american cartoons

[thunderblade12]

have you ever noticed that in america we dont have cartoons aimed at teens? cartoons that would be the equal to a shonen anime(naruto, dragonballz, pokemon, yugioh, one piece, bleach, inuyasha etc)

we have plenty of childrens cartoons (spongebob, ben ten, fantastic 4, batman, samurai jack, imaginary friends etc)

and we have adult cartoons(family guy, south park, the simpsons, futurama etc) they would be senin animes if they were japanese
we dont have none that arnt comedy though..like japan has elfen lied and blood +


the anime we have in america are the only ones that are aimed at teens..and most anime are edited so they are aimed at kids..like pokemon, yugioh and one piece.

the drawing style are also different, characters in cartoon dont look realistic..anime characters look more detailed

as someone who wants to become a writer of fantasy or a character designer, i was wondering if it would be a good idea to consider writing anime style stories(action/adventure/drama)..similar to shonen anime. it is fun to write that kind of thing but i just dont know if it would be a good idea and if some of the themes would be okay with americas censors...i mean it would be aimed at teens but children are also attracted to anime/cartoon characters

as for the character design thing..i would like to draw/animate characters for cartoons or video games or just draw the characters on the cover of a novel/comic book(manga). the anime style might be accepted sence people are used to seeing naruto, pokemon and other popular anime series, still not sure if it should be aimed at teens

also, is anyone else interested in this? like becoming a writer of teen aimed anime type cartoons or fantasy novels similar to harry potter?

or character design

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I'd say Batman: The Animated Series (the GOOD one, not this "The Batman" we have now) was a teen series. But they'd probably never be able to get away with it nowadays. I mean, gun battles? References to prostitution? Drug running?

And Pokemon isn't a teen series in Japan. I don't know where this thinking comes from, but the demographic there is the same as it is in America.

 

[thunderblade12]

well if it were full uncut with a completely translated script it would be given a PG rating..

they seem to be more accepting of things american TV sees as violent..

you know cartoon network..the slightest curse such as "hell" or "damn", references to death or references towards religion = PG

some of the pokemon movies have even gotten PG ratings..i think in japan theyre rated 12+ and in ausralia or the UK theyre PG

 

[That Scary Clefairy]

have you ever noticed that in america we dont have cartoons aimed at teens? cartoons that would be the equal to a shonen anime(naruto, dragonballz, pokemon, yugioh, one piece, bleach, inuyasha etc)

Yes we do have cartoons aimed for teens and no, pokemon and Yugi Oh aren't teen shows. Hell, probably all the one you listed(except Inu Yasha?) are aimed for kids

we have plenty of childrens cartoons (spongebob, ben ten, fantastic 4, batman, samurai jack, imaginary friends etc)

Fantastic 4, Batman, and Samurai Jack are teens shows.

and we have adult cartoons(family guy, south park, the simpsons, futurama etc)

Those are all teens shows.

they would be senin animes if they were japanese

No, they wouldn't.

we dont have none that arnt comedy though..like japan has elfen lied and blood +

We do have some adult cartoons. Thing is, they are VERY obscene and hardly recognized. Friz the Cat, Heavy Metal, etc. Those were aimed for Adult. Hell Ren and Stimpy, despite being comedy, also fits the cataglory.

the anime we have in america are the only ones that are aimed at teens..and most anime are edited so they are aimed at kids..like pokemon, yugioh and one piece.

Avatar? Very few are edited, and even so the dvd s have em unedited.(not counting 4Kids products)

the drawing style are also different, characters in cartoon dont look realistic..anime characters look more detailed

Cartoon has better animation production than anime. and Anime isn't all that realistic as you think. What make anime have some sort of realism is really the backgrounds.

as someone who wants to become a writer of fantasy or a character designer, i was wondering if it would be a good idea to consider writing anime style stories(action/adventure/drama)..similar to shonen anime.

