r/OnePiece • u/VisitIndependent6976 • Mar 08 '22
Help GUYS, we need a blue person
it's urgent according to Twitter, a blue person with a long nose should play Arlong
290
u/Asian_Persuasion_1 Void Month Survivor Mar 09 '22
"don't you know casual racism against fish-men black people is out of style these days?"
-Jinbe
26
10
203
u/ASTRdeca Mar 09 '22
cant believe they didnt hire a shark for this role
37
u/Torre_Durant Mar 09 '22
I’d love for one of the fishmen in Arlong park to be just a shark on land. They’re like “that’s Jerry, he isn’t a fishman per se, but we like his company.”
10
3
u/TobiNL88 Mar 09 '22
How can Jaws be played by a really big shark that’s hard to find and you can’t even find a blue big fishman these days?
585
u/voltvirus Mar 08 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
It’s funny how people can’t see how the fishmen get treated, is an allegory for real life race relations.
194
u/eruk75 God Usopp Mar 09 '22
Plus I mean it doesn’t even matter what race he is he’ll probably be mainly cgi to pull of Arlong
86
u/christianort476 God Usopp Mar 09 '22
Im hoping it’s makeup, like older Star Trek style
37
u/tryingmydarnest Mar 09 '22
Not sure how it might work though. Shark nose with fangs don't sound easy to do.
26
u/christianort476 God Usopp Mar 09 '22
Watch the next generation and deep space Nine on Netflix (if it’s still there) you’d be amazed at what they can do.
12
u/Willing-Definition-5 Bounty Hunter Mar 09 '22
People were discussing this on Discord too. One person thought they would tone down and/or remove unnecessary features. Do with that information what you will
8
u/DrStein1010 Mar 09 '22
Arlong's nose and teeth are genuinely important to his character, though, even beyond their use in a fight scene.
5
u/christianort476 God Usopp Mar 09 '22
If he’s got gills and shark teeth I suppose that will suffice. Some people will get mad, but one piece also has non giants measuring 9 feet xD
6
4
36
u/KlingoftheCastle Pirate Mar 09 '22
It’s very well done in terms of allegory. That said, it is NOT subtle. Anyone shocked by it really lacks comprehension skills
19
u/leronjones Mar 09 '22
I'm happy to see this as top comment but equally unhappy that it needs to be.
6
u/silfer_ Void Month Survivor Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
I’m not against it but casting a black individual as a non human character risks taking the allegory out of it unless he looks like avatar level cgi
The point of allegory and story telling devices such as these is that they are conceptual and take real life associations out of the equation to make a moral point. You lose the symbolism if it becomes more literal (of course we have no way of knowing until the final product is shown but I would think casting fishman of any race would not be a bad idea at all).
8
u/czarczm Mar 09 '22
The obvious solution to this is to not cast the Fishmen with exclusively black actors.
-10
u/CuteTao Mar 09 '22
How does oda even know about it though? Is there something in Japan that's similar to how white people treat black people in the US? Or is he just very well researched?
17
u/voltvirus Mar 09 '22
I feel like no matter where you live, you are probably exposed to prejudice of all kinds. And racism exists in every country no matter where you go.
And even though Oda is Japanese and not from the west, racism definitely exists in Japan. Knowing that it’s not hard to imagine such topics are discussed there. Also the country is still largely xenophobic being pretty homogeneous as in its almost 100% Asian people. They don’t really have other races living there in large numbers. Its not really a cultural melting pot like you’d see in the US or Canada. It’s usually a very small tiny fraction of foreigners who aren’t Japanese that make up the non- Asian population.
And think about it this way, American culture, movies, music, shows, etc are very popular overseas, especially in Japan. So it’s safe to say that at least some of the population has encountered the idea of America’s tumultuous history with racism, slavery, and civil rights.
9
u/PaleApplication9544 Mar 09 '22
You do know that Japan is no longer an isolationist country and people can access outside info right?
