I know little about this movie or it's background, and little about anime/hentai or whatever style the cartoon is, but I have heard there's controversy about having her playing the character.
My question is don't they usually have the characters in their animated productions looking more European than Asian anyway?
Especially so in this case. Take a look at the producer's live action "Avalon" and you'll see an actress who looks quite a lot like the character in the anime. Her name is Malgorzada Foremniak and she's Polish. I would have liked to see her in this movie but realize that it couldn't happen--she's likely too old for the part now and I don't know if she has any English at all.
I think it would've been better for them to find a suitable Asian actress. The question, though, is who? The only person I think who could even come CLOSE to having the language skills, look and physical abilities would be Rinko Kikuchi and even that is a bit of a stretch due to her English.
I can understand why the producers made the decision they made from a business perspective.
They should have chosen an Asian American actress who isn't known - or not have made the movie at all. If Rinko Kikuchi wouldn't have worked out, then someone like Devon Aoki would have been a good choice. It would have been 10x better than having a white woman play a Japanese character.
shareIts no different from any other race change.
shareThis happens all the time. They not even call her as Motoko Kusanagi just simply "The Major" due not to confuse the viewers to a Caucasian actress with a fully Japanese name.
Well... in case the Ghost in the Shell if they must replace an Asian character with a Caucasian one I say Scarlett Johansson is a fine choice...
...I hope so.
Who cares if Mokoto is Asian or not, she is a cyborg. This kind of bickering is as stupid as it gets. The movie is good or not.
shareThankyou!!! Finally a smart comment. And exactly. If people took the time to do a bit of research, in the printed version, the
TV series, and the movies of Ghost in the Shell...her cyborg does not look Asian. Sort of a generic human. Mamoru Oshii said "The name ‘Motoko Kusanagi’ and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray her." That says it all.
tata
Motoko in STC doesn´t look Asian at all for instance. And in Arise the same.
shareYeah, but this is what people think UNTIL a white character (or a character they think should be white) is played by someone non-white. People complained when Rue from the Hunger Games was played by Amandla Stenberg, who's biracial. There were also complaints when Idris Elba played Heimdall in the Thor and Avengers movies. So it's a bit odd that folks insist on only focusing on the movie's quality when it's whitewashing but don't say the same when white characters are 'blackwashed.'
shareBecause it´s only racist if a white replaces anyone else, and not the other way around. If the actress playing Motoko was a black woman, everyone would be speakin of how brave hollywood was and that sort of trash.
People really need to remove their stick up theirs, otherwise, this will be a even more screwed up world
Mamoru Oshii said "The name ‘Motoko Kusanagi’ and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray her." He directed the first Ghost in the shell movie. She is not human.
shareI don't really care if it's whitewashing or not. It's an adaptation of a Japanese story by a country that's mostly white. Americans don't HAVE to cast a Asian actor if they don't want to, it's not their responsibility. The Japanese certainly don't bother casting white actors to play white characters. But there are two things I find stupid about casting non-Asians:
One, if you're going for a non-Japanese cast, then also change the names and location. Just make it a completely American story.
Two, considering all the blackwashing and whiny PC crap coming from Hollywood and specifically Scarlett Johansson, they're a bunch of hypocrites for making this film and defending it. Here's their opportunity to finally give some Asian actors a chance. It's just more proof they're full of shit.
But what's even the use of an American adaptation? If I was a fan of the manga, I'd prefer to watch the Japanese adaptation anyway.