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What do you think anime should be considered?
Apr 13, 9:39 AM
#1

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Jun 2017
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Edit: This post is about opinions on whether or not things should be considered anime if not made in Japan, like how people (unironically) refer to things like Avatar as anime. I know MAL favors the "Must be made in Japan" definition, but do you think the opposite opinion is wrong?

Let's talk about some of these. Your favorite, how you feel about these.

Cartoons that look like anime but aren't - Avatar, Netflix's Castlevania

Anime that don't look like anime - Panty and Stocking with it's western inspired designs, the various claymation shorts, things like Striking Daughter that look like YouTube poops

Tweeners (might be anime but might not be) - All those adult swim series like Housing Complex C and Ninja Kamui (which got approved), or that Rick and Morty anime and Yugioh Capsule Monsters (which did NOT get approved)

What do YOU think deserves to be called "Anime" more? Series like Avatar which are very close to traditional anime or things like Chainsaw Maid, which most probably wouldn't even know is anime at a first glance
TheBlockernatorApr 13, 2:56 PM
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We're freaking out that we're running out of time, but to do what? Should i stop and think of that? Is there something i could do to slow it down? Live in a day for once, instead of watch it sprinting by
Apr 13, 9:39 AM
#2
🍅 Tomato 🍅

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Feb 2020
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"What do you think anime should be considered?"

Must be produced in Japan? I think it's kinda obvious.
Apr 13, 9:45 AM
#3
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Mar 2025
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Where is the none of those option?
What if Japanese people producing it in other countries.
Apr 13, 9:46 AM
#4

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Oct 2017
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Neither to be honest. If its an art style that excludes Japanese produced shows that have more Western influence in their art, but if its something solely produced in Japan that causes a lot of grey area with how common coproductions are. This isn't really an issue in Japan where anime is just the catchall term for animation in general whereas the English usage of anime as a loanword is rather nebulous.
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Apr 13, 9:51 AM
#5

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Cartoons that look like anime but aren't

Castlevania

Anime that don't look like anime but are still anime?

Mutafukaz
Apr 13, 9:54 AM
#6

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Jul 2024
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Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, which features a Western-inspired art style, and claymation shorts like Komaneko. These break away from traditional anime while still being authentically Japanese.

It’s fascinating how the boundaries between anime and cartoons blur
Apr 13, 10:20 AM
#7

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Jul 2015
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Avatar is an obvious pick. I wish it would receive RWBY treatment one day and be handled by an actual anime studio.

Apr 13, 10:29 AM
#8

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May 2019
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Cartoon that looks like anime: Code Lyoko and Totally Spice and Teen Titans.

Anime that looks like cartoon: The Big O.
Apr 13, 10:34 AM
#9

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Sep 2018
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TheBlockernator said:
Cartoons that look like anime but aren't - Avatar, Netflix's Castlevania

Anime-inspired animation. We probably need a shorter term to define them.
TheBlockernator said:
Anime that don't look like anime - Panty and Stocking with it's western inspired designs, the various claymation shorts, things like Striking Daughter that look like YouTube poops

Anime.
TheBlockernator said:
Tweeners (might be anime but might not be) - All those adult swim series like Housing Complex C and Ninja Kamui (which got approved), or that Rick and Morty anime and Yugioh Capsule Monsters (which did NOT get approved)

That's the issue. Is it anime if it's only partially made in Japan? If it's 99% made in Japan, but that 1% has creative control over the whole production? There's no easy answer, in such cases the line between anime and non-anime is going to be arbitrary.
Apr 13, 10:36 AM

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Aug 2017
11991
Strictly speaking, must be produced in Japan but many give it a pass if at very least the production is mostly Japanese. Other don't mind to pass a donghua or aeni as Anime since they are East Asian countries which include the source.

-"Cartoons that look like anime but aren't": I hate them like every cartoon, probably I'll hate them less than a woke cartoon. It's still cultural appropriation since they are using foreign art style especially the most recent DMC cartoon.
-"Anime that don't "look" like anime": I appreciate when Japanese productions use different art styles to try new things.
BANZAI NIPPON. Nippon is the Land of freedom. Nippon is the Land of Peace. Nippon is the Land of Justice and Prosperity.

In Nippon, we trust.

We love Nippon, we love Anime. Anime love us, Nippon love us. 日本
Apr 13, 10:49 AM

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Jun 2019
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Neither of those two options. It's definitely not an art style. In addition to "both", there probably should have been a "neither" poll option created.

