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In high school English classes, we read many _classics_ , such as Shakespeare,
Steinbeck, Lee, etc. In many other classes, popular TV shows and movies are
analyzed. Granted, these are also classics, such as Hitchcock's _Psycho_ or
Nichols' _The Graduate_.

Why is anime/manga not as critically analyzed by the general public, like
other works of written/illustrated art are? There are a lot of different
forums that review anime and many people on the internet who have their
opinions on different shows, but why is it not recognized by the _general
American public_ like other literary works? Is it its age (it is still
popular, and therefore not old enough to be considered a classic)? Is the fact
that it is seen as a _cartoon_ by many in the US? Is it due to negative
stereotypes in the west surrounding anime (many may consider all anime to be
hentai, for example, and therefore disregard it as an art form)?

**EDIT:** To explain this more...many, many anime have underlying themes and
meanings that stretch sometimes deeper than current novels/books that are
considered literary classics by the academic community. So, why aren't these
shows studied and analyzed in an _academic setting_? For example, if I am in a
high school/college film analysis class, why is the medium of anime not
considered when picking source material to analyze?

A few of these shows I think you can find deeper meaning in easily (and this
part is subjective, you may disagree), with similarities drawn to novels that
are considered _classics_ :

  * _Ping Pong: The Animation_ : allows the viewer to determine the definition of success (similar to [_Invisible Man_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Man))
  * _Attack on Titan_ : comments on the human experience, portrays reality with a hunter/prey dynamic (just like [_Lord of the Flies_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies))
  * _Fooly Cooly_ : coming of age story (just like [_Catcher in the Rye_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye))

Many others can be listed, and the above shows can be analyzed much, much
further.

Sorry for the poor tag, couldn't find one that was applicable.


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Why isn't anime critically analyzed like other forms of literature or entertainment?


It kinda is, in the user reviews on dedicated online communities. Times
change, these things become easier to write and to share.

There's more anime and reviews appearing regularly than there were (what is
now considered) classics and critical analyses of it. The quantity is greater
but the average quality is lower. Substantial quality is required to be
considered by the authorities of the older generations of people who run those
established forums.

I would not take it as a sign that all user reviews are useless, but merely
that certain communities don't recognize them. It doesn't mean you shouldn't.


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I think the simplest answer is that **anime is just not that popular.** Though
immensely popular and gaining momentum, the anime community just isn't that
widespread. If you look at it critically MOST of the anime fans are limited to
the popular and mostly Shounen series such as Naruto, One Piece, Bleach,
Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Deathnote etc.

Compare it to the consumption of various books and movies and their
penetration into our society. The iconism resulting from this is what raised
them to the platform where it seems that more and more of such media is
critically analysed. As Hakase pointed out, if you go to an anime forum/blog,
you'll see plenty of critical analysis of anime, especially the history and
tropes.

Another factor is the **geography.** The popularity of anime and manga has
grown and they are an integral part of the Japanese culture. However, other
places are adapting and amalgamating the same later. This will automatically
lead to the feeling that anime as a medium is more targeted towards the
audience it sells for, i.e. the japanese. But as an "outsider" we're not in a
place to critically analyze it. The same may be true for various literary
works or other media.

A relevant example is the Indian epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". I doubt
that many people know it on this community, but Indians have critically
analyzed each and every line of such epics as deep as it can go. Awareness of
them is just limited to the Indian subcontinent, but now the teachings are
spreading. The same is true with Anime.

Some food for thought:

[Anime popularity: Blogpost](http://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/gen-
discussion-1/will-anime-ever-be-as-popular-as-comic-books-1538407/): A comment
that I liked

> Depends. Again sales you might make the case but in terms of iconism there's
> no chance. Everyone knows who Batman is. No one knows who Luffy is.

[A good blogpost about how to look at Anime as a medium of
entertainment](https://geekorner.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/anime-isnt-special-
and-neither-are-you-for-watching-it/)


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There are critically analyzed works.

