Agora: Red Deer Polytechnic Undergraduate Journal
Volume 16:2 (2025) Student Writer Awards

The Impact of Asian Animation on the
Western World of Animation
Eden Goodnough
Animation as an art has been used worldwide in many
different ways. One of those techniques, more common in Asian
countries, is the form of Japanese animation, commonly called
anime. Japanese anime has been a major factor in shaping
animation in the West. We see the impact of Asian artists on
American projects in how Hollywood has transformed not only
their animation projects but live-action shows as well. 1 The
major confrontation when it comes to anime is the question
“Isn’t that just a cartoon?” To that, there is a way we can define
what is a cartoon and what is an anime. By technicality, yes,
anime is a cartoon but its style and content is very different from
what is considered a Western cartoon. A cartoon is non-realistic
visual representation of real-world objects and characters.
Anime is semi-realistic visual representation of real-world
objects and characters. 2 Another way to look at this is the
difference between the Fleischer Brothers style and Walt
Disney’s style; both created cartoons but one focused more on

1

Andrew C. McKevitt, "“You are not alone!”: anime and the globalizing of America."

Diplomatic History 34, no. 5 (2010): 893-921.
2
Jonathan Clements, Anime: A history (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023)

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an adult audience while the other was targeted to children. The
argument is that, despite their similar appearances, they are
meant for different audiences, so it is absurd to claim that any
animation is meant for children.
The target demographic is significantly different; for
instance, while Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon focus on
elementary and middle schoolers, Noggin and PBS Kids target
young children in early development. Teenagers and above are
the primary audience for anime, particularly Shonen anime,
which captivates viewers with its action and dramatic
adventures.
Cultural differences play a huge role in defining the two
animation types, one being humour. American and Japanese
have different humour and that directly influences their content;
they have distinct senses of humour that correlate with culture
and general norms. Another distinct feature is the pacing of their
shows. Though anime can be very slow and explain a lot of
information without showing much visually, both are simply
different storytelling techniques and again, neither is in the
wrong here. Younger audiences usually have a shorter attention
span and require fast entertainment, which is something that
cartoons provide with bright, overstimulating colours and lively
stories.

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Another distinction is that the majority of anime is plotdriven, whereas cartoons are more concerned with characters
and diverse narratives. An example of this can be seen in Aang
from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the main focus
is based on his decisions affecting the plot and watching
personal growth within a character but narrating it in a way that
children watching are still entertained. In Dragon Ball, however,
the audience is more interested in watching Goku beat up the
villains as extravagantly as possible than they are in learning
more about his inner thoughts and emotions. 3
Avatar the Last Airbender is an animated series that has
been heavily debated whether or not it is an anime or a cartoon.
It was created in America with an anime flair, which caused
some consumer confusion, although it is a cartoon rather than an
anime. 4 The show was heavily influenced by a more anime style,
says the creators but the show itself is not an anime, it's a
cartoon. 5 Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino shared
the creative responsibility for its creation. Konietzko would
serve as the art director and DiMartino as the story editor. 6
Konietzko worked on other shows in the past like Family
Guy, Invader Zim, and King of the Hill, but he noticed that
Crunchyroll: Inside Anime, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMteAFb0QSo.
Dububoi, “‘Avatar the Last Airbender’ Is Not an Anime; Here’s Why,” The Boba Culture,
October 2, 2020.
5
Sara Peterson, “Is Avatar the Last Airbender an Anime? Solved (2024 Updated),” Toynk Toys,
August 29, 2022.
6
The Canipa Effect, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZB1lQRdTrI.
3
4

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within the shows he worked on, the American animation studios
heavily relied on Korean animators but the artists didn’t get
much respect for their work. The American artists’ didn’t
understand the creative minds behind the Korean artists’ ideas
and therefore couldn’t execute them correctly. That is a
predictable outcome with that kind of workflow and the team
divided so Konietzko stayed in Korea for 4 months to properly
study the work environment among them to get a feeling for the
workflow. This experiment that he conducted proved to be
successful when he got a full understanding of how they get
things done. 7
They brought Korean animators to the US to teach the
animators there how to design and pick apart characters which
helped impact the show a lot in the end. 8 It was a big deal in the
mid-2000s and it was a better deal for the foreign artist who
came because they got better pay for their work and to impact
the art style and story more efficiently. There had to be creative
trust between the staff in America and Korea for this project to
work. The creators wanted to challenge the Western industry and
a major influence was using the Korean creative influence in

Hristina Ambareva, Translating Japanese-Style Representations in Manga and Anime to the
Language of the Western Culture (TICS, 2017): 1449.
8
Amy Shirong Lu, "The many faces of internationalization in Japanese anime." Animation 3,
no. 2. (2008): 169-187.
7

