Someone once asked me what I like to watch on TV. I responded that I rarely watch American TV and was currently on a Kdrama and anime kick. I went on to name specific animes that I was watching and he cut me off and said, "So, you watch cartoons?" I unapologetically responded, "Yeah."
I've never really been fixated on labels. If something is good it's good, whether it's a shirt from a no name fashion brand or a cartoon. I've never been one to restrict myself because of social dictates. "I'm a man so I'm not going to wear pink because it's a girls' color." "I'm not going to play a sport because girls shouldn't play sports." "Why would I take a cooking class? I'm a man." "Why do you (a girl) want to go to a baseball game? You should be going to a cooking class." I think that self-barriers are silly, which is why there is no shame in my anime watching game.
Most of the anime that I have watched had adult themes such as violence, working in a brothel, and gratuitous panties and cleavage shots. If I had kids, I wouldn't let them watch most animes. So actuallly these cartoons are for adults and many are very well-written with sharp animation and interesting story lines.
My favorite animes are Samurai Champloo and Hunter x Hunter. I love Samurai Champloo because it incorporates a lot of historical facts about Japan into the story line and the soundtrack by Nujabes is AMAZING (see Youtube links below for some of my favorite songs from the soundtrack). The female character, Fuu, is a bit flat, but the main male characters, Mugen and Jin, are full of personality and have very interesting backstories. Hunter x Hunter is a brilliantly written fantastical anime with 7 arcs and 148 episodes, and I'm sad that there aren't more. The Chimera Ant arc has 60 episodes, which really could've been condensed into less. It sort of drags, but the series overall is EXCELLENT.
Some of my favorites from the past year include One Punch Man, Food Wars, Gangsta, and My Hero Academia. Most of these animes can be watched on Crunchy Roll, Hulu, or Daisuki. Don't be ashamed to watch these animes, they are definitely not just for kids.