On Wed, 30 Sep 1998 TenchiMP@gate1.tomatoweb.com wrote:

> >    Too light-skinned.  Or because of fan response, the creators
> >    have decided to make her un-African...
> 
> fan response? why the hell arent there more black people in anime? Mihoshi
> is the only african ive seen in anime that i can recall, and she is hot!
> ..and even though she is obviously black, they gave her blue eyes, and
> blonde hair?? oh yea, they also made her an air head. i don't think this is
> very fair. 

Dark skin with pale hair *is* a natural combination, as can be seen from
the native inhabitants of Australia.

(Oh, BTW, someone denounced Mihoshi's brother as a fan rumor. He's
mentioned in the 101 no Himitsu when it talks about Mihoshi's family in
Question 71. "Otooto wa shisucon no abunai yatsu desu shi..." I *think*
it's saying that he's a person with Dangerous Feelings about his sister.
Ew.)

> I realise she isn't even from earth, but still, look at any anime series,
> how many have ANY black people?
> 
Southern Cross: Bowie Emerson. (He even ended up with a cute girl ^_^ )
Macross: Claudia LaSalle.
Macross Plus: I *think* her name was Sally. Hm. Relation?
Nadia: Nadia and family.
Bubblegum Crisis: Chief Toudou and his niece, Lisa Vanette. (Who *is*
blonde.)
Gall Force: Pony and her varois incarnations. (Do aliens count?)
RG Veda: Kala. (Well, Kala was brown-skinned and blonde, and her sister
was pale-skinned and black-haired.)
Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Chuu. (If youkai count.)
Musekinin Kanchou Tyler: "Sarge."
Silent Moebius: I think Kiddy Phenil qualifies.

The thing is that most anime characters are Japanese (weird hair color
notwithstanding) or alien (anything goes.)

Other Asian, European, African, and American Indian people (to name the
traditional "four groups" people get shoehorned into) will appear in a
frequency somewhere behind that, probably in the order named above.

> i think this is kind of racist, dont get me wrong, im well aware that most
> anime has lots of unequalaty in it...i.e. the # of male to female ratios in
> most series, especialy tenchi. i just think its wrong that there arent more
> black men/women in anime.
> 
In nearly as many series, there are a lot of men to one or two women. It's
only recently that series with women proliferating have been abounding.
(And this is good, because Japan -- which is forty years behind us in the
Equality-of-gender movement -- can benefit from seeing women doing all
manner of tasks well, even if most of them look like refugees from a
Heinlein novel. [I, personally, wouldn't mind looking like a refugee from
a Heinlein novel.])

Sincerely,
Luriko-Ysabeth, hon otaku | member in good standing of #WEIRD#
Kendappa Clan | Sosai/Pooh-Bah for life of the Washuu-sensei Rules club
#WASHU#, #SkAS#, #ALAS#, MADS, and the Ryohko Forever Fan Club member

"Mad dogs, Englishmen, and computer     "Itsumademo katakuzanai. Homework
 geeks go out in the afternoon sun."     unagedashi." (my new philosophy)
   --Roland J. Cole                        -- "Homework ga Owaranai"