I wouldn't limit it to the origin being Japan either. I've generally taken to lumping in all East Asian animated works under the same umbrella, the way MAL has already begun the process of, so encompassing donghua and aeni as well, which could simply be viewed as alternative names for "Chinese anime" and "Korean anime". When I say East Asian I do really mean extending to all countries from that region from Vietnam to Myanmar to Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. But in practice it's more like "Northeast Asian" animation and beyond Japanese, mainly Chinese and Korean stuff.
Apr 13, 10:54 AM

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Jul 2013
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I don't care if a show is an anime or not. I hardly even watch television. I enjoy reading a good, old-fashioned book. I think there is relatively little difference between a Japanese cartoon and a non-Japanese cartoon. It all boils down to promoting unsustainable consumerism.
Apr 13, 10:55 AM

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Apr 2019
4873
The "what is anime" gospel according to MAL is:
  • It's animated.
  • It's created by professional staff in Japan for the Japanese market.
    • as a joint production between Japan/Korea/China/Taiwan and another country, for both markets
  • It's meant to be an animated work.
  • It's not an edit, cut, or promo of another animated work.
Thus it's only country of origin and target market, any art style is allowed. And for e.g. Netflix productions, the decisive criterion is that they are also marketed in Japan, then they are anime.

Apr 13, 12:06 PM

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Oct 2017
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Reply to Piromysl
Avatar is an obvious pick. I wish it would receive RWBY treatment one day and be handled by an actual anime studio.
@Piromysl
The Legend of Korra episodes 14-18 as well as episode 21 were animated by Studio Pierrot, with episodes 15 and 17 having some of the Japanese staff involved on the boarding team. Those are some episodes that you may want to check out if you would like to see how the American-Japanese coproduction would look like for the show rather than the standard American-Korean coproduction most of the Avatar franchise falls under
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Apr 13, 12:18 PM

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LSSJ_Gaming said:
@Piromysl
The Legend of Korra episodes 14-18 as well as episode 21 were animated by Studio Pierrot, with episodes 15 and 17 having some of the Japanese staff involved on the boarding team. Those are some episodes that you may want to check out if you would like to see how the American-Japanese coproduction would look like for the show rather than the standard American-Korean coproduction most of the Avatar franchise falls under

That's cute but just because they had Japanese janitor or outsourced something doesn't really make it an anime.

Apr 13, 2:13 PM

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Feb 2014
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I'll copy a recent tweet of mine:
thewiru said:
The phrase "Drawn in anime/manga style" makes as much sense as "Written in European language".

The right answer is obviously "Must be produced in Japan".
Apr 13, 3:04 PM

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Oct 2017
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Reply to Piromysl
LSSJ_Gaming said:
@Piromysl
The Legend of Korra episodes 14-18 as well as episode 21 were animated by Studio Pierrot, with episodes 15 and 17 having some of the Japanese staff involved on the boarding team. Those are some episodes that you may want to check out if you would like to see how the American-Japanese coproduction would look like for the show rather than the standard American-Korean coproduction most of the Avatar franchise falls under

That's cute but just because they had Japanese janitor or outsourced something doesn't really make it an anime.
@Piromysl
The boarding team is essentially who directs the episode's shots, comparing them to a "janitor" is downplaying how important a boarder is to a production. I was sharing these episodes since they kind of are closer to what you're asking to see as they show what a bit more Japanese involvement would look like in terms of the aesthetic and direction of the shots used to make the episodes.
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Apr 13, 4:48 PM

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Dec 2012
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It should be Produced in Japan to be anime.

But it's a great style worth copying so we can also have some animation that's actually good.
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Apr 13, 5:01 PM

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Anime must be made by Japanese people, for Japanese people. None of the "Tweeners" are anime, as they are not made for Japanese audiences.
Apr 13, 5:06 PM

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Apr 2019
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Reply to thewiru
I'll copy a recent tweet of mine:
thewiru said:
The phrase "Drawn in anime/manga style" makes as much sense as "Written in European language".

The right answer is obviously "Must be produced in Japan".
@thewiru Nope, it must be produced in Japan and marketed there as a stand alone product. This prevented MAL entering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty:_The_Anime despite it being produced and created by Japanese professionals in Japan.

Apr 13, 5:10 PM
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Jul 2024
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That was always One Piece & Soul Eater, both to me.
Apr 13, 5:12 PM
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Jul 2024
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Reply to thewiru
I'll copy a recent tweet of mine:
thewiru said:
The phrase "Drawn in anime/manga style" makes as much sense as "Written in European language".

