows would be as unofficial example "helluva boss" and ss official example "hazbin hotel" the animations are pretty unique and cool looking and generally good storytelling

[@hollowwoods7130]

It does not have good story telling 💀

[@letzplayosaurus]

@@hollowwoods7130 it has a lot better story telling than most other animated series

[@GoldenBait]

I think the reason big mouth looks hideous is because they don't want people to be attracted to their prepubescent characters, which is well intentioned but it falls flat when you consider the actual content

[@arthas640]

kind of makes sense, especially since if it werent for the visuals you'd be forgiven for assuming the characters were adults in a raunchy Sex In The City style show. The kids act and sound a lot like adults so it would make sense they'd try to swing things the other way by making their characters both really ugly and have bizarre proportions. Seriously the main characters are just bizarre when it comes to proportions: large heads are infantile and often used to make characters seem young and innocent since babies have big heads in proportion to their bodies but the main characters heads are bigger than their bodies whereas real babies have a head to body ratio closer to 1:4 rather than 1:1.

[@GoldenBait]

@@arthas640 believe it nor not I'm not entirely against the show. As a younger person watching it, it actually addressed things that are relevant for modern day teens like No Nut November ect.

[@arthas640]

@@GoldenBait I cant imagine the willpower it takes to go a whole month without beating it when you're a teen. When i was a teenager I couldnt even go a whole month without beating it even when i was stuck in a hospital bed.

[@GoldenBait]

@@arthas640 Yeah they address that. Plus some other stuff that I forgot

[@mlemaire109]

This and I think it works bc the entire concept of the show is how puberty is weird and gross, so of course the characters are gonna look weird and gross

[@AidanLaGrasta]

you know what deserves all the credit and praise in the world? CASTLEVANIA. literally peak. adult. animation.

[@hamsnub]

absolutely, such a great show and it deserves more recognition

[@royasturias1784]

CV Nocturne... Good animation, horrid character redesigns

[@honeysucle10]

I would love to see adult animation taken more seriously here in the west. I really love a lot of those shows, and the ones I haven't seen I would probably like too. You are spot on saying it's a beautiful medium with limitless potential, and I wish it was recognized more as an art form. Just because it's 'kid friendly' doesn't mean it's made for kids specifically. Animation is such a unique genre; it doesn't have to rely on physical actors giving a great performance, every split second is made by artists and has the potential to capture a scene in ways live action just can't. I love a good animated sitcom as much as the next guy (and these shows honestly do work as is for comedy's sake) but imagine if they really took the visuals next level. Sausage Party comes to mind, one of the first if not the first big adult CGI films to come out. The adult humor is great, and as an artist the CGI animation is just a joy to watch. Love Death Robots on Netflix is also fantastic, some of the best adult animation I've ever seen. And just so many G and PG movies that have incredible action and animation, had the dialogue been geared more toward adults it would have been all the more interesting. I think there's a fun middle ground there, like more high quality PG-13 animation, that would appeal to a broad scope of people. That's what anime does so well that western animation has yet to catch up to.

[@Quix0tic707]

Generally I hate adult cartoons. Only ones I actually like are Bojack Horseman, Rick and Morty, The Boondocks and Invincible

[@Mikewee777]

You enjoy depression, spite and graphic violence ? Have you considered the military ? They will pay you to be miserable .

[@HYPERxSONICxFANx2012]

i only like hazbin and helluva

[@herowither12354]

Because the target audience is adults, and adults are always complaining that shows look different from when they were kids, and animated shows from when they were kids (80s and 90s) often looked really ugly.

[@elchar3577]

Its weird that "adult" shows have middle schooler humor

[@elderleon1844]

this is why most of the adults prefer kids cartoons or animes

[@charlesajones77]

Inside Job… cancelled. Big Mouth… renewed through season 8 What?!

[@ravimanne8148]

Tbh the more niche adult animated shows like pantheon, blue eyed samurai, primal, midnight gospel, bojack horseman, Castlevania, invincible, etc tend to be quite great IMO and find a unique style that works for them.

[@OreoSmithOfficial]

what happened to the era where studios would experiment and try new things all the time? it's sad that I had to grow up watching the animation industry shift its focus to making bland and non-dynamic shows.

[@Liuss]

We really do live in a society

[@guycrazyface5710]

Networks keep decreasing the animation budget.Lot more flash animation since its cheaper than hand drawn animation

[@Mediados]

These animations are often very stylistically repulsive, it is fascinating. Adult shows are ironically more childish than those "for kids".

[@liathedigger]

1:25 well i think here they just captured really well the looks of the british monarchy

[@sandman45]

artist have different styles so a team of artists need to conform to a easy animation style. since the 2008 recession vector gridbased animation kinda became the norm. there are good shows like this, Gumball and Animaniacs, but it's now a novelty. also i'm kinda sad that you didn't mention that 1-2 million per episode is kinda low. in a no animation show like family guy it kinda works but in japan it's less then minimum wage.

