My perspective between Western animation and Japanese Anime/Manga

I've run many of these arguements online and there are plenty of threads that fans clash between preferred style of animations of Western and notably anime and people (especially anime fanatics or some would call weeaboo) tend to bash at the western cartoons and would target comedic cartoons like Sponge bob, Adventure Time as an example of proving that anime is a better.

A lot of people would put the misconception of the western animated films as cartoony but there are many variations with to choose from, from the serious note of adapted comic animated series or films to a comedic tales like Looney Tunes, Cartoon Network shows and Disney. I'm being subjective of what I see about western animation but that doesn't mean I don't like anime in fact anime has better story lines and landscape drawings as I have observed especially in slice of life genre which is far more breathtaking than in 3D in my opinion.

I will run a pros and cons between two forms art style animations and what I love and don't about them this is just my perspective of both so feel free to comment down below and tell me why I'm wrong.

The Pros and Cons

Western

Pros : Animation
It's safe to say that I started to take art seriously because of the fluidity of most animations from the western culture especially Disney and I was influenced by it alot with their dynamic facial expressions and amazing transition from one scene to another it is a rollercoaster ride watching them from start to finish It is just fluid of how one character operates and that's the most appealing part about it.

Pros: Captivating Characters

There are numerous characters that you love or be entertained with, not to mention their musical presentation and how they indulge us with their personalities with symphonies and charisma. In short they are more charismatic than their counterparts where they can sing and show off naturally while putting a smile in our thoughts.

Cons: Inconsistent and different stories

I really don’t have a problem with this coherent part but If I have to put one thing that Anime does better is that they are more consistent on their story and how they develop characters overtime unlike most western animations (mostly tv shows) they tend to build this character in one episode and establish different stories in every episode which is fine, but that kind of method gives the audience a satisfaction that they will not be invested in the next episode as their contrary part where there is a certain build up to a degree where it could be brilliant or it could flop so it’s still a 50/50 move but the build up gives more investment to the audiences. That could go either way but I am still satisfied of how things work from each series It doesn’t really need to be episodic to be good but I think if you want to follow series in the long run, audiences tend to follow more on consistent basis story.

Anime

Pros: Background/Landscape arts

Like I said before even a beautiful 3D can't beat a beaitiful 2D landscape when I see it well it depends on how you see it, but there a some backgrounds that are gorgeous in the Western Animation but what makes a better job in anime is how they present it they are putting a lot of details into everything that is laid out for the audience it may not have lot of great transition but It is more memorable when watching it at a certain moment sharing a moment with the characters became vivid in my mind that certain scenes has a story to tell.

Pros: Consistent Story

There are numerous of good stories in western notably in movies but as a whole I would pick anime in overall because they are consistent both in movies and series. There are lot of memorable story arcs from the anime from the iconic Frieza Saga (Dragonball Z), Chimera Ant (Hunter X Hunter), Water 7 (One Piece) and many more, where as mostly in Western Animations tends to be more of a stand alone in each episode (Simpsons, Sponge Bob) and reboots the whole series in few years (Teen Titans, Ben 10)

If i have to compare between movies it would be a tie there are really great stories from both sides like Spirited Away that has recieved an academy award from it’s stellar story telling and a breathtaking animation that traversed me to another world to a modern take like a silent voice that breaks barriers and tries something fresh by giving us the perspective of the bully, I really recommend you watching these masterpieces they are excellent films you don’t wanna miss.

The western animation has a great deal of stories in one take since the dawn of animation from it’s classics of the golden age like Snow White, Bambi and Pinnochio, to the Renaissance like Beauty and The Beast, Lion King, Road to El Dorado, Shrek, Toy Story to the modern era of animation which transcended to 3D like Tangled, Hotel Transylvania, Depicable Me, Coco, Frozen and many more.

Cons:

The only flaw I view from the Japanese animation although I’m uncomfortable complaining with it but I think anime really lacks dynamic expressions they do have expressions but they tend to change the anatomy on a 180 degree turn for most of the time which still works and it is funny, but the characters facial design really dissolves but it doesn't break my view of the character’s personality sometimes anime that doesn’t have those methods of giving characters 180 degree turn of expressions can make the series really bland because they don’t really have a lot of expressions. That’s the only little complaint I have with anime and overall it still amazing from what it is.

This is just an example art from Xunq from deviant art (https://xunq.deviantart.com/) and you will see the difference between expressions side by side from a disney character Flynn Rider. ()

Both sides are spectacular and they work in their own certain aspects but one thing I like about the Disney a little bit more is the stability of the characters design but that is just my personal preference. I enjoy the change of anatomy of facial expressions given with added gags and execution into it and sure is enjoyable and gives you a good time.

Verdict

Well in the end it really boils down to preferences, there is no superior and inferior in certain aspects and these my opinions both have their perks and their flaws they can be enjoyed with a coherent extent and be inspired from all forms of animations. Thank you for reading my convoluted article follow me If you are interested in art traditionally or digitally and movie reviews.

image source

1. https://www.memecenter.com/fun/4393069/anime-vs-western-animation
2. https://www.walldevil.com/miguel-road-to-el-dorado-wallpaper-251492/
3. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BZ6hO5QGzA
4. https://www.geeknative.com/42042/koto-ha-niwa-garden-words-review/
5. http://thehypedgeek.com/hunter-x-hunter-manga-will-resuming-soon/
6. https://xunq.deviantart.com/art/Midokos-Expressions-409591937
7. http://mentalfloss.com/article/60237/15-fascinating-facts-about-spirited-away
8. https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=691201
9. https://wallpapershome.com/movies/animation/hotel-transylvania-2-cartoon-adam-sandler-dracula-7164.html![]![]