Why isn't anime critically analyzed like other forms of literature or entertainment? In high school English classes, we read many classics, such as Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Lee, etc. In many other classes, popular TV shows and movies are analyzed. Granted, these are also classics, such as Hitchcock's Psycho or Nichols' The Graduate.

Why is anime/manga not as critically analyzed by the general public, like other works of written/illustrated art are? There are a lot of different forums that review anime and many people on the internet who have their opinions on different shows, but why is it not recognized by the general American public like other literary works? Is it its age (it is still popular, and therefore not old enough to be considered a classic)? Is the fact that it is seen as a cartoon by many in the US? Is it due to negative stereotypes in the west surrounding anime (many may consider all anime to be hentai, for example, and therefore disregard it as an art form)?

EDIT: To explain this more...many, many anime have underlying themes and meanings that stretch sometimes deeper than current novels/books that are considered literary classics by the academic community. So, why aren't these shows studied and analyzed in an academic setting? For example, if I am in a high school/college film analysis class, why is the medium of anime not considered when picking source material to analyze?

A few of these shows I think you can find deeper meaning in easily (and this part is subjective, you may disagree), with similarities drawn to novels that are considered classics:


Ping Pong: The Animation: allows the viewer to determine the definition of success (similar to Invisible Man)
Attack on Titan: comments on the human experience, portrays reality with a hunter/prey dynamic (just like Lord of the Flies)
Fooly Cooly: coming of age story (just like Catcher in the Rye)


Many others can be listed, and the above shows can be analyzed much, much further.

Sorry for the poor tag, couldn't find one that was applicable.
I think the simplest answer is that anime is just not that popular. Though immensely popular and gaining momentum, the anime community just isn't that widespread. If you look at it critically MOST of the anime fans are limited to the popular and mostly Shounen series such as  Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Deathnote etc.

Compare it to the consumption of various books and movies and their penetration into our society. The iconism resulting from this is what raised them to the platform where it seems that more and more of such media is critically analysed. As Hakase pointed out, if you go to an anime forum/blog, you'll see plenty of critical analysis of anime, especially the history and tropes.

Another factor is the geography. The popularity of anime and manga has grown and they are an integral part of the Japanese culture. However, other places are adapting and amalgamating the same later. This will automatically lead to the feeling that anime as a medium is more targeted towards the audience it sells for, i.e. the japanese. But as an "outsider" we're not in a place to critically analyze it. The same may be true for various literary works or other media. 

A relevant example is the Indian epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". I doubt that many people know it on this community, but Indians have critically analyzed each and every line of such epics as deep as it can go. Awareness of them is just limited to the Indian subcontinent, but now the teachings are spreading. The same is true with Anime.

Some food for thought: 

Anime popularity: Blogpost: A comment that I liked


  Depends. Again sales you might make the case but in terms of iconism there's no chance. Everyone knows who Batman is. No one knows who Luffy is.


A good blogpost about how to look at Anime as a medium of entertainment