The Differences Between Anime and Cartoon

[relak]

Cartoon is a term that once referred to fine art during the renaissance period. Somehow, though, the term’s meaning evolved (or devolved, depending on how you look at it) into humorous and witty illustrations and, finally, into animated programs meant to entertain people, mostly children. For, clarity, the term ‘cartoon’ in this article shall be referring to the animated programs. Recently, however, a new term has been coined: Anime. And the distinction between these two has caused much confusion.

Strictly speaking though, there should be no distinction between anime and cartoon. Anime is a term used by the Japanese to refer to animated cartoons, from their own country and from others as well. Somehow, though, the world started using the term anime in reference to Japanese cartoons exclusively. Japanese animation was once called japanimation, but this term was aptly discarded when the term ‘Anime’ was put into use.

Some say that they see absolutely no difference between the two, even going so far as to classify both cartoons and anime as ‘childish’ because of the nature of how they are presented, much to the woe of anime fans. Technically, there’s no official difference and they are somewhat correct. But you only have to watch a single episode of any anime series and you’ll see that anime is far more than your usual slapstick comedy man-tripping-on-a-banana-peal early morning cartoons. There is a real and profound difference between the two besides their spellings: Anime is so much more than ‘just a cartoon’.

Storylines/Plots

Cartoons usually have a simple and defined plot. And they’re usually about the good guys fighting the bad guys. Cartoons rarely go beyond that old cliché. Most Anime series, on the other hand, are also about the same good vs. evil but the plots are rarely simple and rarely predictable. You’ll find an element of politics, religion, humanity, and a score of several other abstract concepts within an anime. Whereas cartoons are just about ‘evil’ cats chasing ‘innocent’ mice or a hero defending himself and others from a very evil bully. Anime can blur the lines between good and evil so much that you’ll be left wondering which side is really right. Look at the plot of Gundam, there aren’t any good guys or bad guys. They’re both fighting for a cause – a worthy one, and both sides are prepared to do good and evil to achieve their goals. Look at the Wave Country arc of Naruto which is now at Naruto Shippuden. Zabuza, evil as he was, had evoked more sympathetic tears than any of the typical Disney antagonists. There are, however, few exceptions to the ‘cartoons are simple’ rule. There are cartoon series that are far advanced like X-men.

In terms of humor, anime goes beyond the slapstick comedy that cartoons offer. There won’t be any corny joke about the chicken crossing the road with anime. There won’t even be the quintessential banana peal. Anime humor is deep and witty. However, it is to be noted that cartoons are mostly for kids. Anime can be for an adult audience; it mostly is, actually. There are even times when anime plots are hardly suited for children.

Characters

In cartoons, there’s a protagonist, an antagonist, and a damsel in distress. Their roles are well-defined and clear and the characters always act according to their roles. In anime, however, the damsel in distress may very well become the antagonist, leaving the protagonist in distress. There’s no knowing what to expect in anime. Anime characters, a lot of times, are developed overtime through trials and growth, while cartoon characters remain the same from when the show started. (Of course, there are exceptions such as Spiderman.) Since there’s an ongoing plot, Anime characters actually grow up and may even produce the next generation for the series. Anime fans tend to get into the characters a lot deeper because of the characters’ depth and charm. Consider Naruto; viewers see him growing up from an infant to a young powerful ninja, the way he relates to people, the way he learns new techniques, and the way he evolves visually. That is one of the chief reasons for popularities of anime over plain cartoons.

The problem is that anime is so diverse in genre that there are anime which fulfil all the criteria of a cartoon *eg: simple slapstick, protagonist/antagonist/damsel stereotypes, simply defined plot etc*

What do you call those then??

Then there are non-japanese animation that are still lumped under the category of "cartoon" despite having more in common with anime style of storytelling.

Examples include the 90s HBO SPAWN series, Wolverine and the X-men, much of DCAU series, Ben10, Avatar the Last Airbender etc.

Lets use Justice league or Avatar or BEn 10.

Both have an ongoing plot, characters grow and change as they progesss

Cartoons are for children. BULLCRAP. You aint gonna let a child watch SPAWN or Heavy Metal right?

But it would be folly to consider Spawn, Avatar or Justice league "anime" since you deny them the recognition of their country of origin.

* Cartoons have not action packed and they have no character deaths.

* Cartoons are not continuous and has no meaning.

* Cartoons have poorly drawin characters.

Evidence of "didnt do research" or "poorly exposed"

Anime like Azumanga Daioh, Love Hina and many other slice of life genre have no character deaths. Would you consider those mere "cartoons"?

Then what do you call anime like "Shin Chan" that is clearly episodic and not continuous??

Anime like Naruto and pokemon suffer from as much(in fact MORE) instances of off-model artwork than any western animation does. Since that is poorly drawn, doesnt Naruto fall under the category of Cartoon?

