Last week at the GW in montreal my cousin played a game with his Tau and his opponent called him a anime fan. After looking up what that meant I have to ask the question in the title of this thread. The only animeish thing about the Tau are the mech suits. The Eldar on the other hand look like your run of the mill anime characters, too thin, pale, and they are so very androgynous, not to mention they look like power rangers. Can any one explain how the Tau is in any way anime other than the mech suits.


P.S. Nothing against the eldar. It`s just something I noticed.

It's also the relative newness of the tau-people see GW as tryng to cash in on recent popularity for anime. Also many people see their socity as similar in some ways to China which is of course asian and therefore associated with anime. This may seem not 'right' but I'm just making an attempt at rationalisation.

The relation to anime ARE the mech suits....

Could be also their addiction to tech, their un-grimdarkness, characters like etherals and a space pope, and so on...

But how does the eldar get by with their mechs and girly men without being anime?

Becuase they wear helmets that don't look very anime?

even in DoW they sound very oriental....plus also the VA in that god-awful game 'Fire Warrior'

I disagree, I'm afraid. Yes, the battle suits, but also the basic armor/vehicles/weapons look/fee like anime to me. The sci fi-stuff. The clean lines of the armor, adn the clean lines IN the armor, the smooth but not quite organic lines of the vehicles and armors. The faceless, mono-eyes helmets. The fire warriors are the most anime thing to me, but so are the devil fish. Wish I could think of the name of the series it reminds me of off the top of my head. Appleseed for sure. Zone of the Enders. There was a game...xeno something.

They have that corporate sci-fi things going. Of course, obviously, I like anime too. I can just see a devil fish flying down to put down a rebellion, fire-warriors piling out with searchlights and laser targetters. Then a 15 year old girl in a tank-top and combat boots totally destroys them.

I know I have seen nearly that exact scene in several movies.

Emperors Faithful wrote:Becuase they wear helmets that don't look very anime?

Any clothing article that looks stupid can be found in an anime.

@Kurgash: Story wise and appearence I believe the Eldar are still more anime like than the Tau in Dark Crusade. Besides DOW makes the Eldar act like the mysterious loner that you see in every anime.

What other race puts so much emphasis on the female figure?

Imperium, sisters of battle, living saint.

perfect anime.........

now I need to purge myself for that heresy...



Until then, the space elfs are just elfs in space and as such older than anime figs.

Then I change the question, how are the Eldar not the anime army?

because they have the pointy hats! paint em white and throw them at the Salamanders and watch the fireworks

jk, honestly, I never linked the Eldar with anime, more so the Tau due to the look of battle suits. It, idk, just strikes out more to me.

Anime or enemy?

1) eldaR know about hairstyle. Compare them to the anime faction......
2) eldaR use tech and psi as tools, whilst the anime faction is always looking this way on such things =>
3) eldaR train to perfection. Anime train for power.
4) eldaR only care for eldaR. Anime has a lot of different creatures.
5) eldaR arent funny. Anime may include jokes.....

1) Not all anime hair has to be overly spicky, look at raiden from MGS2 (The tau are mostly bald or have one long lock of hair in the back)
2) I'm sure there are a few anime that have psychic based weaponry
3) Perfection is a pretty vague term, care to elaborate?
4) Saiyans only care for saiyans.
5)Perhaps their emotionlessness makes them funny, like in terminator 2 Ahnold is kinda funny.

-The overly stylized armour makes them look like anime characters.
-Breast are the only way to tell them apart.
-Anime chicks have armour that shows off their boobs (Tau females seem to have none). Their narcissism makes them relatable to a few anime characters.

Tau have the top-knot hairstyle.

Kurgash wrote:Tau have the top-knot hairstyle.

Thanks, thats the word I was looking for.

And another thing, I have never seen communism glorified in an anime.

I'm with you, cross. When Tau very first emerged, there was none of this "Taus looks anime!" nonsense. It wasn't until Saturday morning cartoons were all replaced with Pokemon cartoons and anime became more prevalent than just the cult fetish that it had theretofore been that somebody said "Hey they's drivin' robots like in those chinese porn cartoons!" And people either jumped on the bandwagon and said "Hey yeah! GW musta stole Tau from the Asians!" Or they reacted like you and I, and said "Uh... What are you talking about? Tau bear absolutely no resemblance to anime whatsoever, by any stretch of the imagination..."

I'm actually an anime fan, yet I see absolutely nothing which appears even remotely anime-inspired in the Tau.

Personally I think Space Marines look FAR more anime than the Tau. Take Megaman, give him anime shoulders and cover his face. Voila! He's a Space Marine...

I just associate Tau with asian culture as they come from the 'Eastern fringe' aka Far East and have a higher level of technology than other races, like Asians today, to some extent. Meh, not strong on the anime point other than Battle Suits bearing a resemblance.

Colours are a little different.

Drk_Oblitr8r wrote:
Colours are a little different.

Now thats an anime mech. The tau mech look more like they were made for function over beauty. The boxed armour also looks nothing like the armour in any anime I have seen. I know the second one is eldar but whats the first one from?

The first one is from Evangelion.

The Tau are heavily based off of Asian concepts. Their battlesuit design is more anime than any "mechs" used by the Eldar in basic 40k. Their armor has samurai inspired elements. Their overall aesthetic is more Japanese.

Their society is is based around fire, earth, water, and air (which is a common theme in anime, although the concept most likely originated with the Greeks). Their society also seems somewhat Confucian (not especially Japanese, but Asian), or at the very least more collectivist than modern western society. Their emphasis on widespread application of technology makes them seem more Japanese. They have narrow eyes and no nose. They sound Asian in Dawn of War. They're not strongly religious (and definitely not monotheistic). They're from the far east of the galaxy.

There are a host of traits that could be applied to the Eldar in this regard as well, and the Eldar do probably resemble anime specifically more than the Tau (who more generally Japanese). However, if you can't see why people are making the connection, you're not looking very hard.

here's my conclusion if it has boobs and slender armour its anime

Brother Rendare wrote:here's my conclusion if it has giant boobs and slender armour its anime

fixt for you

Tau are like most things in Warhammer in that they aren't exactly what they seem and are a subversion of a concept. The Tau are made to have an anime look, yet do not match the average anime character idealogy. The average anime (don't mind my overgeneralizations) tends to promote individualism, with single characters fighting against overpowering faceless antagonists, but the Tau are collectivists. (If anything the Tau fit the standard anime badguys more than anything in anime) Anime's just love melee yet the Tau don't. The Tau's purpose is to put 40k in perspective, by takeing anime which is illogical in the same way as 40k but without the grimdark, and makeing it into an army which doesn't follow the standard illogicalness.

Eldar due follow more anime conventions but don't come across as anime-like due to their cocept being more western inspired. (Celtic traditions/beliefs, standard elves, etc)

And any of the armies can come across as anime if you make them look that way, try looking at the massive amount of fanart and humorous pics on the site, many are done in anime style.

It would be hard to argue that Eldar are not a futuristic version of WHFB Elves. That's most likely where GW got the idea for them and I doubt too many people would disagree. They definitely share a lot of 'anime' traits, but the fact that they are clearly related to (if not directly ported from) a pre-existing game's race that has nothing to do with anime culture makes it a bit far-fetched to call them an 'anime' race, in and of themselves.

The Tau, on the other hand, (as people have previously mentioned) have battlesuits (which are featured predominantly in many anime), high-tech robotics (most obviously seen in the drones), and have a cultural background and methodology that seems to be a mix of stereotypical Chinese communism/nationalism, Taoist religion (I doubt their name has anything to do with the Greek letter), and Japanese Zaibatsu.

Whether you think something being 'anime' is a bad thing or not (I can only assume you do by your responses, my apologies if this is false) if I had to label any race in 40k as 'anime' or potentially "having the most traits that refer to many different, popular, Asian animation" it would definitely have to be the Tau. Many different races in 40k have traits that could definitely be attributed to some form of anime culture but imo the Tau have easily the most of any 40k race to date.

DoW

Clearly Orks are the most anime race.

Let's take a look at the similarities.
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.
- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)
- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason
- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations
- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)
- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)
- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)
- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)
- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)
- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)
- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

Orkestra wrote:Clearly Orks are the most anime race.

Let's take a look at the similarities.
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.
- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)
- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason
- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations
- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)
- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)
- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)
- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)
- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)
- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)
- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

I like this post. It iterates my point sarcastically. If people want to insist that an army is inspired by anime, it's not difficult to find "logical" justifications to do so... Doesn't mean the army is actually inspired by anime. If you 'look hard enough' ALL the armies can be anime inspired! YAY!... Even though they just aren't. Tau included.

Except, beyond being used a joke, it's a pretty crappy list.

Orkestra wrote:
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.

Anime stereotypically has small mouths, and big eyes. So this actually counts against you.

- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)

Nope. A grot isn't an ork, nor are they especially "chibi".

- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason

True, but weak.

- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations

Weak.

- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)

Too much of a stretch.

- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)

Repeated, and still as weak as before.

- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)

Weak connection, since the use of attack dogs have a long history in the real world, and squigs aren't a primary form of warfare a la Pokemon.

- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)

Very weak. Present in about as many western forms of media, and there are no "little girly orks" to strengthen your case.

- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)

No.

- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)

No.

- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

Weak.

