First Picture of Scar. Jo. as Major Kusanagi in GitS Movie

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

This is going to end badly for everyone involved.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm still wondering what her actual name is going to be. She's supposed to be Matoko Kusanagi, but she obviously doesn't look Japanese, so how are they going to get around that? Are they just going to call her 'the Major' and forego her name entirely, are they going to call her 'Kusanagi' and hope her Japanese esque hairdo will sell it, or are they going to pull an 'Edge of Tomorrow' and just give her a Western name?

None of that matters. The entire schtick is that Matoko Kusanagi is just a consciousness inside a cybernetic body (hence the "Ghost" in the "Shell"). She can be any enthnicity or gender she wants because it's a synthetic body. Hell, she could probably be implanted in a cyborg dog if she wanted to be.

Yeah, but she is still a Japanese looking cyborg in the original source material, with a Japanese name. You can say it doesn't matter since she's a cyborg and can inhabit any body her consciousness can be implanted in, but she isn't, she's in this particular body that makes her recognizable as Matoko Kusanagi. It could actually be an interesting idea for this movie to have her switch from body to body, thereby making her question her own identity since she's always changing form, but I doubt they'll go that direction as the movie obviously wants to make the most out of ScarJo's draw.

So how are they going to sidestep her "ethnicity" and (if maybe) her name, without basically making her an entirely different character? This wouldn't be so much of an issue if she wasn't the most iconic thing about the franchise. And that icon is a Japanese looking cyborg with a Japanese name.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Eh, close enough. I prefer the movie Major anyway, that SAC outfit is so fucking stupid.

Not a great angle, but the hair is not nearly big enough or purple enough. At first I thought she was wearing a tarp, but I guess that's supposed to be the Major's jacket?

Looks like a flight jacket, probably an MA-1.

...or are they going to pull an 'Edge of Tomorrow' and just give her a Western name?

Monica Kowalsky?

I liked her personality far better in SAC than I did the movie, it's interesting in a Blade Runner/Roy Battey kind of way but it's not an emotional motif I'd use to carry a big action picture.

I don't see why people are complaining about the hair. Purple hair is one of the colours that always gets translated to black in live action (Japan does live action adaptations on a regular basis).

Also, I've said it before but I'll say it again: we don't even know if the Major is Japanese. All we know about her background is that she was one of two survivors of a plane crash, she fought in World War 4 and some minor Central American conflicts (where she met the American born member of her team, and fought the other non-Japanese member of her team) and that her name isn't her real name. Her background is one of the few for such a cyberpunk setting with heavy themes about individuality, immigration and person-hood where she could be literally any race without it effecting the story.

Unless they've changed this aspect of the story, she's a top level security cleared agent of the Japanese Government with prior experience in their military - her ethnicity will matter in so much that it's tied to her nationality. Some governments won't let non-native born citizens hold certain levels of clearance or positions in government and the Japanese Government in GitS strikes me as highly nationalist and judging by some of the other stuff has remilitarised and been in conflict with the Chinese. So unless the unit she's in is no longer Public Security Section 9 and it's something else like s MegaCorp then yeah, her Ghost should be that of a Japanese woman.

Mind, the easy way around this is to film a scene at the beginning showing Motoko as a young Japanese woman in hospital after her accident and have Aramaki make her an offer of a new body in exchange for her service as a field agent. Then do a recreation of the original film's opening sequence showing the body being built and have it turn out to be Scar Jo. Badda Bing, Badda Boom.

 

[Kae]

Eh, seems OK I'm going to save my opinions for when the thing is actually out, that being said I don't think I need a remake of the movie, but whatever if it's well done, I did love the first movie and innocence though the little I watched of Stand Alone Complex was awful.

 

[American Fox]

Yup, that's about what I expected. The same taxidermy dead-eye look she always has, where you're not sure if she's blind, a vegetable or had so much botox that she literally can't blink anymore.

I wouldn't be surprised if Scarlet turned out to be a hyper-advanced Speak N' Spell and they write the script out on punch-cards and insert them through her back and then she just starts talking and acting out the script.

And when its done she just falls limp, dead glassy eyes staring straight ahead, mind completely blank, waiting for the next punch card.

Something has always bothered me about her, ever since Ghost World, a film I love, except for her.

I've always felt she was as horribly cast in Marvel stuff as Ian McKellen.