Not bad to try. Though I wouldn't try label it "anime" Just make sort you deem fit to your taste.

it is fun to write that kind of thing but i just dont know if it would be a good idea and if some of the themes would be okay with americas censors...i mean it would be aimed at teens but children are also attracted to anime/cartoon characters

This is more cultured thing, however it's not too bad that you doubt you can do it. There's always AS, and there's probably some channels that could accept it...uncensored. however even if you were forced to aired it edited on what ever channel, there's always the dvd to be unedited.

as for the character design thing..i would like to draw/animate characters for cartoons or video games or just draw the characters on the cover of a novel/comic book(manga). the anime style might be accepted sence people are used to seeing naruto, pokemon and other popular anime series, still not sure if it should be aimed at teens

Even though Anime is gain more popular, it's still in niche minority. It's more of a cultured thing that's factoring it. But still what you want to be isn't all that far fetched to do.

also, is anyone else interested in this? like becoming a writer of teen aimed anime type cartoons or fantasy novels similar to harry potter? or character design

yes I am however, my target audience is even HARDER than what you're aiming for. I'm aiming more for older adults due to graphical themes and contents it provides. if it was edited, it would affect part of the story. I'm still decided how the fuck i'm going to pull this and even harder is what channel get it on(HBO?) if I ever can get it animated.

 

[Prio]

I was unaware Samurai Jack was aimed toward children.

 

[Ridley-X4]

I was unaware Samurai Jack was aimed toward children.

Oh ho, but it is....


....IN AMERICA.

 

[Reimei]

Oh ho, but it is....


....IN AMERICA.

Children are just too bloody stupid to like it when they can have stuff like Family Guy, and Pokemon.

 

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

well if it were full uncut with a completely translated script it would be given a PG rating..

A fully uncut Pokemon would be rated Y, Y7 at most.

 

[Rave]

Oh ho, but it is....


....IN AMERICA.

Only in America...

 

[Satoshi]

have you ever noticed that in america we dont have cartoons aimed at teens? cartoons that would be the equal to a shonen anime(naruto, dragonballz, pokemon, yugioh, one piece, bleach, inuyasha etc)

Inyuasha and Bleach (WHY?!) are aimed at a teen audience in the US, seeing as they're put on [adult swim].

the anime we have in america are the only ones that are aimed at teens..and most anime are edited so they are aimed at kids..like pokemon, yugioh and one piece.

No.

Pokemon was not aimed at a teen audience. One Piece was not aimed at a teen audience, Yu-Gi-Oh! was not aimed at a teen audience. Despite popular belief of the later two. ^^;

the drawing style are also different, characters in cartoon dont look realistic..anime characters look more detailed

Not always. Just take a look at your previous mention, Batman: The Animated Series, and just think about it.

Same thing in anime, it varies.

well if it were full uncut with a completely translated script it would be given a PG rating..

A fully uncut Pokemon would have the same rating as the dub.

you know cartoon network..the slightest curse such as "hell" or "damn", references to death or references towards religion = PG

Hm, didn't Green Lantern get away with saying "Kiss... my... a**.." in Justice League's "Starcrossed"? Yet, it is aimed at kids.

Just because something's rated PG doesn't mean it's aimed at teens. "PG" is just a warning to all those picky parents who are worried about what shows their kids are watching, telling them that a particular show has mild violence in it. Look at Naruto, it's aimed at a kids audience (seeing as they merchandised things like the ZABUZA SWORD. Which, by the way, CANNOT BE BEAT) yet managed to get a PG rating.

 

[pkmnSilver]

I compleatly agree with thunderblade12.

 

[Argento]

Yeah, I gotta disagree with a lot of the stuff from the OP.

I've read up on Japanese culture, from what I hear, older teenagers/adults that like anime are typically regarded as weirdos or nerds, I've read that most of it is geared towards children.

Also, those that say anime characters are more detailed than American cartoons...not really. One of the main thing that turns me off the anime and manga that if you compare them to American animation (I'm talking superhero shows, and mature American animation) or comic books are that there really is no comparison in detail, especially in manga vs. comic books. The attention to anatomy and real human form makes a lot of Japanese artists look lazy.

Although, I do like anime/manga, don't get me wrong.

 

[That Scary Clefairy]

Also, those that say anime characters are more detailed than American cartoons...not really. One of the main thing that turns me off the anime and manga that if you compare them to American animation (I'm talking superhero shows, and mature American animation) or comic books are that there really is no comparison in detail, especially in manga vs. comic books. The attention to anatomy and real human form makes a lot of Japanese artists look lazy.

Don't want go into huge debate but want to point out that it really varys which you are comparing when dealing with manga vs comic.

if your comparing Udon Crew's Street Fighter comic to say Naruto or Fushigi Yugi, then yes you're right.

but if comparing superhero comic to say Vagabond, Berserk, or EDEN etc, then that more debatable since those manga are highly detailed and well realistic.

 

[Satoshi]

American animation and Japanese animation both barf out some real iffy art, but along with that, they also give us some really amazing stuff.