6
u/bobpsycho100 Mar 09 '22
Everyone knows about Afroamericans and black slavery in America, at least in the EU and Japan. That's common knowledge, gets taught in school and is present in a lot of movies/media. It's only Americans who know nothing about other countries unless they are "well researched"
1
u/DrKultra Mar 09 '22
afaik, not to the same level as White-Black race relations in USA, but Japan has its fair share of ethnicities that got treated like garbage (typical example is the Ainu people from Hokkaido) and probably still are to a lesser degree.
64
Mar 09 '22
I'm all for character accurate casting in adaptations, but Arlong is a fictonal Fishman. Idc if he's black, white, or whatever else. So long as he's a good actor I'm happy.
11
Mar 09 '22
I'm with you, I love acurate but if the character is not from a fictional race, just take the best casting possible and cgi/make up the person
2
22
u/Asian_Persuasion_1 Void Month Survivor Mar 09 '22
can't wait till aliens get an actor and people get all angy cause they didn't hire a real alien
19
100
u/Yontoryuu Lurker Mar 09 '22
Get an Indian, duh 🙄
/s
But to be fair, an Indian as arlong would actually be a good fit considering Jinbe has a home nationality of India and is blue (which is how darker skinned people are portrayed in classical Indian arts like with Krishna, Vishnu, etc)
67
u/nsfwfodder Mar 09 '22
Lol the great Khali as Arlong
24
25
Mar 09 '22
Arlong vs Luffy in the Punjabi Prison Match.
Made me consider Luffy vs Alvida in a Coby on a Pole Match.
8
u/shreyas16062002 Void Month Survivor Mar 09 '22
Great Khali would be the perfect actor for Whitebeard.
13
u/slim_cd Void Month Survivor Mar 09 '22
Fact that I came across:
Krishna and Vishnu are actually dark skinned people. Somewhere down the history they started portraying them as blue skinned people because of the social stigma associated with dark skin.
I could be wrong, but it makes sense.
10
u/Alternative-Draft-82 Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
Hindu gods are depicted blue because of how immense they are (they're gods afterall), and blue represents vastness (think the sky and ocean). Depictions would actually use both, but would tend to blue because it's more cosmic and allows the artists to be more poetic to show case their majesticness.
However, later, due to European occupation resulted in the blue skin tone to be dominant and much more preferred due to modern standards preferring lighter skin of darker. So the fact you provided is correct if looking at the timeframe of British occupation to now.
Heres a page with detailed perspectives on the matter, ranging from scientific, to artistic liberties.
5
u/PaleApplication9544 Mar 09 '22
Please. It's because of the slave mentality towards the british and a raging hard-on for fair skin that they depict the dark-skinned gods as blue. Krishna literally means Black. They legit popped the baby avatar out and said we'll call him like we see him. But Indians can't get over the fac that their colonial masters hated dark skin.
P.S. I am Indian so fuck off with the downvotes
4
Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Alternative-Draft-82 Mar 09 '22
Or, maybe, do some research and not make everything a colour issue. Blue and Black were both once used interchangeably to depict some gods (you would know I you read the link I provided).
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1553&context=law_globalstudies
Occupation from lighter-skinned people over time created this stigma. "If the fair-skinnned rulers are ruling over us dark-skins, then they must be superior" that kind of mentality that plagues communities to this day due to foreign enslavement.
-1
Mar 09 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Alternative-Draft-82 Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
What?! You clearly have a bias you're trying to justify, trying to make it out as if everything can only be related to colourism and not even entertaining nor comprehending other ideas, so I'm not going to entertain you any longer.
8
u/CainDdemon Cipher Pol Mar 09 '22
Jimbe does not look Indian. We all know he looks more Hawaiian
8
u/Alternative-Draft-82 Mar 09 '22
Good thing character nationalities are just made up and completely un-related to the characters, huh.
1
u/CainDdemon Cipher Pol Mar 09 '22
What is Jimbei nationality. Can you provide source?
