I used to be a big fan of adult animation as a kid. We all know the classics that have stood the test of time, and hell, I even liked some of the more recent ones (well, as recent as 2013). I guess my reason, ironically like many others, is that they were a break from what we knew from cartoons aimed at younger viewers.
I won't go into how kids animation is more mature than adult animation these days (the shows are more mature, but a majority of the fans sure aren't.), but I'm here to address a recurring pattern with many of them. It seems many new adult cartoons are practically bleeding together, distinctions coming through the worst possible means, but there is one factor that unifies them.
They're rarely that funny.
The most different show we have in this regard is Q-Force, but that's no compliment. It's only a slight notch above Queer Duck in terms of how it goes about LGBT pride. I'm not saying the older era adult cartoons were that much better, I think the team behind Drawn Together made much better shows afterwards; DJ and the Fro at least fit the era it came out in, and reactions are still a thing, and Golan the Insatiable is actually quite underrated, the chemistry between the main leads is good, characters are funny, I mean I guess I'm just numb to the edgy humor but given it aired on Fox, it helped break the monotony a bit.
Okay off that tangent, there is a reason and it seems to stem from two things, one is that people just don't know how to appeal to adults these days (lest Family Guy maintains strong influence), especially since everyone is so fine-tuned to political issues. The other, going back to the visuals is that the producers seek out the same two studios to make these shows a lot of the time.
Bento Box Entertainment and Titmouse, Inc.
Now, this should go without saying, but I don't wish any ill will toward these studios, they're just trying to make a living, but they're unfortunately in the crosshairs of a grander issue. These are the two most prevalent studios in the adult animation industry, Powerhouse Animation is a growing studio, but may be a contributing factor to how saturated the action cartoon scene truly is. 6 Point Harness used to be in the running as far back as 2006 but after MTV parted ways with them they stuck to smaller ventures and Adult Swim cartoons, ironically taking over Lazor Wulf from Bento Box later on.
But onto the studios that count.
Titmouse, Inc. are capable of good quality shows, they helped produce Megas XLR, Metalocalypse, China, Illinois, some other things I may not be aware of. However at some point, without the means of outsourcing and having stuck to more niche programs, their transition to more mainstream content led to some mixed results.
Titmouse's worsts at this point are Big Mouth, Q-Force and Chicago Party Aunt. You can tell it's a Titmouse show if the characters have more geometric, often shiny looks, or whatever better way to describe it. Also at times the animation is more stilted with only enough fluidity to get it out of Family Guy territory. Exceptions apply to collaborations with DreamWorks Animation.
Sad thing is is that Big Mouth can be seen as the better of the three in terms of a unique premise and pissing off the right people. Given the reputations these shows have, it seems Titmouse are trying to keep with their peak at Adult Swim and are cranking out more edgy shows. Titmouse is like that star quarterback in high school who wound up becoming a deadbeat loser who somehow manages to have a better than average job, but can't help missing the old times.
They haven't done much else of note beyond those three these days (and by of note I mean worthy of citation), this is just to encourage awareness, as the company is already in the red zone nowadays and may become much worse.
Appetizer Done, now for the Main
Bento Box Entertainment is the bigger issue of the two, and a contributing factor to why adult animation had become so homogenized. You notice how a lot of the newer adult animated programs are co-produced by 20th Century Fox Television? Bento Box is a subsidiary of it (sorta like programs produced by Adelaide Productions being attributed to their owners Sony), and since Fox (production company, not the network which was spun off apparently) owns Bento Box, they're essentially a Disney company... we're gonna have a problem.
When it comes to Disney, programs like these are hardly an expense to them, anything to fill airtime, and since 20th Century Fox is essentially a third-party producer, they can produce for any kind of network they choose, at the very least networks that are interested in airing adult cartoons. Since networks have a basic animation studio at their disposal, you know the rest.
If you don't know what I mean, Bento Box brought us such classics as Brickleberry, Paradise P.D. (depending on who you ask), Bordertown, The Prince, Hoops, Allen Gregory, is it sinking in yet? They produced some of the worst adult cartoons according to the animation community, and will continue to contribute to a landscape that is becoming more and more barren.
But yes, Bento Box did produce some good shows. They produced Bob Burgers and its illegitimate offspring Central Park and The Great North, Duncanville (depending on who you ask), Alien News Desk seems like it's good (literally the only other animated SyFy show I know about is Magical Girl Friendship Squad), Out There is an underrated series, and I even liked Neighbors from Hell, their very first production.
They do make good shows, but given their prevalence and the fact they are a sub studio owned by what is now a sub-company of a major company, along with how little thought goes into these kinds of shows, here's your reason why adult animation wasn't as good as it was back then, and it may only get worse.
Either that or I've seen it all, it is the reason why I'm turning away from the action genre.
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