First look at ScarJo as the Major in Ghost in the Shell

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What are peoples expectations of what a live action Major should look like in relation to the animations (film/series) and manga? I'm not talking about race, things such as hair style/colour, physical build, etc.

Because in all the installations of the Major they look drastically different, what is the general consensus? For example, 1995 film, or anime series? The later anime films? The manga? The thread itself shows some different ideas of what Major should look like.

My favourite GitS is the 1995 film, so that's my expectation. I like ScarJo but not really feeling the look here. Even though there is no indication of the race of Major (particularly 1995 film) I still feel that a Japanese actress should be given the opportunity, so it's still odd for the casting choice, even though as an actress ScarJo could pull it off, in this shot they kind of seem to be giving off the characteristics of the Major especially in the 1995 film of showing no emotion.

1 thing I really remember about 1995 Makoto was most certainly her build and muscle and they've completely missed the mark using ScarJo if that's what they're trying to get across.
 
Isn't she using a different body than her original? That could be used to explain it.
and even if that's not the reason, I still don't care. It has nothing to do with the actual quality of the movie, which is the most important thing.
I guess agree to disagree is the case here.
Seems strange to give a...somewhat accurate hairstyle only to have it be a different character. But as I said, fair enough if they decide to go with an original route with Major only being a title.

It's just my personal feelings on the matter of Hollywood needing to whitewash everything and how some people don't care about that.
 
Am I the only one who thinks anime characters who are Asian generally look Asian? If you look at white characters in anime (ex: Dan Eagleman in Guilty Crown, that white guy in Azumanga Daioh) they are clearly drawn differently.

Anyways I'm probably skipping out on this movie unless it has rave reviews. Feel like it'll be hard to live up to the original.
 
Directed by Christopher Nolan and Tarantino in a bizarre colab. It would work.
I'd watch that.

Or Attack on Titan. Only Mikasa is Asian in it.
Good point. Though, I don't think an american Attack on Titan would have the budget for good Titans. An Attack on TItan movie would really need chunks of money to not look like the porn parody.
Am I the only one who thinks anime characters who are Asian generally look Asian? If you look at white characters in anime (ex: Dan Eagleman in Guilty Crown, that white guy in Azumanga Daioh) they are clearly drawn differently.

Anyways I'm probably skipping out on this movie unless it has rave reviews. Feel like it'll be hard to live up to the original.
My favourite is people arguing that Naruto is an European Aryan.
 
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1 & 2,” “IRON MAN”), Ari Arad (“GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE”), and Steven Paul (“GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE”). Michael Costigan (“PROMETHEUS”), Tetsu Fujimura (“TEKKEN”), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, whose animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese "GHOST IN THE SHELL” film and television series, and Jeffrey Silver (“EDGE OF TOMORROW,” “300”) will executive produce.

Yeah, films of quality right there. This is going to have to convince me ultra fucking hard to get my money.
 
Am I the only one who thinks anime characters who are Asian generally look Asian? If you look at white characters in anime (ex: Dan Eagleman in Guilty Crown, that white guy in Azumanga Daioh) they are clearly drawn differently.

Anyways I'm probably skipping out on this movie unless it has rave reviews. Feel like it'll be hard to live up to the original.
You're not the only one. Some people see, "oh fair skin, no black hair, no epicanthic fold, must be white".

You've got people who watch stuff like avatar the last airbender who delusionally believe this shit while ignoring all context.
 
It's an art style. Hardly anyone 'looks' Japanese in Manga or anime, or in other mediums for that matter.

I'd also say that 'thick charisma' is about as far from what Scarlet Johanson provides on a theatrical level as it's possible to get. Disinterested detachment, possibly.

No it's not an art style, again did you watch a tiny tiny tiny bit of any GitS medium?
Ishikawa looks japanese, Togusa looks japanese, Aramaki looks japanese, but Kusanagi sure doesn't.
Her being japanese is like the most faint trait of her personality, it's never emphasized in any way.

Where were you guys when they changed Kusanagi's design every single time? From the movies to the serie to the Arise OVA.
Where were you guys when they changed the voice actor for Kusanagi?

I mean come on now, get real. They casted Takeshi Kitano for Aramaki because the original character looks japanese and the actor fits the role.
They casted Scarlet for Motoko because the original character doesn't look japanese and because the actor fits the role.
That's it, we can move on, talk about cinema.

