Twitter account “Women’s Database Plaza (@females_db_park)“, which is in charge of compiling articles on events that oppress women in Japan, shared an article recalling a situation of this type that the production staff of the franchise starred in. Psycho-Pass a few years ago, specifically by the director Katsuyuki Motohiro.
The situation was the following:
- Directors Katsuyuki Motohiro and Naoyoshi Shiotani attended the special movie preview event “Psycho-Pass The Movie” in December 2014, also featuring the voice cast. After the cast expressed their opinions, it was the turn of these two directors.
- Looking back, director Naoyoshi Shiotani, who has been working on the franchise for almost five years, heaved a big sigh and said, “In a good way, it was pretty tough. I thought I shouldn’t be working on the TV series and the movie at the same time. However, I said that I would do the second season, and so it was.
- Director Shiotani looked at the packed theater and exclaimed, “I’m glad so many people came to see the movie,” but director Katsuyuki Motohiro made reference to the fact that there were many women in the audience and said, “This was not what I expected. She was trying to create a strong science fiction story that could be appreciated by men as viewers. But it turns out that most of the fans are women. Even though she was saying “Nothing cute!” while he was directing it, it’s really disappointing“.
This old news was shared by the account “Women’s Database Plaza (@females_db_park)“, who wrote:
- «Looking back, the Psycho-Pass director also addressed the audience at the film’s advance screening in 2014 and said: “I thought I made a sci-fi anime with a story for men to watch, but it’s too bad the fans are all women. It wasn’t supposed to be like this“. It was heartbreaking to hear the fans say that they were not welcome for the members of the production».
Undoubtedly, the director’s comment generated an immediate reaction on social networks, where they considered it sexist and contemptuous of female viewers. Many criticized its stereotyped and exclusive view, arguing that women can also enjoy and appreciate science fiction without the need for elements specifically designed to attract them.
Criticism of the director was not limited solely to his comment, but also to his apparent lack of understanding and appreciation of female Psycho-Pass fans, who have shown their support and passion for the series over the years. In addition, the fan community pointed out that Motohiro underestimates the diversity of the public and the ability of women to enjoy and value complex and well-constructed science fiction stories.
The post garnered more than ten million interactions on Twitter, going viral in the process and drawing comments from netizens in Japan, who said:
- «If you wanted to appeal only to men, you should have hired Akira Toriyama as character designer.».
- «This was a statement from Katsuyuki Motohiro, the director’s supervisor. Director Naoyoshi Shiotani stood aside during these words. Certainly, Motohiro-san’s comment was out of line. On the other hand, Shiotani-san chooses his words carefully, and has always shown respect towards the fan base.».
- «As a fan of Shonen Jump manga, I understand the fact that it’s not well received, it’s sad. I love Rurouni Kenshin, but the author wrote in one of the books that “women only look for cute boys in a manga”, which made me feel very sad because I saved money every month to buy his new volumes.».
- «I think it’s a shame that the cyberpunk public didn’t like it, but is it a shame that so many women like cyberpunk?».
- «I think it’s the production’s fault that it didn’t appeal to men».
- «The character design doesn’t strike me as one that would appeal to men. In fact, the main girl isn’t even attractive.».
- «There isn’t a single rude guy in this series, did you really think they would appeal to male audiences?».
- «I think it is unreasonable to say that they were not targeting the female audience with this».
- «If so, why not ask someone like Katsuhiro Otomo or Katsuya Terada to design the characters?».
- «I thought it was more for women because they hired Akira Amano, the author of Reborn!, for this job».
- «I am a woman, but I quit after one episode».
