Forum - View topicthe more I think about it...
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philg
 Posts: 193 |
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I'm sure lots of people have discussed this, and it's been bothering me more and more lately as I watch more anime. The way anime characters are drawn is just a convention - starting with Astroboy I assume - and I don't mean to insult or disrespect the choice of art. But the question 'why are anime characters drawn with such large, unJapanese eyes?' pops into one's head at a stage in their anime viewing.
Why are beautiful, cute and sexual female characters all designed with almost every characteristic that isn't Japanese. I'll give an example to support my question. Naru from Love Hina is tall, pale, brunette, large-chested and big-eyed. Why are the innocent Japanese anime characters modelled on a blatantly different race and sense of beauty? It's rare that a girl is given black hair in anime and usually it's a wild blue, pink or purple. What's more is that generally the 'evil' or sinister characters in anime are generally given slim, japanese-eyes....pretty much every villain in Rurouni Kenshin.. This is more for my satisfaction than to bring everyone out there to a clear understanding of why anime is drawn like it is. I simply am interested in why anime is so revolved around Japanese culture but not Japanese appearance. |
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SinnerTim
Posts: 61 |
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I would think that the way females are drawn is pretty obvious, lots of it have to do with emulating their own desires and things that AREN'T around them every day. If you had to live in a country where 99% of the people are slanted eyed, black haired, and flat chested, you would long for a non black haired, big eyed, and big titted woman. I think that they are just making up for what they don't have, Japanease women are dying their hair more and more to get away from the normality of black hair, and watch a hentai some time Japanese men are obsessed with big tits because of the obvious lack of that in their real life.
Art not only reflects life, but desires and our own projections on the world. Why do you think that anime like Tenchi and Ichigo 100% have a bunch of gorgous women all after a nerdy nice guy? I'm sure most anime writers were nerds and never got any, and project their own desires on life. |
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Stupidman007
 Posts: 394 |
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Haha, the reason for your question is simple, and it really doesn't have anything to do with Japanese culture. It is quite widely accepted that large eyes are prettier, hair color that isn't the norm is more exotic, and large boobs that aren't sagging are better to look at. Afterall, since the first thing we know about someone is their looks, a good impression visually is most important. Anime is nothing different. Characters are designed to reflect their personality, and I feel that anime portrays that wonderfully with both animation and voices.
The bottom line is, this really doesn't have anything to do with Japanese, but rather people in general. |
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Asako
 Posts: 751 Location: Hawaii |
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Have you ever seen a sinister cat that looked at you with large wide eyes?
Kittens bring over a sense of innocence with their large eyes that just kinda stare at you. A kitten with closed eyes and sleeping is also adorable but there are no strains on a kittens face while doing so. It's relaxed. So these emotions and looks might be somewhat universal why wouldn't they be in anime? Wouldn't it be quite confusing to have a sinister happy kitten? That's where some humor might play. Or characters like Soujirou from Rurouni Kenshin who doesn't really show emotions. I've heard a rumor where Astro Boy actually was a play off of Betty Boop in America, but I have no evidence to it at all. Nor actual quote from the creator of Astro Boy. As for the hair colors, I wish to know too 
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CaRDz
 Posts: 35 Location: Rochester, MN |
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The anime eyes really depend on the artist, but since the 'eyes is the mirror of the soul,' bigger wider eyes usually depict a gentler and merrier character while sleeker slender eyes would constitute to a mysterious character (yep, the enemy).
And as far as I can think of it, the physical attributes of most anime characters being so 'unjapanese-like' bring you to where the setting of the story is supposed to be.. Lets say the story was in a far away planet called Vulcan, it would be more convenient for the viewers to relate to the story if the artist made a completely different descriptive physical attributes. Or the artist might simply think that the attributes he added look cooler compared to common 'japanese' traits. Well, at least that's what I think. And the hair color thing, I think it's something that has to do with mainstream Japanese culture. The usual cool people usually sport the cloud-looking hairstyle dyed golden-brownish-light-yellow with a piercing or two coupled by the dark and mysterious sunglasses. Probably. 
Last edited by CaRDz on Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Enjeru
 Posts: 221 |
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Anime, like almost any form of entertainment can be a form of escape from the pressures of the real world.
