Anime vs Cartoon - The Most Complete Difference & Comparison

What is the difference between cartoons and anime? While both are beloved forms of animated entertainment, the distinctions between animated vs cartoon are significant.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll dive deep into the key differences, exploring their origins, styles, themes, and more. Whether you're a fan of anime or cartoons, this article will help you understand what sets them apart and why they appeal to different audiences.

In this section, we'll explore what is the difference between cartoons and anime by analyzing 7 key aspects. To help you visualize the distinctions, we've included a detailed comparison table below.

Define Difference

• Cartoons are usually animated works created in Western countries, often featuring humor, educational themes, and an exaggerated art style.
• Anime, in contrast, originated in Japan and spans a much broader range of topics and age groups. It also tends to have more intricate plots and a variety of art styles.

Stylistic Differences

• Cartoon art is typically characterized by a simple style, with bright colors, minimal shading, little sense of depth, and an emphasis on relaxation and fun.
• In contrast, anime is known for its attention to detail, more complex character designs, intricate color gradation, and dramatic light and shadow effects. The way scenes and characters are harmonized is also much more refined.

Visual Character Differences

• Cartoon characters are known for their simplified and exaggerated designs, such as large heads and small bodies. Their movements and expressions are often over-the-top, emphasizing humor or dramatic effects.
• In contrast, anime characters are more detailed and realistic. Their proportions, facial features, and clothing designs are intricate, with subtle expressions that convey deeper emotions and complex feelings.

Theme Differences

• Cartoon often leans toward simple, educational, or humorous content, usually aimed at families and providing plenty of laughs.
• On the other hand, animation doesn’t follow a single concept. Its themes vary widely, covering everything from love and adventure to sci-fi, horror, and even exploring deeper topics like philosophy and the meaning of life. It also tends to focus on storytelling depth and emotional connection.

Audience Differences

• The main audience of animated films is children and minors, occasionally involving family themes;
• Anime has a wider audience, with works for children and teenagers, as well as adult-oriented works that explore social issues in depth.

Historical Differences

• Cartoons originally came from European satirical paintings and newspaper illustrations. As film technology advanced in the early 20th century, cartoons evolved from static illustrations into dynamic animations.
• Anime has its roots in traditional Japanese art forms and Edo-period comic strips, with Japan's first animated short films not emerging until the early 20th century.

Production Process differences

• Cartoons are typically characterized by high frame-rate animation, usually 24 frames per second or higher, to achieve fluid and lifelike movements. In recent years, cartoons have increasingly incorporated computer-generated imagery (CGI).
• Anime, on the other hand, typically employs limited animation techniques, using 12-15 frames per second, or even fewer. It compensates for the low frame rate by incorporating split-screen designs and dynamic camera techniques. Productions often blend 2D and 3D technology, with a lower reliance on CGI.

After reading the above 7 aspects of the differences between animation and cartoon, can you answer what is the difference between anime and cartoon now?

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Globally, both cartoons and anime have a massive following with numerous iconic works. However, when it comes to anime vs cartoon, which one is more popular? Let's dive into the details.

Geographical influence comparison:

• Anime has a huge influence in Asia (especially Japan, Korea, and China), penetrating into young people's lives and mainstream culture.
• Cartoons in Europe and the United States when the traditional form of mainstream animation, especially Disney and Pixar's works, widely orientated to the family and children's audience.

The export of cartoon culture is more limited than that of anime, with the theme favoring children, and only the classic cartoon characters are known worldwide.

Commercialization and market size:

• The Japanese anime market is estimated to be worth more than $20 billion annually, and the peripheral sales of anime are huge, forming a unique fan economy.
• And Hollywood cartoon films are one of the giants of global box office revenue. Cartoon brands achieve commercial success through films, theme parks, toys, and more.

Compared with anime, the fan economy of cartoons is more dependent on the family consumer group.

Pop culture penetration:

• Anime forms a global subculture circle, including cosplay, comic conventions, and homoerotic creations, which become part of the trend and also achieve cross-media distribution.
• Cartoon characters, on the other hand, can only become household symbols through film and merchandising.

Cartoons have a greater influence on pop culture in Europe and the United States, but their appeal is often limited by audience and themes, making it harder for them to reach global youth subcultures in the same way anime has.