It is indeed a much newer and nicher area than traditional film, but there are
communities around it. There is just much less of it (as @Arcane states) due
to popularity

Critics in anime come in a few different forms:

# Academic Critique & Analysis

Many film/media journals accept papers on animated media - this is a large
area of publishing, rather than more focused papers such as
[Mechademia](http://mechademia.org/) \- simply because researchers may not be
focused solely on one media format.

Due to the nature of popularity, anime such as the Ghibli films get a lot more
exposure than others.

More information about particular conferences, journals and papers lies [here
as a community wiki post](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/13515/are-
there-any-academic-journals-that-focus-on-anime-manga)

These articles delve quite deep into some topics like the representation of
gender roles in shoujo manga, the influence of Western terrorism on Eastern
Media, etc.

# Regular Publication Reviews

A lot of book and film reviewers often work for newspapers or some sort of
popular media outlet. Indeed, [RottenTomatoes has a high bar for counting as a
critic](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/help_desk/critics/), requiring you to
be in (and regularly in):

>   * A top 100 daily US newspaper
>   * A top 100 weekly US newspaper
>   * A top 100 magazine
>   * A top 10 entertainment-based publication
>

So the bar is set pretty high for specialist topics, because film and such are
so far developed as a culture.

Because of the reduced popularity, an 'anime' specific column in a newspaper,
is usually pretty rare, at least in the West - Meaning the chances of becoming
well known are further diminished.

# Casual Critics / Blogging

Most of anime reviews come from popular (and unpopular) bloggers / vloggers.
Another source is company accounts - the likes of Anime News Network and
CrunchyRoll can hire people for this role as it is a rare case where it will
increase exposure for a company meaningfully.

However, audiences for these reviews aren't usually interested in detailed
breakdowns of academic references, etc. Thus, often posts are focused on
recommendation. Often hobbyist bloggers will be supported by specific anime
companies - so posts often align with what review copies they have been sent.

# Here :)

So, as moderator of this site I'm _probably_ a bit biased, but on Anime &
Manga Stack Exchange we have many questions that seem to fit the bill for a
deeper understanding of particular works.

Here are some examples:

[What is written in Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal that impacts Takao so
badly?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/27751/1530)

[About the artworks used in the Elfen Lied opening scenes (contains
nudity)](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/15130/about-the-artworks-
used-in-the-elfen-lied-opening-scenes-contains-nudity)

[Is there a meaning behind the paintings in Tsubaki Kureha's living
room?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/19502/is-there-a-meaning-
behind-the-paintings-in-tsubaki-kurehas-living-room)

These are just ones off the top of my head. Personally, these are also my
favourite type of questions - so I encourage there to be more on this site.

**TL;DR:** Academic Critique exists, and right here is good too :)


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Anime as a genre has few gems. For me it's hard to find a good anime by
random. Yet, I don't think that's the main reason why it's underrated. The
ones that are great, really shine bright and deserve a more in deph analysis.
Animation in general is considered "for kids". Time has proven that that is
nowhere near the case (this applies also to western animation), yet this
missconception remains solid.

I can debate themes like existentialism, libertarianism, morality, religion
and many others in FMA for example and draw parallels between it and works
such as Goethe's "Faust" or Brecht's "Life of Galileo" or Nietzsche's "Beyond
Good and Evil". This being some examples I just thought of now. If you go in
deph you can really uncover more. I do not refute the importance of literature
of cinema (my point about the few gems can be applied to these art forms as
well). Another point I'd like to make is that these art form have been there
for longer, they had enough time to establish themselves and they are spread
all over the world. Anime and Manga has been hitting mainstream (in America at
least) since Toonami (~2008 I believe). _I'm not from America so don't quote
me on that. And my last point about mainstream may be flawed, but that's how I
see it._

I do believe that with time these preconceived ideas concerning animation will
vanish. On the other hand I doubt they will be studied by themselves soon, if
ever (besides art schools and art colleges). Hope my answer has been somewhat
relevant.


