Is anime more popular than cartoons in the U.S. now?

[CyberCubed]

Anime began picking up steam in the early 2000's but it seemed western produced cartoons still remained as popular. However nowadays due to streaming and Crunchyroll being widely available, it seems anime has surpassed cartoons in the west.

It seems today that most kids/teens of the 2020's and prior prefer watching anime over cartoons. Kids today love Demon Slayer but you don't see them going on about My Adventures with Superman or Bugs Bunny. The only recent cartoon that gained tracktion was X-men 97 but even then it's just recently bias. You could also arguably say the Incinvible superhero cartoon, although Season 2 was less popular than the first.

It probably doesn't help matters Cartoon Network is a shadow of its former self even in terms of new programming, it's most popular shows are in fact anime these days, and all traditional Saturday morning cartoon blocks are dead.

When was the last time we had a "breakout" cartoon on the level of The Simpsons, Spongebob, Avatar the Last Airbender, or the older DC cartoons? Even most shows airing now are just continuations of older cartoons like Family Guy/Futurama still making new seasons or the endless relaunches of DC/Marvel superhero cartoons. I'd say TMNT 2012 came close but not as quite as big as it should of been.

 

[PicardMan]

Anime seems to be rapidly undergoing the same process video games had during the 2000s as it became more socially acceptable with younger generations to like. Some cite the coronavirus and bored teens forced to try new things. At least with Gen Z, anime and even anime cons are cool. Much of the pre Z generations seem to keep the anti anime, and anti non adult comedy animation stigma, and I would say if you're born after 2000, maybe anime is more popular, but it seems like a great deal people born before 2000 still only watch adult comedy cartoons and think anime is a nerd thing. Zoomers like anime, but I don't know if they necessarily dislike Western cartoons, as X-Men 97 and Invincible were both hits, and Arcane, Fiona and Cake, and a few other series succeeded. Gen Z seems to be main demo for cartoons and I think what were seeing is not a decline in Western cartoons as much as a decline in comedy cartoons in general, especially the once ubiquitous hyper vulgar adult comedy genre. Velma seems to be rock bottom for the genre. It seems so rapid and topsy turvy how things have gone with Zoomers compared to previous gens. Anime is cool and adult comedy isn't cool anymore. So jealous that 2020s teens can be open anime fans.

 

[Chris Wood]

It probably doesn't help matters Cartoon Network is a shadow of its former self even in terms of new programming, it's most popular shows are in fact anime these days, and all traditional Saturday morning cartoon blocks are dead.

What are CN's big anime hits right now? I don't recall seeing many anime series on there lately.

So jealous that 2020s teens can be open anime fans.

I am actually not jealous of this because the popular anime styles have changed so much that it is hard to find any titles of interest after 2010. It seems the anime market has become fragmented in the same way that western animation has. You either get very cutesy stuff aimed at young kids, or very serious/dramatic stuff that I guess is targeting adults and older teens. I don't see much in the way of new general audience action adventure series.

The list of most popular current anime series in the Reddit anime community boggles my mind. It is almost all romance/drama series that I would have no interest in. I guess action just doesn't sell anymore.

 

[PicardMan]

The list of most popular current anime series in the Reddit anime community boggles my mind. It is almost all romance/drama series that I would have no interest in. I guess action just doesn't sell anymore.

Reddit represents the extreme vocal minority. Go to a con and everyone is dressed up as a battle shonen character. The Crunchyroll anime awards are all dominated by the genre. Most merch at Walmart (yes Walmart finally sells non Dragonball/non Naruto merch now), is merch for the shonen series. Nu Toonami became substantially more popular than Adult Swim Action when they stopped trying to make drama anime a thing. The 2020s shonen boom is bigger than any boom ever. When DBZ and Naruto were popular, those shows had lots of fans that hated every other anime and refused to watch any anime besides DBZ and Naruto. DBZ/Naruto only ism is a thing of the past. This is the best time to be a shonen fan. The sad thing is, that a disaster the scale of the coronavirus is what accelerated the social normalization of anime. Video games did not require a major socially upheaving disaster to lose their nerd stigma.

