Veteran animator Terumi Nishii has taken to social media to express her frustration with what she considers unreasonable demands for political correctness in anime production.

Nishii Terumi has worked as an animation director on several anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen 0, JoJo's Bizarre Adventuresand Death Notebetween others.

In a series of tweets, Terumi recounted an incident where a foreign client requested that the Black characters in his work have defined noses to properly distinguish them from other characters, who typically lack detailed nostrils.

This request, she argued, would upset the visual balance of the characters and 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. That kind of thing is just… yeah. In the end, it all devolved into a conversation about how it's safer to keep their hair colors something like lime green or purple, so you don't know what race they are..”

Terumi then highlighted the cultural divide, noting that the Japanese approach of indicating race through a simple brown skin tone does not align with international expectations of realism, emphasizing that Japanese animation traditionally does not prioritize racial representation.

She expressed frustration that foreign producers, who often don't have a deep appreciation for anime, are pushing for these changes.

Nishii further criticized the notion that Japanese animation must conform to Western ideas of political correctness. She argued that anime thrives on its unique style and that giving in to external pressures would diminish its appeal, citing that neither she nor the domestic anime fanbase wanted such changes.

“Because of this, I don't feel any attraction to embracing political correctness and creating works for a foreign audience, and neither do local anime fans. If we did that, we would diminish anime's appeal and quickly lose popularity. So, I want to continue to do things according to Japanese standards.“

The animator also addressed broader economic and demographic issues facing Japan. She emphasized the need to address the country's declining birth rate to revive domestic demand for anime.

Even though Japan was currently experiencing a baby boom, she noted that it would be at least a decade before the industry could afford to ignore the demands of the foreign market. She expressed concern about the future, hoping that steps could be taken to ensure the freedom of the next generation of animators.

“Even if we have a baby boom now, we'll still have to accommodate foreign sensitivities and make changes for at least ten years, so personally, I won't be able to make it in time. But I hope something can be done to free the next generation. The declining birth rate. In other words, economic policy.“

Nishii Terumi is not the first to call for international demand for political correctness in the industry.

Akira Kanai, renowned manga editor known for his work in Vinland Saga, Ajin: Demi-Humanand Planetshas also recently come forward taking a firm stance against allowing political correctness to influence manga.

Source: X