Anime and Manga are not styles.

I posted this up on my tumblr Repost if you agree.

Basically I'm tired of people blaming their shortcomings in art by blaming "anime". You know the type "If it wasn't for anime I'd be a master of drawing realistically!" Yeah right, take responsibility for your inexperience, and stop shoveling the blame onto something else. No one told you not to draw from life, and drawing from life and drawing cartoons are not mutually exclusive, you can do both.

I drew ninja turtles and mario bros. all the time when I was a kid, I don’t go around going “fuck TMNT and Mario Bros! If it weren’t for them I’d be a better artist!”

Secondly, anime isn't even a style. Is movies a style? is comics a style? is animation a style? No they are mediums. Within the medium you have formats styles and genres, none of which are going to hurt your drawing ability if you indulge while you do your studies.

Consider this, if a "style" can be based on the sum of an entire nation. Then Spiderman and Calvin n' Hobbes are the same style, is this really an effective way of organizing artwork so people can find what they like?