Comment History
I've read somewhere that long horizontal pointy ears in Japanese cartoons indicate an 'otherworldly' character, so maybe it all started with a representation of a fox spirit? Didn't they still have pointy fox ears when in human form ?
(Edit: apparently not - it was their tails that remained. But maybe the cartoonist got it wrong too?0
(Edit: apparently not - it was their tails that remained. But maybe the cartoonist got it wrong too?0
The Fox Spirit isn't the same as the "long eared" elf though... A fox spirit will *always* be drawn / portrayed with at least 2 tails and ears somewhat like a "Husky". The Chinese "Nine Tailed Fox Spirit" was the source for the "Kitsune" [See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune] of Japanese myth. A Cat [neko] will only have a single tail ans does an Inu [dog]... one of the curiosities of Anime / Manga is that sometimes female characters are drawn with a hair style like a cat or dog spirit and some times with canine teeth implying their character has a Neko or Inu "nature". See the Muv-Luv characters Meiya [hair looks like a fox] and Sumika [hair looks like a dog (inugami)] for examples.
My take on the long eared Fay is that they are "wild" nature spirits unlike the "Gentry" or "Elder Race" of European myth. The Yokai of Japan ["ghosts" see - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dk… are a relatively new invention with their first mention around ~700 CE unlike the European myths which seem to trace back to pre-"Indo-Iranian" roots (~1500 BCE?).
They look and feel like a collection of "horrors" from the "hell" panel of Hieronymus Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gard… There have been some new English translations of some the "Yokai-ologies" which make for interesting reading [and a ripe ground for imaginative stories and images]. See Amazon's collection: smile.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n…
Forgive me for getting long winded. Old myths are one of my reading "hobbies". Regards.
My take on the long eared Fay is that they are "wild" nature spirits unlike the "Gentry" or "Elder Race" of European myth. The Yokai of Japan ["ghosts" see - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dk… are a relatively new invention with their first mention around ~700 CE unlike the European myths which seem to trace back to pre-"Indo-Iranian" roots (~1500 BCE?).
They look and feel like a collection of "horrors" from the "hell" panel of Hieronymus Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gard… There have been some new English translations of some the "Yokai-ologies" which make for interesting reading [and a ripe ground for imaginative stories and images]. See Amazon's collection: smile.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n…
Forgive me for getting long winded. Old myths are one of my reading "hobbies". Regards.
Isn't there a Japanese ghost that's basically a human head that flaps its ears to fly ? I mention that because because over on ShareCG ( www.sharecg.com/v/90682/galler… ) somebody suggested that slightly larger ears would allow her to fly.
The Nukekubi is a type of Rokuro-kubi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokuro-k… [written with the characters which translate as "flying head barbarian"]. The Nukekubi is a supernatural "floating head" so no need for long ears. One of the characters in the anime "Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan" has a character who has a "floating head".
As for the "night elves" / blood elves? They are actually all based on the "Drow" which were created by Gary Gygax for D&D with further variants popping up in later derivative RPGs. The Drow were based upon Northern Gaelic [Shetland and Orkney] folklore "'Trow" -- which was a kind of troll. The Drow have worked their way into computer games like WoW and others. so dark or purple skinned elves are actually "modern" mythology. [It seems that the majority of fantasy computer RPGs like WoW use variants of the stats and mechanics of D&D.]
RPG Trivia: The Square Enix cyberpunk game "Deus Ex" was originally developed using the "Ex Machina Cyberpunk RPG TriStat dX" system but Eidos had to scrap using the Ex Machina mechanics when Guardians of Order (TriStat's creators) went bankrupt. [Sorry, another one of my hobbies-- amazing the things you can learn by reading RPG source books and rules]
As for the "night elves" / blood elves? They are actually all based on the "Drow" which were created by Gary Gygax for D&D with further variants popping up in later derivative RPGs. The Drow were based upon Northern Gaelic [Shetland and Orkney] folklore "'Trow" -- which was a kind of troll. The Drow have worked their way into computer games like WoW and others. so dark or purple skinned elves are actually "modern" mythology. [It seems that the majority of fantasy computer RPGs like WoW use variants of the stats and mechanics of D&D.]
RPG Trivia: The Square Enix cyberpunk game "Deus Ex" was originally developed using the "Ex Machina Cyberpunk RPG TriStat dX" system but Eidos had to scrap using the Ex Machina mechanics when Guardians of Order (TriStat's creators) went bankrupt. [Sorry, another one of my hobbies-- amazing the things you can learn by reading RPG source books and rules]
Long winded on mythology is fine by me ! 
I find it is better reading than most modern media / movies / books...