Why are so many anime characters white?
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Er, Most anime characters are Asian -.-. Seriously, unless there in a Fantasy setting where its painfully easy to tell there imitating Western traits most anime characters are Asian. Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu hakusho, Dragon Ball Z, Hell Naruto and Bleach have straight Japanese characters, if they don't ironically say it within the show -.-. Anime is idealized, so going through the details of separating races specifically takes away from it.
Though I think your reallllyyy blind if you think all Final Fantasy Characters look White. The only person in FFX that could play as White is Tidus, everyone else was heavily oriental...other then the fact that the entire game is based on Asian culture...seriously do the research -.-.
FF8 and 7 had alot of races. Barret and Raijin being black (or Indian for Raijin I guess...). Yuffie, Tifa, Cloud, Squall (white or azn) Rinoa, Laguna, etc are all Oriental. It's harder to tell, but pay attention to the details in the rendering. Characters like Irvine and Selphie were given ALOT to point out there american based. (They imitated country style characters for both of em for Christ sake.) Hell in FF7 the only white person in your entire party is Cid -.- and they made sure to point him out with his hair and his pirate mouth.
Hell I thought Chad in Bleach was straight black, till they explained he was actually Hispanic or whatever. The first Hispanic I EVER saw in an anime -.-, and he still sounded Asian! Just because there skin is pretty white doesn't mean there Caucasian since alot of Asians are pretty pale -.-...actually I've only seen a couple of Caucasians paler then Asians...so yeah At least the horrendous number I see.
Though I think your reallllyyy blind if you think all Final Fantasy Characters look White. The only person in FFX that could play as White is Tidus, everyone else was heavily oriental...other then the fact that the entire game is based on Asian culture...seriously do the research -.-.
FF8 and 7 had alot of races. Barret and Raijin being black (or Indian for Raijin I guess...). Yuffie, Tifa, Cloud, Squall (white or azn) Rinoa, Laguna, etc are all Oriental. It's harder to tell, but pay attention to the details in the rendering. Characters like Irvine and Selphie were given ALOT to point out there american based. (They imitated country style characters for both of em for Christ sake.) Hell in FF7 the only white person in your entire party is Cid -.- and they made sure to point him out with his hair and his pirate mouth.
Hell I thought Chad in Bleach was straight black, till they explained he was actually Hispanic or whatever. The first Hispanic I EVER saw in an anime -.-, and he still sounded Asian! Just because there skin is pretty white doesn't mean there Caucasian since alot of Asians are pretty pale -.-...actually I've only seen a couple of Caucasians paler then Asians...so yeah At least the horrendous number I see.
Because they saw this...
...and they've held an immense grudge ever since.[footnote]If you couldn't tell, I'm joking.[/footnote]
Serious OT: I would assume it's related to culture, though I honestly cannot give a definite answer - having a limited knowledge of Asian culture, myself.
...and they've held an immense grudge ever since.[footnote]If you couldn't tell, I'm joking.[/footnote]
Serious OT: I would assume it's related to culture, though I honestly cannot give a definite answer - having a limited knowledge of Asian culture, myself.
I'm sorry, but if you're criticizing the design, especially of this particular anime, then I'm going to have to point out multiple other physical deformities. One, they all seem to have eating disorders. Two, the half-black guy (or who I'm assuming is the half black guy) seems to have two giant worms surrounding his mouth. Three, that guy's holding a sword in his mouth. Four, the asian woman (again, assuming it's the asian woman) has six or so arms. Five, their eyes are HUGE. Six, that's not a dear so much as a circus freak. Seven, back to the half-black guy, his nose has an erection.
Some animes are better than others in this sense, but generally speaking I think they're supposed to be Japanese.
Some animes are better than others in this sense, but generally speaking I think they're supposed to be Japanese.
I guess a japanese cartoon style would reflect the skin tones of the japanese.
But there are some animes that include people from other countries. Black Lagoon has various characters from japan, china, russia, and one of the main characters is black. Love Hina is another case. Most animes are about people from Japan though, and minorities are often reflected the same in quantity as they are in japan I reckon.
But there are some animes that include people from other countries. Black Lagoon has various characters from japan, china, russia, and one of the main characters is black. Love Hina is another case. Most animes are about people from Japan though, and minorities are often reflected the same in quantity as they are in japan I reckon.
Probably because they aren't white, they are asian.
Shockingly, asians live in Asia, where, generally, Animes are based.
