Why are all anime characters white?

[go-10]

because japs are lazy and its easier/cheaper to standardize everything

 

[wolf92]

Afro Samurai, Killer Bee from Naruto, Brock from Pokemon, Killik from Soul Eater and Chad from Bleach.

There was also a dude in 666 Satan,but I can't remember his name. And in fact, the majority of people in the land of cloud from naruto seemed to be black

 

[sergnb]

clearly you dont watch enough damn anime, see afro samurai for more details

He is not refering to black/white, but to asian/caucasian.

People, this is not a "BUT THIS CHARACTER IS BLACK" thread. This thread is about discussing why characters in anime look anything but japanese.

Yes, saying ALL of them is false, just ignore that and focus on the topic please

 

[tahrey]

- When Westerners or other foreigners are portrayed in manga/anime, they often look quite markedly different. The most extreme example of this would be the generalised "gaijin" or foreigner stereotype with tanned skin, light hair and coloured eyes (i.e., different in every way to the Asian characters).

- And finally, some manga/anime is actually drawn in a more realistic illustration style, such as Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, and features characters who all have jet black hair and Eastern features.

Bizarrely you just covered two things there that I was going to use as a COUNTER argument... (against the OP, not yourself - though my points are maybe tangential to yours)

EG The little kid in Love Hina (I forget her name) - supposedly american but with a touch of african in her. Easily the darkest skinned (whether it's natural, or a tan, who knows - but she seems to keep the same tone through winter so let's assume she's half-cast) with strange bleach-blonde hair... presumably that's for keeping enough contrast in her character design that she doesn't end up blending into certain backgrounds. She's supposed to be the obvious gaijin, but given that she seems to have caught up on japanese culture and language pretty quick (and almost always wears a sailor fuku) perhaps any obviousness to a native viewer, besides the skin tone, is in her accent or something?

Or Ed in Cowboy Bebop, if you count ginger hair as being roughly equivalent to blonde... though she's just one member of a quite diverse series cast and far from the darkest (plus, her exact origin is a complete mystery - we must assume the Gaijin thing because she's just so plain weird, that its the trope niche she occupies). Even Jet, Spike and Valentine strike me - as a brit by upbringing and heritage - as being asian, but of different backgrounds within that continent, and they're joined by plenty others of every race.

Oh, and ... Joker for crying out loud? (Who suffers one or two in-dialogue racist jibes, and doesn't respond ever so happily to them... but all in all is simply a character in his own right who happens to be a surprisingly fat black guy)
Or the two or three other token foreigners in Akira, who are quite easy to spot vs the general cast of actual tokyo-region modern japanese?

Anime/manga has had quite a lot of whitewashing down the years, for the obvious technical and cultural reasons, but it's untrue and unfair to say that all characters are white. It doesn't even take into account the actual ethnic variations within Japan itself that are often represented - some are paler with dark hair, but you do get some non-gaijin ones with darker skin and lighter hair (brown, or indeed blonde), showing they're of a different region and heritage than the typical tokyo box-room resident. I forget the actual term used for them, but there is one. If I get bored (ha!) I may google it

Even Studio Ghibli - with a long, somewhat questionable tradition of having entirely aryan character lists - has used that last one from time to time. Ashitaka's part of that ethnicity for a start, and it's possible San is at least partly so, inamongst the more dominant, warring fair skin/dark hair tribes.

- Manga is traditionally drawn in black ink first and coloured later, or not at all. To help differentiate between the characters, and to add "emotion", the artists responsible for colouring would often make quite bold choices for hair colours. Trying to depict characters as being racially diverse was never the intention.

So as a lot of production of both still comics and moving cartoons shifts into the digital realm - at the very least for the previously very expensive postproduction (IE inking, painting, tweening) if not entirely (IE including the original sketches) - does that mean we'll see less "whitewashing"? It completely obliterates the main thrust of that argument. Doing white-on-black, or using various shades of zipatone is as easy as plain black-on-white (and certainly simpler/cleaner than, say, drawing in white on black paper, making a xeroxed negative, or hand-shading/toning your characters, which one assumes Otomo only bothered with because he/his helpers were already drawing so many hugely detailed backgrounds, why not have a B-lister with dark skin too?), and indeed if you're producing the final copy in colour, just as easy or difficult as making everyone's outlines, fills and shading any colour you like. The great many artists making full colour webcomics in their spare time, including manga ones, don't seem to regard it as a problem.

 

[FredTheUndead]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Mukokuseki

 

[sergnb]

watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKTvFhRbBt8

don't know how to imbed a video, sorry

Good ninja.
I'll embed it one more time, just so the people reading this thread will be further bombarded with it. Because, honestly, I hate the question OP is asking. Mostly because of the academic paper the video mentions.

