Difference between anime and cartoons

[blackmenthol]

This is the question that has been lingering in my mind the first time I watched anime...how can you differentiate or tell apart what an anime is from a cartoon!?

'Cause I'm still having trouble telling the two apart...

so please don't hesitate...answer all you want! :)

[zevlag21]

anime is something with more interesting story and more mature while cartoons are kids stuff... the animation quality is so much different from each other...

[OVirus53]

They both fall under the same art medium since both are animated, but the large differences are displayed in content.

Cartoons are usually aimed towards children, primarily relying on stupid antics to make kids laugh (and it works, since kids find stuff like that funny), and usually have no underlying plotline other than the basic story that started created the situation the characters are in. Cartoons almost never seem to have an ultimate storyline goal.

Anime focuses moreso on plot, deeper characters, and situations that adults would find more engaging (Death Note vs. Sponge Bob).

Animation styles also vary greatly between the two.

[Shinigami99]

I think Anime are Japanese Cartoons...

[jzero99]

I like anime's animation better than cartoons + most cartoons dun have story

[asaness01234]

I like anime's animation better than cartoons + most cartoons dun have story

he's right...well cartoons aren't half bad I actually watch spongebob :emhh12:

http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/sites/family/img/11472_squidward.jpg Does this look unsure to u ?

[OVirus53]

he's right...well cartoons aren't half bad I actually watch spongebob :emhh12:

http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/sites/family/img/11472_squidward.jpg Does this look unsure to u ?

Most new cartoons are rubbish in my opinion, but I do enjoy the humor of Spongebob, since I'm a bit childish at heart. Cartoons were really great back in the days of Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck.

[pidodido]

Cartoon has created only for children, but Anime can be rated as G, 12a PG or R18 and made by Japanese
Also Anime has Story line to follow and the graphics, drawing are a lot more good than Cartoons.

Tom n Jerry and Donald Duck are the only Cartoon I like up until now.

[erikachan]

anime is much more than a cartoon..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2597923268_3f60b20ede_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2597876726_c637f47fd4_o.jpg

[mlcdl]

Well to tell the truth or not to believe me.....
Anime and cartoon are same but becoming differ from the country which came.
Animes are product from Japan while Cartoon is from English country especially America(according to what I recall)
It just seem they are different because of the story or the flow of the episode

[Kanami]

I don't know, but no really big difference. Anime are kinda like Japenese cartoon. Cartoons are mostly made for little kids to make them laugh and stuff. Anime, well, some are mostly made for bigger kids, like the ones with more blood. *-* I still watch spongebob and some other cartoons, just for remembering memories. x3

[ZenNaari]

CALLING ANIME A CARTOON IS UNFORGIVABLE!

Sure there are nice cartoons out there, but guess what, we're being tricked. Look at the credits for designing and animation for some cartoons, you'll see maybe 20-150 asian (probably chinese or japanese) names.

Simply put:

Cartoons - 2d animation made in any country except China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Singapore.

Anime - 2d animation made in China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Singapore. (mostly Japan)

btw, Vietnam and Philippines haven't made anime yet, they only made good games, mostly MMORPG's, but I would disagree that their drawings would be considered as anime unless they are otaku's...

anyway, related to the subject, CALLING MANGA A COMIC IS UNFORGIVABLE

[bobobear]

hmm. don't remember posting here before.. but oh well..
Best that I can remember on the technical side is that Cartoons follow the walt disney formula of 24 frames per second of film and anime has 15 frames per second. This was before like with astroboy and voltes V as example. That's why they use lots of freeze frame images since this is cheaper to produce. But the style evolved into what you see today.. also animes have big eyes

[ladymichaela]

Hmm.. Just a thought. Cartoons are mostly US animations. (e.g. Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, etc.) and Animes are mostly made by Japanese artists.

[ZenNaari]

Cartoons are gross unless the designer is Asian or European... in other words, American Cartoons suck unless taken in with the help of OTHER nations

Anime is good whatever kind...

[visualcandyk]

Kira will write spongebob squarepants on his death note hehe

I think that would be awesome!
Um, I think anime tends to be more mature.

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv174/visual_candy_kei/Funny/poor_santa.jpg

[solidoxygen]

If you want the diction of the term anime, then you should listen to the people who are telling you that anime means Japanese animation. It has a rather unique art style despite some rather large variances within the styles themselves.

If you are looking for a more personal difference, there are a huge number of different reasons people might give you. Anime isn't anime because it is "more mature" or "has a plot." As much as I like watching anime, there are many titles out there that are just as low in maturity or plot as any American cartoon.

Maturity or plot is definitely not the distinguishing point.

