How Is Adult Animation Becoming So Popular?

Rebecca
3 min readAug 19, 2021

Why 2021 Could See A Rise In Animated Shows.

The pandemic saw the loss of normality like our generation has never seen before, the world stopped, and everyone on it had to take one long pause. Everything from our jobs to just being able to walk outside became a distortion; reality was inside, relying on technology to see us through the long and unforeseeable future, where careers were put on hold, or lost completely, and screens really did help us through such a tumultuous time.

Photo by Gracia Dharma on Unsplash

Whilst in self isolation there's not a lot that can happen like it used to; Zoom interviews, Zoom reunions, and Zoom charity shows were all actors could really do when nothing was as it was, and so new films, series and tv programming was getting stale quickly because resuming that kind of work wasn’t an option. There was, however, another alternative that could be done without breaking Covid-19 rules, but could still provide us with content we were longing for: animation.

Animation and being an adult is something that doesn’t often go together, unless there’s a negative connotation there somewhere, but towards the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 something started to happen — more animation was coming out on streaming sites, and it was for adults.

Services like Netflix, Apple TV and even Star on Disney+, now even have their own ‘Animation for Adults’ sections to accommodate the ever growing popularity for this form of art and storytelling, and the storytelling let me tell you, has come a long way since South Park.

In 2017 the first series of Castlevania appeared on Netflix; a graphic, comic- style animated series based on a Japanese video game with the same name follows three main characters; Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades and Alucard, in a brutal, magical world, where vampires plot to take over the world and we learn all about Speakers, Forgemasters and Hell itself. With the penultimate series ending the show in 2021, it really encapsulated everything that makes adult animation great; gore, mature language, some explicit sexual scenes and more importantly strong characters and plot. It is one of the best adult animations to watch that’s out there right now, and I’d recommend it to anyone just dipping their toe into this genre. (Seasons 1–4 available on Netflix)

Since the pandemic Netflix has also introduced us to more great shows like Trese, and Blood of Zeus, animations that are immersed in supernatural worlds; folklore from the Philippines, and mythology from Greece, with great styling, atmosphere and storylines.

I have always had an appreciation for animation since I was a little girl; computer graphics, Pixar, CGI, stop motion, and even 2D cartoons have had a place in my heart from then all the way up until now, and even though I’m turning 30 this year I have no plans on stopping my animation obsession.

Being a visual person, anything that can make me feel transported to another universe and fill me up with wonder is an incredible art form to be able to see, and I think it’s going to gain some serious traction, and become even more popular in the future.

Photo by Milo Shadow on Unsplash

The world of adult animation no longer begins and ends with anime and manga, when watching all of those nostalgic shows like Pokémon, Card Captors as well as great Ghibli movies like Spirited Away, and Tales of Earthsea were all there was to indulge in. Now we see that characters are more developed, with worlds that are complicated, and even scary as they bewitch us with their immersive style. The world of adult animation only has room to grow further as Covid-19 starts becoming a part of our everyday lives, technology and design is one of those industries that can keep churning out great shows without endangering each other whilst the pandemic is still on the rampage.

And I for one cannot wait to see how far it’s taken.

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Rebecca

I’m 29, and live in the UK. Trying to make it as an artist in both traditional painting and writing in 2021. Dreaming of writing fiction and painting forever.