Why do so many people want to play as anime-esque characters on Skyrin

[Lachdonin]

LOL at people who seem to harbor a hated for anime cuz they saw a series aimed at kids 20+ years ago. You have no idea of the awesomeness of modern anime ;) The absolute craziest/deepest scifi and fantasy stories are found in anime nowadays, nothing we do over here even comes close for the most part. Darker than Black, Steins;Gate; *monogatari series, Guilty Crown, Hellsing OVA, on and on. This isn't kids stuff. I like all kinds of genre's (ecchi comedy++) but dark & violent scifi/fantasy is my favorite. :)

 

One of my best friends is a near pathalogic anime nut. As such, i tend to get inundated with Anime which he recomends, and even ones which are in line with my usual tastes (such as Hellsing) i find absolutely terrible. So, i would like to say, i DO have an idea as to the 'awesomeness' of modern anime. But i fail to see it. You also have to bear in mind that Anime is a blanket style which in fact encompasses at least a dozen artistic variations and just as many genre's as more 'conventional' programming. As such, it's difficult to honestly call mods as 'anime' because there is no set definition of what anime is.

 

Anyway, i feel i should make it clear that this is comming from someone who A; finds nothing attractive about asian women asside from their apparent skill at walking in high heels.... Anyway, B; has not seen any anime since Space Pirates in the 1980's which has been the least bit intresting.

 

That said, intelectually i can understand some of the appeal.

 

Formost, theres the exotic appeal. All things oriental are still in high demand in the west because they tend to be radically different from what we are used to, creating a novelty effect. It's different than what we are explosed to, which instantly makes it interesting. Of course, to maintain that intrest it has to then offer something beyond being a novelty, but what maintains that intrest is highly subjective.

 

Second, as most can tell by looking at armour mods and such, there is a pervasive movement in modding towards cutting out as much 'coverage' as possible. Unfortunately, this is highly representitive of what can be called 'teenage boy' syndrome, and all it really does it ramp up the sex appeal. How, i'm not sure, because i personally find elegance and poise more attractive than some bobble chested tart running around in a thong, but to each their own. The point here is, 'Anime' style armours and clothing typically show off a great deal of skin. Skirts are short, necklines plunging, and heels absurdly high. By and large these are traits which have diminished in western fantasy images, though claiming they no longer exist here is false in the extreme.

 

Third, there is a general simplicity to it. For the most part, 'Anime' uses very limited shading and smooth features (people here, not armour) meaning that they do not generall include the same level of detail as comparitive western art. To see this you need only look at the 'anime beauty mods' compared to hte regular high def skins. I have yet to see one such mod which includes laugh lines, realist wrinkles, proper cheek definition etc. Because of this, they are relativly easy to pull off and made to look good. Admitedly, there are truely exemplary examples of this artistic style on the Nexus and elsewhere, but by and large their quick and easy.

 

Fourth, and again for some reason i do not understand, there is a sexual appeal towards asian women. Going back to point 2, some gamers like to act out their fantasies, create their perfect woman, or otherwise play with the intent for eyecandy. As such, it's little surprise that these people opt for mods which allow them to create characters which represent their own intrests. The populatiry of asian women (and not just asisns really, but dolled up super models in general) means that such 'anime' mods are enevitably going to be popular. On the opposite side of the field, you have games who are less than comfortable with who they are, and likewise try to create their ideal 'me' through the game. Vanity is a cruel misstress, and all too often i see women i know for a fact are self concious creating beauty queens to go fight dragons with.

 

In summary, the 4 reasons 'Anime' mods are so popular which i have seen in my own experience are;

Its exotic

Its commonly skimpy/revealing/sexy

Its not hard to pull off

Asians are popular asthetic idols

 

Of course, this isn't to say that these are the ONLY reasons, but they are certianly some. They are also, i hope, explained in a rational manner and offer some more insight than ambigious statements like "because i like them".

Edited February 15, 2012 by Lachdonin

[thesapien]

Yeah the JP voices are awesome, I've been telling people how to switch them over here for weeks now, its retardedly simple.

