movies/tv How do you think "anime" is defined?

[LazuriteDreams* 136]

So this is just a thought....

 

I've been thinking about this for a while now. Now I don't want to cause any trouble but I've always thought "anime" could be defined as something multinational; anyone country can do one and it's not Japan who only makes them. Heck, France made an "anime" or animation and it's called "Oban Star Racers!"

 

 

Also, anime is just a short term for the English word "animation", which is why I think anime shouldn't be a label, especially since I think the word is not used correctly. For example, any cartoon from a foreign country that is bought to Japan is referred to as "anime".(ex:Frozen and MLP is considered as anime in Japan)

 

And in recent news, RWBY has been licensed in Japan, which is a milestone. I think it could prove that anime is indeed multinational and could move away from the archaic definition.

 

 

Sorry for the long explanation and I hope it makes sense.

Edited August 26, 2014 by LazuriteDreams*

[Jammo 986]

It's Japans interpretation of the "cartoon".  Often serialized and mixed with their own culture, art direction and themes.  I would go so far as to say they are "Japanese Cartoons" and that only sounds demeaning because of the western taboo of the term "Cartoon" because it is what it is.  Avatar: The Last Airbender and Teen Titans are "cartoons" like anime but just adopt the eastern approach more than the west.  If "Cartoon" didn't have a stigma here nobody would object to anime carrying the term.

[deadprofile 1,123]

the term "Anime" is specfic to animation MADE in Japan. If it's made in the west, and looks like anime (like Avatar the last Airbender), it is not considered Anime. It is a Cartoon. We don't call anime cartoons because they are not cartoons, even children's shows such as Hamtaro and Pokemon. They are Anime too because they were made in Japan. How the animation looks does not matter in any way at all in the naming. Take Panty and Stocking, Shin-chan, and many others that are made in Japan and do not look like typical anime....yet they are still anime....

[TenorSounds 832]

I think that western-developed cartoons can definitely be anime inspired, but in my opinion nothing outside of Japan is actually anime.

[skbl17 200]

I usually just roll with the Sweetie Belle dictionary definition:
 

an·i·me

: a style of animation that was created in Japan and that uses colorful images, strong characters, and stories that have a lot of action

 

There has been an uptick in anime-like (animesque) shows lately, but I consider it difficult to actually consider them as such, not to mention the fact that there have been passionate debates and flame wars over whether shows like Avatar: the Last Airbender count as anime.

Edited August 25, 2014 by skbl17

[GhostPony750 959]

Anime means animation. Meaning animating images. Simply, anything that is animated pictures could be defined as anime. But due to japanese fanboyism, and cultural differences from Japan, everything that is japanese is worth its own name.

 

It's the same thing that happened to pop music, the meaning of "pop" got kinda lost due to popularity. Pop is now a style, so is "anime".

[Envy 6,316]

I define it as Japanese animation.

 

It overcomplicates things when people try to say it's a 'style'. There's no need for that. In Japan, anime does describe all animation, but here we started using anime to describe their animation, while keeping cartoon for ours.

 

Really, it's a pet peeve of mine when people use the term like it's a style. While I understand there is a distinct style that a lot of anime use, not all of them do. Some of them are directly influenced by cartoons, like Panty and Stocking (was that what it was called? Sorry it's been a while). So if we define anime as a style and not Japanese animation, does Panty and Stocking become a cartoon and not an anime? Funny I don't see anybody on either side of the definition not referring to Panty and Stocking as an anime.

 

Anime with a more 'cartoon' style are actually more common than many recognize.

[EpitomeOfTruth 243]

It just basically japanese for "animation". I honestly can't see why people try so hard to convince people that anime and cartoons are two completely different things.

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

Simple. Anime is a cartoon made in Japan. There are those like the Last Airbender series that emulate it, though it's not called anime.

 

Movies like Frozen and HTTYD are CGI cartoons.

[ReGen 1,466]

Animation from Japan. You could say something from "the West" not Japan is anime-inspired, but not call it anime.

 

And I don't think that there can be an anime style, because anime is such a broad term with a loose definition that it can't really be a style. Not all anime (animes?) use the same style.

[ukxRainbowdash 165]

The way I see it, anime in Japan is every form of animation however here we like to define anime by being from a specific location to round up the genre as one whole category.

For instance, The Simpsons would be a cartoon here but anime in Japan.

Naruto would be a anime here and an anime in Japan.

[Apple Bloom 2,934]

The definition of "anime" depends on your own interpretation. In Japan, as someone mentioned before, anime refers to any kind of animation, whether Japanese, western, or otherwise. In fact, the word "anime" is just a short form of the word "animation", just as Japanese use "terebi" as the short form of "television". Outside of Japan, or at least in the English speaking world, anime is generally referred to as Japanese or Japanese style animation only. Personally, when I think of anime, I think of any Japanese or asian style animation in general, whether it is actually produced in Japan or not.

 

What annoys me is when people say an anime isn't a cartoon. If you go by the Japanese definition of anime, they are the exact same thing. In fact, even if you go by the western definition of anime, it still falls under the definition of a cartoon according to the Merriam Webster dictionary:

"a film or television show made by photographing a series of drawings : an animated film or television show"