Hi and welcome to a new “Series” if you will on my blog. Although all my posts thus far can be seen as “opinion” posts, which is justifiable, in all honesty. I wanted to do something a little different per say. I wanted to set aside a whole different category where I can post my own opinions on individual aspects of Anime. A place where I can focus on certain topics of things on my mind.
I do not know how long these pieces will be, so they can either be very short or very long, depending on how I feel when I write these – so let’s get to winging it, shall we?
Today, I wanted to talk about a problem that I see from time-to-time, something that you can see in virtually every anime – disproportionate body types. This can be seen in both genders, male and female, but is most evident for the female character within an Anime. Obviously, if you’re watching an Anime that is labelled as an Ecchi or Harem, this becomes even evident and a lot more exaggerated.
However, if you’re watching a “normal” anime, “normal” being one that isn’t labelled a Harem or Ecchi Anime. You will maybe sometimes see that one character whose features are a little exaggerated or isn’t proportionate to their body. If you watch Anime on a regular basis, which I am sure we all do then you probably have noticed this in one, two or maybe more Anime. Maybe it hasn’t really crossed your mind or you disregard it altogether because it became synonymous with Anime. But it’s something I’ve come to notice every time I watch Anime.
To me personally, I think it’s an unnecessary thing that I believe shouldn’t be a part of Anime. I would much prefer an Anime that has characters that you know, are proportionate. Yes, I know there is Anime where that is the case, but the Anime where this isn’t a thing it’s slowly starting to grow and become more evident. To me having that disproportionate character really throws off the vibe that Anime is trying to give off because you know at the back of your mind, that this disproportionate character will either be used for two things, fanservice or to be that perverted comedic relief the Anime will jump to for no particular reason.
From a studio and marketing standpoint, you may or may not understand why the Anime studio decided to go this path. To get people interested, keep watching, and to maybe “like” an Anime, you may need to have that one character that is disproportionate. After all, studios are out there to make money and how do you do that? You play into that fanservice because they know there will always be that one perverted watcher. From that standpoint, I totally get, however, as we’ve seen now, with other Anime. You do not need a disproportionate character to promote an Anime. If you have that storyline set in place, wonderful character progression, art etc; you do not need a disproportionate character in an Anime.
Take Violet Evergarden for example, yes, there are disproportionate body types within the Anime, however, that doesn’t draw you to the Anime. What draws you to the Anime is the character development, the storyline they studio is trying to promote and the art that has been drawn and animated for this Anime. Which is why I personally think Violate Evergarden is one of the better Anime to air this year.
You do not need to have that disproportionate character to be a fixture within an Anime just to make sure you earn some type of revenue for the show the studio has created. I think it has become common practice for an Anime to default to it because they know it’ll always draw in a certain crowd, a certain interest; because they focus so much on that aspect or try their hardest to make it work within the Anime, that sometimes they lack in other aspects one of them being the story they’re trying to portray.
To me, Anime is about telling a story, whether that be a happy story, a sad story or something in between. You do not need to have that disproportionate character to tell or sell a story, an Anime can do just fine with proportionate characters, I think we can all agree with that. To me personally, that disproportionate character lessens the effect the Anime has and the story it tries to tell and I think that sucks because maybe that story would have been good, but instead, they had to make that disproportionate character work within the confines the studio has set for itself.
That’s it for today’s opinion piece, tell me whatcha think on this topic, it’ll definitely be interesting!
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2 responses to “Disproportionate Body Types | Opinion”
Ah, big boobs. Just binge watched Fate Extra/Last Encore, eps 1-8. They had a Saber who looked like the original Saber, Arthur, but in a dress and with huge breasts hanging over. I guess she was supposed to be Emperor Nero with a completely rewritten history. The bust size really detracted from the character.
There is something seriously deranged in the Japanese culture to think that large breasts and lolis are all their target market (usually young otaku males) ever thinks about.
The Rin character was far sexier. Tall and slender. Small, perky, & firm breasts and clothes that sometimes looked painted on. But is she not also disproportionate in her own way? Women who can pull off that look are also rare. You’ll see them on fashion runways and hardly anywhere else.
Most of the very best anime does not focus on the female figure as a way to excite otakus in their parent’s basements. Cheap anime, IMHO does. They can’t base their profit just on the plot and characterizations, so they toss in a bunch of fan service. When good anime does feature shapely women – or men for that matter – there is a deeper purpose. But maybe I am overthinking this.
Anime is a fantasy. When one submerges oneself in a fantasy, one would surround oneself with attractive people. I think behavior makes a woman attractive. She could have a wide range of shapes and as long as she acted like someone who would be great to know. But the people who study the demographics of anime watchers would disagree.
I totally agree