06-25-2006

Japan, Betty Boop, and Anime Eyes

I ran across the Japan SAQ (Seldom Asked Questions) via populicio.us. The page collects a wide variety of questions and answers about various aspects of Japanese culture. One of the questions gives some detail about the origin of big Anime eyes.

Q. Why do anime characters have such big eyes?
A. The practice of drawing anime characters with unusually large eyes dates back to the art form’s founder, Osamu Tezuka. When he started drawing his most famous creation, Astroboy, he was inspired by the famous cartoon character Betty Boop and her enormous eyes. After the success of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy), other manga and anime artists began to copy Tezuka, and a trend was born.

The list is pretty fascinating reading. I wish there were similar SAQs to cover the obscure aspects of all cultures around the world. The closest I’ve seen are the The Xenophobe’s Guide book series.

Posted by Matt in movies, reading | RSS 2.0

One Response to “Japan, Betty Boop, and Anime Eyes”
  1. olrayt Says:

    wow. imagine, naruto and betty boop have a connection.

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