 

[The Overlord]

Anime began picking up steam in the early 2000's but it seemed western produced cartoons still remained as popular. However nowadays due to streaming and Crunchyroll being widely available, it seems anime has surpassed cartoons in the west.

It seems today that most kids/teens of the 2020's and prior prefer watching anime over cartoons. Kids today love Demon Slayer but you don't see them going on about My Adventures with Superman or Bugs Bunny. The only recent cartoon that gained tracktion was X-men 97 but even then it's just recently bias. You could also arguably say the Incinvible superhero cartoon, although Season 2 was less popular than the first.

It probably doesn't help matters Cartoon Network is a shadow of its former self even in terms of new programming, it's most popular shows are in fact anime these days, and all traditional Saturday morning cartoon blocks are dead.

When was the last time we had a "breakout" cartoon on the level of The Simpsons, Spongebob, Avatar the Last Airbender, or the older DC cartoons? Even most shows airing now are just continuations of older cartoons like Family Guy/Futurama still making new seasons or the endless relaunches of DC/Marvel superhero cartoons. I'd say TMNT 2012 came close but not as quite as big as it should of been.

It seems like you are dismissing the major streaming shows. Besides X-Men 97 and Invincible, there is also Castlevania, Arcane and Hazbin Hotel.

Also X-Men 97 being a recent big hit is a good sign and season 2 of Invincible being less popular than season 1 does not mean it is not popular.

Also you had major animated movies like Super Mario and Across the Spider Verse do well at the box office.

I think saying Cartoon Network is not putting much of an effort doesn't mean much when cable is dying.

Also I think you are ignoring popular indie animation like the Amazing Digital Circus, Lackadiasy, Murder Drones and Helluva Boss.

And not every anime is going to hit like Demon Slayer.

 

[PicardMan]

The big counterpoint to the idea that anime has surpassed American animation with all demographics, "massive box office hits" like the Demon Slayer movie usually make under $50 million in the American box office, which is absolutely abysmal by American animated movie standards.

 

[Light Lucario]

Anime began picking up steam in the early 2000's but it seemed western produced cartoons still remained as popular. However nowadays due to streaming and Crunchyroll being widely available, it seems anime has surpassed cartoons in the west.

It seems today that most kids/teens of the 2020's and prior prefer watching anime over cartoons. Kids today love Demon Slayer but you don't see them going on about My Adventures with Superman or Bugs Bunny. The only recent cartoon that gained tracktion was X-men 97 but even then it's just recently bias. You could also arguably say the Incinvible superhero cartoon, although Season 2 was less popular than the first.

Even with Crunchyroll and streaming in general in mind, I don't think anime is more popular than western cartoons. It's far more accessible and it's more socially acceptable to like anime than it was even back in the early 2000's, but I don't think that means western cartoons aren't popular. Considering that My Adventures with Superman is airing on Adult Swim, it isn't really surprising that kids aren't talking about it. I know it was originally intended for Cartoon Network proper, but airing on a block with a more adult audience would mean that more adults would be talking about it. Kids haven't been into Bugs Bunny for decades at this point either most likely.

I wouldn't really write off X-Men 97's success as being recently bias. It attracted a lot of attention every week from new and old fans and seemed to be the first Marvel project in quite some time to get universal praise, which is pretty big. From what I could tell, Invincible was still pretty popular. Season two being less popular than season one doesn't really change that and I think it was primarily due to the long hiatus in the middle of the season. I think it did well on Amazon Prime regardless.

There have been other popular shows via streaming like Hazbin Hotel and Arcane. Fiona and Cake did really well for Max. I'd argue that some Disney Channel animated series have been pretty popular too. Both Amphibia and The Owl House have pretty devoted fanbases. They may not be huge pop culture hits, but the numbers for The Owl House's third season episodes were pretty big and Amphibia has gotten one book and an artbook on the way, something that does not happen that often with Disney Channel shows.

It probably doesn't help matters Cartoon Network is a shadow of its former self even in terms of new programming, it's most popular shows are in fact anime these days, and all traditional Saturday morning cartoon blocks are dead.

