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Adult animation, also known as mature animation, and infrequently as adult-oriented animation, is any type of
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
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. Works in this medium could be considered adult for any number of reasons, which include the incorporation of explicit or suggestive sexual content,
graphic violence Graphic violence refers to the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as film, television, and video games. It may be real, simulated live action, or animated. Intended limitedly for mature ...
,
swear words Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...
,
dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
, 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
animated films Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
,
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
, and
web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...
. Adult animation is typically defined as animation that skews toward adults. It is also described as something that "formative youths should stay far, far away from" or has adult humor and comes in various styles, but especially sitcoms and comedies. 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. On television, such animations often run in the evening, but they are not generally pornographic or obscene. AdWeek called adult animation "animated projects aimed at grown-ups, not kids." They also focus on issues that adults handle, 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.


Americas


Argentina

In 2019, Ayar Blasco's third Spanish-language animated film, ''Lava'' was released. A 67-minute comedy and science fiction film, it tells the story of a lonely tattoo artist named Deborah who "endeavors to save herself and her town from an alien invasion," with the aliens coming in various forms, trying to get humanity to submit, with Deborah trying to convince others to resist these attacks. One critic, Vassilis Kroustallis, described the film as a "welcome COVID-19 satire," doing well when it comes to self-reflection and interesting characters, and weaker when it comes to plotlines. In November 2020 it was announced that Rock Salt Releasing had gained "global sales rights and U.S. distribution" for the film, complete with English
dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...
.


Canada

Adult animation has slowly moved forward in Canada. From 2002 to 2003, ''
Clone High ''Clone High'' (occasionally referred to in the United States as ''Clone High USA'') is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence. The show centers on a high school populated by the c ...
'', a Canadian–American adult animated sitcom, a parody of
teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
s such as ''
Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'' and ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...
'', first aired in its entirety on Canadian cable network Teletoon at Night between 2002 and 2003, later debuting on MTV. After controversy regarding its depiction of Mahatma Gandhi, which prompted hundreds in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to mount a hunger strike in response, MTV pulled the series, which had been receiving low ratings. Additionally, ''Clone High'' attracted mixed reviews from television critics upon its premiere, but it has since received critical acclaim and a cult following. Some critics described it as having a "silly premise" and noted that it was short-lived. Then, from 2004 to 2007, '' Tripping the Rift'', an American/ Canadian adult CGI science fiction comedy
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
, which aired in Syfy, then airing on channels of other North American and International broadcasters, aired on Space and Teletoon at Night. It also aired in France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and Central Europe. Then in 2008, Anchor Bay released the 75 minute unrated ''Tripping the Rift: The Movie'' on DVD on 25 March 2008. The series was described as "strange riff on Star Trek", with one reviewer saying that while the show has "some out-of-date CGI animation," it mixes spoof of sci-fi with political satire and
social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...
. In addition, from 2007 to 2008, an American
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
television program by
Adam de la Peña Adam de la Peña is an American actor, comedy writer, producer, and director. Career De la Peña started his career writing for ''The Man Show''. From there he continued to work with Jimmy Kimmel's Jackhole Productions, writing for ''Crank Y ...
, titled ''
Code Monkeys ''Code Monkeys'' is an American adult animated television program by Adam de la Peña. Set in the early 1980s, it follows the adventures of fictional video game company GameaVision. The show ran for two seasons, from 2007 to 2008, on G4 and G4 ...
'', which follows the adventures of fictional
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
company GameaVision, ran for two seasons, from 2007 to 2008, on G4 and G4 Canada. The series was described as being an "arcade-themed comedy," while having a style of "lude ic stoner humor" while having visuals of a distinct flavor. In 2005, a British-Canadian adult
animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
about a British high school in South London, titled ''
Bromwell High ''Bromwell High'' is an adult animated series about a British high school in South London. It first aired on Teletoon in Canada and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom (incomplete run). It is a co-production between Hat Trick Productions in the UK ...
'', aired on Teletoon at Night in Canada first, then had an incomplete run on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
in the United Kingdom. It was a co-production between Hat Trick Productions in the UK and
Decode Entertainment WildBrain Studios is the in-house television studio arm of Canadian entertainment company WildBrain based in Vancouver which was established in 2016 as DHX Studios. History In January 2016, DHX Media announced that they would be building a 60 ...
in Canada. It was originally to be entitled ''Streatham Hill'', but was renamed ''Bromwell High'' in January 2005. Streatham Hill is a real London suburb, while Bromwell is fictional. Reviewers stated that it made fun of living in a London suburb while "delivering a surreal and outlandish viewing experience," parodying British culture itself, having simplistic but edgy humor while staying a "wholly original" animation. In 2016 '' Secret Path'' was released, a multimedia storytelling project principally developed by singer-songwriter and writer
Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...
. ''Secret Path'' told the story of Chanie Wenjack, who died at age 12 in 1966 after escaping an Indian residential school in Northern Ontario. The project included an animated television film on the CBC written and directed by Downie, a concept album and concert tour, a graphic novel, and instructional material. In March 2019, '' Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series'', a spinoff of the '' Trailer Park Boys'' series, began streaming on Netflix. CBR would describe it as "the animated successor to beloved Canadian comedy icons" and stated that any continuation of "this Nova Scotian raunchiness is always appreciated." Later, in July 2020, it was announced that a
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the series is in the works at MTV Studios with the original creators Lord, Miller, and Lawrence returning. Specifically, the Adult Animation Unit of
ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...
was said to be at work on rebooting shows like ''
Clone High ''Clone High'' (occasionally referred to in the United States as ''Clone High USA'') is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence. The show centers on a high school populated by the c ...
'' and '' Beavis and Butt-Head''. In November 2020, Chris Robinson of
Cartoon Brew Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004. Cartoon Dump It also created ''Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ''Mystery Sc ...
wrote an article about the animation scene in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario. Within the article, he argued that while Canada has put out fine animation on TV for years, it has "never produced a series" which is just as "timeless and popular" as '' Family Guy'' and ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
''. He also stated that adult animations tend to be "very Canada-specific" like ''Corner Gas Animated''. However, Robinson quoted George Elliott, president of Elliott Animation, who stated that outside of adult animation, "many Canadian shows have found global success."


