[Split] Tessa's history and nationality

[Circle]

The Ahb have blue hair. I think that supports my theory that Kaname is an alien. :p (Even though in the novel she has black hair.)

People with really platnium blonde hair, the hair will look silver in bright sunlight. It's really mesmerizing when shiny. I like Mao's pink-purple eyes too.

[Weltall Elite]

"
Saying where anyone in the show is from based on how they look is nothing more than guesswork
Furthermore, the hair colour in anime is often symbolic as well. Tessas hair, in spite of being part silver, part pale-purple, is in fact ash-blonde. It's depicted the way it's depicted partly to simplify things for the people who animate the characters (depicting that kurtz and tessa have different hair colour would be much harder, otherwise), partly because it adds far more colour to the scenes and makes things look better in the eyes of the producers. If you want to know what information it conveys, you need simply to find the symbolism.

Of course, it's not very accurate - Mao doesn't have her cheekbone stripes in the second raid anymore, for some reason (I'm not entirely positive they were on her in season one, but nearly), to name an example.

But that being said, the original art for the various characters, made by shikidouji, was most likely created based upon the etniticity of the various characters. It would therefore seem very odd if Tessa was supposed to be from sicily...not impossible, just very odd...just think of how you would draw a character that looks like she's from sicily. I bet you're not thinking tessas characteristics.

I don't know. I'm a little confused on your stance. I looked back at the older posts and I'm still confused. That's why I didn't debate specifics. Are you saying that Tessa's from Italy or not? I mean... you could probably say someone is European or Caucasian as opposed to Asian based on how they're animated. In fact, in some cases, I'm sure it's obvious. But to narrow it down any more specifically than that is going out a bit on a limb, I think. But again, I'm not sure what your angle was. I mean, hell, there are Japanese characters in the show with blonde hair. If they were basing the character designs on their nationality, they couldn't have been trying TOO hard.

It's definately more than guesswork. I said that there _are_ indicators, named one, you haven't disproven it, so that means it's _definately_ more than guesswork, nomatter how you look at it.

Which indicator was that?

[AEmer]

the wrinkles underneath/around kanames, sousukes and kyoko's eyes, to name a few...they're far more visible in the first season. There, they're specific to the japanese characters.

And I'm saying, sure she's itallian. It's just gotta be the nothernmost part, in the mountainous areas, because generally, people in italy don't look like Tessa.

It's only interesting when it comes to further relations and understanding her past, and yeah, placing some of her fathers family (unless she took over her mothers maiden name) in italy isn't that big a deal...but I'm certain it'll get elaborated on.

[Weltall Elite]

Yeah, there are the wrinkles. Most of the Japanese characters have them. Some don't. Kurz sometimes has them. But if you didn't already know they were Japanese, you wouldn't have assumed them to be Japanese. Japanese people don't have dark lines under their eyes. It's animation.

I could understand where you're coming from if there were a bunch of Italian characters in the show and they all were drawn with some common feature.

Obviously, if Testarossa is an Italian name, then obviously she must have some Italian decent. But I just don't see how you can assume that she or even her immediate family are from Italy based on how she looks. We don't REALLY know anything to suggest it. All I remember reading suggest she's American. For all we know, her family name could have come out of Italy generations ago.

Anyway, I'm not picking a fight with you. I'm just the guy who blows the whistle when I see people making assumptions. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I wouldn't be so sure you were right either.

[AEmer]

The reason we're discussing this in the first place is because it's officially stated that she's itallian.

Either way, I've realized we're off topic, so I'll stop now.

[Weltall Elite]

Where is it officially stated? The only "official" thing I've seen says, "she was born on the American East Coast, to a family of strong European ancestry."

[AEmer]

http://www.full-metal-panic.com/roster/tessa-data.html

[Tulip Baroo]

Maybe this thread should be split? I think its interesting

I agree that she probably has Italian relatives somewhere down the line, but she could be taking after a grand parent, or one of her parents could be of a completely different origin. It says she has Swiss/ Austrian ties, now correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the stereotypical Swiss person have blonde hair? She could have had a grand mother cross the Alps and move to Italy and meet a nice young man called Testarossa, have some kids and then move to the US. Any number of things could have happened.

