Casting thoughts.
Initially I defended this casting, but now I have a different reaction.
We get that we need big stars, but it only feeds into the problem of not being able to get a new Asian actor/actress.
I get that everything isn't about diversity, but there actors out there that need the roles, it's the career they want to pursue.
And not all movies succeed with big actors.
We're NOT hating for the sake of it, we're trying to bring awareness.
And the cyborg excuse is bull. A cyborg is still human, and therfore does indeed have race.
Motoko is a cyborg in all of her incarnations.
We don't what race she is,since she is indeed fully cybernized, but it's not wrong to assume she's japanese.
Her name also has some implications, despite being an alias.
GiTS is indeed a japanese story, albeit it has some global stuff too.
GiTS takes place in Japan, which is important to the story.
And it is about Japan's technology and such.
That said, GiTS has some Christian themes, which arent exactly Japanese (at least in the 1995 movies).
Plus GiTS does have some references to non-Japanese works,and the 1995 movie and tv show were funded by a American comapny, but GiTS is regardless still done by Japan.
The only excuse that could possily justify this casting is that Motoko's orgins and personality changes through each iteration, but even then, all of those iterations still take place in Japan with some Japanese themes. It'd make more sense if Motoko was Japanese.
It's also possible the movie is trying to appeal to China with ScarJo, though no confirmation this movie will be released in China.
This movie might be great and all, but I feel like a proper casting will make the movie even better.
The franchise can get exposed in another way, through social media, or another new anime that nakes efforts to appeal to a mass audience instead.