Ask John: Why Don’t Anime Characters Look Their Age?

Question:
Lately there seems to be trend among characters – especially female ones – in anime. Specifically, the correlation between their percieved age and actual age. In the newest HiME show, the main character is supposedly around 13-14 years old, yet she has body of an older teen. Lucky Star’s Akira looks to be a typical junior student, but her personality doesn’t match. Maria from Hayate the Combat Butler says that she is only 17, but readers or viewers percieve her as being older. There are also some more extreme cases of adults being cast as “loli,” like Mitsuki from Smash Hit. Opposite applies, like Mahou Sensei Negima’s Negi being 10 years old [but] acting mature to the point of causing his older students to swoon over him. Could you explain this trend, if that’s what it is? It seems so far-fetched to me.

Answer:
I’ll offer some broad observation on this topic, but ultimately I believe that this characteristic of anime has to be analyzed on a case by case basis. So from broad generalization, I’ll move to targeted discussion of specific examples. There are at least two possible reasons why anime characters often don’t look or act their age. This tendency may be a reflection of actual Japanese society. It may also be an artist’s concession to the audience.

I think that it’s fair and accurate to say that up until middle age, at least, Asians wear their age better than Westerners do. It’s not my intention to make a racially insensitive statement; this is just an innocent observation. I don’t know if the cause lies in genetics, environment, exercise, diet, or something else, but while Westerners rely on cosmetics and medical procedures to retain the appearance of youth, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Korean, and other Asian races seem to keep a youthful appearance naturally. So anime characters sometimes appearing younger than they are may be a reflection of actual, natural Asian characteristics.

Furthermore, anime and manga are often intended for children and young adults, so youthful characters may be easier for audiences to relate to. At the same time, young characters with mature minds and bodies may subconsciously satisfy young viewers’ unconscious desire to grow up. Children are always eager to become adults. Young manga and anime characters that look and act like adults become role models and vicarious alter-egos for children who can’t grow up fast enough.

However, these generalizations can’t explain every example and can’t represent every anime. In fact, there are many anime which do illustrate characters with appearances appropriate to their ages. Two examples are the current Bokurano and Seirei no Moribito anime television series. The junior high school protagonists of Bokurano do actually look and act like young teens. Balsa, the protagonist of Seirei no Moribito, is an adult woman, and her appearance does properly illustrate her age, physical development, and maturity. The current Naruto Shippuden anime prominently illustrates the physical development of its cast members by contrasting their younger appearance in the first TV series with their current, older and more physically developed appearance.

Ultimately, the way characters are illustrated and characterized may have more to do with individual context than with stereotypical anime conventions. Negi Springfield is 10 years old, but is mature enough to be a professional teacher. In his case, his intelligence and maturity are an integral part of his character. Negi is clearly an intelligent young boy, as he’s already graduated from magic school, and he’s considered capable enough to be a professional teacher. A similar example is Yoko from the current anime Gurren Lagann. Reportedly Yoko is only 14 years old, despite the fact that she has the body and personality of a 24 year old. Beyond the simple explanation that Yoko is the latest anime sex symbol from an anime studio with a long history of creating sexy young heroines, Yoko’s appearance may reflect her background. Her harsh life of battling for survival may have forced her to grow beyond her years. In an opposite example, the characters of Lucky Star are all small and cute despite their ages because they’re specifically created to be small and cute. The Lucky Star character Akira, in particular, is merely a variant of an often used anime gag. At first, Akira appears to be an energetic and cheerful young girl. But when she drops her facade, she reveals her true cynical, spiteful, jaded by experience personality. Anime like Sumomomomomomo and Cromartie High School include teen characters who appear to be grown men because the unexpected contrast is striking and funny. Likewise, adults like Mitsuki Ikita, from Smash Hit, and Suzuki Mika, from Sensei no Ojikan, who are often mistaken for being children are a source of comedy because their appearance is so unexpected.

Anime characters not looking or acting their age isn’t a universal, consistent characteristic since there are anime in which characters do look and act their age. I also don’t believe that anime characters not looking or acting their age is any sort of devious, deliberate obfuscation. Part of the motivation for the depiction of anime characters in certain ways may lie in the unconscious awareness of artists that are influenced by a natural Asian tendency to look youthful. Subconscious motivation may encourage artists to create characters that audiences can admire or empathize with. And intentional artistic choice may be applied to character appearances and personalities in order to create humor, or establish characterization or implied background detail on characters. Ultimately, viewers must remember that anime is fundamentally unrealistic. Unlike live action film, which uses living human actors and real life locations, everything depicted in manga and anime is literally created by artists with pencils, paints, and software. The purpose of anime is not to depict a strictly photo realistic representation of life, but rather to present an idealized, stylized depiction of life. So it may be natural to notice that anime characters don’t always look or act their age, but I don’t suggest taking these contradictions too seriously. Insisting that anime faithfully depict absolute realism drains the fantasy and fun out of anime.