So in the latter case, it's like trying to be a toon stepped into the real world, while in the former it's trying to figure out what it'd actually look like if it were real and not a toon.

There's an odd parallel here to the way anthropomorphic animals are depicted in anime as opposed to the way they're done here in the States. Catgirls, for example, are usually shown as humans with cat ears, tails, and occasionally whiskers, but Merle from Escaflowne is the only one I've ever seen that actually has fur. Now, take Tom (of Tom & Jerry) or Sylvester or (even older) Felix the Cat. These are all cats that happen to act like people, not people that look kind of like cats. I could go on and on with examples, but I'm sure you get the point.