Chile

In 2018, ''The Wolf House'', also known as La Casa Lobo, by filmmakers Cristobal León & Joaquín Cociña, who both work in Santiago de Chile, Chile. premiered. It was described as "a stop-motion tour de force, staged as a single sequence" while having a strong "allegory about Chile's inglorious ties with Nazis."


United States

In the United States, before the enforcement of the Hays Code, some cartoon shorts contained humor that was aimed at adult audience members rather than children. Following the introduction of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system,
independent animation The term independent animation refers to animated shorts and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry. A good portion of the work is viewed in animation festivals and private screen rooms along with schools that produce ...
producers attempted to establish an alternative to mainstream animation. Initially, few animation studios in the United States attempted to produce animation for adult audiences, but later examples of animation produced for adults would gain mainstream attention and success. Adult animation in the United States includes shows with superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy elements. Some of the most prominent animations with these mature themes include '' BoJack Horseman'', '' Futurama'', '' Final Space'', '' Beavis and Butt-Head'', '' Robot Chicken'', '' South Park'', '' Big Mouth'', '' Rick and Morty'', '' Family Guy'', '' American Dad!'', ''
Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...
'' and ''
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
'', along with other
adult animated television series This is a list of adult animated television series (including streaming television series); that is, animated programs targeted towards audiences aged 18 and 34 and over in mind. Works in this medium could be considered adult for any number of rea ...
, feature films, and animation in other forms which helped the genre expand over the years.


Asia


China

For years, education in adult animation within China fostered "practical talents" in the country's animation industry. In 2017, the Chinese animated
dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
film directed by Liu Jian, '' Have a Nice Day'' premiered. It was first shown in the main competition for the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2017. It is Liu Jian's second feature film, following his debut '' Piercing I''. The film, mostly done by Liu himself, took three years to complete.专访│总投资不足1000万,《大世界》凭啥斩获金马奖最佳动画长片?
每日经济新闻. 27 November 2017.
The film was withdrawn from the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2017 at its producer's demand as it did not have proper governmental clearance to be screened internationally.
Strand Releasing Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Wee ...
distributed the film in US while Memento Films International handled additional territories including the UK, Mexico, Spain, Benelux, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Eastern Europe. The film has been licensed to screen in more than 30 countries. In China, the premiere of the film took place at the Pingyao International Film Festival in early November 2017, with a guest appearance by Chinese film director
Jia Zhangke Jia Zhangke ( zh, c=贾樟柯, p=Jiǎ Zhāngkē, born 24 May 1970) .He is a Chinese-language film and television director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and writer. He is the dean of the Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Media College and the dea ...
, who praised the film as a milestone in Chinese animation. The film won Best Animation Feature at the 54th Golden Horse Awards. The film was later described as revealing a "dark side of China's modernization" and called subversive.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong, like the rest of China, has been involved in adult animation for years. One of these animations is the recent film, '' No.7 Cherry Lane'', which has been described as "dense with literary and classic cinema references" and called the first venture by Yonfan into adult animation itself.


Iran

The French and Iranian film, ''
Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...
'', based on comics of the same name has been described an "adult-oriented story." The film features various LGBTQ characters. At one point in the film,
Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi (; fa, مرجان ساتراپی ; born 22 November 1969) is a French-Iranian graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. Her best-known works include the graphic novel ''Persepolis'' a ...
lives for some time in a communal apartment with eight gay men in Vienna, Austria. Additionally, Marjane's boyfriend Fernando (named Enrique in
the comic ''The Comic'' is a 1969 American Pathécolor comedy-drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright (which was the original title of the film), Michele Lee as Bright's love interest, and R ...
) reveals to her that he is gay. He thanks her because she helped him to discover his own sexuality. He states that if a relationship with her does not work out, it would not work with any other girl.


