Japanese Characters Are Not Trying to Look Western

[Del-Toro]

I was under the impression that anime characters were designed the way they were to better display emotion and to distinguish character archtypes and personalities. Wide, round eyes typically are indicative of youth, benevolence and/ or innocence and naivite, as seen with the "moe" archtype, while narrower eyes belong to adults and/or the evil and corrupt. There's more to it than that but that's the basic idea.

 

[Ziggy the wolf]

so im not the only one who noticed this. if you play alot of Japanese games and watch most anime, they all look like westerners mainly americans. it bothers me a little why it looks us and not them. there are a few but the one that bothered me the most are love hina/S-cry-ed and all animes set in japan

 

[Waif]

If anyone truly believes that the Japanese are trying to look western. I think it's fair to say that such people are being very racially insensitive. Races are not so black and white, and I had thought this to be common sense, but it seems that this isn't the case. I can't express my negative thoughts on this new subject matter for The Escapist, adequately. I know that such issues might be better off being addressed, but I can't help but feel the subject of race and religion in video games, to be too odious to want to bring up. Hmm, well, it's one of those things I guess. Thanks for the article ^~^.

 

[Dhatz]

brings another + for kane and lynch 2. it's not in america, it's Shanghai.

 

[UberNoodle]

I agree that the look of comic characters is much less to do with emulation of white people. From my experience here in Japan, I would say that the a lot of this apparent "urge" to be white is mostly imagined, through our own Western arrogance. I mean, who wouldn't want to be like us?

Japanese comic characters have large eyes so as to covey character and emotion. They get larger for this pupose. Shrewd and guarded characters lack these large eyes. The eyes of difference races is a coincidental factor, for the most part. Besides, most of these characters' eyes aren't even close to natural colouration. What's Western about blue eyes?

The colourful hair is to show individuality and spirit. Rebellion. Inner strength. Yellow is a colour too, you know. If the West wasn't itself so hung up on blondes, perhaps it too could understand that. There are far more pink and green haired characters around, and last I checked, pink and green were NOT natural colours for white people.

And, it is arguable that a lot of the ipetus for comics in Japan came from artists inspired by Western artists, such as disney, in which the eyes are large and expressive. Either way, the eyes are the "window to the soul". The large swimming and bright eyes of many characters is about expressing that gateway.

It is self importance that leads Westerners to assume that there is some kind of rampant emulation going on. If any, it is indirect, and the ideals being strived for are those which the white people are just lucky enough to already have.

[EDIT] Also, when people strive to "understand" another culture, they often do so by enforcing their own culture's views. This is self defeating. Is it not possible that with the Japanese genepool creating such similar features for all (dark, straight or straightish hair; and so on), that one of the biggest drives for many Japanese today is to DIFFERENTIATE from this. What can they do, except colour and shape their hair and eyes? They could of course become MORE extreme in their natural "look", but that would symbolise further dedication to it. No. It is better to be alien to it. To have not the "blackest and straighest of hair" but the opposite of that, as much as possible. Again, it is the arrogance of the West to assume that other cultures spend all day trying to be like tham.

 

[UberNoodle]

so im not the only one who noticed this. if you play alot of Japanese games and watch most anime, they all look like westerners mainly americans. it bothers me a little why it looks us and not them. there are a few but the one that bothered me the most are love hina/S-cry-ed and all animes set in japan

If anyone truly believes that the Japanese are trying to look western. I think it's fair to say that such people are being very racially insensitive. Races are not so black and white, and I had thought this to be common sense, but it seems that this isn't the case. I can't express my negative thoughts on this new subject matter for The Escapist, adequately. I know that such issues might be better off being addressed, but I can't help but feel the subject of race and religion in video games, to be too odious to want to bring up. Hmm, well, it's one of those things I guess. Thanks for the article ^~^.

The irony somewhat, is that you are basing this entirely on the difference between the characters' looks and your own template for Japanese people should look like. You then compare this to what you believe that white people should look like. You don't allow for any other explanations because you see that emulation is the only reason.

If Japanese comic and animation characters are emulating the Western, white aesthetic, then why are the majority of them in possession of brightly coloured hair and eyes? I certainly don't see such colouration as the natural hallmark of Western geneology. Do you?

The fact is, these characters don't look like any race. They are designed to symbolically convey various attributes and are therefore fantastical in their colours and shapes. In many cases, characters even lose their facial features, becoming just eyes, or a mouth; in order to more succinctly convey emotions.

Pale skin is hardly a correlation either, since the practice can be easily tied to Geisha practices and even further back to White as a colour for purity. Large eyes, I have already explained above, are large to convey feelings. Large eyes are desirable in all cultures, not because they are "WEstern" but because the eyes are the "window to the soul". Coloured hair denotes a character's personality, drive and individual qualities.