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

I appreciate the commitment, but there's just not enough substance behind the argument that Orks are significantly anime inspired. Your only real connection is being unreasonably violent.

Archonate wrote:If people want to insist that an army is inspired by anime, it's not difficult to find "logical" justifications to do so... Doesn't mean the army is actually inspired by anime. If you 'look hard enough' ALL the armies can be anime inspired! YAY!... Even though they just aren't. Tau included.

This is a bad argument. The fact that you can make connections without warrant doesn't in any way discredit connections being made.

There isn't some conspiracy trying to create fake connections between Tau and anime. You have yet to offer a good rationale for so many people seeing similarities that you claim don't exist, and instead fall back on passive aggressive claims of their stupidity.

Wrong! Necrons are the most anime army! We follow the cliche of villain that appears out of nowhere to cause havoc, thus making a hero show up to thwart us. And the moment the fight seems to be going against us we vanish into thin air! Plus all of the minions have the reaction time of a drunken baby when it comes to emergencies. We wield the all powerful weapons yet our plans never seem to come to fruition.

Eldar do have an anime look but they are pretty well established as Space Celts.

Tau are firmly rooted in a number of oriental concepts as Orkeosaurus mentioned.

The Tau came out about the same time as anime was becoming noticeable in western popular culture.

See I can do it too:

Orkeosaurus wrote:Their battlesuit design is more anime than any "mechs" used by the Eldar in basic 40k.

Perhaps in that it's a robot piloted by a person. But in no other discernible way, unlike that Eldar Titan which is the spitting image of that Neon Genesis Evangelion robot. Unless you mean Gundams, which also bear no resemblance to Crisis Suits other than it being a robot piloted by a person.

Their armor has samurai inspired elements. Their overall aesthetic is more Japanese.

Really?... What part exactly? I'm lookin, and I don't see anything that resembles samurai armor... In fact, Tau are probably the only race that doesn't use swords. Not that samurai are distinctly anime anyway...

Their society is is based around fire, earth, water, and air (which is a common theme in anime, although the concept most likely originated with the Greeks).

It's a common theme in EVERYTHING.

Their society also seems somewhat Confucian (not especially Japanese, but Asian), or at the very least more collectivist than modern western society. Their emphasis on widespread application of technology makes them seem more Japanese. They have narrow eyes and no nose. They sound Asian in Dawn of War. They're not strongly religious (and definitely not monotheistic). They're from the far east of the galaxy.

This is all completely incidental. Connections drawn, not from evidence, but from insistence on connections.

You have yet to offer a good rationale for so many people seeing similarities that you claim don't exist

Sure I did. I said the 'Tau=Anime' notion is a bandwagon... People jump on those like crazy.

I have nothing against Tau or anime, in fact I love them both. But I don't think Tau are any more related to anime than SMs and Eldar are.

The shoulder guards and thigh guards are quite similar to Samurai armour and oriental armour generally.

The original Tau design articles on GW's website said they were inspired by Chinese and Japanese armour.

As for no swords, the Bonding knife looks very much like a 'wakizashi' (Japanese shortsword.) Some of the Ethereals' honour blades look like Japanese and Chinese polearms.

ok for being an asian (chinese). i will tell you what do we feel.
for us, Tau and eldar are both asian. eldar is more like ancientry asian. you can see the yi-yang symbol in eldar army. and the robe, staff is samiliar to our tradition warlock outfit. i will give you some picture later. so eldar is more ancientry asain.
Tau is more specific, it is like Japan culture. if you look closely on the fire warrior's armor. just like the old japanese samurai uniform. and crisis-suit? it just a less version of gundam. (personally i think crisis-suit should belong to walker....) and they have suicide-bomber. but their weapons are more like mordern weapon we have. and caste system is same in japan too i think.

BTW we call Tau fisherfolk for fun . and if people field it with a long of XV-8 or XV-88 we call them gundam-line~~

I will concede that they apparently have aspects which were inspired by Asian elements. GW draws a lot of its themes from ancient cultures.
But that does not equate with looking like anime, imo.

Hey, CBC (Canadian Born Chinese) here and I'd like to put in my two cents on this...debate?

As previously mentioned the Eldar are not normally associated with Anime because they're SPACE ELVES. o_o If you take the space away they are simply elves and elves have been around for...well a ridiculously long time. I'm sure the myth of their existence originated somewhere in Europe - my gut is telling me Roman culture. Anyways back to the Eldar thing...Err...conclusion is that they are associated with another race already and instead of being called "anime lover" you get to be called...Legolas? F^ck I don't know :/

Now for the Tau...well I can't really explain why I see them as the manifestation of some form of Japanese culture in 40k...perhaps it's the smooth futuristic designs? I know I know, there are other races with great rides, but Tau just have some of the streamline rides I have ever seen. I dunno really...their whole culture gives me a sort of oriental feel. Maybe instead of being racist and calling them "Asians" people went for something less deragotory and labeled them "anime"?

Also...I know I made some spelling errors...and that somethings were previously mentioned...so...shut up >_<

It's probably been mentioned but the Tau mecha seem to get their "inspiration" from Macross and other mechas.


As for the troops, there is a motivational poster for that.



It's not really one or the other both Eldar and Tau seem to, it's just that Tau are supposed to actually be trying to do that.

I think its the monochrome colour schemes that make tau anime

My friend collects Tau because he was a fan of the Macross series and regards the Armored Core console game series among his favorites. To describe my tastes in a broad sense I would have to admit to liking big robot anime as well. I do not collect Tau but their robots/exosuits appeal to me in the same way. It is people like my friend and I that add weight to the generalization.

Appearance of Crisis Suits aside; Tau faces, Fire Warrior Armour, Tau Transports/Tanks (with the exception of Railguns), and their fluff all seem to not be drawn from any particular anime series that I am familiar with and I have seen quite a few.

Does it matter if someone calls someone an anime fan? I hope that isn't a derogatory word in the minds of the people on Dakka Dakka . Its just as easy to tell them you are not familiar with anime and be done with it.

oooh look, eldar and tau both are

The word anime should be added to the swear filter.

Why?

Gorechild wrote:oooh look, eldar and tau both are

So wait a second...a banshee made it to the Tau gun line!? They must have been horrible shots.

Archonate wrote:Perhaps in that it's a robot piloted by a person. But in no other discernible way, unlike that Eldar Titan which is the spitting image of that Neon Genesis Evangelion robot. Unless you mean Gundams, which also bear no resemblance to Crisis Suits other than it being a robot piloted by a person.

The concept of a large but agile flying robot, with arms legs and a head, is pretty Japanese in itself. I agree that they look less inspired by anime than Eldar titans, but they look more so than Wraithlords, and people tend to forget that the Eldar even have titans in my experience.

An example of similar aesthetics:

Very similar in every place but the lower legs.

Really?... What part exactly? I'm lookin, and I don't see anything that resembles samurai armor... In fact, Tau are probably the only race that doesn't use swords. Not that samurai are distinctly anime anyway...

Swords are part of armor now? The shoulders and thighs look very samurai inspired, being large and rectangular. Compare.

It's a common theme in EVERYTHING.

Is it? I haven't heard very many uses of it in modern western media. The only thing I can name off the top of my head is The Fifth Element.

This is all completely incidental. Connections drawn, not from evidence, but from insistence on connections.

That's no refutation. I can only assume that the long list of traits that distinguish the Tau from the other races of 40k and the Japanese from the west is too damming.

Sure I did. I said the 'Tau=Anime' notion is a bandwagon... People jump on those like crazy.

I have nothing against Tau or anime, in fact I love them both. But I don't think Tau are any more related to anime than SMs and Eldar are.

Then why does "the bandwagon" have anything to do with Tau? It should have started against the Eldar (which it actually did to an extent) or against the Space Marines. Or should have started against every race simultaneously. Or should have collapsed soon after.

But it remains a near universal (most people would say Tau are the most anime army, those that wouldn't would most likely say Eldar with Tau coming in second) and pervasive opinion.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Sgt.Sunshine wrote:If you take the space away they are simply elves and elves have been around for...well a ridiculously long time. I'm sure the myth of their existence originated somewhere in Europe - my gut is telling me Roman culture.

Nah, not Roman. Norse, I think. Maybe German.

Roman would include nymphs and dryads and things though, so they probably had their influence.

And if you look closely, there's a sword/knife hilt poking from the equipment belt of that tau pictured above, wrapped in an identical manner of a katana, wakazashi, or tonto.

Tau are very Japanese in style specifically and oriental generally. Whether this means they are *anime*, hrmm? I think all of the armies of the 41st millenium could be portrayed in the anime style very easily - especially with the variety of anime styles on the market these days.

To be fair, as I don't know that the source of that picture is by Games Workshop, the katana may be an addition on the part of the artist.

There appears to be one in this picture as well, though:



I agree on the Tau not being hugely anime; the battlesuits are the only thing that stands out as being part of the genre specifically and even they aren't so "anime" that they look particularly out of place in the setting. I think part of the association of the Tau with anime is simply a reflection of both being so closely associated with Japan. I'd still say there is enough of a similarity to have people justifiably associate one with the other, though.

Kurgash wrote:

Gorechild wrote:oooh look, eldar and tau both are

So wait a second...a banshee made it to the Tau gun line!? They must have been horrible shots.

apparently so they must have been fortuned

Eldar are definitely more animé than tau. Tau look amazing, no point denying it but then have a purpose built look, like for work, not for show. where as Eldar in places look for artistic than a fighting force. Sorry if im just repeating whats been said.

