>>104282649In the 70s, due to economic stagnation in the US, Hanna Barbera reigned supreme, finding the cheapest, most effective way to pump out shitty cartoons to the masses. This flood of shit-tier, child-friendly cartoons largely altered American perceptions of animation, which continued to be reinforced through 80s "toy commercial" cartoons.
In Japan, there wasn't such an economic stagnation in the 70s, and creators started to market their products to their old readers. In other words, the kids that grew up with shit in the 50s and 60s started to be marketed to as adults, because they were the largest generation of people to market to. So themes in anime and manga shifted to be more mature to try and keep this audience, and at the same time Japan began to develop its animation further because there was still plenty of money to go around.