Faced with this, how can you be so adamant that these characters are "trying to be Western" when they are so often not at all Western.

 

[UberNoodle]

On the subject of skin shades, are we sure even "white" characters are an aspect of westernisation? I'm pretty sure I've seen a fair few older Japanese works of art where the people depicted are quite pale. So for all we know this could be a long running cultural aesthetic. There must be more research, that you haven't mentioned, on this sort of art history...

Gift.

Exactly. When I see people saying that white skin is "Western", it says more about those people's own narrow vision. I live in Japan and I have come to appreciate how diverse the Japanese can be in their appearance, WITHOUT agumentation. There are pale people and their are very dark people. It's funny that the Western view appears to be that, Westerners are allowed diversity at no charge, but Japanese must look and act a certain way, or be accused of being Whitey Fanboys.

There is indeed a long running aesthetic for pale skin. It isn't that hard to find with Google.

"GEISHA"
"White as a symbol of 'purity'" (in probably ALL cultures)

 

[UberNoodle]

I cry pardon if I'm off base with this comment, but did anyone else find the irony of the picture associated with this article distracting? The faceless woman is wearing an outfit which, unless I'm mistaken, is pretty much an icon of Chinese fashion. This seems in questionable taste for an article about the New Face of Japanese Games that takes games to task for not being precise about the appearance of their characters.

*shrug* Maybe it's just me.

Maybe there is some detail you caught that makes this a Chinese outfit rather than a Japanese one, but it looks like a kimono to me...

Google Images for "Traditional Japanese Kimono"

I cry pardon if I'm off base with this comment, but did anyone else find the irony of the picture associated with this article distracting? The faceless woman is wearing an outfit which, unless I'm mistaken, is pretty much an icon of Chinese fashion. This seems in questionable taste for an article about the New Face of Japanese Games that takes games to task for not being precise about the appearance of their characters.

*shrug* Maybe it's just me.

Maybe there is some detail you caught that makes this a Chinese outfit rather than a Japanese one, but it looks like a kimono to me...

Google Images for "Traditional Japanese Kimono"

I may have been ninja'd, but it is obviously a Chinese dress, the neck is too high for a kimono.
http://www.google.com/images?q=chinese%20dress&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1680&bih=841

No, it's not Japanese traditional wear. It looks closer to Chinese, though I wouldn't be able to say for sure, EXCEPT that it's not Japanese.

But perhaps that "mistake" isn't so huge if we take the intent of the article to show Japan's outward looking cultural metamorphosis. However, we could just put it down to the author not knowing how to use Google well enough.

 

[UberNoodle]

Such things are not a new phenomena, Indian cinema been doing something similar with it's lead actors for years. They're certainly a lot lighter in skin tone than most of the normal populace there - which also seems to buy skin whitening cream in droves.

(Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/100727/indian-culture-skin-lightening-shahid-kapur )

But it seems that not even we in the Britain are not safe from such things - in Britain there's a lot of folk out there using sun-beds to appear darker. (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2009/aug/01/sunbeds-cancer-warning )

Actually, these two things are related. In many societies, European and Asian, a paler complexion was held up as a mark of health and beauty, basically because it was a sign of class. If you were pale, that meant you didn't have to work outdoors so you were probably wealthy and powerful.

In the West, sometime in the 20th century as the concept of holidays and vacation became more prevalent, an all-over tan started to represent the same thing. If you're tanned all over, it probably means you have the free time and money to lay on a beach in a swimsuit for hours at a time. Being pale means you don't have the time to do this, so you're probably either poor, or working all the time at low-paying jobs. But there's still negative sentiment towards a "farmer's tan", because it's a sign that you do outdoor physical labour. These sentiments exist even though some white people, notably most redheads, can't even get a tan.

I'm not entirely sure why most Asian cultures still hold pale complexions in high regard. They might not see a beach vacation as a worthy leisure activity, but the number of beach episodes in most anime series makes me question that.

You rock sir (or madam). It is great to see that people are still willing to look deeper than what is apparent on the surface. Your opinion shows quite readily that the "Whitey fanboy" explanation for how many anime and comic characters look in Japan, is certainly a weak one, and quite simplistic in scope. It seems people are so obsessed by race that they can't see much else, even when it is incredibly logical.

 

[Ipswich67]

Come now, your all making a big deal over nothing, inserting a problem where none exists. In what way is the simple business strategy of catering to your customers a bad thing? If the Japanese people don't like games that reference their own culture, is that anyone's fault but their own? I believe that one should always take pride in their homeland and heritage, which I assumed the Japanese did more than most. I do enjoy a fair share of anime and JPRG's (the SMT and persona games mostly) and I don't mind at all that they're sunk up to their chin's in Japanese culture. I expect my Japanese games to be Japanese and my Western games to be Western. I will admit that if more Japanese games get to be more Western, it will feel like a bit of a letdown (see previous sentence), but if that truly is where they're headed I will reassess and change my viewpoints accordingly and try to judge the games on their own merits.