 

And the girls voices are so damn cute. No more does lydia sound all condescending :) "goshujin-sama"

 

LOL at people who seem to harbor a hated for anime cuz they saw a series aimed at kids 20+ years ago. You have no idea of the awesomeness of modern anime ;) The absolute craziest/deepest scifi and fantasy stories are found in anime nowadays, nothing we do over here even comes close for the most part. Darker than Black, Steins;Gate; *monogatari series, Guilty Crown, Hellsing OVA, on and on. This isn't kids stuff. I like all kinds of genre's (ecchi comedy++) but dark & violent scifi/fantasy is my favorite. :)

 

Yep, you were the one whose instructions I followed. Japanese Lydia IS much nicer. Now, I'll click her just to hear her speak. I've also used the NPC Editor to change Lydia's appearance, as well as her warrior stance to a normal stance. (Standing like a "warrior" just gives people chicken legs and weak agility anyway, really.)

 

Yes, graphic novels and animations in Japan are for all ages and every genre. But the false stereotype is really similar as in my country, the US, where such things are called comic books and cartoons. There are Western forms of comics and cartoons geared for mature audiences in every genre also, however, these go mostly unnoticed or filtered by selective memory. Fortunately, in Japan, graphic art and animation is far more generally popular, so they don't have the same stigma.

 

Heck, video games, themselves, are still seen as mostly immature in the US. Of course, that one is actually kind of true.

[Malakai88]

I'm in the US too. Just put together a good group of friends who like stuff you do and all is good. For me, games metal and anime/manga all go together.

 

BTW I use hroki as a companion since for some reason I cannot switch warrior stances back to regular stances. She uses the young voice files, like jordis, which is cool too. Lydia is even toned. I like jp sultry voices the best but they dont have some follower voice overs so they come up as even toned.

 

Lachdonin, didnt mean anything personal. I totally respect tastes that differ from mine. Most of my friends live for rap and hip hop, which I cannot stand.

 

I do strongly disagree with your reasons for people liking the stuff though, they are all pretty cliche/misinformed. For me:

I love the language (if you watch anime with english voice overs your missing out majorly, its a beautiful and expressive language, bakemonogatari is a great example of how language can be combined with imagery for an epic experience)

I love deep and complex stories that span an entire series vs episodic media we usually have over here. Though thats by no mean all encompassing as some of my fav us shows have great continuous stories.

You can do things in animated media you just cannot pull off (well) with real filming, hence the scifi and fantasy being so amazing. Thats also why shounen stuff (fighting like Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail) is so popular. You just cant have live action fighting like you can in anime.

 

Skimpy clothes and such have nothing to do with it, well not primarily anyway. And you may notice oriental girls dont look much like anime style females. In fact anime chara's have crazy hair styles and colors, yet asian hair is almost always straight and black. Really none of the shows I cited have little or nothing to do with the things you mention, what's generally known as fanservice. Though again I like that stuff too. Its all art...

 

Keep it civil so threads dont get locked people. We can talk about stuff like this without being rude or confrontational with each other right?

Edited February 15, 2012 by Malakai88

[thesapien]

In summary, the 4 reasons 'Anime' mods are so popular which i have seen in my own experience are;

Its exotic

Its commonly skimpy/revealing/sexy

Its not hard to pull off

Asians are popular asthetic idols

 

I disagree with 1,3, and 4.

 

1) "Exotic" is a term for the unfamiliar that we like, applied after the fact. Things that are foreign but don't like, we call something else, like weird or strange or "oh, that's interesting". We reserve "exotic" for stuff already deemed good. Would you call a bearded woman "exotic"?

 

3) Not worthy of a response.

 

4) Same as one, in regarding something being aesthetic. But, people in the US should know, a certain style of anime was started in Japan during a time of Western envy. The history is complex and depressing, but long short is that after being utterly defeated by the US in WWII, then being modernized by US leaders who took charge, the typical white stereotype as seen by Japanese gained a new respect and admiration. It was expressed artistically in the form of imitation and in trying to look like us. I don't think the envy is present so much anymore, but much of that style is still around. Often you can see it in the eyes. Anyway, kind of sad irony.

[Astramorte]

What I find quite humorous is that only in English-language dictionaries (as far as I know) refer to anime as Japanese animation; Japan uses it to describe all forms of animation regardless of the country of origin. In that sense, things such as Disney's Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, The Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, etc. would be considered anime.

 

With that in mind, anime could be used to describe every mod that was based off something that was created via animation (I am assuming that this also includes video games).

Edited February 15, 2012 by Astramorte

[Evilllamas]

I DON'T KNOW!!!!

 

 

 

And I'm not aware of any anime styled mod for any game ever made, that wasn't quite obiously aimed at 14yr old boys, if you know what I mean...

 

And I don't hate anime, there are many great anime films etc- but the declothing and enlarging of all females eyes and breasts/ making all men very slim, looks stupid, when it's just the characters and none of the world.

 

Why ruin great lore with such stupid stuff....

There are THOUSANDS of JRPG's full of all this, many love TES because it's an escape from the thousands of man boys in tights...

[thesapien]

I'm in the US too. Just put together a good group of friends who like stuff you do and all is good. For me, games metal and anime/manga all go together.

 

BTW I use hroki as a companion since for some reason I cannot switch warrior stances back to regular stances. She uses the young voice files, like jordis, which is cool too. Lydia is even toned. I like jp sultry voices the best but they dont have some follower voice overs so they come up as even toned.

 

Lachdonin, didnt mean anything personal. I totally respect tastes that differ from mine. Most of my friends live for rap and hip hop, which I cannot stand.

 

I do strongly disagree with your reasons for people liking the stuff though, they are all pretty cliche/misinformed. For me:

I love the language (if you watch anime with english voice overs your missing out majorly, its a beautiful and expressive language, bakemonogatari is a great example of how language can be combined with imagery for an epic experience)

I love deep and complex stories that span an entire series vs episodic media we usually have over here. Though thats by no mean all encompassing as some of my fav us shows have great continuous stories.

You can do things in animated media you just cannot pull off (well) with real filming, hence the scifi and fantasy being so amazing. Thats also why shounen stuff (fighting like Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail) is so popular. You just cant have live action fighting like you can in anime.

 

Skimpy clothes and such have nothing to do with it, well not primarily anyway. And you may notice oriental girls dont look much like anime style females. In fact anime chara's have crazy hair styles and colors, yet asian hair is almost always straight and black. Really none of the shows I cited have little or nothing to do with the things you mention, what's generally known as fanservice. Though again I like that stuff too. Its all art...

 

Keep it civil so threads dont get locked people. We can talk about stuff like this without being rude or confrontational with each other right?

 

Hah, you haven't been to Tokyo recently, no? Straight black hair is not the only popular style. I haven't been to South Korea but have noticed in KPop that straight black hair doesn't seem that popular among the female bands that I follow. Asia is bigger and more diverse than my world, so I won't attempt to speak for all Asians.

[thesapien]

I DON'T KNOW!!!!

 

 

 

And I'm not aware of any anime styled mod for any game ever made, that wasn't quite obiously aimed at 14yr old boys, if you know what I mean...

 

And I don't hate anime, there are many great anime films etc- but the declothing and enlarging of all females eyes and breasts/ making all men very slim, looks stupid, when it's just the characters and none of the world.

 

Why ruin great lore with such stupid stuff....

There are THOUSANDS of JRPG's full of all this, many love TES because it's an escape from the thousands of man boys in tights...

 

Yes, cave men are so much cooler. Yeah for barbarians and their dirty, hairy ways!

[yota71]

Dont like it simply dont download it, if i like an anime base armor (like dawn in oblivion) i simply download it, to be completly honest i will love some dawn like armor in skyrim they are astonishing beauty and very powerfull and now with th crafting ability this armor wil be much better :) Edited February 17, 2012 by yota71

[yota71]

I DON'T KNOW!!!!

 

And I'm not aware of any anime styled mod for any game ever made, that wasn't quite obiously aimed at 14yr old boys, if you know what I mean...

 

 

That's not true, i have 40 years old and i love certain type of anime oriented armor like that

 

http://tes.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/28427-2-1259302194.jpg

 

and no i am not an otaku, i am married with a child ;)