Asians make up 5.6% of the US's population and have received little representation in American media.

However, in the 2000s....Asians received TONS of representation in American cartoons. There were Asian characters in American cartoons before the 2000s but however most were only side characters or just one of the main characters. However, none had their own shows or were the spotlight of a show (with the exception of the 1970s cartoon, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, which aired in 1972).

Here is a list of some 2000s American cartoons which star Asian (or Asians)/Asian-American (or Asian-Americans) as main character or characters:

Jackie Chan Adventures
https://cheappopculture.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/jackie-chan-adventures-logo.jpg
When did it air? September 9, 2000 to July 8, 2005
Who created it? John Rogers, Duane Capizzi & Jeff Kline
Which channel/channels did it air on? Kids 'WB (main channel), Cartoon Network, Jetix (reruns)

Samurai Jack
http://croogles.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/static.srcdn_.comslirw1200-h600-q90-c1200600wp-contentuploadssamurai-jack-banner-c8607780e8a852424bf7eb96f298f5d073c75586-1024x512.jpg
When did it air? August 10, 2001 – September 25, 2004 (Seasons 1-4), March 11, 2017 – May 20, 2017 (Season 5)
Who created it? Genndy Tartakovsky
Which channel/channels did it air on? Cartoon Network (Seasons 1-4), Adult Swim (Season 5)

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
http://68.media.tumblr.com/d7d7966db353918a84cd1ec03085c0c4/tumblr_nyv8dnR2tD1tjy56ho3_1280.jpg
When did it air? September 3, 2001 – October 5, 2004
Who created it? Amy Tan
Which channel/channels did it air on? PBS Kids

Xiaolin Showdown
http://images4.static-bluray.com/products/20/15919_1_large.jpg
When did it air? November 1, 2003 – May 13, 2006
Who created it? Christy Hui
Which channel/channels did it air on? Kids 'WB (main channel), Cartoon Network (reruns)

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0952182eed3486b09adb8ed67a9af603.jpg
When did it air? November 19, 2004 – June 27, 2006
Who created it? Sam Register
Which channel/channels did it air on? Cartoon Network

American Dragon: Jake Long
https://pp.userapi.com/c307504/v307504212/1d9/MQ2Ohm3lT7I.jpg
When did it air? January 21, 2005 – September 1, 2007
Who created it? Jeff Goode
Which channel/channels did it air on? Disney Channel

Avatar: The Last Airbender
http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2016/04/26/6359723064563603011951548208_Avatar-The-Last-Airbender-Free-Download.jpg
When did it air? February 21, 2005 – July 19, 2008
Who created it? Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko
Which channel/channels did it air on? Nickelodeon

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
https://rainbowmekids.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Juniper-Lee-2.jpg
When did it air? May 30, 2005 – April 9, 2007
Who created it? Judd Winick
Which channel/channels did it air on? Cartoon Network

Class of 3000
http://orig01.deviantart.net/969b/f/2008/250/2/d/class_of_3000_wallpaper_by_lajagal95.jpg
When did it air? November 3, 2006 – May 25, 2008
Who created it? André Benjamin (stage name, André 3000) & Thomas W. Lynch
Which channel/channels did it air on? Cartoon Network
NOTE: Class of 3000 is NOT a cartoon that is Asian based but it does feature 2 Asian-American main characters.

Ever since the 2000s ended and now in the 2010s, the amount of Asian based American cartoons (or cartoons that have Asian/Asian-American main character/characters) have dipped to only 2 (Avatar: The Legend of Korra & We Bare Bears). We are now back in the state that we were in the 1960s-1990s.

I think after anime exploded in 1999, Western studios finally realized the commercial potential in Asian-based cartoons, inspired by shows like Pokémon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z. The United States had already flirted with anime in the mid-1980s without realizing it because of The Transformers' Japanese animation and influences, but the 2000s basically turned Asian culture into the standard of coolness in the geek world.

