IG CEO: “I Thought The New Motoko Was Awful Too!”
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Feb 17, 2013 07:43 JST
- Tags: Ghost in the Shell, Interviews, Production Controversy, Production IG, Video Gallery
Ghost in the Shell Arise’s controversial decision to redesign Motoko and company and scrap all the old seiyuu seems to have been contentious even amongst the production staff – Production IG’s CEO has said he was dismayed when he first say the new Motoko, and even her new seiyuu has said she will “have to try to adapt” to the new Motoko.
Production IG CEO Mitsuhisa Ishikawa spoke further about Arise at a recent media event – and mentioned even he initially had his doubts:
When I first saw Kise’s new Motoko I thought it was really dicey as well. I knew he was serious. Kise’s characters come out in production, so I felt they had their work cut out there.
Kise for his part says Masamune told him to do it:
At first I wanted to have designs which were closer to Shirow’s original art, but Shirow said that as the male characters had become quite a bit more realistic in their design, he’d like to see Motoko treated the same way.
So I thought we should return to their origins – so we changed to something derived from the very first Ghost in the Shell.
Script writer and novelist Tow Ubukata, best known for his work on Mardock Scramble and Fafner, and describing himself as a fan of the series since he first encountered it at the age of 16, has been entrusted with the task of writing the script for the new series – he too is cautious:
When I first heard about it I was over the moon, but I was also rather frightened.
This is a work which has exerted a huge influence over me, so I see this as both a challenge and a chance to repay that debt, and that’s how I’m approaching it.
Maaya Sakamoto, the seiyuu now voicing Motoko (though she already voiced “Kodomotoko” – child [“kodomo”] Motoko – so technically she is reprising her role), also made an appearance as a “secret guest” and revealed she too was sensitive to the drastic changes the franchise has been subjected to:
Personally, I love the Ghost in the Shell series, so a change in the cast is definitely something I think I’ll have to try to get used to. I’ll be very happy if my previous role as Kodomotoko helps.
The new trailer causing so much fuss:
Online there is still no sign of fans accepting the changes – although with the production staff themselves apparently barely convinced this is perhaps not surprising:
“The art and cast both changed, it’s no wonder everyone is having a fit.”
“New Motoko looks like Aria…”
“The Motoko from the new PV’s only saving grace is that she is moderately cute. It doesn’t look fresh and the production budget does not feel particularly high. It looks even more old fashioned than the first one from the mid nineties too.”
“Her design ruins it.”
“I lost all hope on seeing the major’s new look. And why does the chief have black hair all of a sudden?”
“I can’t help but think all our cyberbrains have just been hacked…”
“Of everything in the franchise, it looks as though SAC will be the highpoint.”
“All the anime shows were pretty distant from the original in certain respects. I wish they had closed the gap a bit.”
“The closest to the original manga is actually the anime from the PS1 game…”
“I just watched it – it is pretty amazing.”
“They should have made the new anime like that! I would have forgiven the change in seiyuu then.”
“Really nice – would have been great if they used that. For some reason they seem to be taking Arise in a completely different direction.”
The Ghost in the Shell PSX OP for those left wondering what might have been:
To Love-Ru Darkness Tentacle Troubles Abound
Mangaka Celebrate Twintails Day
Hoppa Hentai Vaginar Virgin Red Sentai Parody Onahole
Taimanin Yukikaze “Lowest of the Low!”
Yandere Simulator Gets Personal
Naruto SUN Storm 4 OP Endlessly Energetic
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut Hardly Draconic
Splatoon Squid Sisters Invade NicoNico Tokaigi 2016
Top 9 Anime of 2015, According to IGN
Rena Momozono’s Hot Hardcore F***ing Eloquently Titled
Rance Hikari o Motomete Battles Hard
Final Fantasy XV “Might As Well Be An FPS”
Dimension W Spreads It Open
Okasare Hero Strategically Sexy
Studio FOW Alice H-Short “Truly Mad!”
Uppers PV “All About The JKs!”