Elliotminorkid

If Games Workshop really wanted to make an Anime or Eastern style army they should have paid the designer with money rather then a bucket of chicken.

Seriously, who the hell designed Tau? I personally can't stand the look of the army. If it was to copy Anime then they should have looked so much better.

My 2 cents.

I think Tau are anime. Battlesuits look anime. Crisis Suits look like anime. This is probably the main reason they'll probably be my second army. And ranged weapons are awesome! : )

*Edit* I did not mean to post this. Why can't I find a Delete Post button?

I think Tau are anime. Battlesuits look anime. Crisis Suits look like anime. This is probably the main reason they'll probably be my second army. And ranged weapons are awesome! : )


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I think Tau are anime. They're stuff looks anime. That's probably be the reason they'll be my 2nd army .

The debate was not about their culture, but about their appearence. Though most of you have proven the fact that tau fluff is based off of cultures all over asia, no one has yet built up a worthy argument about the anime issue.

The mech suit argument is week. Since the nids are based off Aliens, can't the tau mech suits be another nod to that movie.

Well, there I go again, sticking my attempts to be funny into a very serious discussion. I forgot that some people might think that anime orks could be a serious discussion.

I'll just back away slowly, whilst hiding my new Ork trying to stuff a squig in a pokeball model.

Sorry, I only started treating it seriously to refute Archonate's arguments from it.

I did think it was pretty humorous.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I guess I'm just sensitive because of the time of the month (Christmas, obviously)

Though now I seriously want to try out this ork stuffing a squig into a pokeball idea.

Orkestra wrote:I'm glad you enjoyed it. I guess I'm just sensitive because of the time of the month (Christmas, obviously)

Though now I seriously want to try out this ork stuffing a squig into a pokeball idea.

It would allow you to deepstrike the squig or something equally epic.

CountCross wrote: The debate was not about their culture, but about their appearence. Though most of you have proven the fact that tau fluff is based off of cultures all over asia, no one has yet built up a worthy argument about the anime issue.

The mech suit argument is week. Since the nids are based off Aliens, can't the tau mech suits be another nod to that movie.

I wouldn't really say that you can claim that the mechs are based off of the Alien movie because anime tends to be known foremost for unrealistically large breasts, men capable of unrealistic feats, and usually mecha where as the Alien movie is known...for...well the Alien. I guess the thing is that if you watch a lot of anime, or read a lot of manga(japanese styled comics), the connection will seem really obvious, but if you don't you'll naturally connect them to the next closest thing.

On a side note do you know what your friends rebuttal should've been? "Well you're a Quebecois"...depending if he was from quebec Calling him a Sepretists would've been funny too....yay history class!

CountCross wrote:no one has yet built up a worthy argument about the anime issue.

Really? I thought Orkeo did a very good job in showcasing the anime/Japanese elements within the Tau. If showing pictures of anime (which oddly enough contains many bits of Japanese iconography) and showing similar iconography in Tau fails to make the connection for you I am forced to ask - what sort of evidence would prove the question for you? Whether or not you agree with it is another question, but I do think sufficient evidence has been shown to highlight where the anime label comes from.

Sgt.Sunshine wrote:

CountCross wrote: The debate was not about their culture, but about their appearence. Though most of you have proven the fact that tau fluff is based off of cultures all over asia, no one has yet built up a worthy argument about the anime issue.

The mech suit argument is week. Since the nids are based off Aliens, can't the tau mech suits be another nod to that movie.

I wouldn't really say that you can claim that the mechs are based off of the Alien movie because anime tends to be known foremost for unrealistically large breasts, men capable of unrealistic feats, and usually mecha where as the Alien movie is known...for...well the Alien. I guess the thing is that if you watch a lot of anime, or read a lot of manga(japanese styled comics), the connection will seem really obvious, but if you don't you'll naturally connect them to the next closest thing.

On a side note do you know what your friends rebuttal should've been? "Well you're a Quebecois"...depending if he was from quebec Calling him a Sepretists would've been funny too....yay history class!

I meant the suit that the the main character uses to fight the queen at the end.

Thor665 wrote:

CountCross wrote:no one has yet built up a worthy argument about the anime issue.

Really? I thought Orkeo did a very good job in showcasing the anime/Japanese elements within the Tau. If showing pictures of anime (which oddly enough contains many bits of Japanese iconography) and showing similar iconography in Tau fails to make the connection for you I am forced to ask - what sort of evidence would prove the question for you? Whether or not you agree with it is another question, but I do think sufficient evidence has been shown to highlight where the anime label comes from.

The japanese and other asian aspects of the Tau culture was obvious, however the anime thing is fairly vague to me. I see no resemblance from the tau to any anime or manga I have ever seen or read (of which there are many).

CountCross wrote:The japanese and other asian aspects of the Tau culture was obvious, however the anime thing is fairly vague to me. I see no resemblance from the tau to any anime or manga I have ever seen or read (of which there are many).

Have you ever watched Macross, or Robotech, or Appleseed? Is the picture Orkeo posted not enough? Do you want us to post screenshots from those series or need to watch the series for it to count?

If you accept that their armor looks like space samurai armor, and you accept that their mecha suits look like...well...mecha then that should qualify for showcasing the imagery that makes people refer to them as looking anime-ish.

Thor665 wrote:If you accept that their armor looks like space samurai armor

Samurai are not distinctly anime.

and you accept that their mecha suits look like...well...mecha then that should qualify for showcasing the imagery that makes people refer to them as looking anime-ish.

They look about as anime as SM dreadnoughts. The only thing the posted pics had in common were antennae on the heads.

I disagree with you about space samurai not being anime, but that's really beside the point.

The issue of the OP was understanding why people draw the anime conclusion. That information has been presented. Whether or not you agree with the conclusion others have about the Tau having or not having an anime look/feel is immaterial to the original question. The oriental themes throughout the army are the reason people refer to them as anime, those themes have been mentioned and pointed out.

Personally I see the connection between the Tau Crisis suits and Robotech and Appleseed. Clearly you do not - but that and other such connections are why people call them anime whether or not you personally see the themes or connect them to anime.

I didnt read the 2nd page , but i can say atleast Fire Warrior = 100% Japanese in design.

Thor665 wrote:Personally I see the connection between the Tau Crisis suits and Robotech and Appleseed. Clearly you do not - but that and other such connections are why people call them anime whether or not you personally see the themes or connect them to anime.

Gunsword and evangelion have eldar looking mechs, once again the mech argument is weak. But you have a point for people drawing the conclusion from the asian influence. Fluff-wise though the Tau have no anime influence.

It is not that they have anime influence, it is that they have clear Chinese/Japanese influence.

Many young people's familiarity with Chinese/Japanese culture is mainly through the medium of anime, manga and films like Flying Sword, Smoking Dragon (or whatever its name was.)

Naturally, seeing an army which they clearly perceive to be oriental in style, people call it anime.

Isn't the resistance against Tau = anime futile?

Would it anyhow benefit Tau if we refer to them as fishheads?

anime = mostly positive
fishy = less welcome

I personally have always thought Space Marines (especially Ultramarines) look like Megaman.

I always thought Tau looked more like those guys from RIFTS (Ultimax? Triax? or something).

CountCross wrote:

Thor665 wrote:Personally I see the connection between the Tau Crisis suits and Robotech and Appleseed. Clearly you do not - but that and other such connections are why people call them anime whether or not you personally see the themes or connect them to anime.

Gunsword and evangelion have eldar looking mechs, once again the mech argument is weak. But you have a point for people drawing the conclusion from the asian influence. Fluff-wise though the Tau have no anime influence.

I would counter that the Eldar have Evangelion looking mechs, not the other way around. Eldar also have a very Japanese themed flag design. However the overall asian/anime look is not as pervasive as that present within the Tau to the average player on the street - hence why Tau are called anime and the Eldar are not. The "mech argument" cannot be weak, because it is part of the primary reason Tau are called anime. Again - the reasons people call them anime has nothing to do with whether or not you accept the reasons or even if the reasons make any sense at all. People call Tau anime primarily because of their mech and armor design - you do not need to accept that those designs are anime personally in order for this to be true. (such discussion would belong in a thread titled 'should' the Tau be called anime)

CountCross wrote:

I meant the suit that the the main character uses to fight the queen at the end.

I know what you mean, but what I'm saying is that the movie isnt' known for that. Sure people will remember it, but when you say Alien do you think of the main character in a powered exoskeleton or do you think of the Alien? The face huggers? The acid like drool? My point being is that when someone says Anime I'm more inclined to think GUNDAM (one of the more famous and long lasting series and keep in mind I'm using Gundam as an example). And what is Gundam known for? The Mecha. In fact a lot of Japanese Anime is based on Mecha...The Tau major component of the Tau fighting force is what? Oh, Mecha?

Honestly, I fail to see how it is a weak argument. A Tau army has Jumpsuit/mecha, it's how things are. You, or your opponent, see it so often and can't help, but associate it with Mecha. Eventually someone squints hard enough and beings to see a likeliness to...let's say robotech (because that seems common). Now I know you're going to bring up the Eldar titan argument, but here's something to chew on. How often do you see one on the board?