Unless you're talking about Toonami on Adult Swim, I don't know what popular anime shows you're talking about. I don't think Cartoon Network's current state would be that much of an issue in terms of western animated shows when cable itself is less popular and more kids would be watching shows via streaming anyway. Traditional Saturday morning cartoon blocks were outdated even before streaming took over. Why wait for a weekly block of kid shows when there were already multiple channels full of kid shows available every day?

When was the last time we had a "breakout" cartoon on the level of The Simpsons, Spongebob, Avatar the Last Airbender, or the older DC cartoons? Even most shows airing now are just continuations of older cartoons like Family Guy/Futurama still making new seasons or the endless relaunches of DC/Marvel superhero cartoons. I'd say TMNT 2012 came close but not as quite as big as it should of been.

I don't think that TMNT 2012 was that popular when it first premiered. There was definitely more hype for it compared to Rise of the TMNT since it was the first new TMNT series in years and was also the first outing for Nickelodeon, but I think that interest faded pretty quickly. To be fair, Nickelodeon's schedule did not help it out.

 

[Chris Wood]

Reddit represents the extreme vocal minority. Go to a con and everyone is dressed up as a battle shonen character. The Crunchyroll anime awards are all dominated by the genre. Most merch at Walmart (yes Walmart finally sells non Dragonball/non Naruto merch now), is merch for the shonen series. Nu Toonami became substantially more popular than Adult Swim Action when they stopped trying to make drama anime a thing. The 2020s shonen boom is bigger than any boom ever. When DBZ and Naruto were popular, those shows had lots of fans that hated every other anime and refused to watch any anime besides DBZ and Naruto. DBZ/Naruto only ism is a thing of the past. This is the best time to be a shonen fan. The sad thing is, that a disaster the scale of the coronavirus is what accelerated the social normalization of anime. Video games did not require a major socially upheaving disaster to lose their nerd stigma.

The thing is though, I'm generally not into modern shonen or drama anime. I'm not really interested in series that focus on school, magic/monsters, or competitions.

I'm looking for the next Fist of the North Star, Macross, Berserk, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, The Big O, Black Lagoon, Attack on Titan, etc. There have been a few recent Lupin and Gundam series, but otherwise not much to scratch that action anime itch.

 

[PicardMan]

I'm looking for the next Fist of the North Star, Macross, Berserk, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, The Big O, Black Lagoon, Attack on Titan, etc. There have been a few recent Lupin and Gundam series, but otherwise not much to scratch that action anime itch.

Okay, you mean action seinen. Now aside from Vinland Saga, there doesn't seem to be very much of that around anymore. Ninja Kamui was something close to that, even it was a pretty flawed series. Isekai action is also big, but I don't think either one of us are really into isekai.

 

[The Overlord]

Okay, you mean action seinen. Now aside from Vinland Saga, there doesn't seem to be very much of that around anymore. Ninja Kamui was something close to that, even it was a pretty flawed series. Isekai action is also big, but I don't think either one of us are really into isekai.

It would interesting to apply these categories to Western animation. Would X-Men 97 be an American shounen series, while Invincible would be an American seinen series?

 

[CyberCubed]

I forgot about Hazbin Hotel, but was it really that popular? I watched it and enjoyed it, but given its aimed at adults with adult jokes (sex or drug jokes), it's not really accessible or mainstream for children to watch. Granted I know kids will watch it anyway but it's something kids would never be allowed to watch back in the day.

Also stuff like Castlevania and Mario, well, I know they're made by western companies, but they're still based on Japanese properties. I mean the Castlevania anime is well...an anime, even if it's written/produced by westerners. The Mario movie is also a movie, not a TV series, which i was refering to. Also you could bring up the Scott Pilgrim show but that was short-lived.

Also what I mean is, what are the big mainstream cartoons of today? Every cartoon that's decently popular today is based on an old franchise that has been around forever. Teen Titans Go is a spinoff of Teen Titans which in itself is an old DC franchise from the 1980's. We get new Batman or Superman cartoons every few years, but none are as popular as the old Bruce Timm series. As I said, X-men 97 is an outlier so far since most of Marvel's other cartoons over the last decade have all been unpopular or canceled fast, and even then it's a continuation of a 90's cartoon.

