Don't like anime?

[Esrever]

Come ON, mate. Are you honestly trying to say that the character designs in most anime look as different from one another as Mickey Mouse does from Speedy Gonzales? I think even the most hardened anime junkie would have a problem believing that. I swear, sometimes it is like there is a "house" style for the entire country, and the variations on the theme can usually be described in phrases such as "the eyes aren't so big" or "the noses are really pointy." Japan, I loved Tesuka too, but not every single style of animation has to stem directly from his. Are there major exceptions? Sure! Are they very common? No!

Let me put it this way. If you all knew how to draw, and I asked you to each produce a picture of a popular anime-styled human face, you'd each have to pick a particular anime style to ape. One drawing could look like Ranma, another like Cowboy Bebop, another like Princess Mononoke, another like Pokemon. If they viewer was familiar with anime they could probably tell which style you were trying to replicate without much difficulty.

But now say I asked you each to draw a western-animation-styled human face. What would the resulting images look like? Disney? The Simpsons? The CN house style, like Dexter's lab or Johnny Bravo? That horrible squiggly Clasky/Csupo garbage like Rugrats? Or maybe that kind of generic "realistic" action style that was used all the time in the 90s, for cartoons like Spider-man and X-men, until aping anime caught on instead?

Anyhow, try to picture these two groups of drawings and then decide which one is going to have the narrower stylistic range. That's what I'm talking about when I say comparatively homogenous.

[Spazz]

I think Esrever's nailed it. The narrow style is sort of like a way you tell something is anime. Like, for example you can tell how western shows like Megas XLR and Teen Titans are in a way "imitating" the anime style because of the way their drawn. (Although they're not "ripping-off" of anime, they say it's more of a homage to it.)
<img src="http://www.oddwebsite.com/^_^.gif">

[One Classy Bloke]

Waitaminute, can't they just masturbate like the rest of the world?

With what?!

They need their mothers to find it.

[G.Silver]

That's what I'm talking about when I say comparatively homogenous.

So you were refering to the art style all along and not the content? I am disappointed!

[Esrever]

Oh! Sorry, I should have said "that's part of what I'm talking about". I was talking about the content before, and you basically summed up what I was getting at in your subsequent post. :)

[Kishi]

Let me put it this way. If you all knew how to draw, and I asked you to each produce a picture of a popular anime-styled human face, you'd each have to pick a particular anime style to ape. One drawing could look like Ranma, another like Cowboy Bebop, another like Princess Mononoke, another like Pokemon. If they viewer was familiar with anime they could probably tell which style you were trying to replicate without much difficulty.

But now say I asked you each to draw a western-animation-styled human face. What would the resulting images look like? Disney? The Simpsons? The CN house style, like Dexter's lab or Johnny Bravo? That horrible squiggly Clasky/Csupo garbage like Rugrats? Or maybe that kind of generic "realistic" action style that was used all the time in the 90s, for cartoons like Spider-man and X-men, until aping anime caught on instead?

Anyhow, try to picture these two groups of drawings and then decide which one is going to have the narrower stylistic range. That's what I'm talking about when I say comparatively homogenous.

I still disagree with you. In fact, what you just said prettymuch affirms to me that different anime look as much alike as different American cartoons do. Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin have at least as much in common visually as Cyborg 009 and Ataru Moroboshi do, and so on.

I think Esrever's nailed it. The narrow style is sort of like a way you tell something is anime.

You can just as easily tell when something is American-made or European-made.

Anyway, here are those examples you wanted.

http://www.northarc.com/images/grobo/ginrei2.jpg
http://liquidpenguin.free.fr/flcl/image ... aruko2.jpg
http://www.furinkan.net/favorites/lum.jpg
http://www.absoluteanime.com/plastic_little/index.jpg
http://digilander.libero.it/jaike/accp/ ... dvd_or.jpg
http://www.ohtori.hut.ru/Rose-Of-Versaille-3.jpg
http://blogfiles.naver.net/data2/2004/1 ... pingol.jpg
http://www.mikegower.com/unspacy/images/neon01.jpg
http://www.vnn.vn/dataimages/original/i ... raemon.jpg
http://forums.ag.ru/files/lain-bjc-b02.jpg
http://mico-media.com/photos/y/youre_un ... Pics/7.jpg
http://www.animestone.com/galerias/videogirlai/04.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/kayunom ... a_kei1.jpg
http://www.northarc.com/images/orion/Orion.Seska.jpg
http://jajatom.moo.jp/album_e/file/03calender.jpg
http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptions ... urita2.jpg
http://www.animetion.co.uk/top%20fives/bulma.jpg
http://www.jasms.de/anime/gsc/gsc_titel01.jpg

[Spazz]

Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin have at least as much in common visually as Cyborg 009 and Ataru Moroboshi do, and so on.