To be honest you rarely see those guys, or at least not as often as the Tau crisis suits. You the Crisis suits so often that the connection to mecha, and therefore anime, comes that much faster. I'm not saying it's the only connection that can be made, but it sure seems to be the predominent one. However, the Eldar Titan is rarely seen in my opinion and because of this barely any connection is made. It also doesn't help that the Eldar already have an existing connection to Elves, making it harder for a new one to be established, such as anime.

Also...to be honest practically everyone is bringing up the so called "weak" argument of Mecha. If so many people are seeing the connection...well.

Edit: It's also a matter of whatever floats your boat. Not everyone has to see things your way, which is what it seems you'd like. You claim to be trying to understand why people see them as an "anime" race, yet you are unaccepting of people's reasons. WTH is with that hmm?

Thor665 wrote:

CountCross wrote:

Thor665 wrote:Personally I see the connection between the Tau Crisis suits and Robotech and Appleseed. Clearly you do not - but that and other such connections are why people call them anime whether or not you personally see the themes or connect them to anime.

Gunsword and evangelion have eldar looking mechs, once again the mech argument is weak. But you have a point for people drawing the conclusion from the asian influence. Fluff-wise though the Tau have no anime influence.

I would counter that the Eldar have Evangelion looking mechs, not the other way around. Eldar also have a very Japanese themed flag design. However the overall asian/anime look is not as pervasive as that present within the Tau to the average player on the street - hence why Tau are called anime and the Eldar are not. The "mech argument" cannot be weak, because it is part of the primary reason Tau are called anime. Again - the reasons people call them anime has nothing to do with whether or not you accept the reasons or even if the reasons make any sense at all. People call Tau anime primarily because of their mech and armor design - you do not need to accept that those designs are anime personally in order for this to be true. (such discussion would belong in a thread titled 'should' the Tau be called anime)

Ok I screwed up that firsst part, I meant that the eldar had the evangelion looking mechs. I also see why the mech suit isn't a weak argument after all seeing as it was made popular in anime. However, I still don'y quite see how the crisis suits look like classic anime mechs. The picture that Orkeosaur put up looks like a regular generic anime mech with bulging limbs, the crisis suit looks too shrimpy to qualify as an anime mech imho.

Sgt.Sunshine wrote:

CountCross wrote:

I meant the suit that the the main character uses to fight the queen at the end.

I know what you mean, but what I'm saying is that the movie isnt' known for that. Sure people will remember it, but when you say Alien do you think of the main character in a powered exoskeleton or do you think of the Alien? The face huggers? The acid like drool? My point being is that when someone says Anime I'm more inclined to think GUNDAM (one of the more famous and long lasting series and keep in mind I'm using Gundam as an example). And what is Gundam known for? The Mecha. In fact a lot of Japanese Anime is based on Mecha...The Tau major component of the Tau fighting force is what? Oh, Mecha?

Honestly, I fail to see how it is a weak argument. A Tau army has Jumpsuit/mecha, it's how things are. You, or your opponent, see it so often and can't help, but associate it with Mecha. Eventually someone squints hard enough and beings to see a likeliness to...let's say robotech (because that seems common). Now I know you're going to bring up the Eldar titan argument, but here's something to chew on. How often do you see one on the board?

To be honest you rarely see those guys, or at least not as often as the Tau crisis suits. You the Crisis suits so often that the connection to mecha, and therefore anime, comes that much faster. I'm not saying it's the only connection that can be made, but it sure seems to be the predominent one. However, the Eldar Titan is rarely seen in my opinion and because of this barely any connection is made. It also doesn't help that the Eldar already have an existing connection to Elves, making it harder for a new one to be established, such as anime.

Also...to be honest practically everyone is bringing up the so called "weak" argument of Mecha. If so many people are seeing the connection...well.

Edit: It's also a matter of whatever floats your boat. Not everyone has to see things your way, which is what it seems you'd like. You claim to be trying to understand why people see them as an "anime" race, yet you are unaccepting of people's reasons. WTH is with that hmm?

I accept their reasons but I don't understand them. Putting the anime label on them because of the asian influence seem a little dumb to me. The Eldar and their wraithlords have been around longer than the Tau, making the Eldar have anime mechs before the tau ever came into the picture. And the crisis suit only makes a mech army if you have farsight as your HQ.

CountCross wrote:However, I still don'y quite see how the crisis suits look like classic anime mechs. The picture that Orkeosaur put up looks like a regular generic anime mech with bulging limbs, the crisis suit looks too shrimpy to qualify as an anime mech imho.

That's fine. But a large number of people disagree and that is where a big part of the Tau = Anime army comes from. You're allowed to disagree with it and I see no reason to try to convince you it's there.

really, to me the Tau resemble anime because of the normal cliche of using the power of friendship to defeat the evil at hand. AKA the bonding knife to become BFF. The mechsuits always will look a resemblence to me in anime but it's that damn unison quality tau have that makes me consider them as anime

Osyr wrote:The Tau are made to have an anime look, yet do not match the average anime character idealogy. The average anime (don't mind my overgeneralizations) tends to promote individualism, with single characters fighting against overpowering faceless antagonists, but the Tau are collectivists.

This is not so much an "anime" thing but is a common theme of fiction for teen/pre-teen boys in Japan (i.e. GW's core market).

In fact, none of the 40K factions fits very well into that individualist hero mould. Is this a major factor in GW's lack of penetration into the Japanese market?

Well by having mechs in your army I meant that most of the commanders seem to be in crisis suits, or what they're called, and most people play broadsides. I guess at this point it's just a matter of opinion :u

i am surprised no people bring up the "Gundam" thing.
the XV8 and XV88 is really like Gundam. one man sit in a gaint robot with highly mobilized and weaponized system. only difference is crisis suit does not have a power weapon (laser sword).

yes, eldar's wraith lord is kind of like Evangelion. when my friend have 3 wraith lord or so, i normally name them Evangelion00, Evangelion01, Evangelion03..... but that is the only link between eldar, and you can not see wraith lord all the time. on the other hand you can see those crisis suit all the time in Tau's army.

be frankly, i think whoever against Tau is not anime, it is because they do not really know japan anime that much. for a people really familiar with gundam cartoons, they will recognise the crisis suit as the gundam.

I lived in Japan for nearly a year. The Tau have distinctive asian influences. But then again look at Japanese art, very clean and astetic lines. The Tau emphasise those clean simplistic lines over the over guady and baroque elements of lets say the Imperium which itself draws from a more Victorian era. Im not a big fan of anime, but the reason I collect the Tau is because of their asian themes. Whether it shows an enlightened ideal in communism, to their codes of conduct.

Its ironic though for as much as the Samurai caste frowned up such ranged combat and excelled in the close quarters fighting with their now iconic weapons. The most asian and japanese themed army frowns up close combat as being barbaric.

Its the mech suits that have a faint whiff of gundam about them. Also the AI robots, Hi tech guns and armor also contribute greatly. Not that I'm complaining though as I have a tau army and love their look.

Eldar are elves in space, there's no two ways about it. Elves are Tolkeinian. Thus the Eldar are not animesque.

Now to address that Evangelion Unit 00 picture that appeared earlier. The Eva series is a different type of mecha. The common style replicated is the square Gundam style, and it is this style which has become iconic of the mecha genre.



Eldar titans look similar to the Evas, but the Tau are quite clearly based upon the Gundam style.

That's just the mecha point.

Yes, yes. This is all very interesting (Eldar = Tolkenien/WHFB Elves BTW, ).

In other news...

Orkestra wrote:Clearly Orks are the most anime race.

Let's take a look at the similarities.
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.
- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)
- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason
- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations
- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)
- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)
- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)
- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)
- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)
- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)
- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

Orkestra won this thread. Page 1.

Emperors Faithful wrote:

Orkestra wrote:Clearly Orks are the most anime race.

Let's take a look at the similarities.
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.
- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)
- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason
- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations
- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)
- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)
- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)
- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)
- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)
- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)
- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

Orkestra won this thread. Page 1.

Exactly. Hands over thread....

I love both army looks like and back ground.
Especially Tau,I want to start that army someday.
I'm japanese and here is my view.

TAU:
-Having Anime Suits. Battlesuit remind me VF-1
-WWII era japanese thinking. "For Greater Good" remind me "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"
-Self Destract.
-Fast growing. It remind me After-WWII
-Hightech race.

But I think Tau is not Anime Race. Because there is no beautiful face man or young girl.
And I see combination of asian taste. China,India,Vietnam,Thai...and many others.
So not Entire "Anime" Race.

Eldar:
-It have Shuriken!
-Ashurian's mark is exactly what is Shinto Symbol.　http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B3%A5%E5%B1%85
-Ianden's leader,Yuriel looks like samurai warriors. He having square banner on back. And his hair style is.
-Avatar's face. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9A%88%E5%8F%96

I see so many japanese-like thing on eldar's looks like and back ground.
But not anime tho.

I think all 40K race are not anime army.(Thats why I play!)
But "if" japanese anime maker start to create 40K anime,They will start "Battle Sisters" series. With bigger eyes of course.(and I will not watch)

TauAdmiral wrote:Its ironic though for as much as the Samurai caste frowned up such ranged combat and excelled in the close quarters fighting with their now iconic weapons. The most asian and japanese themed army frowns up close combat as being barbaric.