What was the last breakout cartoon? The last ones I can remember is maybe Steven Universe/Adventure Time...even those shows are what, 10-15 years old now? it's easy to forget how old these shows are now. Avatar came out in 2005, Spongebob in what....2000? Each new Ninja Turtles cartoon is less popular than the previous, and only the 2012 show had relatively mainstream popularity for a little while. I also can't count Futurama, Family Guy, Simpsons, etc. since they're all decades old and just always around.

There's no popular cartoons anymore.

 

[Space Cadet]

What was the last breakout cartoon? The last ones I can remember is maybe Steven Universe/Adventure Time...even those shows are what, 10-15 years old now? it's easy to forget how old these shows are now. Avatar came out in 2005, Spongebob in what....2000? Each new Ninja Turtles cartoon is less popular than the previous, and only the 2012 show had relatively mainstream popularity for a little while. I also can't count Futurama, Family Guy, Simpsons, etc. since they're all decades old and just always around.

There's no popular cartoons anymore.

Rick & Morty would fit this definition.

 

[Light Lucario]

I forgot about Hazbin Hotel, but was it really that popular? I watched it and enjoyed it, but given its aimed at adults with adult jokes (sex or drug jokes), it's not really accessible or mainstream for children to watch. Granted I know kids will watch it anyway but it's something kids would never be allowed to watch back in the day.

It seemed to be pretty popular, or at least pretty successful from what I've seen. You're talking about whether or not anime is more popular than western cartoon. A series doesn't have to be mainstream in order to be successful or popular and people have brought up plenty of examples of successful western animated series and movies in the past few years. Asking if there are popular western cartoons and if there are any huge breakout shows that have hit the mainstream pop culture consciousness are two different things.

Also stuff like Castlevania and Mario, well, I know they're made by western companies, but they're still based on Japanese properties. I mean the Castlevania anime is well...an anime, even if it's written/produced by westerners. The Mario movie is also a movie, not a TV series, which i was refering to. Also you could bring up the Scott Pilgrim show but that was short-lived.

I think that's pretty nit picky. It doesn't matter that they're based on Japanese properties. They're still made by people from outside of Japan. The general public might not even associate Mario with Japan just because he's Nintendo's mascot. Your question about if anime is more popular than western cartoons should apply to movies. The success of animated western movies would be a pretty good indication of how popular western cartoons can be. From what I've heard, the Scott Pilgrim show was designed to be just one season, so it being short lived isn't a sign of its lack of popularity. It was pretty successful from what I've heard too.

Also what I mean is, what are the big mainstream cartoons of today? Every cartoon that's decently popular today is based on an old franchise that has been around forever. Teen Titans Go is a spinoff of Teen Titans which in itself is an old DC franchise from the 1980's. We get new Batman or Superman cartoons every few years, but none are as popular as the old Bruce Timm series. As I said, X-men 97 is an outlier so far since most of Marvel's other cartoons over the last decade have all been unpopular or canceled fast, and even then it's a continuation of a 90's cartoon.

Again, asking what is mainstream and what is popular are two different things. Considering how making reboots, remakes and continuations are out there in the media landscape these days, writing off multiple series just because they're from older properties. I don't care for TTG, but there's no denying that it is a successful and popular series. It has lasted longer than the original Teen Titans series and got a movie in theaters to boot. That suddenly doesn't matter just because it's an old DC franchise. Same with X-Men 97.

What was the last breakout cartoon? The last ones I can remember is maybe Steven Universe/Adventure Time...even those shows are what, 10-15 years old now? it's easy to forget how old these shows are now. Avatar came out in 2005, Spongebob in what....2000? Each new Ninja Turtles cartoon is less popular than the previous, and only the 2012 show had relatively mainstream popularity for a little while. I also can't count Futurama, Family Guy, Simpsons, etc. since they're all decades old and just always around.

