Japanese animation vs American animation

[Max Power]

I'm bored, so you people need to entertain me.
all japanese animation vs all-american animation.



meh

[konflikti]

As in the quality of animation or as in the characters?

[~ Masamune ~]

He mean everything....

For me it would be jap Anim.,why? Pffffffffffffff so hot here......well i like the char,story,etc etc.

[zizou]

As in the quality of animation or as in the characters?
I'd say japanese, in both ways.

[HugeGuy]

If we're just talking about animation, American wins since they have bigger budget so no "freeze scene" or "reused animation". But Japanese usually has more detailed artwork.

[Nikuu]

Japanese, American is the same thign each week not really good of a story line... except Transformers!
but i think thats japanese ...

[uncanny_sama]

jap why?

americans could NEVER make something like Eureka seven

naruto
bleach

etc

NEver

they cant even make a good dub

[Gambitz]

jap why?

americans could NEVER make something like Eureka seven

naruto
bleach

etc

NEver

they cant even make a good dub
dont forget about dragon ball z

[Dark Evangel]

Quality?Japanese because of the sexy anime girls that makes me drool

Characters?American because they have shows like South Park that can kick ass

[Kunoichi no Kiri]

Guys, Disney has the uncontested greatest animation ever.

Now art style, characters, story, ect - that goes either way you'd like. I'd give it to anime on those last 3 counts.

[Danchou]

Guys, Disney has the uncontested greatest animation ever.

Now art style, characters, story, ect - that goes either way you'd like. I'd give it to anime on those last 3 counts.I'm not so sure about that first statement. Ghibli studio's have made some of the best animated scenes I've ever seen. Especially Spirited Away is second to unrivalled. On the rest of you points I agree.

[Nick Uchiha]

...


What kind of question is this? Japan all da way

[Id]

In terms of the quality of animation......deff America. (Those diseney movies are breath taking.)

Other than that, everything is up in the air, I prefer Anime as an ongoing series thou.

[Hype]

In terms of the quality of animation......deff America. (Those diseney movies are breath taking.)

Other than that, everything is up in the air, I prefer Anime as an ongoing series thou.


advent children anyone :P

[The Space Cowboy]

*Watches as Cloud Strife, in all his 3-Dimensional Glory is flattened by Bugs Bunny.

American Cartoons, are far better at being episodic than Japanese cartoons. Furthermore to discount the storytelling abilities of American Cartoon writers, ignores such f*ing awesome cartoons like the old Fantastic Four Cartoon and Iron Man.

Need I mention the absolutely awesome Spiderman Cartoon that had a Half-Vampire Vampire-Slayer named Blade before Wesley Snipes was a glimmer in Hollywood's eye?

[Anego]

american only best work with 'one man show and too superhero' like.. Superman, He-man, Hulk, Spiderman, etc

japanese works with togetherness like Naruto, Voltus V, saint saiya. when american makes Transformer, I feel so dull and itchy about it.

american story for animation mostly come from legend/tale which had popular before.. well, nowdays (this decade) they start with many original new one.
the japanese, from long2 time ago works with new story and more original

american animation (just like their hollywood manner) mostly more speak about technology-behind-the-screen. they worship technology :)
japanese works with details and mostly speak about the theme/philosophy of the story. they keep proud using 2D (yes, I support it!)

american animation.. not so creative from the character form, music, and story
japanese animation.. creative, full invention in character form, unexpectable story

american animation.. mostly just for kids to teenagers.
japanese animation.. they cope to 0-5, 5-8, 8-12, 12-17, adult (such as JIN ROH, anyone had seen it? best anime-screen i've ever seen).. and even.. h*ntai

who wins?
japanese animation, no doubt.

[Sieg]

I prefer jap. anime.

Apart from the funnies like Simpsons/Family/SouthPark/etc. i tend not to watch anything else.