That said, there's not a damn thing wrong with neutral, fantasy settings.

 

[Waif]

so im not the only one who noticed this. if you play alot of Japanese games and watch most anime, they all look like westerners mainly americans. it bothers me a little why it looks us and not them. there are a few but the one that bothered me the most are love hina/S-cry-ed and all animes set in japan

If anyone truly believes that the Japanese are trying to look western. I think it's fair to say that such people are being very racially insensitive. Races are not so black and white, and I had thought this to be common sense, but it seems that this isn't the case. I can't express my negative thoughts on this new subject matter for The Escapist, adequately. I know that such issues might be better off being addressed, but I can't help but feel the subject of race and religion in video games, to be too odious to want to bring up. Hmm, well, it's one of those things I guess. Thanks for the article ^~^.

The irony somewhat, is that you are basing this entirely on the difference between the characters' looks and your own template for Japanese people should look like. You then compare this to what you believe that white people should look like. You don't allow for any other explanations because you see that emulation is the only reason.

If Japanese comic and animation characters are emulating the Western, white aesthetic, then why are the majority of them in possession of brightly coloured hair and eyes? I certainly don't see such colouration as the natural hallmark of Western geneology. Do you?

The fact is, these characters don't look like any race. They are designed to symbolically convey various attributes and are therefore fantastical in their colours and shapes. In many cases, characters even lose their facial features, becoming just eyes, or a mouth; in order to more succinctly convey emotions.

Pale skin is hardly a correlation either, since the practice can be easily tied to Geisha practices and even further back to White as a colour for purity. Large eyes, I have already explained above, are large to convey feelings. Large eyes are desirable in all cultures, not because they are "WEstern" but because the eyes are the "window to the soul". Coloured hair denotes a character's personality, drive and individual qualities.

Faced with this, how can you be so adamant that these characters are "trying to be Western" when they are so often not at all Western.

Not sure why I was quoted in this. You had stated in detail what I had said in a simple manner. Am I missing the point maybe?"

 

[UberNoodle]

Am I missing the point maybe?

Nope, I just clicked the wrong quote button. Apologies.

 

[K1dDread]

Why is it that when someone referes to ''western'' culture the only thing that comes to people's mind is white people? Isn't America home to all colors and creeds? This whole article along with most of these viewpoints is nothing but pure fallacy. And although race isn't something i like to make into a huge issue, I believe this has more to do with us in america than over in japan. I'll elaborate for those who don't understand.

Through my experience in this country and my observation of pop culture, i believe that white America (and most of my focus goes to the one's high up on the latter who make up an ''image'' and produce racial expectations through media manipulation) has a superiority complex, deeply rooted in their past. They have to be the top dog in everything. In movies, books, cartoons, video games etc. The white guy more often than not, has to be the hero and the focus of the said media. White's can be anything in the universe and nothing is limited in their universe. They can get cast into any role, including one's that aren't even fit for them exthe last samurai, the Mexican, The Mummy and so forth) Tell me any other culture or ''race'' in america that is allowed roles to extend beyond a preconceived factuality or a stereotype? Even if you want to reduce it to mere fantasy roles, you will never see a black guy, or a mexican or an arab or asian for that matter, cast in as many varations beyond their stereotype or what's expected of them in the real world! You seldom see anyone other than a white guy as the lead role in any form of media and if you do, they are very limited in what they can be.

And then people will argue marketability as an excuse..no one will want to play a video game like final fantasy with a black as the main protagonist (or a black female for that matter) or watch a movie like the Matrix where an Arab man is Neo. Hell, i'll go on a longshot and even mention the undertoned messages in Avatar (I loved the movie btw) as a good example. The white guy gets cast as the lead role as the savior to a race of indigenous people that took him in and taugh him everything. All of the minorities were cast as support characters and were very limited in the film, would the film have been any less imaginative or great if the lead character was native american? or black? My point is that while it may not be japanese people changing their culture to suit white america out of shame or anything like that nonesense, They still won't get much play or business here unless that guy on top of the latter says it's suitable for white american audiences.

I think it's these guys who are responible for stripping young non white people in this country of a lot of imagination and perception of what is possible for us to achieve in art. We are highly and noticably excluded from this culture and the American experience is not ours to share. and that extends to anyone outside of america who wants to share their cultur's experiences with ours without filtering. On the topic of the article, i don't believe that the japanese artist go out of their way to make their characters white, i believe it appears that way because they're either an anime/game made to suit an audience here, or white folk just think the universe revolves around them and they see themselves in everything, or anything they don't belong to..

