The other need for stereotypes is because we’re not dealing with live-action, which can employ a whole range of subtleties for a “performance”.. things generally need to be pretty broad to get over with animation

And I don’t know if I would personally refer to meganeko, catgirls, etc as stereotypes since it’s really just a look, and their personality can run the gamut. It’d be like saying a dude with a mustache is a stereotype.

Sure, the creators run the risk of building characters that fall into that mold and never being able to take themselves out of it – but likewise those characteristics are stables of the genre now, and the creators will sooner or later create something which turns those stables on their heads, playing against fan expectations. Someone will take that risk – which of course just creates a new stereotype for the genre.

Frankly, I think it’s a good thing in some cases, while in others it’s not.

Using stereotypes allows the creator to get into the meat of the story quicker. For example (for a western audience), we want a fiery tempered female – give her red hair and green eyes – sure it’s a stereotype, but one that the audience would know almost instinctively. The creator then does not have to spend as much time on setting up that character, and can get to to use for that character.

Basically, what I’m saying is that stereotypes can be a good launching point for characters.

They become bad things when every character has a set ideal stereotype and that’s it. All the action revolves around those characters yet they don’t change from their starting point.

Though of course all that text above this point does not deal at all with physical stereotypes. And of course, I’m less inclined to call those things stereotypes as much as they are broad categories for the artform.

i.e. meganekko, mecha, catgirls, ecchi, etc.

Seeing those labels applied to an anime/manga, allows the consumer to automatically know the type of stuff that he’s going to be getting.

If someone wants to create a echhi, meganekko, mecha manga more power to them – just that does not mean that the story is good/bad – it just means that the story will have giant robots, driven by large-breasted, slim waisted girls wearing glasses with a predilection towards wearing miniskirts on windy days.

Ultimately they’re a double-edged sword. IMO, they both hurt and help the industry at the same time.

I don’t think that they’re hurting the industry really. Companies are supposed to create what the fans want, and I think that’s what the fans (Japanese ones at least) want. I remember John on AnimeNation answered a question similar to this. He said that the Japanese like the intimacy and familiarity felt with stereotypical characters and stories. I guess, unlike most Americans who always want something new and fresh, the Japanese don’t mind the repetition.

In short, the archetype, template, whatever you want to call it thing goes on in real life. You all know them, “The Writer”, “The Smoking Man”, “Wise Eyes Set Close Together Man”, “Mario”, etc. I used to play the classification game.

Anyway, bringing this back to anime, I’ve gone full circle on it. The overt pandering to stereotype used to bug me, but it’s so prevalent and natural that it’s turned invisible. I’m aware of it, like saying water is two parts hydrogen one part oxygen, yeah I know, but I don’t think it when I drink it.