The ages of anime characters

Credit to linked pixiv user

As I discussed in a post from a few years back, the majority of characters in the anime we watch, especially main characters, tend to be teenagers around the age of 14-18. There are many anime that feature a cast of older (or younger) characters too, but teenagers seem to dominate if you look at the anime released in any given year or season. In the previous post I talked about why I think school-aged characters are so prominent, so today I wanted to look at the other side of it; anime that feature adult characters rather than teenagers and if the age difference has any significant impact on the kinds of stories an anime can tell…

To reiterate what I said in the old post, one of the main reasons I feel characters in high school (and middle school occasionally) are so prevalent in anime is because high school, or more importantly, the teenage years, are a time when people are trying to figure out who they really are and establish their true personality, goals, friends, romances, etc,. They’re not yet tied down by the responsibilities of adulthood with raising a family and working, so they have the freedom for self discovery and personal growth, which is great for coming-of-age stories, as well as the time to get involved in any fantastical plot the anime throws at them. Teenagers are old enough to think and act like adults, so adult viewers can relate to their actions, yet they still have that childhood innocence that makes us want to cheer them on and care about them. High school is also a life event we’ve more or less all experienced, for better or worse, and that fact alone can help us relate to the characters as well as give us a nice sense of nostalgia or wish-fulfillment. All these reasons together make teenage characters ideal for telling a variety of stories with characters we can get attached to.

So what about the relatively few anime that star adult characters (or a mix of kids and adults)? Anime such as Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Space Brothers, Baccano!, Usagi Drop, Darker Than Black, Spice and Wolf, and Fate/Zero fall into this category, but is there really anything that sets them apart from anime that star teenage characters? I guess the question to ask is if the ages of a particular cast of anime characters were different, how much would that affect the overall story? Well, Bobduh’s post over on Wrong Every Time, which was my original influence for this post, sheds light on that. He states:

“Adults, college-age people, and teenagers all have different central concerns, different degrees of experience, different manners of speaking – if characters are written so that they’re actually reflective of their experiences, shows about adults should naturally be fundamentally different from shows about teenagers. Plus, characters aside, there are many themes and narrative focuses that make the distinction particularly relevant. For example, Samurai Flamenco is very clearly a show about the disconnect between youthful ideals and adult realities – so yes, it wouldn’t really work as a show about teenagers. Cowboy Bebop is similar – its themes are echoes of those found in films like Seven Samurai, the story of the old soldier trying to find purpose in a world that has moved past him. That pretty much necessitates adult characters.”

In addition to Cowboy Bebop, some of the other series I mentioned above just wouldn’t work if the cast was changed to high school-aged. Space Brothers is a show about two brothers being/becoming astronauts, and since the setting is the real world where you have to be an adult to become an astronaut, it would have to be an entirely different show or take place in some fantasy world where kids are allowed to go into space. Likewise, Usagi Drop is a show about a 30-year old man who adopts the illegitimate child of his late grandfather and learns the trials and tribulations of being a (single) dad. Again, the story and message of the series just wouldn’t work if the main protagonist wasn’t a working adult.

However, I feel some of these anime wouldn’t have to change significantly to accommodate a teenage cast. I don’t think the overall plot of Fate/Zero or Darker Than Black would be terribly different if all the Contractors and Masters and Servants were teenagers. I do feel the shows would be more limited and probably not as good, since the variety of ages their characters have makes them interesting, but their stories would still more or less work.

On the other hand, I think there are a lot fewer anime with teenage characters that could be easily swapped out for adult characters. Putting adult protagonists in any of the hundreds of anime school comedies, school romances, or school slice-of-life series wouldn’t work for obvious reasons. And if you think about it, there are a ton of anime where important things in their plot and character development have to do with the characters being adolescences and taking part in a middle/high school, even if the anime’s story doesn’t completely revolve around a school setting. In many anime from Bleach and Evangelion to Sakamichi no Apollon and OreImo, the youthful age of the characters, the kinds of emotional struggles they have, and how they relate to each other, stems from their age, and significant things about them would have to be changed if they were adults, which would ultimately affect the overall plot. Of course, I’m sure there are some anime were the age of the main characters could go up 10-20 years and it wouldn’t have to change that much. I was actually thinking that would work for Madoka Magica. In terms of the plot at least, I don’t think much would change if the magical girls were magical women instead. But I do think some significant emotional factors the show has would lessen, for example, the whole idea of little girls having that kind of responsibility and going through that kind of horror may not be as strong if they were adult women instead.