IMO, there should just be "cartoons" and "anime".

The category should be just

"ANIMATION"

then sub-classified according to country and then sub-classified once more according to target audience.

So you have "Children's american animation"(which is what ppl call cartoons), "children's anime"(which is what i call.....well......anime for kids like POKEMON)

At the same time you have "teen" or "adult" anime and "teen" or "adult" American animation.

lumping all american animation under "cartoon" is a stereotype only the ignorant use and an unfair stereotype at that.

At the same time, to call all anime "great" is silly. There are great anime, and there are just as much anime that sucks.

[JE9]

i'v seen it as Anime has a constent story. kinda hard for sum one ta just jump in and understand what all iz going one

[Koby]

Well firstly.. I posted this topic and that post in 2008, but the post that I copied it from was originally posted back around 2001 probably. A lot has changed in the cartoon department since then, so a lot of the discussion about it has too.

Sure they have some cartoons that bend the line of cartoon.. as you mentioned.. "90s HBO SPAWN series, Wolverine and the X-men, much of DCAU series, Ben10, Avatar the Last Airbender etc." But the majority of cartoons are simply aimed at kids.. and the others that air on TV a lot that aren't aimed at kids.. are just stupid comedies like Family Guy, American Dad, Simpons, Futurama, etc.. where usually it revolves around some man who is very dumb and does stupid shit that gets turned into a comedy show.

I wouldn't classify Ben 10 as such. I believe it's aimed at little kids, also the X-men you speak of.. the cartoons I've seen were definitely aimed at kids. I've never seen SPAWN though.. and yes Avatar is actually one of the very few that comes very close to Anime in quality. It has an advancing plot, good art designs, and a good story. However it doesn't come close to being aimed at adults, again it's aimed at young teens or even younger.

That is the biggest difference. Anime is diverse for all ages. Cartoons are aimed at kids, besides a couple of them in which the majority of the ones that aren't are usually "dumb comedies". Cartoons simply aren't as diverse.. but that is also because the USA isn't as open to Animation as Japan. Do you know how many people tell me that Anime is a Cartoon.. and Cartoons are for kids and that I should grow up and stop watching Cartoons? That is simply the mentality of the country.. and thus the reason Animation is mostly aimed at kids.

Had you actually read the post.. it wasn't talking purely about everything.. but rather the majority of what is cartoon and anime. Which allows for a little more freedom of discussion on the matter.

Now I like Anime and Cartoons.. but to be honest, besides a some movies placed on DVD of Animation/Cartoons.. there hasn't actually been any Cartoon I've liked or watched in several years. The majority of my favorite cartoons are old classics like ReBoot, Johnny Quest, Tom and Jerry, and Looney Toons. While on the other hand.. every season of the year... I pick up to watch 5 to 7 series of Anime airing in Japan.. therefore there is just a lot more Anime that I like than Cartoons.

[dgbrt]

i think animes are mainly geared towards adults due to their complex story line which most young kids aren't willing to sit through,and aren't intrested in

i think you're right about cartoons being mainly for kids (with some exceptions)

[kirkyeehee]

try to tell some older people there is a difference between anime and cartoons XD.

My father see's it all as kids shows >_>

[relak]

Well firstly.. I posted this topic and that post in 2008, but the post that I copied it from was originally posted back around 2001 probably. A lot has changed in the cartoon department since then, so a lot of the discussion about it has too.

Sure they have some cartoons that bend the line of cartoon.. as you mentioned.. "90s HBO SPAWN series, Wolverine and the X-men, much of DCAU series, Ben10, Avatar the Last Airbender etc." But the majority of cartoons are simply aimed at kids.. and the others that air on TV a lot that aren't aimed at kids.. are just stupid comedies like Family Guy, American Dad, Simpons, Futurama, etc.. where usually it revolves around some man who is very dumb and does stupid shit that gets turned into a comedy show.

I wouldn't classify Ben 10 as such. I believe it's aimed at little kids, also the X-men you speak of.. the cartoons I've seen were definitely aimed at kids. I've never seen SPAWN though.. and yes Avatar is actually one of the very few that comes very close to Anime in quality. It has an advancing plot, good art designs, and a good story. However it doesn't come close to being aimed at adults, again it's aimed at young teens or even younger.

That is the biggest difference. Anime is diverse for all ages. Cartoons are aimed at kids, besides a couple of them in which the majority of the ones that aren't are usually "dumb comedies". Cartoons simply aren't as diverse.. but that is also because the USA isn't as open to Animation as Japan. Do you know how many people tell me that Anime is a Cartoon.. and Cartoons are for kids and that I should grow up and stop watching Cartoons? That is simply the mentality of the country.. and thus the reason Animation is mostly aimed at kids.

Had you actually read the post.. it wasn't talking purely about everything.. but rather the majority of what is cartoon and anime. Which allows for a little more freedom of discussion on the matter.