Thanks for this description.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Mind, the easy way around this is to film a scene at the beginning showing Motoko as a young Japanese woman in hospital after her accident and have Aramaki make her an offer of a new body in exchange for her service as a field agent. Then do a recreation of the original film's opening sequence showing the body being built and have it turn out to be Scar Jo. Badda Bing, Badda Boom.

That could still be perceived as very obvious white washing though, where the movie literally shows someone getting turned into a caucasian. Unless it's used as some sort of meta commentary ("the best way is the white American way") I fear this would an extremely bad idea.

 

[Rastrelly]

Mmmmm, nope. It looks not like Major both in expression, dressing and overall. Kusanagi is actually a rather hard role, it's not Black Widow: Slutty-er Edition, y'see.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

THAT ISN'T EVEN CLOSE. TO ANY INCARNATION. AT ALL.

Yeah I don't see it. For god's sake, the hair isn't even the right color.

They did get the hair color right. Black is black.

Guys, i think it's supposed to resemble the ARISE haircut more.

Granted, it doesn't have that bluish tint, so maybe it's a combination of both.

OT: So it's official, huh. Well, i'm still not seeing her as Major. Then again, i'm not seeing GitS live-action film overall, so far.

 

[mecegirl]

I'm still wondering what her actual name is going to be. She's supposed to be Matoko Kusanagi, but she obviously doesn't look Japanese, so how are they going to get around that? Are they just going to call her 'the Major' and forego her name entirely, are they going to call her 'Kusanagi' and hope her Japanese esque hairdo will sell it, or are they going to pull an 'Edge of Tomorrow' and just give her a Western name?

None of that matters. The entire schtick is that Matoko Kusanagi is just a consciousness inside a cybernetic body (hence the "Ghost" in the "Shell"). She can be any enthnicity or gender she wants because it's a synthetic body. Hell, she could probably be implanted in a cyborg dog if she wanted to be.

I don't see a reason why she would choose a shell that would make her stand out too much(I need to re watch and I may be getting my versions mixed up. But I think her shell, or at least her face, is supposed to be super common. Like she is supposed to be inconspicuous. ). I mean she's gonna stand out regardless but if everyone else around her is Japanese why would she choose a White shell? And judging by what I remember from the show most characters had Japanese names so I'm going to assume demographics haven't shifted that much despite it being in the future. Either way it's convenient as fuck for Hollywood to choose an conventionally attractive White women for the role. Makes me wonder what these conversations would be like if they choose someone like Viola Davis(not saying she'd make a good Major just the first name to pop into my head) for the role.

 

[MatParker116]

I'm still wondering what her actual name is going to be. She's supposed to be Matoko Kusanagi, but she obviously doesn't look Japanese, so how are they going to get around that? Are they just going to call her 'the Major' and forego her name entirely, are they going to call her 'Kusanagi' and hope her Japanese esque hairdo will sell it, or are they going to pull an 'Edge of Tomorrow' and just give her a Western name?

None of that matters. The entire schtick is that Matoko Kusanagi is just a consciousness inside a cybernetic body (hence the "Ghost" in the "Shell"). She can be any enthnicity or gender she wants because it's a synthetic body. Hell, she could probably be implanted in a cyborg dog if she wanted to be.

Yeah, but she is still a Japanese looking cyborg in the original source material, with a Japanese name. You can say it doesn't matter since she's a cyborg and can inhabit any body her consciousness can be implanted in, but she isn't, she's in this particular body that makes her recognizable as Matoko Kusanagi. It could actually be an interesting idea for this movie to have her switch from body to body, thereby making her question her own identity since she's always changing form, but I doubt they'll go that direction as the movie obviously wants to make the most out of ScarJo's draw.

So how are they going to sidestep her "ethnicity" and (if maybe) her name, without basically making her an entirely different character? This wouldn't be so much of an issue if she wasn't the most iconic thing about the franchise. And that icon is a Japanese looking cyborg with a Japanese name.

Simple she's originally American, Russian, Australian etc and was orphaned during the plane crash, war and was adopted by Japanese parents.

 

[Zontar]

So unless the unit she's in is no longer Public Security Section 9 and it's something else like s MegaCorp then yeah, her Ghost should be that of a Japanese woman.

why would that be the case? The Japan of GitS is very different from the real world one, with a massive immigrant class comparable in size to the US, and at least two members of PSS9 are explicitly non-Japanese born nationals. Given that this is a world where your ethnicity can be changed at the drop of a hat, that makes sense.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

So unless the unit she's in is no longer Public Security Section 9 and it's something else like s MegaCorp then yeah, her Ghost should be that of a Japanese woman.

why would that be the case? The Japan of GitS is very different from the real world one, with a massive immigrant class comparable in size to the US, and at least two members of PSS9 are explicitly non-Japanese born nationals. Given that this is a world where your ethnicity can be changed at the drop of a hat, that makes sense.

