Forums / Media / Moving Images

Happy hump day, KYMers!

I notice that a lot of people on this site (myself included) are anime fans. We also use a lot of reaction images and gifs taken from animes, though there aren't many from western shows. So I was wondering, do you prefer western animation, or anime? Make your argument below!

Here's mine first:
I prefer anime, mostly because they have better storylines. Most western shows cater to a very immature sense of humour, so the plot is simple and the laughs are cheap, but I've found several anime with a gripping storytline. Also the animation is better, and I like how in some series, every character is unique, and it shows in their individual behaviour, animation, etc.

Now it's your turn!

Gr8 Deb8 m8 I r8 8/8
Seriously though, I also prefer anime, mostly for the same reasons as you, though one other reason may be that I really do like my escapism, and a lot of the stuff I watch tends to get quite over the top :P

Both Western Animation and Anime vary wildly in animation, story, humor, character, and all that stuff in each show/series. So saying anime has a better story/characters/etc. is like saying every part of America is better than Britain because of one particular city/state.

I'm pretty sure if you look hard enough, you'll find anime or western shows with a crappy storyline, animation, unlikable characters, stale humor, or a combination of the aforementioned . So I wouldn't compare anime to western animation by its quality of story or characters. But yeah, that's my opinion

Now for which is better:

I actually prefer western animation (this is coming from a dude who likes anime a lot). Why? Because from the western animations I watched, they tend to have a wider range of art style , unlike anime, whose shows tend to have similar art style.

For me, I really like variety, because each time I watch a different show (say, watching Adventure Time after watching Legend of Korra) its like having a fresh new taste in terms of art style.

That is like saying every part of America is better than Britain because of one particular city/state.

But every single part of America is better than Britland.

Generally my opinion is based on the timeframe. I tend to like older western animation than older Anime, and I tend to like newer Anime than newer Western Animation.

I've ranted about this before, but Western Animation has gone too… Adobe Flash for me.

Meh, I like both.

Maybe I like anime a bit better but that was thanks to Latin-American Cartoon Network and Fox Kids ( RIP in pieces ;-;) who transmitted anime without any kind of censorship. They even translated the original japanese openings of those animes to spanish/castellano. Digimon even had the original japanese songs in between the digi-evolucions and fights (that means, no digi-rap :D); and for Saint Seiya we even had Pegasus Fantasy completly in spanish.

Can your inferior Cartoons do this???

Checkmate, Weeaboos…

Holy generalizations, Batman!

Oh yeah, and that segues perfectly into my counterexample to what you said:

In reality, of course, this question is impossible to answer even when you allow subjective judgements of each individual piece, because there's just too many of them and too much variety to pin down an "average" from each country with which to compare.

While I do prefer anime (I grew up with them pretty much), I think it's hard to just compare those two.

An important note is how animation, in general is viewed culturally. In the west, there is a thought that most animation are made for children. Of course, that changed, and now it's either children, or crude adult jokes. Either way, not a lot of western show have things that are made for adults and not some type of comedy. To put it together, it is a Western idea that animation can't be taken seriously. Even the most best and serious ones (like Avatar) still have gags and humor in them.

Now, the other thing is animation cost. In Japan, the cost is quite reduced (due to some historical context that is slightly long and tough to explain). This is also why a lot of times animators don't get especially nice salaries in Japan. The reduced cost means that more anime can be produced, and that results in more variety. That's why you'll find more anime than western animation.

I also remember reading about the difference between the plot progressions. Western shows tend to have more stuff happening, while in anime they tend to focus on certain events (like showing thoughts of the characters, meanwhile somewhere else, long speeches, 10 episodes of charging a ball of energy, etc.)

I actually like both equally.
Each side has their ups and downs. With western animation it's that the common American sees animation as either childish or should be only comedy, even though their have been serious western animated series (Ex: almost every DC and Marvel cartoon and Disney's Gargoyles, etc.). Whereas for anime instead of being bloated with comedies they have a massive influx of ecchi and harem series which are mostly cliched, tiring, and most of all horrible. And as Lurk mentioned western animation tends to have more varied art styles, as opposed to anime which is very rare to have different visual styles, with the only non-anime looking anime I can think of are Shin-Chan, Super Milk-Chan, and Panty and Stocking.