I'd also say that 'thick charisma' is about as far from what Scarlet Johanson provides on a theatrical level as it's possible to get. Disinterested detachment, possibly.

You probably didn't watch even one quarter of the movies with Scarlet starring in them because if you did you just can't say that objectively, but then again in this thread I don't expect people to have opinions based on something they have experienced personally, rather just rant based on what they saw some clueless internet guy say about it.
 
If they are bringing the whole story to an american context then i don't see a problem having ScarJo as the major. BUT if it takes place in japan and ScarJo is playing a character called motoko kusanagui then it is indeed awful.
That's my position regarding akira as well.
 
Wait, Cannes Festival is around the corner, does this film have a present there?

Kind of weird they would show anything about it now.
 
is produced by Avi Arad (“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1 & 2,” “IRON MAN”), Ari Arad (“GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE”), and Steven Paul (“GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE”). Michael Costigan (“PROMETHEUS”),
tumblr_myqu4xgRej1qlo1lto1_400_zpsex9jnjer.gif

HAHAHAHA
 
Of course the Major doesn't 'look Japanese' in the original movies or series - they're cartoons. Hell, I don't think you can reasonably pin any of the characters' country of origin down based solely on their outward appearance. However given the contenxt and information we are given, plus the fact it's never explicitly stated that Motoko Kusanagi isn't, it is a reasonable assumption to make that she is, indeed, Japanese.

That there aren't any 'bankable' or A-list Japanese actresses operating out of Hollywood isn't an excuse we, as the audience, have to entertain. That this movie is an adaptation that will no doubt diverge from the source material isn't an excuse, we as the audience, have to entertain. Would it be acceptable if Marvel had cast a white actor in the role of Black Panther and had him come from a hick town near the Florida Everglades?
 
Random question to my UK friends here on GAF:

Is 'Rupert' pronounced 'Rue-prict' across the pond, or did I imagine that? :p



On topic:
Don't have a ton of faith in the director. Scarjo could carry this, but eh... would rather this be another live-action Mamoru Oshii film (hey, I liked AVALON! :D)
 
dudes trying to bring up slight changes to a main character over different anime projects
free-happy-smileys-839.gif


motoko_kusanagi_many_looks_by_n0_ob213-d7y3ea3.png


totally comparable to a whitewashed live-action adaptation
 
Also having talked to one of the writer that was in charge of the first scripts (Bill Wheeler), he said they were going for the 1995 movie in terms of narrative, but were more looking at SAC in terms of general atmosphere.
 
Nose too big, hair not purple enough.

Regardless, the acting itself will make or break this role.
 
Also having talked to one of the writer that was in charge of the first scripts (Bill Wheeler), he said they were going for the 1995 movie in terms of narrative, but were more looking at SAC in terms of general atmosphere.

GAF EXCLUSIVE

Seriously though, I hope they don't fuck this up....
 
PSY・S;200958616 said:
dudes trying to bring up slight changes to a main character over different anime projects
free-happy-smileys-839.gif


motoko_kusanagi_many_looks_by_n0_ob213-d7y3ea3.png


totally comparable to a whitewashed live-action adaptation

This is so silly. Kusanagi is a cyborg with a super vague history. They even say in plenty of the shows she's just an average model so she blends in. Wasn't she in a plane crash, or some elite hacker "Firesomething", or that she can't even remember her childhood? She's just some hollow shell designed to deliver monotone exposition about life and shit. ScarJo can easily do that.
 
She's still the worst actor I've ever seen, just shows how much looks can make up for talent

I've never not been distracted by how bad she is in movies

I've only seen her work in the super hero blockbusters genre.
She is pretty wooden to me. The same dull looking "badass" face everytime.
 
This is so silly. Kusanagi is a cyborg with a super vague history. They even say in plenty of the shows she's just an average model so she blends in. Wasn't she in a plane crash, or some elite hacker "Firesomething", or that she can't even remember her childhood? She's just some hollow shell designed to deliver monotone exposition about life and shit. ScarJo can easily do that.
Stand Alone Complex gave us an insight in her distant past. Still a lot of vagueness between that and current Major, but "or something" isn't doing this justice.
 
This is so silly.

no, this is

No it's not an art style, again did you watch a tiny tiny tiny bit of any GitS medium?
Ishikawa looks japanese, Togusa looks japanese, Aramaki looks japanese, but Kusanagi sure doesn't.
Her being japanese is like the most faint trait of her personality, it's never emphasized in any way.