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**Note: I can only speak from a Western perspective here. For all I know,
anime _is_ critically analysed in Japan.**

The first thing worth considering as a reason for why anime doesn't seem to be
critically analysed in the West is that it's only really been easily
consumable over here in the last decade or so, meaning that a great many of
the established critics were already adults (and older) by the time they had
access to it. Before streaming services and high bandwidth Internet
connections, it would have been very difficult to find and watch anything
other than anime deemed suitable for children that was broadcast on children's
TV channels.

This may have contributed to the idea that anime is for children (and
therefore not worthy of analysis), a notion that probably already exists
thanks to the general idea that almost _all_ animation is for children, thanks
to most Western animation being aimed at that audience.

In a similar vein, the most popular anime shows do tend to be ones aimed at
children/younger teenagers. Anyone looking to watch an anime show for the
first time is likely to end up watching something like _Naruto_ , _Dragonball
Z_ or _Pokemon_ \- none of those are likely to leave you with the impression
that anime is an artform worthy of serious analysis.

It's also worth pointing out that there is a very big cultural divide between
the East and the West, one that often manifests itself in ways that may make
Western audiences... uncomfortable. In general, Japan seems to place less of a
taboo on sex and sexuality, which can make some anime appear as smut to
Westerners - even anime that is aimed at children often contains at least some
level of "fan service", which is off-putting when you aren't used to that kind
of thing.

Throw in a general culture surrounding anime that seems to be more concerned
with waifus and memes than it does serious analysis, a language barrier that
can be difficult to get past, and the at least somewhat racist (and somewhat
accurate) idea that Japanese culture at large is "weird", and I don't think
it's unreasonable that there aren't yet a lot of critical analysis' of anime
at large.


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I would like to just repeat what our teachers said in English class to why we
analyse all of those things:

we analyse texts because it creates meaning, this will help us to appreciate
literature, this is why we analyse literature. as for other texts, such as
advertisements and pictures, we analyse them to allow for deeper understanding
of how the author creates meaning.

she ends there.

this suggest that the texts that we analyse in school are literature and we
need to (apparently) appreciate the great works from he part. clearly anime
and manga does not count as literature.

to back this up, my art teacher has said to me that anime and manga does not
count as art.

this shows the unfair bias towards anime and manga

this is further supported dues to the fact that we analyse comic strips.

this shows how the western culture is still somewhat rejecting the other
cultures.

the final reason is: it wouldn't make much sense to analyse something that's
not English in an English class.

this is from personal experience, hope this helps.


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Literature is that which is studied by teachers of literature (and by
extension, their students). It **_may_** have a connection to quality of
writing, but this is not guaranteed, nor that other writing of equivalent
quality will be included. It's further complicated by the fact that because
there's no clear evidence of what's good and bad, teachers are free to mark up
students who write essays which agree with their preconceptions and to mark
down students who write essays which don't.

The problem isn't exclusive to anime. You'll find vanishingly few science-
fiction or fantasy fiction titles in English Lit classes. "Brave New World"
and "Animal Farm" were pretty much it when I was at school - and they're
written by established "classic" authors who mostly _didn't_ write SF/F and
who explicitly wrote them as parables. HG Wells and Jules Verne sometimes
features on the list, but more because their stories are old (DWM) than
because they're well-written. You're more likely to see Ursula LeGuin or
Margaret Atwood in a list of feminist authors than a list of classic authors.

Historical fiction is in a similar genre ghetto. I'm less aware of who's out
there on that side of things, but Hilary Mantel had to be _really_ good to get
"Wolf Hall" into the awards. People like Sir Walter Scott or Robert Louis
Stevenson sometimes get into literature lists, but again it's because they're
DWM.

Good and worthy ideas don't necessarily make a good book though. Tolkein is a
perfect example - he had amazing ideas, but pretty awful execution.


