As a child I used to love watching Japanese animation cartoons. I was a fan of Astroboy, Voltron, and many others. I later began to watch the films like Akira which were absolutely breath taking. I remember the Sci Fi channel used to play them every Saturday morning, making Sci Fi destination television. Somewhere along the way Japanese animation became a part of the American landscape and 99 out of 100 shows were some Japanese animation transplant like Beyblade, or Pokemon.
I don't mind that these shows are so popular I just mind that they lack strong stories. I was learning about death, loyalty, and teamwork with shows like Voltron. I think that kids don't really appreciate or understand the idea of a strong story, partly because it's not on their immediate radar as compared to all the bright colors and cool robots.
I guess it's a sign of my times that now I see things the way my parents saw them when I was a youngster. Perhaps my views will change and I'll learn to appreciate the market saturation, but for the time being I won't.
