cause i know alot of westerners that are crazy about mangas,,, and sometimes i cant tell the race of the anime characters,,,, they seem like a mix of asian, white, and hispanic traits just abit exaggerated.....

and culturally diverse... is it to get alot of western audiences?
i mean i find it appealing , considering its very diverse with its story and stuff.... like its ambiguous......

i notice games that are based on europeon settings or have european or western culture... like cowboy bebop, trigun, full metal alchemist, claymore, berserk, devil may cry, resident evil, tekken, street fighter, etc......

or is it just for the heck of making stories more diverse?

I see where you're coming from.

You definitely see more culturally diverse mangas/animes in one certain type of genre than another, ie Cowboy Bebop, like you said, and Bleach. XD More action-y types.

I don't think it's to attract attention, though.. It's just the way it is. o___o" Think it has more to do with the genre, and depending on the mangaka.. :/
To attract attention? Not really..

Oh God, you just made me think of G Gundam... *shudders at the horror*

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If all the mangas are about the same thing, the audience will get bored. I am sure mangakas are trying to attract readers of different tastes. Also as I know, the Japanese have been learning a lot of foreign culture stuff over the last 100 years or so. So it isn't surprising to me. Culturally diverse looking manga are definitely more visually appealing and sound more exciting to some.

However, I do think that, in a lot of mangas, it's only the settings and clothing that look culturally diverse. The way characters interact with each other, their relationships, lifestyles, manners, etc are still very Japanese (e.g. mangas with a Western setting where characters still call their older brothers and sisters "oniisama", "oneesama"), unless they are mangas about other cultures and history that are trying to be educating and historically accurate (but that oniisama and oneesama thing can still happen in such mangas, even if a lot of events are historically accurate).

A European setting reverse harem manga of Meine Liebe is no different from a reverse harem/shoujo romance manga set in Japan in terms of characters types and the way they interact. I might have used a bad example. But you get the idea.

Those you listed still have a lot of fantasy elements and show you a romanticized version of another culture instead of a historically accurate one. They are partly influenced by other cultures, but they are not exactly other cultures.

Last edited by base_coat at 7:04 am, Jul 5 2009

OT: ^ guy above just got 666 posts !

Most likely not, however it is to bring readers a whole new perpective. Not everything can happen in Japan, so they change it up by bringing it someplace else, like Europe, North America, etc.

Like the above, most styles of clothing on most manga reflect those of the Japanese. I really can't see normal North American's wear what they do.. (in most manga I read anways...) And the plot and story still follow a very Japanese way of life.

They're Japanese.

If you can't tell, they're Japanese. If they aren't a famous European historical figure or in a completely accurate historical setting, they're Japanese. If they're in a fantasy or sci fi series where it would be impossible to know for sure what race anyone is, they're Japanese. If they have blond hair and blue eyes, they're a Japanese person with freaky contacts and a bleach job.

I don't think most manga authors and publishers in Japan ever remotely consider foreign audiences. Often, they sound genuinely surprised that any foreigners have liked or even heard of their work. True, manga have become quite popular in certain Western countries in recent years, but it's nothing compared to the size and diversity of the market in Japan.

Matt Thorn's famous essay, The Face of the Other is a great read for anyone who is confused about race and manga/anime art styles.

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More i than choku

Contributing to iyakuko's post.

There are animanga characters that resemble deeply with the western. White skin, different colored eyes, blonde hair, however; they are still based on the Japanese. There are still defined features that represent them as Japanese, hard to find, but yeah

In other note, a video related to the topic.

And why is it so? Uhm, probably to distinguish between the characters, and maybe, just maybe the Japanese did intent to make them look diverse, etc. because they admire different races? LOL wtf am i saying..

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