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Anime and manga are being critically analyzed. it is just that, as everyone
above said, it isn't as widespread or popular. I would like to add to their
opinions, though. Anime and manga, during its infancy or should I say the time
when they are beginning to become popular, their target audience at the time
are kids and teens. You know how kids are- when they have something they like,
it became difficult to get them away from it. This gave rise to the 'otaku'
mindset which in turn gives anime and manga a negative reputation. I would
like to ask you then, if something has a negative reputation, are you willing
to teach it inside the classroom? You won't, right?


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**1\. Anime has not been around long enough**

The first anime was created in 1907, but the first produced and televised
anime didn't came until 1961, which is more than 50 years after the first
anime[ [1]](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/3408/what-is-the-first-
ever-produced-anime-and-manga). The first light novel with anime-ish style
came in 1970s[ [2]](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/13301/what-
exactly-is-a-light-novel). The first modern manga originated in 1945[
[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga). It hasn't been a century before
anime and manga exist.

In comparison, many of the Western Classics came in the 19th century, for
example, The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Wuthering Heights (1847), Pride and
Prejudice (1813), A Tale of Two Cities (1859). Some, such as Shakespeare's
came from even further back in the 16th century. This form of art has been
long enough that people have long enough time to know them and start
critically analyzing them, which also contributes to my second point. It has
been read by generations of human population.

**2\. Popularity**

Most people who went to school would have at the very least heard of
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, western or not. The same cannot be said about
anime. Only avid anime and manga fans would know of Fushimi Tsukasa's Ore no
Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii wake ga nai. Even with world-wide popular anime such
as Naruto, only some would notice the name Masashi Kishimoto. Anime and manga
has yet to reach the popularity that classic literature enjoys.

**3\. Content of anime**

Being made in Japan, many if not most of anime and manga have a view on God
that would be regarded as insulting to those living in religious countries. I
remember when I was younger, I turned on TV to find Saint Seiya broadcasting
and there one of the characters said something about "power equal to that of
God". My father overheard that and told me to change the channel ASAP. This is
due to the way Japan perceive God, that in Japan there are many gods, so much
that it was said that Yamato (ancient name of Japan) is a land of thousands
gods. Older people tends to be more religious as shown in the statistics, more
people in the 80s are religious compare to the 90s and most of them are a
follower of Abrahamic religions which is monotheistic and regards polytheism
as sinful [
[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States#Statistics).

Another problem with the content of anime and manga, especially in modern
anime and manga is that many of them contains fans service that is sexual in
nature. While pornography is legal in western world, in the other parts of the
world it is illegal. China and Indonesia, two of the most populous countries
in the world, that is approximately 20% of the world population, have
pornography as something illegal. From these two countries alone we already
lost 20% of potential critical reviewer.

**4\. You're an otaku, pffft**

When someone is known as an anime and manga lover, he will get the label,
otaku. This is especially true with adults. The problem with this is that
otaku is not seen in positive light. Even in Japan otaku was seen in negative
light and only in 2013 that a research shows it has been seen in more positive
light. When you make a critical analysis of anime or manga, then like it or
not you have to read or watch it. Most kids won't be able to make make a
critical review, which means most critical review would come from adult, and
like I said adult watching anime was not regarded in positive light. Like
shown in many anime, announcing yourself as otaku is basically a social
suicide, especially when many have questionable content.

**5\. Era difference, the Internet, and forms of entertainment**

During the era of Shakespeare and other western literary classics, there was
not many form of entertainment. The wasn't video games, there wasn't Internet,
no device where you can listen to music, heck, even electric light only gets
famous in the 20th century. This lack of entertainment means makes theatrical
plays and books has little to no contender. Today with the variety of
entertainment means available, less attention is spend on each. This also
translate into less of the world population watch anime and read manga and
light novel compared to when the previous era, where means of entertainment
are limited. Had anime and manga was born during the Shakespeare era and
Shakespeare during anime and manga era then the popularity would be reversed,
with anime and manga receiving more critical reviews than Hamlet, and Romeo
and Juliet.


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