Ask John: What’s With Skinny Girls in School Uniforms?

Question:
Why are there no chubby chicks in anime? I mean, what, would anime end if there was a chubby chick(s)? Why do Japanese students wear uniforms? Specifically Japanese girl sailor outfits. And what is the reason behind the “loose socks” Asian girls wear?

Answer:
Especially as Westerners, we often tend to forget that anime is primarily created for Japanese viewers. In the same way that American television and film tries to capture the look of normal, average Americans, anime strives to reflect everyday Japanese reality. Any number of statistical analysis will verify that America is the most overfed and obese nation in the world. “Chubby chicks” don’t frequently appear in anime because significantly overweight teens are a rarity in Japan. Considering the average Japanese diet that consists mainly of non-fatty rice and seafood rather than red meat, and the nature of Japanese social organization which mandates a lot of walking and physical activity, Asians simply aren’t as sedentary as especially Americans, so less frequently obese. America is perhaps the world’s nation most conscious of social relevance and “political correctness.” Japan, a country virtually defined by ethnic and physical homogeneity seems to feel little need to represent minorities in anime out of politically correct obligation. In simple terms, fat people are rare in Japan, so they are also rare in Japanese animation, which seeks to reflect Japanese reality and appeal to viewers native to contemporary Japan.

In the same way that the relative infrequency of obese characters reflects real-life Japan, school uniforms and loose socks, especially in anime, are also a reflection of modern Japanese life. Japanese students wear school uniforms. Any person wandering through the streets of Shinjuku or Shibuya will see hundreds of Japanese children and teens, especially girls, wearing their school uniforms complete with long, bunched up “loose socks” that cover the entire lower leg. Considering how commonly seen school uniforms are in real life Japan, anime would seem unbelievable and out of touch if it did not reflect this aspect of Japanese reality. There are several reasons behind the popularity of loose socks, ranging from the practical to the superfluous. Primarily, loose socks keep legs warm during cold weather, since a girl wearing trousers would be unfeminine. Furthermore, the tall, baggy socks obscure the contour of a girl’s legs, so self-conscious girls worried about not having thin, shapely legs need not worry. Finally, many Japanese girls wear loose socks because everybody else is wearing them. In Japan’s culture of fitting in, many Japanese girls choose to wear the same clothes as their classmates just so they don’t stand out as being different.