I've never actually even been to Japan, but I'm pretty sure that archery was a fairly critical samurai skill in the olden days, and there certainly wasn't any frowning on it then. This was in the early centuries of japanese fighting history, they swapped to melee exclusivity later on.

glory wrote:

TauAdmiral wrote:Its ironic though for as much as the Samurai caste frowned up such ranged combat and excelled in the close quarters fighting with their now iconic weapons. The most asian and japanese themed army frowns up close combat as being barbaric.

I've never actually even been to Japan, but I'm pretty sure that archery was a fairly critical samurai skill in the olden days, and there certainly wasn't any frowning on it then. This was in the early centuries of japanese fighting history, they swapped to melee exclusivity later on.

Yeah it was pretty heavily taught until the Meiji era, the advent of firearms, when they could just field lightly trained peasants with muskets and do more damage.

@glory: actually the greatest honor was to best an opponent in close combat.. thus all the various forms of martial arts. At least in Japanese society, archery and missile weapons were used later and sword combat was the most treasured of the martial skills.

For me the back story and the caste system and stuff just generally suggest eastern culture. That combined with the battle suits for me just adds up to anime.

spamandchips wrote:For me the back story and the caste system and stuff just generally suggest eastern culture. That combined with the battle suits for me just adds up to anime.

Dunno, there's just as sound an argument that Europe had just as stringent a caste system as Asia cultures.
Europe:
Homeless
Women
Peasant/Farmers
Merchant/Craftsmen
Minor Nobility
Priest
Upper Nobility
Monarch

Asia (General):
Untouchables
Women
Merchant/Craftsmen
Farmers
Peasant
Priest/Scholar/Minor Noble
Upper Nobility
Monarch

ever played fire warrior the game? asain accents, Asians love anime so it kinda just goes that way. look at the fire warriors leg Armor similar to a samurai and what cartoons have samurais except that fething cartoon network jack one, anime does. but if you read the graphic novel about the guard vs tau the tau look more bad ass in old school comic illustration imo and this is comming from a warhammer 40k player who dislikes tau alltogether

I havent seen a lot of anime but in the moment Ive seen Tau Crisis suit for the first time I thought "OMG this is not possible they are making anime out of warhammer".

Really, just watch Ghost in the Shell and then look on Tau fire warriors, drones and skimmers (or Macross for your mecha needs). Sure, not the same, but very similar in style. Eldar have anime references as well, but much more subtle IMO (eg. War Walker looks exotic, but not as vulgar as a Crisis suit).

I got to agree with dpredator666. Eldars seem to bear references of ancient asian cultures (as well as other oriental cultures though, eg. Egypt!), while Tau are inspired by the cyberpunk japanese style.

so heres my two cents on this.
there are enough people here making the connection between Tau and Japanese influences as well as other parts of Asia, I agree that the armor does indeed resemble samurai armor, the Battle suits are far from a weak argument, indeed the "Mechs" seem to be at the very core of this Argument.
For as far back as anyone alive today can remember Mechs have Existed predominantly in Manga and Anime save for the odd sci-fi film or novel in which they were the writers original design and not based off of the Anime Mechs themselves.
If I had to narrow down the Tau likeness to one individual race it would definitely be the Japanese, while we are on the page of making likenesses to Asian and Anime culture in the Tau you can liken the initial contact the Imperium had with Tau to the Edo period of japan, imperium meet savage aliens banging rocks together but before they can purge the planet a warp storm that lasts for 7000 years covers the planet and prevents any invasion? this is very similar to the isolation of japan by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period.
ultimately it matters not what the "Mech" looks like or how similar it looks to this Anime or that, the fact that it is a Mech creates the link between the Tau army and Anime, Being that 90% of Mech portrayal for the past few decades belongs to (insert generic Anime here) it is not a far stretch at all to say that Mech=Anime and therefore Tau=Anime Influenced.
you'll have to excuse me but i do get confused with this Topic, i understand the question was "Why do people think that the Tau are the Anime Army" and I feel I have answered that as best I can, what I don't understand is How Referring to the the Tau as an Anime Army is a Derogatory comment

I personally think it is because, simply, Tau seem oriental.

Orkestra wrote:Clearly Orks are the most anime race.

Let's take a look at the similarities.
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.
- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)
- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason
- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations
- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)
- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)
- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)
- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)
- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)
- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)
- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

What this dude said.

Now grab your Emperor damned anime talk and get the feth out of my GRIMDARK 41st Millenium.

Really.

WHO...
...CARES...
...WHERE...
...GW...
...GETS...
...THEIR...
IDEAS?

To add, GW have been getting ideas from Anime (and other sources) long before they even thought of the Tau.

Remember the Zoid in Rogue Trader?

Lupe wrote:

Orkestra wrote:Clearly Orks are the most anime race.

Let's take a look at the similarities.
- Huge, out of proportion mouths.
- Chibi versions of themselves (grots)
- Tend to do lots of yelling for no good reason
- React with overly dramatized violence to unusual situations
- Have a thing for having the 'biggest gun'(/highest Power Level/Best rock band/most giant lazer/scantily clad woman with the biggest breasts)
- Fight at the least excuse (ZZWAAAAAA! YOU STEPPED ON MY TOOOOEEEEEEE!)
- Collect small monsters and use them in battle (squigs)
- Get up unfazed after taking a beating that would have killed several normal men (even the girly little orks can take a giant hammer to the face and get back up)
- Tend to have fairly extreme hairstyles (Bald is still a hairstyle)
- All act like an ethnicity they're not (Green orks acting British / a bunch of white people who are inexplicably japanese)
- Have an innate ability with complex technology (*GASP* I've never seen an amateur [pilot/drive/wield/fix] a [insert made up word] like that before!)

I do believe my case is airtight. Orkz iz Anime.

What this dude said.

Now grab your Emperor damned anime talk and get the feth out of my GRIMDARK 41st Millenium.

Really.

WHO...
...CARES...
...WHERE...
...GW...
...GETS...
...THEIR...
IDEAS?

My robot skeletons trying to kill John Conn-er everyone agree with you

Lets just leave it at ALL 40K armies can be construed as being anime in some form.

T'au happen to have the most consistant look across their army. Note: not entire army, but much of it

Slanneshi Daemon armies look like a bad body horror hentai manga. We've got the atrocious looking women, the obligatory fused animals, the mutating of everyone who comes near, etc. Nurgle also has some nice traits.

My reasons for thinking this are Tomie, Gyo and Uzumami.

With some stretch of the imagination any army might be characterised as the 'anime' army, however it is Tau who are usually designated 'anime' and the reasons are pretty obvious.

All armies have aspects of anime. However the Tau have a similar backstory to Japan, and they share the most commonly recognised elements of anime, namely boxy mecha and sleek designs.

One major inspiration for Tau is Japan in general:
1.) Isolated (naivity) then learning fast from others, copying their technology
2.) God-like worshipped ruler class (Japanese Emperor)
3.) original painting scheme (ochre with white, see WW2 Japanese military)
4.) Caste system including warrior caste (samurai)
5.) Culture that praises the common welfare and restricts individualism
6.) Pragmatic approach to technology, knack for high tech
7.) Phases of Imperial expansion
8.) As a small racist joke in the first Codex: bad eye sight

Anime:
9.) enthusiasm for Mechs as featured in Gundam, Appleseed, Macross

On the other hand, you have these :

Kroothawk wrote:One major inspiration for Tau is Japan in general:
1.) Isolated (naivity) then learning fast from others, copying their technology
2.) God-like worshipped ruler class (Japanese Emperor)
3.) original painting scheme (ochre with white, see WW2 Japanese military)
4.) Caste system including warrior caste (samurai)
5.) Culture that praises the common welfare and restricts individualism
6.) Pragmatic approach to technology, knack for high tech
7.) Phases of Imperial expansion
8.) As a small racist joke in the first Codex: bad eye sight

Anime:
9.) enthusiasm for Mechs as featured in Gundam, Appleseed, Macross

On the other hand, you have these :

Wait a sec, when did the Tau ever "learn" tech from any other races? <- unless your referring to Ethereals....

2 applies to the Imperium more than the tau....
and why is enthusiasm for Mechs have to be anime inspired...


On a side note...CAN'T we all just GET ALONG!

xGhost4000x wrote:Wait a sec, when did the Tau ever "learn" tech from any other races? <- unless your referring to Ethereals....
2 applies to the Imperium more than the tau....
and why is enthusiasm for Mechs have to be anime inspired...

1.) Demiurg provided rail canon technology. And IIRC Tau found a crashed space ship nearby, providing them with better space travel technology. And trade and technological exchange are fundamental for their Empire.
2.) SciFi anime is dominated by mechs (man piloted big bipedals) that look very much like Tau crisis suits. Got perhaps obscured by the fact that Battletech, the inspiration for 40k Titans, was originally inspired by Japanese Mechs.

Tau mechs aren't as similar to most Japanese ones in scale as Imperial, Eldar and Ork ones.

Things like Appleseed are the exception. The norm is larger robots 15m+ in height.

And so the great circle of life continues.

The thread has given all the reasons why players often regard Tau as the Anime army, and you don't agree with them.

Other people think differently to you.

Daba wrote:Tau mechs aren't as similar to most Japanese ones in scale as Imperial, Eldar and Ork ones.

Things like Appleseed are the exception. The norm is larger robots 15m+ in height.

