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{{Short description|Animation aimed at adults}}
{{distinguish|Cartoon pornography}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

'''Adult animation''', also known as '''mature animation''', and infrequently as '''adult-oriented animation''', is any type of [[animation|animated]] motion work that is catered specifically to adult interests and is mainly targeted and marketed towards adults and adolescents, as opposed to children or all-ages audiences.

== Characteristics and themes ==
Animated works in this medium could be considered adult for any number of reasons, which include the incorporation of [[nudity]], explicit or suggestive [[sexual content]], [[graphic violence]], [[profanity]], [[dark comedy]], or other [[thematic elements]] inappropriate for children, and/or any young viewers. Works in this genre may explore philosophical, political, or social issues. Some productions are noted for their complex and/or experimental storytelling and animation techniques. This includes [[List of adult animated feature films|animated films]], [[List of adult animated television series|television series]], and [[List of adult animated web series|web series]].

Adult animation is typically defined as animation that skews toward adults.<ref>{{cite web |last=Motamayor |first=Rafael |date=10 March 2020 |title=11 Adult Animation Shows We Can't Wait to See in 2020 |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/adult-animation-shows-we-cant-wait-to-see-in-2020/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003130158/https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/adult-animation-shows-we-cant-wait-to-see-in-2020/ |archive-date=3 October 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Vargas |first=Alani |date=1 October 2018 |title=7 Animated TV Shows On Netflix That Adults Will Absolutely Love |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/7-animated-tv-shows-on-netflix-that-adults-will-absolutely-love-12105614 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110035151/https://www.bustle.com/p/7-animated-tv-shows-on-netflix-that-adults-will-absolutely-love-12105614 |archive-date=10 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jaworski |first1=Michelle |last2=Riese |first2=Monica |last3=Weber |first3=Sarah |date=10 January 2019 |title=The 17 best cartoons for adults |url=https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/best-cartoon-shows-for-adults/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108112936/https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/best-cartoon-shows-for-adults/ |archive-date=8 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[The Daily Dot]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Collider Staff |date=21 April 2020 |title=The 25 Best Cartoons for Adults Streaming Right Now |url=https://collider.com/best-cartoons-for-adults-streaming-animated-shows/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004135000/https://collider.com/best-cartoons-for-adults-streaming-animated-shows/ |archive-date=4 October 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]}}</ref> It is also described as something that "formative youths should stay far, far away from"<ref>{{cite web |last=Fowler |first=Matt |date=25 March 2019 |title=The 25 Best Adult Cartoon TV Series |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/25/top-25-animated-shows-for-adults |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113151559/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/25/top-25-animated-shows-for-adults |archive-date=13 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> or has adult humor<ref>{{cite web |last=Krell |first=Jason |date=8 April 2014 |title=Why Saying Animation Is Only For Kids Is Bullshit |url=https://gizmodo.com/why-saying-animation-is-only-for-kids-is-bullshit-1561023216 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531111141/https://gizmodo.com/why-saying-animation-is-only-for-kids-is-bullshit-1561023216 |archive-date=31 May 2019 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Gizmodo]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Laux |first=Cameron |date=27 November 2019 |title=Is Japanese Anime Going Mainstream? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191127-the-spirited-world-of-japanese-anime |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520104218/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191127-the-spirited-world-of-japanese-anime |archive-date=20 May 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[BBC]]}}</ref> and comes in various styles,<ref>{{cite web |last=Baron |first=Reuben |date=23 December 2019 |title=Adult Animation Is Better Than Ever - So Why Does It Draw Ridicule? |url=https://www.cbr.com/adult-animation-primal-undone-bojack-horseman-rick-and-morty-bobs-burgers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223115245/https://www.cbr.com/adult-animation-primal-undone-bojack-horseman-rick-and-morty-bobs-burgers/ |archive-date=23 December 2019 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Barrett |first=Duncan |date=2 November 2020 |title=Animation nation: how Covid fuelled the rise of adult cartoons |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/02/animation-nation-how-covid-fuelled-the-rise-of-adult-cartoons |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120063807/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/02/animation-nation-how-covid-fuelled-the-rise-of-adult-cartoons |archive-date=20 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sarto |first=Dan |date=19 March 2020 |title=What Future Lies in Store for Non-Comedy Adult Animation? |url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/what-future-lies-store-non-comedy-adult-animation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110215442/https://www.awn.com/animationworld/what-future-lies-store-non-comedy-adult-animation |archive-date=10 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Animation World Network]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Silliman |first=Brian |date=2 November 2019 |title=SYFY drawing in more animation with a midnight-ish block of adult genre fun |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/syfy-tzgz-adult-animated-genre-programming-block |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026031602/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/syfy-tzgz-adult-animated-genre-programming-block |archive-date=26 October 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[SYFY]]}}</ref> but especially sitcoms and comedies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Katherine |date=30 June 2020 |title=The Future of Adult Animation (With and Without Comedy) |url=https://www.animationave.com/television/the-future-of-adult-animation-with-and-without-comedy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129185914/https://www.animationave.com/television/the-future-of-adult-animation-with-and-without-comedy |archive-date=29 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=Animation Ave}}</ref> Some have stated that it refers to animations with "adult themes and situations," which uses "explicit language" and make jokes that adults, and occasionally teens, are "more likely to understand" than others.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mokry |first=Natalie |date=15 July 2017 |title=A Brief History of Cartoons for Adults |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/brief-history-cartoons-adults/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814225839/https://filmschoolrejects.com/brief-history-cartoons-adults/ |archive-date=14 August 2019 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=Film School Rejects}}</ref> On television, such animations often run in the evening, but they are not generally pornographic or obscene.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Kunkel III |first=Earl Monroe |date=2009 |title=Why ARE people laughing at rape? American adult animation and Adult Swim: Aqua Teen Hunger Force as contemporary humour |type=Masters |publisher=[[Lehigh University]] |pages=5–6, 9 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/304916287 |access-date=29 November 2020 |id={{ProQuest|304916287}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mak |first=Phillip |date=10 July 2020 |title=Why is everybody talking about adult animation? |url=https://blog.toonboom.com/why-is-everybody-talking-about-adult-animation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830145515/https://blog.toonboom.com/why-is-everybody-talking-about-adult-animation |archive-date=30 August 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[Toon Boom Animation]]}}</ref> [[AdWeek]] called adult animation "animated projects aimed at grown-ups, not kids."<ref>{{cite web |last=Sutton |first=Kelsey |date=12 April 2020 |title=How Adult Animation Became the Hottest Genre for Streaming Services |url=https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/how-adult-animation-became-the-hottest-genre-for-streaming-services/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426194219/https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/how-adult-animation-became-the-hottest-genre-for-streaming-services/ |archive-date=26 April 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[AdWeek]]}}</ref> They also focus on issues that adults handle,<ref>{{cite web |date=12 March 2020 |title=Advertising Embraces Adult Animation's Existential Turn |url=https://www.lbbonline.com/news/advertising-embraces-adult-animations-existential-turn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129184526/https://www.lbbonline.com/news/advertising-embraces-adult-animations-existential-turn |archive-date=29 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=LBB Online}}</ref> and have cheeky, and occasionally crass, humor "that has no limits—bouncing between funny and offensive," while evoking a "balance of reality and fantasy." They may also contain violence or sexual themes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Habib |first=Ayesha |date=20 May 2020 |title=Why Adult Animation Shows Like Netflix's Midnight Gospel Are the Perfect Form of Escapism Right Now |url=https://nuvomagazine.com/daily-edit/why-adult-animation-escapism-right-now |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810052953/https://nuvomagazine.com/daily-edit/why-adult-animation-escapism-right-now |archive-date=10 August 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=Nuvo Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Heckleton |first=Jeff |date=27 October 2017 |title=The Double-Edged Stigma Faced By Western Animation |url=https://the-artifice.com/stigma-western-animation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112015358/https://the-artifice.com/stigma-western-animation/ |archive-date=12 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |website=[[The Artifice (magazine)|The Artifice]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Adult animation in countries]]
* [[List of highest-grossing adult animated films]]
* [[Modern animation in the United States]]
* [[List of adult animated television series]]
* [[List of adult animated web series]]
* [[List of adult animated feature films]]
* [[Independent animation]]
* [[Animation in the United States in the television era]]
* [[Cartoon violence]]

== References ==

[[Category:Adult animation| ]]
<references />
==External links==
*
*[https://www.avclub.com/a-brief-history-of-adult-animation-1850067524 The Brief History of Adult Animation] on [[The A.V. Club]]

{{Animation}}

[[Category:Adult animation| ]]

Adult animation - Revision history

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