Then there’s the idea that people are mostly interested in watching shows with characters who are their own age; adults only want to watch shows featuring adults while kids only want to watch shows where the main characters are kids. We see that a lot here in America where the majority of cartoons aimed at a child/family audience, both movies and TV shows, star characters 17 or younger, while most live-action entertainment for adults features adult characters. So why do so many adult anime fans like myself and others enjoy anime that revolve around teenage characters? I feel it goes back to what I said at the beginning of the post about why the teenage school years are a great dynamic age for storytelling. If the characters were too young, their maturity and worldview wouldn’t be strong enough to carry a complex story, and if they’re too old they’d lose that childhood innocence and freedom for self growth. And of course, Japan is all about cute and beautiful things, so anime characters that are youthful match that ideal perfectly.

There are exceptions of course, but the way I see it, anime that have a main cast of all or mostly adult characters tend to be more focused on telling a significant, heavy, and meaningful story, as opposed to putting a story around familiar anime tropes and character archetypes we find appealing in wish-fulfilling situations, which is what a lot of anime with teenage characters do. And before anyone calls me out, this totally doesn’t mean that the anime with teenage characters are worse in any way (most of my favorite anime and characters are from the high school setting after all XD) They simply have different ways of conveying story and characters. To give an example of what I mean, just take a look at the kinds of anime character goods sold in Japan. You’ll see that nearly all of them feature teenage characters and very few feature adult characters. There are many reasons for this of course – there are fewer adult characters, the kinds of anime that warrant character goods are aimed at otaku who can better relate to teenage characters because they’re teenagers/young adults themselves, or the simple fact that cute, youthful characters are more marketable and appealing to see on an item. But I also think it shows that anime that star teenage characters are more about marketing their characters’ appeal while anime with adult characters are more about telling a thematic story. Again, there can be exceptions on both ends and it doesn’t mean that either one can’t have better writing, plot, or character development than the other. They simply have different goals in mind and different ways of entertaining viewers.

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. Silvachief says:

    I realize this isn’t quite in line with the topic of your post but a lot of the time when anime supposedly star younger characters I feel that they don’t look or act the age they are supposed to be. I’ll have finished a show thinking the characters were late teens or early twenties only to figure out that they’re more like 13 or 14; it’s really bizarre. There’ no way real teenagers that young would act the way their anime counterparts do.

    Getting back on topic, I think one of the reasons teenage characters are so prevalent is because it makes it much easier to play the emotional instability card. Older people are far more comfortable with themselves, their place in the world and their relationships with other people when compared to teenagers and so a lot of their actions when places in similar situations just wouldn’t be as entertaining for the audience. Anime starring older people are more about telling a story whereas the majority of slice of life anime feature teenagers because their lack of experience means that they can be given a much wider range of reactions to various stimuli and the situations they’re placed in can be a lot more emotionally potent.

    I hope that all makes sense. I didn’t really stop to think about it too much =P

    • Yumeka says:

      I’m sure I’ve had lots of times where I though the same way – that certain characters don’t act their age. But I’ve actually felt that way more often with Western cartoons than anime. There are some anime with young characters, like elementary school-age, who act more like they’re in middle school or even high school. But it doesn’t bother me a whole lot because anime is already in the realm of fantasy (even if it’s a realistic story) so I can accept if characters who are 10-12 sometimes act like they’re 15-18 as long as the age difference isn’t too extreme without an explanation.

      Good points in your second paragraph there. That flexibility to grow along with an anime’s story, and the lack of experience that makes their reactions to things unpredictable, are certainly reasons for why teenage characters work well in anime.

  2. CoolCARTGuy says:

    I’m not entirely sure about this, but I’ve suspected there might be a cultural reason behind the frequency of teenage anime characters and shows based around high school that goes beyond the target demographic. Is there something different about how the Japanese view high school or the teenage years in general? The West seems to regard both with a healthy dose of skepticism – high school is hell when you go through it, those years are unimportant (except academically, perhaps), etc. Or maybe that’s just me, but still, something feels different…

    • Yumeka says:

      Actually that’s a very good point and something I didn’t even think of. In Japan, high school is not mandatory education and people who attend high school mostly do so with the hopes of then going to a good college after entrance exams. So another reason it’s prevalent in anime could be because it’s the first few years after mandatory education and before the struggle of the “real world” begins with college entrance exams. It’s the last few years where students can sort of take it easy after middle school and before they have to seriously consider their plans for the future.

  3. I think the audience in Japan for anime and manga skews toward the younger set, if I’m not mistaken – i.e., teens and early 20s? – which would account for at least some of the prevalence of teens as main characters.