I've never heard of Asian lines before, I've always noticed them but I never thought they meant something, now I'll be looking out for that!

Kanames blue hair- I'm pretty sure it says (in the novels?) that her hair is black. I don't believe she dyes her hair (her hair was blue when she was a baby) but I think it represents black and separates her from the other characters (although there is at least one other blue haired girl in their class). I know that when I dyed my hair black in the past it often looked blue when the light was on it.

[Weltall Elite]

It is. In the novel's it's black, in the anime, it's blue. My point was just that you can't say for a certainty where an anime character is from by looking at them. They draw them all sorts of ways.

http://www.full-metal-panic.com/roster/tessa-data.html

lol! Why couldn't you just put that up from the beginning? Acting like you could tell just from looking at her... jeez. >_<

So Testarosa is definitely an Italian name though? I've never been good at placing people's names.

EDIT: Man, that site needs an update badly. >_<

[AEmer]

Actually, and this is slightly amusing, I didn't know that page existed either in the beginning, I just assumed it did

I was also unable to find that tidbit on the official page, however, but I thought to myself:
Look what KashimArbalastAS posted in post number one of this (new) thread...:

Tessa in her official data at www.full-metal-panic.com she is Points of Mention: -Italian-American, with strong Swiss/Austrian ties.

That's why I thought it had to be on the official page.. so, I grabed "Italian-American, with strong Swiss/Austrian ties" and tossed it into google, since it looked like something he'd cut and pasted...and voila, there you have the html with the info on it

Now, I also thought I ought to get some knowledge to the table:

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

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

These sources basically say that you can't be sure of a damn thing about how real italian people look, and that tessa's caucasian look could originate from anywhere.

So basically, tessa could be from sicilian heritage, and just not be typical. I find that notion silly, though. I bet Gatoh wasn't being politically correct when he created Tessa. I bet he picked an origin for her that made sense in a stereotypical fashion. And that would mean, she'd have to have parrents from nother italy, for simplicitys sake. But that's very subjective.
I'd still say that it'd be very very hard to find an ash blond girl with pale skin like that in southern italy, despite wikipedias oppinion.

Here's something on her name:

The name Testarossa is actually the name of a certain very popular ferrari.
http://www.testarossa.nl/
Sites in dutch, but you should be able to navigate it just fine - gallery, then testarossa, and you'll see something you've undoubtedly seen before.

I'd say that, knowing Gatohs apparent interest in italy and itallian cars, it's likely that Tessas name does indeed originate from italy

[Jae]

Tessa's coloring may or may not having anything to do with whatever her ethnic heritage is- plenty of italians are pale. The 'stereotype' is of the dark, mediterranean italians, but they aren't an absolute rule. Even someone who 'comes from' southern Italy can be pale.

Facts are- we don't know the acutal history or makeup of Tessa's family, and we don't know if the way we see her coloring has anything to do with it at all. Not trying to kill the general speculation of her family, but I suppose I find some of the 'but she doesn't look italian' type posts irritating because of the stereotypes being laid bare.
Edited since Aemer posted while I was typing this- Tessa and Leo could have been deliberately colored to stand out and be seen as unusual, and not be stereotypical. We don't know. Afterall, they are freaks!

Kaname's hair is black. There's a difference between how you see her hair in the anime, and how other people within the anime see it. Nobody treats her as someone with unusually dyed blue hair. Although I don't think it's a mistake or error to say she has blue hair- to us she sure does, and that's important. But I also think it matters that people who care about it understand that her hair isn't blue within the story.
Same goes for most everyone else with funky hair...

BTW, that webpage is ADV's official page- over a year ago? or so, ADV laid off the webteam that created that. I don't know why, or if they've been replaced, but I guess it may have had something to do ADV looking like it has budget problems.

