Is there a lack of Variety of "Body Types" in anime?

[agc161]

Something i've been Wondering for awhile after watching a few series. Is it Just me or are the bodies of anime characters lacking in variety? Skinny and Pale Bodies seem to Dominate character designs with no facial hair,fat, musculature(on either males or females) or any other Distingusihing features. This isn't a rant or anything but I wonder , is this simply a cultural Preference of the japanese or am i simply not looking hard enough for diversity?

[Ghost]

Depends on the type of anime, and also what you consider "lack of variety." Lacking compared to what, exactly? American comics and cartoons? Entertainment media in general? The real life average quota of body types among the Japanese themselves?

As always, one can't really generalize this as a thing all anime has in common. Even when it does occur, I think it's more a stylistic thing. Some artists just prefer designing their characters that way.

Just compare, say, CLAMP's very slender, willowy characters with the huge, bodybuilder-type tough guys in Fist of the North Star. Or stuff like One Piece, where characters may have practically any shape or form.

[Gezora]

Too true. Anime is one of those mediums where style and artistic variety is never particularly typical.

However, one rule of anime that is almost always a constant: The lead character is young, fair-skinned, and attractive in some way. While some atypical anime and manga break that mold occasionally (Berserk, Fist of The North Star, Wolf & Cub), they are exceptions to the rule.

[Lester C.]

Also Japan has a very homogeneous population. Even their minorities can pass for 100 percent Japanese and don't know they are a part of a minority population. So in that conext it's not surprising that they all look alike if you are accustomed to the diversity of the West.

[ChrisIII]

I think there was actually more character design variation in older anime-mainly the 80s-than there is now. Today there seems to be more a trend toward angular design...

[Ghost]

However, one rule of anime that is almost always a constant: The lead character is young, fair-skinned, and attractive in some way.

Yeah, but the same trends can be seen in western media as well. It's mainly because the target audience itself is also young and fair-skinned. As for the characters being attractive, that's just common sense. Unnattractive main characters aren't in very high demand, after all.

While some atypical anime and manga break that mold occasionally (Berserk, Fist of The North Star, Wolf & Cub), they are exceptions to the rule.

All three of those share a similar style, though: they all belong to the darker, more grim variety of action stories. I wouldn't call them atypical as much as being loosesly related in style and genre.

Really, it's dangerous to start thinking of the style of manga and anime you are the most aquinted with as representing manga and anime in general. Especially here in the west, were we get a less varied range of titles and genres.

Too often I see people complaining that "all anime is the same," only to find that their entire experience is based on the Shounen genre standard. That's like only reading romance novels and then complaining that "all books are love stories."

[The Xenos]

What about facial types? I find that a number of shows, due to a simplified style on the characters, the faces are almost the same and pretty much eye color and hair style are about the only notable differences. Oh and breast size when considering body type. I want to say some harem anime in particular suffers from this.

Of course I'm going to be very careful on that whole lack of variety. There is that old steroype that Japanese or even Asians as a while all look alike. Personally, I think the problem is just that people in the west aren't used to noticing facial types and recognizable characteristics of those Asian gene pools. If you spend time over there or looking at different faces, you will start to train yourself on the differences.

Meanwhile, I think in anime and even some manga, you can chalk it up to artists with a simplified style that don't really draw characters too differently. Hell, I was watching a random ep Code Geass last night and I thought a number of characters were similar. Not having seen it in a while, I was also rather mixing characters up. Of course, with body types, CLAMP draws them extra skinny, even among shojo designs. They give El Greko a run for his elongated money.

I got a picture somewhere where someone took a character from Geass and shrunk them down to more normal proportions.

Ah. Here it is.
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9609/codegeasssdeclampingvv5.th.jpg (http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=codegeasssdeclampingvv5.jpg)

[Arilou]

Totally depends on the series. I know a lot where they seem to pretty much have a single mold and only change the hair/eyes and add accessoaries...

On the other hand, there is Princess Nine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEB7vQazBcE).

Naruto is actually another pretty good example. A lot of the characters have discernably different physique, and I'm not just talking hair/eyes/clothes either. (Even Sakura and Ino, who are of the general "gangly teenage girl" type look pretty different in silhouette)

[Totoro Man]

Something i've been Wondering for awhile after watching a few series. Is it Just me or are the bodies of anime characters lacking in variety? Skinny and Pale Bodies seem to Dominate character designs with no facial hair,fat, musculature(on either males or females) or any other Distingusihing features. This isn't a rant or anything but I wonder , is this simply a cultural Preference of the japanese or am i simply not looking hard enough for diversity?

you'll find this pattern EVERYWHERE.

in Asia, North America, Europe, Australia. so far as anime is concerned, it's probably more of a recent development.

character designs are based on thing seen in television, cinema, theater, or popular culture. if beards were suddenly to become "all the rage" you would thusly see more bearded characters.

chalk it up to the limitations of artistry. some people just aren't that good at drawing people--and find it easier to have all of their character designs look more or less the same.

[akamatsu]

:evilangry: Ridiculous complaint. what I will say however is that that Anime tends to follow certain patterns of artwork. Minor Villains are usually very big (perhaps it's the Japanese people's reaction to their own stature). Masters are also very big compared to their students. Women generally are drawn to look very attractive and I have no problem with that :biggrin:

[Darth Joker]

Compared to much of the "real world"? Probably.

Compared to strictly "real world" Japan? Probably not.

Anime, of course, tends to exaggerates certain physical features a bit, but artwork in general tends to do that.

Most Japanese people that I've seen pictures of, or personally know... are fairly thin, slender, and fair-skinned. I definitely get the impression (though I don't know for certain) that obesity is less common in Japan than it is in North America.