[@Liuss]

Oh yeah, 100% should have mentioned how overworked the animation industry is in general. Also should have compared those budgets to bigger live action shows to compare how cheaper it is compared to them.

[@matchamakess]

off topic but OVER THE GARDEN WALL SHIRT SPOTTED

[@johh3521]

I’ve always wondered why tf kids shows have such amazing stories and lore like Gravity Falls and Adventure Time but adult shows are always so… bland? Most adult animated shows I’ve watched doesn’t even have a good and entertaining plot, it’s just pure violence and heavy cussing

[@alternateaqua]

6:28 My experience with watching Arcane was that I have never played LoL, and never watched LoL gameplay (other than rage clips) but the art style peaked my interest when I looked at the trailer on Netflix, and it was a rollercoaster of emotions with a beautiful story and animation. I basically found out about League from watching Arcane instead of the opposite lmao I literally watched Arcane, and THEN found out it was based on LoL, and that VI and Jinx were game characters lol

[@Dusty_Doggo]

Do you want to know some good adult/teen animated shows with good art styles, awesome plots, incredible animation, and NOT just crass humor? Helluva Boss - By Viviene Medrano (Vivziepop) Hazbin Hotel - By Viviene Medrano (Vivziepop) Murder drones - By Liam Vickers and Glitch Productions The Amazing Digital Circus - By Gooseworx and Glitch Productions Lackadaisy - By Tracy Butler All of these shows have actual passion behind them, and the pilots alone show that. They don’t throw swears and jokes every second for funsies or whatnot, and actually have a plot that can keep you invested, beautiful art styles, and some really entertaining shots, too! It’s a shame so much adult animation isn’t given a chance, and teen animation isn’t treated much better (sobs in the corner of room because of The Owl House’s cancelation), but I hope we can see it given a second chance if those big corporations stop churning out the mulch they want and listen to what we want for once. Animation isn’t given nearly the amount of respect it deserves.

[@shadowleaper1479]

Actually, I want to make my own PG14 animated series. Of course, I’m still a kid, and I’m still writing out the story. Most I got so far is one of three prequels, and that one’s a short story. The other two are supposed to be a novel and a game! I want to make it beautiful and dark and silly and just packed full of lore!

[@theshockerpit7274]

The thing is the shows are not geared towards adults, their geared towards children who think this is what adults watch

[@Xarwid]

There's one creator who make great adult cartoon comedies. He's name is Bartosz Walaszek. He created such pieces of art as Captain Bomb and Egzorcist. I higly recommend his creations.

[@Tommyknocker.]

7:23 "nice looking adult shows existing too" *Shows bojack where the Los Angeles looks like it was drawn by 6 year old*

[@Liuss]

i can explain

[@Youareaidiot]

OKAY DONT DISS BOJACK....HORSEMEN OBVIOUSLY LIKE THAT 😭

[@DeadJazz]

“Speaking as a former child” i love this quote so much

[@5P_Add1ct]

Take a look at south park! Like, "aw i should show my kids this! It has simple shapes, bright colors, pretty scenery! This is perfect for the- OH THAT KID IS SINGING ABOUT HIS DI-"

[@Little-Buster]

I really miss KND, Teen Titans, Megas XLR, Ben 10, Samurai Jack and many more similarly awesome cartoons.

[@adrianfridge]

The thing I've noticed is that the limitations on "kid's" shows causes more creative solutions. Can't show blood? The enemies are robots. Can't say swear words? Make up unique phrases. Can't talk about death? It's ok, it's just folks going to the shadow realm. Above all else, "kid's" animation lives in metaphors, which can get so beautiful even as they delve into very dark subject matter. Meanwhile, adult animation has no restrictions so it consistently goes for the lowest hanging fruit, which results in a convergence of raunch, sex, and gore.

[@ZentaBon]

I hate the unappealing art styles of some adult shows to the point where I will not even take a look at a show even if I'm interested in the premise because is gross to look at.

[@YoursTrulyThe1Pony]

Fionna and Cake is a great example that it can be done (even anime). You can make a good show without having to say f... every other 10 seconds.

[@Scorpiofrfr]

I read somewhere that the Death Note episodes costing 1 mil was fake news. Or some sort of missinterpretation.

[@lazerbeam134]

Death Note's anime is absolutely gorgeous and still groundbreaking even after 17 years

[@magnus3497]

Finally - a video that answers the question in the title, immediately upon clicking. That got me good 🤣

[@Petmyhead]

i think its just a symptom of the creative industry as a whole, these things come in cycles and right now we have far too many non creatives in control of animation, gaming etc.