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their show, which arguably worked successfully in the end with
how successful the show ended up being.
Now it’s one thing to say that Asian animation had an
impact on the cartoon side of things, but what about other
media? It certainly is influencing media including movies and
films that go beyond cartoon shows for children as well as
creative arts. Other films that were influenced by Japanese
anime for example are Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Creed
III.
In Puss in Boots, Joel Crawford talks about the influence
too, “I’ve always loved anime. I remember watching Akira, and
that just blew my mind as a kid. So being able to use some of
those sensibilities to convey this larger-than-life action hero is
just awesome.” Crawford goes on to explain that the storybook
illustration style was an ode to Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of
Akira. “The animation style goes from traditional CG to stepped
animation, which you might compare to anime, which feels
fantastical and pushed.” 9
Creed III is a live-action film that took creative pieces
from Japanese anime into consideration while filming. Micheal
B. Jordan who was a major director took that into account and
during interviews, he mentioned his admiration towards

9

Bahr, Sarah. “What ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Owes to Samurai and Sergio Leone.” The
New York Times, February 22, 2023.

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Japanese animation and pointed out that he would use
techniques that artists would use in anime and apply them to the
movie. A person can see the influence throughout the film with
the use of slow motion during specific scenes and the planning
implemented in the fights, especially the final fight. 10 It's about
taking the mundane and making it a more visceral experience.
Creating an artwork in your story to make it visually appealing.
Hollywood has taken a lot of inspiration from that; ripping out
the literal from reality.
Anime has impacted Western culture and not just in
animation and media. Originally a nerdy hobby, anime has
evolved into a respectable passion alongside something like
Marvel comics or Star Wars. The relatively recent McDonald's
marketing campaign, which featured manga-style bags and food
containers along with new sauces for a limited time, is a comical
example of anime becoming more popularized, particularly in
America. The Campaign was named “WcDonalds” after a trend
in manga to put a twist on real-world companies in their stories.
On November 11, 2022, Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo's
busiest crosswalk, was blocked for the premiere of the Pokemon
finale, in which Ash Ketchum ultimately emerged victorious in
the Pokemon universe. The event itself was bizarre because they
10

Carolyn Hinds, “How ‘creed III’ Captured Michael B. Jordan’s Love of Anime in The Final
Fight,” Variety, March 14, 2023.

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took a fictional tournament and made it a real-time public event
that a lot of people were interested in. Because it was so wellliked, news outlets all around the world covered it. 11
With the inspiration of anime, it has shown them a
different way to make things more dynamic and alive in their
media in different, experimental, and new ways. Japanese anime
has been a major factor in shaping has been a major factor in
shaping animation in the West. We see the impact of Asian artists
on American projects in how Hollywood has transformed not
only their animation projects but live-action shows as well.
Taking creative practices from around the world helps advance
the creative arts forward.

11

Faultline, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0UJVNZMvA&t=228s.

127

Bibliography
Abdullah, Muhamad Azhar, and Nabilah Abdullah. "An Initial
Attempt: A Synthesis of Cultural Adaptation and
Representation in Animation." International Journal of
Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 10,
no. 12 (2020): 546-557.
Ambareva, Hristina. "Translating Japanese-Style
Representations in Manga and Anime to the Language
of the Western Culture." TICS (2017): 1449.
Bahr, Sarah. “What ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Owes to
Samurai and Sergio Leone.” The New York Times,
February 22, 2023.
Clements, Jonathan. Anime: A history. Bloomsbury Publishing,
2023.
Crunchyroll: Inside Anime. “How Anime Changed Western
Cartoons (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teen Titans, The
Boondocks )” YouTube video, 16:23. Jun 23, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMteAFb0QSo
Dububoi. “‘Avatar the Last Airbender’ Is Not an Anime; Here’s
Why.” The Boba Culture, October 2, 2020.
Faultline. “How Anime Beat Disney” YouTube Video, 24:18. 8
Mar 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0UJVNZMvA&
t=228s

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Lu, Amy Shirong. "The many faces of internationalization in
Japanese anime." Animation 3, no. 2 (2008): 169-187.
McKevitt, Andrew C. "“You are not alone!”: anime and the
globalizing of America." Diplomatic History 34, no. 5
(2010): 893-921.
Peterson, Sara. “Is Avatar the Last Airbender an Anime? Solved
(2024 Updated).” Toynk Toys, August 29, 2022.
The Canipa Effect. “Breaking Down Avatar: The Last
Airbender’s Incredible animation | Animator Spotlight”
YouTube video, 12:40. August 4, 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZB1lQRdTrI

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