banner_jpg
Username/Email: Password:
Forums

New Poll - Asian Characters

Pages (4) [ 1 2 3 4 ] Next
You must be registered to post!
From User
Message Body
Post #572799 - Reply to (#572714) by HikaruYami
user avatar
Member

10:15 am, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 71


I don't think any of the characters in FMA were meant to be Asian, save for those four that came from the East(can't remember their names..just that the prince guy ends up becoming the new Greed and the youngest girl used an Eastern version of Alchemy). If anything, I'd say they were supposed to be Austrian or German. The fact that they refer to their leader as "fuhrer" comes to mind for the reason why I think this.

Post #572805 - Reply to (#572739) by nugro
user avatar
Member

10:48 am, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 71


Exactly. I've seen some manga where the character's are drawn to definitely look Asian...and yet, still others that you only think Asian because it takes place in an Asian society. It certainly depends on the mangaka/artist/illustrator if you consider that. ^^

Post #572806 - Reply to (#572791) by CuthienSilmeriel
user avatar
Member

10:59 am, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 71


You can tell Chinese apart from Japanese just by appearance? Those two and Koreans, I have a hard time telling them apart...even with all the Asian movies I watch( I'm a big Asian horror movie fan..most I watch are Japanese, Chinese, and Korean movies, though.). I can't tell those three nationalities apart from each other. Others, though, like Thai or Filipino I can tell apart from those three.

Post #572809 - Reply to (#572799) by alexdhamp
Member

11:24 am, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 376


Hey... try multiquoting instead of double posting....

Anyway, I agree that none of the people from Amestris were meant to be asian, I just thought Roy's eyes and hair fit the idea of a Japanese pretty well. It's a fantasy world, and Xing was obviously based on China, whereas Amestris was mostly based on WW2 Germany (human experimentation and all that, as well as fuhrer, the ishvalians were basically jews, etc).

Also, there are a lot of ways you can tell them apart; eyes, facial structure.... If you really think they're that similar, it's probably just because there are so many Koreans in both Japan and China....

user avatar
Member

2:59 pm, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 448


Long time anime/manga fans know that appearances in anime/manga dont prove anything. Traps alone have caused us to question everything. laugh

user avatar
Not-BlackOrion
 Member

5:47 pm, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 764


Never in my life did i even consider this, what the fluck will i ever care where they are supposed to be from?


Not to mention that a lot of manga happens in it's own universe, like DB or HxH

Last edited by BlackOrion at 11:08 am, Oct 8 2012

Post #572853
user avatar
Taro
 Member

6:27 pm, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 1975


Well, I think it's natural for me to think they're Asian because of their names, setting, etc.despite the fact that they look nothing like Asians (most of them don't). Unless, of course, they're not supposed to be Asian, then I won't think so otherwise.

Post #572872 - Reply to (#572793) by TaoPaiPai
user avatar
Member

9:17 pm, Oct 7 2012
Posts: 830


Quote from TaoPaiPai
since japanese are very racist in general
they sometime draw other asians close to how they draw themselfes

but other than that it is fairly obvious who is part of the master race and who is not
cute,fine lines,"special" eyes
then we have the nonasians
hairy,weird eyes,big nose,black ppl of ...


I have to wonder what manga you have been reading. I have read plenty of manga where the non-Japanese characters are potrayed as at least equally, if not more, beautiful/handsome/desireable than the Japanese characters. I think a lot of what you see as racism is actually just art style. There are plenty of hairy, weird looking, big nosed Japanese people in manga as well. It's just a way of highlighting how handsome and perfect the main character is.

Also, with regards to Japanese racism, I would say it is more ignorance than racism. I live in a very rural area of Japan, more than half my town is over 60, so it really does feel like I stepped back in time sometimes when it comes to attitudes (I can't wear anything that exposes my shoulders around town for example. This is too scandalous). Without fail, every time some one has asked me a question than could see, racist (like assuming I'm American because I'm white, or asking if I can use chopsticks), it has never been malicious. Japanese people don't see themselves as a master race, they just have a very small population of foreigners so when they see one, they tend to get excited and ask what e might cosider a stupid question. It's no different to people in the west thinking Japan and China are practically the same. You would not believe how many people have asked me to translate Chinese just because Japanese also uses kanji.

Every single Japanese person I have ever met has shown me nothing but overwhelming generosity, patience, and curiosity. They don't think themselves better than me, or discriminate against me. Maybe your experiences were different, but I don't see it as racism. When you live in a country where 98% of the people are the same ethnicity, it shouldn't be a surprise when you're treated like a rarity. That isn't racism.

