ANIME IS NOT CARTOON!!!

One of the things that ticks me off royal is when people say that animes and cartoons are the same.. Well,breaking news for all you nut cases.. ANIME IS NOT CARTOON!!! And in this blog post of mine I'm gonna prove it once and for all to you!!

Many of the people take animes and cartoons to be the same just because both exist in animated form..Well,if we apply the same rule to the monkey-human scenario then i'm sure we all can easily conclude that monkeys and humans are the same.. But we dont because even though there might be many similarities between the two mammals yet the two are different.. The same applies in the case of anime and cartoons. Though both at first glance may appear to be the same yet there's a hell and heaven difference between the two.

ANIME V/S CARTOON

1.Storyline:

One of the major difference between anime and cartoon is their storyline. Animes have a deeper, wider and more complex storyline where after each episode the viewer is left wondering what will happen in the next episode. Cartoons,on the other hand, have the simplest storyline,i.e, the good guy chases down the bad guy and defeats him and puts an end to his nefarious plot. A good example of this is cartoons like Ben Ten, Thunder Cats, Power Puff Girls etc. There also exists another genre of cartoon other than the basic 'Hero saves the day' type and it is 'Random Insanity'. In these type of cartoons, there are some very wacky characters that turn the mundane activities of everyday life into something completely insane. Good examples of this type of cartoons are Tom and Jerry(my favorite), Popeye, Donald Duck etc.

Animes on the other hand are complex both in terms of plot and design. In animes, the good guy doesnt always win and in fact most of the times you are left wondering if he'll be even alive in the next episode??? Also,in animes sometimes the good guy isnt even the main character!! As is the case with one of the most popular anime named 'Death Note' which comes under the genre of 'psychological thriller' anime. Imagine if like Light Yagami(the protagonist and chief villain who uses the power to kill criminals) of the series you too had the power to kill anyone you wish with a heart attack by simply writing their name in a notebook and picturing their face while doing this. Eventually the police realise something is fishy and they send the world's greatest detective 'L' (the antagonist and hero) to investigate the case.Even though Light uses the death notebook for killing criminals yet it becomes very difficult to judge if he's the good guy or the bad guy. Hence,animes arent always based on 'Hero saving the day' because sometimes its also the 'Villain saving the day'!!

2.Audience Targeted:

Cartoons generally target the younger audience(mostly kids though some of the teens and adults still enjoy watching cartoons like Tom and Jerry) whereas animes are made for all age group starting from age 1 to 100!! There exists different genres of anime.. Some are made of kids, some for teens and some for adults.. Anime of each genre have their own similar characteristics and storyline thats fit for the people that fall into that age group. Hence,we can say that anime is much wider concept and phenomenon as compared to cartoons..

3.Art Style:

This is the basic difference between cartoons and animes. Most of the cartoons are designed and developed in USA whereas almost all the animes are designed and developed in Japan and hence one can clearly see the influence of Japanese culture in the animes. You'll see brilliant landscapes, innovative structures and buildings and dark alleys in animes. Anime creators tend to take the scenery very seriously so you can easily see an array of briliant colors and an obsessive attention to details. Another distinctive characteristic about animes is the facial features like large eyes, small lips and nose that tend to become exaggerated while showing emotions such as anger, happiness, blushing, sweat droping etc.. It'll be very interesting to note that animes actually form a major part of the Japanese culture.

I hope my blog will help the readers to understand and differentiate between animes and cartoons.. I dont care if you prefer cartoons over anime or the other way around.. All i ask of you is to stop insulting the anime creators and anime fans by saying that both animes and cartoons are the same!!

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD

For those of you who are wondering what's the difference between 'Fullmetal Alchemist'(FMA) and 'Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood'(FMAB) series, the simple difference is the storyline. Although the characters as well as the basic storyline remains the same in both the series yet there's a lot of difference in both the plots.. The first half of the FMA anime follows the manga storyline but then severely diverges from it somewhere near the middle of the story. However, FMAB follows the manga plot strictly and has gained more popularity than FMA ever did.

Story:

The world of FMA and FMAB is styled after the European Industrial Revolution and is set in a fictional world where alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man. Alchemy follows the rule of 'Equivalent exchange' and has a taboo on 'Human Transmutation'(bringing dead people back to life).The story is about two brothers Edward(Ed) and Alphonse(Al) Elric and their search for the Philosopher's stone that they believe can help to restore their bodies after their disastrous failed attempt to bring their dead mother back to life using alchemy.

Born in the village of Resembool in the country of Amestris, the two brothers lived there along wid their mother Trisha Elric after their father Van Hohenheim left home years ago for some unknown reason. However years later, their mother Trisha died because of a terminal illness leaving the Elric brothers alone. Determined to bring their mother back to life using alchemy, the brothers started to research on the forbidden art of human transmutation(the attempt of modifying or creating a human). The attempt fails disastrously resulting into loss of Edward's left leg and Alphonse's entire body. In a desperate attempt to save his brother, Ed sacrifices his right arm to affix Al's soul to a suit of armor. The childhood friend of the Elric brothers Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako create automail(advanced prosthetic limb) left leg and right arm for Ed after which the Elric brothers move to Central where Ed chooses to become a State Alchemist and work for the State Military of Amestris. Ed's friendly relation with State Alchemist Colonel Roy Mustang(the one who recruited him and to whom Ed reports to) allows the brothers the freedom to search for Philosopher's stone as a part of Ed's reasearch.

Throughout the story they meet many antagonists like Scar who seeks vengeance on State alchemists for wiping out his race(Ishavalans), the homunculi(seven hmounculi named after the seven deadly sins, i.e., Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Greed, Wrath, Sloth) who are a group of human like creatuers that carry the philosopher's stone inside themselves and hence have the power to survive almost any harm. As the story progresses, the Elric brothers discover that the homunculi and much of the high ranking officers of the State military officers are commanded from behind the curtain by a man simply known as the 'Father' who gained immortality by creating the Philosospher's stone by tricking the Elric brothers father Van Hohenheim centuries before the series timeline. He palns to use Amestris as a gigantic transmutation circle in order to transmute the entire country for reasons unknown to the Elric brothers. When Ed and Al discover 'Father's' plan, they set out with their friends and other trustworthy military officers to defeat him.

FMAB is undoubtedly my favorite anime. I havent missed a single episode of the series yet. The best part about the anime is that it moves a break neck speed with twists and turns in each and every episode. Even though i know the story and how it ends yet the anime still manages to capture me unlike any other anime i've seen till date. There are many touching and heart warming scenes in the anime. The realtionship of brotherhood, friendship and love has been potrayed in the best possible manner in this anime. The anime has everything that you can ask for,whether its action,adventure,suspense,romance,comedy... you name it and it has it!! Overall a great series that'll definitely make you wanna see it again and again!! ^_^