[Yoshitsune]

You all do realize that japanese anime categories have the same skeleton which is sooo cliche likewise to american cartoons~ boys with courageous hearts hate it when people are put down, even the enemy

Eventually, people will run out of stories and just remake old ones, hence telenovelas, hence hollywood remakes

[Sieg]

So?

Alsmost everything now is a copy of something else.
What's the saying about originality being dead... or something >.>

[Bubbles]

May have to go for american actually, because there are so many different varieties, anime is kind of samey, sorry guys.

XX

[Bubbles]

May have to go for american actually, because there are so many different varieties, anime is kind of samey, sorry guys.

XX

[Raistlin-sama]

I'm not going to go into animation quality as I find that a trivial matter to discuss. All animation from all nations have the capability to be great, however it is seldom used due to most countries preferring live-action. My exposure to American cartoons are mainly Disney, Looney Toons and various older (as in 90's and properly some 80's) morning cartoons that has been shown in my country. I'd say that a lot of Disney movies are great, and perfect for their audience. Most of those morning cartoons are far too episodic and bland for my tastes though.

Japan produces literally hundred of shows a year (well, lately anyways). They have made far more animated series than any other country and this alone gives them the edge. Animation in Japan is not as restricted as it often is in America (Either for children or humor in the style of South Park or the Simpsons), which means that Japan has a much wider array of animation available. Animation that will appeal to different people with different interest, simply because animation has been treated more like a medium and less like a genre in Japan.

Therefore I like Japanese animation more. Also there is quite simply a much higher number of Japanese animations I've enjoyed than American ones. Don't get me wrong there is a couple of American shows that are good, however in comparison with all the great anime out there it just doesn't seem enough to really challenge Japanese animation.

You all do realize that japanese anime categories have the same skeleton which is sooo cliche likewise to american cartoons~ boys with courageous hearts hate it when people are put down, even the enemy

Everything does in some way copy something else. Not all anime is about "boys with courageous heats", if you think so you need to broaden your horizon. There are dozens of different kind of anime. It is true that some anime uses a well-known skeleton, however there does exist a lot of anime outside of those. And some anime using this skeleton can still apply so much original content on it, that it does in fact make for a good and interesting series.
May have to go for american actually, because there are so many different varieties, anime is kind of samey, sorry guys.

XX

As I mentioned above, there are tons of different kind of anime. If all anime is the same, all live-action movies are the same (both things are a ridiculous claim). Seriously such a statement is not founded in anything but the anime you've seen. It is true that some anime is too much alike and there is an overweight of those shows, but as I said just because something is alike it doesn't make it the same. Besides you can just move on to another kind of anime if you're getting tired of seeing the same kind of thing.

[Pipboy]

The most significant problem for most american animation is that it falls into the really young children gap, and there is also the problem that there is an immense advantage in production volume for japan. The number of shows means that there will be more diamonds and less dross.

Overall the American animation has shown that it can do several things as well as the japanese market, and several things better, but also several things FAR FAR worse.

-Comedy: American Comedy animation is by far supirior to its japanese counterparts. While the occasional bout of comic gold in the form of Cromartie High, Excel Saga or bits of FLCL, the american adult comedy market is both very well done and of varying humor. The major weight around the Japanese neck is that their attempts at comedy are for the most part unsubtle and lacking in nuance. Much like the problems that they have with philosophical exposition the Japanese cultural psyche has a poor grasp on comic theory, and while thier gags and spoofs are great they rely overly on exagerated expression to convey emotion. A look at live action TV from japan further demonstrates this inadequecy. There is a basic inabilty to derive humor without exageration and this hurts them in the comedy vein.

Animation: American animation is excellent. And overall way better than its japanese counterparts. Especially when you look to the works of Genndy Tartofsky or Jhonen VAsquez, and even the idiots at NIck with thier primative drawings do a great job in the animation department. There are select studios that at select times far exceed the american best, IE advent children or Samurai Champloo, but mostly there is a distict lack of decent animation, instead relying on still frames and blocky repetitive motion. It should be noted that evenin a dedicated comedy feature the animation remains superb, the Chicken Fight of family guy fame being an excellent example. Or the frenetic and disturbing beauty of invader zims most every move.

