I'm not racist but........Why does Japanese art (anime, manga) seem better?

They have the market cornered on cute eyes. Without those big eyes is anime really all that great?

I don’t know why, but I agree with this as well. Anime just looks more appealing than most Western animation.

It not only looks better, the themes and stories are also more diverse than anything in western animation. Its ability to touch you emotionally is also much greater.

@ragingloli I agree, but I didn’t want to seem totally biased lol.

I’m intrigued now.

For someone that’s never read any anime, is there a good series to start with?

I think the storylines are often deeper, more complex and more interesting than western cartoons. I am not at all a fan of the art style, though. Sorry!

@FutureMemory I’m not that big on Manga, either, but the stuff I have read is kind of childish, in a fantasy way. I read things like Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, and Naruto, but I’m sure there’s much better stuff to start with. Maybe Ragingloli could help.

@Mariah “I am not at all a fan of the art style, though. Sorry!”

Nnnnnnnnnoooooooooooo :)

It seems better because excluding the really boring run of the mill anime and manga, it does offer great art along with in-depth material and subject matter more respectful of our intellect and dispositions. The Japanese consider anime as an art form more than mere source of entertainment. That is why Pixar’s Lasseter is a fan of Miyazaki himself. You could feel the anime influence in Pixar’s movies which carries more depth now compared to the typical Disney bombast. Although I must say, Pixar did a perfect job with the last Toy Story installment and it was more American than anything else.

I’m not a fan & anyway, who said big ass eyes are cute? Not me, no siree!!

@Blackberry
You could try Higurashi no naku koro ni. It is about little children becoming paranoid and murdering each other in graphic and brutal ways. It starts out all cutey.
You could try “Now and then, Here and there” It is about a boy who gets transportet to the future and is forced to serve in a child army. It is quite graphic, and it also contains implied rape.
Or “H2O”, a romantic drama, about a blind boy who moves to a village where a girl is shunned and subjected to constant bullying and violence. He is the one who has to safe her.
I can also recommend Clannad and Clannad After Story. A romantic comedy with tragic elements.
Or “Angel Beats”. It is about a teenager that dies and ends up in some sort of dimension between life and death, depicted as a high school, where he has to help other dead teens to overcome their grievances to pass on to the next life.
Something more lighthearted would be “Great Teacher Onizuka”, about a former motorcycle gang leader who becomes a high school teacher and has to deal with problematic pupils.
Something mature would be Yosuga no Sora, about two siblings and their incestuous relationship.
Also mature in a different way, Jigoku Shoujo, about a girl who died centuries ago and offers services to people. The service consists of sending another person of the person’s choice straight to hell, the drawback being that the customer has to go to hell, as well in return.
Next would be Dennou Coil, about primary school children in a fully digitalised town, must unravel some mysteries, including their own past.
Something similar would be Serial Experiments Lain, about a reclusive girl that descends into the hacker culture to discover the shocking truth about her past. Has a depressing ending though, so beware.
I also liked “Wolf and Spice”, set in the medieval age, about a wolf-spirit that teams up with a merchant and travels the country in search of her home.
If you want classical Cyberpunk, “Ghost in the Shell” is a must.
FLCL if you want to watch something like the creators were on drugs.
Detective Conan, if you want some Detective stories. It is about a high school detective who gets poisoned by a nefarious crime syndicate and shrinks to primary school size. He then hides his true identity and lives with his girlfriend and her father, an incompetent private detective and from there on solves crimes. The Series already has nearly 600 episodes.

So much for a small collection of Anime I can recommend.

I do enjoy some anime, such as Miyazaki’s stuff, Steamboy, and Pokemon, but I tend to prefer early 20th Century American animation.

@ragingloli Thanks a lot :D

Any of you have Roku? There’s a channel called Crunchy Roll that has hundreds or maybe thousands of Asian Anime series. You can look at any series you want and even go back a couple of years to catch up. Some are dubbed, some are subtitled and some are only Japanese, Korean or Chinese.
Oh, and did I say 90% of them are free?

Anime Series
Trigun
Cowboy Bebop
FLCL
Cromarti Highschool
Berserk
Hellsing OVA

Anime Movies
Cat Soup
Paprika
Mind Game
Ponyo
Spirited Away

Manga
Battle Royale
Berserk
Hellsing
Death Note
Bleach
Trigun

Ya id have to agree that Japanese art is far superior.