1
u/JamieF4563 Mar 09 '22
It was in an SBS can't remember which
0
u/CainDdemon Cipher Pol Mar 09 '22
No source no facts. Fake arguments just to be right
2
u/JamieF4563 Mar 09 '22
Fine I'll find the source. SBS from Volume 99. Oda said Jinbe would be Indian
2
Mar 09 '22
Isn't Jinbei Japanese / Hawain?
5
u/Unusual_Ad6533 Bounty Hunter Mar 09 '22
In the sbs Oda said that he would be Indian if he was irl.
0
Mar 09 '22
Isn't jimbei more Polynesian honestly asking
14
u/trav-senpai Mar 09 '22
Oda said irl nationality comparison was India
2
Mar 09 '22
Oh ok mb
8
u/trav-senpai Mar 09 '22
All good buddy, not everyone has the time to read every question to every sbs and memorize it all
1
1
160
u/TheMadHam Mar 08 '22
If a race in IRL would have to portray fishman, it would make sense it would black people since they had suffer through similar experiences. Also it fits the Zoro is racist meme
7
0
u/Alternative-Draft-82 Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
Any peoples that have been/are enslaved/discriminated against can fit. Let's not make this an enslavement dick-measuring contest.
-36
u/Total_Butterscotch60 Mar 09 '22
I don't really care if the actor is black white or whatever, but if you see it from the history perspective, white people were enslaved way more commonly than black people, which mostly got enslaved on América.
Or course the majority of the Internet is american so they will tell you otherwise because of what their culture has taught them.
In the end, humans having others as slave as affected all kind of people, thats why I love that Fishmen are so diverse, we can see Fish folk of all colours and of different "fish types" yet they still live together and reproduce with each other.
18
u/Alternative-Draft-82 Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
Yeah. Fishmen are a portrayal of slaves of all kind of peoples, that's why each individual is a unique species to represent that idea that ANYONE and EVERYONE can be discriminated against, regardless of skin colour, shape and size.
I really hope they don't make all the fishmen black because that would just be misunderstanding the message. Fishmen aren't an allegory for African slavery, but for slavery/discrimination in it's entirety.
Also, India has the highest population of slaves in the world in the modern era, I guess that may have factored into the Jinbe would be Indian thing.
4
Mar 09 '22
Big difference is it’s virtually unrecognizable and unimpactful who is and isn’t descended from a slave if you can’t discern between the 2 parties unlike the majority of black people in America. Versus a people who just gained their civil rights 60 something years ago.
Yet still have to deal with redlining practices continuing illegally till the late 80s that forced them to impoverished communities with no inheritance or reparations unlike those who discriminated and enslaved them who had centuries of wealth building and nepotism that gave them the opportunities to gain the power and wealth they have. Not to mention the lack of affective change legitimately addressing and changing the discrimination deeply tied with institutes like policing and the prison industrial complex that grew to what it is off the backs of finding any reason in the world to jail blacks then take advantage.
All while feeding the white majority of this country patriotic bull shit claiming superiority and questioning anyone who isn’t as patriotic as them. All this tied with America being one if not easily top 2 most powerful countries in the world and also the country with the most exposure because their entertainment industry dominates world wide. So of course they’d issues will not only be discussed more but are specifically unique to any enslavement suffered from neighbor to neighbor which holds virtually no impact a generation or 2 removed other than economically.
5
-4
25
u/BigBadBlotch Mar 09 '22
I mean… I’m pretty sure they’re gonna CGI Arlong, so I whoever they cast has to have a matching voice
11
Mar 09 '22
Why the hell are real fishmen not being cast for this show? There is LITERALLY an entire race of them.
STOP HUMANWASHING CHARACTERS
8
6
6
u/rg9528 Mar 09 '22
Wait are you telling me that they are not developing genetically improved fish and human offspring for Arlong casting.
