First of all, i wanna said tat japanese anime sure better than america cartoons coz all the anime titles mostly involve the main character that people can related too. Meanwhile, the American Cartoons are just a bunch of wanna be anime types with lots of drugs,sex and violence to go around,but anime has more than that,it has something called a atmosphere.Its a peaceful and good atmosphere...some though maybe bad,but at some point they're good and in the end the person watching it may start to feel different about the world around them and how it is different than what most people thinking...see the world is like a anime,there's a lot of many cruel and bad thinks to mess up your life and the animes show you that in a less dramatic way.That's why i think Japanese anime is better than American cartoons. How about others opinion?

Most American cartoons, with some exceptions (Things based of Comics, Avatar The Last Airbender) tend to have no real overarchings narrative to them. They're pretty random, although some MAY have an overarching story, episode to episode isn't exactly as connected as in many anime series.

Sure there are some anime series that are random, but there are also a ton that aren't.

More fluid, better effects, hits a wider audience, has real story lines that just don't just follow the Aristotlic beginning climax and hero saves the day order, not just colored in characters that can hardly move or cheap easy drawings, uh i can keep going but i don't have that much time

You're practically comparing two different species here. American cartoons are meant for humor and entertainment and what they mostly depict is the day-to-day lifestyle that Americans can relate to. Most American cartoons that are not aimed at young children poke fun at everyday society. For example, The Simpsons is simply a cartoon parody of the average American family and the show is not meant to politically correct. That's why it's funny. American cartoons are shows that you can watch at any time and will not feel lost because each episode is a different story altogether, just involving the same characters and also because there are different writers for each episode as well. American cartoons are aimed at everyone except for the ones with adult humor (South Park, Ren & Stimpy, etc.).

Anime on the hand, are mostly based on manga and video games, those of which already has a set plot and a certain time frame the plot falls into. There is a sequential plot and most likely you have same people doing the storyboards for every episode. Anime is enjoyable to watch and it tends to follow a strict storyline, unlike American cartoons.

Besides, which is better than the other depends on the interests and tastes of audience. Obviously, since this is an anime forum, there will be a bias towards anime. I'm speaking from the point of view of somebody who enjoys both.

Yep, as Pink said, I'm biased because I'm on this forum

I find the animation quality in anime better than most American cartoons. I don't know how else to say this, they just are. While Japanese animation look more detailed, American cartoons look more simple, silly and easier to understand/imagine, which isn't necessarily bad, but when they're all like that it seems to lack variety.

There's more variety in the genres too. I don't see too many American cartoons focusing on horror. There seems to be plenty of action and comedy to go around, but I think that's what North Americans are only interested in, except for those who are also into anime. Speed Racer just came out today and the reason why it's such a hype (at least for me since I've seen it just about everywhere even in newspapers) is because of all the colorful action. There're hardly any romance or drama in American cartoons.

There're also a deeper meaning in a lot of animes. Animes tend to use more symbols and the makers actually try to make you try to figure what message(s) they're trying to communicate to the audience, while American cartoons seem to lack that.

You learn Japanese (if you don't watch dubs) and about Japanese culture, not that I'm saying you're a true "Japanese culture geek" (in which case the only possibility that you could be one is if you visited Japan and stayed there fore a while), but at least it gives you some idea as to the differences in our culture and theirs, and even more so when their cartoons are so different.

If anything, I'd like to see someone post the reasons why they think American cartoons are better than anime.

Anime haves a better storyline and deeper characters. Only some America cartoons have a storyline at all, the reason is America cartoons are made for kids.

Cartoons are more for fun maybe even more for children
Anime have more Storryline and there aremore emotion in it...llets see i never seen a cartoon with a love story or horror cartoon and thhey dont have really a genre wich you can deepeent on.
Soo Cartoons are good for my little sister she dont have to think when she watch butaanimes can watch everyone and everywwhere XD

Anime's tend to have better storylines and like everyone else has touched upon, the animation quality is of course miles better than most American cartoons. Still, this isn't to say anime is better than American cartoons overall, but if you're looking for something that will make you think, then nine times out of ten, you'll turn to an anime.

