I agree with this a lot more than any of the other answers in this thread. Also, this comment from the article:o.pwuaioc wrote:The Simpsons thing is bullshit. There are clearly black, east Asian, Indian, and Hispanic characters on the show that are drawn to show this (Dr. Hibbert, Cookie Kwan, Apu, Bumblebee Man).BoneSnapDeez wrote:Here's a pretty good take on the whole issue:
http://www.animeroot.com/2010/09/%E2%80 ... %E2%80%9D/
The issue is way too complicated to simply adopt (and butcher) the Structuralist theory of binary opposition and creating the Other (someone likely had a single film class and now they're an expert).
The real reason is that modern Japanese anime has its roots in western animation. One simply needs to compare pre-20th century Japanese artistic traditions with the rise of animation in Japan in the 60s and with early American, European, and Russian animation to see this.
I wouldn't put it so harshly, but I think there's more than a grain of truth in this.“As it turns out, that is an American opinion, not a Japanese one. The Japanese see anime characters as being Japanese. It is Americans who think they are white. Why? Because to them white is the Default Human Being.”
Wrong. If you ask Blacks, Indians, South Americans, etc. they will tell you the same thing. Anime characters are white. If these features were symbols of “otherness,” then why not black skin and afros in Anime? Because East Asians don’t like those traits any more than most White people do. Features of blackness/browness are considered unattractive by East Asians, while features of Whiteness are considered attractive. It’s not racist, it’s just a fact. Blonde hair only occurs in White Europeans. Blue / green eyes only occur in White Europeans. Those two females in that Anime picture at the top of this post… can you find A SINGLE JAPANESE OR CHINESE person that looks like them? Probably not (unless they were 3/4 white and 1/4 Asian). I can walk down the street in the US, Canada, the UK or Germany and probably on a busy clubbing night find a few white girls that look like them (tall, white skin, brown hair, blue eyes). Those traits simly do not occur in East Asia. East Asians generally have flat noses, black eyes, black hair, are shorter, and have yellow/brown skin tone. They look nothing like Anime characters.
I think there’s something wrong with a culture when they produce work like this. I do think the Japanese are insecure about their own appearence, along with many other East Asian groups. They purchase skin whitening creams, have operations to make their eyes look round, etc. Pretending that these issues don’t exist only makes them worse, and makes you look ridiculous. Here’s a summary of why Anime characters are white:
1. Eye color (blue / green) – White European. vs. East Asian (black/brown)
2. Eye shape (round) – White European. vs. East Asian (almond/slanted)
3. Hair colour (blond / etc) – White European. vs. East Asian (black)
4. Nose shape (small, pointed) – White European. vs. East Asian (flat, rarely pointed)
5. Height / limb length ratio (tall / long) – White European vs. East Asian (short, short limbs)
6. on and on….
The Japanese imagine themselves to be White. It’s unfortunate. They need to honestly deal with self image issues and cultural issues in their media, particularly in Anime.
