Monday, December 26, 2011

What Is the Difference Between Japanese Anime and American Cartoons?

What Is the Difference Between Japanese Anime and American Cartoons?

Japanese Anime and American cartoons are similar in the sense that they're both animated features. However, a lot of people argue that they are not at all the same. Let's cite the top XXX differences between these two.

The Storyline.

American cartoons are best described as targeting a younger demographic. They usually feature a relatively simple story that is easy for kids to follow. Even feature-length animated movies from media giants still feature relatively simple plots, as show by their biggest films like Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story" and Dreamworks' "Shrek" series.

Japanese Anime, on the other hand, caters not only to kids but also to an adult audience as well. Actually, there are some anime series that are not meant for a young audience at all. For example, the Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies" revolves around the life of two Japanese children caught in the middle of World War II Japan. The story involves the children's death from starvation.

The Characters.

Japanese Anime creators have the habit of endowing a real personality to an otherwise bland character. Usually, features of this genre are best described as having multiple protagonists who possess unique personas. For example, the series Masashi Kishimoto's "Naruto" and Tite Kubo's "Bleach" feature more than thirty protagonists each, without causing confusion among its viewers.

On the other hand, American cartoons usually center on just a few characters, possibly in keeping with their aim of avoiding confusion among its youthful audience. To illustrate, Disney's fairy tale films like "Sleeping Beauty", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Mulan", all center on a single character and whose other protagonists serve only as accessories to propagate the plot.

The Animation.

Japanese Anime uses more advanced techniques in the sense that only in Japanese anime will one see realistic illusions of fast and abrupt movements. For example, fighting anime features like Yoshihiro Togashi's "Yu Yu Hakusho (Ghost Files)" or even the Satoshi Tajiri's kid-centered "Pokemon" show fight scenes that provoke an illusion of real-life impact and speed.

On the other hand, American cartoons are increasingly becoming more reliant on computer-generated graphics that are, unfortunately, limited as of now. CG graphics are not very cost-efficient in showing quick character movements, as they focus more on fluid motion to counteract the computer's tendency to make the characters' moves look too robotic and unnatural.

All in all, this does not necessarily imply that American cartoons are inferior to Japanese anime. Instead, it just shows that the genre appeals to a wider market in Japan as compared to the US, which means that funding for the former is heftier than the latter.

What Is the Difference Between Japanese Anime and American Cartoons?

No comments:

Post a Comment