About
“Chinese Cartoons” is a term used both ironically and unironically to refer to anime, as a parody of the people who is unfamiliar with it and refer to it as western cartoons. Online, the term is also used as a way to poke fun at anime fans and japanophiles.
Origin
The expression “chinese cartoons” has been widely used by those who are unfamiliar with the anime subculture and the japanese culture in general, mistaking the japanese culture for chinese.[2] The first registered instance of its use to refer unironically to anime was a thread on 4chan’s anime and manga board /a/ posted on February 28th, 2008, featuring an ironic post about anime elitism and “intellectual animation”.[4]
Spread
The term started being used as synonim of anime and as a way to troll anime fans and japanophiles on 4chan,[3] extending to other communities like Tumblr.[5] On May 10th, 2012, user icantfeelmyarms submitted an entry for “chinese cartoon”, defining it as “what normal people call anime.”[7] On July 30th, 2013, a subreddit named Chinese Cartoons was created, although it only has 18 suscribers.[6] On November 29th, 2013, user Lanik submitted a thread on MyAnimeList forums asking why people calls anime “chinese cartoons”, getting as replies that is a joke.[1]
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]MyAnimeList – Why do people call anime Chinese cartoons?
[2]TVTroopes – Interchangeable Asian Cultures
[3]Archive.moe – Search for chinese cartoons
[4]Archive.moe – Did you know there are people who use such terms as Shakespeare, literature, and deep when talking about Chinese cartoons and tentacle porns?
[5]Tumblr – Search for chinese cartoons
[6]Reddit – /r/chinesecartoons
[7]Urban Dictionary – Chinese Cartoon