Western Animation definitely for me.

I like some Anime like Death Note, or Samurai Champloo, but most of the time I find anime like Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece kinda bad; the sweat droops and vein things can get real old really fast, and fanservice is such a cheap way to keep fans giddy which a lot of anime keep on doing and tbh I'm real sick of it. Anime are also generally ridiculously long with whole series reaching over 600 episodes (I am looking at you One Piece) and each episode only contains around 20% new content and story progression with the rest being a really long intro that you'd always see, a really long recap, unnecessary flashbacks, and then the really long outro. Also, I'd like to disagree with OP here, Anime normally has really bad animation imo; when characters talk they normally look like pieces of cardboard with lips just moving up and down and the tenaciously long anime fights are usually nothing more than slowly moving and panning out stills. Ridiculously long fights in anime also baffles me tbh; who the hell thinks out loud what they're going to do in five seconds!? Don't tell me, show me.

Western Animation though: Avatar, My Little Pony, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Over the Garden Wall, Gravity Falls (let's not forget all the amazing movies Disney and Pixar have created.) I am in love with them. Unlike anime, Western Animation endeavors to synch gestures and lip movements whenever characters talk, which gives characters more life, which isn't what animation is supposed to do? Fights are realistic; quick and short, compared to anime at least. Fast, fluid, smooth. And when it comes to story, unlike anime which tbh feels like is wasting my time with episodes that barely accomplish anything, Western Animation episodes are always chuck full of events and has a coherent storyline that feels complete; from Act 1 to Act 3, problem arises, climax, resolution. Lastly, Western Animation stories actually end at times, and they end at a satisfying note, unlike anime like Naruto where we're all "Ugh, Finally." I'd also like to praise soundtracks in Western Animation because my god Anime just loves to use the same ost over and over again, it's repetitive.

But ahem yeah, that's just my opinion and experience with Cartoons and Anime.

i can't really say much about anime really since i watch more cartoons than anime. Both have their strengths and weaknesses like the overuse of certain tropes (idiot unlikable main character in western animation and highschool settings in anime) but i do enjoy both equally especially when something comes out that really is different and unique compared to the mainstream. I constantly quote plenty of scenes from Courage The Cowardly Dog with my little brother and have discussions about anime with my big brother. Both are so great to me that i like to laugh at people who make big arguments on facebook and such who says one side is better than the other.

I prefer anime over western animation because of the more serious plots, aesthetics, and the fact that in japan animation is taken more seriously than it is in america, but shows like archer, or other western animation like avatar, in my opinion can compete, if not outdo anime.
I hate that western animation that isn't aimed to children, are usually turned into adult comedy series such as family guy, or southpark.
my favorite anime is cowboy bebop, while my favorite western is archer

Anime. Mostly because it has much more freedom in terms of what it can be. American animation is, for the most part, either aimed at kids or is an adult comedy. You will never have shows like Stiens;gate, Madoka, Bakemonogatari, or Cowboy Bebop. The plots can be deeper and more engaging. American animation though, man is it funny. To this day, I still consider spongebob in its heyday to be some of the funniest shit ever. They both are great really.
I could say more, but I am more interested in discussing someones post

Onion Syrup said:
I get this is about opinions, but I can't help but pick apart a few things you said.

anime are also generally ridiculously long with whole series reaching over 600 episodes

No they are not, they average 12-24 episodes. One piece and Naruto are the exception, not the rule. Its funny you mention this a minus for anime. American cartoons will keep going until their popularity dies down. Look at south park, spongebob, fairly odd parents, family guy, american dad, the Simpsons. Even shows that end relatively early go on for way longer than most anime. If an american animated cartoon ended at twelve episodes, that's because it sucked.

