Anyone concerned about the lack of Teen-oriented cartoons?

[newfoundsky]

Wait, how is Family Guy, Regular Show, Adventure Time, Avatar, or Gravity Falls not sincerely aimed at teens? Those all seem like fairly teen-focused shows to me. Same with stuff like Ben-10, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and most of the stuff on Adult Swim. :\

Allow me to refine what I think should be the larger point here:

Why is there no animation geared towards teens that is not bullshit?

Family guy is a laugh factory, nothing more (and I truly enjoy the show for that reason, but it is still bullshit), Regular Show is stupid too tame, Adeventure Time is too psychotic, Avatar is too angsty, and Gravity Falls is trying too hard. And I will not dignify the animated abortion that is ATHF.

There are no shows that are not angsty, love triangle oriented, hormone raging, truly idiotic, and that grasp what being a teenager is all about.

Where are all the shows that show teens struggling to adapt to the system? That show that the majority of the people will never be successful and happiness is what you make of it?

Everybody Hates Chris did this. It showed what it was like to grow up poor and was humorous enough to be interesting, but did not have to do it in a way that was saying "Haha, poor people!" It showed that being poor was both okay and not okay. That the issue is complex, and it showed how people were so poor that they envied people with slightly better living conditions.

Why are all of the discussions on Disney channel about food, or stupid filler? Why do all the jokes seem so forced? How come every character has a "thing?" Seriously, there is one show where a character exists specifically to have a different job every episode and it could be just as bad without that character. This goes for Nickelodean as well, though they are not quite as tame, even showing young couples making out, like they do in real life.

My question being, why are there no shows about unremarkable people dealing with circumstances beyond their control, because that is a teenager in a nutshell.

 

[Fox12]

"a few anime"? By teenagers I assume you mean high school age

I mean youth between the ages of 12 and 18. There are just as many teenage animation fans as there are young children and adult, yet adolecents always get the short end of the stick when it comes to cartoons.

American cartoons, maybe, but Anime? If you can't find teenage oriented anime, then you aren't looking very hard. The market is saturated with it. Go on t.v. tropes and see how many anime start with "[name] was just an average high school student when [supernatural event] left them with the ability/curse to [something that makes them special]. Now, [name] must battle [bad guy] while trying to live the life of a normal adolescent high schooler." Much hilarity ensues I'm sure.

Anyway, I'm not a teenager anymore, so I don't mind the lack of teenage oriented material. In fact, I could do with less. I still like animation when it's well done, and even enjoy old cartoons though, so I would like to see traditional animation return to the West. Go check out old episodes of Hey Arnold! if you can find them. That show was BRILLIANT for its time, a depiction of adolescence that was as mature as it was subtle. It was art. If you're looking for a more modern show, watch Gravity Falls. My siblings made me watch it with them when I returned from college, and lo and behold it was the funniest cartoon I've seen in years.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Wait, how is Family Guy, Regular Show, Adventure Time, Avatar, or Gravity Falls not sincerely aimed at teens? Those all seem like fairly teen-focused shows to me. Same with stuff like Ben-10, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and most of the stuff on Adult Swim. :\

Allow me to refine what I think should be the larger point here:

Why is there no animation geared towards teens that is not bullshit?

Family guy is a laugh factory, nothing more (and I truly enjoy the show for that reason, but it is still bullshit), Regular Show is stupid too tame, Adeventure Time is too psychotic, Avatar is too angsty, and Gravity Falls is trying too hard. And I will not dignify the animated abortion that is ATHF.

There are no shows that are not angsty, love triangle oriented, hormone raging, truly idiotic, and that grasp what being a teenager is all about.

Where are all the shows that show teens struggling to adapt to the system? That show that the majority of the people will never be successful and happiness is what you make of it?

Everybody Hates Chris did this. It showed what it was like to grow up poor and was humorous enough to be interesting, but did not have to do it in a way that was saying "Haha, poor people!" It showed that being poor was both okay and not okay. That the issue is complex, and it showed how people were so poor that they envied people with slightly better living conditions.

Why are all of the discussions on Disney channel about food, or stupid filler? Why do all the jokes seem so forced? How come every character has a "thing?" Seriously, there is one show where a character exists specifically to have a different job every episode and it could be just as bad without that character. This goes for Nickelodean as well, though they are not quite as tame, even showing young couples making out, like they do in real life.