    I do get a bit tired of teenagers being the default for main characters. Where it completely works for me though would be, for example, Fullmetal Alchemist, where Ed and Al have to be kids to make the bad choice that they do at the beginning in trying to resurrect their mother, and they then grow up by going through their harrowing journey. By the end of FMA they’re still teenagers but very mature, having gone through experiences most people their age couldn’t even imagine. That’s an example of where the age of the protagonists is critical to the effectiveness of the story.

    I do however love animes where everyone involved is unequivocally an adult, like Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi and Gundam 00 (though I think Setsuna is still a teenager, the rest of the Gundam pilots and nearly everyone surrounding them is an adult). It’s a relief sometimes to watch adults do their thing unencumbered by the insecurities and self-doubts that teenage characters so often show.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, most anime is definitely geared towards a younger audience, so that accounts for so many young characters, especially the ones based on shonen, shojo, or seinen manga.

      FMA is another great example of an anime that necessitates the characters being a certain age in order to work. Also agree that it’s refreshing to see anime that star adult characters, even though most of my favorites tend to be teenagers (I’m still a kid at heart in a lot of ways, LOL).

  4. Kal says:

    Very interesting analysis. I do agree that anime tends to use mainly teenagers in their stories, but as you mentioned, that is not always bad… As long as the story is tailored around it. However, as other posters mentioned, I do have some problems when the characters do not really act their age. Railgun is a great example. Misaka is 14, and Kuroko is 12-13. And the situations that they go through, their thought process, dialogues, etc, simply do not fit a 12-14 year old girl. So as long as the story is tailored around the age of the character, then I think it is fine. Cardcaptor Sakura is a great example of the story tailored around the age of Sakura. Her interactions with her family, with her love interest Yukito, they all fit perfectly to her age, and is told in a way that even an adult can somewhat relate to and enjoy.

    It’s a good post though, and I agree that teenagers are used a lot due to all the reasons you posted, but I think it is good. As long as they act (somewhat) their age, then it’s all ok. Some of my favorite characters are also teenagers :)

    • Yumeka says:

      I sort of agree that the Railgun girls seem a bit older than they are. Perhaps having psychic abilities and going to a fancy school makes them mature faster? XD But to me, the show is focused on them being “young girls” and the exact age number or school grade doesn’t matter that much. But as you said, in something like Cardcaptor Sakura, her young age and naivety is important in terms of the show’s emotional factor and cuteness =P

  5. Artemis says:

    Purely from a statistical standpoint, teenagers (and just school-aged children in general) are the largest demographic of anime in Japan – so while I’m sure there are also other reasons like the ones you and other people have mentioned, I think school-aged anime characters are the norm mostly because anime is a business, and it makes sense for the industry to tailor it towards their audience as much as possible.

    Personally though, I really love it when I see anime with adult main characters. I have a lot of favourite anime where teenagers are the main protagonists, but it still makes for a breath of fresh air whenever I see something different. Titles like Cowboy Bebop, Mushishi, Usagi Drop, and Moribito really appeal to me for that reason, at least in part. I’ve also noticed that I tend to quite like anime that have main characters whose ages aren’t really an issue, if they even come up at all. I’m sure there are plenty of examples, but the one title that immediately springs to mind is Wolf’s Rain. Sure, I guess the characters look something like teenagers, but given that they’re also wolves, their age just isn’t a particularly relevant part of the series.

    • Yumeka says:

      You’re right that teenagers and young adults are the main demographic for anime, which I believe I mentioned in the old post I linked. So yeah, that is a big reason for why young characters are so prevalent. The other reasons I mentioned are more of “maybes” ;)

      Agree that it’s refreshing to have adult characters even though my favorites tend to be teenagers. I also like it when age doesn’t matter, like in Wolf’s Rain, as that tends to give a more universal message from the series.

  6. chikorita157 says:

    I think the reason why most anime are teenagers and usually take place in a high school setting for the fact that the demographic has recently experience or is in school. We can relate to these characters compared to a more older adult . While I don’t mind, I wish that there was a more diverse age of people so viewers can experience a wide variety of characters…

    On the other hand, there is some things that bother me about characters not aging, especially in the Pokemon anime. One still wonders why Ash is still 12 years old and just recently, they made Serena’s age even younger. I suspect they want to cater to the audience that play these games, but it still bothers me.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, like I said to Artemis above, age demographic is definitely a major reason why we see so many teenage characters. As for characters not aging, most of the long running kids anime like One Piece and Naruto have characters that seem to remain the same age forever…or at least for many years. But I know One Piece and Naruto have reached “time jump” points in their series where the characters get a few years older suddenly (though it’s obviously way less than the number of years their show has been running). But for Pokemon, I suspect the reason Ash has never aged is because the Pokemon franchise wants to continuously have new viewers – since the people who watched Pokemon when it first started likely have grown too old for the anime, they keep the characters the same age so that the next generation of young fans can get into it easily.

