So, back in September 2017, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Shogakukan, and other partners, showed off a collaborative projec, known simply at the time, Gonjiro.
Well, the reaction to the character in the old thread for the conference was... Well, mixed to say the least, and it'll become clear why in just a moment:
The original design depicted a character design which was very reminiscent of Black Face, a very racist caricature that dates back well over a century ago. Japan has, for the longest time, largely out of ignorance, use designs of these nature in various projects over the years. What also further didn't help the design is in the short shown off at the conference, he helps a guy struggling to win over a girl, due to his receding hairline, and Gonjiro as a result turns into... an afro.
Yeah...
So fast forward over a year and some months, it seems, I'd assume likely due to concerns internally and International market expansion of the property, Gonjiro has been somewhat retooled to be less offensive (though admittedly not perfect):
The series is scheduled to air in April 2019 on TV Tokyo Network and affiliate partners, with the title of the series, Kedama no Gonjiro. Series currently has a Mobile tie-in game in development, called Kedama no Gonjiro: Fit and Run, and you can read more about it here. Staff, Voice Actors, and so on and so forth, haven't been announced, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's either OLM or Cloverworks/A-1 Pictures.
You read more on the ANN article.
Honestly, I'm kinda glad they realized the issues with the design, because that was... definitely... Yeah... As I said, it's not perfect, but color absolutely matters here, so someone definitely raised the issue, which I assume had to be on the International side of things (Maybe the main SIE branch in the US, perhaps?). Kinda reminds of the issue with Oilman in Mega Man Powered Up, which thankfully got altered.
Well, the reaction to the character in the old thread for the conference was... Well, mixed to say the least, and it'll become clear why in just a moment:
The original design depicted a character design which was very reminiscent of Black Face, a very racist caricature that dates back well over a century ago. Japan has, for the longest time, largely out of ignorance, use designs of these nature in various projects over the years. What also further didn't help the design is in the short shown off at the conference, he helps a guy struggling to win over a girl, due to his receding hairline, and Gonjiro as a result turns into... an afro.
Yeah...
So fast forward over a year and some months, it seems, I'd assume likely due to concerns internally and International market expansion of the property, Gonjiro has been somewhat retooled to be less offensive (though admittedly not perfect):
The series is scheduled to air in April 2019 on TV Tokyo Network and affiliate partners, with the title of the series, Kedama no Gonjiro. Series currently has a Mobile tie-in game in development, called Kedama no Gonjiro: Fit and Run, and you can read more about it here. Staff, Voice Actors, and so on and so forth, haven't been announced, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's either OLM or Cloverworks/A-1 Pictures.
You read more on the ANN article.
Honestly, I'm kinda glad they realized the issues with the design, because that was... definitely... Yeah... As I said, it's not perfect, but color absolutely matters here, so someone definitely raised the issue, which I assume had to be on the International side of things (Maybe the main SIE branch in the US, perhaps?). Kinda reminds of the issue with Oilman in Mega Man Powered Up, which thankfully got altered.
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