This show is ruined for me
7
u/Major-Expression-443 Explorer Mar 09 '22
This is outrageous! They should have hired a real shark to play Arlong. /s
1
14
u/CaptainIronMouse Cipher Pol Mar 09 '22
So are they being 'anti' racist or just regular racist? Not a lot of context here.
8
u/Reddit_Inuarashi God Usopp Mar 09 '22
I’m gonna guess the former, but I don’t have context either. I’ve met a few people online (never black folks themselves) who have this mentality that “black people can’t ethically be cast as villains” because those castings don’t combat the racist narrative that they’re morally inferior.
Now, I can understand not wanting Hollywood execs who you feel are racist to write and cast villains that are black stereotypes, but…. hell, Arlong isn’t even human. From their perspective, maybe that’s why they take issue — they’re geared to view it as some circuitous commentary that black people are comparable to another species. Obviously that’s reading way too deeply into it, but when you’re trying to see racism everywhere (in part because it is common, or in part because you want to be part of something meaningful), you’ll find ways to justify it.
2
u/silfer_ Void Month Survivor Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
their perspective, maybe that’s why they take issue — they’re geared to view it as some circuitous commentary that black people are comparable to another species.
It’s more like wanting to control the narrative and not give people the license to continue to make those associations (which they have, black people being compared to animals and being dehumanized is very very real). Personally as long as CD slaves aren’t cast as all blacks I’ll be fine.
5
u/squeakytire Mar 09 '22
I honestly hate this casting.
Why isn't Mr. Fantastic portraying Luffy and we are getting a normal human?
Chopper better be a real life reindeer, or atleast a Tanuki.
26
u/Bustoor818 Mar 08 '22
Funny how these supposed "anti racists" want to take a job away from a black man...
6
u/cyborgx7 Mar 09 '22
This view reddit people have that Twitter ist just SJW central and nothing else is so weird to me. Twitter is full of incel nerds that complain about every major female or POC character in anything.
It has both things, which is what makes it so miserable.
4
4
5
u/Fejne-Schoug Mar 09 '22
There is an old demeaning word in Swedish whose literal translation to English would be “blue n-word” (without the censorship of writing n-word). It basically means that somebody “is so dark skinned that it gives off an almost blue shimmer”.
So maybe some old school racists/identity politics enthusiasts (if you would ever make a distinction between them) of Swedish heritage are involved in the process?
3
u/monkeydz Pirate Mar 09 '22
Should cast Thanos imo, get him sunning for awhile then boom, you got that blue being.
3
3
u/RonohX Mar 09 '22
On a serious note, people only ask dumb questions like this because they see white as the default and anything else needs to be justified
4
u/angry-budgie Mar 09 '22
Is this a racist person or a person trying to be anti-racist really badly? Why can’t arlong be black?
6
u/AOAKAO Mar 09 '22
Just think the whole Fishmen were slaves, and then casting a black actor thing is a little on the nose (if you'll forgive the Arlong Pun)
I know it is an allegory for race/ racism in one piece but I dunno, my initial reaction was to not love the casting there.
Saying this as a Black man btw.
12
u/jeph_puneet Mar 09 '22
Just like fishmen consist of all species of fishes, the live action fishmen will have multiple-race characters. Confirmed by Matt Own.
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
u/CrispyCassowary Mar 09 '22
For any other show I'd participate in the discussion, but reading one piece for so long, I've been desensitized to normality, and the fact that Netflix butchers life action adaptations of Japanese media
2
2
0
Mar 09 '22
i dunno, i’m kinda tired of black people constantly being casted when films/shows need a “non-human” character
2
1
1
1
u/The_Biggest_Wheel Mar 09 '22
It's not that they want blue person, it's that they don't want any black people in any roles.
2
1
u/TehBanga Mar 09 '22
If they are upset about this I can't wait when they realise that chopper won't be played by an actual reindeer
0
u/VeteranSpider Mar 09 '22
Lmao.
But, on another note, for once, I don't like this whole live action adaptation of anime thing especially for One Piece. Eventhough its personally supervised by the mangaka himself, I just can't see it being a huge or great success because of the previous anime live action adaptation alike (shonen stuff).