Onion syrup:Anime normally has really bad animation imo

Anime can have some terrible animation, but when you are animating characters that more resemble humans than most cartoons, its easier to notice the awkwardness. Older cartoons were just as awkward (Xmen anyone?) and too many newer ones are flash animated, which can never really be spectacular in my book.
You are generalizing, as there are many anime with great animation. Out of all the shows you mentioned, none, besides avatar, come close to this

Onion syrup:And when it comes to story, unlike anime which tbh feels like is wasting my time with episodes that barely accomplish anything, Western Animation episodes are always chuck full of events and has a coherent storyline that feels complete

Yeah, because filler is exclusive to anime. Also, out of the shows you mentioned only avatar (and maybe over the garden wall, I haven't seen it) has a series long plot that drives every episode. I don't know, but I felt Madoka, Steins;Gate, and Death note were strong and coherent plots that didn't take 100 of episodes to complete.

Onion syrup:I’d also like to praise soundtracks in Western Animation because my god Anime just loves to use the same ost over and over again, it’s repetitive.

So many anime have spectacular osts, I don't know what you are talking about.

Yeah, I know what you are trying to say, a lot of anime sucks. But you can chalk that up to Sturgeon's law.
You just seemed to be completely dismissing anime as a whole based on generalizations with little truth behind them.

That's a good point, I hadn't considered that :)

Well, good points, everyone! I guess each person's final opinion boils down to personal preference, as well as what shows you've actually watched.

Either one. I don't care where it came from as long as the story is good

@Dac

I'd like to talk about some of your comebacks:

Out of all the shows you mentioned, none, besides avatar, come close to this

True, but I also mentioned Disney and Pixar movies. They're just as Western Animation as the cartoons I mentioned, and albeit they don't normally go for flashy bloody fights like anime do, they're still very well animated. Also, this is where personal taste really splits our opinion two ways: Personally, so long as the flash animation is done seamlessly and with finesse, it's a joy to watch. The More fluid the movement, the better.

So many anime have spectacular osts, I don’t know what you are talking about.

I'm talking about the long anime series like One Piece and Naruto, and Bleach. They ultimately end up repeating the same ost for every similar mood that calls for it. But it's true what you said, it'd be unfair for me to just focus on the bad aspects of anime. I've heard of great Soundtracks from Hayao Miyazaki films (those are anime right?) like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. If only mainstream anime will have more than one ost for a specific mood.

Yeah, looking back to it I've made a lot of generalizations. I guess I just felt the need to speak out for Western Animation because this site being KYM it's clearly the underdog. If I didn't act as Devil's Advocate for Cartoons then nobody in this site would have. (I think?) I don't really have anything against anime there are just as much terrible shows and films on the side of Western Animation but tbh Western Animation really is closer to my heart than anime right now.

True, but I also mentioned Disney and Pixar movies.

I make the distinction between animated shows for TV and then theatrical releases. Its not fair to compare TV shows to movies. They just have much more money put into them and have a lot longer to be in production. Apples and Oranges.

I’m talking about theS long anime series like One Piece and Naruto, and Bleach…If only mainstream anime will have more than one ost for a specific mood.

So, you are going to critique all of anime based on a couple shows? You did that earlier by saying most anime was super long.
While I do agree that the Miyazaki films have great soundtracks, I was actually referring to TV anime. Any amine with music by Yuki Kajiura or Yoko Kanno will have a great ost. What western animated TV shows are you talking about that have amazing osts? I know korra and avatar are good, what other ones though? Also, Miyazaki films are completely mainstream.

If I didn’t act as Devil’s Advocate for Cartoons then nobody in this site would have.

With all the bronies, that's not going to be the case. They help keep the weeaboos from dominating these discussions. I'd say almost everyone was fair to both sides in this discussion so far.

I completely agree with lurk, it's refreshing to have different art styles. The thing for me its that in anime I have high expectations and I get disappointed and in western cartoons I have low expectations and I get surprised by an actually enjoyable show.

Western cartoons most of time don't lie they define their target audience and go on with that, some children shows even add something extra that makes the show enjoyable to people outside the target audience for example adventure time has a lot of deep moments and a story that has some sad moments.