________________
The pen is mightier than the sword...and considerably easier to write with.
user avatar
Member

8:25 pm, Oct 9 2012
Posts: 111


Honestly, Asians create manga with the mindset that an Asian Majority will be reading it. So even if an artist were to draw Caucasian, African, Indian looking characters living in a NON-ASIAN WORLD, they'd still be given Asian-like names with Asian reaction customs because it would make the story more understanding to Asians.

I mean, when we watch the dubbed versions of some anime series, you'd notice that characters don't refer to each other through Asian Honorifics because it may be too confusing/annoying to English viewers. This is the same for some English translated Asian comics - not all, but some.

So as of yet, I don't consider the characters that have different colored hair, big blue eyes, big tits and other obvious stuffs to be Asian, even when portrayed in an Asian society. I see them as a different race of people living in an Asian story.

I mean, let's face, Asian wish they had bigger eyes and bigger tits, and born with different hair color ...so they use their comics to them relieve the painful dream of having squinty almond eyes.

user avatar
Certified addict
 Member

8:41 am, Oct 11 2012
Posts: 301


I just think of them as people usually, not of a specific race unless it is mentioned.

________________
User Posted Image
Post #573271 - Reply to (#573108) by QueenVIP
user avatar
Rebel Rebel
Member

9:12 am, Oct 11 2012
Posts: 1230


Quote from QueenVIP
I mean, let's face, Asian wish they had bigger eyes and bigger tits, and born with different hair color ...so they use their comics to them relieve the painful dream of having squinty almond eyes.

It's good thing I'm only half Asian and was spared from inheriting the squinty eyes and tiny tits. Ultimate dream within reach *fist pump*


I've never really thought about race when reading manga, unless it specifically states that the character is this or that.

Post #573317
user avatar
Blue Princess
 Member

8:04 pm, Oct 11 2012
Posts: 118


Most Manga/Manhwa/Manhua characters, in their own specific series, lack the specific formalities that reassure that they are asian. Look at One Piece, Fairy Tail, Naruto, Nisekoi, GE - Good Ending, Psyren, Bleach, Berserk, Dragonball, Inuyasha, Rurouni Kenshin, Btooom!, Ichigo 100%, I"S, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and the list goes on and on.

You see these non looking Asian characters in shounen, shoujo, seinen, josei and all the others.
Those who say "Only when portrayed in Asian society" or "Always do" are too narrow minded.

When you go to American/European/Canadian Anime conventions don't you guys notice how anyone who isn't Asian looks waaay better wearing their cosplay? ...now ask me this, "why is that?" Case is Closed.

user avatar
A silly pumpkin
Member

8:51 pm, Oct 11 2012
Posts: 174


I never considered it, I sometimes get annoyed at the styles they are drawn, but it never occurred to me to actually wonder what nationality they are, they are just manga characters.



[edit]
Just remembered, whenever the characters have been living in Japan and go abroad, somehow, everyone speaks their language, unless it is as part of the plot that they don't.

Last edited by RattixEmpire at 9:35 pm, Oct 11 2012

________________
We work in the dark, we do what we can, we give what we have, out doubt is our passion and our passion is our task, the rest is the madness of art. Henry james
Member

9:18 pm, Oct 11 2012
Posts: 184


I have met at least two white americans that wondered why asians seem to draw what they percieved to be caucasians. Hearing that was very strange but these guys were good people, not trying to be racist.

One thing I liked about animation is how it blurs that line,especially when its in a fantasy world. But I imagine they see the lack of the skin flap asians have from the cartoony, not really accurate human eyes, and imagine the character closer to themselves. The shapes in drawings often have people fill in blanks, and some people end up thinking this way, and perceive the character as whatever.

The way I look at it is that cartoonist are drawing cartoons first. Secondly they need this cartoon to represent a thing: a human, robot, ect. The more serious the work, the more important the representation will be. The representation of the country might matter more, the society, race relations, ect. It depends on how much this is important to the story. I think that's a strength for animation, because even if you want a serious work, you can make the character cartoony enough to be relatable despite anything. It makes things like nations and race less important, though people are influenced by wherever they are.

Last edited by Hell_Clues at 9:28 pm, Oct 11 2012

user avatar
Member

11:32 pm, Oct 11 2012
Posts: 131


lol if it werent for names and settings i dont even know what race id guess them as since the majority of manga characters only look vaguely human to me

Pages (4) [ 1 2 3 4 ] Next
You must be registered to post!