[–] 2plus2equals5 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago (edited ago)
Here's what the director of the 95 movie said:
"The Major is a cyborg and her physical form is an entirely assumed one. The name 'Motoko Kusanagi' and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray her. Even if her original body (presuming such a thing existed) were a Japanese one, that would still apply."
The manga never said what she was born as, and the anime movies/series shyed away from confirming her original identity. I haven't seen the Hollywood movie, but she can and has switched to other bodies when the need arises. The point GitS tries to make is that the mechanical bodies are treated like equipment, instead of their identity, which is why they struggle with the concept of humanity etc.
[–] oiseaulibre 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
hmm, I guess its open ended then. I actually just finished the first season of the show and I just assumed she was Japanese, because her background is never really talked about and she's a Japanese agent. Also, almost all Japanese characters look white anyways. The only characters whose ethnicity you can usually tell are the black characters.
[–] 2plus2equals5 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
There's radio silence from Gaffots and the other websites when it comes to the black actors in the movie (it was never specified that they're Japanese either, but they definitely never looked black in the comic/cartoon)
[–] InaPickle 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Okay I will explain what happens below, but be warned that it is a major movie spoiler.
[–] 2plus2equals5 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
[–] InaPickle 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
[–] InaPickle 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
[–] oiseaulibre 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I've seen the original movie, but it was a while ago so I didn't remember much. Thanks for the recap.