Well, if the OPs definition of cartoony is limited to cell shading then I choose realistic.

I like... false dichotomies. They're the life of the forum.

Depends on the game and both. One gets too boring after a while so I like to switch it up.

How about a third choice: stylized. Something such as Borderlands is a mix of realism and cartoony. I like all depending on the context.

As long as it looks good and plays well, I don't think it matters what graphical style they use.

I think more people are criticizing boring graphics. With realistic graohics it is usually harder to make environments less boring.

To answer the OP: it depends - on the game, on the execution of the artstyle and so on.

Also it is not always easy to decide which is what. Monster Hunter is for me a realistic artstyle, but some may argue that it is cartoony. Same with Xenoblade, I think it is realistic artstyle, but it already tends strongly into the cartoony direction.

A thing to note though:

1. It is a bit harder to create a realistic look, that stands the test of time. Or to put it differently: a game that looks great totday can look awful in 10 years, and that happens more often with realistic artstyle. As I'm an older gamer and have fun replaying games I played back then this is an important point. Quake doesn't aged well, Monkey Island on the other hand looks great even today.

2. Violent and dark games don't necessarily need to have a realistic artstyle. In my opinion works borderlands very well art-wise. On the other hand kid-friendly and light games can sport a realistic artstyle.

Important is always, that the artstyle is matching with the feeling the game should transport and it looks interesting and good (very subjective I know, but visuals usually are).

Where's the love 'em both option? Poll fail here. I think both are brilliant when used for the right games. May favourite games cover both styles.

I don't prefer one over the other, it depends entirely on the type of game and the atmosphere the devs are trying to convey.

Both are good.

Depends on the game.