Is my coworker right about cartoons

[IAmCrystalHeights]

My coworker is a guy in his 40s who I don't really get along with and it didn't help when he said he thought cartoons are garbage. He said he likes art but doesn't like animation for the most part. Even though he appreciates Japanese culture and has been to Japan and other parts of Asia he has no interest in anime, and he thinks Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon are damaging to children's brains.

He had a rough life. He's clean and sober for almost 30 years after being a drug addict in his teenage years, and stole money for heroin.

He has a daughter and never let her watch cartoons. He said kids should do other things, like go outside, play sports, learn an instrument, etc

To be honest, while I've watched a lot of cartoons as a kid and still appreciate them to this day, I can't say I agree or disagree on what he said but I still enjoy cartoons sometimes. I do think kids should watch less TV and go outside and learn sports or exercise or learn a skill rather than watching tv. And some cartoons like SpongeBob and Fairly OddParents, which I may have enjoyed as a kid, are pretty much garbage if you think about it. I mean, they're like candy and soda, they taste good but they're bad for you. It's just junk food entertainment.

Do you think he's right or wrong? This is an animation website so most people here like cartoons and video games but I'm sure some people will say there should be a limit for kids.

[billybobthwarten]

i think he's right and wrong. plenty of children's cartoons are garbage, some are not. plenty of "grown up" cartoons are garbage, again, some are not.

it's not exactly like every show on tv using real people is gold.

[Mrccbirdguy]

It's an opinion. Not really right or wrong. I don't care for modern cartoons or animation for the most part. I think half of it is taste and what is really portrayed.

I have to agree with the cartoon network and Nickelodeon being destructive. All the shows feature kids acting hyperactive getting into situations that would get regular people arrested, killed or have their lives permanently ruined. Kids in real life see this and act like idiots.
Granted, older cartoons aren't really any better.

I feel like modern popular music ( The kind on the radio everywhere, not some random band I've never heard of) is just crap portraying crappy relationships and wanting to be rich. Take that and compare it to the Anti-war songs of the 60s and early 70s or the ballads from the 80s.

[Jin]

I feel like cartoons are perceived and judged as a whole, which doesn't really happen to other forms of video media.

[Dre]

This is pretty similar to how liberals view firearms. They think that all firearms are bad because some bad people use them to do bad things. The firearm itself is not bad, it is a tool that can be used to do both good and harm to people. Likewise, cartoons are simply a form of art. Some of them are bad, some of them are good. It all depends on the artist.

TL;DR don't criticize cartoons, criticize bad cartoonists

[Bit]

If he has seen The Iron Giant and still thinks that cartoons are bad then I recommend that you start discarding his opinions altogether.

[Boomstick]

Cartoons are good, but they're not getting better with people pushing their own agendas and ideas into them, influencing children.

[assassin1337]

I think his whole childhood does not allow him to relate to animation. But to watch live action kids shows is a bit worse in my opinion. Portraying live action humans in fictional situations with illogical attitudes paints a more unrealistic picture of reality than what a cartoon might do. Animation is a better means of fantasy, of course. Animation would often portray whatever fantastical situation better than in CGI-Live action flick where you feel a disconnect with reality and fiction, whereupon in animation you know that nothing about it is real so you can feel entertained. Your colleague clearly does not know or care for fantastic pieces set by Studio Ghibli and Satoshi Kon. He might even like the animated Ghibli film "Ocean Waves"or "Whispers of The Heart" and even "Only Yesterday" for it's slice-of-life storytelling.

[TailsPrower]

I disagree with his opinion. Cartoon is not like heroin, there are cartoons that can enrich your life and others not so. His blanket conclusion on the matter is indicative of a simple stubborn mind.

[sooperfly28]

Everything in moderation should be fine otherwise people get addicted and lose sight of everything else in life, he should know that...considering he was a heroin addict hahaha jk i don't mean any offence to anybody...I saw an opportunity for a joke and went for it

[Dre]

At 4/30/16 10:56 AM, LuckyLightTitan wrote: Also, there's some pretty shitty anime around, he probably only watched stuff like Naruto therefore he thinks that all anime is like this.

I would say that at least 75% of the anime coming out now is garbage. I attribute the declining quality of anime in recent decades to Otaku culture.

