Why don't anime charachters look asian?

Neko

I always thought the eyes were big because of the myth that the eyes are windows to your soul. I could be wrong, but still, why do you think this is so?
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**PlaguedOne** · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:28 pm Post subject:

Anime eyes are typically large because the eyes are the most expressive part of the face. Larger eyes means they can bring expressions across more easily, as well as a larger range of them.
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Neko · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:30 pm Post subject:

I thought is was because of the eyes. Funny thing though, how it's so easy to make eyes have expression in literature or in animation yet it's so hard in real life.
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Viewtiful Starman · Puzzle Game Addict Age: 37 Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 708

As for them not looking asian, I'm pretty sure that anime was originally based on American cartoons, so they made the same type of characters.

Not sure on that though, don't remember where I heard it or how good the source was.

Neko · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject:

Well, I know Astro Boy was the first anime. Would that have something to do with it?
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**Plantman** · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 8:28 pm Post subject:

Oozamu Tezuka the one people call the God of Manga admitted in a couple of interviews long before his death that when he started drawing his inspiration came from American Comics and American weekend morning cartoons, such as Betty Boop -sp?-. In fact if you look at one of his mangas, can't remember the original name but in Spanish was "La princesa caballero" -something like the knight princess- the main character, a young princess raised as a boy, looks pretty alike to Betty Boop.

Because these characters had big eyes, Tezuka copied this trait and integrated it into his work, and since he became the main influence for the generation of Mangakas that followed his steps once Manga became popular, one of the main 'distinctive' traits of Tezuka were the big eyes, the big and elaborated eyes became some sort of 'canon' rule to follow for a long time.

As for why they don't look asiatic, it's a question of estilization. The comic artwork while it can seem 'realistic' is an estilization of the reality. Some of those super heroines of melon sized breasts and diminute waists are impossible to achieve naturaly in real life, so are muscled men whose biceps are twice the size of their head. It's an estilization of the real figure. Make the human fgure more beautiful and outstanding.

Manga/Anime style then tends to have a different estilization. Instead of aiming for perfect and muscled human bodies, this style aims to a more 'delicate' or a more 'exagerated' balance. That's why when they refine a face the characters look more cartoonish then necesarily asiatic, they have a more 'mixture of everything'. They won't necesarily aim to reproduce asiatic features nor reality but what they'll consider 'beautiful' as a whole. That's why you can see characters that are perhaps too feminine or much more grotesque. It's also part of the taste of the artist and his/her personal perception.

While an american marvel artist will want to make Jean Grey an stereotype of a voluptuose 'firey' red-head, a manga artist can come up with a hero that's perhaps androginous or perhaps a heroine that isn't as endowed as Jean Grey yet looks so elegant and almost 'ethereal' with forms barely defined, or a femme fatale with similar atributes to Jean Grey but a totally horrid personality.

The stylization will adapt not to what ethnically they can be but to what the author considers 'perfect beauty' or 'perfectly ugly' according to the personality of his characters.
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**Izumi** · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 8:34 pm Post subject:

Personally, I think it's one of the really great/interesting things about anime. There are just so many different looks, it's set apart, and there's no limit on a person's appearance. They aren't usually asian, no, but they're not typically Western either, as North Americans don't usually have huge eyes and naturally purple hair. :P
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Mana · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject:

I think there's a lot of reasons why anime character's don't look asain. XD From what I've read when the Japanese started the whole "Westernization" thing they liked how American models had bigger eyes than the typical Japanese girl. (Also why some asains get eyelids surgically done) Also what Planty said about Japanese artists being inspired by American cartoons has a lot to do with it as well.

Manga and Anime artists just thought the big eyes were prettier/cuter I suppose (I think someone also mentioned it's easier to make expressions with them right??). But there are some mangas out now where the eyes aren't huge and are more realistic, so it might just depend on what the artist likes. I'm not a genius at this kinda stuff, but this is just what I know. XD

Starone · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:37 pm Post subject:

I've always wondered that myself.

Shades · Net Savior Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Posts: 166

Well, it wouldn't be too neat if everyone had black hair and small eyes, right?

That is the drawing style of anime. People cannot get anything with sacrificin- wrong topic, but anyways, some anime tend to go for the more "realistic" track.
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RollEXE · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject:

Whoever knew how Anime and Manga originated?

Jazz · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:27 pm Post subject:

Heh, that's one question my mom keeps asking me whenever she sees me watching an anime...maybe one of the reasons she doesn't "get" anime, who knows. ;P

I also remember reading that the different hair colours, including obviously ones that aren't natural, were originally to help differentiate between characters, since otherwise they basically looked the same.
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Lido Azn Girl · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:52 pm Post subject:

Well, most Asians have black and/or brown hair. If all anime characters looks like that, then it would be hard to tell the difference. And I think the big eyes are for seeing their eye color easier. Eh, who knows? Fictional characters are always better than realistic characters! ^_^

**Plantman** · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:08 am Post subject:

Cloud-kun · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:38 am Post subject:

Bobcat Moran · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:42 am Post subject:

**Plantman** · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:58 am Post subject:

I know animated movies had been going on for a while in Japan. But I think the question made refers to what we normally call 'anime' these days. XD
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RollEXE · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:01 am Post subject:

Do you know that I have a Astro Boy lunch box and drink bottle? Now do you see what Osamu Tezuka did to me lol Razz

Mist · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:29 am Post subject:

Well, apart from the eyes, I've noticed that some anime charatcers do look a bit Asian. For example, pretty much every full human on Inuyasha has dark hair and brown eyes.

Also, as already stated, the anime figure is something unattainable, yet many still long for it.

Yeah...just my two bits.

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Ryoma · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 8:02 am Post subject:

I was actually wondering about this topic yesterday. People have pretty much said what I was going to say, and for the whole big eyes thing, I think that it was to bring detail to the eye. Normally, they're just little dots like this: ._.

But with anime, they're more like this: O_O

Maybe they were trying to stop the whole "dots for eyes" thing.
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