My mom doesn't understand that anime and cartoons aren't the same!

[Megagents]

ZOMG! My mom keeps calling my anime shows, cartoons! I keep telling her that they're different. Every cartoon ever made is just stupid randomness, except for those crappy anime copycats like Teen Titans but even they were stupid most of the time. Every anime there is, is much more realistic and and they never do anything stupid like cartoons. God, I wish I was Japanese, lived in Japan and made anime.

[jedicrippler]

Um, they are cartoons. Japanese cartoons, but cartoons nonetheless. And believe me, there are some anime that are crap (Pokemon, Digimon, Yugi-Oh, all of their various permutations). Just like there are some American cartoons that are great (Transformers, everything in the Batman/Superman/JLU Dini-verse, especially JL/JLU, some of the storylines there rival anything in anime). They both have their high points & low points, just like any other form of entertainment.

 

I'm gonna guess you're fairly young, right? You're gonna learn a whole lot over the next few years that will make you see the similarities & differences much more clearly. Let this be the beginning of your learning, my young Padawan.

[ARROW]

They are indeed one and the same.

 

Anime is Japanese for animation--or in this case; cartoons.

Anime use the very same prinicples of animation as North American cartoons do--every thing from lip-synch or held cels. What you are probably making the distinction between the two with are the short-hand visual iconography like the tear from the eye, or the wildly exaggerated mouths.

Anime has its stupid stuff like "cartoons" do too--if you watch enough, you'll see that.

Bear in mind that, if you live in North America, you've only got access to about 10% of the anime produced. Quite a few shows over there have never been shown here, and they've got plenty of dumb stuff.

 

One thing about anime is that the Japanese talent over there are excellent draughtsmen, and they use the limited animation principles to the fullest.

That's the key to their "realism" though--they don't draw very many frames to get their point across. They do more with a "moving hold" and a staggered eye or mouth cycle --but that's a cheat too.

In fact, most anime is "cheat" animation, usually because it involves a lot of gimmick shots, semi-opague shadow levels, repeat cycles, and holds while panning overlays and underlays.

 

In fact, a lot of the modern Anime styles stem from several Japanese artists in the 1950s being influenced by the styling of Walt Disney cartoons.

 

But listen to your Mum.......she's right.

 

"Your" anime are cartoons.

[AlphaPrime]

Yup anime = cartoons, just a cooler way of saying it hehehehehehe.

[Doom Saber]

If I recall, anime is a short hand way of saying animation, but is used in the west to describe japanese cartoons. Cartoons=anime.

 

AS for if the majority of anime is dumb, I have to disagree. It is the opinion of the watcher. If you like "anime" over american cartoons, more power to you, especially how bias this forum is against anime; I mean, the majority of ppl on tni seems to think that Pokemon and Digimon represents all of anime, which isn't true. There are some anime studios like mad house and IG that doesn't rely on the lazy and gimmicky styles of animation that Arrow mentioned above. That is why american companies tend to ask those studios to make anime adaptions of their american properties like Batman and animatrix.

 

I'd say, if you like anime, you like anime. Nothing wrong with that.

 

 

But yeah, a lot of anime aren't released in the states officially because of cultural differences. However, I don't think north americans get 10 percent of the anime since 10 percent is more akin to how many anime programs are actually shown in the US and not how many are actually released in the U.S.; a good deal of them are released on dvd to rent or buy. Only the really popular ones like dragonball Z and Pokemon are shown on U.S. airways. A lot of animes that are never release here, are fansubbed. You probably knew that already since I assume you are a wapanese, judging from your wish to be japanese and wanting to live in japan.

 

The only difference I see between anime and cartoons is that anime is more diverse, whereas there are cartoons for ppl in all ages while in modern America, we tend to think that cartoons are for tweens.

 

I agree with Jedicripper that anime and cartoons both have their high and low points. IF you like one thing over the other, that is great.....Regardless, anime is still cartoons no matter what other ppl call it as.