Well, I don't know what it is, but you have to admit that there is <i>some</i> sort visual similarty in all anime where you can tell it's "anime-style." Maybe it's the way it's colored, maybe it's the art form, some are not as noticable than others, but it's there. For example, it seems that in much of anime, the way the eyes are drawn are complex and shiney. I'm sure before many people knew what anime was, they could tell even as children that there are these cartoons where they people's eyes are always big and shiny, have big mouths when they laugh, and have blue hair.

[Kishi]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I know I noticed it when I was a kid. I'm just saying there's something like that to everything. It's not just the Japanese stuff.

[chriscaffee]

If I show you a screencap of a British cartoon, how are you going to be able to distinguish that it is British and not American or Canadian? If I show you a cap from an anime, apples to oranges you are going to think it came from Japan, and you would probably be right.

[Kishi]

British and Canadian is pretty hazy, yeah. I could probably tell every time between something American and something Britinadian, though.

[Locit]

that there are these cartoons where they people's eyes are always big and shiny, have big mouths when they laugh, and have blue hair.

Hehe, Strongbad.

[Esrever]

Well of course Peter Griffin looks like Homer Simpson. I'm not saying that no two American cartoons look similar... that would be stupid. But try comparing Peter and Homer to the character design styles of, say, Disney or CN or any of the other examples I listed above. They don't even look like they evolved from a common cartooning ancestor... they look as different from one another as they do from anime.

The range of character design styles in American animation -- even when you limit yourself only to the most popular, commercial, mainstream cartoons around -- is far, far broader than in your equivilent anime. A charitable way of saying it is that the differences between anime styles are more "subtle." You don't have to think that a narrower range is bad, but I didn't think anyone could deny it is narrower.

Compare the different examples I listed with the ones you posted, and then honestly ask yourself if I am wrong. If you still don't believe me then I officially give up trying to convince you otherwise. It is a lost cause.

[Kishi]

I see just as much difference between Katsura and Otomo character designs as I do between Groening and Tartakovsky ones, and so on.

[Esrever]

Really?

[Kishi]

Yes, really.

[Esrever]

Hey, you posted that before I even got those #$%()*#$ image links working! ;)

But OK, I give up.

[plasticwingsband]

Oh man, this is like the sequel to "Only Good Art is Art," and I can't wait til it inspires a Sam & Fuzzy Comic.

[Esrever]

REALLY?

[Segaholic2]

ANIME SUX LOL

In other news, Kishi is blind and also in denial.

[Kishi]

It's not like I'm trying to defend its honor or anything. I'm just saying it's perfectly diverse.

Hate anime because it's mind-rotting garbage, not because "everyone looks the same if you shave off their blue and pink hair."

[Radrappy]

i realize the point you're trying to make here. . . and I would agree that anime in general is kept within a much tighter range of style then america has. But America also represents an extremely diverse center of culture and ethnicity compared to japan.
Also, has anyone seen windy tales, that new show by production IG? Its thinlined and casual style is a breath of fresh air in anime character designs and I reccomend it to anyone who feels that all anime looks alike. http://www.productionig.com/project.php?id=28&section=1

As an artist, I have been trying to break away from anime for almost a year now, but I have to say that american character designs are horrid in my eyes when compared to their asian or japanese counterparts. I am dismayed that someone who draws anime has no artistic future in america, but it is a reality we all have to accept.

lastly, I love giant robot shows to death. America has absolutly nothing that compares to the action packed robot shows of japan such as Mazinkaiser or Shin Getter Robo.
American mech designs such as mech warrior churn my stomach with their pathetic, clunkyness.

[Segaholic2]

Sounds like your problem isn't with the "American character designs".

[Radrappy]

alright that was a bit unfair. I really do like some "american designs" such as dexter's lab and I really like the old Disney Movie characters.

[minnietguinea]

Ghost in the Shell is wonderful.

[BlazeHedgehog]

I am <i>so</i> sorry.