Its Anime, not cartoons.

"traditionally Japanese style cartoons" Did you not just call them cartoons? They are a type of cartoon. Each and every cartoon isn't lumped into the same group. Everything that isn't played with real live people is a cartoon, no matter how life like based.

Its the equivilent of calling the bible a book to a christian. Doesn't matter that it is, only that you realize that you call it the bible, not "book". No matter that it is a cartoon, there is a fundamental difference to those who CARE ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY NOTE THE DIFFERENCE. There I made my point.

And here I was saying that yes, it is a type of cartoon, but you dont refer to it that way. At least not if you know the difference. Just like people and the bible. Thats exactly what I said, if you so cared to actually know what your arguing about. No matter though, I understand your point commend your point, and let us agree to disagree.

No offense but anime is a type of cartoon, the general term for anime would be cartoon. You wouldn't say I wanted to watch an animated movie to people when talking about say simpsons, or claymation. they all get grouped in the same category and I really don't see anything else happening anytime soon.
i don't know how you can compare it to the bible I think that is really extreme. Most people know what the bible is and most people I would think have no idea what anime is. The bible is inspirational and gives people hope, it's religion, it will always have more recognization than anime.
I would say the most popular/famous and well known anime would be sailor moon, and I know Gundam Wings is also very popular. But don't get so worked up over it. People aren't going to change. If they don't like our appreciate what you do, it shouldn't bother you because people have different opinions and that's what makes the world a better place.

it's like the word "cow". If you were to go to a farm where they raised cattle and said "Oh, look at the big cow over there" (as you point to a bull) the farmer would probably correct you and say that it's bull. but if you look the word up in the dictionary it can either mean "the mature female of domesticated cattle" OR "A domesticated bovine of either sex or any age". It depends on which defination you use. So, basicly, everyone's right =P

Anime refers to something that is done in a traditional Japanese manor of show. It is a "cartoon" because it is animated with drawings. But to me anime is completely different from cartoons. Because when I thing cartoons I think Spongebob and Camp Lazlo. When I think anime I htink about Dragon Ball and Full Metal Alchemist. Also, in a general sense, anime is a lot better drawn and more detailed than cartoons.

Though there is one show that defies all this, Avatar. I unfortunately have to admit, but I'm hooked. We each have our weird little traits about us. But to my point. Avatar is a Nick original cartoon, but it has one central theme. Just like any other anime show out there. The animation is also very good. It seems like the artist put some time into it.

Also there is a show that is on or was on Toonami, it was called IGPX, I think. It was an american anime seris. So, you can no longer differeniate refions or countries on what to call it.

I've been an animation fan for 34 years (basically, I never got tired of it). I've been an anime fan almost as long. I also publish a magazine on animation called Frames Per Second; it's not an anime magazine per se, but since I started it in 1991 it's consistently had more anime coverage than any other animation magazine.

The thing is, the "it's anime, it's not cartoons" argument has been going on for at least twenty years, and it never changes -- no matter how good or bad American or Japanese animation gets, and no matter how much the line blurs between the two. What I have always thought is that it's ultimately self-defeating to get caught up in the "anime purity test," and much better for everyone involved to simply figure out what it is you like about anime, and then see if you can find what you like in any production -- from anywhere in the world, live-action or animated. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Let me just throw two points out there:

• It's kind of funny that you define the anime style as "traditionally Japanese style cartoons." First, you use the word "cartoons," which you say anime isn't; second, the modern anime visual style came from Osamu Tezuka's manga work -- and he freely admitted that he was influenced by American cartoons, particularly the work of the Fleischers (Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman) and Walt Disney. Anime partly owes its existence to the cartoons you decry.
• There have always been productions that blur the supposed line between anime and cartoons. Mighty Orbots, Gargoyles, and Avatar are just three examples, each from different decades, and each for different reasons. And what do you make of Skyland, which is partly influenced by anime, has a strong central theme, a sequential storyline, and is partly made in neither the US nor Japan?

The more animation you watch, the more you'll discover that it's more complicated than simply saying "that's anime, that's cartoons, and never the twain shall meet." At the same time you'll also discover just how incredibly diverse animation is. Even within Japanese animation, there's far more variety than most anime fans are aware of.

I invite you to read our May 2005 issue, which is a PDF that's free to download and specifically focuses on the question of how difficult it is to try to define what is and what isn't anime. Some of the people weighing in include Robert Woodhead (AnimEigo CEO and co-founder), Marc Hairston (writer and anime scholar), the Aioneko collective, and Shuzo Shiota (the president and CEO of Polygon Pictures -- the studio that produced the "birth of cyborg" opening sequence in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence).

I also invite you to explore our site, which regularly discusses the very things you talk about here, as well as Japanese animation you're not likely to see mentioned elsewhere. That includes reports from the 2005 and 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fairs, reviews of the best works from the Japan Media Arts Festival, reviews of anime that hasn't seen wide release in North America yet, and more.

Emru Townsend
Founder and editor, Frames Per Second magazine

What Im saying is that it gets tiring to have someone compare something like Spongebob Squarepants to somthing like say....Elfen Lied. Thats all I'm saying is that I wish that when the difference is obvious like said examples above that the term would go to what it really is. If its blurred than I dont mind so much, but an obvious difference makes me wish people would know. Thats what I meant and I really didnt want this to become such a sniping conversation back and forth between the issue.

And thanks I will check those out.

Well, technically the distinction is false. See, the word 'anime' comes from Japanese, which in turn is obviously a shortened form of the English loanword 'animation,' and means exactly the same thing in either language. 'Anime' has been readopted into English with the meaning of "animation from Japan," which just confuses the issue. I think the real argument here is the difference between 'cartoon' and 'animation,' the latter being a general art form involving a series of static images being shown in rapid sequence and the former arguably a subset of that art form. Although it originally referred to a particular style of illustration, even if say, for the sake of argument, you define 'cartoon' as being animation targeted at children, it's impossible to separate anime from this definition, because 'anime' in either language encompasses Japanese children's animation as well. Just because the only animation commonly exported from Japan is targeted at adults, as well as the fact that such animation is relatively rare in most other countries, it's naive to assume that what you watch and see distributed is at all representative of the immense body of work that comprises Japanese animation. But that's a false distinction anyway. Pull out a dictionary or Wikipedia and they'll tell you as much.

So really, 'anime'='animation'='cartoon' and that's all there is to it. The accepted definition of 'anime' in English, however, is merely animation that comes from Japan. Not American animation influenced by Japanese animation (How do you measure that, anyway? Each has influenced the other immensely.), and not any particular subsection of Japanese animation.