Things all started to change around 2010, when the anime craze started to really lose momentum, South Korea overtook Japan as the cult phenomenon in the West (with more of a focus on music and fashion, rather than animation), and Adventure Time set a new standard for animation that had a broader age appeal, which had previously been one of anime's primary success factors the preceding decade.

I think after anime exploded in 1999, Western studios finally realized the commercial potential in Asian-based cartoons, inspired by shows like Pokémon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z. The United States had already flirted with anime in the mid-1980s without realizing it because of The Transformers' Japanese animation and influences, but the 2000s basically turned Asian culture into the standard of coolness in the geek world.

Things all started to change around 2010, when the anime craze started to realize lose momentum, South Korea overtook Japan as the cult phenomenon in the West (with more of a focus on music and fashion, rather than animation), and Adventure Time set a new standard for animation that had a broader age appeal, which had previously been one of anime's primary success factors the preceding decade.

You know what? You're so correct. I have only somewhat taken notice to that.

Interestingly enough, many American cartoons are edited by a South Korean animation production company called Rough Draft Korea (shows such as The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants, Gravity Falls, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Beavis and Butt-head, Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Phineas and Ferb, Rocko's Modern Life, and many others) but South Korea itself does not produce notable cartoons.

This thread has a nostalgia feel to it. Haha I doubt the Asian population of America know or noticed this though. Say to sad. I didn't realize it my self until now.

I think after anime exploded in 1999, Western studios finally realized the commercial potential in Asian-based cartoons, inspired by shows like Pokémon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z. The United States had already flirted with anime in the mid-1980s without realizing it because of The Transformers' Japanese animation and influences, but the 2000s basically turned Asian culture into the standard of coolness in the geek world.

Things all started to change around 2010, when the anime craze started to really lose momentum, South Korea overtook Japan as the cult phenomenon in the West (with more of a focus on music and fashion, rather than animation), and Adventure Time set a new standard for animation that had a broader age appeal, which had previously been one of anime's primary success factors the preceding decade.


I thought that anime exploded a little earlier, like around 1998 or late 1997.

Everything cool used to come out of Japan.

I thought that anime exploded a little earlier, like around 1998 or late 1997.


It was still primarily a syndicated genre in 1997 and 1998. Although Toonami premiered in late 1998, it was really around 1999, with the height of Pokemania, that Japanese animation became such a dominant force in Western cartoons.

Everything cool used to come out of Japan.

Maybe.

However, these cartoons are from the USA 8).

It was still primarily a syndicated genre in 1997 and 1998. Although Toonami premiered in late 1998, it was really around 1999, with the height of Pokemania, that Japanese animation became such a dominant force in Western cartoons.

Toonami premiered in early 1997 (March 17, 1997). I know this because I joined this site on March 17, 2017...the 20th anniversary of Toonami's premiere. I joined because I saw a thread dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Toonami.

However, you are correct otherwise....anime didn't really explode in the US until 1999/2000. 1999 is when also the year that Toonami introduced "TOM" as host and it was a year in which it's ratings grew substantially.

Toonami premiered in early 1997 (March 17, 1997). I know this because I joined this site on March 17, 2017...the 20th anniversary of Toonami's premiere. I joined because I saw a thread dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Toonami.


Oh, you're right, although from what I remember, late 1998 was when it first had a truly decent stock of anime and began to take off in popularity.

This thread has a nostalgia feel to it. Haha I doubt the Asian population of America know or noticed this though. Say to sad. I didn't realize it my self until now.

Hell yeah. Doing this thread caused a rush of nostalgia. With the exception of Sagwa (I didn't watch it much) and Juniper Lee (wasn't a huge fan), I loved ALL of these cartoons growing up and still today.

I didn't really take note of this until now either. It's fascinating because from the 1960s-1990s Asian characters were mostly relegated to being side characters or "token" main characters in a few American cartoons but the 2000s happened and bam....we have Jackie Chan Adventures that came out just 9 months into the 2000s (September 9, 2000). Now in the 2010s, we are in the same position that we were in before the 2000s.