Rick and Morty is probably the answer, but since it premiered over ten years ago, I don't know if you'd count it. I still don't remember the 2012 TMNT series having any mainstream popularity. I can kind of understand not counting Family Guy and Simpsons, but I don't know why you'd include Futurama. It has been brought back multiple times, but unlike the other two series, there are stretches of time between each revival, so it hasn't just been on going for decades.

There's no popular cartoons anymore.

No, there are, but you seem pretty set on this notion regardless of the flaws in your arguments. The fact that you try to dismiss multiple fairly recent cartoons and movies prove that.

 

[CyberCubed]

I mean stuff like Rick and Morty, Teen Titans Go, etc. are still shows that debuted like a decade ago now. They're not even "new shows" anymore, even if they still make new episodes. It's like saying Simpsons or Spongebob are new shows because they still get new episodes/seasons even though the shows themselves are 20-30+ years old now. This is what I mean, these shows from the 2010's are still a decade old now.

TMNT 2012 was very popular, it aired on mainstream Nickelodeon channel and had a much higher viewership than the 4kids 2003 TMNT cartoon did, for the simple basis that Nick is much more popular than 4kidsTV was back in the day. It also re-aired many places like on Nicktoons and streaming. Rise of the TMNT on the other hand bombed, it was canceled after only 2 seasons and they shortened the second season as a result. We'll see how the Mutant Mayhem cartoon does based on the recent movie. But again, TMNT 2012 debuted in...2012. 2012 is 14 years ago. It's not a "new show" anymore either.

Even stuff like Legend of Korra started back in 2014, that's a decade ago now and the show was less popular than Avatar. Most recent DC cartoons bombed one after another aside from TTGo and the Harley Quinn show. I wouldn't be surprised if the new Superman cartoon ends right after the second season (as of now no new seasons are ordered). All the recent Batman shows bombed since Brave and the Bold and that began in 2008. Also remember Young Justice was also originally canceled due to low ratings, and the revival didn't do all that well even with core fans.

And as I said, everything is just the same IP. X-men '97 isn't even a new series, it's a continuation of an old one. We'll always get new Batman, Spider-man, etc. cartoons because they're evergreen properties, but none of the newer series stick and they wind up being forgotten/overlooked by both kids and adults. I can't think of any show that kids love that much these days that isn't anime.

 

[PicardMan]

And as I said, everything is just the same IP. X-men '97 isn't even a new series, it's a continuation of an old one. We'll always get new Batman, Spider-man, etc. cartoons because they're evergreen properties, but none of the newer series stick and they wind up being forgotten/overlooked by both kids and adults. I can't think of any show that kids love that much these days that isn't anime.

Your question is "Is anime more popular than cartoons these days?". I think that is a manner of demographic. With today's kids, I can see that, but not necessarily with the pre Z generations. Tons of over 30s prefer their Family Guy and South Park reruns. A franchise being around a while does not invalidate its popularity. I think the answer to your question is less a yes or no rather it depends on factors like age demographic and geography (anime seems more popular in urban areas than rural).

 

[Light Lucario]

I mean stuff like Rick and Morty, Teen Titans Go, etc. are still shows that debuted like a decade ago now. They're not even "new shows" anymore, even if they still make new episodes. It's like saying Simpsons or Spongebob are new shows because they still get new episodes/seasons even though the shows themselves are 20-30+ years old now. This is what I mean, these shows from the 2010's are still a decade old now.

You keep changing your argument. You were asking if there are popular western cartoons, not if any new shows are popular. These shows premiered years ago, but they're still popular and successful. There aren't a lot of shows, animated or otherwise, that are immediately a hit right off the bat. People have also provided examples of examples of recent animated series that are popular and successful, but you keep either changing your argument or dismissing them outright. Invincible dosen't suddenly not count because of how season two was handled or because it's aimed at adults.