Shockingly, asians live in Asia, where, generally, Animes are based.
Oh dear lord I am unsure whether or not I should be genuinely pleasantly surprised, or simply incredibly startled at this humongous revelation!xArtemisxEntrerix said:
OT:
It's manga. That is how manga-characters looks. Manga is based in Japan, which contains a lot of Asian people and not many foreigners - the few foreigners that they do have, are usually not of a darker teint than themselves.
Both. Become so amazed and surprised that your brain explodes. The Gods of Anime demand it.s0denone said:
black people arent that comen in Japan as in the rest of the world, the USA has allot of African-Americans mainly due to slave trade and Western Europe is a melting pot of cultures unlike Japan so it isnt that weird when you think about it
All the Japanese nerds secretly want to be white, most white nerds secretly want to be Japanese, and I don't know if there are enough black nerds to bother mentioning them.
Now the "worms" around the "half-black guy"'s mouth actually follows the early and quite racist by today's standards depictions of black male's lips. I'd link some of the early pictures from cartoons and comic books of early 20th century, but I don't think I want to get in trouble. But, you know, oversized red lips, and all that is somewhat of a classic feature in the depiction of a black male face. Since the West is into polit-correctness now, you don't see it here as much. But if you watch any anime, all the black and black-ish characters inevitably have oversized bright lips.
More on topic, yeah, Anime is generally very influenced by the West. And I don't think the creators actually want their characters to be Asian in every possible circumstance. Many anime and manga series don't happen anywhere near Asia or fantasy equivalent of such. That pirate show with magic fruit was probably mainly inspired by Caribbean stuff - Tortuga and all that, places we can easily link to piracy even though piracy was done everywhere and for, like, ever. So Asians, for the most part, are out. Full Metal Alchemist, they are pretty clearly loosely based on early 20th century Europe, I'd wager and say "Germany" given the militaristic control and "fuhrer" title. And in the "new" Brotherhood series, they even have some token Japanese-equivalent characters who do look rather more "oriental" compared to the average character in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe.
Woah huge rant.
I don't think holding a sword in one's mouth counts as a physical deformity. The nose and the arms things are, you know, magic 'n' stuff.Blueruler182 said:
Now the "worms" around the "half-black guy"'s mouth actually follows the early and quite racist by today's standards depictions of black male's lips. I'd link some of the early pictures from cartoons and comic books of early 20th century, but I don't think I want to get in trouble. But, you know, oversized red lips, and all that is somewhat of a classic feature in the depiction of a black male face. Since the West is into polit-correctness now, you don't see it here as much. But if you watch any anime, all the black and black-ish characters inevitably have oversized bright lips.
More on topic, yeah, Anime is generally very influenced by the West. And I don't think the creators actually want their characters to be Asian in every possible circumstance. Many anime and manga series don't happen anywhere near Asia or fantasy equivalent of such. That pirate show with magic fruit was probably mainly inspired by Caribbean stuff - Tortuga and all that, places we can easily link to piracy even though piracy was done everywhere and for, like, ever. So Asians, for the most part, are out. Full Metal Alchemist, they are pretty clearly loosely based on early 20th century Europe, I'd wager and say "Germany" given the militaristic control and "fuhrer" title. And in the "new" Brotherhood series, they even have some token Japanese-equivalent characters who do look rather more "oriental" compared to the average character in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe.
Woah huge rant.
The magic doesn't make it any less a deformity, the back-story to the racism also doesn't make it any less a deformity, and the insane jaw muscles needed to hold that thing steady count as a deformity to me. The man must eat awesome, anything else would be like drinking to him.Billion Backs said:
I do appreciate the informative piece above and find your lack of belief in black nerds to be highly racist of you. Nerd knows no race!
To the first paragraph. Dear me! I wasn't aware that fictional characters had above-normal or simply unrealistic capabilities! Oh gawd I'm sorry I've ever believed in you, Gandalf! And I'm sorry I've ever thought one could hurl magical balls of fire from his arms, Perzul the level 14 Halfling Wizard!Blueruler182 said:
Etc. What I'm getting at is that supernatural abilities are supernatural and they have little to do with this thread. The question was why are they all look so white when they are drawn by Asians, not how improbable the character's "magical" abilities are. This couldn't possible have anything to do with Asian/White general looks, because last time I checked neither of the nationalities, or races, or whatever the fuck they are, had inherent abilities to stretch indefinitely after eating a magical fruit, have multiple arms, or wield swords in their mouths.
