Western Animation vs. Films that happen to be Animated

One thing that might blur the line between a Western Animation example and an Animated Film example is when a series has both animated films and a cartoon show, and are both part of the same continuity. That something is an example of a trope in an animated film ties into how it is an example in the corresponding animated show, and vice versa. Should we then have the same example mentioned in both sections?

Generally there's a primary or most popular medium, which it should get sorted under, but in those situations we just have to deal with and curate issues as they come up.

We already have that problem with adaptaions in all the media categories. Anime examples get a subpoint explaining how it differs in the Manga. An example in Literature may have a subpoint explaining how it differs in the Film, or vice versa. Comics and Films do as well. There's really no reason why an animated series and an animated film or an animated and non-animated film can't be treated the same way

The same continuity part is key, though. I doubt there are many books that have films as sequels rather than remakes. I am not sure how common it is with animation, but I do get the impression that cartoons and animated movies are more intertwined than other pairs of media.

I've been separating adaptions and giving them their own entries, should I stop doing that?

As long as you're willing to manage the people posting examples in the wrong category, feel free to do those splits. One case that keeps coming up is people putting Serenity examples in the Firefly page.

I meant more along the lines of listing Film.X Men right under ComicBooks.X Men and the like.

Huh, I didn't even know Film.Serenity existed.

Would it be too much to ask for a multi-media option for things within the same continuity but across different mediums?

edited 22nd Mar '11 11:13:50 PM by Deboss

So did we agree to put anime films and western animated films both under Films-Animated, unless said film has strong ties to an anime or western animation series? (Like for example, the Dragonball Z movies would be kept under Anime/Manga, while Duck Tales: The Movie would be best kept under Western Animation?)

edited 23rd Mar '11 10:26:21 PM by Surenity

Would you put OVAs under Animated - Film or anime?

I don't think I've ever seen that term used for anything outside of a Japanese work, so I'd say anime...at least until someone proves me wrong.

I would say they go in Anime most are just 30 minutes and are clumped with their connected Anime series or Manga. OA Vs that dont have a connected Anime or Manga are really rare.

I see films like Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle under both Anime and Films - Animated. As far as I know they don't have a series or manga associated with them.

Those are not OA Ds those are films that were released in theaters in Japan. The only OA Ds I can think of that are not connected to Anime, Manga or Light Novel is Houkago No Pleiades which was pretty much a 4 episode Magical Girl Subaru commercial. Record Of Lodoss War's OA Vs were based on D&D novels though and did come first before the TV series but it is still a Thirteen Episode Anime.

Actually Houkago No Pleiades was a webcast.

Agreed it would make things a lot harder to find, sort and make Anime tropes suddenly messy. Sorting Gundam examples would be nuts.

edited 24th Mar '11 10:23:32 AM by Raso

There is no reason for OV As to not be in with regular Anime and Manga. This is a silly thing to even consider.

I can see why some people would want the Ghibli films under Film - Animation, but I personally would rather them be lumped into Anime and Manga.

I would personally put the Ghibli fare under Films, mostly because the Disney-Ghibli deal made them available to a much bigger audience and that they've been played on television as films (the local affiliate that used to play Kiki's Delivery Service never called it anime).

edited 24th Mar '11 10:50:31 AM by defunctzombie

Wait, so they change medium when they become available to a wider audience? That doesn't make sense to me.

No, they've always been animated films. Anime is just short for animation in Japan, so if something is feature length, it should go in the film category. We're the ones who gave the term special meaning. When I was in Japan, cartoons were cartoons no matter who made them.

Ah, I see. I just don't see how "available to a wider audience" is relevant.

Eh, maybe I did word that weird. I was trying to say that we as a wiki are very familiar with anime, but most of the people in the world wouldn't know the difference from a cartoon (and a bunch of the Ghibli US audience know the movies through Disney).

Ah, okay.

But yeah, I think any animated theatrical release would go under Films — Animated.

The problem with that is what do you do with the other 99.99999% of anime movies? Gundam has OA Ds, manga, movies, intertwined with their series, Haruhi as well, Dragon Ball Z has 13 movies, so does Case Closed, Pokemon has even more and that's just the tip of the iceberg it gets worse with Ghost In The Shell. You can't separate these at all without a massive mess of midplaced and duped examples when they will still link to the same page just in different sections it is not going to work.

It was hard enough to get Fate Stay Night or Da Capo to stick to visual novels (and I still see dupes all the time.) and that doesnt include the other V Ns that never became a hit over her that are still labeled anime like Amagami SS.

Anime movies should just stay in anime and manga. I could maybe see if it had a US theater release but that still screws up Pokemon, Digimon, and a few others.

edited 24th Mar '11 11:47:56 AM by Raso

If it's a movie extension of a TV series, I'd say it would stay as Anime.

And yeah, I hear you on the Visual Novels thing.

Akira and Ghost In The Shell? The Movie remakes of the many Gundam series? There are way too many problems doing it that way it's like trying to separate Anime and Manga because that's what they are.

edited 24th Mar '11 11:58:59 AM by Raso

Argh, you're right. This is the problem with media categorization — too many works just don't fall into one medium.

Maybe we could have something under multiple media then? Have one section be mostly about that medium's component of the series, while making reference to other components, and each medium having its own section for that medium's component of a series?