TMNT 2012 was very popular, it aired on mainstream Nickelodeon channel and had a much higher viewership than the 4kids 2003 TMNT cartoon did, for the simple basis that Nick is much more popular than 4kidsTV was back in the day. It also re-aired many places like on Nicktoons and streaming. Rise of the TMNT on the other hand bombed, it was canceled after only 2 seasons and they shortened the second season as a result. We'll see how the Mutant Mayhem cartoon does based on the recent movie. But again, TMNT 2012 debuted in...2012. 2012 is 14 years ago. It's not a "new show" anymore either.

Airing on Nickelodeon doesn't necessarily mean that TMNT 2012 was more mainstream. I'm sure that it did have more range and better ratings than 4KidsTV, but that isn't to say that it was hugely popular with the mainstream public. And bringing up reruns on Nicktoons is pretty ridiculous when even at that point, the channel was primarily a dumping ground for reruns and shows Nickelodeon didn't care about. I wouldn't say that Rise of the TMNT bombed necessarily. Even with a shorter second season, it still got a movie on Netflix, which is not something most shows get even after being canceled.

Even stuff like Legend of Korra started back in 2014, that's a decade ago now and the show was less popular than Avatar. Most recent DC cartoons bombed one after another aside from TTGo and the Harley Quinn show. I wouldn't be surprised if the new Superman cartoon ends right after the second season (as of now no new seasons are ordered). All the recent Batman shows bombed since Brave and the Bold and that began in 2008. Also remember Young Justice was also originally canceled due to low ratings, and the revival didn't do all that well even with core fans.

Both TTG and to a lesser degree Harley Quinn are also examples of popular western cartoons. Yeah, Harley Quinn is more of a rauchy adult cartoon, but it's still been successful, which is noteworthy given how terrible Max has treated its cartoon series. TTG being around for so long does not mean it suddenly doesn't count as a popular western cartoon series.

And as I said, everything is just the same IP. X-men '97 isn't even a new series, it's a continuation of an old one. We'll always get new Batman, Spider-man, etc. cartoons because they're evergreen properties, but none of the newer series stick and they wind up being forgotten/overlooked by both kids and adults. I can't think of any show that kids love that much these days that isn't anime.

I still don't understand why you are dismissing shows from recongizable brands, aside from how it goes against your ever changing argument. X-Men 97 is still a new series. Being a continuation of an old show doesn't change that.

I can't speak for kids since I don't really talk or interact with a lot of them, but I don't think kids just watch anime these days. Not to mention that is still changing your argument. You were talking about if anime is more popular than western cartoons, but now you're saying that kids love mostly anime series, which is an entirely different subject.

 

[CyberCubed]

I'm refering to young kids/teens of today. Most people following these shows are like 30+ year olds. X-men 97 is literally aimed at the kids from the 90's who grew up, so are now in their mid-30's. Shows like Simpsons/Spongebob, etc are old shows from 20 years ago with most of their fanbases aged.

As I said, I doubt kids are watching Hazbin Hotel or other "adult" cartoons (and if they are they really shouldn't, parents should watch about this stuff). Harley Quinn again is an adult oriented comedy with violence/sex jokes and isn't for kids. And even shows like Teen Titans Go are a decade old now even if they remain popular.

Most shows we get nowadays are just established IPs that have been around for decades, as I keep mentioning, we'll always get new superhero cartoons for Batman, Spider-man, Superman, X-men, etc....but I don't think any of the recent shows have been popular with kids/teens, it's mostly with older fans. And for the record Nick TMNT 2012 was incredibly popular, it got high ratings on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons and was shown on their mainstream channels, I've been in the TMNT fandom for 30 years, it's the second most popular mainstream TMNT cartoon after the original 80's series. the 2003/4kids series is still my favorite, but I know since it aired on Foxbox/4kidsTV it severely limited it's popularity back in the day, it usually lost in ratings also to Pokemon/Yu-gi-oh which aired at the same time as well as Kirby and Sonic X. It's easy to forget TMNT 2003 aired in 2003-2007 mainly when all those other shows were more popular.

 

[Light Lucario]

I'm refering to young kids/teens of today. Most people following these shows are like 30+ year olds. X-men 97 is literally aimed at the kids from the 90's who grew up, so are now in their mid-30's. Shows like Simpsons/Spongebob, etc are old shows from 20 years ago with most of their fanbases aged.