Drawing: Well here we give the category to Anime wholesale. Japan just has plain old better art. Now once you delve into the feaure production the gap lessens and if you include computer generated works like that of pixar studio's you can fin things of greater quality. However most everything in the main stream of cartoons in the US is pitiful, with the rare exception of stuff like invader zim.

Voice Acting: For some reason engligh voice actors just can't convincingly pull of emotion unless its some sort of noir esque production, ala cowboy bebop, or a kids show. Much of this is the talent pool available as when you get a feature film with that guy from coach ot whoopie goldberg they do a fine job. However for the most part english lay voice acting talent is sorely lacking and while they do well enough for the irritating teen titans or comedy productions they are woefully lacking in their dramatic roles.

Scripting/plotting: And here goes victory again to japan. While there is a rare example of excellent cohesion, the straight to serial mindset of american animation shows a distinct lack of polish. There is still a prevailing view fo cartoons as a childs playground thus only a few comdey productions get the advantage of hollywoods big guns. However when they are working they are on fire. Also the serial nature of american television is slowly being broken down by live action shows such as 24, battlestar galactica and anything at HBO shows, so we can look to improvements in that category as well.

Those are the facts as I see them. Draw your own conclusions.

[Bubbles]

As I mentioned above, there are tons of different kind of anime. If all anime is the same, all live-action movies are the same (both things are a ridiculous claim). Seriously such a statement is not founded in anything but the anime you've seen. It is true that some anime is too much alike and there is an overweight of those shows, but as I said just because something is alike it doesn't make it the same. Besides you can just move on to another kind of anime if you're getting tired of seeing the same kind of thing.

Hmmm not really what i meant, look at pixar stuff, then your 2D disney stuff, compare that with cartoon network cartoons and looney toons and simpsons etc then your Tim Burton skock still animation. Then there is computer animation.

Japan has a style which they stick to, thats what i mean when i say samey, i'm not saying all anime is the same. Besides most anime isn't even made in Japan.

XX

[Woofie]

Basically, I would say American animation wins when it comes to movies, while Japanese animation wins when it comes to series.

I've never been fond of anime movies. The animation can be very pretty, but it's matched by the likes of Disney. And I think the movie format severely restricts some of the main advantages anime normally as over Western cartoons - things such as character development, long-running and complex plots et cetera. Some of the plots can still be interesting, but I find the pacing is usually poor and essentially it doesn't feel like I'm watching anything special or memorable. Western film-makers, on the other hand, have (or at least had) pretty much perfected the form of animated movies - yep, the plots were cliche and there wasn't any such thing as development, but the story was told beatifully and the pacing was always perfect. (That being said, I don't really like any animated movies anymore. Or any non-animated movies really.)

But to be blunt, almost all American cartoon series are rubbish, and have been rubbish for as long as I can remember. Japanese series are much better... they have better characters, better plot, better development and despite often having a much smaller budget, better animation. Seriously, I can't imagine why anyone would disagree. There are a few quite unique Western animated series I like (though most of them are European rather than American), but they still come nowhere near the quality of the best Japanese series. Simply put, there's a huge, huge gap.

So yeah. Animated American movies are better than anime movies, though not by a massive amount. Animated Japanese series are far better than American ones though.

[Pipboy]

I agree with many of your points on the american movies, with the caveat that one must include computer generated films into the equation. The primary problem with anime in films is there is a horrible tendancy to forget about characterization and spend time on muddled philosophy, or to spend the last 20 minutes in some mind bending alternate reailty or a roaring power packed finish. American animation mostly is a far more subtle medium in the movie theatre, at least when you add in the works of the geniuses at pixar.