Japan is a nation of conformity. From the business world all the way to middle school. Salary men are expected to wear dark suits, white shirts, polished shirts, plain ties, ect.. Middle school and high school students wear uniforms(although I have heard that some schools are starting to phase that out some). This is why there is such a strong Japanese Street Fashion presence on Sundays in Shibuya. Six days a week the Japanese youth have to abide by strict social rules and on the seventh they can do as they please within some boundaries. Anime has a lot of the aspects that the japanese youth cannot experience: crazy colored hair, wild clothing, ect... If anime illustrated all the characters as standard Japanese people, then they would all (for the most part) have black hair and brown eyes; and in any form of animation it is quite hard to have striking physical differences without wild hairstyles, different hair color, and other differences. Also I guess if it's not broken, don't fix it. That's the way for the most part it has always been done. So why change it? |
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one3rd
 Posts: 1818 Location: アメリカ |
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The most common explanation I've seen about the large "anime eyes" has to do with expression and animation. First, anime relies on cheap animation and shortcuts. No, this does not always apply to all anime, but Miyazaki movies are the exception rather than the rule. And even the highest budget anime movie doesn't have nearly the budget of a standard Disney movie. So, one might be able to say that a general rule in anime is to animate as little as necessary. In keeping things as simple as possible, it is easiest to express emotion through the eyes. Happiness, anger, sadness, whatever, can all be shown through the eyes more easily than anywhere else on the face. Exaggerating the size of the eyes only enhances this effect. Trying to explain it in terms of the culture will lead nowhere because it doesn't have that much to do with the culture. On the other hand, if a particular artist is trying to inject more realism into the work, he or she may choose not to exaggerate the eyes as much and draw the characters more like normal, everyday Japanese people.
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TranceLimit174
 Posts: 960 |
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Well if I remember my anime history properly, Osamu Tezuka was inspired by Mickey Mouse which explains the large eyes among other features in anime. I don't know much more about it than that.
I remember one time a person tried to tell me that in Japan that imitating is a form of insult, so anime characters are drawn with more "American" attributes supposedly to take a stab at us. I think this is complete bull. If anything it's the opposite. Given how popular American culture is in Japan (side note: considering how many Japanophiles live in America wouldn't it be cooler for them to you know, be American?), I would think the emulation is moreso flattery than anything else. But I agree with what people have said in the sense that such designs are exotic to the Japanese. Orientals are probably the most homogenous race on the planet, not much diversity (hence the lack of racial issues which I believe has been discussed before). Also I don't think female designs are as chauvinistic as people seem to think. Maybe it's just what I've been exposed to, but Japanese women seem to be envious of such figures. I don't know if this individual is a special case or not, but a friend of mine has a Japanese friend (damnit that sounds cliche but it's the truth) who complains on a somewhat frequent basis about her bust (i.e. too small). Not only that but she does things for her b/f that a lot of guys here would only dream of (lunch every day, laundry, ect.). I dont want to use the term submissive but it seems Japanese women have a desire to please men. If I'm wrong about this let me know, but it's an observation and it appears that having an hourglass figure is a part of that goal. |
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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I once read an anime drawing book that said that heroes tend to have wider eyes and clothing that looked more 'normal'--they aren't wearing a costume, just wearing clothes.
In contrast, it said, villains in anime tend to have narrower eyes, hair covering the face, and clothing that is more like a costume than actually wearing average, everyday clothes. The reason for the differences is because with wider eyes and hair away from the face, the character appears more 'open'. Your typical innocent, wide-eyed hero has nothing to hide. That being said, a villian (or anti-hero) has quite a bit to hide, so that shows in the narrower eyes and hair covering the face. You can see this sort of princible at work in a lot of anime. For example, in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shinji's character design is fairly open--short hair cut away from the face and wide eyes. In comparison, Gendo has comparitively smaller eyes, and they're often covered by a glint in his glasses. (Although, Gendo could just have smaller eyes since he's an adult. Adults tend to have smaller eyes in proportion to their face than children and teens do.) Another example is in Princess Tutu (my obligatory reference--sorry, total fangirl). Fakir, a very mysterious and often threatening character, has extremely narrow eyes and large (VERY large) black bangs that sweep across his face. (this isn't the best angle--depending on how you see him the bangs might obstruct his right eye completely from view) Compared to Duck, the heroine of the story, has very wide blue eyes, and while she has a large clump of hair to the right of her face like Fakir, it stays almost completely off of her face. Even when she's squinting her eyes slightly in worry, they're rather large. That being said, they DO have a tendancy to have 'western' features be on more attractive woman. But, like others have said, it's more just because of how atypical it is. We do the same thing, if you think about it--Twi'lek in the Star Wars universe are more often than not portrayed with asian or african looks, particularly when the characters they play are slaves or dancers. Why? Because it's 'exotic', I'd guess. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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It wasn't Mickey Mouse specifically but Walt Disney's work in general. |
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philg
Posts: 193 |
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What everyone has said makes perfect sense, and to me it doesn't project a very complimentary image on the Japanese, even though I'm sure it's true nontheless. I find it pretty sad that Japanese people are so dissatisfied with themselves that they almost idolize the American body. I've always just accepted anime as what it is. At first I thought it was cute, then I liked it because it was cool, and now because it's interesting; and I hope that knowing more about (and the weakness of) Japanese national identity doesn't affect my enjoyment of anime.