As I said, I doubt kids are watching Hazbin Hotel or other "adult" cartoons (and if they are they really shouldn't, parents should watch about this stuff). Harley Quinn again is an adult oriented comedy with violence/sex jokes and isn't for kids. And even shows like Teen Titans Go are a decade old now even if they remain popular.

That still feels like changing the argument to me. The title of this thread isn't "Do these days kids like anime more than cartoons?" It's "Is anime more popular than cartoons in the west now?" Those are different questions and while you did mention kids/teens in your initial post, I don't think it was the main argument you were going for. At the very least, the thread's title gave off the impression that you were going for more than just talking about the kids these days. Dismissing other western series because they're aiming at adult fans still comes off as pretty nit picky or trying to ignore holes in your logic about how there's no popular cartoons these days.

The more I think about it, the more I doubt that you were originally trying to focus on just the kids/teens of today. If that was the case, I don't think you'd bring up X-Men 97 or Invincible. Both series are clearly aimed at more adult audiences, especially Invincible, so they wouldn't really fit with that argument.

Even if that was what you were going for, you're still dismissing shows like TTG or Spongebob just because of how long they've been going as if they wouldn't still be connecting with the current kid audience. The Loud House is one of the few Nicktoons post-Spongebob that has become a hit with a movie, a spin-off and I think a live-action movie in the works. Does that series not count just because it premiered in 2016 instead of 2024? You also don't have a problem assuming what kids are watching. If they can handle the violence in Demon Slayer, they can probably handle Harley Quinn, even though there is obviously more raunchy humor in the latter by comparison.

Most shows we get nowadays are just established IPs that have been around for decades, as I keep mentioning, we'll always get new superhero cartoons for Batman, Spider-man, Superman, X-men, etc....but I don't think any of the recent shows have been popular with kids/teens, it's mostly with older fans. And for the record Nick TMNT 2012 was incredibly popular, it got high ratings on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons and was shown on their mainstream channels, I've been in the TMNT fandom for 30 years, it's the second most popular mainstream TMNT cartoon after the original 80's series. the 2003/4kids series is still my favorite, but I know since it aired on Foxbox/4kidsTV it severely limited it's popularity back in the day, it usually lost in ratings also to Pokemon/Yu-gi-oh which aired at the same time as well as Kirby and Sonic X. It's easy to forget TMNT 2003 aired in 2003-2007 mainly when all those other shows were more popular.

Considering that its other competition was airing on Foxbox/4KidsTV and Rise of the TMNT premiered way too soon after the previous series ended, I don't think that TMNT 2012 being the second most popular mainstream TMNT cartoon is as much as an acheivment as you think it is. The general public most likely recognize TMNT from the 80's series and probably the first set of live action movies more so than TMNT 2012. To be clear, I'm not saying that the series wasn't popular or successful, but how mainstream it was, even for a brief time, seems debatable to me.

 

[Chris Wood]

And as I said, everything is just the same IP. X-men '97 isn't even a new series, it's a continuation of an old one. We'll always get new Batman, Spider-man, etc. cartoons because they're evergreen properties, but none of the newer series stick and they wind up being forgotten/overlooked by both kids and adults.

I see what you're saying.

In terms of western animation, the 1990s introduced some great series, but since then it seems to me there has been a very heavy reliance on milking existing properties instead of introducing new ones. Especially for action series.

Having a new X-Men cartoon is cool, but how about something no one's heard of before? Let's put aside Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc. for a bit and go off the grid. I suppose you could say Invincible is an example of that, but that seems more of an adult drama that happens to be animated than a general audience cartoon.

Although the quality varied a lot, one thing that was great about the 80s - early 90s in TV animation is that brand new cartoon properties were constantly being introduced at a rapid pace.

 

[Pooky]

I forgot about Hazbin Hotel, but was it really that popular?

It's not a household name but it's very well liked by a decently sized niche audience, teens and young adults especially.

In other words, pretty much like Demon Slayer is in the west.