Anime | Manga Why do most anime/manga characters look caucasian?

[Cucco 1,907]

I think that's pretty weird considering Japanese people make it.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Christopher Sexbang

[Grotesquery 603]

Anime is just sort if it's own art style. It started off as a product of Japanese culture, and pretty much just evolved from there. I don't know what influenced the first manga artists, but the genre has developed a pretty universal feel. I think nowadays people just expect anime characters to look the way they do, if that makes any sense?

[Javelin434 3,164]

Because they're pretty, plain and simple. [blonde hair and blue eyes ftw ]

 

From a cultural aspect, there is a reason for this. Since ancient times, lighter skin is associated with higher hierarchy [since they are usually indoors ruling those who are toiling outside working the fields, who would naturally have darker skin because of the heavy tan] and are thus viewed as more desirable to people [who wouldn't want to marry a rich guy/girl?]

 

Fast forward to today, the bias is still present in the modern world.

[Dio Brando 5,810]

Well anime is an artstyle that started in Japan but it's not exclusive to them

 

Look at Avatar TLA and The Legend of Korra,they used almost the same artstyle for their characters as most Japanese anime,you can call those two something like a western anime heck the studio behind the Avatar franchise has said they were influenced by Japanese animation

 

It really depends on the artists themselves in the studio to put their own twist but the Asian Japense style is no longer something that only Japan can do and it's not exlusively associated with Japan anymore

[lostmemory123 1,056]

Anime is just sort if it's own art style. It started off as a product of Japanese culture, and pretty much just evolved from there. I don't know what influenced the first manga artists, but the genre has developed a pretty universal feel. I think nowadays people just expect anime characters to look the way they do, if that makes any sense?

To answer that,the original influence of the manga/anime style came from Disney cartoons.

I think that's pretty weird considering Japanese people make it.

To be quite honest,when I look at photos of japanese people compared to average caucasians,I really cant find much of a difference in terms of skin tone.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

Because............master race? IDK, they're easier to color in black and white?....which would mean, none at all...?...I don't know. That's a really good question.

[Ghost 1,857]

Good question! I used to wonder this too!

 

Just the drawing style. To them, all the characters (intended to be. So characters like Edward Elric and Ciel Phantomhive are not intended to be asian because well, they're not) are asian. Which is why all the characters look the same loloffensivejoke nah, everyone draws what they see and yeah, eh.

 

Different with (some) western cartoons, Disney is a great example. Princess Jasmine doesn't look like Cinderalla, and their race is known through features etc. But in the world of anime where blue spiky hair and kawaiidesu neko ears can be heredity, they're not really aiming for accuracy.

 

So, they don't "look Causaion", they draw what they see.

 

You reminded me of this article i read a few years ago, it involved stick figures and asked people to draw different races.

 

Let's say someone tells you to draw a stick figure. A German, a Japanese, and a Mexican, three different stick figures. Now if asked to draw a stick figure of their own race, the person would draw a normal stick figure. But with some people (namely us Americans, yep call us out), we may "add" things, stereotyped to differentiate the stick figures. In reality, they're all supposed to just look like normal stick figures because that's how everyone would see emselves. But the German might give the Japanese figure some stereotypical additions, the Mexican might do the same for the German stick figure, etc.

 

 

Sorry I did a terrible job of explaining that I just wish I could find the article >o< Ignore that if it makes zero sense.

[Demyx. 10,064]

Because white people are the best.

[Cucco 1,907]

Because white people are the best.

[Ghost 1,857]

Because white people are the best.

 

im going to firetrucking burn in hell

[Demyx. 10,064]

 

im going to firetrucking burn in hell

You wont burn in hell. You posted a gif of John Barrowman. You are doing the world a service. 

[KHUndertaleFan25 2,858]

You mean like this?

[ZefiroTera47 50]

Simple, because if you try to draw characters with very different details it will be a pain... 

 

If it's just a simple picture, you can take more attention to the details, such as colouring ( by the way, to actually paint a skin tone, even if caucasian, is really hard). Also the eyes, nose, height, weight, you can put an effort to make it anime/manga styled but real.

 

But what about manga that has a lot of characters to desing in just a week or a month? You need to have a simple desing and just add details like hair, eye colour and clothes. 

 

Thats why they all have the same look. Also in the beginning of the anime golden era the Occidental fashion and style was very appreciated by the japanese.