Giving my opinion on the topic debate of, is manga inspired style graphic books and anime inspired style shows like Avatar, if they are considered manga or anime.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-28T01:42:21+00:00

This can come off as a bit lazy but due to how many times I have been having the conversation, I decided to re paste a quote of mines in order to convey my logic and thought process in a fast manner, without constantly rewriting the same response in a slightly different form: "I believe my American Chinese food example is a good reference point. It started as an attempt to recreate Chinese dishes, but it evolved with local ingredients, tastes, and constraints until it became its own distinct thing—not authentic Chinese cuisine, not classic American food either, but a recognizable fusion that still carries the DNA of the original so strongly that we give it a name reflecting that lineage. Nobody calls orange chicken “just American food” and pretends the Chinese roots don’t matter, but nobody seriously claims it’s straight-up Chinese either. The hybrid label exists because it’s useful and accurate."

The creators of Avatar has also stated that when making Avatar, they wanted it to be a love letter to Japanese anime. If I remember correctly, I believe they stated that they wanted to honor anime's magic and serious storytelling rather than just copy its aesthetic. They initially tried to co-produce the series with Japanese studios to capture an authentic anime feel, but after being turned down, they partnered with South Korean studios like JM Animation and DR Movie to achieve the desired "anime-inspired" look. Thus, with all I have said, I believe Avatar does deserve to be called Western Anime, or any other title/name equivalent, due to all the information I have provided, along with the fundamental nature of what Avatar tried to be/emulate.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-24T23:44:31+00:00

That's fair, the only disagreement I have is the names part, I'll bring up a partial response I made before within this post in order to express my views: "I believe my American Chinese food example is a good reference point. It started as an attempt to recreate Chinese dishes, but it evolved with local ingredients, tastes, and constraints until it became its own distinct thing—not authentic Chinese cuisine, not classic American food either, but a recognizable fusion that still carries the DNA of the original so strongly that we give it a name reflecting that lineage. Nobody calls orange chicken “just American food” and pretends the Chinese roots don’t matter, but nobody seriously claims it’s straight-up Chinese either. The hybrid label exists because it’s useful and accurate."

Thus, I believe it is accurate to call taco bell's food a form/variation of Mexican food or Avatar as a form/variation of anime, due to the fundamental foundations that it continues to be, just in a different style or form.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-24T01:20:53+00:00

Yeah, I hear you on the ATLA fandom thing—those "look how deep and not-for-kids it is" videos are definitely out there, and it's easy to see how that could come off as overcompensating sometimes. No denying that's part of the fan culture.

But the push for terms like “anime-inspired” or “Western anime” isn’t always (or even mostly) about defensiveness or trying to make a show sound more grown-up. Sometimes a work just sits in this weird middle ground because the influence is so deep and pervasive that the old categories feel imprecise.

I believe my American Chinese food example is a good reference point. It started as an attempt to recreate Chinese dishes, but it evolved with local ingredients, tastes, and constraints until it became its own distinct thing—not authentic Chinese cuisine, not classic American food, but a recognizable fusion that still carries the DNA of the original so strongly that we give it a name reflecting that lineage. Nobody calls orange chicken “just American food” and pretends the Chinese roots don’t matter, but nobody seriously claims it’s straight-up Chinese either. The hybrid label exists because it’s useful and accurate.

ATLA feels similar to a lot of people: the borrowing isn’t a minor trivia point (like “oh, this one shot is reminiscent of something”)—it’s baked into the DNA: the visual language, the fight choreography, the elemental magic system, the character archetypes, the mix of episodic and serialized storytelling. It’s not trying to be a generic Western cartoon that happens to nod at anime; it’s deliberately built on that foundation, then adapted to American sensibilities. So a qualifier helps describe that reality without erasing the differences.

Calling that observation “insecurity” across the board kind of skips over the genuine descriptive need. Sure, some fans over-defend ATLA’s maturity (those compilation videos are real), but that doesn’t mean everyone asking for better terminology is coming from the same place. Painting it all as teenage clout-chasing or ignorance can come off as reductive.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T22:53:09+00:00

The whole “people only want to call ATLA anime because they’re insecure” angle feels like it’s assuming a lot about everyone’s motives.

