>4 fingers for western animation (simplified), 5 for anime (realistic).
Anime is all about cutting costs, time and work... much of the anime aesthetic evolved from the same cost cutting methods as Disney employed by cutting a few fingers off of Mickey Mouse. The (in)famous elevator scene in Evangelion[0], for instance, was as much about Gainax saving money as it was minimalist storytelling. There's even a word for the rare times anime isn't lazy (sakuga.)
And apparently, Japanese media (anime and games) avoids 4 fingered hands because it implies a connection with the Yakuza or Burakumin. Some Western properties have had to redesign their character models and artwork to add an extra digit when exporting to Japan because of that.
Anime is all about cutting costs, time and work... much of the anime aesthetic evolved from the same cost cutting methods as Disney employed by cutting a few fingers off of Mickey Mouse. The (in)famous elevator scene in Evangelion[0], for instance, was as much about Gainax saving money as it was minimalist storytelling. There's even a word for the rare times anime isn't lazy (sakuga.)
And apparently, Japanese media (anime and games) avoids 4 fingered hands because it implies a connection with the Yakuza or Burakumin. Some Western properties have had to redesign their character models and artwork to add an extra digit when exporting to Japan because of that.
[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3IK8qTGL_I