Consider Avatar: The Last Airbender; it greatly resembles many animes that you'll see out there however it is still a cartoon according to my previously mentioned observations.

[coldfire01]

Hmm if you guys can't decide the difference,

Let them fight then.

Who will win in a fight?

anime or cartoons.


I vote for Johnny Bravo.
Even if Son Gokou throws a genki dama in super saiyajin 4 form, Johnny will just stand up and brush his hair back lol.

Kira (Light Yagami) will write Johnny bravo in death note and he will stand up again.
Still brushing his hair and doing the poses.

Lelouch Vi Britannia will try to cast geass on Johnny Bravo, Johnny is phased out.
He stops and he still continue the dance.
Brushes his hair afterwards.
Lelouch cannot believe that his geass does not work.

[Pattehfilipino]

Sure connotation wise, Anime is generally more mature. But definition wise, Anime is just a cartoon. Even in japan they call american cartoons "Anime". With that in mind, Manga is just a japanese comic for me. I don't see how calling it a comic is unforgiveable...
For me, the definition for anime is strictly a Japanese made animation. Anything else drawn, I call it an animation. "Cartoon" has too many things attached to it for people, I can see how some people may even take offense when used to describe a high caliber animation.

[s3cr3tb0y12]

Anime is long and have stories,Cartoons have just different stories not continuing each episode :) I think..

[eliemusica]

i guess anime refers to animation from Japan. thus, shorten the word becomes anime. anime usually have more depth to it, in terms of storyline and characters' personalities. example like everything in our beloved OS library(^^)v..

and cartoons refers to animation from non-Japan i guess. usually, it is more entertaining for smaller bunch of kids, cause the story is easier to understand, and more comedy-oriented. like spongebob. but there are also exception like ironman or batman, the storyline are awesome but still are considered as cartoons.

[Snoozy19]

Here's a list of differences between the two...

- Anime is more into portraying life
- Cartoons display a sense of childish imagination
- Anime are defined in a way that it is understandable to adults than to children
- Cartoons are shown in rounded figures to manipulate the feeling of happiness to kids (Bugs Bunny...etc..)
- Anime reveals itself to be a way of communication between Japan and other cultures

It looks like the previous posters know exactly what are the differences...LOL

[venabre]

the main difference is for me it's origins and for that reason it's contents. Anime are usually more deep and with a better story than cartoon because they are seen as they really are, just a different way to create a vvideo instead for the occidental view of animation wich is something for kids.

also outside japan anime is mostly defined as a japanese TV animation series, so things like, for example, avatar the last airbender isn't technically an anime, though for me and some other people is one ^^

[MioAkiyama]

hmm anime
has more nice looking characters if you ask me
and they have certain genres yuri :D

[jeiru01]

Here's my personal answer, I used stacked information, and i didn't read any posts, because atm I'm kinda lazy to read some stuffs.. My pen..

Anime- made in Japan; somehow, the drawings are exotic; More realistic; blood, yesh.. etc
Cartoons- made somewhere else; Drawings are also good; sometimes, they are made for comedy or just educational purposes; characters are, immortal?! well they don't die that easily, even though they have been punched a lot; etc.

Someone somewhere even made tons of questions saying that some countries have anime. In my own research way way way back in the past, as i recall, anime is the Japanese term for Japan's animation. So in my understanding, anime is basically from Japan or whatever the term is, and is their own name for their animation. It's going round and round, my answer that is. wow, I miss that person, made my points go up hahaha.

[haku110]

Cartoon are for kids. Anime are a for teenagers and adults~!!

[IndI311]

the difference..??
..sorry but i always tough thats obliusy..
....ok..not really...
..but the drawing is in one different style..
....its kinda much more detailed and complexer..(exapt for pokemon/digimon/and co.)
...and anime is generally much mature in many ways..
..and the genre is not just aiming for small kids to let them get even stupider then they already are..
.but it aims for adults too..
...and some animes are even like a small piece of art...
..and so on

[Hero of time]

Anime has that certain look to it, like its refined. There are funny ones an cool ones. Cartoons are created to look more wacky in my opinion like Looney toons

[xiety]

cartoon and anime are based how they draw it
anime is base from a manga or doujin
cartoon is base from the creators

[taurel200]

ANime rocks while cartoon sucks thats all XD

[qwertyuiop10]

anime are cool but cartoons are for kids.

[awnaman123]

Anime rocks ... cartoons sucks! same idea w/ Kier-kun ... haha ... those things ( cartoon ) are only suited for children ... and we are'nt children anymore so ..... I prefer anime ... ^^

[Anime Addict]

ANime rocks while cartoon sucks thats all XD

quoted for truth^

Nowadays, I see cartoons as just a bunch of colors thrown in, add an outline and a voice and that's it. Anime well, is also like that, but you actually get something out of it.

