Levels of Maturity

What do you think makes a certain show or movie more mature than others? I see this topic on the Internet often, and also here recently. Personally, it depends on what the audience you are aiming for is. Animated products can have the same maturity as a live action product. However, you must ask yourself this: what does being mature mean to you?

Here's an example. When I watched the animated series AIR, I knew that the intended audience was for young men. Granted, it's for everyone young and old, but an older audience would be able to enjoy the series more, in my opinion, because of some of the themes in the series. I honestly can't see someone who is 8-10 years old enjoy the series and understand it as well. This also applies to other series and movies.

Obviously, products that have adult content will be intended for an older audience. However, does that automatically make it mature? Not necessarily. Mature for me means that the show or movie has a serious or somewhat dark setting with interesting characters. A show doesn't have to have adult content to make it mature. That's what I think, at least.

Anyone who wants to add their opinion may do so. I only ask the users here to keep it civil. Thanks in advance.

By the way, this thread probably doesn't belong here, but since I keep seeing anime used to talk about maturity, I put it here. If a mod or admin wishes to move this, feel free to do so.

Mhm - had an argument about this with a hard-core Inuyasha fan. Here is what I said in a nutshell - but this is only part of the question.

It isn't enough that a show has mature themes - like nudity and blood. Anything DBZ show can do that, but it doesn't make it mature. Also, the way the maturity is portrayed - like Inuyasha, there are so many hotsprings jokes shown all over the place. It is nudity? Yes. It is mature? No, it is juvenile.

Therefore, what makes a show mature is (1) the characters and (2) the plot. If the plot is mature and complex and the characters act and sound like adults - that is part of what makes a anime mature. Therefore "Surfing Jock" sounding Inuyasha is not mature - at all.

In Evangelion's case, they used heavy doses of religious and psychological symbolism - mostly Freudian in nature. The plot is loaded for bear.

Same thing with Big O - although they use religious concepts more than direct names, whereas Evangelion is obvious with names like Angel, Adam, Lilith, Shinji, Misato, Magi, and, of course, Evangelion's title itself: Neon Genesis and then Evangelion - holy men were called Evangelists.

Big O uses major religious themes for it's plot - DBZ, Inuyasha, and Pokemon use lame plot devices. Therefore if the plot is mature and the characters respond and work within it to it like mature adults, then the anime is mature.

.hack// is also mature - although the Twilight Bracelet sucks - for such AI with souls and evolutionary themes. Chrono Crusade is - semi mature, but the manga is much more mature. Gundam Seed is more mature than Gundam Wing, but less so than .hack// - Ah! My Goddess is mature but for different reasons than .hack//

Good examples of immature anime? POKE MON, DIGIMON (who consequently was dircted, in part, by the same man who led the Big O project) - Yugioh ... so on and so forth.