Welp, that explains it all.

Anime characters look japanese.

End of the discussion

 

[Flailing Escapist]

Simply because all Japanese people secretly (or not so secretly if you watch a lot of anime) want to be white; or more specifically American; or more specifically specifically a United States Citizen. Why, you ask? Somehow those damn Japana people hacked into our cartoon network line up in some point in time. And they were like, "This is shit! We must perfect our own version of "cartoons" to present to them and show them what fools they are. Then we will have all the honor and they will have none!" By now they have perfected the "Anime" (well, they don't know how to stop a series before it hits 500 episodes but they're working on it) and all they have to do is merge themselves with the master race* (*U.S.A. Citizens, of course) and their plan will be complete. That tsunami from last year set their plans back a few decades but believe you me those "Japanese people" are plotting our demise as we type.

I theorize that after they shame us Americans all into suicide (because we all know thats whats going to happen after they destroy us with their beautiful anime) all Japanese people will widen their eyes and whiten their skin enough to look just like their Anime characters. Its just a theory at this point but I'm currently working on finding making up evidence to back this up.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

This reminds me of Code Geass. Kallen Stadfeld/Kouzuki is half Japanese and half Britannian. The Japanese think she's Japanese, and the Britannians think she's Britannian.

Yeah. Code Geass just blew your mind. Again.

 

[kittii-chan 300]

I think, and do not quote me on this because I think I heard this in like grade 2, that Japanese culture views pales complexions as more beautiful than dark and thus lighter skinned characters in anime because they can make them that way.

I am no doubt wrong though.

although you are completely right... XD

and it's the art style. In manga and anime they use the large eyes because it is easier to show emotions through them. English and american characters are probably more likely to have 'normal' sized eyes. And there are quite alot of NOT white characters anyway. they are the minority of characters because THAT'S WHAT IT IS LIKE IN JAPAN (and most white countries too)

 

[hermes]

Its a matter of generalization. They are not meant to be caucasians, but more generic than that.
In general, when in anime they want to bring attention to someone's race, they draw it to bring attention to it. Like:

Spoiler

 

[tahrey]

Just as an aside to what I wrote about Cowboy Bebop above:

What with the ongoing (I think?) controversy over Akira being remade as live action with a largely american cast, set in america (yes, one of the most clearly ethnic manga/animes having the core of it's identity stripped out...)... THIS better had never have been a serious proposition, much less released (straight to video?).

http://www.jimtay.com/blog/_archives/2004/4/17/35573.html

My eyes, goggles, nothing, etc.

 

[emeraldrafael]

theyre... not?

Japanese people dont generally have too much of a different skin tone from whites, and its more physical differences in the bodily features that set them apart. So yeah, unless they tell you they're from Japan, or from the US, or from the UK/Europe, or any of the equivalents, they're they're not really meant to look white.

 

[Puddleknock]

Until I saw read thread the thought of anime character looking white never crossed my mind. I put the various features of anime characters such as the rainbow assortment of hair, the huge eyes and the usually pale skin as part of the art style that was partly inspired by American cartoons of the 1920s and 30s.

The video that was linked was very good, an informative 6 minutes of my life. Made me wonder if the fact i've never really thought of anime characters as white is due to the fact I'm half white, half south east asian. Something for me to think about at least.

For now I think I'll continue to see anime characters as Japanese unless the narrative would imply otherwise.

 

[tahrey]

People, this is not a "BUT THIS CHARACTER IS BLACK" thread. This thread is about discussing why characters in anime look anything but japanese.

Yes, saying ALL of them is false, just ignore that and focus on the topic please

The point remains, it's simply not the case that there are NO asian-looking anime characters, and ALL of them look like white americans. I think by pointing out the considerable number of cases where there are identifiably asian... indian... african... etc characters kills the argument stone dead.

Yep, there are reasons why a caucasian-type characterisation has been favoured down the years, but it's a bit like asking why ALL americans are fat and drive SUVs.

A LOT of americans are fat (the stat is better than 50% overweight, and a surprising number obese, isn't it?), and large four-wheel-drive almost-trucks are popular everyday conveyances, and there are reasons for both which can be discussed at length. But holding the viewpoint that such features are universal is completely mistaken, the same as OP's is.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Yes, it's the art style.

Asian people are usually recognized by their eyes being being "leaner", resulting from their eyelids being kind of lower. However, the Japanese culture considers small eyes (particularly on anime) to look "mean" or "rude". The artstyle reflects on that: you'll notice that most often young and/or the main characters (the good guys) have large eyes, whereas usually the antagonists and/or people with dismissive/mean/cool personality have leaner eyes.