Anime is gaining popularity worldwide, thanks to its broad appeal and variety of themes, gradually closing the gap with cartoons, while cartoons continue to dominate the family entertainment space with their iconic characters.

Creating cartoons and anime requires understanding their unique styles and techniques. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Cartoons

• Cartoon action is intentionally exaggerated and humorous, following the "Animation Principles" (such as Disney's 12 principles).
• Cartoon stories typically follow a simple, linear narrative, focusing on character interactions or comical scenes rather than complex plots or dark themes.
• Reasonable use of keyframe animation to reduce frame-by-frame drawing, action path design is simplified as much as possible, and repeated scenes can be recycled (e.g. running action).
• Keyframe animation is used to minimize frame-by-frame drawing, simplify action paths, and reuse scenes (like running sequences).

Anime

• The number of frames in anime action is relatively small, utilizing limited animation techniques that focus on key actions, while dynamic shots (e.g., tracking and rotating shots) are used to heighten the action's intensity.
• A multi-layered narrative structure is employed, allowing the main storyline and subplots to intertwine and develop.
• Animation is primarily hand-drawn, but it should be complemented with digital technology to enhance efficiency. CGI should be used cautiously to prevent clashing with the 2D style.
• The soundtrack should match the tone of the plot, with symphonic music for action scenes and lighter tunes for everyday moments.

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The process is fully automated, so you don't need to worry about editing. The app analyzes your scripts and generates smooth, high-quality animations with ease.

Plus, Novi AI even creates scripts for you, helping you build entire cartoon or anime series in no time.

Cartoon & Animation Generator:

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• AI automatic: Just input text, choose the style, and wait for AI automatic generation, no need to edit manually.
• Multi-end application: It supports online use, website, Windows side, and mobile phone use.

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How to make cartoons and anime by Novi AI.

Step 1: Open Novi AI, reach the product homepage, and click Create New Video.

Step 2: Enter cartoon text or script and click Continue.

Tips

If you want AI to help you create a cartoon script, choose the story style on the right side and click Generate.

Step 3: Next, Novi AI will automatically analyze your script and you can choose the cartoon or animation style you want on the right, and click Start

Wait for 3 minutes, the generated cartoon video will appear, you can adjust, it for each frame.

Creating high-quality cartoon and anime videos is easy, even for beginners with no experience. Novi AI makes it simple, and it's definitely worth downloading and trying.

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Here are some of the most famous cartoons and anime that have gained worldwide popularity:

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck

• Production company: Disney.
• Features: The world's most classic cartoon image, representing the Disney brand culture.

Tom and Jerry

• Production company: Warner Brothers.
• Features: A humorous performance without dialogue, featuring a battle of wits between a cat and a mouse.

SpongeBob SquarePants

• Production company: Nickelodeon International Children's Channel.
• Features: Funny and humorous, the characters have distinctive personalities and are loved by viewers of all ages.

Frozen

• Production company: Disney.
• Features: Beautiful music and graphics, especially the "Let It Go" song, which is popular all over the world.

Toy Story

• Company: Pixar
• Features: The first 3D animated film with toys as the main characters.

The following are some of the most popular animations that have created a worldwide buzz.

Doraemon

• Author: Hiroshi Fujimoto
• Features: A children's orientated classic in which the robotic cat helps Nobita to solve his daily problems.

Demon Slayer

• Written by: Gokutoge Houshi Haru.
• Features: Set in the Taisho period, it is beautifully drawn and rich in emotion.

Detective Conan

• Author: Gosho Aoyama.
• Features: Combination of deduction and daily life, long serialized classic.

Jujutsu Kaisen

• Author: Akutomi Shimoshita.
• Features: Smooth graphics and exciting battle scenes with spell battles as the main theme.

Spirited Away

• Director: Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli).
• Features: Combination of fantasy and reality, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

By now, you should have a clear understanding of what is the difference between cartoons and anime. Whether you're exploring animated vs cartoon or diving into anime vs cartoon, this guide has provided a comprehensive comparison. If you're inspired to create your own cartoon or anime, give iMyFone Novi AI a try—it's a fantastic tool for beginners!

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Article by

Heather Marston

With her strong interest in technology related to mobile data, Heather Marston devotes herself to writing technical articles and sharing her experience using Apple and Android devices in a better way.