While American museums are slowly supporting popular animation, Japan’s Suginami Animation Museum has been eagerly embracing it since 2005. Their past exhibitions have examined Astro Boy and “eastern anime.” The museum values anime even if it’s made for little kids.
This spring the Suginami Animation Museum is holding a special exhibit on the Pokemon anime. While the museum regularly has exhibits on popular anime, Pokemon is one of the few successful anime based on a video game rather than a manga. Outside Japan, we may have to settle for unusually good fan art.