Ask John: Why is Anime so Hard for People to Accept?

Question:
I was wondering, what makes anime so unappealing to the everyday American? From a fan’s standpoint, anime is totally logical, even the worst of anime far outweighs typical american cartoons and even live action TV. Why would people rather watch the disgusting little Rug Rats, or the flat, shadowless world of Zeta than a cartoon that is well thought out, and makes you think (even though you don’t always notice)?

Answer:
It may be impossible for me, as a serious fan, to comprehend or emulate the opinions of a mainstream viewer, but I can suggest some of the points of contention a mainstream viewer may have with anime. It’s common that someone that watches a lot of anime, or someone who’s been watching anime for a long time may be too used to the conventions of anime to actively recognize or comprehend the innate Japanese characteristics of anime.

First and foremost is the pure look of anime. While big eyes and strange colored hair may seem like second nature to anime fans, these visual characteristics aren’t natural, and don’t emulate real humans, which may conflict with the otherwise “realistic” presentation of people and settings in anime. Anime fans simply take this “look” for granted and understand that wild colored hair and big eyes are simply artistic conventions. Big eyes allow for greater expression, and are clearer and more vi sable at a distance or in sometimes obscured manga illustrations. Unusual hair allows for greater distinction between characters, and simply isn’t unusual at all when it’s considered “normal” within the universe of the anime. But viewers not used to these conventions may be put off by them, or by the fact that ostensibly Japanese characters don’t look Japanese. Essentially, mainstream viewers may tend to be concerned with superficial appearances while anime fans naturally combine appearance with personalities without even even being cognizant of doing so.

Once again highlighting the superficial examination of anime in contrast to suspension of disbelief, mainstream viewers, most often Westerners, often cite poor animation quality- most specifically the lack of mouth movement matching the spoken dialogue. Careful consideration will usually reveal that an anime character’s mouth will open and close in relative time with the spoken dialogue, but the actual mouth movements will not realistically match the spoken dialogue. Once again, experienced anime fans simply rarely even notice this because devoted anime fans concentrate their attention on the dialogue and overall character reactions than on the technical frame-by-frame animation.

A third complaint mainstream viewers may have with Japanese animation lies not in the animation itself but in the viewer’s perception. Whether or not we are aware of it, Westerners are trained to believe that animation is for children. Even die-hard American anime fans are still subject to this belief, proven by their need to justify the appeal of anime as “not just cartoons.” For some viewers, the mature nature of anime is contrary to their very fundmental concept of animation, and is a conflict too tremendous to overcome. Anime fans rarely recognize or too often take for granted that Japanese animation is fundamentally different from any other animation in the world. Anime is genuinely created to appeal to all ages because its characters, no matter how foreign or outlandish, are presented with realistic human characteristics. Even the most childish and simplistic anime characters such as Shinnosuke of Crayon Shin-chan, C-ko of Project A-ko, and Usagi of Sailormoon have emotions of love, hate, fear and pleasure that emulate real humans. While exactly because of the this characteristic anime characters may seem perfectly natural to anime fans, this may come as a shock to mainstream viewers who are used to either complex characters in animation intended for adults, or superficial, non-personified characters in children’s animation. Consider that in traditional Western animation characters will express a broad range of emotion presented as a reaction to on-screen events. These reactions seem external and therefore superficial while the reactions of anime characters, from children’s anime characters to hentai series characters, seem like a natural emotional reaction originating from within the character’s own distinct, individual personality. This may be summed up in the comparison that Western animated characters are fictional “characters” while Japanese animated characters seem like fictional “people.” At its most fundmental level, anime is more “intelligent” than typical Western animation because it assumes the intelligence of the viewer to emphasize with a fictional character rather than simply be entertained by that character. Thus anime is more akin to an animated work of fiction, like a novel, while American animation is generally simply moving pictures intended to appeal to a viewer.

Finally, anime fans often unconsciously absorb and accept the innate “Japaneseness” of anime while mainstream fans may unconsciously intuit and be distanced by this subtle “foreign-ness.” Anime characters are almost always Japanese, even when their character’s nationality isn’t. Characters like Tenchi Masaki, Roger Smith of The Big O, Spike Spiegel of Cowboy Bebop, and the Gundam Wing boys may not seem overtly Japanese, but they all exhibit subtle characteristics representative of their Japanese origins. Tenchi represents the innate respect and “politeness” of Japanese society, never wanting to offend or “cause a scene.” Roger Smith, Spike Speigel and the Gundam W pilots all represent the Japanese ideology of responsibility to the self and to ideals. They hold themselves to a strict personal moral standard- a characteristic of Japanese culture that dates back to virtually the birth of the samurai before the turn of the first millenia AD. Even such commonly accepted and “Westernized” anime as Dragonball, Digimon and Pokemon still contain a great deal of underlying Japanese culture that may seem foreign to mainstream Western viewers. Dragonball focuses on Son Goku, a character who typifies the Zen concept of the honorable warrior- the warrior spiritually mature enough to always allow his enemies a chance for honorable retreat, but mentally strong enough to never be dishonored by backing down. Both Pokemon and Digimon have an innate sense of responsibility in them- loyalty to one’s ideals and loyalty to one’s accepted responsibilities, that are not common to American animation.

Anime fans, due to their very nature, may subconsciously amalgamate these eclectic elements into their own subconscious and change or evolve their own viewing standards or expectations while mainstream viewers fail to confederate the conventions of anime with their own established expectations. By their nature, anime fans are open minded and susceptible to new influences and stimuli. After all, anime fans are people willing to watch foreign “cartoons.” And anime fans usually look beyond superficial concerns like big eyes and wild hair and consider characterization, story, style and action almost without even being aware that they’re doing so. It’s not impossible for anyone to watch and enjoy anime, but for a Westerner to watch anime, that person must be able to disregard basic preconceived expectations of the definition of animation and watch anime to appreciate what it is, rather than what it isn’t. For many viewers, it’s simply easier or more entertaining to watch traditional American cartoons or live-action TV or movies or read Western comic books that are tailored around the fundmental Western definitions of comic books, animation and “entertainment” rather than delve into anime and manga, which are not created for Westerners and do not tailor themselves to Western concepts of “animation.”