And I disagree with people that say they are for kids, surely Dora, Barney and the like, in all their crappy glory, are for kids. But things like those shown on CN are for breeding the next generation that will initiate the next World War. ( You say 'seriously?' well, Tom and Jerry and co. say hi )

[Kobowo]

difference would be drawing style :)) aside from that
-anime can teach you lessons
-anime can make you cry, laugh, mad, sad, and alot of emotions while cartoons can make you laugh(rarely >.>)
-anime has plots
-anime has MOE <3
-anime makes sens

[sotong88]

Anime has a storyline and plot and a main point and is also more mature and meaningful. Cartoons have no plot, no storyline... or almost no...cause till no i cant decide if winx is a cartoon or not since it has a plot and all that. Cartoons are also more for children and anime for older people and teenagers. Anime is also more realistic then cartoon...

[Drache]

anime and cartoons are essentially the same. they are both animated, but like was mentioned earlier, their differences make them stand out. western cartoons are generally aimed at children, with some exceptions, the animation quality is generally not that great, and they usually lack a lager driving plot. Anime usually has more of a plot, and it gets aimed at a wider variety of people. something most people don't know, cartoons were originally for adults in the US, but some genius decided they were just for kids, that that is more or less when the perception was changed. Anime tends to have a higher budget than most cartoons, and has a plot-line running in the background. some cartoons stand out for having plots, but most do not. probably the biggest difference is that the japanese seem to take their anime more seriously than we take cartoons.

[lemonsquare]

Both are drawings but then Animes are made from Japan while Cartoons are made in countries other than Japan. hehehe,

[Viletomb2010]

Anime has a great animation and have more stories than cartoons.

[musikalles]

Here in America, it tends be simplified to: 'anime' is Japanese animation (the word 'anime' is literally a shortening of 'animation' and spelled to look generically 'japanese'... this comes from wikipedia) and I guess anime as an umbrella category can also cover the animations from neighboring countries who are mimicking its style, but that's when lines start to get blurry.

Speaking of lines and styles, the actual artwork on anime is fairly recognizable and easy to spot once you know what you're looking for... angular and intricate face shapes, eye shapes, and/or outlandishly gravity defying hairstyles are common signals.

Cartoons are made anywhere, nonexclusive to Japan or japanese influence.

[rakusa]

anime was better than cartoons for me.,

there's a big difference between the story and animation..

[lolkaitlin]

I think you're thinking more about the art, no? Even concerning that, anime has better qualities in it's art form anyways (most do) when compared to most cartoons. Compare Death Note with let's say, Spiderman. PLUS, genres? Anime has a wide variety of different genres from slapstick to comedy to slice of life to ecchi and so on.

Aaand anime is for a wider age range due to the fact that there are anime with intense plots and such. Think about HOTD? Not only is the genre for a more mature audience (lulz ecchi) but the meaning behind it is something that most kids wouldn't really think about. Ridiculous, HOTD has an important moral of no matter how crazy shit gets, always make sure to protect your friends and listen to your conscience. Kids would probably just think, KILL THE ZOMBIEZ. As fun as zombie killing is, c'mon guys. Ahahahaha.

[BrokenAngel]

The biggest differences between anime and our cartoons are the style, a plot, and the maturity level. You could probably bring up a whole list of differences but those are the main ones.

[musikalles]

That is to say, cartoons aren' made expressly for children either. Again, I live in america so this is what I think of. There are more 'adult' cartoons-- usually gigantic eyesores compressed of offensive and illegitimate jokes that you let a chuckle escape every now and then. It's like the difference between things like Matt Groening and Seth Mcfarlane shows like family guy, futurama, and the simpsons compared to, say, Disney. Which everyone always says is actually full of subliminal sexual messages anyway.

Creators can put whatever they like into their media. That's why I actually prefer to think about anime vs. cartoons to be just about illustration styles. Sure, anime is taken more seriously where you all live, but that's because it's a respected and innate part of the entire Japanese culture.

[kyoyahostluv]

I like both cartoons and anime!!!
The cartoons nowadays are crap though (old Spongebob episodes are ok...the new ones stink)
The old stuff like Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny was great! :D

Anime has more depth than cartoons.

[Rasen Oh]

Anime, to me, is a type of cartoon of Japanese origin using a certain type of artistic style.

[onepiece]

anime are for more mature people while cartoons are for kids and toddlers hehehe....

