"Anime" Topic

Something about anime baffles me. As a starting point, the only examples I've watched to completion are Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell (just the movie, not sure what other media is out there for that property) and Appleseed.

Why is if that the characters in these series (and others I've seen only intermittently) mostly appear to be drawn as Caucasians? Is this intentional or is there some context to the style I just don't get as a white male?

Have a go at this: link

This is in line with what I have been told/experienced on the subject.

Interesting link, thanks for posting that.

Short answer – the Japanese got their initial style from Disney.

The only Anime I have seen is the odd film, and Azumanga Diaoh. I guess its easier to draw caucasians or some such simple answer?

I think it had to do with the Japanese embracing American pop culture more than anything else. Except for uniquely Japanese subjects like samurai and high school comedies, most characters are western in origin.

Also, the distinctive BESM style just doesn't look very Japanese. Okay, now I opened a can of worms didn't I?

I think it has more to do with the fact that non-Japanese Westerners interpret them as Caucasians, not that they are.

Generally speaking the Japanese do not view themselves as short, squinty-eyed, yellow people and they are right not to.

Caucasian? He's an archetypal Japanese male as featured in earlier stuff. The game has change a bit over the years (especially post-bubble), but most male leads will be dark-haired and pale-skinned which are key Japanese racial traits as featured in their animation.

"Generally speaking the Japanese do not view themselves as short, squinty-eyed, yellow people and they are right not to."

I made that statement in my post?

I think it has more to do with the fact that non-Japanese Westerners interpret them as Caucasians

The high incidence of blondes and redheads in anime, often with hair "styles" (often resembling a nasty case of bed head) that occur naturally in Caucasians is probably a big part of that interpretation. That and a lot of SF&F anime pretends to be far more cosmopolitan than Japan itself is.

The big eyes are, as already noted, borrowed from the Disney style. Most are drawn larger than life size because eyes are extremely useful for portraying emotion and reaction. The size of a character's eyes in anime is also directly related to their worldliness. The more experienced and cynical a character, the smaller his or her eyes are drawn; a character acting adult and aloof but who retains large eyes is probably still an innocent in ways that will become important to the story later.

I made that statement in my post?

You did not, but without delving into caricature the drawn versions are not going to be all that visually distinctive.

Note on hair color:

If you see a blond male, you're probably looking at an American or a German, unless he is also ambiguously brown. If he's got dark-brown or black hair, he's most likely Japanese, though the Chinese are usually portrayed with black hair as well.

Fair enough, you didn't deserve that jab.

The link M C LeSingeDew posted pretty much got it right. With out the stereotypical racial feature associated with a ethnic group people seem to default to their own race.

Also check the size of the forehead, short = stupid, I never noticed till a friend pointed it out in a show about soccer and every character had it…

ROBOTECH ,not as good as the newer anime but a good series to follow with a mixture of characters with different backgrounds fighting for earth.(helped that I played Battletech at the time).
watched it again on and off with the kids ,they loved it.

A lot of new stuff seems to be a bit more Manga and could be an entirely new race of people altogether the way they are drawn.

an entirely new race of people

A couple of the classic manga/anime artists are known for their… distinctive… portrayals of people. Anime has always included a fair bit of caricature, but Leiji Matsumoto (Yamato, Captain Harlock) populated his works with several persistent examples that are still instantly recognized 40 years later. Elves (most women) and jolly trolls (anyone over 60) walked unremarked amongst his human casts.