Oh, you're right, although from what I remember, late 1998 was when it first had a truly decent stock of anime and began to take off in popularity.

Yeah, basically.

Yeah, this was pretty much a direct result of the anime explosion in the late '90s and early '00s. There were two key events in late 1998 that directly led to anime becoming so popular in the United States. The premiere of Dragon Ball Z on Toonami, and the debut of Pokemon Red & Blue in North America. Things were never really quite the same after that.

It's amazing how big all things Japan were when I was in middle school and high school. Anime was huge, Japanese RPG's were huge, and hell, we even though Linkin Park was cool because they had an Asian guy as their DJ. As you pointed out, though, this really continued throughout the entire '00s, with anime or anime-based shows having a large showing on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. I'm not sure why that trend died out in the '10s. Perhaps it's just another thing connected to the overall decline in the number of cartoons over the last 6 or 7 years?

Yeah, this was pretty much a direct result of the anime explosion in the late '90s and early '00s. There were two key events in late 1998 that directly led to anime becoming so popular in the United States. The premiere of Dragon Ball Z on Toonami, and the debut of Pokemon Red & Blue in North America. Things were never really quite the same after that.

It's amazing how big all things Japan were when I was in middle school and high school. Anime was huge, Japanese RPG's were huge, and hell, we even though Linkin Park was cool because they had an Asian guy as their DJ. As you pointed out, though, this really continued throughout the entire '00s, with anime or anime-based shows having a large showing on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. I'm not sure why that trend died out in the '10s. Perhaps it's just another thing connected to the overall decline in the number of cartoons over the last 6 or 7 years?

Mike Shinoda 8).

Anyways, yeah...Japanese video games & anime were huge in the late 1990s and 2000s.

However, that doesn't fully explain the explosion of Asian based American cartoons. Out of the cartoons I listed only 2 are based on characters from Japan (Samurai Jack and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi). The rest are based on Chinese/Chinese-American characters (or in Class of 3000's case features 2 main characters who are Chinese-American). In addition, only 2 of the cartoons I listed are heavily influenced by anime (Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi & Avatar: The Last Airbender).

I'm not sure why that trend died out in the '10s. Perhaps it's just another thing connected to the overall decline in the number of cartoons over the last 6 or 7 years?

Like I pointed out earlier, it was mostly a combination of South Korea overshadowing Japan for international cult fads during the early 2010s, as well as Adventure Time being such a game changer for how cartoons in the West are stylized and told, subsequently putting America back at the forefront of TV animation once again. Nowadays, shows like Steven Universe and Gravity Falls (though it ended) occupy the role once assumed by Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, and so forth.

Hell yeah. Doing this thread caused a rush of nostalgia. With the exception of Sagwa (I didn't watch it much) and Juniper Lee (wasn't a huge fan), I loved ALL of these cartoons growing up and still today.

I didn't really take note of this until now either. It's fascinating because from the 1960s-1990s Asian characters were mostly relegated to being side characters or "token" main characters in a few American cartoons but the 2000s happened and bam....we have Jackie Chan Adventures that came out just 9 months into the 2000s (September 9, 2000). Now in the 2010s, we are in the same position that we were in before the 2000s.


Honestly with Sagwa, Jackie Chan Adventures and American Dragon: Jake Long, they were at a time when nobody really minded seeing Asians on children's television shows. Although I loved Sagwa to the point where I watched it a lot on PBS Kids back in the mid 2000s.

Honestly with Sagwa, Jackie Chan Adventures and American Dragon: Jake Long, they were at a time when nobody really minded seeing Asians on children's television shows. Although I loved Sagwa to the point where I watched it a lot on PBS Kids back in the mid 2000s.

JCA, SJ, Puffy AmiYumi, ADJL & ATLA were some of my favorite cartoons growing up.

JCA, SJ, Puffy AmiYumi, ADJL & ATLA were some of my favorite cartoons growing up.


Avatar: TLA was another cartoon that I loved growing up with.  :D