Oh Brush Gods, not again with the fucking gender thing

[taotrooper]

So, um, okay. In the Japanese version of Okami (and Okamiden, I guess? IDK) Amaterasu -and Shiranui for extension- didn't have an actual gender. We can agree on that. Then in the English game, there were hints for female (Waka using French female pronouns and adjectives, Yatsu seeing her as a maiden) so most people think of her as a gal in fanon. Me included, but that's not the point.

So now the English localizators of Okamiden have randomly decided that the Shiranui incarnation is male. "Always remember: it’s people that assign gender to the gods." And by people, we mean us.

No, your reason is utter bullshit. Shiranui might be another incarnation, but she was the original Amaterasu with full powers and memories. Shiranui is the name humans gave her because they didn't know who the fuck the white wolf was, and they used "it" pronouns. Waka thought of Shiranui as Amaterasu. Ishaku called her Ammy. The Brush Gods called Amaterasu their mother, but they were born from Shiranui. No one is seeing a huge distinction between Ammy and Shiranui in the original game. Actually, does she turn into a dude in the final battle to you guys?

Why don't you just say WE FELT LIKE CALLING HIM A GRANDPA or admitting you are afraid of girl fleas cooties instead of using the Japanese lack of gender as a loophole? Mind you, I'm not pissed that Shiranui gets her gender changed to male. It's the inconsistency. If they had changed BOTH Amaterasu and Shiranui as male, I wouldn't agree but I certainly wouldn't complain about it. Then it's just a translation choice. But by doing this picking, it feels just wrong and badly thought. IT'S THE SAME CHARACTER, YOU DUMBASSES.

Sigh. I'm done with my wank. Back to replaying Ghost Trick and uploading Okami fanart on Tumblr.

Comments

[rainmage.livejournal.com]

B-but Amaterasu's not even the main character in this game! And I doubt Shiranui's role is that big. Chibiterasu is still a boy anyway, so they're not playing icky girls except 2/5 of the companions are girls and 1/5 is a mini-Waka thus a paragon of pink-colored fruit.

It's funny that the biggest game Kamiya did after leaving CAPCOM was Bayonetta. Together with all the ladies with a power position in Okami (Sakuya, Himiko, Otohime), I don't think his decision of a genderless Amaterasu is for misogyny or marketing.

[outou.livejournal.com]

The situation just reminded me of the whole Rapunzel/Tangled thing ("Won't anyone think of the boys?!"). Maybe the localizers used radical, bro-like dialogue for Kurow to make him less fruity.

The women in Okami all display different types of power than the typical "Rah, rah, I'll kick you in the eye" stereotype, too. I wasn't blaming Kamiya or the original development team, but rather the localizers who don't seem to be in touch with the series.

[rainmage.livejournal.com]

You know, I hadn't thought about the bro-speak being used like that, but it makes a lot of sense. It's kinda sad, especially since Kurow seems to be more of a skirt-chaser (sort of) than Waka, and I don't think that all the 'dude' ticks can make the fucking pink wings any manlier anyway.

Oh, I wasn't blaming him either. But yup, one of the things that I love from this game is that these ladies can do great feats without wielding a sword. Action kung-fu girls are cool and all, but it gets boring to only see of those after a while. I'm hoping that Kagura and Nanami are good companions, regardless.