Japan

Adult animation is known in Japan as . In both English and Japanese, the word "adult" may carry connotations of a sexual nature, but anime on serious topics such as '' Akira'' or ''
Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...
'' are often referred to as "adult" in Japan as well, even when sex is not a key part of the story. ''Akira'' is also seen as a pivotal film in the cyberpunk genre, particularly the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre while James Cameron cited ''Ghost in the Shell'' as a source of inspiration for ''Avatar'', and called it "the first truly adult animation film to reach a level of literary and visual excellence." Some have argued that since the 1980s, Japanese animators have been "grounded in complicated, nuanced stories for decades," including those created by
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...
like '' Totoro'', ''
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...
'', '' Howl's Moving Castle'', '' The Wind Rises'', and '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''. The latter were spread to a U.S. audience with distributors like
GKids GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...
. Other stated that anime changed by the "increasing importation of Japanese animated adult erotic fare" beginning in the 1990s. Animated works of an erotic nature have come to be described in western fandom as '' hentai'', the Japanese word for "perverted", while in Japan they are more likely to be referred to as or . Although some associate all anime with sexual content, hentai only makes up a very small portion of the Japanese animation industry. As the result of the misconceptions about Japanese animation, some video stores outside Japan have classified children's anime as for adults only. Many video stores have also categorized all adult-oriented animation as anime, including the works of
Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...
, the French animated film ''
Fantastic Planet ''Fantastic Planet'' (french: La Planète sauvage; cs, Divoká planeta, lit. "The Wild Planet") is a 1973 experimental adult animated science fiction film, directed by René Laloux and written by Laloux and Roland Topor, the latter of whom a ...
'', the Canadian animated film '' Heavy Metal'' and the HBO television series ''
Todd McFarlane's Spawn ''Todd McFarlane's Spawn'', also known as ''Spawn: The Animated Series'' or simply ''Spawn'' is an American adult animated superhero television series that aired on HBO from 1997 through 1999 and reran on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming b ...
''. In the case of ''Spawn'',
Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...
directly listed
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
as an influence, particularly Katsuhiro Otomo's '' Akira'', and stated his hope that the show would help encourage the rise of adult animation on North American networks. This in part lead to the involvement of the Japanese studio Madhouse in the production, in an attempt to "combine" the Eastern and Western styles. Some of the earliest manga magazines were aimed at adults, and this provided a prime source as the basis for adult anime works. Manga marketed towards adult men are known as ''
seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word ''seinen'' literally means "youth", but the term "''seinen'' manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Ma ...
'', while those marketed towards adult women are known as '' josei''. ''
Weekly Manga Times is a Japanese weekly seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha since November 1956. The publisher claims it was Japan’s first weekly manga magazine, and the magazine is published every Friday. While its name resembles that of its sister maga ...
'' began publication in 1956, and would be followed by '' Weekly Manga Goraku'' (1964), and '' Manga Action'' (1967). Anime works based on adult manga include '' Berserk'', '' Golden Boy'' and ''
Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Egawa. It was published in Shogakukan's ''Big Comic Spirits'' from 1992 to 2001, its chapters were collected in 34 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The story follows, high schooler Naoki ...
''. In the case of ''Golden Boy'', while it has been positively received by English-language reviewers, it is widely known for its mature content, as the OVA features instances of partial female nudity, orgasms, and female masturbation, and the manga becomes almost pornographic starting in the second volume. On the other hand, reviewers predicted that ''
Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Egawa. It was published in Shogakukan's ''Big Comic Spirits'' from 1992 to 2001, its chapters were collected in 34 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The story follows, high schooler Naoki ...
'', otherwise known as ''Tokyo University Story'', would have "sexually-oriented material" but would not be pornographic. In 1969, Osamu Tezuka and
Eiichi Yamamoto was a Japanese film director and screenwriter of anime. He is known for directing the Animerama film series conceived by Osamu Tezuka. Yamamoto directed ten films between 1962 and 1986. His 1973 film '' Kanashimi no Belladonna'' was entered in ...
released '' Senya Ichiya Monogatari'' (千夜一夜物語) the first of a series of three animated feature films aimed at an adult audience. It was dubbed and released in the United States as ''
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
''. Osamu Tezuka and
Eiichi Yamamoto was a Japanese film director and screenwriter of anime. He is known for directing the Animerama film series conceived by Osamu Tezuka. Yamamoto directed ten films between 1962 and 1986. His 1973 film '' Kanashimi no Belladonna'' was entered in ...
collaborated on the second film in the Animerama series '' Kureopatora'' (クレオパトラ) released in the United States as '' Cleopatra: Queen of Sex''. This film was described by some as a time-travel farce which portrayed
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
as a "cigar-chomping, American-style politician." The third film '' Kanashimi no Beradonna'' (哀しみのベラドンナ) was directed by
Eiichi Yamamoto was a Japanese film director and screenwriter of anime. He is known for directing the Animerama film series conceived by Osamu Tezuka. Yamamoto directed ten films between 1962 and 1986. His 1973 film '' Kanashimi no Belladonna'' was entered in ...
alone. It was entered in the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
, but did not achieve commercial success. In addition, mockbusters: Maruhi Gekiga, Ukiyoe Senichiya ( マル秘劇画 浮世絵千一夜, The first animated film to receive the R-18 in Japan), Do It! Yasuji's Pornorama ( ヤスジのポルノラマ やっちまえ!!, based on the erotic gag manga by Yasuji Tanioka) was released, but did not achieve commercial success either, with failure of films like this leaving a big stigma in the animation industry and the movie industry, with adult animation disappearing from the Japanese market until at least the 1980s. The film was also called pornographic, with female staff, most of whom were in their 20s, embarrassed as female genitals appeared frequently during production. The film was also dismissed as "foolish" by Japanese animation researcher Yasushi WatanabeKatsunori Yamaguchi and Yasushi Watanabe, "History of Nippon Animation Films" Yubunsha, 1977, p.317 and by movie historian Junichiro Tanaka as a "silly poor piece of writing." In 1984, original video animation (OVA) of an erotic nature began to be released, first ''
Lolita Anime is a collection of adult OVAs produced by Wonder Kids. It contains many notable firsts, as the first erotic original video animation ( OVA), depicting hentai scenes which include yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Gi ...
'' by Wonder Kids based on the manga work of Fumio Nakajima, and then later in the year ''
Cream Lemon is an early hentai series. The first ''Cream Lemon'' OVA was released in August 1984, though ''Cream Lemon'' was not the first hentai OVA. The first was ''Lolita Anime'', released earlier in February 1984. Related to ''Cream Lemon'' ...
'', a series which proved to be a big hit in Japan. ''
La Blue Girl is an erotic anime and manga series by Toshio Maeda. Like Maeda's other hentai series (''e.g.'', ''Urotsukidōji''), ''La Blue Girl'' features a large amount of tentacle rape. It departs somewhat from its predecessors, however, by lighte ...
'' and ''
New Angel ''Angel'' is a hentai manga series written and illustrated by U-Jin. The original manga series met with controversy in 1990–1991 in Japan and was retired from its magazine serialization. It was adapted into an OVA of the same name and ...
'' are two other erotic anime to be released in United States and Europe in the early 1990s. 1988 saw the release of ''Akira'' directed by Katsuhiro Otomo which was dubbed and shown in North American theaters, and released on VHS around the world. Its success led to a greater interest in Japanese adult anime in the US, and opened the door for other titles. In 1995, ''Ghost in the Shell'' was released as a feature film, directed by Mamoru Oshii based on the manga by