[Raistlin-sama]

Japan has a style which they stick to, thats what i mean when i say samey, i'm not saying all anime is the same. Besides most anime isn't even made in Japan.

Not necessarily. Anime doesn't always stick to the same artistic style either, but I digress.

Pipboy I agree with you mostly, however I just thought I'd mention something; The fact that you think Japanese comedy lacks subtlety and enjoy it's American counterparts more, also has a lot to do with your own cultural base. American comedies will usually appeal more to American people (although there is a certain general appeal in the western world, due to it in many ways being alike), since they can play on things within the typical American's reference sphere. Japanese anime comedies has some subtleties that mostly Japanese people will understand, although as you say they also rely a lot on slapstick. So I won't say you can accurately judge comedy targeted at a Japanese audience, unless you have the same reference sphere as the Japanese, not to mention is able to speak the language.

Comedy is almost always best when made in your own country...although Monty Python is an exception. Monty Python rocks for everyone, with any sense of humor whatsoever:P

[CrazyMoronX]

Anime would win, they have DBZ. :nod

American comic based cartoons are all nerfed beyond the realms of comprehension. Superman would get killed by Goku in one punch, if we used the American cartoon version of Superman. :amazed

[makeoutparadise2]

both are good

[BladeofTheChad]

if you rewatch all the old saturday morning cartoons*(not counting Looney toons, those are classic no matter what)

they dont really stand the test of time, cept for nostalgia(ok Transformers does stand the test of time) but Spiderman sucks nowadays, and so does the FF cartoon...

Fantastic Four Dialogue:

One for the money, two for the show, You're gonna get it you big dumb schmo...

sorry, that is terrible...

Justice League is an awesome show tohugh...and well old Disney is classic, as much as I love all of Studio Ghibli's releases, The Lion King just holds a special place in my heart...just forget about 2 and 1 and 1/2...

[im not a sasukefangirl]

anime would win. anime is known worldwide.

[Pipboy]

Not necessarily. Anime doesn't always stick to the same artistic style either, but I digress.

Pipboy I agree with you mostly, however I just thought I'd mention something; The fact that you think Japanese comedy lacks subtlety and enjoy it's American counterparts more, also has a lot to do with your own cultural base. American comedies will usually appeal more to American people (although there is a certain general appeal in the western world, due to it in many ways being alike), since they can play on things within the typical American's reference sphere. Japanese anime comedies has some subtleties that mostly Japanese people will understand, although as you say they also rely a lot on slapstick. So I won't say you can accurately judge comedy targeted at a Japanese audience, unless you have the same reference sphere as the Japanese, not to mention is able to speak the language.

Comedy is almost always best when made in your own country...although Monty Python is an exception. Monty Python rocks for everyone, with any sense of humor whatsoever:P


I would disagree if mostly by the fact that my comedy judgement actually comes mostly from the comparison of the lay japanese with their own works. Stuff like Cromartie high is wonderfully subtle and complex. It gets a laugh with not just gags but sophisticated humor. However the vast majority of Japanese comedy. Especially their live action is based on exagerated symbolic context. Its part of the cultural bias that they are not gear well towards the originality that comedy requires.

I know its a sweeping statement but Japanese culture is not based around innovation its based around improvement. They have a national get your shit together week. Its also the reason why much of their philosophical ramblings seem shallow and disaffected. They don't have an excellent grasp of deep metaphysical concepts, and instead deal with alot of existential angst that is based more off of insecurity rather than real philosophical terror. For this reason the best japanese drama comes not from the more advanced notions of freedom of mind and spirit or the pointlessness of nietchzean existence but from the confrontations of honor, duty and personal goals.

The fact that they are a deeply detail based culuture with a symbolic understanding of the world leads them to add layers of meaning where none is needed, slapping on pointless commentary in an illusory attempt to reach real meaning. Because they tend not to define things as directly as non symbolic culutures there is a weakness in definition in what is a very precise method, Comedy or Philosophy.

