One question often asked is, why do anime characters look “Western”? Often Americans will perceive the “large eyes” seen in anime (which often aren’t large at all, depending on the art style), non-Asian hair colors and, it must be said, buxom body styles to seem more Western than Japanese. Japanese fans, for their part, have no problem identifying characters with pink, blue or blonde hair and large expressive eyes as “Japanese,” so it appears to be a perception issue. Of course, anime is the realm of visual fantasy, where anything can be represented on the screen, and hair color is often used as an indicator of a character’s personality more than trying to show “foreign-ness.” For example, blue hair on females is used to create an air of purity or mystery or communion with nature, while white or grey hair can be a hint of having a secret, or possessing hidden super powers, and red hair on characters like Asuka indicate they are free-spirited fiery demons who are quick to anger. Of course, many characters in anime are Western, like Charlotte from Infinite Stratos or Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière from Zero no Tsukaima, so if they had non-Japanese hair colors, more power to them. In the end, I’d say that anime character design is a blending of fanciful elements and colors and facial features, many of which are impossible for any ethnic group, and leave it at that.What do you think?
No one in the world has hair or facial features like these.