Danny DeVito Desired For Great Detective Pikachu
Kantai Collection Movie PV Bright & Cheery
Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Story Trailer Rather Redundant
Slimy Yuusha Marudea Figure
Alluring Ahri Cosplay Magically Charming
Tsukihi Araragi BDSM Ero-Cosplay by Komugi Platinum Sexy
Goddess of Twitter “Pink & Perky!”
Serene Horo Cosplay Pure Gold
Iona Ero-Cosplay by Komugi Taking on Water
Cute Kashima Cosplay Full of Elegance
Umaru Ero-Cosplay by Asami Hamsterific
Goddess of 2ch: “Pink & Soft All The Way!”
Kuroneko Cosplay by Mikehouse Full of Life
Busty Hotaru Cosplay Delightfully Delectable
huh PSX version gave me a boner..
me too
its gonna be crap, like the new blood series they killed the characters just to make them moe, im tired of this new moe thing, to make all characters to appear younger.
O GAWD DON'T MENTION THAT MONSTROSITY! The new blood anime was just horrible. Story was shit, art was shit, and the characters were big fat pile of shit. Why the hell did they let clamp do the animation? Clamp is notorious for creating crappy stories and sub par art.
Gotta love people who resist change. Adapt to the new series' look. KTHXBAIBAI
If it isn't broke, don't fix it.
How boring...
There is good change and bad change, I bet you liked DMC reboot.
@ 7:46. Not a very good juxtaposition.
DMC is a complete shitfest now
02:04
+
you're kidding right..? DMC:Devil may Cry (the ENTIRE TITLE) was a RETCON of the ORIGINAL title and so it's written here as an apt comparison.
How is DMC relevant to GITS? Just sayin'.
Looking at the PV, Motoko actually looks okay in motion.
It's Aramaki's change in design that annoys me the most.
Ugh, all it's missing is a j-pop single OP instead of Origa to complete the "What the fuck GITS....."
That and the change from "shell" to "shit". They could even keep the abbreviation...
She looks like some pretty boy..
In all the various designs Makoto has for the most part remained relatively similar until this one. I just can't understand why they need to change things this much and mess with an iconic design. It'd be like changing Super Mario in a drastic make-over.
Another aspect they'll need to consider is the merchandising. If the designs aren't liked none of the merchandise will sell.
Personally I would've liked a follow up to SAC rather than what looks like a reboot.
Perhaps it's not too late to go back to the drawing board given the negative reaction? Going ahead now will be like flushing money down the drain.
It's a prequel
*flushhhhh Though looking at that trailer, it's far too late to turn back now.
She looks like a really bad tomboy version of Misato from Evangelion. A younger Major, I guess? Funnily doesn't even pander to the moe otaku, otherwise she'd look more like a Kyoani character.
SEE WHAT DID I TELL YOU!!! Even the production staff thinks its a shitty design... Back to the basics.
Motoko looked like a strong mature woman, now she looks like a lame brat.
I really don't like to see the cool characters disappear and be replaced with lame knock-offs only so that they can be resold to the next generation.
There is no creativity or ingenuity there. It's only repackaging with the intent to cash in even if they have to spit on the original and make an inferior version.
I guess the Production company force themselves to update Motoko Kusanagi to fit the demographic of what Otaku fans want which is younger female character.
I don't care what Otaku would think, I believe that's direction IG production is doing because the new series that focuses on Motoko Kusanagi origins starting out as a cop at the young age of 16.Which they are trying to attract younger demographic which is the only way to make money.
Do you really think that is what Otaku want?
I for one greatly prefer a mature strong female character to the 1000th whimpy whiny moe clone with zero depth that gets very old very fast.
And I don't think even the most hardcore loli fan would (or should) want to go Motoko in that direction because it would kill the character.
She is just the polar oposite of it.
This will not do well financially and you will be proven wrong. The demographic for those who want to retain her design is greater than the fraction of the moe market they can capture. As another poster said there are other ways they could've gone to expand their market share, unwise changes will only leads to a downwards spiraling tradeoffs.
and like others have mentioned this isn't even moe/loli enough, it won't get what they're looking for.