Ghost in the shell is a perfect example. The original author spends alot of time questing for understanding and in the end he finds some of his own, however when the work became a main stream anime much of the philosophical soliloquies are robbed of depth and meaning by the hollow words that the characters repeat without really comprehending them in their context. Then when writers who are not Kurosawa take over the majority of the writing, in the second movie. What little actual musings that survived are buried in an avalanche of quatations that give the appearance of depth.

The conxtext based bias of the japanese culture means that it is more important to sound significant, than to be significant. To hold to the letter of the law rather than the spirit.

It is a famous anecdote in which a US trade official for I believe it was the nixon administration went to japan with a 17% trade deal, the specifics once again evade me, but the Minister in japan had promised his consituents that he would not accept the 17%. The trade offical placed his proposal in front of the minister, who said "We will try very hard to make this work". Thinking his job done he returned. When the japanese made no moves toward the deal the US called and asked "whats up". The japanese responded that they had never agreed to any such deal. "we will try very hard to make this work" meant NO, but to refuse someone something was considered bad etiquette so they never said no. Ultimately a resolution was reached and the Minister accepted a 16.9% deal. This being acceptable to him because he kept his word and achieved the 17% promise.

Perhaps I have rambled to much but a culutures popular art is one of the most direct windows into its psyche one can get.

[Medea]

In animation itself, Disney ftw.

American cartoons by and large tend to bore or annoy me, though. There seems to be much more diversity, arguably better stories, and much nicer character design with the Japanese stuff.

For me it's become a stylistic preference.

[TheHolyDarkness]

Nowadays, American's are better at the funny. We've never been able to take animation seriously.

Japanese animation for action mostly. I guess. But it really all comes down to what sort of story you want. I think Americans specialize too much in using live action to depict their top tier storylines, because Americans like to deal with realism if they're going to make a war movie or martial art film. If we want swordfights, the the result is something like Kill Bill or Star Wars. If we want druglords, we get Scarface. Military? We adapt Tom Clancy.

Hence, our weakness at making a combat scene using animation, which is where Japan comes in. However, because its animation, which allows to deny so many natural laws of our universe, it tends to work out better if they stick to fantasy-based action.

However I *hate* it whenever they try to depict the modern military as of *this* planet earth. I can't stand their sci-fi. Soldier conduct in such series as Gundam, Evangel, etc. makes no sense. And what's with their camo patterns (if you can even call them that) of the mechs? And why is that I don't really see their giant robots as feasible in real-life? Maybe because when designing a miltary vehicle they ignore so many factors as gravity, weight, drag, temperature....blah, blah, blah...

No, I shouldn't get started on that.

But overall, both American and Japanese are good in their own ways at storytelling, just that we specialize in reality based action/drama using live performances (where the japanese suck at), and they specialize in fantasy/superpowered action using animation (where we grossly lack). That is all (not that there's not exeptions on both sides, just in general).



As for animation quality, well, that depends on each individual studio's budget. If a particular American/Japanese studio doesn't have the budget, they lose. And vice-versa. I don't think you can blantly say "this nation has better animation" because within both nations are many privately owned studios.

And that's my two-cents.

~TheHolyDarkness Out~

[Roy]

anime would win I like american animation but anime is better for me

[Seany]

Hmmm I'm going with American animation, since it has a variety of styles.

[Raistlin-sama]

Hmmm I'm going with American animation, since it has a variety of styles.

And anime doesn't?

I'd say American animation is much more bound by genre than Japanese.

[little nin]

And anime doesn't?

I'd say American animation is much more bound by genre than Japanese.

i agree cough *super heroes* cough cough...
im out...

[Pinkaugust]

Japanese, American is the same thign each week not really good of a story line... except Transformers!
but i think thats japanese ...
very much like anime! :laugh

I think it's boring that NO ONE wants his or her own style, they always copy someone elses... in both countries..

[Spooky_Bunny]

I perfer japanese animation