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Originally Posted by Kirarakim
Yes I know this in theory but it still doesn't make sense to me, but perhaps it's a different cultural thing because in the US comics & cartoons are normally thought of for a younger audience.
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Yes, it does basically seem like a cultural thing. And in that sense you're right that it doesn't really "make sense", except that it's tradition now. This is sort of like how, in North America at least (and probably a lot of other places in the world), it's much more "okay" for an adult to call themselves a gamer now than it was 15-20 years ago. These sorts of stereotypes only change with time. There certainly is enough "evidence" to support that anime can be as serious and mature as any live action show when it wants to be, so I think perceptions could shift over time. But consider also that people are already overloaded with media choices as it is (when they're not considering anime as a distinct set), so at some point it may be less "active stereotyping" and more just a lack of interest. (I mean, if the selling point here is "anime can be just as real as any live action show", it's then competing against an entire field of live action choices already. Why bother with another medium if you're already plenty entertained with what's out there? I suppose the difference is that a lot of us are looking for anime to provide something different than our own local entertainment choices as it is, so our expectations/goals are a bit different.)
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Originally Posted by SeijiSensei
There's also the fact that the story itself is quite disturbing and, so far at least, somewhat depressing. Adults like me are probably fine with that, but it's not the kind of material that would appeal to people looking for some light entertainment. I'm pretty sure that audience segment substantially outnumbers the people willing to watch something as dark as Shin Sekai Yori.
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Yes, I think this is another perhaps cultural difference that is easy to overlook. I often think of it like "anime as comfort food". That's more or less the way I treat anime personally but, for a number of reasons, this way of viewing anime seems to be less common among non-Japanese fans.
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Originally Posted by totoum
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I sometimes feel stuck in the middle between "mainstream fans who don't watch anime" and "anime fans who don't have the same taste as the mainstream"
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I suppose it seems ironic that this combination gives you the more "niche" taste in this anime market but, by the same token, it does seem to make sense.