Probably they were mostly just trying to make her more realistic with expanding their market share being a secondary concern.
They really messed up and are going to damage their franchise.
Not most otakus, but they are probably thinking that it will draw in more people from this generation who don't know shit about GitS already.
I'd say they ought make her show more hints of being cold and computerized underneath that seemingly warm, and (previously) sexy exterior of her's. Making her seem more cute and appealing does the opposite of make her more realistic.
Then again, they may have a point with this... if most Japanese would want to design a female robot to look like whatever they want, they wouldn't go with a sexy woman body but.. in fact, maybe a cute, young, seemingly-innocent teenager =P sad, but true... but even still, it's an unnecessary change to the source material.. it's like Shirow is trying to pull a George Lucas.
So you are telling me, that a huge company who pays a lot of money in predicting the market sales would rather choose to make an anime for say 10 "hardcore fans" willing to pay 10grand each or choose the general populace of millions who would probably pay a dollar at most?
--------
Well the new Motoko sucks, but what the heck, it's not enough for our support to change the company's mind.
Haha! No, we need to adapt her more! Make her eyes big and watery and re-set GITS in a suburban high school. Moe-toko FTW!
It will be like every other piece of soft-pr0n anime that ca$hes in today.
Who knows, though. It might be amazing. Could go either way.
Don't forget cat ears. Cyborgs look cute with cat ears.
I'm glad they lolified Motoko.
I'm glad you're just trolling.
Preach it Captain Obvious!
Don't get mad at the truth. Blame yourself for being a blind and stupid fanboy.
Putting in my 2 cents on here. I'm a fanboy for GiTS and I'm a bit on the fence on this one.
Thank you Einstein. I'm sure we wouldn't have figured it out without you.
Hahahaha You mad?
I'm sure we can all come to an agreement, that her hair/redsign is still better than new Dante.
This is true. They should have made Dante look like this.
Seems like a huge fail, but I bet the apologists will find something to compliment even when it's bad..
What I see happening here is the same thing that has gone on with Lara Croft. The companies are trying to present a less sexual image of the lead heroine in order to provide girls with a greater self image. Yet I'm still wondering if they understand that this is irrelevant as it removes one of the factors that may have assisted it making these characters feel so badass to begin with. What is wrong with having a lead female character who is sexy and kicks ass? Why do they have to conform to societal norms, it's boring and just seems stupid to me. Cause the message that sends is, look and act like everybody else so people will accept you better. idk just my own opinion.
Exactly, and the real irony of feminism... that society should allow women should be free in all ways EXCEPT, of course, in their sexuality.
As if it was not enough as the equality imposed by feminists (who already earn a long time, and in the matter of better jobs many men lose their job for them) now want women to look like man too (or something between tom boy and EMO)
The way that most feminists are ugly is easier to look like men. Even gay men are more feminine than these witches!
Motoko's hair color is the problem for me - Too blue.
The anime will probably be fine. But with all character redesigns, I find myself asking the same question... WHY?!?!?
They going back in the timeline, so it's supposed to be like that right? With the younger voice actor and everything.
Lol @ that last vid, i always loved those tanks.
She's fully prosthetic it isn't like her voice changes over time.
If she's fully prosthetic, she should be able to change her voice at will. It makes sense that they would initially give her a voice and body that more closely fit her age, and allow her to move to a more mature appearance as she mentally matures.
The only real problem with "this" Motoko, is the hair. It's too blue and has no...texture? It almost looks like she's waring a bright blue swimming cap.
That PV for the new anime is meh... nothing aspiring or "fresh" at all. They should of just kept the old design but then I shed tears as I see that PSX PV... sigh.
I'm okay with the way it looks.I'll give it a watch.
HOLY SHIT!!! The PSX OP look freaky good!!!
Mokoto's face could use a little work however.
It's better than Arise any day.