Ask John: Why Does Anime Ignore Arabic Culture?
Question:
How come there are so few Arabian influences in anime? Besides the Heroic Legend of Arslan and Otoyomegatari, and one character in Ladies vs. Butlers, I can’t think of any anime/manga that pull strongly from that culture. It’s a mystery to me because Arabian culture is rich with its own visual flare and mythology and esoteric names that I’m sure would make for great plot devices (instead of relying on the same old Norse/Japanese/Chinese stuff). I mean, come on, the word “harem” comes from the Ottomans – and we know Japan loves harem anime.
Answer:
I believe that Arabic culture and lore appear infrequently in anime for the same reason that they appear infrequently in American pop culture literature. The absence is explained by lack of understanding rather than conscious exclusion. Arabic tradition and culture simply seems to be largely unfamiliar and misunderstood outside of Middle Eastern cultures. Arabic folklore including The Arabian Nights, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, and the hero Sindbad have been adapted into anime numerous times, including the 1962 Arabian Night Sinbad no Boken motion picture, 1969 Senya Ichiya Monogatari (1,001 Arabian Nights) movie, 1975 Arabian Nights Sinbad no Boken television series (unrelated to the ’62 movie), and 1982 Sekai Meisaku Dowa: Aladdin to Maho no Lamp movie. The Sumarian epic poem Gilgamesh is referenced in both the 2003 anime based on Shotaro Ishinomori’s 1976 manga and in the Fate/stay night game and anime series. Arabic characters appear in significant or leading roles in anime including Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, Lupin III: Secret of Twilight Gemini, and Canaan. The first half of the 2004 television series Koushounin Yugo occurs in modern day Pakistan.
However, estimates determine that less than one percent of Japan’s residents practice Islam, and Arabic nationals are infrequent in Japan. While numerous anime, including Nessa no Haou Gandalla, One Piece movie 8, and Gundam 00 reference fictional Middle Eastern settings, actual accurate or respectful references to Arabic culture, nationality, tradition, religion, and folklore are rare in anime because they’re simply outside of the typical realm of Japanese consciousness and familiarity, just as they are to countless Americans.
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Monkey Punch’s dream project was supposed to be a manga adaptation of Arabian Nights. But it’s been an on-and-off type of deal, more than something he’s committed to finishing.
also Time Travel Tondekeman had arab setting
There are some Arabic influences in DragonBall, although they are more minor. And if you are into videogames, you can always try some FinalFantasy games, especially Part 12 for some Arabian like settings 🙂
Canaan, in CANAAN, as John mentioned, has Arabian blood in her… but they only bring it up a handful of times in the series, usually in a grab bag of questions trying to figure out the orphan’s origin.
I’m hardly even an enthusiast of Japanese history, but would it be correct to say Japan has little shared history or interaction with the middle-east, relative to its history with the west (France, Netherlands, USA, etc.)? You can’t watch a minute of anime without stumbling over Hollywood influences, Christian symbolism, or the glamor of European nobility and/or traditional culture.
I’m guessing that comes from the shared history including Japan’s race to “catch up to the west” (to modernize since the Meiji era), and also the power of “the west” to project their culture, with both America’s massive entertainment industry and Europe’s efforts to preserve & promote their traditions & culture. It’d be hard to imagine anime like Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop and Ikoku Meiro no Croisée without Japan’s particular fascination with the west.
But this is all loose imagination-fueled conjecture on my part. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
sob sob, don’t remind me lest i cry
well what john said is correct, i think the people who live outside the middle east get easily confused between Arabic culture, folklore, Islam and even the Indian culture.
i mean whenever we see a women wearing a belly dancing dress or men living in the desert we just get irritated saying “come on it’s 2011 and still they look at us this way”, they can’t get the Stereotype over their heads.
it is hard for manga artists to create something based solely on stereotypes , they must get involve in the culture to create a perfect work..
even when they get involved and try hard, us knowing the language, the folklore and culture get the mistakes and wish they would explain it better or just leave the issue alone all toghter
in order to make something that both cultures can enjoy they must relay on someone from the culture who lives, teaches and studies the culture. and this is a little difficult
(Time Travel Tondekeman indeed had old Arabic setting and was accually dubbed to Arabic but i didn’t see it. so i am not sure if the reference was correct or not, i was 6 years old when it came)
Dio in Jojo Anime was holding the holy Qur’an when hol horse came to him, and the Egyptian newscaster was actually speaking Arabic but in Iraqi accent rather than Egyptian.
by the way, the belly dancing dress does not relate to Islam whatsoever only whores in bars and night clubs wear these kind of things
sorry if i talked so much but i really wanted to share my thoughts with you all and if you want to know more see this it talks about holleywood actually, but you might like it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWb7LoMtw9g
god bless you all and happy new year for 2012 as it will come next weak