[Okazaki21]

Cartoons = Looney tunes (the Litteral Looney catoons not just Bugs Bunny and his gang)
Anime= Has more story and is more realistic (WHAT?)

[pengu]

anime has more story and emotion
cartoons are people trying to be funny

[JenOtaku]

`Anime graphics is much more good than the cartoons! xD

`I prefer Anime of course! :)

[zeroichi]

the graphic is different~ anime is much much much better ^_^
n.. normally cartoon dont have storyline. i mean, each episode doesnt connect with each other. eg: tom and jerry ^__^

[benito18]

anime has a plot and a good drawing and a clear story line and has different genre's that you could learn in your life and most importantly serious while cartoons are just for kids no story line its main objective is to make the children laugh. Although I think there is 1 cartoon I think is serious and this is the only cartoon that I watch its Ben-10 up to Ben-10 ultimate alien.

[Major Zero]

Hmm if you guys can't decide the difference,

Let them fight then.

Who will win in a fight?

anime or cartoons.


I vote for Johnny Bravo.
Even if Son Gokou throws a genki dama in super saiyajin 4 form, Johnny will just stand up and brush his hair back lol.

Kira (Light Yagami) will write Johnny bravo in death note and he will stand up again.
Still brushing his hair and doing the poses.

Lelouch Vi Britannia will try to cast geass on Johnny Bravo, Johnny is phased out.
He stops and he still continue the dance.
Brushes his hair afterwards.
Lelouch cannot believe that his geass does not work.

Do you know why nothing will work ??? Cause anything's possible in a cartoon .

[Homura]

I prefer to watch anime than cartoons these days. Anime has better style and storylines, and plus cartoons these days are just getting stupid. There not like the cartoons from like the 90's.

[GMSieghart]

the Difference between Cartoon and animeare
Anime is made for peoples 13 to up while cartoon is just for entertaining kids.
Anime has a amazing story plot and cartoon had an different plot every episode and has no definite end

[azukare]

Another difference is the typical themes of the shows. Let's look at the typical American cartoons. Adult/teen shows like the Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, etc. typically provide entertainment through slapstick humor, political jokes, mocking flaws in life, satire, etc. Each episode is it's own story and one doesn't need to watch them in any particular order. Child shows in the US are usually the same. Each episode is separate from the rest and they rely on slapstick humor.

Anime is typically aimed at all ages. The plot appeals to adults/teens and the action/fights in some of them appeal to younger ages. Each episode connects with the previous and the characters develop more than the American counterparts. The themes touched on my anime is also more mature. Even the popular "kid" show Dragon Ball is filled with things like sacrificing your life for others, combat, killing, mercy, etc.

Another difference is sides in a conflict. Typical American shows have "good" and "evil". G.I. Joe is a classic example of this. It's always Joes vs Cobra. In Anime there may be more than two sides, some sides may be good, evil, both, neither, misguided or misunderstood. Take Gundam Wing: it starts off with oppressed space colonies. The main characters wage war against the earth. The earth forces have a schism between two forces. One becomes dominant and tricks the colonies into siding with them against the main characters. The colonies divide into two and one wages war against the earth. Throughout this whole ordeal there are people within each faction that are either good, bad or both, quite a lot of them flip-flop between sides.

The only American shows that were more mature and not the typical good vs evil I can think of from my childhood was Transformers: Armada and Teen Titans. Of course, I later found out the former was actually an anime and the latter was anime influenced. =/

[DarkDenizen]

The difference between Cartoons and Anime are:
~Cartoons are generally targeted for kids...while anime is for teens and up
~Cartoons are made by US and other countries while anime is made in Japan of course
~Cartoons are not detailed in graphics and colors while anime is have awesome graphics and effects
~Cartoons sometimes don't have lessons like Simpsons, Family Guy, Cleveland show and others while anime have more life lessons like being a powerful person just to protect his/her love ones and the land where he/she grew up
~That's all just opinions of mine...

[prettiiangel]

(They have different spellings. . . :DDDD)

I ask Google about it and gave me the best answer chosen by Asker. . . :D
^_^
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Country of origin is 1 of the most notable things, but aside from that, anime is more stylized with common character designs and facial structures, detailed backgrounds, and a plot. Also there are many genre of anime from children's anime to adult anime (hentai). Cartoons tend to be made to appeal to little kids by making the characters look deformed and having no point to the story.

another difference

Cartoons are gay, anime isn't.

[Bunislipper]

Cartoon is more of a animation that attracts a younger audience. So things with lots of action and don't really follow a specific story line. Whereas, anime is a lot more advanced with proper story lines and a character build up.