Anime and Cartoons

I know I just wrote one post a few minutes ago, but it was more of an introduction of what to expect for the non-existent people who will read this. I honestly do not expect anyone to read my blog, but I should be prepared and treat it like people read it anyway.

ANYWAY! Just last night I had the most delightful conversation on Facebook with a girl about the difference between Anime and Cartoons. The conclusion was that they are both the exact same thing. There are many people out there (specifically on the internet) who will argue adamantly that they are different, have nothing to do with each other, and anyone who says otherwise needs to die a horrible painful death.

 

What these people are ignorant of, however, is that the word, "Anime," is and abbreviation for the Japanese word, "Animēshon," Which translated to English means (Absolutely no surprise here whatsoever) "Animation." 

You see, Asian languages did not have words for lots of things that came from the West, so when they were introduced to these things, they used the word of the language of the country that introduced them to it. This is why in Japanese a baseball bat is called a "Batto" a suitcase is "Baggu" a bed is "Beddo" and a bus is "Basu." There are lots of examples of words that do not begin with "B" I just don't know many of them. Notice that in each case, they add a vowel to the end of the word. Well they shortened it to just "Anime" because it is just as hard for Asians to speak Germanic languages than it is for us to speak Asian languages, and Animation is already really a long word.

So the argument that Anime and Cartoons are different, is completely destroyed by the fact that Anime does not even exist in the traditional sense. Also, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, a Cartoon is "A drawing on strong paper (used as a model for another work)," from French carton, from Italian "cartone." Which means, "a strong, heavy paper, pasteboard," thus "preliminary sketches made by artists on such paper."

This is not even mentioning the fact that there are tons of cartoons out there that are always being mistaken for Anime even though they were not even made in any Asian country. Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, Symbionic Titan, are all written and drawn by Genndy Tartrovosky, a Russian who immigrated to America.

 Avatar the Last Airbender was produced in America, and only drawn by a Korean art studio.

 And the most confusing one would be Code Lyoko, which was Made in France, but watching it, you would think it came straight from Tokyo.

Also, if you look into the history of Anime, it will not be very long until you find a certain Mr. Osamu Tezuka. This man, A.K.A. The Godfather of Anime, has openly credited his ideas as coming from Disney. Specifically Scrooge Mcduck, Donald Duck, Betty Boop and Bamby.

 So Anime comes from Disney. Think about that for a second.

  Of course, the only people who really argue the differentiation between the two, all call themselves "Otaku," Which really demonstrates their lack of knowledge of the subject they claim to love so dearly. In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is most often equivalent to "geek." This sounds innocent enough, but it's connotations are incredibly negative in Japanese society. You see, despite how we (Americans) think that Japan is a crazy country that is obsessed with giant breasts, panty shots, giant robots, tentacle rape, ext. it is oh so thoroughly not true in the very slightest. Most Japanese people look at people who watch and/or are obsessed with anime and manga very much the same way that most people in America do. Only worse. A lot worse. In Japan, an Otaku is stereotyped as being overweight, unhealthy, antisocial, broke, jobless, you get the idea. But for some reason, in America people are proud of being called an Otaku, for completely inexplicable reasons.

Now do not misunderstand me, I love anime. I REALLY love anime. I also love American cartoons like Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, Archer, Fillmore!, Phineas and Ferb, and others. I am a HUGE nerd when it comes to cartoons, and I love them in all shapes and sizes.

But really, the reason I hate it when people say that Anime and Cartoons are different is because they are only trying to make themselves feel better. They say that cartoons are for children, and anime is for adults, when in reality, nothing could be farther from the truth. Family Guy, American Dad, Archer, Harvey Birdman, are all cartoons that I would never let my future children watch. I don't even like watching some of them because of their content. At the same time, there is Anime that is designed specifically for children (Hello Kitty, Bottle Fairy). It all comes down to the fact that they do not want to have to explain themselves to other people when said people point out that they are too old to be watching cartoons. Granted, most people who cling to this flimsy argument are in Junior high and Highschool. They are at the stage when they want to be seen as mature and adult, when they are anything but. However, I have encountered people well into their twenties and thirties who use the exact same paper thin argument. I do not understand why these people who are fully grown adults, can't just watch anime and enjoy it without having to be defensive about what people think. Just shut up and watch your blasted cartoons already. That's what I'm doing.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_257/7659-How-Walt-Disney-Created-Manga
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.09/topten_pr.html   (number 6)