Post 7: Anime is not Cartoons!

                One of the things I hate is the misunderstanding about Anime and Cartoons. In art alone, it can clearly be distinguished, that Anime is definitely NOT Cartoons. Country-wise, Anime is from Japan and Cartoons are from America, two nations who fought in the early eras are now once again put into battle once again but with a different subject in mind. But what is the difference between these two forms of animation?

According to Andrew Po's Anime Vs. Cartoons: What's the Difference?  there are three things that distinguish Anime from Cartoons. First, Anime is targeted to all age groups. There are anime titles that are focused on kids, yes but nonetheless most anime titles contain mature content suited only for teens and older audiences. As opposed to Cartoons that are mainly targeted for children.

Second,  Anime has a distinctive art style that they maintain. Anime characters posses expressive big-eyes, colorful and gravity defying hair, an array of colorful words, a display of overly exaggerated emotions and more. But that doesn't mean that all anime characters look alike, there a lot of anime styles, just like there are a lot of cartoon looks. As of late, Western cartoonists are copying anime styles with little success to boot.

Lastly, unlike cartoons, anime has complex. continual plots. With cartoons, a single episode contains all thus, you can watch any episode in any order and still enjoy. But with Anime, you have to start at the very beginning, some anime series even span up to hundreds to thousands of episodes.

Michael Kateregga's Anime Thrills: What separates anime from cartoons? also cited the same points, emphasizing the uniqueness of anime plot twists and immortality and the changes that every fan anxiously waits for.

There was this American series that made an impact to this controversy, Big Bang Theory. One of the cast of said show, Sheldon Cooper, who corrected a comment made by his friend. He clearly stated that Anime is not Cartoons, quoting his words "Its not Cartoons, Its Anime". Tons of Anime fans were thankful that Sheldon was able to defend the long standing question.

Tons of Otakus nowadays are troubled by the fact that people who aren't part of the Otaku circle claim that Anime are Cartoons. It's a conundrum that haunts the lives of Anime lovers. People demeaning them for their love of anime, mistaking it for childish cartoons. 

I am not to bias cartoons, since I also watch cartoons and I am particularly a fan of Phineas and Ferb and Adventure Time. But as an Otaku myself, over watching the development of Anime and Cartoons for years, I do not approve of the mindset of the people that they are the same.

As for the concept of Anime, what is there to judge about? Anime is the representation of the hopes and dreams of the writer, that ultimately appeals to his/her readers and viewers. As for Anime characters being ageless and immortal, yes I also have a problem with this part of anime. The anime, Detective Conan has been airing since the 90's and up until now Conan has yet to change back to Shinichi, in addition, one of the many ageless characters is Ash Ketchum of Pokemon. Seriously Ash started at the age of 10, ventured like 5 regions and what 9 or 10 years later he's just about to be 11? This is the problem with anime but nonetheless this fact prevents the ending of an anime supported by tens to thousands of fans.

There is no questioning now that there is a difference to Anime and Cartoons. I just pray that other people hopefully realize the difference between the two.