The right answer is obviously "Must be produced in Japan".
@thewiru Have you seen the names on a lot of actual Anime' lately? I see a lot of Korean & Vietnamese lately. Meaning there is a lot less genuine Anime' by your standards.
Apr 13, 5:21 PM

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Feb 2014
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Reply to Sheol01
@thewiru Have you seen the names on a lot of actual Anime' lately? I see a lot of Korean & Vietnamese lately. Meaning there is a lot less genuine Anime' by your standards.
@Sheol01
Uhh... you do know that certain parts of anime have been outsourced to other countries since the Tezuka days, right?
That's like saying that American cars don't exist because they import their electronics from Taiwan.
Apr 13, 5:22 PM

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Feb 2014
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Reply to inim
@thewiru Nope, it must be produced in Japan and marketed there as a stand alone product. This prevented MAL entering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty:_The_Anime despite it being produced and created by Japanese professionals in Japan.
@inim
Well, there wasn't an "it must be produced in Japan and marketed there as a stand alone product" option in the poll, so...
Apr 13, 5:25 PM

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Apr 2019
4873
Reply to thewiru
@inim
Well, there wasn't an "it must be produced in Japan and marketed there as a stand alone product" option in the poll, so...
@thewiru OP ignores https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=515957 for unknown reasons :)

OK, with the edited question: Must be produced in Japan. Because "looks like an anime" art style can not be defined. Even if people prefered that definition, it couldn't be implemented. See "i know porn when I see it" and the slippery slope it symbolizes.
inimApr 13, 5:42 PM

Apr 13, 7:38 PM
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Boy reading the subject to this thread really threw me for loop! @_@

Anyway yeah, it's animation that comes from Japan. Pure and simple in my opinion.
Apr 13, 8:19 PM

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if you want to get pedantic about it, yeah anime is animation from japan. But that reminds of of the debate around the term "JRPG" and whether games like Dark Souls counts. (it obviously does not). In my view, Avatar the last Airbender came pretty close to being a "real anime" even though I know its not one.
Apr 13, 8:25 PM

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Apr 2022
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i grew up with teen titans (2003) on tv and used to think that was anime when i was younger. but nah, voted for second option.
Apr 13, 8:54 PM

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Reply to tchitchouan
Cartoon that looks like anime: Code Lyoko and Totally Spice and Teen Titans.

Anime that looks like cartoon: The Big O.
@tchitchouan I remember all of those shows. I've been re-watching Code Lyoko, it had such a great plot. The plot is ahead of its time, specifically regarding AI. Totally Spies was awesome, so many of their gadgets would in handy in real life.


Code Lyoko, we'll reset it all
Code Lyoko, be there when you call
Code Lyoko, we will stand real tall
Code Lyoko, stronger after all
Apr 13, 9:19 PM

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Reply to MoonBunny9297
@tchitchouan I remember all of those shows. I've been re-watching Code Lyoko, it had such a great plot. The plot is ahead of its time, specifically regarding AI. Totally Spies was awesome, so many of their gadgets would in handy in real life.
@MoonBunny9297 Yeah, they were pretty cool.
Apr 13, 9:47 PM

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Oct 2016
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I like Anime Planet's approach to it, where they include stuff like Transformers, the western ips anime that aren't here, Castlevania, Dragon's Blood, Pacific Rim: The Black, etc. as long as they at least partially have Asian animators and people in the major production team. They also include Thunderbolt Fantasy for whatever reason, even though they are not animated haha.

The "anime inspired" cartoon nowadays looks to me more like Netflix advertisement than anything else, they include even Arcane as anime, how can that be? That's how people get confused even to this day.

Anyways I like the Usanian naming convention the best, but with Anime Planet's approach to it, the other way only makes sense if you use the original Japanese meaning, and thus you would have to include every animated product there is regardless of where it comes from, which would be cool as well, but there are already listal and imdb for that.
Apr 14, 10:40 AM
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Jul 2024
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Reply to thewiru
@Sheol01
Uhh... you do know that certain parts of anime have been outsourced to other countries since the Tezuka days, right?
That's like saying that American cars don't exist because they import their electronics from Taiwan.
@thewiru What I'm seeing here is a lot of people thinking it has to be TOTALLY made in Japan to be Anime' when in fact, even if the idea comes from a Japanese Manga, much of the work the studios do is outsourced these days. It is in fact like "American" cars being composed of parts from the international market.
Apr 14, 10:53 AM
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Jun 2022
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Must be produced in Japan. After all the actual term came from the west to refer this as "animation from Japan".

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