  7. Adziu says:

    Personally, I’d love to see more anime like Monster, with an adult protagonist and a very adult-centred story to tell. It has a dynamic that is very unlike most anime, and this more mature focus is in large part why.

    I love coming-of-age stories and the youthful angle of most anime, and the art style lends itself best to adolescents, but I also enjoy pieces that break that mould.

    Like some other commenters here, though, I sometimes watch an anime and think that the given ages for the characters seem rather young for the way they look and act. The most striking example I can remember being Shugo Chara!, where mentally I added at least 2-3 years to the characters’ given ages. The flip-side, of course, being shows like Lucky Star where girls nearing their 20s look about 10.

    • Yumeka says:

      I gotta watch Monster one of these days XD It’s been on my “Plan to Watch” list for a long time.

      I agree that coming-of-age stories are great and a lot of my favorite anime tend to cover that angle in some way. But as you said, different kinds of stories are refreshing too. Also agree about the Lucky Star girls, LOL. I guess the moe factor of their design is responsible =P

  8. Rioraku says:

    Great post as always. I was pondering this a bit and I agree on your main point about relating to teenage charcters. Having watched anime since I was about 9 (though I didn’t know the term “anime” then) I enjoyed seeing stories about characters older than yourself, almost like “Hey I bet stuff will be that cool when I’m a teenager”. This is the mindset I have when watching these shows as a kid, then watching anime when I was 15-18 it was appealing because I could relate (in ways) to how certain characters felt BECAUSE they were teens like. And no being 23, I still find tha tset age of characters appealing because it fulfills that longing of nostalgia you have being a “young adult”. You look back at the usual attitude oh having an easy going life that you might take for granted at that age.

    I actually like when anime goes from having the characters be teens in the first part of the story (dealing with the usual problems and angst that comes with being that age) and ending with then being adults and having to come to terms with what responsibility that entails (Clannad is a great example of this in my opinion). So aside from the obvious demographic reasons for why the teens are the usual age of characters in an anime, I think it is a little deeper than that. It touches on the part of life you are living through, want to live through, or have lived through.

    • Yumeka says:

      Good points =) I actually didn’t get into anime until I was around 13-14, but being a teenager, I could more easily relate to the characters because they were the same age. But at the same time, I also watched and enjoyed anime with characters who were older (Trigun, Cowboy Bebop) and characters who were younger (Cardcaptor Sakura, Digimon) so I guess age never made that much difference to me in the end. The fact that I can still enjoy these anime all these years later definitely contributes to the nostalgia factor you mentioned too ;)

      • Rioraku says:

        Oh yes, even shows like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun appealed to me at my various ages.

        And excuse all my grammatical/typographical errors in my first reply, I was in sleepy stupor when typing all that out and didn’t realize how bad it looked!

  9. Overlord-G says:

    Instead of thinking about relating with high school, my happier years during the ages of 14-19 and stuff, the reason I do not mind that there aren’t as many anime with a large adult cast as there are shows taking place on Planet “Secondaria Educationa” is because I have conformed with this trend. Besides, several shows taking place on that planet are awesome. In fact, my fav shows of all time take place on that planet while there some “adultus maximus” asteroids here and there I enjoy visiting occasionally.

    Besides, life goes on and I really have no reason to complain about the cast’s overall age. As far as age goes, I mainly focus on the female body and ignoring the age. Really, if Japan doesn’t care about a girl’s age when they label a girl with the body of a 19 year old as a 14 year old, why should I? If the girl looks like a swimsuit model, I will observe her. If she looks like a 12 year old brat, begone.

  10. Kai says:

    I just thought of something interesting. Especially in harem, ecchi stories, have your own male teen protagonist getting pervert, *accidentally* touching pantsu, grabbing boobs, it will be at worst, be regarded as a playful prank, something easily forgiven and forgotten in minutes. In contrast, have an adult, 30 years old and above doing the same, *accidentally* touching pantsu, grabbing boobs, that I think will turn into quite a different result ^^”

    There’s also some literal examples we can compare. You mentioned about Usagi Drop but there’s also another anime with extremely similar settings, Papakiki. The only difference is that Usagi Drop features an adult as the main male lead, while Papakiki features a younger teen. For me though, Usagi Drop feels more “right at home.”

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