I guess it really depends on what you like. I like the storylines, as they tend to be fun to watch. I also like how there is character development, which you rarely see in western cartoons. I want to know what the character is feeling, what happened to them to make them who they are, rather than just know their name and that they are doing something.

Another think I like about anime is that, like Longbow said, it is more likely to have a romance story in it, which I like a lot ^_^. I mean why don't western cartoons seem to portray have any romance in them at all? When Cardcaptor Sakura was dubbed, right away all the romance was wiped out, it's as if dubbers feel we can't handle romance.

I think that some western cartoons are good, but overall I like anime more, which isn't a surprise as I'm here, hehe ^_^. I also like that anime tends to be not only a source of entertainment, but also a hobby ^_^. I don't see too many western cartoons with collector's items and such to have more fun with the series other than just watching. Overall, I think that western cartoons are ok, but I prefer anime a lot more ^_^.

Better graphic.
Just prejudice

American cartoons are more about super heroes saving the day and such which are often action-packed.Unlike those cartoons,animes usually have a good storyline and can balance both action and romance scenes which is very pleasing for people like me ^^

Japanese Anime and Manga Culture has more depth than American hero type cartoon, as you know them in Western society. American cartoons are indeed more about the super hero who saves the day. Not with much depth it is a rather stereotype style of cartoons. But as we who live in Western countries, and grew up with Western cartoon culture, the majority of the Western society regards animation as kids stuff, and since Japanese Anime IS animation they have that same type of stereotypical prejudice. If some Anime's true cultural value or storyline is too hard to understand for the Western society, those licensers re-edit the storyline of those imported Anime as well as the Character's names, best examples: Saber Rider and the Starsherrifs and even Sailormoon... They are doing it to make it more understandable to the younger audience of Western society...

Many many times have I mentioned that Animation in Japan has a much deeper meaning of the so called "cartoon for kids" as we know it in Western society. In Japan Animation is Art, it is made for every age, it has established itself a part of modern Japanese society. Anime is for everyone, for every age, and not just for kids... like in Western Society. Because there is a variety of Genres the Characters most of the time display a great sense of depth. Sometimes the so called bad guys do not seem like the stereotypical bad guy, but that is a longer story and would be hard to explain and too time consuming. Let's just say, sometimes the viewer has to reconsider carefully whether that so called villain has really bad intentions or was he/she just fighting for what he/she believed in.

Japanese anime is more mature than American animation. like some american cartoons has really less sense than japanese so japanese is more better than american.

I guess it just came down to someone's preferences. Both were different to begin with. Cartoon were mostly aiming for younger audience while anime reaches for different age span. Also cartoon had mostly adventure and superhero genre, while anime offers a whole lot more. I believe the specie of adult animation and the rest came from Japan. Where would you find a cartoon with the theme like 'Maria watches over us ( can't remember the japanese title) and "Gravitation" on their TV?
Better quality of animation and voice acting is anime strongest point. With taking some artist to sing for either the openign song or the ending.

I think that American and Japanese cartoons each have their own set of pros and cons, however, I won't say that I prefer one over the other because I grew up with both. I do agree that anime tends to offer a wider variety of stories as far as television series are concerned - one reason I am more interested in manga these days is because there's a thousand more stories than in anime because it's cheaper to produce manga and take risks - but I disagree with the notion that anime is "more mature". Most anime and manga areconsidered "kiddie" in Japan but not so in the West because we have a different idea of what is and isn't appropriate for children. I have seen lots of fans claim that series like Naruto are mature just because of the gore, but a running gag in the series Gintama is that Gintoki is still reading Shōnen Jump even though he's in his twenties. Yes, there are anime aimed at adults as can be seen from genres such as seinen and jōsei, but shōnen and shōjo make up the bulk of the titles.

That's the only thing that bothers me when people bring up this debate. But, nonetheless, it's just my opinion. I don't think that one's better than the other and I enjoy both equally. I watch anime (or an animated film) when I want a story and I watch television cartoons when I don't.