Masamune Shirow , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. Shirow is best known for the manga '' Ghost in the Shell'', which has since been turned into three theatrical anime films, two anime television series, an anime television movie, an a ...
. It received critical acclaim in both Japan, and abroad hinting further at the possibilities of adult animation. One of the Japanese animation porn movies, which is said to have started the American adult video market, was '' Urotsukidoji'', which came out in 1989. While the adult animation market exists primarily through direct sales, like mail-order to customers, and wholesale to specialty shops which cater to animation and to comic-book fans, the legal framework in Japan and the United States regarding the regulation of obscene and pornographic material is overall rather similar. The North American
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
channel has been airing adult-oriented anime series via
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
on Saturday nights: '' Cowboy Bebop'', '' FLCL'', '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'', '' IGPX'' and ''
Space Dandy , is a 2014 Japanese comic science fiction anime television series produced by Bones. The series follows the misadventures of Dandy, an alien hunter who is "a dandy guy in space", in search for undiscovered and rare aliens with his robot assi ...
''. Four of the Japanese TV networks have similar late night anime blocks:
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
's ''
Noitamina is a Japanese programming block on Fuji TV devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 00:45 to 1:15. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male dem ...
'', and Mainichi Broadcasting System's '' Animeism and Anime Shower''. The Animeism block was initially launched in October 2006 and was reorganized in 2015 from a Thursday night/Friday morning schedule to a Friday night/Saturday morning schedule, with MBS chief producer Hirō Maruyama stating that the change was done in order to prevent conflicts with Kansai TV's broadcast of ''
noitaminA is a Japanese programming block on Fuji TV devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 00:45 to 1:15. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male dem ...
''. From June 2017 to January 2019, Animeism signed a deal with Amazon to stream their series exclusively on Amazon Prime Video worldwide, with '' Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul'' and '' Altair: A Record of Battles'' becoming the first titles exclusive to Prime Video on 29 June 2017. In January 2019, the streaming deal was no longer in effect worldwide, with Prime Video only exclusively streaming titles in Japan only. On 8 March 2019, MBS introduced the ''Super Animeism'' programming block, which expands the ''Animeism'' block by a half-hour starting from July 2019. On 23 March 2019, it was announced at
AnimeJapan AnimeJapan is a Japanese anime consumer show held for the first time at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in Tokyo, in March 2014. It was created from the merger of the Tokyo International Anime Fair with the Anime Contents Expo. It is organ ...
2019 that MBS, Kodansha, and DMM Pictures formed a two-year partnership to co-produce anime titles for the block, adapting works from Kodansha published manga or creating original works into anime, with ''
Domestic Girlfriend is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kei Sasuga. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from April 2014 to June 2020, with its chapters collected in twenty-eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. The manga was publis ...
'' being the first title produced through the partnership. As for the Noitamina timeslot, it was expanded from half an hour to a full hour in 2010, with Fuji TV and
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
announcing an agreement that allows Funimation to simulcast series from the noitaminA block in North America within an hour of their airing in Japan. So far the only non-anime series aired on noitaminA was the live-action adaptation of '' Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture'' in 2010. Them, trom 2016 to 2018, Fuji TV signed a deal with Amazon to exclusively stream and simulcast series from the noitaminA block through their Prime Instant Video service on 17 March 2016, starting with '' Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress'', with '' The Promised Neverland'' being the first title since the deal to no longer be exclusive to Prime Video outside Japan. Starting in 2004,
Mahiro Maeda Mahiro Maeda (前田 真宏 ''Maeda Mahiro''; born March 14, 1963) is a Japanese anime director, character designer, and animator. Helen McCarthy in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' called him "one of the most imaginative visualists in anime". He ...
directed a multi-episode anime adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel as '' Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo''. It was aired on
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...
between 5 October 2004 and 29 March 2005, then later on
Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...
a day after its TV Asahi broadcast, running from 6 October 2004 and 30 March 2005
NHK BS2 , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestria ...
between 17 June – 2 December 2008, AT-X between 7 January – 20 June 2012. The anime was first licensed for a Western release by
Geneon Entertainment (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan. Th ...
, which released the title on DVD with both subtitled Japanese audio and an English dub. Then, in 2006, Crunchyroll came into existence. It presented
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
to a U.S. audience and later began presenting "a slate of originals" beginning in 2019, including shows like '' Onyx Equinox'', a story which was "created by Latina showrunner Sofia Alexander set in Aztec Mexico." From October 2012 to March 2013, the first season of '' Psycho-Pass'' aired on
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
's
Noitamina is a Japanese programming block on Fuji TV devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 00:45 to 1:15. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male dem ...
. The second season aired from October 2014 to December 2014 on the same programming block, and the third season from October to December 2019. This series was later compared with ''The Simpsons'', "satiric family sitcom," in terms of both animations having a specific flavor, each presenting adult themes in their own way. The same critic noted that while Japan has various anime with adult themes, in the United States adult animation is "largely comedic." She also called both "entertainment for adults" even though they have differences in "aesthetics, genres and storylines." In May 2020,
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
penned a deal to "stream the library" of
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...
, which includes adult animations. Later that year, Joanne Waage, general manager of Crunchyroll stated that anime was still growing in "international markets." Elsewhere, Waage stated that due to the pandemic, "awareness of anime outside Asia" has been growing. Around the same time, it was announced that an adult anime titled '' Idaten Deities in the Peaceful Generation'' would be released in July 2021 on
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
's
Noitamina is a Japanese programming block on Fuji TV devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 00:45 to 1:15. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male dem ...
programming block. Also at that time, '' Yamibou'', based on an adult visual novel, began streaming in English for the first time on
Tubi TV Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
and RetroCrush. The same month, one critic, Nick Creamer argued that children's animation in Japan can handle almost all the topics which appear in "late-night anime," even exploring them with "more nuance and grace" than those which are "adult-oriented." In November it was further announced that an "adult workplace romance" named ''JimiHen—!!'' would be turned into a TV anime series. That same month, the Association of Japanese Animations stated, in a report, that Japanese animation would be challenged by
adult animation in the United States In the United States, before the enforcement of the Hays Code, some cartoon shorts contained humor that was aimed at adult audience members rather than children. Following the introduction of the Motion Picture Association of America film rati ...
, writing: "Hollywood has finally advanced into the realm overlapping with the adult animation market that had been Japan's monopoly. If this trend shifts into high gear, the existence of Japanese animation may be questioned again." On 12 December 2020, Lloyd Newkirk pointed out a number of more adult animation like '' Berserk'', '' Monster'', '' Afro Samurai'', '' Basilisk'', ''
Gantz ''Gantz'' (stylized as ''GANTZ'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected i ...
'', '' Hellsing: Ultimate''.


