The Anime Thread

That's incredibly racist because not all Asians look exactly the same, not all Asians have small, angular eyes, Asians have just about as many different skin tones as white, brown, and black people do, Asians come in different shapes, sizes, origins, just like the rest of us do, and you should know if you've watched anime that big, tiny noses, and pale skin are just common traits in anime stylistically because it's a part of the genre.

These characters are Japanese because the movie explicitly states that they are, and to say that they're not Japanese because they don't look Japanese because of the art style is just absolutely ridiculous and quite ignorant of you.

And that's why it's not "white washing" by casting an actor or actress who fits the physical characteristics 100% who just happens to not be Asian

Except that you're still casting a non-Asian as a canonically Asian character. You could have Taylor Swift dye her hair black and make her wear brown eye contacts and make her look Asian, but she still wouldn't be Asian underneath it all.

The only reason they are canonically Asian, is because they say so, you do know that Kristin Kreuk is Asian, right?
Heck, so is SkyDaisy from AoS

For the last time: there is nothing distinctly 'Asian' about those characters (please note, specifically stating those characters, and if you have a problem with that, blame the damn artists!)

Yes, I do know they're both Asian. But canon is canon, and trying to cast two white people who live in Japan, one of which comes from an incredibly traditional Japanese family, and having them perform Japanese rituals is absolutely white washing. The only way they could get away with casting two white people as the main characters is if they changed the setting to either America or the UK and change the Japanese ritual into something completely unrelated to Japanese culture, and if they did that, it would no longer be a "Your Name" adaptation, but a complete ripoff.

Also, there are plenty of Japanese-American actors who are probably a hundred times more qualified to portray *canonically Japanese characters* and deserve to have the spotlight because so often, Asian-American actors are given a really crappy hand in the acting business.

All fair points, but it doesn't mean that the story of the film can't be adapted for American audiences, and anime is full of shows that have been adapted in some way or another.

Star Blazers. Battle of the Planets. Ronin Warriors. Sailor Moon. They may not have all stuck strictly to the canon established in the original Japanese versions, but they still worked and were very successful in gaining viewers and fans in the US.

No one will deny that Hollywood's track record with trying to adapt anime/manga-based properties has been poor, and it's entirely possible that their attempt at "your name" could end up being like a bad version of Freaky Friday. But if you want the canon version, that's going to be available. There's just no guarantee that a strictly canon version would work well for a mainstream Hollywood film, so expect some adaptation to the story. If you don't like the way they go, then don't watch it.

It's what I did with Ghost in the Shell.

Remember, HolyWeird can't adapt anything, not just anime, have you seen the new "Flatliners"? Or "Girl With A Dragon Tattoo"?

Personally have a huge problem with "Movie Snobs", whether it's the ones who insist 'foreign' movies must be seen in the original language without subtitles, or debates between 'sub' versus 'dub' and now this whole 'white washing' crap

I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see once they release more information. I really, truly hope that they stick with an at least Japanese-American cast, though, because it would be really nice to see an adaptation with positive Japanese representation (or any Asian representation at all, really) that's treated just as beautifully as the original source material. I think they deserve at least that much.

The best advice I can give for viewing any adaptation is waiting to see if they got the essentials from the story right. I don't mean the small details, but whether or not they got what the original was trying to convey.

Take the recent release of IT, for example. The book the movie is based on is massive (one of Stephen King's larger works) and the only way they could truly do the book justice would be if they tried doing something like an HBO series. But even though they look to be doing two films to tell the story and they changed the time period of the "kids" section of the story (as well as some other details about the characters themselves), they got the story right and made it pretty freaking creepy in the process. IT worked because they got the essentials of the story right.

Meanwhile, we've had a couple of DC super hero films that have missed the mark for many and caused a LOT of heated discussion because (beyond all the other problems) they didn't seem to get the lead characters quite right. The performances of the actors weren't in question as much as the way they ended up being portrayed, which seemed really off-base compared to how they are generally known.

I think the best example of adaptations changing as they go would be The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The book, radio drama, TV series AND the most recent movie all had significant differences between themselves, but each one got the essential weirdness and snarky commentary about human behavior right so they all ended up working.

I think if they can do an adaptation where you walk out of the theater saying, "It was different, but they got it right" then they've succeeded.

Ok. After seeing the film, I would agree it is one of the best anime films I've seen. Not the best as you put it because I can think of some others but that is whole other topic . Going back, the film was beautiful and emotionally satisfying and I see why it's been a hit in Japan. However, I am curious to what the director, Makoto Shinkai wanted to further add into the film because he stated that the plot of story was fine but the film to him was not perfect.
As for the American adaptation, you have a fair point. Hollywood's track record on adapting anime has not been good at all. Yet, they don't have to completely westernize it. I'd say make Taki an American who lives in the U.S. and keep Mitsuha Japanese. They can still have the comedic parts of a boy and girl switching bodies and humorously adjusting to each of their lives but also add a form of culture shock between an American and a Japanese lifestyle. However, the one thing they have to do right is casting the two leads because whoever plays Taki and Mitsuha have to have chemistry in order to demonstrate their unique and lovable connection as it is in the anime. Still, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Hey Everyone
Now I know this is a romance anime mixed with comedy and may or may not be your cup of tea but it had some hilarious parts throughout that I enjoyed it so much that I binged it today


Also, another recommendation that I saw is the anime film, Koe no Katachi aka A Silent Voice.

Takeo and Rinko rank pretty freaking high on my list of the cutest couple to watch in a show.

I loved both of these anime a lot, I'm going to see the theater release of A Silent Voice in NYC at the end of the month, I can't wait to finally be able to watch it in high def

After seeing the anime trailer (poor Takeo with those lips ), wasn't sure how a real person would look in that role, the LAM showed me how

And here's the full LAM, with Spanish subtitles though

Hey Everyone
Animeplex USA has announced that Verizon's go90, a FREE streaming app, will now have English dubs of several anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sword Art Online, Gurren Lagann, Fate/Zero, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, and God Eater. More titles will be added in the near future

I think it was on an article on the Anime News Network site where I read it, but if I remember right the actor who played Takeo in the live action version put on extra pounds and/or muscle to play the role. Looks like it worked for him, too.

Wow, he sounds almost exactly like Takeo's original VA!

Dang it all, with all the other discussion taking place I forgot to finish up my micro-reviews from this season. LOL Probably for the best, as I can ramble a bit.

Restaurant to Another World was a fun little diversion. Definitely a show for the food-inclined, but the approach was interesting having the diners (and some of the staff) being residents of a fantasy world. You have a lot of character introduction in the early episodes, but as the show goes on we get to see the various diners interacting with one another. They also interweave the characters and their stories well and even manage a couple of surprising reveals. It's on the low-key side and might play stronger to those who like cooking/food-related shows, but I'd recommend it.

Gamers! was flat-out great. A great romantic comedy and lots of fun relationship geometry alone would be enough to recommend it, but it helps that they get the various aspects of gamers and gamer culture. The running discussion in the final episode helps show that, but the ride throughout the show was great. It was one of the shows I'd be geeked about seeing in my queue for watching, and I'm really hoping they can do a second season.