Anime is NOT Real Life--- PLEASE STOP JUDGING

The Atmosphere of Judging Female’s Body among Anime Fandom

'Recast her!' 'She's not sexy at all.' I always see anime fans commenting like this whenever there is an anime adaptation coming out. The strange thing is they seem to be more interested in picking on actresses instead of actors. They find everything wrong with the actresses' appearance and believe that anime girls are superior by owning larger boobs, sexier booties, and prettier faces. Also, they are mostly males. Female actresses have been victimized by men's sexual fantasy in animation. Among anime fandom, it is a prevalent yet problematic atmosphere that needs to be stopped.

Daniella Pineda & Faye Valentine

The Backlash against Cowboy Bebop Actress’s Casting

Months ago, the casting of Cowboy Bebop live-action series was released. The online abuse against the main actress went viral immediately. Actually, castings on male characters are also controversial. However, most of the vitriols was reserved for Pineda, who plays the role of Faye. Fans complained about Pineda's body mostly. They believe Pineda is too flat-chested, and not sexy enough to play ‘their’ Faye properly. Furthermore, they were angry about her ‘way too conservative’ costume compared to hot halter top Faye wore in anime.

Critical Comments on Instagram

The Hit Back from Pineda and Netflix

In response, Pineda apologized sarcastically that she was sorry for not being six-feet-tall with double-D sized breasts and a two-inch waist. Furthermore, she apologized for not wearing the skimpy costume due to stunt work. Subsequently, Netflix responded firmly to support Pineda on Twitter. These further infuriated the fandom. They stood out to resist Netflix's adaptation and made the controversy viral again.

Daniella Pineda’s apology video

Netflix Geeked Official’s responset on Twitter

Real Life is never going to be the same as Anime

I believe Cowboy Bebop is the best for many fans. So I understand why they have harsh judgments because of high expectations. However, understanding doesn’t equal agreeing. The aesthetic design of Faye is highly stylized. It is difficult for anyone to match Faye’s body proportion exactly. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, their pursuit of the original cannot rationalize their disrespectful behaviors. The series has not even been released yet, why don't people focus more on Pineda's performance while watching it?

There are far more victims under this atmosphere. Shang Chi's main actress Awkwafina was also cyberbullied for her appearance. The same situation happened to Kiko when playing the role of Mikasa. However, the above-mentioned actresses all had great achievements in their performances.

Katy & Awkwafina Mikasa & Mizuhara Kiko

Anime and real life can never be the same. Fans fancy anime world because it is full of infinite possibilities. BUT, real world can never be like that, let alone that animation usually designs female character exaggeratedly. So stop imposing anime standards on real world. Besides, there is never a certain standard on female appearance or body. I am proud of Pineda and Netflix for standing up for this. There is no reason that females should apologize for their bodies, or appearance, or not satisfying men's fantasies about anime girls.

I hope fans can express their love for anime in a way that will not hurt people. It is fine for them to hold different opinions on casting. However, when we defend something important for ourselves by attacking others, it makes no sense.

In an ideal world, appearance and body shape shouldn't matter and the best actress should get the role.