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Enjeru
Posts: 221 |
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If anime had all the characters look traditionally Japanese, then let's face it, every series would look like the one that came before it for the most part. Of course there are still quite a few series that don't use the "anime eyes" or the neon pink hair, such as Paranoia Agent or Genshiken( not including Kujibiki Unbalance).
Like said above, "anime eyes" can show emotion, busty figures make the fanboys happier , and different color hair allows for individuality between the characters in either the same show or different shows.
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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You can't really say anime characters are made to look like a certain race. Even "white" characters seem Japanese to me because of their dialog and Japanese mannerisms.
Hair color doesn't really make a difference...I mean there are equally hot green- and blue-haired characters, and seeing such a thing IRL would be disturbing and artificial-looking. Large-chested...well that's just common sense, since large breasts = better nutrition for young = evolutionary desired trait. It pains me to say that but, I mean thats why people find (large) breasts attractive. Isn't pale an Asian trait? And eye size...okay, the difference between my eyes and my white friend's eyes is maybe...a millimeter? Now if you took Naru and made her "real"...well, I'd rather not think about it. If you've seen any pictures of anime characters photoshopped into real people, you'll know what I mean. It's really one of the scariest things on the internet. Anyway, the bottom line is that I don't think you can really attribute a certain race to anime characters. They'll always be "Japanese" to me; even characters like Ana Coppola, Eri Sawachika and Harry McKenzie/Harima Kenji. I mean when you watch Naruto (paradox, I know), do you think he's American and Sakura is some crazy girl who dyed her hair pink?
Are you referring to the body that is much more overweight than the of the rest of the world on average? I think people from other countries have much better figures than the typical American, to be honest. |
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omar235
 Posts: 1572 Location: Florida, Jacksonvile |
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Heh we do have some pretty fat people but I wouldn't say that other countries have better figures per se, they are probably skinny compared to what is the average American. I don't think it is that the Japanese (or any culture for that matter) are dissatisfied but who doesn't want to be better looking, in anime men and women draw their fantasies, like characters with bodies they aren't use to. Like someone said having the exotic has a sort of appeal to it. 
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philg
Posts: 193 |
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Well then maybe saying that anime characters are modelled around Americans is wrong. Nevertheless I know for a fact that in Japan being caucasion is seen as a gift almost. Whitenning lotion, hair dye and other crazy (to me anyway) cosmetic treatment is available in Japan... not much different to tanning lotion. It is a fact that Japan is becoming increasingly Westernized, and Japan's national identity is being somewhat diluted by an American image that is seen in widespread American media. To conclude that anime characters are 'based' on Americans might be a little stretched, but Caucasions in general are much more similar to anime characters than any other race, especially the Japanese. Caucasions can be blonde, brunette, red-haired and everything in between while Japanese women get the wide variation of black.The "America" that Japan is exposed to is a minority, e.g superstars with large breasts, blonde hair and blue eyes. Even here in Australia we don't really know much about your 'Fat' population... all we see is what is on t.v and in the movies i.e Cameron Diaz-like characters.
I think it's quite obvious that anime characters aren't supposed to be mirror-images of real life people Fui. It just interests me that anime in Japan, a country so rich in culture, is so popular even though it indirectly encourages a desire to look like the unreal super-fit cyborgs of an anime series. Anyway, I'm going way too deep into this and I even disagree, to an extent, with some of the things I said. Obviously anime isn't only watched by Japanese people, and even other cartoons or TV shows display some character designs with a twisted sense of beauty. |
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