Miyazaki's Kurenai no buta, literally The Crimson Pig (also known as Porco Rosso), went through several incarnations before it premiered in its final form in 1992. Examples are many, although chief among them is Lady Eboshi in Princess Mononoke (1997, Mononoke-hime), who provided jobs and dignity to the castoffs of society while also despoiling the environment and selling arms to the highest bidder. Yet his plots are often complex and nonjudgmental, leaving open questions of guilt and innocence, good and evil. His work is colorful, uncomplicated, and often revolves around children. The long string of feature-length anime from Miyazaki Hayao (who wears the various hats of director, writer, scenarist, and producer) occupies a middle ground. Anime, on the other hand, like the comics (manga) from which many anime are derived, has no such limitation, and the sophisticated stories of some titles scan more like novels than fairy tales. In the United States, comics and animation are defined as media to be consumed primarily by children. These objections have been raised before, in Japan as well as in the United States, and are based on an unfair comparison. Watchdogs of public morality (usually self-appointed conservatives, politically and religiously) complained that Japanese animation was excessively violent and sexually suggestive, if not blatantly pornographic.

When Japanese animation (anime) began gaining more notice in the United States in the 1980s, alarms were sounded in some quarters.

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