Korea

Adult animation began arising in the 2010s, much like
Yeon Sang-ho Yeon Sang-ho (born 25 December 1978) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He gained international popularity for working his adult animated films ''The King of Pigs'' (2011) and '' The Fake'' (2013), and the live-action film '' Tr ...
, known as directing a live-action zombie film '' Train to Busan,'' directs his film debut in 2011 film '' The King of Pigs,'' depicts their subject matter such as the realistic portrayal of juvenile delinquency, bullying, violence, and poverty. Yet, he continued to make animation targeted at adults with dark, controversial themes that brutally and incisively explore human nature and social realism. His first film, along with his works, '' The Fake'' (2013) and '' Seoul Station'' (2016), is much praised for its animation and themes due to his influences by the works of Japanese anime and manga artists,
Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art Univer ...
and Minoru Furuya. Another adult animated film ''
Leafie, A Hen into the Wild ''Leafie, A Hen into the Wild'' (), also called ''Daisy, A Hen into the Wild'' in English-speaking countries, is a 2011 South Korean animated drama film which depicts the freedom, will and instinctive motherly love of a hen as she raises an adopted ...
'', was responsible for South Korea's increase in legitimacy in the animation industry. The first entirely computer-animated and musical film primarily produced in South Korea was '' Swimming to Sea'', originally distributed by CJ Entertainment and officially released on Steam. In November 2019, it was announced that Crunchyroll would be partnering with Webtoon, a platform launched by a
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
n development company,
Naver Corporation The Naver Corporation is a South Korean internet conglomerate headquartered in Seongnam that operates the search engine Naver. Naver established itself as an early pioneer in the use of user-generated content through the creation of the online ...
14 years prior, to produce animated works from their catalog. While adult animations were not specified, there is no doubt that some of those animations produced will be adult in character since 75% of the users in North America are 24 years old or younger and 64% are female according to articles in '' Korea JoongAng Daily'' and ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
''. In 2020, Crunchyroll released a number of animated series based on Webtoon properties, including '' Tower of God,
Noblesse The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armige ...
,'' and ''God of High School.'' In November 2020, it was announced that Locus Corporation, founded in 2009, creating many "influential and internationally renowned films," was being rebranded, with a new set of animations, such as ''Running Man: Revengers'', ''Toemarok'', and ''
Yumi's Cells ''Yumi's Cells'' () is a 2021 South Korean television series directed by Lee Sang-yeob and starring Kim Go-eun, Ahn Bo-hyun, Jinyoung, Lee Yu-bi, and Park Ji-hyun. Based on the eponymous webtoon, it is a cell-based psychological romance that ...
''. The CEO of Locus, James Hyungsoon, stated the part of the company's business plan was to produce "top-quality family animated films" while also expanding the "Korean animation industry with teenage and adult-oriented animation," along with series for preschoolers and young kids. In the past, Locus has produced films like '' Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs''. One of Locus's productions, ''Yumi's Cells'', may be related to the webcomic of the same name published on Webtoon.