Also, saying all anime character are "all" white, simply isn't true. I don't watch anime or read manga myself, and I know this.

That is actually a device that Osamu Tezuka stole from Disney when he made Astro Boy in the 50s. Japanese animators liked the results and adapted it into their work, leading to the creation of anime eyes.

They might seem difference, but compare these two images.

Spoiler

Compare the faces, and see how many things Astro Boy (1952) has taken from Pinocchio (1940).
-Large, innocent eyes
-Button nose
-Small mouth
-Similar Ear Structure
-Same facial structure
-Body Shape

I know this doesn't answer the question of white people, but I thought you should know that many of the tropes related to anime have their roots in disney, particularly the eyes.

 

[The Funslinger]

What about Brock?

Yeah, him and his weird closed eyes!

OT: As stated, they're not.

As for why they aren't primarily Asian, when in a Japanese product (even when set in Japan) it's because anime and manga tend to be made to appeal to Westerners/the fairly Western friendly attitude that currently occupies Japan. It's a bit of a trope, but only the old and wise masters tend to look Asian.

 

[Wuggy]

Yes, it's the art style.

Asian people are usually recognized by their eyes being being "leaner", resulting from their eyelids being kind of lower. However, the Japanese culture considers small eyes (particularly on anime) to look "mean" or "rude". The artstyle reflects on that: you'll notice that most often young and/or the main characters (the good guys) have large eyes, whereas usually the antagonists and/or people with dismissive/mean/cool personality have leaner eyes.

Also, saying all anime character are "all" white, simply isn't true. I don't watch anime or read manga myself, and I know this.

That is actually a device that Osamu Tezuka stole from Disney when he made Astro Boy in the 50s. Japanese animators liked the results and adapted it into their work, leading to the creation of anime eyes.

They might seem difference, but compare these two images.

Spoiler

Compare the faces, and see how many things Astro Boy (1952) has taken from Pinocchio (1940).
-Large, innocent eyes
-Button nose
-Small mouth
-Similar Ear Structure
-Same facial structure
-Body Shape

I know this doesn't answer the question of white people, but I thought you should know that many of the tropes related to anime have their roots in disney, particularly the eyes.

Now that's very interesting. I hadn't heard of the relations to Disney before. Then again, I haven't really studied the subject at all. Thanks for sharing!

 

[shadyh8er]

It could be because black people are rare in Japan. Seriously, most Japanese people don't even know what a black person looks like. I actually joke and say that the easiest way for any black person to get laid is to go to Japan and wait five minutes. They're seen as exotic over there.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Because japan idolizes western culture, so the whiter the better.

and the eyes, large eyes make the emotion easier to draw or something like that, but they also make you look very not asian.

This.

Pretty much kinda summed up what I was thinkin in a nutshell beyond all the "oh thats how we see it"

Last I checked most Asians are not natural blondes (nor porn stars...for that matter) They have dark hair...ala Black most of the time...

I must ask why Japan sees the western world as an idol....

 

[Toriver]

Last I checked most Asians are not natural blondes (nor porn stars...for that matter) They have dark hair...ala Black most of the time...

I must ask why Japan sees the western world as an idol....

Did you bother to read any of the thread past the OP, or watch the video that's been reposted every three posts or so? It explains it all.

And the West is totally NOT idolized in Japan. Korea gets more attention in Japan than the West, and they've had a very long love-hate relationship with Korea. And China is really beginning to rise in reputation here compared to the West, even with all their historical clashes. I saw a political discussion show on TV here last year asking nine political talking heads basically, if the US and China ever were to get into serious conflict to be the world power, which side Japan should take. It was split right down the middle. Three said the US, three said China, and three said they couldn't decide. Japan has basically been caught like that since the end of WWII: culturally and regionally more heavily tied to Asia, and politically and economically more heavily tied to the West. I would honestly bet that if Japan didn't have to trade so much with the West to keep its economy strong, the West would have a lot less influence here, especially with all the economic shocks they've had to deal with since the early 1990s, and with the whole not wanting US bases on so much of their land... thing. Sure, they like the tourism and they do prop up some idealized views of various Western countries in the media, but they don't really care enough in the vast majority of cases to see past stereotypes, and in my experience, they tend to seriously be more scared of foreign things they don't understand than fascinated by them.

Sound familiar? It should. That's basically the same thing the OP is doing in this thread... and the same thing you've done here: letting a stereotype dictate your view of a country.