Dear Reader, Please excuse the clickbait title and imagery. Yes, it’s easy to slap an image of the R-rated Akira next to the PG-rated Suzume and say that anime films have gotten lighter. However, I’m not here to slam family-friendly anime feature films but rather explore why there aren’t more subversive anime feature films for adult audiences. I’ve looked through the list of theatrically released anime films in the U.S. and found that the vast majority of these films are rated PG.
This should come as no surprise seeing as Studio Ghibli is easily compared to Disney in its broad family appeal and rich artistic execution. Even the non-Ghibli films that have gotten traction are the likes of Summer Wars, Your Name, Lu over The Wall, Miss Hokusai, and A Silent Voice. These are all great films in their own right, but they are all rated PG. I think that the lighter and more uplifting anime movies have done theatrically well in part because Americans still view animation as a genre for kids and families.
Consider the case of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which became the highest-grossing Japanese animated film at the global box office– the film may be an R-rated action fantasy but it is based on a shonen manga. Demon Slayer is still catering to a younger audience even if the rating has to be bumped up because of the gore.
This is not to say that a PG film is inferior to a PG-13 or R-rated film. However, when I think about my favorite anime TV series vs the anime films I see in theaters, I can’t help wanting to see something harder on the big screen. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Chainsaw Man both have excellent stories that can only be done justice with an R-rating. Even the Oshi No Ko TV movie was pushing the envelope more than theatrically released anime films.
Akira and Ghost in the Shell are still considered anime classics but we haven’t seen anything that adult and epic on screen in a long time. The late Satoshi Kon was one of the few directors who was consistently making excellent anime films for adult audiences. Films like Perfect Blue and Paprika are beloved by cinephiles and homaged by filmmakers– so why aren’t we getting more movies like these?
Films like Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust are gaining a new generation of fans via the internet. Now would be the perfect time to revisit these properties. I’d love to see Studio 4C do a story within the Vampire Hunter D universe. Their artistry is phenomenal and with their work on Spriggan, Tekkon Kinkreet, and MFKZ, Studio 4C is no stranger to R-rated films.
The blockbuster successes of Demon Slayer and Makoto Shinkai’s films have brought anime into mainstream film viewing for a new generation. I want to see new original anime films for adult audiences reach the same level of pop-culture impact.
I don’t want family-friendly anime to disappear, I am simply advocating for more variety in terms of style and subject matter. Every generation needs its Akira– a transgressive epic that captures the fears and anxieties of the people and redefines what cool looks like. Studio Trigger, Science Saru, Studio 4C, and UFOTable all have the technical artistry to accomplish this– all that’s needed is the right story and a visionary director to pull it off!
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