Really? Which ones?

 

[SecondPrize]

I've always considered the movie to be Ghost in the Shell. The purple-haired animu lady looks a lot less like Maj. Kusanagi to me than Scar-Jo does.

 

[Zontar]

Really? Which ones?

Batou and Saito. Though Japanese in origin both where born outside Japan, which in the eyes of many in modern Japan makes them as foreign as anyone else due to the cultural component of Japanese identity being at least as strong and quite possible stronger then the ethnic one.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Really? Which ones?

Batou and Saito. Though Japanese in origin both where born outside Japan, which in the eyes of many in modern Japan makes them as foreign as anyone else due to the cultural component of Japanese identity being at least as strong and quite possible stronger then the ethnic one.

I thought they were both mercenaries that did out of country work. Mind whatever they did can't have been too shitty or was so shitty PSS9 are holding them by the nuts, since this is a setting where a whole of life security check could feasibly done by plugging the interviewer into the interviewee: a fascinating rabbit hole indeed.

I gathered the look seems like it's been taken from GitS: Arise, but has anything surface on what their primary source of truth is? Are they using the Manga, Mamoru Oshii's 95 animated film, Stand Alone Complex or any combination of the above.

Personally I prefer Stand Alone Complex because it has that gritty Cyberpunk thing going on and then the Tachikoma's start talking and suddenly the world seems that much more nuanced for this generally accepted absurdity.

 

[maninahat]

I don't care in the slightest if she doesn't look exactly like a cartoon character, especially one who looks different in every adaptation anyway. Scar Jo is a good actress when put in the right role, and a dispassionate cyborg woman isn't a farcry from some of her more weirder characters.

I am bothered by the white washing though. Come on, Hollywood. Star power these days is so over depended on, they'll fuck up whole fucking franchises just to put a familiar face on the poster. Maybe if this whole story was relocated to the US and given a mostly US cast, it would look less obvious. But from what I gather, this is going to be set in Japan too. Using the whole "Japanese woman's mind in a white woman's body" is a bullshit rationalisation.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Really? People are upset that there are humans who don't have typical anime facial structures?

I have only seen the 1995 movie, but I am interested to see how this one will play out. Considering how low the bar was set, this movie will most likely be better than Lucy.

 

[Alleged_Alec]

Those whining about the hair colour: duh. You guys do understand that the reason that strange hair colours are given to characters is because it makes them easier to recognize while still allowing much of the characters to be drawn the same? Gintama had a funny post-episode "Ask Gintoki" about lampshading that.

Furthermore: blue-ish,greenish and other dark colours hair colours are often used as highlight colours for black, since grey as a highlight colour makes the hair look grey instead of black. You can see this often with tabletop miniatures too.


Apart from that: I'm neutral on the entire thing. I don't really care about ethnicity of the actors, unless the ethnicity of the character (s)he's playing is really important character or story-wise, which isn't the case with the Major. I'll see. I still hope they'll do the Laughing Man arc at some point.

 

[hermes]

I have no problem with this. Purple hair in anime is not supposed to be taken literally, it is only an historical device to help the characters differentiate a little more. It can mentally be read as light brunette hair. For what is worth, we could be complaining about her not having eyes bigger than her nose.

It is also a high budget anime adaptation (unlike many Japanese made adaptations that look almost amateurish), so I will hold my judgement until I can at least see a trailer. All the people complaining about details like hair color and size need to remember that it could be worst, a lot worst...

Spoiler

I could understand the complain about whitewashing, though. It is an awful process that is made extra awful because it is still pervasive and relevant. You want to know why Attack on Titan was not filmed with European actors in an European setting? Because it would not sit well with the audience. Why is it that Johansson is cast in this movie? Because she is a top grossing actress whose face will attract more people worldwide to the theater than a Japanese actress whose name is only known in Japan, including people that have never even heard of Ghost in the Shell. There are still countries in the world where they estimate a movie will attract less attention with a black protagonist...

My point is, if you want to complain, there are a lot of thinks worst than blue, not fluffy enough hair ...