4 ms·

Just out f curiosity, what kind of people are asking this question? I've been an anime fan for years and this question has legitimately never crossed my mind d

by KoZeN 16y ago

Just out f curiosity, what kind of people are asking this question? I've been an anime fan for years and this question has legitimately never crossed my mind despite being cynical and critical of almost every single factual inaccuracy I come across. Interesting article all the same!

hasenj 16y ago
Exactly. I was baffled by the title. Anime characters never ever looked like "white" (Caucasian) people to me.
edanm 16y ago
I had the same question. I didn't think it was a big deal, since I figured that other people ask the question and it just never occurred to me. Then I came across the last sentence of the article: "Some Americans, even some scholars, will argue against this view of anime. They want to think the Japanese worship America or worship whiteness and use anime to prove it. But they seem to be driven more by their own racism and nationalism than anything else." After that kind of sentence, I really expect some evidence that someone, somewhere has this view.
- senki 16y ago
  Look at this: http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:answers.yahoo.com+Japanese+worship+white+people http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:answers.yahoo.com+J...
  - shaunfs 16y ago
    Look at this: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=webhp&source=hp&q=site%3Aanswers.yahoo.com+why+cant+white+dance&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=site%3Aanswers.yahoo.com+why+cant+white+dance&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=6052204b889acdd8 http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#sclient=psy&hl=en&... What's the point. I bet there are a million bigots, immature kids, and ignorant people asking questions on Yahoo Answers. Unfortunately every country has people like this, it's not exclusive to one area. Let's just all read this and decide collectively that Yahoo Answers should never again be used as debate source material: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100317231952AAtrZSE http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100317231952AA...
    - senki 16y ago
      You are right. edanm asked for some evidence that there are idiots who think Japanese worship white people. It seems there are many, so the article really targets an existing problem. That's the point.
      - edanm 16y ago
        I was specifically looking for evidence that scholars believe this. I don't doubt there are idiots who believe all kinds of things! And by the way, what's up with the people posting that Yahoo! question? If it's not a joke, I'm seriously worried about the state of humanity.
        senki 16y ago
        Voila: "The ultimate reason for the lower Japanese body esteem may perhaps concern broader cultural and historical perspectives. Being part of the West, but non-Caucasians, Japanese people seem collectively to experience high incongruence between their Western-oriented bodily ideals and the perceptions of their own body. " Japanese body image: Structure and esteem scores in a cross-cultural perspective by Rotem Kowner, University of Haifa, Israel, in: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2002, 37 (3), 149–159 http://www.sjsu.edu/people/jennifer.anderson/courses/c5/s1/Kowner_Japanese_Body_Image.pdf http://www.sjsu.edu/people/jennifer.anderson/courses/c5/s1/K...
      - shaunfs 16y ago
        Fair enough
stonemetal 16y ago
Putting "why are anime characters white" turns up a large number of hits so evidently it is an actual question out there. When the show has giant robots and aliens it never occurred to me to wonder what race the humans were.
stuaxo 16y ago
Me too... as he says in the article, the white people are obvious because of their exagerated features... I've never thought the rest of the characters were (well... never found myself wondering about race as I watch them at all really).
brazzy 16y ago
Wehn I was into anime (about 5-15 years ago), it was a very, very common question from any "outsiders" who came into contact with the (then much less mainstream) medium.
ugh 16y ago
The funny thing is that Scott Pilgrim [+] looks Japanese to me even though he is a very Canadian hero. [+] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim
- bitwize 16y ago
  Scott's eyes in that image resemble those of Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In most drawings of him they are rounder. Oddly enough -- in 2001 some test footage from Wind Waker was released, showing a Link with some very almond-shaped eyes. The appearance of Link was retooled so they look less almond-shaped and more mukokuseki.
  - ugh 16y ago
    The cover of the first volume isn’t really all that representative, that’s right. Here is a page from the fourth volume: http://www.scottpilgrim.com/images/previews/v4pre/v4pre__027.jpg http://www.scottpilgrim.com/images/previews/v4pre/v4pre__027...
JabavuAdams 16y ago
Me. Yesterday. Never thought of it this way, either, and I'm not white.

