Wow. I didn't have a problem with this thread until I saw that. That is very close to racist.
That's like saying there aren't any Mexican people in England, or that there aren't any Japanese people in Canada.
That is just stupid. The only reason thay haven't put an African American (A term I hope you use more often) is because of the demographics. Most people in Japan are very light skinned just like most people in Canada and America are light skinned. This DOESN'T mean that all people there are like that PiPVoda. And there have been other races in the games (many people in the Sevii Islands were Polynesian-looking).
Anyways, interesting question. If I'm not mistaken there was an episode in the Anime that centered an African American.
Please define the term racist.
If generalizing a country's population (in terms of colour) is considered racism for you, you're pretty soft. I'm sorry.
A term you hope I'll use more often? No. I'm sorry, black people are black, white people are white, asians are asians, rocks are rocks, grass is green. I'm not going to waste my time, stepping on glass for people who can't accept what they are. If it seems crude, you just have to learn to get over it. It's not like anyone's branding you with any offensive term.
So you're saying, the reason black people aren't in japanese games is because the majority of the population of Japan - where the game was initially directed - were light skinned? First, tell me why they didn't change their minds once they released later versions of Pokemon, knowingly releasing it to other countries of other races. Second, are you implying that just because characters from a game doesn't reflect a certain population, the game is bound for failure?
Polynesian looking? To me they looked like trainers. Seriously, it's a game, stop trying to fan it out to please everyone. There'll always be some bumps, but there'll always be smooth parts. If we can't get over the bumps, we won't have time to enjoy the good part.
Okay cool, so there was an episode of Pokemon with a black person in it. Yay, time to jump for joy! The colour of the person doesn't affect anything.
I never said it was racist BleuVII. I said that saying "There are no Black people in Japan" sounded very close to being racist. I have looked it up in the CIA World Factbook, and about 0.5% of the people in Japan are African American. There ARE African Americans in Japan, just like there are Icelandic people in America. In fact I think there are a few Tobians in America too (look it up).
Anyways, this is about the games and Anime. I think the simple reason is because of simple Demographics. There is no sense aiming towards a demographic that isn't your key audience. I'm not saying that Pokemon is not meant for African Americans, but it was originally intended for young Japanese children, and the majority of Japan is Japanese.
Hi I'm McDonalds. My target audience is everyone. Throughout my business, I've noticed certain areas are especially interested in my services. In that case, I'll just cut off every other restaurant in my chain except for the ones in these special areas, because people here love it the most. Tell me, does that statement make sense? You're saying the only reason the creators of the games cram in only Japanese people is because that's where the most economic success lies, and it's what their audience can relate to?
It may have initially been intended for Japanese children, but it's pretty damn clear that Pokemon is worldwide. With this, they obviously have the knowledge of other races playing their Japanese-oriented games.
Stop trying to fluff it up, saying the reason they don't include certain races is because Japan is where it counts the most.
Firstly, I know it's not a big deal but can we call them Black or something like that? I understand if you have a friend and you refer to them as "African American" (like in Teletubbies) but we are talking about a Game.
Secondly, Jolene that statistic is accurate and what you just said was a bit silly. That's like saying because they moved to America from Mexico that there are no Mexicans in America. There are plenty of African Americans who moved to Japan from where ever, and had children who would then be official Japanese citizens.
I've seen Black people portrayed in Manga and Anime before (If I'm not mistaken there is a character from Hinata Hotel who is Black). I am almost positive there are a few episodes in the Pokemon Anime with that demographic. My note: Stop taking notice of such insignificant trivia. You really must have time to go out of your way, just to research whether Japanese people use a brown pencil crayon once in a while.
EDIT: I just saw your post Porygon-Z and I have to agree. They aren't meant to be Caucasian, but Asian. The fact of the matter is there are very few Black people in Japan, so they are going to show very few in the Pokemon series. Said and Done.
Bolded and corrected your mistakes. Stop referring to all black people as "African American". First of all, not everyone is from America. Second of all, not every person of colour emigrated from Africa.