Veteran animator Terumi Nishii took to social media to express his frustration with what he considers irrational demands for political correctness in anime production. Nishii, who has worked as an animation director on several anime such as “Jujutsu Kaisen 0“, “Jojo's Bizarre Adventure“ and “Death Note“He shared his experience in a series of tweets.

Nishii recounted an incident where a foreign client requested that the black characters in his work be defined noses to properly distinguish them from other characters, who typically lack detail in their nostrils. She argued that this request would disturb the visual balance of the characters and would create an inconsistent level of realism within the same series.

«None of the other characters had nostrils, so if only the black characters had a different level of realism, it would feel unbalanced. In the end, it all turned into a conversation about how it's safer to make hair colors like lime green or purple so you don't know what race they are.» wrote Nishii.

Nishii highlighted the cultural gap, noting that the Japanese approach of indicating race through simple brown skin tone does not align with foreign expectations of realism. He emphasized that Japanese animation traditionally does not prioritize racial representation. He expressed frustration that foreign producers, who often do not have a deep appreciation for anime, were pushing for these changes.

What is more, criticized the idea that Japanese animation must conform to Western notions of political correctnessShe argued that anime thrives on its unique style and that giving in to external pressures would diminish its appeal, citing that neither she nor domestic anime fans want such changes.

«Because of this, I have no attraction to incorporating political correctness and creating works for a foreign audience, and local anime fans don't want that either. If we did that, we would take away the appeal of anime and we would quickly lose it. So I want to continue doing things according to Japanese standards.», said Nishii.

The artist also addressed the broader economic and demographic issues facing Japan. He emphasized the need for address the declining birth rate from the country to revitalize domestic demand for anime. Even though Japan was currently experiencing a baby boom, he noted that it would be at least a decade before the industry could afford to ignore the demands of the external market.

He expressed concern about the future, hoping that steps will be taken to ensure the freedom of the next generation of animators. «Even if we had a baby boom now, we would still have to adapt to foreign sensibilities and make changes for at least ten years, so I personally won't see it coming in time. But I hope something can be done to free up the next generation. Lowering the birth rate. In other words, economic policy», concluded Nishii.

Source: AnimeHunch