Now I like Anime and Cartoons.. but to be honest, besides a some movies placed on DVD of Animation/Cartoons.. there hasn't actually been any Cartoon I've liked or watched in several years. The majority of my favorite cartoons are old classics like ReBoot, Johnny Quest, Tom and Jerry, and Looney Toons. While on the other hand.. every season of the year... I pick up to watch 5 to 7 series of Anime airing in Japan.. therefore there is just a lot more Anime that I like than Cartoons.

hence why i say that just calling american animation "cartoons aimed at kids with a few exceptions", those "exceptions" should be given a category of their own.

Its the same reason why i refuse to call WATCHMEN or V for Vendetta a "comic"(since "comic" indicates a genre of the comedic nature). At least in the comic industry you have "graphic novels" to differentiate those for kids and those "Exceptions".

Cartoons should have the same.

I believe the only difference is this

>>>variety.

While in japan, anime is accepted more like a medium.

Its a medium in which different genre(be it fantasy, scifi, slice of life etc) can be placed into.

In the western world, "animation" has been relegated into a genre of its own. I realise how in USA the DVDs are split into its various genre like sci/fi, horror, drama, and..........animation.

Such a practice is very limiting and constraining on the creative minds behind the animation shows.

Wheras in japan, the DVDs are split into "Live action" and "anime". Under each category then it is split into sub genre like sci/fi, horror, etc etc.

[mcp1729b]

also i have noticed with anime they have a continuing story arch were most cartoons may and overriding theme or a couple episodes where things are tied together but usually the are half hour full stories where anime it takes at least one season or more just to get tell the tale

[letitrain]

To me there is really no difference between anime and cartoon. Both are animated TV shows.

[GUNDAMUS89]

to be visible differences naked eye between Anime and Cartoon.the anime has the the most nice line ,plot , and the lack of square faces how in cartoon. always nice plot,

obviously without paintings for adorers cartoon.

[smakkin]

I agree anime story lines are way too mature for children of certain age and they don't really show an interest in them because the graphics are too life like and not funny like cartoons. For me anime rocks

[TitanX84]

I'm 29yrs and I love my anime

23, but ya same here. Like most people said, cartoons are genereally geared towards kids, whereas anime are geared more for teens and up. Anime can be aimed at any age but there's really no age limit for them!

[Bindy]

Yeah i agree, to many people when they hear "Anime" they of cartoons and such, but the fact is most anime can not be shown in children time slots, for example Bleach. They cannot show bleach in normal tv hours and they have to show it in the adult section of cartoons/anime "Adult Swim". I know a lot of my friends think I'm immature for watching anime even though I'm only 16.

[craigh]

tried watching some 80s cartoons like gijoe while back , had to turn it off. gave me a headache how dumb it was.

anime is different. there is a story and characters that feel real in some of them

[xxDster]

From start to finish, anime is for more mature audiences. It's not supposed to be on Disney XD or some crap; it's not for 7 year olds and it's not a "cartoon". It's anime. I hate how people automatically identify "animation", cartoon or anime, as for little kids. Ha, yeah, because Ghost in the Shell is totally for little kids. Losers.

[Tee]

I love anime, and i usually get upset when someone tries to tell me its just a cartoon, just cuz its animated doesnt mean its for kids.

i like some cartoons tho ^^ when my baby bro is over i like to watch Quest with him, lol... but he likes to watch my box set of Inu Yasha too XD

[Floef]

There's plenty of childish Japanese Anime and there's plenty of adult Western Cartoons.

There's literally no difference between the two mediums other then vague perceptions.

[shiva2889]

i think both anime and cartoons are foe fun only,no big deal wheather they are different or same

[Annabeiru]

cartoon are mainly focusing on kids as anime is for older ages, well most of the time. some animes like lilpri is definitely for kids

[Bookworm]

I originally thought of cartoons as anything animated. Then I discovered anime and 'cartoons' changed to 'sort animations' and anime was 'hard animations'. Most because my first impression was that cartoons generally had round faces and softer edges while in anime there seemed to be more straight lines and bolder colours making it seem... bigger maybe? It's hard to explain what I thought then. Now I tend to think anime = japan and cartoons = western animations.

As a side note, I'm aware of at least three versions of X-men. The 'real' version. The old kids show, and the newer cartoon version. Haven't seen the newer cartoons (I'm either not awake or working at that time), but the 'real' version is defintitely not designed for the same audience as the cartoon version. Then again, kids now a days seem to be fine with things that would have seriously scared me at their age. Reminds me of how it is now aceptable to show real blood on tv without a warning and before 9 pm in the uk where as 20 or so years ago you had to wait until after 9.

How times change huh?

[dracer]

i like cartoons but still anime take the first place it has good story every age people can watch anime