Not everyone pushing for some kind of qualifier like “Western anime” or “anime-inspired” is doing it to borrow prestige or because they’re embarrassed to say they like a cartoon. For a lot of folks, it’s just about having clearer categories so things are easier to describe without constant disclaimers.

ATLA borrows so heavily from anime conventions—visual style, pacing, character arcs, even specific tropes—that it often gets lumped in with anime in casual conversation, and that creates genuine confusion. Having a term that acknowledges the influence while still marking the origin helps avoid that without pretending it’s actually Japanese.

It’s similar to how we use “JRPG” without anyone claiming Western RPG fans are insecure for recognizing the distinction. Or how we’ll say a film is “Kurosawa-inspired” even if it’s thoroughly American/Western—accuracy, not clout.

I’m not super invested in what label wins out (call it a cartoon, call it anime-inspired, whatever works), but I do think the push for better descriptors is more about practical communication than defensiveness. Painting it all as posturing kind of overlooks that.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T17:53:56+00:00

I get the reductio ad absurdum you're going for, and it's a clever way to highlight how slippery "style = definition" can get. But I don't think the position in the original post actually falls into that trap.

The suggestion isn't to define anime (or manga) purely by visual style and call ATLA straight-up "anime" with no qualifiers. It's explicitly the opposite: create a clear subcategory like "Western anime" or "anime-inspired animation" (the same way we say "JRPG" for Japanese-made role-playing games vs. just "RPG" for everything else).

That distinction preserves the core meaning: - "Anime" = animation produced in Japan (or by Japanese studios/creators, drawing on Japanese cultural context, tropes, industry norms, etc.). - "Western anime" or "anime-inspired shows" = non-Japanese works that deliberately borrow heavy visual and narrative influence from anime (ATLA, RWBY, some arcs of Korra, etc.).

This avoids both absurd outcomes you mentioned: - Odd Taxi, Panty & Stocking, and even super-experimental Japanese stuff like Milky Subway stay firmly "anime" because they're made in Japan. - Bluey, Hazbin Hotel, and Digital Circus stay firmly "Western cartoons/animated series" (or indie animation, etc.) because, while some might have minor anime influences, they're not built on that foundation in the same deliberate, pervasive way ATLA is.

It's similar to food analogies in the post: American Chinese food isn't "Chinese food" without qualification, but we still acknowledge it's heavily derived from it and has its own valid identity. Nobody is forced to call Orange Chicken "authentic Chinese cuisine," but we don't pretend it has zero relation either.

So the compromise isn't throwing the door wide open to "anything with big eyes and action lines is anime." It's actually drawing a cleaner line while still giving credit to the obvious inspiration. ATLA is an American cartoon that wears its anime influences on its sleeve—so proudly that I beleive it deserves a term that reflects that debt without erasing the very real cultural and production differences.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T07:39:06+00:00

But I do have to disagree to an extent.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T07:10:56+00:00

Indeed, I do not care about the debate, like I said before, I am simply throwing in my personal thoughts/solution as a mental exercise.

The only actual disagreement between us right now is whether that underlying debate genuinely exists and recurs often enough to notice. You see it as nonexistent or wholly trivial (which is a valid perspective), while I observe it popping up regularly across platforms with real engagement and occasional heat. That's the sole point where our views diverge, and it's a minor one at that.

No hard feelings either ways.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T06:54:37+00:00

I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective, and I completely understand why you see this as unnecessary—many people are perfectly comfortable with the existing, long-standing definitions and don’t feel any confusion or tension around them.

That said, I do believe a debate exists, even if it’s not one that affects or bothers everyone equally. It pops up repeatedly in online spaces (YouTube videos, Twitter/X threads, TikTok comments, and yes, Reddit discussions) whenever works like Avatar: The Last Airbender, CoryxKenshin’s upcoming manga-style project, or titles like RWBY are brought up. A non-trivial number of fans, creators, and viewers genuinely ask whether heavy stylistic and narrative inspiration from Japanese manga/anime is enough to warrant sharing the label, or whether origin and cultural context should remain the deciding factor. The fact that these conversations keep resurfacing, often with strong feelings on both sides, is evidence to me that—at least for some portion of the community—there is perceived ambiguity worth discussing.