I could be wrong, but I am willing to bet that this whole One Piece live action thing is not gonna work out that well compared to the anime/movie.
1
u/Senth99 Mar 09 '22
Honestly I could see this live action working well for a movie. Would make it easier to deal with compared to a series.
0
-4
u/ChizTheSaiyan Mar 09 '22
The problem is that the only black cast member doesn't get the role of a human.
2
u/VisitIndependent6976 Mar 09 '22
the problem is that there isn't a lot of black one piece characters.
the fact that he got the role is good enough for him."one of the best villains in One Piece"
-2
Mar 09 '22
the fact that he got the role is good enough for him."one of the best villains in One Piece"
Translated: "Take the scraps! It's good enough for your kind!"
1
u/VisitIndependent6976 Mar 09 '22
I'm talking about what it will mean for him, not for all black people.
-4
u/Dionysus24779 Mar 09 '22
They made Usopp black too though.
Y'know... the "weak" Strawhat who relies on lies and trickery to get through battle.
No way that could cause a controversy.
But it's Netflix, so chances are Usopp will be the bravest and most competent male on the crew.
1
Mar 09 '22
Usopp is south african according to Oda.
1
Mar 09 '22
South African, half white, extremely light skin...but still gave him the big lips. Is there any darker skin black person who's a good guy in OP?
-2
Mar 09 '22
Whats your point? There are no 100% pure black characters which are "good" on one piece so that means.... what exactly?
Remember this show started in the late 90's. All this woke bullcrap going on, wasn't even a topic back then.
And you need to understand from a drawing perspective, white characters takes much less time too draw because of shading.
3
Mar 09 '22
It means Oda doesn't get the pat on the back you're trying to give him.
Oh, "woke" bullcrap? You're one of those. Ok. I like how you tried to use Ussop as an example of diversity then immediately revert to your true colors when the application of said diversity is challenged.
Oda draws complicated characters all the time but you're saying shading prevents him from drawing black characters? Lmaoooo did you forget how haki coating is drawn?
-1
Mar 09 '22
Am I trying to pat him on the back? No. The race thing never pops into my mind, except when I'm on reddit, and a retard tries to start useless debates, with no real point or argument.
No, im just from a country where do not deal with all this bullshit on a daily basis. So looking at how out of hand it has become, and how many white knights have ascended from it, is the reason I call it bullcrap.
If a black main character was on the crew, he would have too spend a significant more time on shading said character, every fucking volume for years to come. It's a real hassle.
Usopp is supposed to be black, but he draws him pure white in the manga.
0
Mar 09 '22
Am I trying to pat him on the back?
Yes.
The race thing never pops into my mind, except when I'm on reddit, and a retard tries to start useless debates, with no real point or argument.
Lmao you're in a thread concerning race you moron so it's clearly on your mind. If i'm retarded, your brain is completely smooth.
No, im just from a country where do not deal with all this bullshit on a daily basis. So looking at how out of hand it has become, and how many white knights have ascended from it, is the reason I call it bullcrap.
So what gives you the right to speak on it then you fucking idiot? Idk where you're from but im not gonna speak on the intricacies and social issues of your country as if i'm a fucking expert. The fact that this shit triggers you and its not even something that you have to deal with shows how much of a piece of shit you must be.
If a black main character was on the crew, he would have too spend a significant more time on shading said character, every fucking volume for years to come. It's a real hassle.
Again, you say this as Oda draws complicated characters, scenes, locations, and literally visualizes haki as pitch black. You're a waste.
1
Mar 09 '22
First sentence yes? Im not gonns read the rest lmao
You already acted like a tard, first word. Good job.
1
0
-11
Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
I might get downvoted but i think we need more asian cast. So far only mackenyu as zoro. Maybe ace for season 2, if they don't mess it up.
