It seems most of the cartoons out there are either targeting preschoolers, girls or young adults. There were once plenty of action shows for boys to sink their teeth into, but the kid show market now seems to be split between comedies and lore/intrigue-driven series that could potentially draw boys in but are mostly female-centric and/or go delve deep into drama, which doesn't leave as much room for self-projection or excitement - the later seems to be phasing out though, especially at Disney. Aside from some exceptions like CGI He-Man or Transformers shows, I don't see a lot of pure boy-oriented action shows - feel free to direct me to recent series that fit that description, though.
Are current networks and showrunners not hitting the right notes with a young male audience either because they are disconnected from what appeals to them, or they are simply not interested in producing the shows they'd like? The most pessimistic will say that there is no getting kids to watch anything that's not TTG or Youtube Minecraft videos, but with the popularity of anime, particularly shonen, an important portion of a potential market must be looking at the East and not the West for animated entertainment. I'm far from understanding all of the nuances of the subject, from the backstage of the animation industry to the minds of Generation Z/Alpha, but do you believe there is still time to make profitable action shows for boys? What criteria do you think they need to fill for them to work, aside from a competent male lead?
>Are boy-oriented action shows an endangered species
Those kind of cartoons cost more. So yes.
Joseph Watson
That's a given, but they should be able to make that money back with marketing, accessible airing times and merchandise - stuff channels like CN have been stingy on more than once. If kids just don't play with toys as much as they used to, then video games should be the go-to thing - and not just shitty mobile games but honest-to-God console games, particularly for the Switch.
Julian Gonzalez
No because ahonen anime still exists.
Japan does what Hollywon't
Carter Howard
What you're saying makes sense, and that is how these companies used to think in the 80s, 90s, and early 00s. But now they think they can have their cake and eat it too. Ultra low low low budget cartoons that kids will buy the crappy toys for anyway. Nobody has less respect for children than marketing people. They think kids will buy any old trash as long as they see it on TV.
Noah Thompson
I was going to ask what's keeping them from doing what Japan does, but I remembered that, even if the shareholders want results and profits, they're ran by disconnected snobs who think the world boils down to Twitter and would sooner die than give commoners what they want.
Sounds like TMNT, Transformers, Ben 10, Marvel and DC shows aren't really going anywhere.
But overall, I'd say action shows are dying. Most current shows whether they star girls like Owl House or boys like Gravity Falls are more adventure shows that action ones. Miraculous Ladybug and maybe She-Ra are the only shows I'd call "girl-oriented action shows". It's just cheaper. Toys just don't sell like they used to in modern computer age.
Jacob Morris
Boys don't watch cartoons, they play videogames
Nathan Sanders
Hollywood makes far more money than the nips so I don't think they're losing sleep over it.
Adrian Ward
>Hollywood makes far more money than the nips Yeah from live action movies and TV. Not animation
Daniel Peterson
> TMNT Never really been into TMNT, but from what I've seen, they always got the action part right. > Transformers They'll definitely be sticking. Only concern is quality. > Ben 10 Didn't the latest show go the comedy route? > Marvel and DC shows Don't really know about Marvel. They do have those chibi-looking Youtube series, which can make for a good introduction to the characters for the youngest audience, I guess. but from what I've seen, DC seems to be reaching for a more teenager/YA market, especially with Young Justice, which latest season seemed to have plenty of drama and idpol to boot. There's that Batmobile show though. I haven't watched a second of it, but this definitely looks like something for kids who love everything on wheels.
> Toys just don't sell like they used to in modern computer age. Hence why action shows should try and lean more on video game to make their money back. There were also some toylines where each toy had a symbol or a code you'd scan to obtain currencies or bonuses for mobile games. I thought it was a pretty clever incentive for kids to buy the toys, if they enjoyed those games enough. But they shouldn't limit themselves to mobile and go out of their way to sell console games. However, like explained, it's not that simple.
Carson Rivera
Action shows are toxic masculinity. Boys should be weak and submissive.
Nathan Smith
Sad part is there are probably a lot of writers and animators who believe that, hence why so many girl-centric shows where boys tend to operate as the second banana at best.
Wyatt Carter
Well Ben 10 still had action but yes, it was way more goofy and comedic than before.
Dominic Rodriguez
Speaking of TMNT, Usagi Yojimbo got lately a cartoon.
Dominic Bennett
Shonen anime is catered to girls tastes more than guys.
Adrian Hill
Steven Universe is show where boy is soft and wholesome and still plays first banana to team of action girls who often need him to get over their personal issues.
Camden King
There is Star Trek: Prodigy. Sonic is also getting a cartoon soon. Also, Dragon Prince. Even with elf being main action girl of a team, Callum is clearly protagonist.
David Jones
>Sad part is there are probably a lot of writers and animators who believe that
Because it's the truth. Men literally rape every woman around them just by existing. All masculinity is toxic masculinity and needs to be eliminated.
Evan Johnson
I doubt a lot of boys want to be a chubby, effeminate character like Steven when they could be Ben 10 though. The lack of male Gems for a mostly female cast might be a turn off, among other issues like the departure from the monster of the week format, fillers, hiatus and the feewings-crying shit. At the end of the day, it looks like SU's primary audience was young adults, similar to SPOP.