Philippines

Adult animation has a staying power in the Philippines. In 2007, the Filipino-American adult animated sitcom '' The Nutshack'' premiered on
Myx TV Myx (pronounced "mix") is an American pay TV channel based in Daly City, California with an office also in Redwood City, California targeting a multicultural audience. As a sister network to Myx (Philippines), it launched in the United States ...
, but the series concluded in 2011 after two seasons. In 2020, '' Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story'' (''You Animal!'') premiered on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
, an adult animation and comedy. Avid Liongoren, the director of the animation, stated the hope for creating a "Filipino style when it comes to cartoons" and noted that the Philippines has a huge animation industry "that does work for foreign projects." He also hoped it encourages "more local productions" and work for Pinoy animators. Others, like reviewer Oggs Cruz, called ''Hayop Ka!'' a "thing of beauty" with vibrant colors, good comic timing, and romance. However, the same reviewer criticized it for "copious amounts of gratuitous nudity and sex," while arguing that the "overflowing creativity" in the animation is wasted. Later, it was said that it took three years to produce and that it was one of the many animated films in the Philippines.


Australia

Various adult animations have premiered in Australia. In October 2020, a film titled ''Combat Wombat'', came out, and became the second film in a trilogy of animated features which are part of the "Tales from Sanctuary City" series. It was described by one critic as an "entertaining and surprisingly adult movie."


Europe


Britain

In 1954, a British film studio produced an animated adaptation of George Orwell's novel ''
Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to c ...
''. This film is believed to have been one of the earliest examples of British animation, and like the book is meant to be a portrayal or critique of Stalinism with characters serving as analogues to figures from the
Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, as argued by Orwell himself, due to his hostility to Stalin and his policies since the 1930s. He also described it, in his essay "
Why I Write "Why I Write" (1946) is an essay by George Orwell detailing his personal journey to becoming a writer. It was first published in the Summer 1946 edition of ''Gangrel''. The editors of this magazine, J.B.Pick and Charles Neil, had asked a selection ...
" (1946), as the first book in which he tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, "to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole". The film was brought to the silver screen thanks to funding from the CIA and support from the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination, while it was banned by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. For many years, it had been problematic to import films that did not meet the approval of the United States Customs Service. In 1972, the Customs Service refused entry of a short film titled ''Sinderella'', depicting scenes of sexual intercourse between characters based upon ''
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', '' Little Red Riding Hood'', ''
Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for ...
'', ''
Goldilocks and the Three Bears "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...
'' and ''
Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, includi ...
''. The film was seized as obscene material, and its distributor filed a court case and an appeal in 1974, but lost both. In
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, Martin Rosen directed two animated features based on the novels of Richard Adams: '' Watership Down'' in 1978, and ''
The Plague Dogs ''The Plague Dogs'' is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'', about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. It was first pub ...
'' in 1982. Both films deal with adult themes: ''Watership Down'', the negotiation of leadership to organize an exodus away from persecution, and ''
The Plague Dogs ''The Plague Dogs'' is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'', about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. It was first pub ...
'' on animal testing. For ''Watership Down'', the film has received a mostly positive critical reception, with an 82% 'Fresh' rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 34 reviews, while the critical consensus on the site says the film is "aimed at adults perhaps more than children" and is a "respectful, beautifully animated adaptation of Richard Adams' beloved book." As for ''The Plague Dogs'', it was praised for its visual style, while others believed that the film was downbeat due to an unhappy ending. Currently the film has a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 7 reviews with an average rating of 7 out of 10. '' Pink Floyd – The Wall'', an adaptation of Pink Floyd's concept album of the same name, was highly
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
ical, and symbolic imagery and sound are present most commonly. The film is mostly driven by music and does not feature much dialogue. The film is best known for its imagery of mental isolation, drug use, war, fascism, dark or disturbing animated sequences, sexual situations, violence and gore. Despite its turbulent production and the creators voicing their discontent about the final product, the film received generally positive reviews and has an established cult following. Reviewers praised the film for its "a stunning vision of self-destruction" while others called it "unrelentingly downbeat and at times repulsive" It earned two British Academy Awards: Best Sound for James Guthrie, Eddy Joseph, Clive Winter, Graham Hartstone and Nicholas Le Messurier, and Best Original Song for Waters. and "unremitting in its onslaught upon the senses." Gilmour stated (on the " In the Studio with Redbeard" episodes of ''The Wall'', ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason'' and ''
On an Island ''On an Island'' is the third solo studio album by Pink Floyd member David Gilmour. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the US the following day. It was his first solo album in 22 years since '' Abou ...
'') that the conflict between him and Waters started with the making of the film. Gilmour also stated on the documentary ''Behind The Wall'' (which was aired on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the UK and VH1 in the US) that "the movie was the less successful telling of ''The Wall'' story as opposed to the album and concert versions." Later, although the symbol of the crossed hammers used in the film was not related to any real group, it was adopted by white supremacist group the Hammerskins in the late 1980s. In terms of the animation, even before the original Pink Floyd album was recorded, the intention was to make a film from it. The original plan was for the film to be live footage from the album's tour, together with Gerald Scarfe's animation and extra scenes, and for Waters himself to star.
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
did not intend to make the film, as they did not understand the concept. Later,
Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...
convinced Waters and Scarfe that the concert footage was too theatrical and that it would jar with the animation and stage live action. After the concert footage was dropped, Seresin left the project and Parker became sole director. In 1986, England produced yet another politically themed animation, '' When the Wind Blows'', which recounts a rural English couple's attempt to survive a nearby nuclear attack and maintain a sense of normality in the subsequent fallout. The film stars the voices of John Mills and
Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...
as the two main characters and was scored by Roger Waters of ''Pink Floyd''. The film is a hybrid of traditional and stop-motion animation. The characters of Jim and Hilda Bloggs are hand-drawn, but their home and most of the objects in it are real objects that seldom move but are animated with stop-motion when they do. In the United States it was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on 11 November 2014 by Twilight Time in a limited edition of 3000, and in the United Kingdom, a dual-format release containing both the DVD and Blu-ray version was released on 22 January 2018 by the BFI. Severin Films released another Blu-ray of the movie in the United States through their Severin Kids label on 21 April 2020. In 2016, '' Ethel & Ernest'' was broadcast on television on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. Some critics called it a "placid, exquisitely observed chronicle of an ordinary English marriage." In November 2020, the '' Daily Express'' reported that an adult animated comedy named ''The Prince'' was coming soon to
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
. They described it as a show which will poke "fun at the British monarchy...lampoon ngvarious royals."


