As Japanese anime is increasingly coming into American mainstream consciousness, it is interesting to note the differences between American and Japanese animation styles.  From the standard that Walt Disney started and largely still upholds, the goal of animation was to “imitate life”; animated characters would possess naturalness in their movements as well as a rich myriad of facial expressions, of which Disney is still the master.

In contrast, Japanese anime characters across the board tend to follow the same template and look similar, with the drama set more in the story rather than in a character’s facial expressiveness.  The settings of anime are usually quite epic as well, but even if they are set in current-day Tokyo, the backdrops are usually painted with stunning beauty.  Incidentally, the last example from Disney of painted backdrops was in Lilo and Stitch in 2002, which brings up the next difference in style between east and west.

While American animation has largely gone the way of 3D, with even Disney closing its 2D animation studio a few years back, Japanese animators have been choosing to meld CG with traditional 2D, usually to enhance the 2D world they have created, such as the CG castle in Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, accenting its beautiful painterly feel with a touch of CG detail.  As a main animator of Disney’s 2010 hitTangled astutely commented, what one gains in detail with 3D, one loses in the elegance of 2D.  As Rapunzel’s kingdom in Tangled was modeled after the elegant lines and curves of the old Disney classicCinderella, perhaps American animation studios could begin to explore 2D/3D blends in their future films.

Japanese anime tends to be more diverse than American animation since it reaches not only children but older ones as well. Saying as that the case the story does not necessarily follow the typical hero’s journey like the American animation.

That set aside both anime and American animation can be blended together. The cartoon Avatar: The Last animated series in America quite deftly meld American expressiveness and humor with Japanese anime

elements in both their animation as well as the depth of their stories.  The episodes deal with love, betrayal and loss with a gentle touch for young (and older) viewers to be able to accept and learn from.  The series is as good as any dramatic feature film, whether animated or live-action.  Perhaps more such cross-cultural animated blends are to come.

The stories told through Japanese anime also tend to be more diverse, as anime reaches not only children but an older demographic and thus is not restricted to family-friendly tales.  Anime oftentimes delves into the darker areas of the human condition and addresses them in graphic detail, and the stories do not necessarily follow the archetype of the hero’s journey.  Pixar’s Pete Docter, director of Monsters, Inc., commented on his visit to Studio Ghibli, the stomping grounds of Hayao Miyazaki, famed director of the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, that stories were spun out through a more organic and intuitive process than the 5 points of logic that Pixar tends to follow.