Not that long ago, animation was largely considered, y’know… for kids. Unless you were a true aficionado of independent projects and distant international efforts, then outside of Japan (and the slow but growing reach of manga/anime into western territories) Disney and Pixar had the monopoly at the multiplex and on television it was in the purview of cheaper fare, reworked imports and shorts to make up Saturday morning escapades and tea-time tv.  Cable began to change that with niche channels like Adult Swim, however, much like comics and gaming, the years and decades slowly but inevitably pushed at the boundaries of expectations as creatives and the public asked why paintings and literature could be taken as bonafide singular art-forms, but not the areas where they combined?

In the 1980s, shaking off the reputation of popular but ‘light’ tv shows such as the 1960s’ Batman.