The only thing that makes us separate American animation and Japanese animation is culture. In the end, they're both... well, animation.

 

[Carlisle]

You do realize that standard animes watched here are directed for kids in Japan in the first place? Yeah, Naruto, Inuyasha, Sailor Moon, etc. it's all for the 8-12 year old range in Japan.

 

[Rave]

I think American animation is alot better in my opinion.

There tends to be alot more life in them than most Japanese animation.


Thing is, Japanese animation, usually only has the character's mouth moving, but doesn't really make alot of gestures and such.

As with American animation usually has quite a good flow going on with the cartoons made.

But the difference in culture is highly evident. So there are things that cannot be shown on either sides. So yeah...

But that's just the way I see it thru my eyes.

 

[Crystal Clair]

For quite a while I have been trying to figure out the true differences of anime and cartoons. I have made many wrong assumptions and many right ones, and everyday I observe, I learn more. Whenever I watch cartoons, I cant help but try to see the differences that they have compared to anime.

With cartoons, you've got your realistic ones like the old 90s Batman cartoon series and marvel characters from comic books and the more exaggerated style. However when people here think of cartoons, it seems they think of the more exaggerated style, cartoons that are caracatures of people rather than realistically drawn. Cartoons of this exaggerated style appear all over tv these day, on Nickelodeon, Cartoon network and regular channels. But come to think of it, maybe these days is an incorrect way of putting it. After all, like anime, cartoons can be either realistic, or very unrealistic looking in appearance.

With anime, it isn't all realistic. Look at Crayon Shinchan, and Doraemon. The first is very very simplistic drawing, similar to a cartoon (although it's more based on chibi). To the inexperienced, Doraemon looks like a regular old American cartoon, but to the experienced eye, you can spot the difference. And it's not realism.

Japanese anime has a different style than western anime. It has nothing to do with detail.
Anime tends to be exaggerated in a different way, more of a stiff way, and tends to be more simplistic in certain situations. They tend to avoid unecessary detail. If a character smiles, the smile doesn't show individual teeth, just a line. The animation, although choppy, fits this style. The style wouldn't have the same effect if the animation were more fluid. (I've watched anime influenced cartoons before and I noticed this)

While cartoons focus on smoothness and fluidity, anime focuses on a more choppy style.

They're both different styles. Anime is not better than cartoons and cartoons aren't better than anime.

Oh, and while I'm at it..., may be a little off topic but meh
When anime fans get mad when people call their shows "cartoons", it may have to do with the fact that common cartoons in this country are the Simpsons, Rugrats, Sponge Bob Square Pants and that they are looked on as silly and loony. I noticed that the word "cartoon" itself has a silly sound to it as well. And often, silly is the last word that anime fans want associating with their shows.
So it's more of what definition you mean when you use the word. Anime can be referred to cartoons but it's very hard to tell if the speaker is assuming anime is American made or just animated entertainment.
Words can be tricky like that.
Wow, that post made me dizzy!

 

[Cutiebunny]

Someone actually put thought into this topic? What is the world coming to?

The main difference is the majority of American produced cartoons is the time intensiveness. Japanese artwork prior to the transformation to CG, generally was very time intensive with lots of labor going into each scene. Depending on the length of the scene, each segment could have several 'key's(meaning that Key Animator, or one who has been drawing for 10+ years, drew that particular frame). Poses would be checked and rechecked by Key Animators. Animators would spend hours learning the character and, over time, help them evolve more complex designs, characteristics, etc. Look at any anime production prior to 2000 that involved more than one season and you'll begin to notice this.

Up until the mid 1990s, American animation(with the exception of Disney) was very time intensive. Shows like Batman:TAS, Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, He-Man/She-Ra were all very involved and intense projects. The artwork was generally of high quality and the storylines were excellent(or they excelled in humor). At one point, it did appear that the US was gearing more of its animation towards adults.

But then, 2000 came around and....there was nothing. Sure, Spongebob may have its highlights, but, when compared to the creativity and labor as seen in the 1980s and 1990s, it just wasn't there. Developing cartoons in the US was too expensive and it became cheaper for us to take a Japanese cartoon, do a crappy dub, and then package it for the American audience. Tokyo Mewmew became Mew Mew Power. And if we think something might hint of Japanese, we'll change the name and scenery because...we can't have little kids thinking us Americans were too lazy to produce it.

 

[bricex2]

samurai jack is not a kids show