Ask John: Why Don’t Anime Characters Have Body Hair?

Question:
Why don’t anime characters have any arm-pit hair or chest hair or, for that matter, pubic hair?

Answer:
There may be at least 3 reasons why anime characters aren’t commonly shown with lots of body hair. To the extent that anime is a reflection of Japanese society, Asians genetically don’t usually grow very much body hair. Asian people do grow long hair on their heads, the same way just about all races of people are capable of doing, but while Asian men can and do have chest hair, and Asian women do need to shave their legs, it’s quite uncommon for Asian men, especially, to have the heavy, noticeable body hair more common in men of European descent. Anthropologically this may have something to do with genetic evolution. Asian countries, which are commonly centered close to the equator and usually have fairly warm climates may have, over time, evolved people that did not need excessive body hair to maintain body heat the way Europeans from colder climates did.

A second explanation for the lack of body hair on anime characters, and especially pubic hair is accounted for by Japanese law and ethical standards. As pointed out in a 1991 article written by John C. Watson, the depiction of genitalia, pubic hair, and graphic sexual intercourse is illegal in Japan. While the enforcement of this law has relaxed within the past decade or so, common practice still maintains the enforcement of censoring graphic adult material in Japanese print and film. This is why, for example, foreign versions of adult anime videos, hentai PC games and, commonly, hentai manga, are available uncensored while the versions available for sale or rental within Japan are censored. However, one simple way of skirting the law prohibiting the exposure of pubic hair is to simply draw fictional characters without body hair.

And finally, for the same reason that Mickey Mouse has only four fingers instead of five, excluding body hair on anime characters is just faster and more convenient for artists working on a tight budget and schedule.