Denmark

In 2011, the 3D computer-animated
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
comedy film ''Ronal the Barbarian,'' parodies the barbarians and other stereotypes of the sword and sorcery fiction, role-playing games and films such as Conan the Barbarian and the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' class, with nods towards the 1980s fantasy boom and its association with
traditional heavy metal Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
. In 2021, '' Flee'', an animated documentary film was based on a true story that follows of a refugee named Amin Nawabi, who shares his hidden past for the first time, of fleeing his country to Denmark for his safety. Sommer noted "I had early development sketches of the main character where he was more stylized.” The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary section. Among film festivals and critics were garnered more important acclaim for its thematic content and depiction of Afghanistan, and is considered one of the most highly acclaimed and award-winning animated documentaries since ''
Waltz with Bashir ''Waltz with Bashir'' ( he, ואלס עם באשיר, translit. ''Vals Im Bashir'') is a 2008 Israeli adult animated war documentary drama film written, produced, and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman's search for lost memories o ...
'' (2008), which it results as a spiritual successor. Flee makes history at the Academy Award records, which was selected as the Danish entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, where it received a nomination, along with nominations in the Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated Feature categories, making it the first PG-13, adult animated, foreign-language, and animated documentary film to be nominated simultaneously. It also received many accolades, mainly for animated and documentary categories including the recipient of Golden Globes, BAFTA and Annie nominations, winning the latter for Best Animated Feature - Independent.


Central and Eastern Europe

In 2018, '' Chris the Swiss'', a Swiss animated documentary film directed by Anja Kofmel, premiered. It was screened in the
International Critics' Week The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...
section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. It was described as a war animation which combines live-action interviews, newsreel animation, and more to focus on the Yugoslav Wars. Then, in October 2020, Alex Dudok de Wit of ''
Cartoon Brew Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004. Cartoon Dump It also created ''Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ''Mystery Sc ...
'' wrote about the CEE Animation Forum, held virtually from 6 to 8 October, which he called "a seedbed of interesting European animation," noting that six features were pitched to potential partners and buyers, half of which were for families, with the other half being for "older audiences." In the latter was ''Igi'', a Georgian feature produced by Natia Nikolashvili, ''King Wray'', a Romanian feature produced by Anton Groves and Damian Groves, and ''The Black Swallow'', a French feature produced by Louis-J Gore. While the Groves brothers and Gore were looking for co-producers, Nikolashvili was looking for "financial and creative partners."


France

In 1973, Rene Laloux directed '' La Planète sauvage'' based on the French science fiction novel '' Oms en série'' by Stefan Wul. It has been televised in the United States and United Kingdom as ''
Fantastic Planet ''Fantastic Planet'' (french: La Planète sauvage; cs, Divoká planeta, lit. "The Wild Planet") is a 1973 experimental adult animated science fiction film, directed by René Laloux and written by Laloux and Roland Topor, the latter of whom a ...
'', and several DVD editions have been released. Also in 1973, an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
film, '' King Dick'', was released and became a cult classic in the United Kingdom. A West German short called ''
Snow White and the Seven Perverts Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
'' ("'' Schneeflittchen unter die Sieben Bergen''"), produced by Love Film, also appeared. This little film mostly parodies
Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
and has been included as part of other compilation films. The first foreign animated feature to receive both an X rating and wide distribution in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was '' Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle'', a French-Belgian film. A dubbed version, which featured new dialogue performed by American actors and comedians such as
John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...
, Adolph Caesar,
Brian Doyle-Murray Brian Murray (born October 31, 1945), known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, i ...
, Judy Graubart,
Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...
and Johnny Weissmuller Jr., received an R rating. According to distributor Stuart S. Shapiro, the X rating hurt the film's distribution, but the dubbed version "took the bite out of the film. It lost its outrageousness." ''Tarzoon'' was banned by the New Zealand Board of Censors in 1980. In July 2018, Balak's independently animated series, '' Peepoodo & the Super Fuck Friends'' began airing online on the show's website. The series, produced by French animation company Blackpills, consists of comedic sexual education cartoon shorts for those over the age of 18. It is the second series produced by the animation studio Bobbypills. After a campaign of crowdfunding on Kickstarter, a second season began production.


