Few can deny the kind of mark anime has left on the medium of animation as a whole. Over the years, anime’s unique style, storytelling, and visuals have left an impact that has even shaped Western animation, resulting in certain projects trying to look and feel like actual anime. The same can be said for the reverse too.
Some anime attribute cartoons from the West as influences, while others happen to give off the same vibes. Regardless of whether it was inspiration or coincidence, there are still a good number of anime that feel like animated projects from the West.
10 Doraemon
The Doraemon franchise has definitely stood the test of time through multiple incarnations, making it iconic and easily recognizable among its young viewers. Given the episodic nature of Doraemon and Nobi’s adventures, where just about anything can happen, the series does feel like it could easily fit as a cartoon of the West.
Most of the anime features Nobi trying to solve his problems with one of Doraemon’s gadgets, which results in mishaps and a moral at the end, like The Fairly OddParents, and other times all that’s needed for this one is just one of the characters in a situation, like classic Disney or Warner Bros. shorts. In short, Doraemon does share more things in common with Western cartoons than it first appears.
9 Crayon Shin-chan
Crayon Shin-chan is about the daily antics of kindergartner Shinnosuke Nohara, who winds up causing mischief and all sorts of crazy trouble around town. Despite the young age of its protagonist and the “child’s doodle” aesthetic of the series, Shin-chan’s humor is aimed at an older audience, often seeing Shin in adult scenarios and making innuendos throughout the series.
With that all in mind, Shin-chan gives off the same feeling that an adult cartoon like South Park would give off, with a kid naively or purposefully engaging with mature themes, though in fairness has its more wholesome moments mixed in with all the below-the-belt comedy.
8 The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. sees the daily life of the world’s most powerful and reluctant psychic, Kusuo Saiki, whose quiet days are always interrupted by the many odd people he’s surrounded by. With that premise, Saiki K. sets itself up with a lot of hilarious and bizarre concepts for the many segments in its episodes, seeing Saki having to hide his abilities in strange ways or just being dragged into everyone else’s business.
The anime has a very “slice-of-life sitcom” tone, as well as having the setup of “the one sane/competent person in a room full of idiots” style of mean-spirited humor that often makes its way to more mature animated shows in the West.
7 Hetalia
The Hetalia series follows the personified iterations of world countries as they loosely reenact events from world history in wacky outlandish ways. While pretty simple on paper, this anime has been the subject of controversy at one point or another for its historical inaccuracies, glossing over certain events, and the use of stereotypes to depict the various countries.
While problematic in its own right, surprisingly enough though, these elements make it more in line with the kind of adult western cartoon that tries to make people laugh and offend everyone at the same time, much like Family Guy.
6 Mr. Osomatsu
Meet the Matsuno sextuplets, who may have the same face but have wildly different personalities, the one other thing the brothers share in common is how lazily unemployed they are. The Matsuno brothers wind up in all sorts of bizarre hijinks, whether it’s to finally get some money in their pockets or trying (and failing) to pick up girls.
Mr. Osomatsuhas a very distinct, retro style that may make it appear like it could be family-friendly, but the adventures of these sextuplets are anything but. While cartoonishly ridiculous in how this anime expresses itself, its premise and characters are reminiscent of the “everyone’s an unlikable jerk”-style of comedy that finds its way into Western media.
5 Space Dandy
Space is huge and neverending, and as such there are alien species in need of discovering and categorizing, that’s where Dandy comes in. On the hunt for new aliens, Dandy and his crew encounter all kinds of strangeness, like zombies, mad scientists, and time loops, anything to get that paycheck.
As creative as it is over-the-top and bizarre, Space Dandy has a hilarious crew of misfits and an episodic formula that resembles a Western cartoon. One episode can end with one or more of the main cast dying in one episode, only to be completely fine by the next, which lends itself to going as far and out there as the anime wants for comedy’s sake.
4 Astro Boy
As one of the earliest examples of anime, a lot of what inspired Astro Boy came from western cartoons, such as Dinsey and Fleischer cartoons, which led to this franchise’s iconic look, one that pioneered things that would become standard in anime. That influence shows as it’s endured along with the many adaptations of this series.
“Simple, but instantly recognizable” are the best ways to describe Astro and his world, and certain Western cartoons taking influence from Astro Boy as well, show how universal its themes and designs are overseas.
3 The Big O
Paradigm City is a town surrounded by secrets and mystery, but one also drought with danger. Debonair negotiator, Roger Smith tries to keep the city at peace, fighting crime with the help of his allies and a giant machine, “Big O.”
While The Big O may seem like a send-up to old-school mecha anime at first, it has things in common with Western animation too. Big O’s art style invokes a sort of retro comic book feeling, a clear inspiration as its setting and characters do come off like a “Batman-inspired anime.”
2 One Piece
One Piece has cemented its legacy over the years as one of the largest and most imaginative anime franchises out there. While it does have a fair share of anime clichés, a lot of One Piece’s unique identity can be attributed to Western animation.
From the uniqueness of every character’s design and wacky and cartoonish One Piece’s world can get, it’s fair to say that Western cartoons had a hand in inspiring it. That exaggerated wackiness has only gotten stronger with time, especially after the introduction of Luffy’s rubber hose-inspired, cartoon-physics-using super form, Gear 5.
1 Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
There’s a case to be made about how Western animation has shaped the famous Studio Trigger, as many of their projects have used elements seen in Western-style cartoons in look, tone, and often humor. The one that arguably embodies all of these things would be Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, an anime about the aforementioned angel sisters having to earn their way back into Heaven by hunting down evil spirits. Over-the-top action and comedic shenanigans ensue.
Inspired by adult animated comedies, such as Drawn Together, Panty & Stocking goes above and beyond with the bizarreness of its premise and the raunchiness of its humor. All these things paved the way for the anime’s reputation and status as uniquely memorable.