On September 07 2009 07:10 Polyphasic wrote: In the US, there are so many people who watch Japanese Anime.
But I'm just realizing that the US has awesome cartoons too. I know this is old school, but the original x-men and spiderman shows were pretty good. I'm watching them right now, and besides the poor art quality, I'd say the story and suspense and action are better than what's out there in anime like naruto and what not.
Do you think people in Japan ever watch American cartoons, and if they did, which ones do you think they would, and which american cartoons are comparable to japanese Anime in quality?
I think x-men and spiderman is pretty good. Batman wasn't that great and seems it was geared towards a younger population. The new stuff from pixar and dreamworks (wall-e and kungfu panda) are awesome as well, but they don't fall into the cartoon/anime category. Avatar wind bringer is pretty good too.
oh ya, and if Japanese people aren't watching american cartoons as much as american people are watching japanese anime, why do you think this is the case?
I'm totally addicted to the original x-men season 1 series right now.
Old X-men, Old Batman through Justice League Unlimited, old spiderman were all well worth watching
The Spectacular Spider-Man is on par with the 90's series. More people need to watch it.
Tom&Jerry is my favourite cartoon. Simpons is really fun too. I think people like Animes more because of the idealized characters that are nowhere to be seen in cartoons.
Most of today's cartoons have just gone to crap - i miss the 90's and saturday morning cartoons that didn't fail Anime's still got a big lead over our american cartoons though :/
On September 07 2009 07:14 Ziph wrote: They don't watch american cartoons as much as american people watch japanese anime. Why because, Anime obviously is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cartoons.
PS: Naruto sucks.
Truth, i think all mainstream anime is crap tbh but >>>>>>american cartoons cause cartoons is aimed towards younger kids and anime is aimed towards those who are a little older. The best animes is Kinos Journey and Last Exile IMO.
Well, to be fair, I think the overall production values and target audience of many American cartoons differ from Japanese Anime. That being said, its not inconceivable that asians would watch any of american television, though it depends what you define as cartoons (ie, simpsons or ren and stimpy/rugrats/tom and jerry - I think the latter might be less likely). Keep in mind that Japan culture is (somewhat) a mimic of american culture (with a japanese flavor to it), so it wouldn't be suprising if they did. Simply, though, Anime is of much higher quality (generally) than many american cartoons are.
On September 07 2009 07:26 illu wrote: While I can't answer your question, I'd say things like the Simpsons and South Park are obviously only watchable when you are in North America.
On related notes, Growing Pain was extremely popular in China during the 90s; Harry Potter is extremely popular right now in pretty much all of the East-asian countries.
EDIT: You asked the question of why animated shows from Japan have been far more successful than North American ones, even though animated shows originated in America. To answer this question, I suggest you watch the documentary (it's on Youtube) about the history of comic book super heroes. Although it does not directly answer your questions, it can shred some light on the problem.
There's a few good American cartoons here and there (I loved Futurama, Simpsons, X-Men, etc), but most of them suck, and I watch anime on a regular basis.Comparing Japanese anime to american cartoons is an unjust comparison because the genre of anime is so broad, just look at the list here myanimelist.net.
Watching anime is like watching any other series or dramas - the fact that it's animated doesn't mean it's comparable to cartoons. Simply pointing out a differences in the characteristics of both will easily show the difference as why so many people (ie adults) watch anime instead of american cartoons.
Plot - Cartoons usually have a simple and defined plot. And they're usually about the good guys fighting the bad guys. Cartoons rarely go beyond that old cliché. Most Anime series, on the other hand, are also about the same good vs. evil but the plots are rarely simple and rarely predictable. You'll find an element of politics, religion, humanity, and a score of several other abstract concepts within an anime. Whereas cartoons are just about ‘evil' cats chasing ‘innocent' mice or a hero defending himself and others from a very evil bully. Anime can blur the lines between good and evil so much that you'll be left wondering which side is really right. Look at the plot of Gundam, there aren't any good guys or bad guys. They're both fighting for a cause – a worthy one, and both sides are prepared to do good and evil to achieve their goals.There are, however, few exceptions to the ‘cartoons are simple' rule. There are cartoon series that are far advanced like X-men.
Characters - In cartoons, there's a protagonist, an antagonist, and a damsel in distress. Their roles are well-defined and clear and the characters always act according to their roles. In anime, however, the damsel in distress may very well become the antagonist, leaving the protagonist in distress. There's no knowing what to expect in anime. Anime characters, a lot of times, are developed overtime through trials and growth, while cartoon characters remain the same from when the show started. (Of course, there are exceptions such as Spiderman.) Since there's an ongoing plot, Anime characters actually grow up and may even produce the next generation for the series. Anime fans tend to get into the characters a lot deeper because of the characters' depth and charm.
Also, following an anime throughout the season will make you to feel attached towards the show, which when it reaches the end of the series you can't help it that you will miss the show for quite some time.
Yes, there's probably a lot of japanese people watching hit tv series like 24, Heroes, Prison Break, etc. Not quite so for american cartoons. Not even half the number.