True, but it's more the style than the scale.

I find Tau suits more similar to western designs like I saw in Rifts and so on (though these were based on Japanese designs). I think the thing is this: Tau tech looks very 'generically' technological while Imperial, Eldar and Orks all have a very unique spin on their tech so they don't look like anything else now (largely).

Because of this, the Tau share more similarities with other companies designs which were inspired by the Japanese designs.

So your argument is:
Tau battlesuits have nothing in common with mechas because they are similar to Appleseed mechas, but 2 meters smaller than many Gundam suits (BTW there is one Gundam series with small suits)?
And you are aware that Rifts was created after 20+ years of Mecha-hype in Japan, right? And that Battletech was forced to abandon several popular Mech designs, because they were too blatant copies of Macross Mechas?

I play Tau and I use a 1/60 Gundam Mecha counting as Eldar Titan in Apocalypse games. And I use many other Gundam toys for adding flavour to my army, fitting perfectly in design.

FYI, the smallest Gundam would probably be from Gundam Victory or F91, which is around 15m tall; this would still tower over a Battlesuit considering it's 7 times taller than a Space Marine, for instance. I don't know if there's a later series that has a smaller one.

Another series (not Gundam) that does have small Mecha and are more like the Tau designs is probably Dougram at just under 10m or Votoms, at 4m who are probably battlesuit size though the latter looks less like a Tau suit than Dougram (and might be better classed as powered armour though the Battlesuit is powered armour after a fashion). It's these which I think were lifted wholesale (along with Macross designs) into Battletech and RIFTS.

As for argument, I am not arguing anything; just to me, the Tau designs look much more similar to these later, derived designs than they look like they were taken straight from the source.

Battletech didn't abandon the designs because they were blatent copies of Macross mecha, they abandoned the designs because they were the Macross mecha, and Harmony Gold (who had the Macross licence at the time) threatened lawsuit, and not the original studio AFAIK.

Meanwhile, elements from Rogue Trader was made during the time of large cross-pollination with all Sci-Fi and Fantasy over the world.

My second point is the reason probably many associate Tau more immediately with Japanese Mecha is due to the Tau looking more generic than the Imperium, Eldar and Orks. This genericness has elements of real world design, which is why it crops up a lot in the designs they're similar to.

However, I do see similarities between a particular school of Gundam design. Tau Battlesuits share proportions with SD Gundam, except without the massive head.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the release of Codex: T'au coincided with the first GW opening up in Japan.

Interesting. Source?

it was on Dakka somewhere

I'm sure you could find out by looking up Japanese business records and looking in the WD archives for the release of the T'au

dpredator666 wrote: and if people field it with a long of XV-8 or XV-88 we call them gundam-line~~

This. Mech obviously= anime.

IIRC, when GW was getting ready to release a new army in 2000-2001 there was a lot of internal debate on what to use. The Kroot had been planned for a while but they weren't sure how well Kroot were going to do in the market. Several designers wanted to ride the Anime popularity wave when it was peaking in the US/UK. See, some of us can remember when Anime was still an underground thing and you had to go to some lengths to find in on VHS. Now, it is everywhere. Anyhow, back on topic; at some point in time the decision was made to merge both armies and we got the whole Tau with Kroot mercenaries thing. The Tau and Anime connection is intentional. Maybe that's why they're second Codex still hasn't hit the mark

jw7007 may have a point. I'll admit I chose Tau because I was a huge gundam fan & went "OOOHHHH MECHS!" forgive me but I was around 12 IIRC.
Also it's not the first time this has been done. Wizards of the coast has been pushing Vampires for black decks & that has NO relation to the popularity of twilight. . . (I'd say the same for GW but I forget when the VC book came out)

1) Mechas.
2) Bright, simple, stylized color schemes.

Owain wrote:1) Mechas.
2) Bright, simple, stylized color schemes.

Like Space Marines and Eldar?

Especially on the colour schemes. Tau colours are meant to be more 'camo' like, with schemes for Deserts (the main one) and also ice fighting. We don't see many green ones though. Space Marine colours are bright, simple and stylised; Eldar use bright colours as well.

I call them heraldic.

Plenty of SMs have dark schemes like Dark Templars and so on. They do tend to stick to primary colours though.

Except the Reasonable Marines, of course.

When Tau first came out I and those in and around my gaming club where all under the impression they where Anime themed.

GW seemed to making some pushes into Japan at the time with store info in the mags, so we assumed it was a natural fishing lure trick to try and gather interest from the new gamers they wanted to introduce into 40k over there.

The fact I'd been into Anime since the early nineties probably meant such an association came to mind much quicker than to those who didn't partake of Japanese animation.

Oh and yeah, the mechs is the only reason probably in my mind, mobile individual suits (not entombed within dreads) seems very Anime compared to the rest of Grimdark 40K.

If anyone ever watched merchants of cool. It would make since when tau first came out they would cash in on the fad.

Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:
Oh and yeah, the mechs is the only reason probably in my mind, mobile individual suits (not entombed within dreads) seems very Anime compared to the rest of Grimdark 40K.

This. It's the mobility idea that gets it associated with anime. No other army really has mobile mecha. Sure, there are Dreads, but they're walking blocks of concrete. Of course they don't count. Killa Kans and Deff Dreads are the same. Sentinels look like chickens, as do Warwalkers. Wraithlord could be argued I suppose, but they aren't known for being particularly mobile, and they aren't sporting a common mecha look. The Tau suits are mobile, jump about and fire massive guns while doing so. Farsight even has an energy sword attached to his.

The name Tau reminds me of Taoism, and Taoist

Neither of which are pronounced with a 'T' (it is a sound made with the tip of the tongue starting further back along the roof of the mouth and is more of a 'd' sound.)

So it sounds more like 'D'-how, anyway.

It's the suits mainly and the higher tech emphasis. That and Japan was a market they were trying really hard to reach into (and failing miserably.).

I just registered to bless you with my opinion

Ahem...

I think that the Tau are Japanese in space since i first saw them but i didnt think of their Mechs as Anime because in my opinion
Mechs are neither Japanese nor Anime, they are just realy Cool (i think thats why they are in animes so often too) and i thought
that that was why Tau had those Mechs because they were Techy and cool

I see how one can get to the conclusion that Krisis suits are Anime if he thinks of all mechs as Anime but an Anime Mech usualy looks Stupid
(in the sense of not Functional which is Stupid to me, no offense to you Anime fans[I like Anime too but if it has stupid looking mechs the storys got to be real good])

The only reason to think of tau as anime other that them haveing Mechs that i can think of is associating Japan with Anime and i can't talk anyone out of a Cliche like that.

PS: sorry for Diging this Thread up but my opinion just wont listen to reason

So what if Tau have a little anime touch?
"Anime" are awesome.

I always thought the mechs where meant to be modeled after starship troopers.

I was at an anime convention years ago, back before the Tau had been released (or publicly announced, even). At this particular convention, a friend of mine and I were set up in the Artist's Alley playing a game of 40K (at night, when the 'Alley slows down and empties up a bit, you can do crazy stuff). A bystander saw our game (Guard vs Orks) and asked us if we'd be interested in seeing some pre-production artwork of the new army GW was working on. We both said "sure" and the guy whipped out several photocopied pages of sketchwork with notes scrawled on them. My friend and I took one look at the pictures and said they were bullgak, because GW would never release an army that was so obviously inspired by anime. I think we may have laughed in the guy's face...

Fast forward about a year, and I'm in the FLGS looking at the latest White Dwarf and what do I see?

The very same anime army that I had scoffed at earlier, now in 28mm form.

So yeah, when a couple of anime fans at an anime convention call the Tau an anime army, without knowing anything at all apart from what they look like, then know for all time that they are an anime army.

QED.

And the Eldar are not anime. They are skinny, yes. They have big hair, yes. Those two things alone do not make an anime army. The Eldar are WHFB Elves in spaaaaaaace. They even have the big point helmets.

I think this one bears pointing out. John Blanche, as you may or may not know, is GW's art director since 1986.. the early sponsor of miniature designers like Jes Goodwyn and others.

John Blanche wrote:
This recent overhaul of the Terminator design brings it into line with progress made in appearance of the Space Marines in general. The suit is now bigger and takes on the “Anime” proportions bestowed on the rest of the range – longer legs, wider shoulders and a bigger chest. The larger bases and plastic component nature of the hard copies allows for more versatile poses especially in the legs giving the suits more dynamism. The hip shields are inherited from the new Grey Knight designs. Characters in Mark 3c suits are available but no traitor versions have yet appeared.

Source: http://www.tearsofenvy.com/termi-nation/armour_mk03c.htm

It's easily forgotten. The one army that, by his words, were knowling and explicitly (re-)designed with the use of Anime influences (among other things no doubt) are the more recent (as in, the last 5 to 10 years) aesthetic of the Space Marines; specifically Terminator Armour as shown in this quote, but also other aspects of the range (larger eyes on "marine-helmets" being an obvious one, etc..).

I think a "I know you are but what am I?" approach to this question isn't particularly effective. That is, saying "Tau aren't anime, ELDAR are!" or whatever race. The preception is there, it has been ingrained. When you treat the "anime" description as a negative, all you do is validate it. You aren't going to change most people's minds, certainly not the overall preception.

