Some visual commonalities that identify a cartoon as an anime production are larger eyes, poor mouth-to-sound matching, “spiky” hair, and thinner frames.  In addition, anime “explores both adult issues as well as childish fantasies.” (Benesh-Liu, 2007).  Some great examples of the difference in Japanese anime and American-styled anime are Dragonball Z (a Japanese anime that was ported to America) and Avatar: The Last Airbender (an American cartoon created with extremely heavy Japanese anime influence).

With DBZ, all of the iconic visual trademarks are present and accounted for.  The large eyes, small or absent noses, and small mouths as well as the extreme emotion exhibited throughout the program, paired with the common Japanese culture sprinkled across the story and in between fight sequences cement DBZ as a Japanese anime blueprint.  In contrast, The Last Airbender borrows the visual influences while keeping the intellectual portion of the show (the story and character development) mostly western in concept and execution.