this is a topic that branched off of the debate in the post "avatar: the last airbender live action movie"
the debate was if "Avatar the last airbender" deserved to be catagorized as an "anime"
however in this post i would like to talk about something more universal
and my question is technically "what makes an anime an anime"
what qualities what a show must have to be considered an anime?

why because i am the president of the student council of course

[img]http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww73/chewy_bubble2004/2d360793.gif[/img]

I will repost this img since the tpic is somewhat related
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/silent_killer/random%20stuffs/th_ppgz.jpg[/img]

I think its a decent example of what is and what isn't anime, and what happens when things don't go as planned. Seriously, weren't the orignal ppg cute enough. They had to be done moe style. 😔

Sarcasm just doesn't work over the internet.

Hmm. An anime is an anime because it's from Japan. Animation from the country is quite distinct, from the language to the way the characters look and their surroundings. If the characters are American, French, Russian, speak related languages, live in home countries, I probably wouldn't consider it an anime, because it would not have the traits Japanese animation has.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/B400485.jpg[/img]

can you physically
compare and contrast the two?

why because i am the president of the student council of course

[img]http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww73/chewy_bubble2004/2d360793.gif[/img]

Anime is Japanese animated cartoons is it not? It's not just the original language used that makes an anime an anime, it's the culture, music, plot, characters, and art style that makes an anime an anime. It's kind of like asking if American comics are manga which they aren't - they're comics. So I guess anything that is not styled like anime say like shoujo eyes or anything that doesn't have anime attributes yet is still animated, is a cartoon. Avatar is a cartoon I guess then again so is Ben 10 and Teen Titans. I guess it also depends if the plot is formulated to be considered an anime or a series that expands more than a regular "cartoon" series would. Well this is my opinion and it probably didn't make sense 🤣

It's a Japanese cartoon, made in Japan
and meant to be anime.

Quote from tokyo_homi

can you physically
compare and contrast the two?

Well. Anime is short for the pronunciation in Japanese, Animēshon. So of course stuff like Avatar is not anime (referring to your earlier post).

When you look at characters in...Scooby doo, and compare the way it is animated, drawn, colored, etc. to Jigoku Shoujo, the differences are quite obvious. Right down to the hairstyles, clothes, and surroundings on occasion. Not to mention that the original voice cast speaks Japanese.

Compare Powerpuff Girls to Johnny Bravo. Both American. You can tell not only by the way it's animated, but by the dialogue. The cultural differences between America and Japan are huge. From honorifics, to certain words that aren't translated into english, places you've never heard of, types of food.. 🤢

So XxKumagoroXx is pretty much right 😮

[img]http://i.imgur.com/B400485.jpg[/img]

Anything that adheres to the anime culture I guess (Don't forget chinese/korean anime/manga which is very similar to japanese anime/manga). Who cares what country it was made i,, although, on the other hand, I've never seen a decent one made outside of Asia.

if you are saying that
some charecters are drawn poorly

than compare charecters from big 0 to charecters in the batman cartoon

why because i am the president of the student council of course

[img]http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww73/chewy_bubble2004/2d360793.gif[/img]

Quote from tokyo_homi

if you are saying that
some charecters are drawn poorly

than compare charecters from big 0 to charecters in the batman cartoon

Big O was a joint venture, so that's a bad comparison.

But look, it has to be produced in Japan, by a Japanese company, to be anime. Anime is not a style or movement. It is simply the Japanese word for animation, and has been adopted by western society in an attempt to sound cool/Japanese/whatever, it's basically the same as the word otaku.

The same classification goes for manga- if it's produced in Japan, its manga. Otherwise it's something influenced by Japanese comics or "OEL" or whatever. Same for manhwa and whatnot. It's become a cultural meme to refer to them in that way, but that doesn't change the reality that it's just a word that means animation.

[img]http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt122/Wthuh/CrenshiSig.jpg[/img]
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i see what you are saying
but do u know companies like tokyopop actually call a certain selection of there graphic novels produced by americans "manga"
um i'm not sure who it was but a famous manga artist one of those really legendary ones (i'll post the link if i find it) stated that he knows that japanese anime is being distributed around the world and people are watching it and are influenced to create there own. he said that "anime" can and will be seen being produced by other countries.

why because i am the president of the student council of course

[img]http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww73/chewy_bubble2004/2d360793.gif[/img]

Quote from tokyo_homi

i see what you are saying
but do u know companies like tokyopop actually call a certain selection of there graphic novels produced by americans "manga"
um i'm not sure who it was but a famous manga artist one of those really legendary ones (i'll post the link if i find it) stated that he knows that japanese anime is being distributed around the world and people are watching it and are influenced to create there own. he said that "anime" can and will be seen being produced by other countries.

Tokyopop classifies them separately as "OEL". That's scarcely saying they're the same, is it?

The person in question was basically referring to animation with a more mature target audience- the connotation (as you can see by the quotations you put around the word yourself) isn't related to the terminology in the pure sense.

Basically, the etymology of the word wins in terms of definitions. You're free to use it however you want, but in the purest sense that is what the word means. This should also be coupled with the realization that something being classified as "anime" or not doesn't really make a difference- a quality piece of work in a genre that you enjoy is still just as enjoyable whether it's anime or a cartoon, I don't see why you would feel the need to make the distinction clear in the first place.

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Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
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NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

Quote from Crenshinibon

Basically, the etymology of the word wins in terms of definitions. You're free to use it however you want, but in the purest sense that is what the word means. This should also be coupled with the realization that something being classified as "anime" or not doesn't really make a difference- a quality piece of work in a genre that you enjoy is still just as enjoyable whether it's anime or a cartoon, I don't see why you would feel the need to make the distinction clear in the first place.

Dayummmmmmmm
you make a hellava lot sense
you talked circles around
me (bows)
i now see eye to eye with you
and pay full respect to your logic 😮

why because i am the president of the student council of course

[img]http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww73/chewy_bubble2004/2d360793.gif[/img]

I don't think it's that simple. One explanation I've heard turns the entire argument on its head. Anime itself is derived from early American cartoons, Disney in particular. This is the reason why old anime looks so similar to old Disney cartoons. The big eyes, small noses and wildtakes were inspired by Disney's earlier works and expanded upon. Even the word "anime" derives from the English word, 'animation".

Now, one could argue that anime is anime simply because it comes from Japan and thus has its own nuisances. To that, I as you to watch this ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvbVF2Q9qgM ). That song is called "Ai, Just On My Love" and it's clearly Jazz, even though it's Japanese. Jazz, however, is an African-American musical style but it has transcended language and cultural barriers. A song doesn't have to be sung by African-Americans to be jazz.

In that aspect, I ask are such shows like Avatar and Teen Titans not anime? They do have an American flavor (much like the opening theme has a lyrical style that common among Japanese songs) but should that exclude them? If so, when does anime stop being a cultural work and transcend into an artform?

In my opinion, if something's intended to be an anime, it's an anime. Despite what a lot of people think, art styles and animation values in Japanese anime are far too varied to use as comparisons. I don't believe manga has to be written by a Japanese person to be considered manga, and although it's slightly more complicated I feel the same way about anime. What if it's made by non-Japanese people but produced and released in Japan, or vice-versa?