My question being, why are there no shows about unremarkable people dealing with circumstances beyond their control, because that is a teenager in a nutshell.

I think you are projecting your experiences as a teenager onto what you think being a teenager is... Just because their are no teen-oriented shows that focus specifically on that one thing you struggled a lot with in highschool doesn't mean there is a lack of teen-focused shows. Many people do have different experiences as a teenager.

As for Disney channel shows... Except for Gravity Falls, those are all complete rubbish, and have been for well over a decade. So I am not sure that is the best example.

 

[newfoundsky]

Wait, how is Family Guy, Regular Show, Adventure Time, Avatar, or Gravity Falls not sincerely aimed at teens? Those all seem like fairly teen-focused shows to me. Same with stuff like Ben-10, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and most of the stuff on Adult Swim. :\

Allow me to refine what I think should be the larger point here:

Why is there no animation geared towards teens that is not bullshit?

Family guy is a laugh factory, nothing more (and I truly enjoy the show for that reason, but it is still bullshit), Regular Show is stupid too tame, Adeventure Time is too psychotic, Avatar is too angsty, and Gravity Falls is trying too hard. And I will not dignify the animated abortion that is ATHF.

There are no shows that are not angsty, love triangle oriented, hormone raging, truly idiotic, and that grasp what being a teenager is all about.

Where are all the shows that show teens struggling to adapt to the system? That show that the majority of the people will never be successful and happiness is what you make of it?

Everybody Hates Chris did this. It showed what it was like to grow up poor and was humorous enough to be interesting, but did not have to do it in a way that was saying "Haha, poor people!" It showed that being poor was both okay and not okay. That the issue is complex, and it showed how people were so poor that they envied people with slightly better living conditions.

Why are all of the discussions on Disney channel about food, or stupid filler? Why do all the jokes seem so forced? How come every character has a "thing?" Seriously, there is one show where a character exists specifically to have a different job every episode and it could be just as bad without that character. This goes for Nickelodean as well, though they are not quite as tame, even showing young couples making out, like they do in real life.

My question being, why are there no shows about unremarkable people dealing with circumstances beyond their control, because that is a teenager in a nutshell.

I think you are projecting your experiences as a teenager onto what you think being a teenager is... Just because their are no teen-oriented shows that focus specifically on that one thing you struggled a lot with in highschool doesn't mean there is a lack of teen-focused shows. Many people do have different experiences as a teenager.

As for Disney channel shows... Except for Gravity Falls, those are all complete rubbish, and have been for well over a decade. So I am not sure that is the best example.

What I am saying is that there are a lot of aspects to being a teenager that we all share, and we all maintain, well into adulthood. And that television in general has not been able to demonstrate that for whatever reason, and instead we are stuck with twelve different sitcoms.

Being a teenager had universal experiences that we all shared, such as "college or no? Is college an option?" Granted sometimes the answer is "Of course and what a stupid question", but it is still important to address, and perhaps tackle the issue of those who do not go to college being looked at less favorably than those with college in situation where it should not matter, but this is more of a twenty something issue.

 

[Casual Shinji]

"A few anime"?!

Christ man, it's nearly impossible to find an anime without teenagers and or a high school setting.

Or are you talking about cartoons centered around the confusion of adolescence?

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

"A few anime"?!

Christ man, it's nearly impossible to find an anime without teenagers and or a high school setting.

Or are you talking about cartoons centered around the confusion of adolescence?

I would counter with Psycho pass but that's more the exception that proves the rule

Yeah, there really is no lack if you keep looking but my main issue is not that there aren't shows for teens but that there are no intelligent shows for teens. By the time you reach high school, I would expect you to know about the world enough to engage in debate. The issue with some of these shows is that they focus a bit too much on the teenage dilemma of growing up. That's all fine and good but shouldn't we have shows that are willing to expose more worldly politics, ideologies, or ethical issues. We need stuff like Psycho-Pass and Ghost in the Shell to expose more people to complex issues or at least some actual intellectual programing. Engaging teenagers like this would certainly help mitigate the "dumb teen" stereotype.

 

[Angelblaze]

While skimming through this thread all I can think is 'If they made an anime for Young Avengers in the same style as either the Teen Titans or the X-men anime, I think Marvel would just win. Not a giant party or a declaration. They would just win.'