From Woman to Manga

Body Image, East Asia, Korean Media, Manhwa
(Source: aatheory.com)

Granted, #9 seems a little excessive. Still, it’s probably more common than #1!

Thanks to eccentricyoruba for the laugh!

Published

14 thoughts on “From Woman to Manga”

  4. 3-5 seems to be the main range depending on the genre and artists.

    I’d like to see one comparing body types.. for academic reasons of course

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    1. There’s definately a fixation on cute. In this situation, I think larger eyes just happen to go along with the cute image. As well as a larger forehead or the eyes lower on the face, rounder cheeks, and a smaller nose. It more closely resembles the proportions on a baby’s or small child’s face, making it appear cuter.

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      1. That was pure sarcasm on my part. Sorry you did not catch it. Double eye lid surgery?

        Larger forehead? It looks like the hairlines are 1 inch from the eyebrows? The opposite of reality. A compensation?

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        1. Sorry I didn’t catch the sarcasm. I genuinely wanted to have a longer response to the question. Next time I’ll fight the urge to write a thoughtful response. (<sarcasm!!!)

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          1. I am of the opinion that the large eyes in comics (or any other medium) is reflective of the supposed “inferiority complex”, due to the small eyes of most East Asian people. Thus, the reason why I stated double eye lid surgery.

            In continuing with possible complexes, these drawings show the forehead getting smaller, as the eyes are getting bigger. No surprise here! Look at the number of woman in Korea who sport “super bangs” to hide their “high” hairline.

            Is it possible that these and many other animated images are reflective of what Asians wish their natural physical features were?

            I hope this is somewhat thoughtful enough? While most poeple here seem to view these images as a creation of becoming cute, or more cute, I’m not sure this is the underlying cause.

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          2. The large eyes are not the product of some kind of “inferiority complex” and you would find it laughable if you had at least some inkling of the culture and art you’re talking about.

            In the first place, the Japanese can be quite xenophobic and are very far from having any kind of inferiority complex. They certainly also have an obsession with the cute, which overlaps with many of the trends in manga.

            Secondly, the style derives from Osamu Tezuka. Osamu Tezuka was an incredibly prolific and influential early mangaka who was inspired by the cartoon style of Disney. Surely you don’t want to suggest that Disney drew characters like Mickey Mouse that way because of an “inferiority complex.” And Tezuka certainly didn’t. It would have come through in places other than his art style.

            Not only is your view laughably inaccurate, it’s disgustingly reductive and colonialist. Do you really think the world revolves the West? That everyone wishes they could be like us?

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          3. Well, If you thoroughly read what I had stated, you would see that I specifically used the word “supposed”, just so statements like yours could possibly be avoided. I failed and knew this was inevitable.

            Your boy Tezuka is one of many people who draw cartoon styles of both men and women who have big eyes and small foreheads, both in Japan and Korea. Maybe even China, I’m not sure.

            It has been well documented that large eyes and white (whiter) skin is highly prized in pretty much all of the Orient. Double eye lid surgery and bleaching of the skin are fairly common. There are many articles discussing the SUPPOSED inferiority complex of Asian people with respect to their bodies. I DID NOT say that I absolutely agree with these asessments, but I DO believe there is a case for these arguements.

            I do appreciate you taking the time to add “digustingly reductive” and “colonialist”, along with my implied belief that “the world revolves around the west” to your opinion of my comments. Nice work, you completely warped my thoughts on the subject while simultaneously adding insults of your own.

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  8. Not really on topic, but have you seen the manga drawings from Naoki Urasawa? The mangaka of Monster and 20th Century Boys.

    Those are women you don’t usually see on mangas. Or men, children, pets – everything, for that matter.

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