[@loodgack]

omg someone finally said it! I often want to introduce hungarian animation to the world. if you saw only 5 cartoons, you'd think each was made by separate studios. NO. we had only one studio and so many excellent artstyles, from UPA, to Yellow submarine artstyle. why am I saying this? because most of the cartoons were created for adults AND kids. and both generations PERFECTLY enjoyed them. we are in the 60's-70's and this tradition would continue until today, if the studio wasn't closed down. I'm so happy for growing up on those cartoons, and not the ones you showed in this video. I learnt how mature humour works, with fantastic cel animation included. do the cartoons have flaws? absolutely. but the excellent writing, good storytelling and visuals and the various styles give you the good experience. just to show how it unwillingly impacted adult animation, one of the creators of The Simpsons, or Rugrats for example, was hungarian who emigrated to the west. I can seriously enjoy older cartoons and anime, like Death note, rather than these modern cartoons, which sometimes have the ugliest ever style, lazy animation despite they cost millions per episode, because the character designer was someone's relative rather than being skilled, or idk what really happened there, but mistakes were made. if you want to research a few EXCELLENT hungarian cartoons, here's a few titles, I can almost guarantee, if you like older animation, you'll love these: Gusztáv, Macskafogó, Willy the sparrow (it has BEAUTIFUL backgrounds), Mézga family, Kérem a következőt aka Dr Bubó (sadly I never found english subs or dubs to these last two, but it's worth checking them).

[@helenemorgenstern9110]

Recently I've watched video over Hungarian animation and was shocked how much these cartoons have to offer. I grew up on soviet animation. These cartoons are sometimes so psychedelic and experimental. Everyone should see it. And... I don't think that there are cartoons for children or for adults. We have animation for all ages and awful series with violence and toilet humor. That's it.

[@Waltman13]

Aside from money and/or trying to have a piece of that trend pie, I think it all comes down to this weird stigma companies tend to have when it comes to animation. At least from the way most mainstream ones view it (as depressing as it is), cute and appealing artstyles are often seen as kid-friendly where as ugly artstyles are basically a giant sign that says "hey kid, this cartoon is for adults only. don't watch.". In some aspects, I get why they do it considering how little standards there were back then. But at the same time, it's kinda pointless to even have this standard in the first place because a lot of kids would just watch the adult show out of curiosity regardless (if it catches their interest). Not to mention the plethora of shows that have a middle ground between cute and ugly artstyles, AND ones that just break out of this "ugly = adults" mold all together. I think it's great that we're seeing more visually appealing adult shows nowadays, I just wish it was way more common because animation should be free to be whatever it wants, not what the company wants.

[@calokbrown1365]

00:42 I would've thought the Flintstones was hugely influential for family and adult animation, but I guess not AS influential.

[@mothman2880]

We’re getting there! Fiona and cake is beautifully animated and it’s basically an adult animation, being rated the same as family guy (tv-14) and its doing really good! Im very excited for what the future will bring in animation

[@NaishiYT]

I always used to think that adult shows were ugly because adults liked ugly, gross, and weird things lmao

[@ignatheus]

To do what anime does in the west would cost a crap ton. We have unions here and require certain wages. Even in Hollywood, you can't even use a camera if you're not apart of the guild. So the money is not spent on the same things. Sure if you outsource to other countries you'll get stuff like; The Boondocks, Avatar ( Which uses Korean and Japanese studios), DC films ( Japan and Korean studios). For Western exclusive animation? Then Powerhouse Animation is what you want to look into. They did Castlevania on Netflix and want to work on Berserk. To make content for adults means you have to spend a lot of money. Unlike Japan we in the West are used to high-quality adult live-action projects that rival animations. There's nothing like Game of Thrones in Japan. And we have tons of adult action or fantasy shows from the past 20 years.

[@seto_kaiba_]

Castlevania wasn't that expensive tbh.

[@iansamuel10anos17]

1:25 Some designs look like if they were drawing by Metacanyon.

[@Tuxy_RDCJ]

Don’t disrespect meatcanyon like that fam

[@C.Q_Wilkenson]

Lackadaisy is a prime example of well mature animation, that isn't even explicit.

[@lostsauce0]

I will NEVER forgive Netflix for cancelling Inside Job

[@kagisokgogome6478]

That is why I love Pantheon, Undone, Scavengers Reign, Midnight Gospel, and Love Death + Robots. They actually care about the stories, they are not comedies( even though there are some funny moments), and the art is so beautiful( especially Undone, Scavengers Reign, Midnight Gospel, and Love Death + Robots.)

[@jezzaboi2168]

Just be careful with talking about costs of japanese animation, animators there recieve extremely low wages, so wouldn't really translate well to Western studios. It's why French 2d animation needs to be bankrolled by the government alot of the time

[@Liuss]

Yeah, if I could do this over I'd defs mention that at least

[@TheFlukeHimself]

Whenever Cowboy Bebop would turn on past my bed time. IT HIT HARD.