Ask John: What is the Deal with American Portrayals in Anime?

Question:
Why are Americans portrayed as loud and obnoxious people in anime?

Answer:
I can only guess that the sort of portrayal you’re referring to is based on the same type of stereotype that has Americans portray Japanese as bird-like, buck-toothed tourists with dozens of cameras or dark suit & tie clad business men. To a certain degree, in reality Americans are louder, and bigger, and more decisive/direct/demanding than Japanese people typically are. Actually, it would perhaps be more appropriate to say that Westerners are more openly, overtly demanding and vocal than are typical Japanese, who tend to value tact and subtlety more than typical Westerners do. An example of this comes in 801 TTS OAV 5, when the American jet fighter pilot claims that Japanese people have to be drunk to speak their mind openly. It’s important to note, though, that Americans and Westerners are not always stereotyped in anime. In fact, Americans are often presented more as “gaijin,” odd foreigners, than idiots or figures of ridicule. Let’s Go Inachu Ping Pong Club certainly goes to the extreme in emphasizing the negative characteristics of Americans for the sake of humor, but Ping Pong Club shouldn’t be taken seriously, as it pokes fun at not only America, but everything, including anime and Japanese culture. The Westerner in the AD Police TV series is a playboy, but also as responsible an officer as any of the Japanese members of his team. Michael, the American foreign-exchange student in Marmalade Boy is quite unsubtle, and quite a pest, but he’s never presented in a negative light. He’s excessively exuberant because of culture shock, and he even realizes and admits that he’s occasionally a pest. Marmalade Boy goes to lengths to make clear that Michael’s clinging, childish behavior is not representative of Americans, but representative of his own child-like personality. The Western female characters in Yawara and Kaze Makase Tsukikage Ran are both presented as towering, large, slow-witted women at first, but both are quickly revealed to be very sincere, honest characters. Kanuka Clancy may not be the best example because of her half-Japanese background, but Clancy, who comes to Patlabor’s Section 2 from New York, turns out to be the most subdued, efficient and professional member of the Japanese SVC 2 team.

In effect, the presentation of Americans in anime is a stereotype that’s loosely based on reality. And in most cases, Americans aren’t intentionally presented in a negative light, they’re simply character-types slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect.