The portrayal of black people in anime

[JohnCrichton]

Almost nothing makes me angrier than seeing a token black person, or a jacked up stereotype.

Is it so hard just to make a character.... who's black? Instead of making "the black character."

Cowboy Bebop does it great, but the greatest diverse cast that's for the first time I've ever seen doesn't do it, just to be doing it is G.I. Joe. As a kid that show made me feel good, cuz everyone was equal and unique and now ever felt token to me.

 

[Beat]

Originally posted by Leaping Larry Jojo
I have heard that Ed from Bebop is part latino.

Oh, dear Lord. I'm going to go watch the Mysterious cities of Gold. Maybe that will make me feel better.

 

[JetMaster5]

Originally posted by Leaping Larry Jojo
I really hope Yao Ming does well. I've been following him closely. Rudy's been keeping his minutes down, though.

I think that's because the coach isn't so sure about having him play. That, or the international laws and stuff. :shrugs:

 

[All-Star 1.5]

Yao Ming is new to this version of the game so it would make since to have him adjust over a period of time then just to put him in there.

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by jetwing5
I think that's because the coach isn't so sure about having him play. That, or the international laws and stuff. :shrugs:

As I'm writing this right now, Ming has 29 points and 12 rebounds against Dallas in the 3rd quarter.

However, Houston is down by 7.

 

[Conan-san]

Two chracters come to mind here

Tenchi's Mihoshi
and
Outlaw star's Aisha
both are "cloured" (don't fell confertable saying that) both are fairly hopeless in whatever they do SOSF...


Edited due to gross mis-spell

 

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

Originally posted by Conan-san
Two chracters come to mind here

Tenchi's Mihoshi
and
Outlaw star's Ashania
both are "cloured" (don't fell confertable saying that) both are fairly hopeless in whatever they do SOSF...

Eh, you mean Aisha? And if you read the manga, Mihoshi's not nearly so dense. In Muyo!, she wasn't even that useless, but in Universe and Tokyo, I seriously think they deleted a few IQ points to make her more of an annoyance to Kiyone.

 

[JetMaster5]

Originally posted by Leaping Larry Jojo
As I'm writing this right now, Ming has 29 points and 12 rebounds against Dallas in the 3rd quarter.

However, Houston is down by 7.

Guess I was wrong.

 

[Anthonynotes]

Going way back in the thread, have to agree with what SHarklady and a few others said re: the iffy portrayals of minorities in animation.... that there probably aren't a strong # of Blacks/Hispanics/etc. working within animation as writers, etc. to begin with. Which is all the more reason for someone at Warner Bros. to hire me on ;-p

Vaguely related to this whole thread, just read that one of the "Lilo and Stitch" writers were listed by a gay & lesbian magazine as one of its top 100 influential/important gay individuals of 2002...

-B.
Me working at WBA... heh... (bowls over laughing at the idea)

 

[MajinVegeta86]

i have made a couple of non stereotype african/asian anime characters. i really don't like negative stereotypes in animes or cartoons.

 

[Pepperidge]

Wow, there are some posters in this thread whom I haven't seen in a LONG time.

 

[Ben]

Umm... this isn't an RPG thread. I will let this thread be revived because it's great and there are probably some people who haven't posted in it yet, but please stay on topic.

(though there really aren't many people of color in Japan)

It probably wasn't intentional, but this statement really says a lot about Japanese racial identity. Japan is full of Japanese people, who are very much "people of color." They've just been trying for 150 years to pretend they're white.

 

[Vagrant]

I wanted to write something profound today, but it's Friday so here it goes.

Japanese Writers Guide to Ethnic Characters

Chinese: Manipulative; alternatively childish and impulsive, or cold and unemotional; usually good at martial arts , inept at all matters romantic. Likes wearing fashions that haven't been updated since the Cultural Revolution

American Black: Anonymous one line character or a stereotype that hasn't been updated since the Blackexploitation period.

African Black: ???

American Caucasian: Almost human but still suffers from a loud, brash and in your face attitude. Often violent and frequently sadistic even when supposed allies.

European Caucasian: Usually royalty, refined and cultured. Apparently the Japanese never met a working class bloke from Wales or Manchester.

Indian/Pakistani/East Indian: ??? Nothing to see here either.

Native American: Still dresses in traditional native garb and lives in tepees even in a freaking modern period.

Latino/Hispanic: Suprisingly, lots of variety, considering Latino characters are rare.

Oh and Japanese Anime producers, please contiune being nerdy and ignore that Hip-Hop and African-American culture has been the in thing for cool Japanese kids for the past five years. Hip-Hop artists are always giving props to Japanese. I wonder why?

I'll present something more substantive later.

[EDITED]

 

[Dudley]

I don't watch a lot of anime: but I have seen the ones where African Americans aren't shown too much in a bad way.

Sonic X: besides the maid, the black kid that's one of Christopher's friends isn't a sterotype.

Slam Dunk: though the show hasn't come over yet, the coach for the protagonist team is black, and he's one of the main characters.

Cyborg 009: While the old version had an offensive blackface version of 008 (which can still be seen in the manga), the new one that airs today has 008 treated look less racist and is treated no less different than all the other characters.
Except for the fact, that you rarely seen him use his powers.
One thing that has bothered me recently (even though it's not an anime)there's no black people in Final Fanstasy. I wonder why?

 

[Beat]

One thing that has bothered me recently (even though it's not an anime)there's no black people in Final Fanstasy. I wonder why?

You sure about that?

 

[Keiichi]

Theres also a Black person in Laguna's group in FF 8.

*EDIT*

 

[Ben]

I was talking to a black expat on a train last year (married to a Japanese woman), and he was telling me about how this gang of teenagers kept stealing bikes in his neighborhood, and when he finally got fed up with it and went out to where they were gathering to yell at them they got really freaked out and never came near his house again. I guess stereotypes have their useful side sometimes!

 

[Daizaburo Estes]

Well...there was Advisor Black in the original Dragon Ball...'course you people wouldn't remember...

 

[J. B. Warner]

I just want to say how stupid I think the Jynx controversy is. If 4Kids ever releases "Pokémon" on DVD by American season, I'm writing in and asking them to include "Holiday Hi-Jynx" on Season 2 and "The Ice Cave" on Season 5 with commentaries explaining that there's no racial undertone to the character (I'd also ask that all her cut scenes, like the half a minute snipped out of "All Things Bright and Beautifly" in Season 6, be restored for re-release). It just bugs me that one person raised a ruckus and 4Kids and Nintendo caved immediately.

 

[Funkatron]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Bob from Tenjo Tenge(sp?). Only bad part is he's important enough to be in the intro, but not important enough to be named in the intro. Sigh. Black sidekick to the blonde hero.