Tau are seen as the anime army because of loose similarities and timing of release. It doesn't take much to earn a preception, and it is even easier to smack such on something already struggling with a "too goody goody for 40k" reputation. There isn't a need to delve to deeply in to the why of the thing.

The best response to some hypothetical "oh, you're playing the anime army" situation? "So?" or "...and?" or "Perhaps. That's a rather over-simplification of things, but an acceptable and efficient use of limited thought capacity for a clearly over-taxed mind."

Or just yell "SPIRIT BALL!" and club them senseless with a fire extinguisher.

Yeah. Do that.

Battlesuits, and because Farsight is almost like an anime protagonist with his mecha suit and bigass sword and fighting the Orks and to free the Tau from the Ethereals and all that jazz.

Mostly because people don't think.

You think you know anime? Try looking around, you will find tau is least like anime and more like star wars, india and battletech combined.

In fact, mecha started with war of the worlds, or should I say in books as jules verne's "The Steam House"

Tau are called the anime army by people who don't watch a lot of anime.

Tau always reminded me of Heavy Gear with their boxy armor and mono-sensor helmets.

They have a subtle but heavy Japanese/giant robot anime influence to them that even the developers themselves admit to introducing.

Eldar are far more anime-themed than Tau. If I remember correctly (it was a while ago), the 'Anime" rumor came from how the Tau came out at the same time that GW had some sort of opening in Japan, and people cried that they must have made up the Tau to "cater to Asian anime-fans so they'd buy more stuff".

There is no way that a Battlesuit is more visually anime than a Wraithlord/Guard.

Yeah, they definitely have an influence from mecha anime, but I have a bit of a problem calling them the 'anime' army, like thats all there is to anime. Its sort of like taking Reality TV, and claiming thats the only western shows there are. But I digress, they certainly do have influences from Japan, but they aren't straight up 'anime'.

Eldar aren't anime themed. They borrow heavily from WHFB Elves. Tau lack any Fantasy counterpart so were taken from new influences.

Eldar do have some Anime characteristics, but I would say that this is not because they directly came from Anime but rather because Anime and the Eldar borrow heavily from Fantesy designs. Alot of Anime is Fantesy worlds and as such the confusion can be understood.


As for what is distinctly Anime and not just Fantesy, many Animes are sci-fi based with big robot suits and super advanced technology. The Tau fit this description on both a visual and background level. Their written language is space calligraphy too.

Prior to the Tau, all 40k races were based on classic Fantesy arch types and races. There are similarities between them and some facets of Anime due to a common origin. The artists have also doubtlessly been subtly influenced by some particular styles, however the Tau are a combination of things more commonly associated with Sci-fi anime to a far greater degree then the other races.


Space Marines and the Eldar may have Anime influences however they are less obvious then the gothic warrior monk and fantesy space elf designs.

One of the problems calling something anime. It's a little like calling something book. Anime is such a broad grouping. Most of the current animes I can think of have 0.0 similarities with the tau. Tau really only fit with one small sub genre inside of the much larger category of anime.

Yes, but its a very high profile portion of Anime and is well known. Everyone has at least heard of Gundam.


I mean, the first thing people look for when they think of anime is big eyed chicks in mini-skirts(guns/swords may or may not be present)

Failing that they look for some sort of advanced robot suit. Jackpot!!!

Grey Templar wrote:Yes, but its a very high profile portion of Anime and is well known. Everyone has at least heard of Gundam.


I mean, the first thing people look for when they think of anime is big eyed chicks in mini-skirts(guns/swords may or may not be present)

Failing that they look for some sort of advanced robot suit. Jackpot!!!

So you think tau are gundam?

In some ways yes.

100% mech suits ...

Grey Templar wrote:In some ways yes.

Do they have more in common with gundam or starship troopers (book)?

IDK, were there pictures in the book?

Should we not ask anime fans what they think?

Grey Templar wrote:IDK, were there pictures in the book?

Never mind.

Grey Templar wrote:Yes, but its a very high profile portion of Anime and is well known. Everyone has at least heard of Gundam.


I mean, the first thing people look for when they think of anime is big eyed chicks in mini-skirts(guns/swords may or may not be present)

Failing that they look for some sort of advanced robot suit. Jackpot!!!

I understand WHY people jump to that conclusion, but it still doesn't make it a right conclusion to jump to.

I know i prob should not get involved but i googled anime mech

https://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=9&gs_id=w&xhr=t&q=evangelion&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=979&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=nQVyT7jKEeT24QTWwMmuDw#um=1&hl=sv&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=anime+mech&oq=anime+mech&aq=f&aqi=g-L7&aql=&gs_l=img.3..0i19l7.9504l11652l0l11988l10l10l0l1l1l0l86l357l9l9l0.frgbld.&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=667c28abcf0553f0&biw=1920&bih=979

Then i googled tau

https://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=9&gs_id=w&xhr=t&q=evangelion&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=979&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=nQVyT7jKEeT24QTWwMmuDw#um=1&hl=sv&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=tau+suits&oq=tau+suits&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=img.3...20878l21631l8l21831l6l6l0l3l3l0l47l122l3l3l0.frgbld.&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=667c28abcf0553f0&biw=1920&bih=979

then googled eldar

https://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=9&gs_id=w&xhr=t&q=evangelion&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=979&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=nQVyT7jKEeT24QTWwMmuDw#um=1&hl=sv&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=eldar+walkers+wraithlords&oq=eldar+walkers+wraithlords&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=img.3...6615l13465l12l13605l32l32l10l22l32l0l0l0ll0l0.frgbld.&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=667c28abcf0553f0&biw=1920&bih=979

the question was why does people say tau is the anime army..

just look at the links.

You may not agree with them being anime but that does not change the perception most people have when then look at them.
Tau have been "branded" the anime army by a big portion of the players.
This did not just happend for no reason..

Also have to agre with posters before me that Eldar have their own brand witch is elves in spaaaaace, they have alway had it and will always have it.

regards Ogard

To me the Eldar are ancient Chinese and the Tau futuristic Japanese. Just my 2 cents.

I think it's silly to assume Anime has a monoply on robots. Mecha/robots/drones and the like are a sci -fi tropes first before anime ones.

Also aesthetically speaking I do find the anthropomorphic Eldar titans to be more similar to the robots in Gundam Wing and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Of course I don't watch anime so maybe I'm completely wrong.

I see the Tau as the most stock, standrad sci-fi race not the anime race. I mean just about every other faction is pretty unconvential by sci-fi standards, we have swords, knights, elves, orks, and all sorts of other anachronisms in space. If 40k covers and parodies all tropes in fiction then Tau simply fill the standard sci-fi niche. I.E. the guys who use robots, shoot blue energy thingies, and realize gunz>swords, all of which is reasonably sci-fi but oddly missing from the rest of 40k's factions so bam we get tau to fill that void.

Considering that a massive amount of Sci-fi is also Anime leads to the understandable confusion.

It may not be technically correct but it is what happens.

My take on this topic:
The only army that I consider anime would have to be the Eldar.
the Tau battle suits look like they were inspired by anime like Ghost in the Shell, but the race themselves no that much

My take on this topic:

This is a stupid topic, and has been answered. People may or may not choose to agree with the reasons stated for the Tau to Anime connection, but in either case this thread has been beat to death and needs to end.

CountCross wrote:Last week at the GW in montreal my cousin played a game with his Tau and his opponent called him a anime fan. After looking up what that meant I have to ask the question in the title of this thread. The only animeish thing about the Tau are the mech suits. The Eldar on the other hand look like your run of the mill anime characters, too thin, pale, and they are so very androgynous, not to mention they look like power rangers. Can any one explain how the Tau is in any way anime other than the mech suits.


P.S. Nothing against the eldar. It`s just something I noticed.

IDK. Probably has something to do with all the flying robots.

IDK, maybe Gundam, Appleseed, Mecha connection. They are reminiscent of these.









Tau are slightly less rounded, a bit more chunky to fit in the 40k universe but the aesthetic is similar. You got to admit Tau are quite Weeabo. I know people will now argue semantics but to a layman these all look very similar.

FoxPhoenix135 wrote:but in either case this thread has been beat to death and needs to end.

Which it very oblingingly did two years ago, until someone forgot to check the fething date of the last post.

AegisGrimm wrote:There is no way that a Battlesuit is more visually anime than a Wraithlord/Guard.

Really? I honestly don't see it. How many anime are there with lumbering behemoths hosted by dead spirits and how many are there with man-operated fast jumping mechs?
Almost every anime main hero mech is operated personally by someone inside it.
Besides, just look at Ogard post. You must be insane if you want to convince anyone that wraithlord looks more similar than tau suits.
We are not talking about one particular brand, but rather about general look perceived by bigger group of people with different anime-knowledge.

Even if it would be (to me Ogard links show something entirely different) it doesn't matter.
Yes, a rare occurrence in Eldar army may be more similar to anime mech. A great deal of every Tau army looks very similar to anime mech look.
Grey Knights do not have Ad mech look because sometimes sometimes there is a Techpriest in the army.

Living for hundred of years and then dying on the battlefield when the wind is too strong is not anime-like. Piloting mech to the battle in very young age definitely is.

Guess because they have a gundamwing feel ..... thats the big one, been repeated alot

Really? I honestly don't see it. How many anime are there with lumbering behemoths hosted by dead spirits and how many are there with man-operated fast jumping mechs?
Almost every anime main hero mech is operated personally by someone inside it.

