Japanese Characters in American cartoons

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seena

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Since Americans often appear in anime and some says they are often stereotypes, how often is the reverse true?

It seems like whenever a Japanese character shows up in American cartoon, they fit into some stereotypes: ninja super villains, wise karate masters/teachers, nerds and ultra rich, kinda stuffy business men. How often do you see a Japanese character in American fiction, let alone animation, that doesn't conform to a stereotype?
 
Kappa Mikey is more of a parody of anime conventions than a ripoff of anime itself. It's really a "fish out of water" animated sitcom.



True. Just like whenever an American character shows up in anime, invariably they're either cowboys, boxers decked out in the red, white and blue, blond surfer types, African-American athletes or tacky tourist types who make a habit of murder the Japanese language. Such is the circle of life.

Unfortunately, offhand I can't recall any examples of a Japanese character appearing in an American cartoon who didn't embody some Japanese cliche in some form or another.
 
Well to be fair there are more American characters in anime then Japanese cartoons, so there is a greater chance of non sterotyped americans in anime, rather then vice versa.

There is a chance the character will be less sterotyped if the character is Japanese american, though those are rare.

Oh well its better now then it was in the 40s, though its kinda annoying when a modern Japanese character in an American cartoon has bad japanese accent provided by white VAs.
 
The only thing I can think of is the Gargoyles ep "Bushido" which had the main characters in a Japanese village with Japanese Gargoyles during the "World Tour" arc.

I don't think there were any stereotypes used, but it's been awhile since I've seen that ep.
 
Toshi is a nerd and a bit of a perv, so he isn't completely free from stereotype.

Seth Macfarlane tends to use Japanese people for quick gags, likely because they are more of an acceptable target. Tricia Takanawa is supposed to be an pure asian stereotype
 
I think the idea here is to name the Japanese characters who don't conform to the typical stereotypes (martial arts master/ninja, salaryman, otaku ubernerd, and Old Wise Man), not the ones that do.

Dr. Light in Justice League Unlimited is the first one I can think of off the top of my head. They don't refer to her by name and don't make a big deal of it, but they definitely used the Kimiyo Hoshi version of the character. No accent, no Japan-jitsu, no fortune cookie maxims from her. She was just a superhero. Wish they had done more with her on the show, since she has been a favorite ever since I first encountered her in the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire "Bwah-hah-hah" Justice League comics.

There was also the exchange student in Kim Possible who came in for Ron. He was a slick, super-cool Japanese guy. I suppose that's a different stereotype, but not one that's as prevalent in US cartoons.

Come to think of it, most of the major Japanese characters in the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo movie don't fit the stereotypes either. The police lieutenant is just a hard-boiled cop who happens to have a Japanese accent. Brushogun may be rooted in Japanese culture, but he's really just a magic-based supervillain.

I suppose you could argue that the Samurai in Super Friends wasn't one of those specific stereotypes. He was stereotypical in almost every other way, but he wasn't a ninja, a salaryman, or an otaku. He might have fit the wise-man stereotype, though he never really said much of anything other than "Kaze-no-yo Ni-hiyaku!"

-- Ed
 
She kind of does, as I know of some japanese, and asian chicks who are all into the cutsey, lovey-dovey type stuff she is. There are other races of females like that as well, but she's supposed to be the cliche asian chick that's all into Hello Kitty type stuff, etc.
 
Does it specifically have to be Japanese? The Chinese/American Dana Tan from Batman Beyond wasn't stereotypical in the slightest. :shrug:
 
only thing i can think of for these. is either being adopted or having a white parent

Kimiko Finster (pretty much an all American girl, she did want to study her Japanese culture and hang with other Asians in an episode)

Ashley Spinelli (all Tomboy)

Jack Long (acts pretty much like a typical boy too full of himself. if people have an issue with the Dragon part then i can understand)

Mr. Hyunh (moved to America to look for his daughter- Mai. he speaks english but its broken, as you would expect since he is an adult who doesnt have Mai's experience)
Phoebe Hyerdahl (i dont think being smart counts)
Jolly Olly Ice Cream Man (dont really know if he was Asian)

Steve is a perv and a nerd, and he's Caucasian.

incorrect. Seth pokes fun at everyone. no one is safe.

Tricia (i believe) is based on Connie Chung and her voice isnt a stereotype of an Asian woman, its just a voice people think about when reporters are being too serious (you see this in a lot of comedy sketches). Seth is also poking fun at the fact that Tricia seems to be the only Asian working at the Channel.

i doubt it, and i dont know why you would skip over the fact that Kuki Sanban hangs around other female characters, who are about as crazy over Rainbow Monkey as she is.

it has nothing to do with her being Asian, it has to do with her being the typical view of a girl. she is very feminine, likes pretty things, and is open to a lot of people. she is the opposite of Abigail Lincoln, who is obviously Tomboy.
 
Arguably, THE most stereotypical thing about Samurai was his name: I mean, he wasn't a samurai. At all. He had these wind, air and invisibility-based powers, which in truth weren't all that bad, but what did those specifically have to do with Bushido? Nothing really. But that was the rule of the day: if you were an ethnic Super Friend, your name had to reflect your ethnicity rather than your powers. Black Vulcan could have easily just been called Vulcan. It was never clearly stated that Apache Chief was a true Apache, and he didn't seem to be a 'chief' of anything. Naming the Asian Super Friend 'Samurai' for no other reason than he happens to be Asian would be like renaming Green Lantern 'Congressman' because most guys in Congress are white.
 
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