They just crank out series after series about the most bizarre and stupid subjects, and instead of spending the time and effort to make a quality animation, they invest minimal effort and fill in the gaps with typical Shonen nonsense.

I can definitely understand why so many people dislike anime as most of it really is shitty these days. There is fortunately still some good anime out there, but it's hard to find.

[Mismo]

Just the opinion of a ex-junkie acting all high and mighty. Cartoons are fine, some of them are really good.

Edit: I wonder what he thinks about video games.

[wildfire4461]

So he never watched them as a kid himself?
Dipshits like him are part of the reason why there is no longer cartoons on the networks Saturday mornings.

[Chdonga]

I think the cartoons they show on today's channels are absolute mind numbing garbage. I can appreciate the art styles of certain shows like Gumball and Harvey Beaks, but they're all written to appeal to children with the attention span of a rodent. Today's cartoons rely on grossout, "lolsorandom" idiocy, and running around screaming. I see proof of this in my siblings, who mimic everything they see in TV. Older cartoons were no better, come to think of it. Ren & Stimpy is the poster child for grossout and screaming humor. Tom & Jerry wouldn't make it on air today with its over-the-top ultraviolence.

Yes, there is plenty of sensible animation out there, but it's more effort than it's worth to wade through garbage to find gems, and it's only getting worse. At least your coworker isn't some weeb twat who hates cartoons because he thinks anime is better.

[Dre]

At 5/1/16 05:46 AM, LuckyLightTitan wrote: Any Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, One Peice season does that all the time.

Well, the thing about Dragon Ball is that it was intended to be shonen from the beginning. It was never intended to be seinen and was never marketed as such. The series did have a few adult themes here and there, but overall it was designed for children and never heralded as a show for adults like many of these crappy new shows are.

Dragon Ball is one of the few shonen anime that I can still appreciate (although I don't enjoy it quite as much now that I'm an adult) because I think it's actually pretty well made for a children's show. It has a pretty cool and original storyline, and it makes an honest effort to instill positive values in the viewer. I was very fond of Dragon Ball as a youth growing up in the 90s and it was one of the first anime series I ever saw, so I'll always hold it in higher regard than most other shonen and pseudo-seinen anime.

Most of the good anime i've ever watched was anime made years ago, like Black Bullet, Hellsing ultimate and Darker Than Black. these were nice ones and they weren't full of crap. though, Black Bullet was full of lolis but aside from that, it's actually a good watch.

Yeah, most of the good stuff came out in the 70s, 80s and 90s. It seems the quality of anime really started to decline right around the late 90s - early 2000s, which happens to coincide with a worldwide increase in the popularity of Otaku culture. Otakus have really fucked up anime in recent years, IMO.

Here's a list of some rare anime that I think is actually good. Note: All of these may be considered NSFW - especially Shigurui, do not watch that one if you're easily offended.

Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (1999)
* Act 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhNRj0t5Z-k
* Act 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6XpR-ix3kA
* Act 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA4bTFOhqOQ
* Act 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkBubsSXzlU

Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection (2001)
* Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rlIC7rP3kA
* Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmPJptgxsc0

Akira (1988)
* http://gogoanime.io/akira-episode-1

Ghost in the Shell (1995)
* https://kissanime.to/Anime/Ghost-in-the-Shell/Movie?id=36618

The Animatrix (2003)
* http://gogoanime.io/the-animatrix-episode-1

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
* http://www.yourupload.com/embed/8Be1wq

Sword of the Stranger (2009)
* http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18766010e5N7HYpF

Initial D: Legend films (2014-2016)
* Legend 1: http://mp4upload.com/embed-wszrkgyt7xr0.html
* Legend 2: http://mp4upload.com/embed-r2il4gl0iuex.html

Shigurui: Death Frenzy (2007)
* Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0hb1IQNg-c
* Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rjnlSCxbQ4
* Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdHX6WAfG9A
* Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmZk-bkyaFU
* Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHF3ykPSrlM
* Episode 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAjploUUOHg
* Episode 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3u6gN2OfCY
* Episode 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKI73olgWTU
* Episode 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZMDoUMLn-4
* Episode 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LAWV-Mtu2s
* Episode 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84z6YgiQRl8
* Episode 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE0ghzQfWiA