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[Darvi]

Are you laughing to dismiss that sentence or are you laughing at the irony?

[Leafsnail]

A bit of both.

[StupidElves]

Okay, now I see the irony of what I said. But I've been to Japan, that is how they are. They will latch onto a stereotype and roll with it. They'll sit down and listen and learn if they meet someone of a different culture, but until they do they will hold on to the stereotype for dear life.

[Darvi]

Unlike any other culture ever.

[StupidElves]

Eh, fair enough.

[Neonivek]

Ohh don't get me wrong Western media is as bad, if not possibly worse (albeit I've seen Japan be bit more openly racist at times, usually anytime these use the word Yankee), It is just interesting to see the stereotypes of another country.

Heck Kaijudo is an American Pseudoanime and it makes an overly big deal about how the main character is part Asian (something... no one cares about, and makes the reference stilted). He also, oddly enough, has multicolored hair (black with Red... and let me say GOOD LUCK if you try doing that in real life).

Heck Hetalia is nothing BUT stereotypes and I actually really like it (Since the stereotypes while funny, are meant to be endearing...). Then again it is probably because through all the stereotypes and poor jokes it honestly feels like the anime is advocating world togetherness and that the world is a great place to live in (Once again... something the MOVIE got wrong! ERRR!). So none of the jokes ever come off as mean spirited or honest jabs at the other countries.

But it is like Anime says the major reason why Americans fill that stereotype so often without reprieve is because Japan has a serious inferiority complex with the United States... I mean a HUGE ONE!

One Unique anime that features American Stereotypes is Prince of Tennis. Why?

Because it did the "American Team" plot twice. One time by honestly treating the American players with respect and showing them as highly skilled and equally qualified players (In fact, the team leader of the American team is essentially the reverse of the main character with his father being abusive). The Other time by having the American Players be a stereotypical "ha, Japan sucks!" team to the point where the anime itself makes fun of how dumb this is.

[Reelya]

(albeit I've seen Japan be bit more openly racist at times, usually anytime these use the word Yankee)

Uhh, wot? "Yanki" doesn't mean or imply "American" in Japanese slang. I've never heard it in an anime used to refer to Americans or white people, let alone "anytime" they use the word. Maybe (although I can't find a definitive source) it did have some connection to Americans at some point (they sort of look like 1950's American greasers , so that might be the connection), but it's since lost any of those connections.

The question is whether a word which once had a racial connection is still racist if used for some other purpose. One example is the word "wimp". Is that sexist? Some feminists say yes, since it's derived from "wimpel" an item of female apparel. Hence, calling a guy a "wimp" is calling him a girly "sissy", because you're saying he wears or should wear girly clothes. But, how many young men throwing the word "wimp" around are even aware of the connotations? Probably zero. That raises the question, can you be e.g. racist/sexist if you don't know that the origin of the term is racist or sexist, and nobody else picks it up either. Young girls aren't going to feel "oppressed" by the word "wimp" since they don't even know what a "wimpel" was. Only a few academic types who read the textbooks are outraged, nobody else even notices the connection between the word wimp and gender.

Japamese use of the word Yanki is possibly comparable to the evolution of the word "punk" which was once a slur, but became the name for a subculture. Yankis aren't just delinquents, they're a specific type of delinquent with a dress and behavior code that identifies them.

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

In Japan since the late 1970s, the term Yankī has been used to refer to a type of delinquent youth.

http://kotaku.com/5962065/in-japan-thugs-sit-like-theyre-taking-a-crap

In Japan, there's a style of squatting called "yanki zuwari" (ヤンキー座り) or "Yankee sitting". Here, the Japanese word "yanki" (ヤンキー) does not refer to Americans or "Yankees". Rather, it refers to the slang for a type of juvenile delinquent that appeared in the 1970s and 1980s.

[Knit tie]

Russian gopniks also sit like this.

[Mindmaker]

Quality headline Kotaku.

[Neonivek]

Odd Reelya, I've never seen the word Yanki used for non-American characters.

I will admit I've rarely heard it used for characters who weren't punkish, but it tends to be used for Americans.

[Parsely]

I see a problem with this hypothetical anime. The Japanese are really quick to latch on to a stereotype and roll with it. If the creator of this hypothetical anime had spent time in American and learned the difference between the stereotype and the actual thing, it would be much more enjoyable.

Because no one else in any other country does that.[/sarcasm]

Calling someone a Yankee isn't even racist. Americans aren't ever offended by it really. :p

EDIT: About wondering if the term shows up in anime: I've only ever heard it recently, in an episode of Legendary Gambler Tetsuya the titular character and his partner Denshi have to play a game against this guy with a nice suit and an Elvis hairdo, and they refer to him as the "wannabe Yankee" in the subtitles, since he's actually Japanese, but you can hear them calling him "yankee" as well. There are also some unsavory characters who in another episode referred to stealing from the Yankee soldiers, so actual Americans (the arc takes place in 1955 Japan).

[majikero]

I always thought "Yankee" in Japan is wannabe "Americans", which seems to be blonde(natural/dyed) with rough mannerism.

[Reelya]

Odd Reelya, I've never seen the word Yanki used for non-American characters.

I will admit I've rarely heard it used for characters who weren't punkish, but it tends to be used for Americans.

Fruits Basket episode 1 is an example, that's what the fanclub girls call the tough girl who is friends with the MC

[Parsely]

I always thought "Yankee" in Japan is wannabe "Americans", which seems to be blonde(natural/dyed) with rough mannerism.

According to the show I watched, a Japanese who is a wannabe American wears an expensive suit and uses English expressions (he says "oh my god!" and stuff like that in plain English).

"Yankee" referred to actual Americans until recently I think. Apparently "Yanki" is a term used for Japanese punks previously described by the others, and also wannabes.

[Reelya]

Well "recently" here means the 1970's. That's when they yanki subculture appeared in Japan, peaked in the 1980's and it's now pretty much an anachronism that you get in anime. That's why characters in anime sometimes ask things like "what decade did you pop out of?" when they meet cliched "yanki" gangs.