[Weltall Elite]

Kaname's hair is black. There's a difference between how you see her hair in the anime, and how other people within the anime see it. Nobody treats her as someone with unusually dyed blue hair. Although I don't think it's a mistake or error to say she has blue hair- to us she sure does, and that's important. But I also think it matters that people who care about it understand that her hair isn't blue within the story.
Same goes for most everyone else with funky hair... \

Well... it's neither here nor there, really. To us blue hair may be "unusual", but obviously not in a fictional anime world. So no one's going to comment about how "weird" her hair is. I just say it's "blue" in the anime because the insert to the DVD refers to her as having blue hair instead of black like the novel does. Almost like theirs a distinct difference between the two mediums.

Personally, in terms of the reality of the anime world, I think it goes both ways. They never refer to here as having blue OR black hair, but they've commented several times on her long hair. Like the issue is intentionally being avoided.

These sources basically say that you can't be sure of a damn thing about how real italian people look, and that tessa's caucasian look could originate from anywhere.

So basically, tessa could be from sicilian heritage, and just not be typical. I find that notion silly, though. I bet Gatoh wasn't being politically correct when he created Tessa. I bet he picked an origin for her that made sense in a stereotypical fashion. And that would mean, she'd have to have parrents from nother italy, for simplicitys sake. But that's very subjective.
I'd still say that it'd be very very hard to find an ash blond girl with pale skin like that in southern italy, despite wikipedias oppinion.

Okay. I think I finally see where you're going with this. You're saying that since she has some Italian decent, but doesn't look like most Italians, you're trying to rationalize her looks by determining which parts of Italy have people with those physical characteristics. Basically, yes?

[AEmer]

IRT Jae and Weltall:

Basically that's what I'm speculating, yes.

Either way, it's true, Gatoh may have given Tessa a particular ethnic look, and told Shikidouji to draw her in a particular way, so as to make her stand out. Then, as he decided to include Leonard as a character, he wanted him to be based upon Tessas looks.

Or, Gatoh could have planned 10 novels ahead, and based both tessas and her brothers looks upon this idea.

It's certainly possible.

I'd rather believe, though, that he's attributed a lot of characteristics to his 'day one' characters through months of planning, and then made the other things fit together as he wrote. I'd rather believe these characteristics are why we're seeing them listed on the ADV spec page. And I'd rather believe he handed those characteristics to give shikidouji something to work with. It is, of course, speculation.

[Jae]

To us blue hair may be "unusual", but obviously not in a fictional anime world. So no one's going to comment about how "weird" her hair is. I just say it's "blue" in the anime because the insert to the DVD refers to her as having blue hair instead of black like the novel does. Almost like theirs a distinct difference between the two mediums.

Personally, in terms of the reality of the anime world, I think it goes both ways. They never refer to here as having blue OR black hair, but they've commented several times on her long hair. Like the issue is intentionally being avoided.

Um, so because the characters never mention the color of Kaname's hair, we can assume it's unusual since they aren't mentioning it? Perhaps they aren't mentioning it because it's actually a very common color, and it's the length of her hair that stands out.

As for blue hair possibly not being an unsuual color in FMP Japan, we don't see third tier or background people with unnatural colors. If Kaname's hair is blue to everybody in FMP, it would be unusual. She hasn't been identified within the anime as 'the japanese girl with long blue hair'.

As with the DVD insert, I don't think it's incorrect to say it's blue because that's how we see it. But I doubt that is the way the characters would 'see' it, if it mattered in the story.
edit, adding: Also, I don't think the mediums are very different. Kaname's hair is colored blue in art for every medium- including the novels where it's described as black.

[Nekosan]

Well... it's neither here nor there, really. To us blue hair may be "unusual", but obviously not in a fictional anime world. So no one's going to comment about how "weird" her hair is. I just say it's "blue" in the anime because the insert to the DVD refers to her as having blue hair instead of black like the novel does. Almost like theirs a distinct difference between the two mediums.

Personally, in terms of the reality of the anime world, I think it goes both ways. They never refer to here as having blue OR black hair, but they've commented several times on her long hair. Like the issue is intentionally being avoided.

People...all Japanese have black hair. Imagine an anime where everyone has black hair. Pretty dull. Even in reality, the Japanese teens paint (i apologise 4 my english) their hair pink and blue to difer. Kaname's blue hair is just an artistic creation. If the anime was filmed with real actors then Kaname should have black hair.