What Do Japanese Think of Scarlett Johansson as the Major?

It’s no secret that people have been vocal about Scarlett Johansson playing the role of Major in the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie. Many people referred to it as “whitewashing” because Hollywood cast a white actress in lead role for a movie based off of Japanese source material. I mean, nevermind that Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat (and it’s sequel) wasn’t Chinese despite his biography in the game and his own official theme song label him as a Chinese Ninja Warrior (as a matter of fact, the actor portraying Sub-Zero in the original movie was French!).Nevermind that EVERYONE in The Ring was white despite being another Japanese adaptation, forget that The Hunger Games completely ripped off Battle Royale.  

Okay… maybe not that last one, but you get my point. There have been many, MANY instances throughout history where adaptations were cast with different races of people and people were completely fine with them. Somehow, this one instance right here is plucking away at people’s nerves. Since we Americans often feel our opinions are the only ones that matter, let’s take a trip across the biggest of the fives ponds to a place where Ghost in the Shell originated from to find out what people over there think about Major’s casting!

“I think it’s better than hiring a Japanese actress.”

“Yeah, it will look more anime-ish if the actors aren’t Japanese.”

“She looks like the character so it’s not a bad choice.”

“They are different kinds of people so anybody can play the role.”

“She was chosen for her skills, so that’s just the way it is.”

“But if she was Japanese, then it wouldn’t look like an anime.”

“It’s not meant to be too realistic.”

“I don’t think the actress needs to be Japanese, so I don’t think she should be criticized.” 

Feeling like you have a bruised ego, yet? If so, feel free to hop on Tumblr and write a blog about it! Before you do though, maybe you need some video proof before throwing your triggered fingers all over your keyboard!

Credit for this article goes to J-List! If you want some authentic Japanese products, be sure to stop by and check them out! Credit for the video goes to The Japanese Man Yuta who does an amazing job of getting Japanese people’s opinions on American culture! Be sure to subscribe to his channel for more awesome videos such as this!

J-List Official Website: http://www.jlist.com

Yuta’s Official YouTube: The Japanese Man Yuta