Everquest's graphics were good for its time, and they did a decent job updating them as they went along, but I would not call them "real." Real jerky, maybe.

For me, as long as the look is consistent and the animations are well designed, I have no problem with it. EQ's animations weren't all that great but like many players I played it in first-person mode and it didn't seem so bad. Plus, this was years ago and true 3D in an online game was a rarity and the feeling was that they did a good job with what they had. WoW's animations are much smoother and the overall design is consistent. The more realistic you get, the harder it is to make the animation convincing, because real life is a lot more complex than the cartoony look of WoW. Invariably, you get characters that move stiffly or awkwardly, and it ruins the immersion.

One day they'll have it right, but for now I think WoW's approach works better.