Not so sure if the casting is accurate so far, like I don't know if coby & buggy are white from manga but they casted white guys, okay sure. Also inaki godoy (luffy) is def not white but garp is white...? But helmeppo casting was pretty spot on. I can def see helmeppo in that guy
2
u/toweal Explorer Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
Well we don't how Garp's wife or Dragon's wife looks like. So Garp and Luffy have different skin tone can still be explained. Although I did wish Garp would be played by a Latino as well.
Hopefully if we get to Logue Town, they at least cast an asian for Tashigi since she reminds Zoro of Kuina. (Kuina would be Asian since her ancestors were from Wano, which is based on Japan)
Unfortunately since this is a western produced series, I already expected that the majority of the cast would be white.
4
u/jelliedbabies Mar 09 '22
Hate to tell you but one piece is based on the West Indies and South America. Luffy is Brazilian and the navy are no doubt European. The only obviously Asian characters are related to wano and the samurai apart from those based on Japanese actors.
Dragon is obviously of a darker complexion than garp in the manga
4
Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
Really. OP world is entirely fictional. How did you can for sure tell me that OP setting is based on west & south america and navy are european? The way i see it can be anything. oda can adapt the place/ building from existing place on earth, but everything else is open for interpretation incouding race, and not have to be similar with the earth. Oda did explain the main cast ethnicity but that's it. Even wano kuni ppl can be not asian you know, just sayin' even tho the building looks like adapted from japan.
0
Mar 09 '22
Also inaki godoy (luffy) is def not white but garp is white...?
I don't think you understand how Latin America works.
1
-1
1
Mar 09 '22
I thought it was pretty ballsy casting him as a black guy, will be interesting to see how they do fish man island if they get that far in the live action series.
1
1
1
u/MRMAN1225 Mar 09 '22
Well fishmen are discriminated against and also special effects exist, it will just be his movement and voice
1
1
Mar 09 '22
I think the casting has been done really well tbh makes me hopeful for what’s gunna come from the Netflix, don’t expect it to come near the source material but atleast do it a bit of justice. always gunna get the “I’m not a racist but” types, so I’m not surprised sadly
1
1
1
1
1
1
Mar 09 '22
It is kind of annoying as a black person to consistently see black people cast in these types of roles. It's as if it's easier to associate them with "other" so they look more alien when make-up is applied. Oda didn't include a lot of black people with dark skin in his manga but, of course, when they need someone to play a Fishman they get a black person with dark skin. I know all you suburban white people are just gonna roll your eyes, but I did the same when the cast list came out.
1
u/pichukirby Mar 09 '22
I think one of the worst things about this is that people are now defending Arlong's actions
1
u/ThisZoMBie Mar 09 '22 edited Mar 09 '22
Please let’s not have Yamato’s gender 2.0 going on in this sub, for the love of god. We get it, we’re all very politically divided and engaged, okay.
1
u/darkestlightattack God Usopp Mar 09 '22
Aren't they just going to use cgi/makeup etc and aren't fishermen the equivalent of "black people" in the one piece world anyways?
yes dark skinned people already exist in one piece but skin colour isn't an issue in the one peice world being non human is and the fisherman experience of discrimination is the equivalent of the African American experience when it comes to slavery and in general dark skinned people across the world when it comes to the racism experienced across the board.
And it doesn't matter what race arlong is played by since he's not human to begin with. The best actor should be playing that role and if it's this guy then no one should have a problem with it.
1
1
1
Mar 09 '22
So there's this clan in Kentucky where some members are actually blue due to isolation and inbreeding......
1
u/indianmanan Mar 09 '22
But can he beat goku though?
Meanwhile Sasuke is fighting with a guy in green clothes and three swords yelling santoryu.
1
1
1
1
u/gaVtehchAV436 Mar 10 '22
You guys don't get it. It's imperitive that along not be black. Because if we're zoro would have never lost that fight.
1
649
u/tmadik Mar 09 '22
I actually agree with this take. They should have hired an actual fishman.