While most kids watch a lot of cartoons, a lot of adults watch something called anime. People wonder why some adults watch anime due to the fact that they think it's just another cartoon. However, anime really is different compared to the cartoons that people normally see here in the United States. What makes anime and cartoons so different?
Well, first off the animation is different. While cartoon shows don't necessarily try the hardest to make the greatest animation, every anime tries something new with animation in a sense where it fits the story and makes the setting and characters look fantastic. Anime like Attack on Titan and Dragonball Z have different types of animation that fit the story and still makes the fight scenes and the characters and settings look fantastic. Cartoons (while some do have great animation) don't focus as much on how the show looks as much as focus on the script and get some laughs out of their audience. Shows like South Park for adults or Regular Show for kids don't have amazing animation, but it still works for the show because it's more focused on making the audience laugh and the animation still work out.
The characters in the show is another major difference. In anime, the characters (even a lot of the minor characters) get major character development. The show worms it's way into getting the audience to know more about the characters back story and why they act the way they do. For instance, in Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple, we learn that our main character wants to become a martial artist to protect himself and the people he cares about from harm (but also because he was bullied). The audience gets to experience how he grows and all the hardships that he goes through, while also learning more about the people training him and the enemies that he comes across. Cartoons, on the other hand, don't always have character development in their minor or their major characters. In Spongebob, we see some development, but within one episode of seeing the character, the audience can normally figure out how they act and that's how they normally stay. There aren't really any back stories to get the audience to attach them more to the character and there isn't really any major change that completely changes how the character acts. These characters always stay the same (except every once in a while in different episodes).
Finally, the story line is different between both anime and cartoons. Every anime has a story line where to understand the story and what's going on, you have to watch from beginning to end. Trying to jump into the middle of a show doesn't work because of the fact the individual will have no idea what is happening, why a certain fight is going on, or who the characters are. In Naruto, many different fights, characters, and stories happen to where you can only really understand what's going on if you watch from the beginning of the show and go in chronological order. In most cartoons, you can watch from any point and figure out who the characters are. In Scooby Doo you can watch any episode because all the episodes start and end on that episode. A new mystery begins and within 20 minutes, they solve the mystery (sometimes it might take an extra episode). In anime, a fight may take multiple episodes so you have to watch in order to get through the entire arc or fight.
When people compare both anime and cartoons together, they find a lot more differences between the two. It's hard to compare the two when both run their animation, characters and stories differently. So before people judge anime and try to compare it to cartoons, maybe they should give it a chance and see the major differences between the two. Just about everyone has watched an anime without even realizing it. Maybe watching anime will help people realize they aren't the same.
