Why do the characters in Japanese manga and anime never look asian?
The large eyes are because Japanese culture says the eyes are the window to the soul. Most characters that usually have their eyes shaded or closed are evil, or at least unprincipled. Also it is harder to do subtle things with eyes if the eye is smaller and harder to see. Hair color is also used for two things, instant character recognition, and sometimes to show personality. Exotic hair colors make characters easy to spot in a crowd, and blond hair amongst mostly black hair is easier than most without going into non-human hair colors. If you watch a lot of anime, you’ll find that blond hair is actually a bit of a rarity on anyone who is actually supposed to be from outside Japan, most have brown hair instead.
