Anime is the common term used to refer to Japanese animation. Popular belief causes many people to refer to Anime as cartoons, and while they are correct in a sense, it is not entirely true perspective wise. In America, when people mention cartoons the shows that commonly come to mind would be those similar to Aladdin, Tarzan, Looney Tunes, Ed Edd n' Eddy, and so forth. And while Anime is essentially Japanese cartoons, it is not the same as American cartoons which is why many Anime fans object to Anime being referred to as a cartoon. Anime often has a drawing style that is easily distinguished from the drawing style present in American cartoons, and Anime also tends to build upon a plot throughout consecutive episodes whereas most American cartoons have separate plots in each episode. One of the biggest distinguishing features of Anime is the use of what is referred to as Life Anime. Life Anime is anime that is developed to more closely resemble real life events and portray life lessons and learnings, as opposed to leading the viewer along an adventure in a fantasy world. One example of this type of Anime is called "The Pet Girl of Sakurasou," which tells the story of a few high schoolers learning the lesson of talent vs. hard work. There is much more to say about Anime, but that would cover a broad variety of topics and would be more efficiently addressed in accordance to each topic. But the main point here, is that while Anime are in fact Japanese Cartoons, they are not cartoons in the the same sense that they are perceived in when referred to as such in America.