Japanese Audiences Apparently Loved Ghost In The Shell

Well isn't that ironic? Reports have been coming out that the live-action Ghost in the Shell has officially flopped because of the whole whitewashing controversy, but the people in Japan — who are the ones supposedly wronged by this movie — love the film!

Polygon has pointed out that the movie made $3 million on its opening weekend in Japan, which is better than the box office run in the US. Yahoo Japan has apparently also ranked the movie higher than the original Ghost in the Shell anime.

What's more, The Hollywood Reporter asked local moviegoers what they thought about the live-action adaptation, and they all had positive things to say. Ghost in the Shell was praised for its cool visuals and original approach; and they also loved Scarlet Johansson's performance.

Honestly, I had no problem with the movie, and I actually thought it was a pretty decent adaptation. Japanese audiences weren't expecting Major Kusanagi to be played by a Japanese actress at all since the character was a robot, and her having the face of Scarlett Johansson wasn't too farfetched — her huge eyes even made her appearance closer to the anime.

I thought the movie was able to properly explain how Major Kusanagi ended up looking like ScarJo, and I think it's a damn shame that Ghost in the Shell flopped in the US. The visuals were amazing, and the developers paid tribute the anime properly (in my opinion).

The thing is, you never win with these "adaptations." Try to change things from the original, and you get reprimanded for not being "faithful to the source material." Stick too close to the original, and you get criticized for "not bringing anything new to the table." These critics, I tell ya.

Next thing you know, Hollywood wants to adapt Fullmetal Alchemist and some PC critics will want an Asian actor to play a character named Edward Elric.

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