I have a confused friend who thinks Avatar: The Last Airbender is an anime and that Astro Boy and Speed Racers are cartoons. How do I break it to her that her whole anime life is a lie. As a side note she thinks Pokemon and Sailor Moon are both anime and cartoons.

I do believe anything animated in Japan for entertainment purposes is deemed as an anime opposed to the westernized versions which are deemed as cartoons. That's how I've always seen it. Cartoons = America and Anime = Japanese Cartoons.

So Pokemon and Sailor Moon to me are the budding starts of anime.

But that's personal opinion. Not fact oriented. o3o Please do educate me.

That's how my and my other friend see it to except that there is a difference between anime and Japanese cartoons. But my confused friend says that if its in the style its anime and that it doesn't matter where it came from. We try to tell her that that isn't right but she argues and doesn't let us get an other word in.

Ah ffff well it's definitely not the style of the art. That would be like saying that some westernized cartoons aren't cartoons because they do not share the same art style. Sadly that's a rare case since American cartoons share a similar style of illustration and shading. It's not easily to differentiate compared to animes which can drastically change from anime to anime.

Since Americans are not exposed to Japanese Cartoons I think we have no choice but to generalize any animation they do into the category of anime. Hello Kitty the series, the Japanese version anyways, is a common one that should fit under cartoon but to the demographics that actually watch it well...it's mixed feelings on whether it's deemed an anime due to where it came from or a Cartoon.

But your friend should actually take into account what you're all saying about anime X"D Don't be so closed minded about a topic you all have interest in.

We get in fights all the time with her and its all the same. She thinks she knows everything about it though, and thinks if you don't watch certain series then you can't call yourself an anime fan.

I used to be an enormous fan of anime, I still watch it on occasion, but not nearly as much as I used to. If a cartoon was drawn in Japan, it's more than likely an anime, if it wasn't, then it's not. There are certainly cartoons that are similar in drawing style to anime (ie; Avatar: The Last Airbender, etc.), but since they weren't created in Japan... it can't really be thrown under the "genre" of anime.

Your friend sounds very frustrating. Also, with people like her you basically can't argue with them, or they'll go on forever. I have this kind of, "okay... whatever you say" approach with people like that. And about her saying that if you don't watch a certain series you can't call yourself an anime fan -- what in the hell? There are hundreds of different kinds of anime in all sorts of genres, not everyone is going to like the same type, or like a series just because it's popular.

Yeah shes crazy. She was saying you can't call yourself an anime fan if you've never seen Ghost in the Shell, but if we were to to her okay whatever you say and if she were to hear it then she would start to go off on how she was right and we were wrong.

Just jumping in here, but as a long time anime fan and a debater of all things anime, sounds like your friend can't really be helped if she doesn't let anyone get a word in edge-wise. However as a general consensus it is made in Japan = anime, not made in Japan = cartoons. If you want a comprehensive listing to prove it to her I would try showing her a search of Avatar: The last airbender in the Anime-Planet database...and it won't be there because it isn't anime. Maybe that will = hard proof for her and she'll stop going on about it?

...As for only being a "real" anime fan if you've seen certain anime...well, I've seen Ghost in the Shell and I really don't think it's a determining factor of a 'true' anime fan...just my two cents of course.

She seems like a very close minded person. That sucks, but it probably won't be a problem for her. If she went to an anime convention as a Last Airbender character it would be acceptable. Anime conventions are cool like that. Hopefully she'll figure things out on her own.

Astro Boy, Speed Racers, Pokemon and Sailor Moon did get very popular outside of Japan, so they could be classified as cartoons in their dubbed versions. I'm pretty sure I considered all of those series to be cartoons until grade 4 or 5 when my older cousin introduced me to anime.

I'll have her try to find it there to see what happens and with certain animes means your a fan or not for was very dumb because its like if i were to say if you have only seen Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket or Lucky Star can you be called a fan. It just proves how many different kinds there are and everyone is different and she never sees the view point of others, like this one time she said I had bad taste in anime because I didn't/wouldn't watch High School of the Dead.

I know exactly what you mean. There are so many different genres within anime that saying only certain ones make you a true fan is silly and closed-minded... and I saw High School of the Dead and I personally thought it was awful, so I guess I must have bad taste in her eyes too lol. I dunno how you would talk her out of that besides saying that it's a pretty judgemental outlook, and you can't be an expert on something that's so subjective like taste in shows...

I also watch stuff like Tokyo Mew Mew and Lucky Star, and they don't have enough blood and gore for her so I guess good anime has to have lots of blood and gore? When she said it though it made me kinda mad because I'm thinking a good half of the shows she has seen I told her to watch in the first place.

There are literally THOUSANDS of animes, and many (read: most) animes have little-to-no blood and gore so I really don't think that is a good basis for what is 'good' or not. Your friend clearly seems to think her preferences are facts... Also, I know that feel when you recommend something to someone and then they act like they either a) found it themselves or b) are a bigger/better fan than you even though you are the one who introduced them to it. Honestly I mean no offence but I think if I met your friend I might want to punt her down a field, juuuust a little :P I can understand why this situation would irritate you.

It's okay there are many times when times when I wanna/do punch her, for this kind of stuff.

Understandable. Sometimes there are just some people you can't argue with, when they're that stubborn I might even just not bother, maybe she'll eventually mature out of it....?

I doubt it. I think she'll be like this forever.

Sucks. X_X Might be time to find some new anime buddies then, and just avoid that convo with her entirely.

I would but I just couldn't we have friends for so long and when we have group sleep overs we normally go to her house.

Well, you can still be friends just maybe try not to mention taste in anime? If that's a major topic you might want to tell her that judging someone else's taste in something is impossible since it's an issue of personal preference and not of expertise. Other than that I don't really know except maybe to show her what other people have said based on the same subject as proof of your argument.

I don't think that would work because we both really like it and half the time when we hang out we watch anime, like Sgt. Frog, Lucky Star, or Baby Please Kill Me.