For me its mostly on the plot and artwork. Its based on personal opinions most of the time.

Of course, YES!!
american cartoons are usually for kids (not the all, for example batman or superman or what not), but japanese animes are... kinda fantastic. They are for all man. From the little 4-yeared kiddy to the 30-yeared old man. they are really good.

I am sure this has been said in some way or another already, but I want to add my two cents anyway. I prefer anime over western cartoons, however I still like cartoons just fine. In fact I grew up on western cartoons such as rugrats, hey arnold, and disney movies. I wasnt introduced to anime or manga until two years ago when i had to read a manga for an art assignment in school. I went crazy over it, and have been watching and reading ever since.

Anime has more of a continuous story, and it introduces the characters where you learn about them gradually until you're hooked on the seiries. In american cartoons you can watch one episode without feeling lost or confused, and the problem is resolved by the end of the episode. The humor in anime is more subtle, where cartoons are random and direct. For me this can be more annoying than funny. Also i think the animation in anime extremely beautiful and detailed. I have found that anime tends to be animated with light and shadows along with lines, where american cartoons usually have solid never changing colors.

But when it comes down to it one isnt really better than the other, it's just your personal preference. Mine just happens to be anime.

Actually... the question should be "is Japanese anime better than American cartoon?" b/c we aren't even sure if it is. And, the answer is no.

I Hate Anime Fans

website

And last I checked, it was perfectly acceptable to speak of British or European cartoons; there exists no particular provision stipulating that 'cartoon' must refer only to American-produced work. Anime=animation=cartoons. End of story.

Why I Hate Anime

website

And it's cartoons not high art!! but people talk about it like it is high art and it drives me up the walls

Here's a pretty interesting article that's doesn't really talk about whether anime's better than cartoons or not, but it's an explanation by a Japanese American on why he doesn't like other anime fans. It's similar to the 2 rants above, so if you thought they were quite provocative I recommend reading this one as well.

Bitter Asian Men

website

They talk about how they love Japanese culture so much, they're going to immerse themselves in it and become as "Japanese as possible". Naturally this is based on the false assumptions ...that anime comprises a large part of Japanese culture. You can easily tell who these people are - they take Japanese classes and say 'sugoi' and 'baka' all the time; they take kendo but all they really want to learn is battou-jutsu; they talk about how they're going to move to Japan and it'll be so awesome because they can buy all the manga and anime merchandise... and nobody will call them a freak. (Reality check: they will in fact be called freaks.)

In the mean time I think there is no better or worse in Japanese Animation and Western Animation. In the end nobody can mess around with Disney, whether they are Anime or co. Each of these styles are unique in their own ways. Different culture means different perception. Even in Japan not all people like Anime,... most definately.

I'm sure that even today I would still wanna watch Lion King or Mickey Mouse or Ducktales for a change.

They both have their own way. But for me I love Japanese Anime more because it's "MOE".

In my opinion, the general art style of anime is more attractive compared to american cartoons. The story lines are more engaging and bits of Japanese culture is a treat. And theres a wide range of genres to choose from.

Exception is Avatar: The legend of Aang

Japanese anime is better than American cartoons from character designs, complexity of the story, animations and emotions of each character... I guess...

I wouldn't actually say that there was a better or worse. American cartoons are just, well, aimed at children. I'm talking about the Saturday morning stuff of course. Anime's a lot more "all-ages", so it hits many more mature ideas. America doesn't really have that many "cartoons" that can be compared to anime in that sense, just things like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and those late night adult swim shows. And even those aren't really better or worse, they're just made for stupid laughs, just like some anime is.
Overall, it's really all the same, different audiences, different subjects, etc.

American Vs. Japanese
1:American has bad graphics, bad Dialouge, They only have four fingers half the time [who has 4 fingers here? anyone? HMMM?]
2:Japanese [Anime/Manga] It's got everything the american ["Anime"] Doesn't.Not mention the muisc is better most of the time. [The Anime Guys are cute sometimes as well!]

Whew! Rant over!

/(oOo)#

The line is getting thinner everyday, and this page is proof of that.

I love anime and I like it more than western cartoons for several reasons: deeper plots, better animation, richer emotions. But I must confess we are making a biased opinion (and is not our fault, we love anime!) Not all animes are good, and not all western comics suck. Anime is by far the best if we compare Code Geass vs. Dexter's lab regarding plots, or if we compare Mononoke Hime vs. The powerpuff girls regarding drawing quality. But western comics (specially of superheroes) are by far better if you compare them with animes like Excel Saga, Genma's wars, or even Pokemon.

But the line is disappearing... Personally, I consider Avatar -the legend of Aang- a truly anime, because it fits entirely in the format. The only thing it lacks is the "made in Japan" seal. Avatar is entirely based on Asian traditions and it even has Asian animators. The only western thing it has is Nickelodeon's seal.

At the other hand, here in Anime Paper I've seen goofy, donald duck, winnie the pooh and mickey mouse. Why? because this four-fingered childish characters were attached to a Japanese videogame (kingdom hearts), and for this page "made in Japan" is enough to be considered anime. What's next? barney? the teletubbies?

The line is disappearing: more animes are getting western and more cartoons will imitate anime. In ten or twenty years the entire genre will be redesigned.

Anime & american cartoon are completely different.
Cartoons are for all-ages, so if there are lame and boring things, it's because the they're for children too. The arts are for fun too, so they aren't drawn as beautiful as animes.
And it's really different with anime. Current animes these days are for teens+, the story are deeper and the arts aren't only for fun.

I just think that anime has more attitude to it. american cartoons are generally silly, with comedic purposes, whereas anime has epicness, watching an anime is kinda like reading a book, it can take you somewhere

Unfortunately for me, I'll be the freak here and say I've been watching more Western animation than Japanese anime lately.
Anime... is boring me.
I just need to find the right series, but still nothing really touched me yet, while the Western cartoons I watch make me laugh after an annoying day on the road. Plus, everything can be analysed.
Everything.
Even those flat American cartoons many fans complain about.
Like it or not, whether they want it or not, it tells a lot about one's culture.

I don't wich one better...
Anime or American cartoon...
But I like Japanese anime more than American cartoon...