Germany

In 1990, '' Werner – Beinhart!'', a German animated film based on the comic book sold 4.9 million tickets, making it the third most successful movie in theaters in Germany in 1990, behind '' Look Who's Talking'' and '' Pretty Woman'', and one of the highest-grossing German films in the 1990s with a gross of $24 million (€19.7 million). The film contains
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
sequences that are embedded in those of the
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
sequences, which form the background story. Between 1996 and 2011, four more animation film adaptations were made based on the Werner comics. '' Felidae'' is a 1994 German adult animated horror/mystery film directed by Michael Schaack, written by Martin Kluger, Stefaan Schieder and
Akif Pirinçci Akif Pirinçci (; born 20 October 1959) is a Turkish-born German writer who is best known internationally for his novel ''Felidae''. Biography Pirinçci was born on 20 October 1959 in Istanbul, Turkey, but emigrated to Germany together with ...
, and based on Pirinçci's 1989 novel of the same name. Produced by Trickompany, the film features the voices of
Ulrich Tukur Ulrich Tukur (born Ulrich Gerhard Scheurlen; 29 July 1957) is a German actor and musician. Early life and education Tukur spent his youth near Hannover where he finished his final secondary school examinations in 1977. He also earned a high sch ...
,
Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...
and
Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...
. The story centers on domestic house
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
Francis and the grisly feline murders taking place in his new neighborhood. In a review, Eric Hansen of
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
said the film lacked screen time for the plot, and that it needed more to avoid confusion. Hansen complimented the voices behind Francis and Bluebeard, but criticized
Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...
's voice-over as a "by-the-numbers performance."


Russia

Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...
, a
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n
animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...
based in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, which was launched in 1936, the studio has produced more than 1,500 cartoons. began specializing in the creation of animated TV series, feature films and short films. The studio made films in a wide variety of genres and art techniques, including stop-motion, hand-drawn, 2D and 3D techniques. This included cartoons for an adult audience like ' in 1954 by , ' the same year by and Boris Stepantsev, and ' in 1955 by and Roman Davydov. The studio also produced ' in 1957 by , and ' in 1957 by Yevgeny Migunov. The latter film was shot entirely in a way that was innovative for that time when films were done in a conventional manner. In November 2020 it was announced that Premier, the video platform of
Gazprom-Media Gazprom-Media (russian: ОАО Газпром-Медиа) is the largest Russian media holding. Gazprom-Media was established in January 1998 as a subsidiary of the 1997 established Gazprom Media Holdings. On its founding in 1997, Gazprom Media ...
, and the TV channel 2x2 had begun a partnership which would produce adult animation while "working with well-known Russian and international companies." At least three animated series will then be released in 2021 and 2022. The Director of 2x2, Denis Vsesvyatsky, was quoted as saying that this will open a "new era in the adult animation industry in Russia" as they look for potential partners, while the CEO of Premier, Ivan Grodetsky, described "connoisseurs of adult animation" as a new audience for the platform in an attempt to attract new users. In December 2020, Russian artist Prokopiy Ulyashov, 27, re-imagined ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'', a mature animated series, styling them as "characters from famous Soviet animation series and cartoons."


Spain

In 2015, '' Birdboy: The Forgotten Children'', a
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
- horror coming-of-age film, premiered. It followed the titular character, Birdboy, a shy outcast in a post-apocalyptic society, and Dinky, a teenage mouse runaway fleeing her desolate island home. The series was also described as a film which dissects social ills in Spain in a "funny, sad, sweet, macabre, and surgeon-sharp" manner. It was later said that Alberto Vázquez, who created ''Birdboy: The Forgotten Children'' and later, ''Homeless Home'', was at the forefront of adult animation itself. Also, ''Birdboy'' won Best Animated Feature at the 2016
Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...
, Vázquez scored a historic win by simultaneously receiving the prize for Best Animated Short (''Decorado'', which was also honored at Cannes). In June 2020, a trailer was released for Vazquez's next feature film, ''
Unicorn Wars ''Unicorn Wars'' is a 2022 Spanish-French animated splatter war film written and directed by Alberto Vázquez. The plot is set against the backdrop of a conflict between anthropomorphized teddy bears and unicorns, following two bear siblings dep ...
'', which is an adult animated film about the gruesome war against teddy bears and unicorns, or as the teddy bears call them, devils.


See also

* List of highest-grossing adult animated films *
Modern animation in the United States Modern animation in the United States from the late 1980s to the late 1990s is referred to as the renaissance age of American animation (or Silver Age of American animation). During this period, many large American entertainment companies refor ...
*
List of adult animated television series This is a list of adult animated television series (including streaming television series); that is, animated programs targeted towards audiences aged 18 and 34 and over in mind. Works in this medium could be considered adult for any number of re ...
*
List of adult animated web series This is a list of adult animated web series. Works in this medium could be considered adult for any number of reasons, which include the incorporation of explicit or suggestive sexual content, graphic violence, profane language, dark humour, or o ...
*
List of adult animated films This is a list of adult animated films that were made from the 1920s onwards. These are films intended for a more mature audience than many animated films. They are often distinct from television series or web series. 1920s 1950s and 1960s ...
*
Independent animation The term independent animation refers to animated shorts and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry. A good portion of the work is viewed in animation festivals and private screen rooms along with schools that produce ...
* Animation in the United States in the television era * Cartoon violence


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* {{Animation