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07-07-2007, 09:45 PM

I agree. No one has those bodies or those facial features.
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07-07-2007, 10:35 PM

barbie does???
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07-08-2007, 01:14 AM

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Originally Posted by tiki808 View Post
barbie does???
yeah but who in their right mind wants to be barbie....
^_^


sure has been a while...
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ILOVEJAPAN (Offline)
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... - 07-08-2007, 01:44 AM

I think anime characters look kinnda like a HUGE exageration of western looking people, but I dont think thats necasarily on purpose.

I dont think its a self hating thing...Its just that anime and manga (when it first started out) was highly influenced by disney which showed characters with big eyes and western looking features. The Japanese just did they are famouse for doing...taking in things from other cultures and moderating it for there own culture. As anime and manga developed they just kept the look.

The big boobs dont bother me so much...whoever said "its only natural for guys to be attracted to large boobs" is right. Which isnt a bad thing. You can be attracted to certaint features on a female body, without disrespecting females. Its not sexcist at all.

The eyes arent big to be western looking, they are suposed to show inocense or femininty. Its like drawing a little bunny with huge eyes. Notice how in anime, woman and children ussualy have large eyes, but men ussualy have regular size eyes.

The hair dosent look western at all. Most anime characters have blue or pink or red hair. No one has hair like that, neither westerners or asians. Although I find that if the characters do have normal colored hair its usualy black.

Some people also think the REALLY strong looking guys with LOTS of muscels is from a desire to look more western...but no one looks like that either, no matter what race they are. Again I gotta say it is only natural for guys to want to look strong.

The only thing that bothers me (and I cant beleive no one has said this yet) is the fact that almost all anime characters are white and not asian...The only explenation I can think of is that in Asia lighter skin is (or used to be) a sign of being wealthy, because people with light skin are like that because work in an office all day and dont get tan, while people with darker are like that because they were working out in the feild all day. That is an explination I have heard before, but it seems like kinnda a strech to me.

Although (I dont mean to offend anyone by saying this) I do think that many Japanese and asians in general have a little bit of a complex about there asian features (probably because of hollywood, and the rest of the world's deffinition of buety). I notice that geisha's paint there face white, and they do that in Kabuki theater too (although I dont think that has anything to do with looking western because these things have been around long before western inluences made there way to Japan). Stuff like that is even done in a modern way. Notice how all over harajuku, kids have there faces painted white, some people even paint anime sized eyes around there regular eyes. Also all over asia many people get there eyes widend with surgery. I dont think this is why anime characters look western...I think it just developed that way...and I dont think asians are self hating...but I think some do have a bit of a complex about there looks. Which is just normal. People everywhere have comlex's about there looks. The media (especialy in the U.S., which is probably the most influential around the world) mainly shows young white people with big eyes, so its there fault that people feel a little bad about themselves (which they shouldnt) but even young white people with big eyes feel bad about themselves. So I dont think its self hating (in a racial way).

Last edited by ILOVEJAPAN : 07-08-2007 at 02:06 AM.
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ILOVEJAPAN (Offline)
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Wow - 07-08-2007, 02:04 AM

I just realize I wrote that in the form of an essay...thats almost creepy...
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07-08-2007, 02:06 AM

haha, a very good essay might i add.

^_^


sure has been a while...
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ILOVEJAPAN (Offline)
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07-09-2007, 01:54 AM

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Originally Posted by Sachiko View Post
haha, a very good essay might i add.

^_^

Thanks I wish more people would reply to it...It took me a while to think about what I was gonna say and then write it out. Maybe people want to avoid this topic because I touched on to many sensative issues?
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07-09-2007, 06:08 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanchome View Post
I can see what you are saying with some anime and manga and it's an interesting subject.

Do you know how far back the trend goes in Japanese anime and manga? I wonder if it's related to Hollywood (Los Angeles) having a big influence on the idea of the "ideal woman" worldwide. Is the "western body style" in manga only a post WWII phenomenon?
During the Pre-war period, in manga aka akahon, what I meant 'western style bodies' were rare. It's partly because female protagonists were rare, but main reasons were probably the formats most manga artists used were not like so-called story-manga. And I agree that western respresentations of female bodies influenced Japanese manga/anime artists in terms of gromourous body,long legs etc., but I kinda believe that the way in which the mixture of childishness (big eyes, cute outfits, child-like gestures) and matureness (adult body) is expressed is quite differently. For instance, characters in Miyazaki.....
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07-09-2007, 06:26 PM

Dear ILOVE JAPAN

I also think your ideas are so intriguing. Especially when you said,

>The only thing that bothers me (and I cant beleive no one has said this yet) is the fact that almost all anime characters are white and not asian...The only explenation I can think of is that in Asia lighter skin is (or used to be) a sign of being wealthy, because people with light skin are like that because work in an office all day and dont get tan, while people with darker are like that because they were working out in the feild all day. That is an explination I have heard before, but it seems like kinnda a strech to me.

I'm so interested in this because I (an average japanese) also internarised 'whiteness' by viewing 'white' characters as Japanese. As I said in my first post, as long as they speak Japanese or/and Japanese names, the characters are often recognised as 'japanese'. Yes, in reality, 'to be white' by using cosmetics was a fad in Japan. I don't want to say it's good or bad. What I am mostly concerned is how whiteness or west-ness? with racial remarks have influenced viewers perspectives and consciousness about their identity.

I'd like to hear more about your ideas and responces to my idea from other members are also more than welcome.
Thank you!
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07-09-2007, 09:06 PM

Waitasechere...Just because they have "big eyes, big boobs, long legs, long nose, colored hair" makes them western looking?

I have never noticed the comparison apart from the coloured hair and eyes, although nowadays you can dye it/get contacts etc.

Ok, i'll give you the boobs part XD, but you get quite a lot of Japanese folk with big eyes and long legs...It's just like in the west tbh, you get people over here with small eyes and short legs... Also westerners don;t naturally have blue hair or whatever. D:

Or maybe i'm missing something here? D:
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