Anime & Cartoon- What's the difference?

Ah... The age-old question. "What's the difference between an anime and a cartoon. But before I highlight the differences, take a moment and think about the similarities. 'Nuff? Now let's look at the differences.

1.The plot. Anime plots can vary, like vary a lot. Even though a normal anime has a few morals hinted in between the episodes, it is really not what viewers want (since almost all of them are immoral adults who don't have a spine). What viewers actually want is the content that represents the genre that they used. This may be huge badass rivalries with intense vying fights between the protagonist and their rival(s) in case of a Shōjo or Shōnen anime, the commonality of Slice of life anime, etc. Each episode usually has a reference in the forthcoming episodes, which makes it worthwhile to see them in a definite order. Cartoons, on the other hand, are like a single piece of work. Each episode stands out in itself unless it's a 2 part one where the next episode is a continuation of the first. Episodes usually have a moral, or the main objective, which will be accomplished at the end of the same. Due to this contrasting trait of cartoons, they can mostly be viewed irrespective of the chronology in which they were broadcasted. 

Screenshot from The Simpsons

2.The character design. The character design plays a huge role in differentiating cartoons from anime. Anime focuses more on recreating real human bodies and try to follow it from an anatomical point of view (even though in some cases that may not be true). Cartoons, on the other hand, are more freelancing. You can practically do whatever you want (ok not everything) if it reaches the audience as it is supposed to and looks appealing to the eye.

3.The various genres. Genres are more of an anime thing tbh(but it's not like cartoons don't have genres too ya know). Anime genres are like the number of legs on a centipede. Tons and tons. But I really won't be talking about it on this post (it will be on another one). Some notable ones include Slice of life (about the day to day struggles of living a life), Shōjo (anime aimed at middle school girls), Shōnen (aimed at boys), etc. Cartoons, on the other hand, don't really have the vast palette of genres that anime offers. Most cartoons are either funny, have a superhero protagonist who eradicates evil through some random methods. It is to be noted that cartoons are known for their meek plot which has some sort of moral (if it is aimed at children), or for being funny (like The Simpsons).

Screenshot is taken from Death Parade (Anime)

4.Maturity. Even though many people assume that cartoons are for a much younger audience, little do they know that they are wrong. There are many cartoons for adults, and many are successful too. Examples can include The Simpsons, The Family Guy, BoJack Horseman (I know The Family Guy is labeled as "sitcom" on Google, but don't we all know it's animation?). Animes are kinda like cartoons on this topic- there can be animes for adults, kids, or both of them. Examples for adult animes would be those having gore elements, like Tokyo Ghoul. Those for both kids (I'm talking about teens here) and adults would be animes like Naruto, Sket dance, and other such animes.

I hope you liked this post (I know I'm kinda irregular with posting). If you did, don't forget to leave a comment down below and recommend it to other people.