 

[Waif]

Am I missing the point maybe?

Nope, I just clicked the wrong quote button. Apologies.

Oh well, that's okay then ^~^''. Nice talking to you >~<!

 

[Nifarious]

you don't really 'play' kendo, even if that's the verb all the ichinensei use in eikaiwa...

 

[Scrythe]

Maybe the issue is not quite so clear cut. Just because these characters don't look particularly Japanese does not necessarily mean they are intended to be Western. Cartoons the world over tend to simplify certain features for stylistic effect. The large eyes of manga, while at odds with the narrower eyes of the Japanese, are often used to denote youth or innocence ... The crazy hair colors have origins in the old black and white manga ... Wide eyes and bright colors are used in comics all over the world, so it is possible that our perception imposes race confusion where none exists.

Very plausible statement. It would seem that an outsider's view of "Hey you have slanty eyes, but your cartoons don't. Ashamed of something?" could be a bit biased. Perhaps they really aren't trying to "whitewash" their culture...

At least, until you take into account that "eye widening" plastic surgery [http://www.du9.org/IMG/plis.jpg] is getting increasingly common, even with celebrities like Jackie Chan [http://www.cracked.com/article_17501_5-celebrity-careers-launched-by-ethnic-makeovers.html].

Now I'm not saying that Eastern cultures are "whitewashing", but it's kinda starting to look that way [http://www.cracked.com/article_18567_6-japanese-subcultures-that-are-insane-even-japan_p2.html] on the surface.

To put this in perspective: I once befriended someone who was literally "fresh of the plane" foreign, and he asked me where I kept my gun. After initial confusion, he explained to me that almost all he knew about American culture was from our action films, so he thought that most of us alway carried firearms.

Not all of us are batshit-insane Japanophiles who know enough about the country to be bold enough to start flinging around mispronounced Japanese words out of context, so it may come as a shock to some that not everyone is engaged in it's culture to not assume that this is the case, but if I were to show, say, my father a bunch of "them Japanese cartoons", he'd be quite justified in thinking that having pasty, wide-eyed cartoon characters about 99.999999% of them to be the result of some kind of Westernization, don't you think?

 

[lcyw20]

I've just got a bone to pick with the editor. If this article is talking about Japanese anime and media, why is the cover picture you are using of somebody wearing a Chinese-style dress? If you can't tell the difference, ask. I find this a bit annoying.

 

[romxxii]

I think someone on Kotaku or io9 posted something like this already.

Big eyes in anime is simply a cartoon visual style that helps characters portray emotion effectively. Hair color is used to assign defining characteristics without having to create distinctive facial features. So anime is just going for the generic cartoon look.

I do understand why Caucasians think the big eyes and hair color are supposed to portray whiteness; that's how you identify people, through eye and hair color. Asians, on the other hand, having uniform hair and eye color, gloss over those characteristics and instead look at other facial features, like jaw structure, cheekbones, and nose. Based on those criteria, a generic anime character looks very Asian to me, specifically someone of Southern Chinese descent.

Hell, in the Philippines it's common to compliment a Chinese girl for looking very anime. No Asian would identify a generic anime character as Caucasian unless expressly defined by their background or by giving them ridiculously angular features, which is how we view all whiteys.

As for the second point of the article, re: the Americanization of Capcom's marketing, well isn't it a two-way street? Japan's attempts at absorbing Western culture are no different from Western countries absorbing a little bit of Asia. Look at America these days: each major city has a Chinatown, it's standard for Western TV show characters to order Chinese takeout, majority of the IT guys in California are all Indian, and a disturbing amount of white people dress up as Japanese schoolgirls.

In such a globalized world, cultural osmosis is to be expected. At least the Japanese do it a lot better; when Westerners try to create Asian characters, they either make caricatures with terrible pseudo-Japanese names, like in Clive Cussler's Dragon, or apply Asian naming conventions to English names, giving us such gems as Most Excellent Superbat [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_Excellent_Superbat]. Ugh.

For the record, when Northeast Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) anglicize their names for the benefit of you tall, hairy whites, they do not do literal translations, but adopt English given names. Y'know, like Jackie Chan, whose Chinese name Cheng Long literally means "Become the Dragon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee]." You don't see international movie posters for Rush Hour starring "Becoming Dragon!"

 

[rddj623]

Very interesting stuff. "It should be enough that we can project our own image on to these worlds, without requiring videogames and all other form of art made-to-order for our cultural and ethnic sensibilities." this should be our mantra as gamers! Immersion through a molding of character and self projection.