Many Things (Phoning it In Today): 四本の指

Image source: TV Tropes.
Yeah, I got it all off of TV Tropes for the day, alright? It's Creative Commons 3.0, so, I can do it... 

   Why don't they have four-fingered hands in Anime? Why do they all have five fingers? You ever noticed this? Four fingers on cartoon hands is such a ubiquitous trope in the West, but... in the East? They've all got five fingers over there. 

   Why is that? There are actually many reasons. 

   http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourFingeredHands has this word of explanation (and I'm not even bothering to change it from the original formatting!):

1. The Yakuza traditionally chop off the little fingers of those who are unable to pay back a debt, or for other offences that warranted punishment but not death.
2. The four-fingered hand is taken as a derogatory reference to the burakumin social class (four fingers = four legs = animals).
3. The number four in Japanese also means death.

   Fascinating. That's... many reasons. One, two, many. Many reasons.