Who Said That Animation Is Just For Kids

Ask any student in college about old cartoon shows like Looney Toons or X-men, and you'll probably get a response like “I used to love watching that show!”. Children in America today are raised on cartoons, as most American animation is directed at children. If you were to ask the people who said that they used to watch cartoons if they still watch animated shows today, they would probably say that they grew out of watching cartoons a long time ago. However, this is not the case everywhere, in Japan animated shows are directed to all ages instead of just children. Animated television shows are made for children in America, but in Japan animation has a much broader spectrum.

In America one of the first popular achievements in animation was the Disney production of a short seven minute animation called Steamboat Willie in 1928, which was the first animated show to feature sound synced to the animation. The show also featured the soon to be famous Mickey Mouse, who would grow to be one of the most well known trademark figures of American animation. During the time of WWII many animated shows, which were now called cartoons, were shown in theaters as a kind of break from the troubles of the real world, which was now facing war and the Depression. The cartoons during the time were comic and featured a lot of slapstick comedy.

Most cartoon characters were not humans, but instead small rounded cute versions of animals, with bodies that seemed to be made of rubber, as they were able to stretch and bend to impossible shapes. Cartoon characters usually were very basic and didn't look human at all. Most characters have only three or four fingers and have very out of proportion body parts. Most surroundings were very basic, mos...

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...many anime and manga artists scout different locations taking pictures for artistic reference. As a result a lot of detail is put into the surroundings in anime with detailed buildings and intricate landscapes.

In conclusion American animation is usually very episodic, uses unrealistic artwork, and is focused mainly on children, while Japanese animation usually has very long intricate story lines, detailed artwork, and is not focused on any specific age group. However this does not make either one better than the other, American cartoons have become something that will always be remembered as a part of peoples childhood. And though many people see Japanese anime as a childish cartoon, with the recent increase in adult-themed American cartoons perhaps more Americans will open up their minds to the imaginative power and potential of animation, and give anime a try.