There are a couple of problematic nominations for the “anime hero” poll.
• Samurai Jack was created in America by the same guy who concocted Dexter’s Laboratory. Does Jack truly count as an anime character?
• Robotech was assembled in America from pieces of three separate Japanese series. “Rick Hunter” is the Macek-ization of Macross‘ Hikaru Ichijyo. Should Hunter be included in the poll, or Ichijyo, or neither?
We gotta be purists! No miscegenation here, my friend.
Well, there’s a reason I asked about Samurai Jack. A lot of people who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s watching westernized anime like Speed Racer, Battle of the Planets, Starblazers, etc. grew up to create their own homages. I don’t think of it as per se “impure” as “next generation.”
Besides, anime as an art form is already influenced by the West. One example: the huge eyes on the heroes and ingenues traces its lineage back to Disney shorts and an idealized/caricatured representation of the Western face. Nothing grows up in isolation, or stays isolated once it draws enough attention.
I can see the opposing viewpoint; just not sure I agree. Something like Samurai Jack or Avatar kind of straddles the line for me. I don’t think Genndy Tartakovsky’s previous work should be held against Samurai Jack – it’s clearly such a differnt style than Dexter’s Lab.
Samurai Jack’s style is more French New Wave than anime, I think, although there are elements in common.