ANIME VS CARTOON
Okay so I know my next post was supposed to be a KillaKill Review and it was supposed to come much earlier than this one but Like I posted on twitter, if you do follow me @ANIMECarter I have been trying to sit through one episode of killakill and I cannot for the life of me do it. It’s like the show has no direction what so ever and the only people who could enjoy this crap are 12 years Old’s that have brains the size of a walrus nut …. But enough of that I have a plan on how I am going to tackle it I am goinf to watch it episode by episode and review it episode by episode so I am excited on how that is actually going to go.
But today I will be tackling a contentious argument in the anime community, one that has plagued us since the first anime hit hours screens back in 18….. I have no idea, A LONG TIME AGO. And one that has claimed many lives among vivid anime watchers who follow anime religiously the subject or topic I speak about is about Anime as a whole and how it differs from cartoons if there is a difference at all.
Art Styles.
Now there is a huge difference between anime and cartoons and it is not the one you guys hear all the time that states that “Cartoons are made in USA and anime is Made in Japan” that is horse shit, On a serious level though that is the worst separation or segregation of the two genres that I have ever heard in my life and as a student that once majored in art I think I speak for all artists at least in saying that the two art styles are light-years apart from each other and it is a disgrace to be confused by the art styles of anime and cartoons.
In fact it is a crime in some circles to call cartoons art due to the fact that almost everyone in the world can draw a cartoon and it takes little to no effort or imagination what so ever to create one that’s why carton appeal to children in particular.
Attributes.
Cartoons tend to be orientated more towards children although you do get your exceptions like South Park, The Simpsons and Family Guy which are basically adult entertainment.
Anime is not for children and tends to attract a broader audience starting from late teens all the way towards middle aged adults.
Try doing this experiment at home if you don’t believe me… Put your 4-14 year old brother or sister in front of a TV playing full metal alchemist, Steins Gate, Attack on Titan or even Naruto and see how long they remain seated, now turn to cartoon network and call them back, wait a few minutes and try change the channel, it will become a big problem and soon enough all hell will break loss.
Cinematography is something anime has that cartoons do not due to the fact that anime is taken seriously in Japan and they really incorporate camera angles and all types of visual effect to really bring anime as close to reality as possible and actually immerse the viewer into an environment that makes it feel even more real than “real life movies” you watch on TV.
Anime Means Cartoon Theory.
AHhh then there is this theory that anime haters love to throw around that: “In Japan there is no difference between anime and cartoon and anime means cartoon in Japanese Blah Blah Blah “
Okay firstly let me give you the definition of anime:
Anime
ˈanɪmeɪ,ˈanɪmə/
Noun
A style of Japanese art film and television animation, typically aimed at adults
Now cartoon Definition states;
Cartoon
Kɑːˈtuːn/Submit
Noun
1.
A simple drawing showing the features of its subjects in a humorously exaggerated way, especially a satirical one in a newspaper or magazine or Television show.
"The minister faced a welter of hostile headlines and mocking cartoons"
Synonyms: caricature, parody, lampoon, satire, travesty; more
Now if you believe that those two definitions are the same please leave this blog, just leave now because you are an idiot that needs to go back to school and you just have a vendetta against anime and anything that I say won’t change your mind and you probably need to get shot.
Even in Japan there is a difference just like in japan Avatar The movie is also categorized as Anime, or even Riddick would be categorized as sifi anime. Now most of you guys that are fans of those movies would be disheartened if some called them cartoons even though 80% of their runtime is animated in fact some episodes in game of thrones are 85% CGI and Animated why don’t we call that a cartoon or better yet even anime ? .
But people fail to understand things are also sub categorized in Japan for example in to Anime - Shonen/Shojo/Seinen to name a few. Shonen Being the thin line between anime and cartoon and where the confusion might come from in fact I don’t even believe the thin line is drawn at the Shonen level I can go an extra step and say that thin line is drawn at Long running Shonen, yes I am talking to you Naruto, Bleach and fairy Tale fans. Those types of anime tend to lean towards the cartoon side of the spectrum and you will see why later in my Pillars of anime segment.
Pillars of Anime
Now for something to be Anime it need Pillars and hear are just a few that I can think of the top of my head.
Storyline/Plot
It needs a good storyline or plot even if the show tends to have episodic stories it need a main overall story to piece everything together having the same aspects you would have in a real life tale ( and that’s why I have a problem with Pokémon like wtf ? what is the plot ? )
Character Development
Usually anime has characters that you can relate with and you get to watch them grow overtime and anime is unique because it pushes the boundaries of character development making it new and fresh every year (now when characters have no development what so ever it really becomes a problem making it a cartoon as in a cartoon there are no lessons and the character remains constant almost like he/she is resetting every episode I’m TALKING TO YOU FAIRY TALE FANS)
Death
Death is a very strong subject in anime and the premise of it is that life happens and people die, in anime if you get blown up there is no unexplained return from the dead for the character the character dies and that’s it get over it ( Now cartoons don’t die it’s like they have a cheat code for life if a character gets blown into six million pieces I’m sorry that person is dead and cannot come back to life unless you know of someone that has done this miracle personally it is a cartoon Yes Dragon ball z fans this is for you and Fairytale)
Deeper meaning
Usually anime has a deeper meaning to it or even the symbolism to the story most of the time it carries a lesson to it that you can Apply to life now if it just some brainless, no point to it, mocking about. Its most likely a cartoon ( KillaKill fans)
Art Style
Let’s not get it twisted Cartoons are not art they are scribbles put on a paper that even a Pentium2 Cpu can create with no problem, Anime has a very unique art and movement style at times making it almost real, the flow of movement is very smooth and keeps evolving as time and the technology becomes better
Conclusion
Anime does not mean made in Japan even though 99% of the time it does come from Japan, because if it did what do you do with the boondocks by Aaron McGruder yes it is anime, it is one of the only anime series I have seen come out of America excluding avatar the last air bender which started off in life as an anime then changed to cartoon.
Dbz fans sorry to burst your bubble but when the American’s took over Dbz it became a cartoon.
And in my book here are some anime walking a very thin line in becoming cartoons
1. Fairytale
2. Pokémon
3. Digimon
4. One piece (I haven’t watched it but from what anime fans tell me )
5. KillaKill
And on the other side cartoons that walk the line of becoming anime
1. Futurama
2. The Simpsons
3. Adventure Time ( believe it or not)
4. Avatar last air bender (even though it was an anime)
5. That’s all I can think of
Thank you for reading my blog please feel free to comment and follow me on the various social media platforms my twitter name is @ANIMECarter please follow me for more updates and anime news