The fluff has nothing to do with visual style. The graceful organic curves of a Wraithlord reminds me more of an anime mech than the slightly gawky Tau battlesuits with their tiny feet and ankles. Heck, the current Eldar Wraithlord even has a ten-foot sword as a wargear option! I think they look like giant robot samurai (complete with hanging banners), which makes me think of anime.



Plus, now they can hold their ranged weapons like they are just giant guns, rather than just having gun-arms, which makes me think Gundam and Heavy Gear.

You must be insane if you want to convince anyone that wraithlord looks more similar than tau suits.

No more personal attacks, please. People can have other opinions.

I certainly see the mech kinda style in Tau battlesuits, though the Wraithlords feel much more anime style to me. I mean it's a giant, sleek robot that likes to whip out a sword and kill things with it instead of shooting with its cannons. If that doesn't say anime, Idk what does.

I can concede that the Tau suits remind me of Macross, and that only adds them points in my book.

Why would them being considered anime be a bad thing anyways?

(Warning: Bias of Anime Fan)

Why would them being considered anime be a bad thing anyways?

Nothing in my book, but evidently there are some huge Tau fans that will bite your head off if you don't agree fully that they are considered anime.

I think mostly the anime angle started as an accusation/conspiracy theory, way back when the Tau first came out, that GW was pandering to the anime side of Japanese fans to sell more of their new army, because if I remember right, it "just happened to" coincide with GW making a a big push into the Japanese markets.

Frankly, the only thing vaguely anime about them are their battlesuits, which comprise all of two types of (non-Forgeworld) models in the range. The rest of the army just looks like a sleek near-future army to me.

Grey Templar wrote:Considering that a massive amount of Sci-fi is also Anime leads to the understandable confusion.

Eh? You'll find that science fiction was quite well defined as a literary genre long, long before "anime" (in the sense in which the term is being here used) became even vaguely well-known outside Japan.

Because they look like anime charectors. How is that difficult?

Hey look, it's a Tau Devilfish...no, wait, it's a Zentraedi ship design from Macross:



To be fair, though, the Space Marines do blatantly steal from Mospeada with their motorcycles and perhaps even the backpacked power armor. Needless to say, 40k borrows from a lot of sources.

Joey wrote:Because they look like anime charectors. How is that difficult?

So do the spaceelfs.

"Tau not looking like the Mecha in animes..."

if you say so....
Please note not every "mecha" in "anime" looks like Gundam or Gurren Lagann.


Not to mention, design wise, Tau is the first warhammer army with design that is made for flat panel pen lining

I never particularly got it. Don't watch anime and I just think of poor quality animation with big eyed characters and mouths that flap open/closed when they talk, so I never thought of battlesuits looking cartoony

Tau have anime elements. That doesn't make them an anime army. I personally think that anyone who is ignoring those elements either hasn't watched much anime, or is lying to themselves, but I also think the same thing for those who seem to be treating the fact they have one or two facets of anime as the fact that everything about them is anime.

It's obvious that the Tau are based heavily off of Macross and Gundam, at least visually.

Obvious to the point that arguing about it is somewhat ridiculous.

The other armies in 40k do have some Anime elements but it is much more subdued then the Tau Anime elements, which form a large portion of their basic astetic.

Fluff-wise, the Tau are a pretty generic advanced alien race with a mish mash of a Caste system and socialist elements. Not specifically Anime in this area.

They are based a little bit off of the Anime genre, that's a fact. Some of the interviews with the designers in the studio at the time even mention it. Iirc they talked about trying to get interest in the Tau by making them resemble the Anime cartoons somewhat, which were highly popular when the Tau were first made.

For some reason, the tau strikes me as chinese...the tau empire being the People's Republic of China

Viersche wrote:For some reason, the tau strikes me as chinese...the tau empire being the People's Republic of China

The fluff / Caste system Yes

The join us or die Yes ( Tibet / Taiwan )

Aesthetic = Mecha though

I still wonder why mecha implies anime. Don't robots simply evoke sci-fi in the most general terms? Unless Crisis Suits are blatant rip offs off a particular anime/manga's style I don't see why Tau mecha have to specifically be related to anime. Why not say any anthropomorphic robot is anime inspired? Why only Tau machinery?

Sure some anime mecha share traits with Crisis Suits but I don't think any one design shares enough with the Crisis Suits to label it "anime-inspired" over "generic sci-fic robot". I mean why don't people make comparisons to Mech Warrior, Chrome Hounds, Supreme Commander, or any of the other robot-flavored-fiction out there? It's always anime for some reason...

asimo77 wrote:I still wonder why mecha implies anime.

Because most popular TV series that feature mecha are anime.

Robotech, Voltron, Gundam Wing, Gigantor (sort of )... I could probably continue if you'd like.

I feel like those can all be considered regular robots and general sci-fi as well as anime. The shows you listed share some traits with the Tau but only minmially IMO. I think what holds all that stuff and the Tau together is the general concept of science fiction rather than anime. In other words, sci-fi as a genre is a stronger thread tying the Tau to those shows than anime is. Otherwise I think you could take almost any fictional robot and say it's anime inspired.

asimo77 wrote:I feel like those can all be considered regular robots and general sci-fi as well as anime.

But...

They're all actually anime. You see where I'm going with this?

Here's a list of mechs from popular media. I know, I know... wiki, but still there's a trend that you may notice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_mecha

asimo77 wrote: Otherwise I think you could take almost any fictional robot and say it's anime inspired.

To someone who isn't really going to ponder it too deeply, mechs with bazooka hands are going to be considered to have some sort of anime influence due largely in part to the fact that nearly every show that I can think of featuring mechs has been anime.

I always said the same thing. the only thing that look anime in the Tau are the battlesuits. Everything else isn't anime. I play Tau and i don't like anime. I chose Tau cause i like the look of their infantry and tanks.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Cadorius wrote:Hey look, it's a Tau Devilfish...no, wait, it's a Zentraedi ship design from Macross:



To be fair, though, the Space Marines do blatantly steal from Mospeada with their motorcycles and perhaps even the backpacked power armor. Needless to say, 40k borrows from a lot of sources.

I thought this was an eldar from Battlefleet gothic...

I think GW was just being thorough. If someone else has a good idea, why not take it? 40k has always been a mash up of the entire SF/Fantasy genre. It's the logical continuation of a strategy that's worked pretty well in the past.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

asimo77 wrote:I still wonder why mecha implies anime. Don't robots simply evoke sci-fi in the most general terms? Unless Crisis Suits are blatant rip offs off a particular anime/manga's style I don't see why Tau mecha have to specifically be related to anime. Why not say any anthropomorphic robot is anime inspired? Why only Tau machinery?

Well yeah, now any science fiction story can have a flying robot in it so I guess the original japanese flavor may have been lost. But the whole flying robot genre definitely got started with imported japanese cartoons, so that's why the association is there. I'm not saying that no one in America had ever done a flying robot story, but science fiction was always first and foremost something that you had to read to participate in, and since most Americans don't read they didn't have any exposure to it. You can watch japanese cartoons on the idiot box, however, so it reached a broader audience.

Anyway the association is valid if you go back a decade or two. Alot of the posters who don't see the connection may be too young to remember how completely different anime was when it was originally introduced. Now it's just part of the culture.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

asimo77 wrote:Otherwise I think you could take almost any fictional robot and say it's anime inspired.

Eh. There's a real difference between the american-style robot stories of Isaac Asimov, say, and the mecha genre. The former were more intellectual, trying to think about some of the consequences of new technologies. Mecha stories are usually just action flicks, although they do occasionally aspire to something more lofty.

Why?

For the same reason why American teenagers who are into anime think that Japanese High school must be this fun and wonderful place - never knowing the grimdark reality of it all.

A style and set of images are associated in a person's head with a Cultural Sphere.

its true that there is no one particular characteristic of the Tau that screams "ANIME," anymore than say the Eldar but its rather a combination of characteristics that reinforce on one another. the Robot Design + caste System + Social Philosophy + something as small as Location in the Cosmos.

I mean this is the reason why we have folks screaming their heads off saying that the Tau are Communists. Aside from just being a funny joke, its because they've taken those string of associations in their head and made one more, namely the Tau = People's republic of China.

Nevermind the fact that the culture is more strongly geared toward Japan (and that isn't a castigation of caucasians for not knowing better. Ask someone from Asia what the definitive differences between an American and a Canadian is, and they are going to confuse a few things.) - the parallelism just fits well in their minds.

asimo77 wrote:I still wonder why mecha implies anime.

Because the first shows and movies that kids these days saw that had giant robots was anime shows. Gundam wing is a prime example.

Now just because this is their reference point, they stick to it. Standard ignorance, everyone does it to some degree.

If anything else was the primary reference point, the implication would be different. People forget that giant robots originated in european fiction and migrated from there.

Just about everyone owns a game of some kind with giant robots in it. Halo had giant robots after all, and the halo covenant is more like the tau than ANYTHING else. Some might say bungie copied 40k.

But everyone tends to copy everyone else these days.

Point of interest-

I just checked on this thread while I wasn't logged in. There were three ads selected at the top of the forum page for it.

Two were regarding robots and robotics.

One was regarding rape.

Looks like the case for similarities between Tau and anime is being made by the ad robot!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ^^this!!^^

Google appears to have answered the question. Spock would be most pleased.