Compared with some anime that sell a serious plot only to found that is plagued with tons cliches, seriously this is the problem, there is so much cliched anime, they dont have the restriction that children shows have (violence, sexual themes, complex plt, etc.) and still there is trope over trope over trope.

Of course there are good animes out there, like Beck or Monster, and even if you want a more shonen like anime there is FMA:Brotherhood, but the thing is that it is really hard to find a good show.

Why in a romance/comedy anime always the MC has to be a dude that suck at girls?
Why in a shonen always the MC is a weakling who get stronger by just getting mad or by friendship power?
Why like 95% of the MC is a high/middle school boy/girl?
Why people past 25 years old are background characters/dumb/weak/non existant?

Anime > Western Cartoons (but Western Comics > Manga)

That's what it is for me.

I enjoy anime more simply because as mentioned, for the most part Western Cartoons are comedies, aimed young children or adults. But even with Anime I find that basically anything that isn't completely extraordinary very boring. And there are some pieces of Western Animation I consider better then some anime. I like the art style variety but it means you can get some shows that would be good if it weren't for their art style, where as atleast with the samey looking anime at least you know that kind of style so it will mostly be good.

Its not fair to compare TV shows to movies.

By all means you're welcomed to include Anime movies into the comparison. I love Spirited Away and other Hayao Miyazaki's works, but even I think that against Disney Movies like Tangled or Frozen, they're a bit underhanded when it comes to how fluid the animation is. You could say that these Western movies just have more money into them, I say they really excelled in animation technology and are unafraid of going beyond the tradition of handcrafted works unlike Studio Ghibli. (Nothing wrong with that.)

So, you are going to critique all of anime based on a couple shows? …What western animated TV shows are you talking about that have amazing osts?

You're putting words in my mouth, Dac. I was merely justifying my generalization from earlier, and not pushing through with it. To be fair, I won't say all or even most anime, but some of the anime I've encountered tend to use osts again and again to the point of them being repetitive. Aside from the Legend of Korra, I also believe that MLP has a decent ost (yes, outside of the songs, it can have a good mood-setting melody,) and there's also Gravity Falls and Over the Garden Wall. And speaking of songs, I don't know about you guys but I can dig a catchy song, which just falls onto Western Animation (Let It Go, anyone?) for me because there's a language barrier for Anime that bad dubs cannot fix.

With all the bronies, that’s not going to be the case.

Even with all the season 5 hype, Bronies aren't exactly all over KYM at the moment. In fact, they haven't been all over KYM in a long time. I think they're half dead on this site by now. Evident since no brony has spoken up in this forum.

By all means you’re welcomed to include Anime movies into the comparison… You could say that these Western movies just have more money into them, I say they really excelled in animation technology and are unafraid of going beyond the tradition of handcrafted works unlike Studio Ghibli.

I was speaking in reference to the clip I posted. But of course we can talk about the movies. First off, it is without a doubt because of the money. I am in no way trying to undermine Disney, for example, its just that of course they can push the bounds of animation tech when their movies are costing them 150+ million bucks. Also, 3d animation is hardly risky at this point. It's actually the opposite. Looking at Princess Kaguya, that film really went off the beaten path to give something refreshing in terms of animation and with American studios refusing to make 2D animation, Its nice they do. As to what I think about them, I love both equally. Movies like Grave of Fireflies, Ghost in the Shell, and Akira are movies that could only come out of anime, while Disney and Dreamworks are fucking Disney and Dreamworks.

You’re putting words in my mouth, Dac.

Well, to be fair, first you said "Anime just loves to use the same ost over and over again, it’s repetitive.", then said Mainstream anime. That's why I thought that, still I apologize.

About bronies, its true they havent really spoke up, but this thread has hardly been an anime circle jerk.

Animation is still animation to me, I enjoy either one regardless.

Sure, they both have plenty of differences, and I know some people would vehemently defend one over the other. Frankly, I think both are great for the same reasons that most of you guys listed. The main reason being, I enjoy animation as a whole and I enjoy most of the differences that each one has to offer.