Where were you guys when they changed Kusanagi's design every single time? From the movies to the serie to the Arise OVA.
Where were you guys when they changed the voice actor for Kusanagi?

I mean come on now, get real. They casted Takeshi Kitano for Aramaki because the original character looks japanese and the actor fits the role.
They casted Scarlet for Motoko because the original character doesn't look japanese and because the actor fits the role.
That's it, we can move on, talk about cinema.
 
Even if they're going to go with a white woman it seems like a poor fit. I like scarjo but trying to imagine her ripping her arm as she tears apart a spider tank just isn't working. I think "strength" when I think of the major.

Fwiw I wasn't a fan of the majors design in Arise either. Just looked like generic anime girl.
 
Stand Alone Complex gave us an insight in her distant past. Still a lot of vagueness between that and current Major, but "or something" isn't doing this justice.

Yeah, hence the whole plane crash part.

For people who are so up in arms about this they must not really know much about the character. She's like at the top of the list of anime characters who really can be portrayed by any actor. You could make a movie where she has multiple bodies throughout and it wouldn't even matter. Javier Bardem would make an amazing Major.
 
She doesn't look Japanese.

What's with the obsession of realism? Do all comics faithfully represent the features of such race? She is supposed to be of a certain race. What she looks or doesnt look like is nothing but artsyle.

Shirow draws women in a japanese setting like this

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or this
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or this
FxPcu47.png

or this
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if its not-japanese (russian)
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Off course she looks japanese. Also, Motoko is a mass production model. There's others who look like her. She's supposed to blend in. Not look like a supermodel. It's even more egregious if the whole thing is in Japan. Scarlett will stick like a sore thumb.

Aramaki looks like a monkey. No one is going to complain he doesn't look line one in the movies.
 
So this isn't a remake of the Oshii film? If so, thank god. I tend to easily ignore unwelcome adaptations of works I love, but the thought of somebody remaking that masterpiece because people won't watch animation or read subtitles made me want to light the Hollywood sign on fire in protest.
 
Yeah, hence the whole plane crash part.

For people who are so up in arms about this they must not really know much about the character. She's like at the top of the list of anime characters who really can be portrayed by any actor. You could make a movie where she has multiple bodies throughout and it wouldn't even matter.
She could. Doesn't change Hollywoods awful history of whitewashing.

And in my humble opinion, Major Kusanagi looks in-world without a doubt japanese. Look at the Paper Crane Story again. Her child body looks much like her current body in younger years, down to the purple hair (without any special ethnic traits). I imagine they crated it so that it would look as much like an ordinary kid as they could. Thus I presume they crafted it to look like a ordinary japanese kid, maybe how she looked before. Thus I think that her current look is japanese too. There is no reason why she would pick an non-japanese body.
 
PSY・S;200958616 said:
dudes trying to bring up slight changes to a main character over different anime projects
free-happy-smileys-839.gif


motoko_kusanagi_many_looks_by_n0_ob213-d7y3ea3.png


totally comparable to a whitewashed live-action adaptation

Looks pretty white to me. Ok, the one in the middle could be played by a black lady
 
PSY・S;200959098 said:
no, this is

What a great way to discuss.
For the changes in design - which you referred a few post earlier - I was mentioning people that were talking about differences with the original character apart from the whitewashing issue, it makes no sense to say her facial or body features are different when they change in every new iteration.
 
If her body is a mass production type and is supposed to blend in then it would have to be pretty Japanese looking considering where the manga/anime took place.
 
Meh. After Black Widow and Lucy, I think I just wanted to see someone other than ScarJo in this role.

But the director and producers of this leave me with very little faith that this will be good.
 
This movie would never get made unless they put a really bankable actress front and center. I can't think of any asians who would fit that bill, not to mention Japanese. Are there any Japanese actors in Hollywood besides Ken Watanabe?
Just get over it.
 
How mad will fans of he anime be when her name ends up being Mary Kline or something like that?

It's white washing when you say take a white guy and say he's Egyptian. Or take a white women and say she's Japanese

It's not white washing when it's a white woman playing an American in America.

Yes the original character was Japanese in a series set in Japan. I'm willing to bet this movie isn't set in Japan and the character of "The Major" is an American cause it takes place in America.

Of course if they really want to skirt the edge it could be Motoko from Japan in a white woman body since she has the ability to do that.
 
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