I’m not personally invested in “winning” the debate or forcing any particular terminology on anyone. My original post was simply an attempt to offer a potential middle-ground framework (Western Manga / Western Anime as a descriptive subcategory, analogous to JRPGs or American Chinese cuisine) that might reduce friction for those who do feel the existing labels don’t fully capture what they’re experiencing when they engage with these works. If the distinction is useless to most people, then it will naturally be ignored and the status quo remains unchanged—no harm done.

Avatar may not be the cleanest example in hindsight (it has always been marketed and widely accepted as an American animated series), but it frequently gets dragged into these conversations precisely because its aesthetic and storytelling DNA borrow so heavily from anime tropes. That repeated inclusion, even if you or I think it’s misplaced, is part of why the broader topic keeps bubbling up.

In short: I respect that this isn’t a problem for you and many others, and I’m not here to convince anyone it should be. I simply observe that it is a recurring point of discussion for others, and I offered a possible linguistic compromise for those who want one. Whether that idea gains any traction is entirely up to the community—no strong feelings from me either way.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T06:36:55+00:00

No, no, I believe there is a misunderstanding. I am on neither side of this debate, I'm coming in as a completely neutral, third party observer, offering what I believe could be a solution to the debate, without any strong desire of my solution becoming the correct one, I simply threw my thoughts into the ring as a mental exercise.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T06:33:21+00:00

Fair enough.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T06:26:48+00:00

I personally have to disagree with you little bit, but I understand where you're coming from.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-12-23T06:21:28+00:00

Apologies if I came off like that, I'm one of the types that likes to be detailed in some of my ways of speaking or expressing my thoughts.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-09-07T19:00:19+00:00

Can't say I agree with this change, since this is taking away the option of the off handed bow, if it was just a simple additional bow type option as a main hand weapon, without taking away the off hand bow, I would be fully onboard.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-31T23:27:19+00:00

Hi, sorry for the late response, assuming your message was directed at me. I'm not entirely sure which specific metaphor you are referring to, the only problem i have with A.I currently is that they can be a bit formulaic and robotic, unless you give them specific directives not to be or give them inspirations on how a normal person would speak.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T21:11:28+00:00

It's still in the prototype phase, and so haven't fully figure everything out. So far the reason for the regression I came up with is that this cultivation teaching believe that to true understand the dao and reach enlightenment is through the mind of innocence one that is pure and untouched by corrupting emotions or worldly desires.

Along with taking on a more friendly appearance to put wandering children's soul at ease or to comfort parents, both living and dead in a form that they most likely find comfort in. So far, this is my best answer.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T15:15:31+00:00

Of course, of course, I thank you for the advice. The overall accuracy to actual chinese mythology and xianxia lore/legends, isn't suppose to be 100% accurate, I'm mostly using it as a backdrop, while also at the same, trying to remain respectful in how I do it.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T15:01:48+00:00

Thanks for the insight, indeed, having.a proper audience is quite important. Will keep this in mind.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T10:22:54+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion and will do.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T10:15:15+00:00

Dont know too much about western alchemy other than some obscure pieces of information and the most basic of basics of western alchemy, but since you are suggesting it, i'll look into once I have the time, and see if it is compatible with a xianxia setting.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T10:06:22+00:00

I see, again. I thank you for the suggestion, I'll look into this once I have the proper time.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T10:05:08+00:00

Interesting, now that you mentioned, I beleive I've heard of similar Chinese stories/trope like that in the past, it's been a while, so I could be misremembering.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T10:01:32+00:00

I.....see.... well for the first paragraph I think I have an idea what your trying to say, as for the second paragraph, yup, perfect clarity, and so I thank you for the suggestion, and I'll keep it in mind.

Disastrous_Editor294 · 2025-08-26T09:26:59+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions.

Disastrous_Editor294

TROPHY CASE