Forums → Popular Media → Anime Becoming Mainstream!?

This was posted previously in the Tavern thread but I found this catagory more suitable. If you've stumbled apon the other one, please ignore it. I asked a mod to close it down.

If you don't like anime and you just came to complain, then leave this thread.
I'm going to be giving a small rant and disscussion about anime and it's popularity and I will be quite biased since I haven't done a lot of reaserch besides what I've been hearing/discussing with people I know.

Now lately, I've been hearing a lot of people at school, online and in public places talk about why they want anime to become mainstream. By mainstream, I mean that it becomes as popular as famous american TV shows like The Walking Dead. Now, let me talk about the chances of it actually happening here.

Now, the chances of anime realistically becoming mainstream is very unlikely. And I mean very unlikely. Why? Because of the one word that turns most people away; Cartoon.

Anime is basically a Japanese cartoon and whenever people think of the word cartoon it's either the childish ones that air on teletoon or the adult comedy ones like Family Guy. The ones that kids or teens watch and parents would facepalm at their kids because it's so imature. That's the one reason people would chose The Walking Dead over High School Of The Dead (Who am I kidding? The walking dead beats HOTD by a million). You can explain the distinct differences all you want. People can listen until you run out of air but it doesn't change their opinion because of it being a cartoon. But let me go on a long rant on how hard it is to be an animator compared to a regular live action TV show, actually.....nevermind.

The only anime that does somehow get onto TV are the english dubed ones like One Peice and Pokemon(or anythink 4kidz dubbed) that sometimes make anime more childish than it apears. Now I do admit, anime is quite childish and imature. Not in a way that only 8 year olds would watch it but there is always some overly exaggerated fighting skills, cliche endings, perverted echi scenes and plots that sometimes makes no sense towards the audience outside the little group of anime fans. They always appeal to teens but it's also something adults would facepalm over. Anime is something for all ages whether you are 6 years and love cute things or a hardcore shounen lover whose into Sword Art Online or Blue Exorcist(terrible example) there are also really good morals and sad scenes that make you cry more than when someone in american film dies(seriously). But it doesn't matter if the anime has a really deep meaning because all the weirdness in the anime is what make people overlook it and forget about it.

Now I know some really good animes like Attack On Titan that don't have a lot of weirdness and it delivers a really good hidden message but I'm talking about anime in general. To be honest, outside of the fandom eye there are pretty weird moments and characters. But there are really sweet and heartbreaking moments in anime that makes you sad, some golden moments that make you cheer on for you character. Yes those moments are what make anime the greates thing ever to an Otaku's eyes. Now lets think about what would happen if anime did become mainstream.

Let me just remind you that anime isn't NEVER going to become mainstream. The chances are just VERY unlikely

Even if anime isn't suited for everyone, being as part of that small group who appreciates it is great. I like being in that small group because it makes me feel unique compared to everyone else. It would be nice to wear a Madoka Magica T-shirt without having friends or collegues asking you what it is and having to explain everything about the anime. I also want to be able to talk to people about my favourite anime without people going "what?". In fact, with more people watching anime, producers could make sequels and more people would buy their merchandise and companies can make more money creating better animations. But lets think about what would happen if anime was mainstream. I mean, if it was as popular as most of the popular TV shows in america, then there will be those stupid people who make fun of a series or anime in general. There will also be haters and immature idiots who overlook anime because of how it's presented. There will also be more useless memes that just makes you feel ashamed like when Light Yagami from death note says "I'll take a potato chip.....AND EAT IT" in the english dubbed. Like I said before, it doesn't matter if an anime has a deep meaning or really dramatic scenes, they will find ways to bash at anime or make it sound less appealing.

However, even if the chances of say, Kuroko no Basuke or Durarara or an anime you haven't heard of yet making it into american TV is probably less than 20% right now, there are more and more people getting into anime. I'd explain how but that would take too long.

Now's a chance to discuss your opinions, what are your thoughts on anime becoming mainstream? Would you want it to become mainstream? Why and why not?