Viewpoints: Why Anime Characters Look Anything But Japanese

[Digimon_Sommelier]

Q: Why do anime characters, most of them, look anything but Japanese? Is it, for an anime illustrator, to avoid creating a stereotypical image of actual Japanese men and women? What's your opinion on the look of the aforementioned characters in anime, not counting their attire?

Addendum: I'm not speaking for the majority of anime characters, but I'm just curious.

[PictureGuy]

For that matter, how many non-Japanese have over-sized perfectly round eyes, and natural (not-dyed) green hair?

I think it's just part of an alternate reality. As the late, great special effects master Ray Harryhausen said, paraphrasing, making it too real destroys the illusion of fantasy. The artists are not making it too real so they can keep the fantasy.

That's my theory.

[Clayton_n]

Q: Why do anime characters, most of them, look anything but Japanese? Is it, for an anime illustrator, to avoid creating a stereotypical image of actual Japanese men and women? What's your opinion on the look of the aforementioned characters in anime, not counting their attire?

Addendum: I'm not speaking for the majority of anime characters, but I'm just curious.

Ahem












Pasty white folks with big eyes are easier to draw.

[PictureGuy]

^ Exceptions to the rule. Genre rules are not always followed exactly. But big eyes are generally an identifying trait of anime.

[Clayton_n]

Largely the style is based on Disney

[PictureGuy]

Speaking of Disney influence, have you seen this? I posted it once before.



There's some Warner Brothers' Merrie Melodies influence there as well. And is that a cameo by Felix the Cat?

[Clayton_n]

Also there's the fact that the way anime we like is drawn, jessica Rabbit... is about average.





Whereas when they're drawn realistically...



Cute.. .but missing something, don't you think?

[PictureGuy]

Cute.. .but missing something, don't you think?

It depends on the context and sub-genre. For a dark, serious, adult anime, I will take realistic. For a comedy, or what I like to call "dumb, but fun," anything goes.

[Clayton_n]

Wat about Highschool of the Dead?

[PictureGuy]

Wat about Highschool of the Dead?

It was a four year waste of my time.

Or you mean the anime? Never saw it.

[Kumagawa]

An abstract script requires abstract presentation I'd say. On the whole different coloured and differently shaped eyes and hair are the main things that make anime characters distinct from each other since the style is so homogenous you can't really make anime characters look different without making them "ugly" (or at least not 10/10 specimens).
Same goes for western cartoons, really.
Anime characters are quite abstract in their facial appearance, though, and most if not all humans have this concept of a "default race" built in, where ambiguous features are interpreted to be part of you own race's features. Which is why westerners think anime characters look western whereas japanese think anime characters look japanese.

[PictureGuy]

I have heard some Japanese feel that anime characters look too western, and not Japanese enough.

[Clayton_n]

Try some miyazaki films then.



Personally I like how anime characters look.

[Sltnal]

For me, I didn't see that. However, I don't think that anime character illustrates any real-life people (not Japanese nor Western or anything). The story plot affects us as watchers to think that to attract us to watch.

[Clayton_n]

For me, I didn't see that. However, I don't think that anime character illustrates any real-life people (not Japanese nor Western or anything). The story plot affects us as watchers to think that to attract us to watch.

To be fair if you want girls who really look asian, you need American Cartoons

[PictureGuy]

Did someone say Miyazaki?





Actually, Miyazaki is a genre unto himself.

He's out of retirement and has a new film coming out.