by KoZeN 16y ago

hasenj 16y ago

Exactly. I was baffled by the title. Anime characters never ever looked like "white" (Caucasian) people to me.

edanm 16y ago

I had the same question. I didn't think it was a big deal, since I figured that other people ask the question and it just never occurred to me. Then I came across the last sentence of the article: "Some Americans, even some scholars, will argue against this view of anime. They want to think the Japanese worship America or worship whiteness and use anime to prove it. But they seem to be driven more by their own racism and nationalism than anything else." After that kind of sentence, I really expect some evidence that someone, somewhere has this view.

senki 16y ago
Look at this: http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:answers.yahoo.com+Japanese+worship+white+people http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:answers.yahoo.com+J...
- shaunfs 16y ago
  Look at this: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=webhp&source=hp&q=site%3Aanswers.yahoo.com+why+cant+white+dance&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=site%3Aanswers.yahoo.com+why+cant+white+dance&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=6052204b889acdd8 http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#sclient=psy&hl=en&... What's the point. I bet there are a million bigots, immature kids, and ignorant people asking questions on Yahoo Answers. Unfortunately every country has people like this, it's not exclusive to one area. Let's just all read this and decide collectively that Yahoo Answers should never again be used as debate source material: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100317231952AAtrZSE http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100317231952AA...
  - senki 16y ago
    You are right. edanm asked for some evidence that there are idiots who think Japanese worship white people. It seems there are many, so the article really targets an existing problem. That's the point.
    - edanm 16y ago
      I was specifically looking for evidence that scholars believe this. I don't doubt there are idiots who believe all kinds of things! And by the way, what's up with the people posting that Yahoo! question? If it's not a joke, I'm seriously worried about the state of humanity.
      - senki 16y ago
        Voila: "The ultimate reason for the lower Japanese body esteem may perhaps concern broader cultural and historical perspectives. Being part of the West, but non-Caucasians, Japanese people seem collectively to experience high incongruence between their Western-oriented bodily ideals and the perceptions of their own body. " Japanese body image: Structure and esteem scores in a cross-cultural perspective by Rotem Kowner, University of Haifa, Israel, in: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2002, 37 (3), 149–159 http://www.sjsu.edu/people/jennifer.anderson/courses/c5/s1/Kowner_Japanese_Body_Image.pdf http://www.sjsu.edu/people/jennifer.anderson/courses/c5/s1/K...
    - shaunfs 16y ago
      Fair enough

stonemetal 16y ago

Putting "why are anime characters white" turns up a large number of hits so evidently it is an actual question out there. When the show has giant robots and aliens it never occurred to me to wonder what race the humans were.

stuaxo 16y ago

Me too... as he says in the article, the white people are obvious because of their exagerated features... I've never thought the rest of the characters were (well... never found myself wondering about race as I watch them at all really).

brazzy 16y ago

Wehn I was into anime (about 5-15 years ago), it was a very, very common question from any "outsiders" who came into contact with the (then much less mainstream) medium.

ugh 16y ago

The funny thing is that Scott Pilgrim [+] looks Japanese to me even though he is a very Canadian hero. [+] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim

bitwize 16y ago
Scott's eyes in that image resemble those of Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In most drawings of him they are rounder. Oddly enough -- in 2001 some test footage from Wind Waker was released, showing a Link with some very almond-shaped eyes. The appearance of Link was retooled so they look less almond-shaped and more mukokuseki.
- ugh 16y ago
  The cover of the first volume isn’t really all that representative, that’s right. Here is a page from the fourth volume: http://www.scottpilgrim.com/images/previews/v4pre/v4pre__027.jpg http://www.scottpilgrim.com/images/previews/v4pre/v4pre__027...

JabavuAdams 16y ago

Me. Yesterday. Never thought of it this way, either, and I'm not white.