And to your second paragraph... First of all, it was intended more of a joke. Second of all, political correctness is wrong. Seriously, ask yourself. How many black nerds, on average, have you met? Compared to the number of white and asian nerds. I've been a fairly outgoing guy, and I know 3 black nerds, and dozens of white/asian ones. It's not racist to say that there are very few black nerds the same way it's not racist to say that a large number of crimes in US is being committed by "african americans" ( although frankly I don't know how that statistic goes, I haven't bothered with stats like that since my old highschool data project 2 years ago). It's just a statement of a fact.
Now, to be racist, you'd have to say something like "black people can't be nerds because they're black!" or "black people commit crimes because they're black!". Both of these statements, while they could be amusing in various racial comedy when not surrounded by whiny babies, are incorrect. While it may or may not be statistically true to say that black people commit a larger number of crimes in US compared to some other ethnicity, it's not evidence to their race somehow being the cause of it. That would be just retarded, people are practically the same. Instead, one should look at culture and economical status of the people.
As the popular culture for "black people" appears to be, you kind of have to be pretty blind not to notice that, say, there are very few if any "black" death metal groups or fans of such music, or that there aren't exactly that many noticeable "black" nerds. It's just a fact.
Does it mean that they can't be nerds because of their race? Of course not. Does it mean that there are less visible nerds among them because of some other factors? Yes, it does.
To the first and second paragraph, two things. First, it was a joke, and the initial point I was making (way back at the beginning of the quotes) was that it's not in the best interest to examine the physical traits of anime characters. I wont say anything about the stories, because I do enjoy a few anime shows, but on the whole they're not overly realistic. I say the same to American cartoons too. My point was to not pay attention to physical traits as minute as skin color for an anime show.Billion Backs said:
For the third paragraph, as you said, it was supposed to be a joke. My paragraph, anyways. And comparing the amount of black nerds I know (one) to the amount of black people I know (one) it's a rather large percentage (I live in a very white and asian town).
And as to my second paragraph, to be clear, I am actually thankful for the extra information granted with the racially sensitive past, it's always nice to see what bigotry we've passed,
but I was joking with the whole "racist" remark. I do like the irony of you defending anti-political correctness to the point of being jumpy on being called racist though. Made me laugh, even if you've got very valid points.
LOL One Piece. They travel the globe. Plus, a fucking deer.
HEY! I like Killer Bee ._. But seriously, I guess Japan shouldn't even try for the whole 'diversity thing' because they utilize stereotypes. To be fair though, Killer Bee's whole nation is primarily black.w@rew0lf said:Because when they try travesties such as this occur.
[sub]Your soul. It's being devoured at this exact moment.[/sub]
(0__o)NeutralDrow said:Japanese people have a very large range of skin tones, but tend to be fairer-skinned overall (exceptions in artwork, off the top of my head, would be Chika from Ai Yori Aoshi and Tatsuki from Gals).
Eye design is a confluence of factors: earliest anime design was expressly based on Disney cartoons, larger eyes are more expressive (especially in a animation style that tends to favor "false animation" or slower movements), and there's also a trend in Japanese artwork that people with narrower eyes tend to be more amoral (ala <url=http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/5217/saitomc3.jpg>Hajime Saitou) or untrustworthy.
This doesn't hold, naturally, if the artist is specifically going for a more realistic style (like Vagabond, or the <url=http://ghostlightning.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/rurouni-kenshin-trust-and-betrayal-batoussai-tomoe.jpg>Rurouni Kenshin OVAs).
That's probably why, when Japanese do draw actual white people (as in, white Americans and Europeans), they have a disproportionate tendency to be blond. As well, the trend in Japanese artwork regarding pictures of outsiders tends to not be larger eyes, but larger noses.
EDIT: Besides, you used One Piece as an example. Even aside from the extremely stylistic artwork (I could counter with The Big O; those people look more Asian than Caucasian to me), do any of those characters even have recognizable ethnicity?
DID YOU JUST REFERENCE GALS.
YOU DID NOT JUST REFERENCE GALS.
...I THINK YOU JUST REFERENCED GALS.
According to my Japanaphile brother, it has to do with several cultural aspects, like how they give people from Osaka accents that are akin to Texans here in the U.S.
I love how they have a white guy voice Mr. freaking T.Hazy said: