Why are anime people not drawn like you know regular adult people?

Why are anime characters drawn with an almost youthful underage apperance when they are supposed to be adults in some stories. I know Japanese fans want cute and all but why is that?

 

Uncanny valley

Cartoony is always more popular than realistic animation with audiences.

 

It's sorta like how most adventure stories (like Harry Potter) center around young people rather than old folks, but taken a couple of more steps further. Allows for more empathy and growth for the characters during their adventures (or something like that). But I think there's actually more than one reason for it though, IIRC, and I think one of them even places some of the blame at Walt Disney and other American cartoons that served as an inspiration for anime back in the 1950s.

 

It depends on the characters, in most series the main characters are around high school age, hence the youthful appearance. Some example of older characters include the captain of the Yamato from Star Blazers.

 

Thanks for the replies, I know of the uncanny valley and such. Video games are fast approaching that. Just that this started with a discussion of Fairy Tail and some people on steam I talk to obsessing over Lucy and I had to look her up and that's why I wondered. From the neck down you'd swear she's an adult with the big boobies and all but her face looks underage. It's not my cup of tea, though I do like things like Robotech and such.

 

Oh god Star Blazers I remember that. Such fun

 

Because Kawaii!!!!

 

Why are American animated show people not drawn like you know regular adult people?

 

I did a quick google and that character is supposed to be 17 so looking youthful would be appropriate. Perhaps the better question is why are those people obsessing over such a character?

 

Yes I know cute.......

 

Because they're fans....... And some of the ones I talked to call her waifu

 

Yep. Where are all those photorealistic American cartoons?

 

I can't I can't I can't

 

You're watching the wrong anime? Stick on some Texhnolyze for more realistic character designs (and to be depressed into therapy).

Or Flowers of Evil, rotoscoped, A Scanner Darkly style...

 

Probably one of the first attempts of a "realistic" human character design in a American cartoon was in Gulliver's Travels.

It was creepy.

 

oooh .........

I watched one called Golgo 13 or something that was pretty violent but the animation was somewhat what you would expect being more mature and all.

 

Here's a more 'adult' anime...

 

Dunno. Beyond "Astro Boy" anime just creeps me the fuck out...

 

I like that..... Not sure I will like Blade Runner 2049.... But those look cool

 

I don't watch much anime as I sometimes feel the same about it sometimes. Astro Boy was pretty much fun till they ruined it with a CG movie. Prince Planet is what I grew up with as a kid..