by TheMeInTeam Wed Nov 13, 2013 1:07 pmIt's interesting to see a picture of Spiderman not even an inch from an anime character on-screen. Well, it does share a few elements with certain anime genres.
Marvel suffers this effect, but less so. I think that's partially because they simply chose to use mutants and other odd-origin characters much more frequently. They're still too biased towards same-ness, but at least you could look at the torso + facial shape of Cyclops and Wolverine and be able to tell a difference if they were wearing civilian clothes...a big step up from Batman/Superman lol. Guys like Spiderman, Mister Fantastic, and Captain America are all distinctive from each other also. They could have done better, but in terms of this aspect Marvel is better than most anime and certainly better than DC.
I suspect some of it is just time limitations/animation though. If you make a lot of visually different characters, you have to animate them and consistently draw them uniquely. Higher budget titles can probably manage that, while others can't. It REALLY hurts anime, however, if their character appearances AND the story wind up being generic, because new anime releases are spammed to high heck. Then again, they actually attempt new IP on a regular basis, and that's the main draw of anime over western animation; since they do at least try to come up with new material on a regular basis some of it winds up being good.
I find most comics pretty guilty of this (anime can be too, while different from western comics it has its own typical patterns). However, DC in particular is pretty bad. Look at, say, Justice League. It's hilarious in some respects; Batman and Superman are basically the exact same build, with the only major visual difference being costume color. Guys like Green Arrow, the Hawk Men, The Flash, and many of the generic male characters all follow the exact same body design, usually with only costumes, facial hair, or slight sizing differences. Even less generic characters, like the martian, follow a similar convention despite their character having the POTENTIAL to take a much more unique appearance. The female characters follow a pattern as well, with very similar body designs and only small variances aside from costume to distinguish them.Comics are generic looking as hell, superhero drawings and animations I just generally can't get into because they're just so bland and don't stick out to me.
Marvel suffers this effect, but less so. I think that's partially because they simply chose to use mutants and other odd-origin characters much more frequently. They're still too biased towards same-ness, but at least you could look at the torso + facial shape of Cyclops and Wolverine and be able to tell a difference if they were wearing civilian clothes...a big step up from Batman/Superman lol. Guys like Spiderman, Mister Fantastic, and Captain America are all distinctive from each other also. They could have done better, but in terms of this aspect Marvel is better than most anime and certainly better than DC.
I suspect some of it is just time limitations/animation though. If you make a lot of visually different characters, you have to animate them and consistently draw them uniquely. Higher budget titles can probably manage that, while others can't. It REALLY hurts anime, however, if their character appearances AND the story wind up being generic, because new anime releases are spammed to high heck. Then again, they actually attempt new IP on a regular basis, and that's the main draw of anime over western animation; since they do at least try to come up with new material on a regular basis some of it winds up being good.
PRAISE. THE. SUN. 
