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[Khrysler Jerikho]

I'm Filipino here, and I don't feel one bit offended by the name. It's pretty cool they actually decided to do a homage to an important historical figure in the name.

I guess the only negative thing I can take out of Josie Rizal is her design. I'm still pretty ambivalent to it, but it's all a matter of taste. I don't think it's that offensive at all, this is a cheesy fighting game at all.

I DO wish that aside from having Muay Thai as her fighting move, they actually incorporated some Filipino martial arts in to her moves if they really wanted to drive home the point that she's a Filipina. Then again, I haven't really seen the trailer and I'm not an expert in Filipino martial arts, so I'm not sure if they did that.

LOL, your username would be a #DeadGiveaway for Filipinos.

To put more things in to perspective, the Josie Rizal issue isn't even THAT big of a deal. Ordinary people here in Manila would just say "wow" and any other synonym in the vernacular.

And I don't think the name's the issue here. Pretty sure no one in the government batted an eye over my collegemate's name Jose Rizal Ramos.

If the old guard are worried about the image that Josie brings, I suggest they turn their attention first towards whats showing on local TV (which is more shitty by leaps and bounds)

 

[Hcoregamer00]

If they made that, I would go from a "buy" to a "Day Fucking one" so fast.

Still, just happy we got another Filipino character. Though, I admit that her proportions are pretty unrealistic for Filipino girls, but to be fair, it is not like their Japanese or Chinese girls are any more realistic

 

[Kojirospath]

Weird they did not go with Eskrima for her fighting style. Probably wanted to recycle those Bruce animations.

 

[Vroadstar]

No fuck changing the name.
They shouldn't bow down to humourless morons.

I wouldn't care if they reimagined Winston Churchill as a little girl. And called her Winnie Churchchill or something.

In fact fuck me thats amazing and should happen.

Obviously your perspective of the world is relegated to your street level probably? because even thru the worst calamities we are still very much happy people. Morons? yup you are clueless so stop talking out of your ass.

 

[ZettaiSeigi]

Obviously your perspective of the world is relegated to your street level probably? because even thru the worst calamities we are still very much happy people. Morons? yup you are clueless so stop talking out of your ass.

Hold your horses. I'm Filipino too but I'm not at all offended with dan2026's comment. He's clearly not referring to all Filipinos out there as humourless morons. I'm pretty sure that he's talking about those folks at NCCA and those who take everything so seriously.

I don't have a problem with Josie's name. Most of the people I know don't see any problem with it either. It's all completely anecdotal, for sure, but I really don't see what the fuss is about.

 

[Paracelsus]

Hold your horses. I'm Filipino too but I'm not at all offended with dan2026's comment. He's clearly not referring to all Filipinos out there as humourless morons. I'm pretty sure that he's talking about those folks at NCCA and those who take everything so seriously.

I don't have a problem with Josie's name. Most of the people I know don't see any problem with it either. It's all completely anecdotal, for sure, but I really don't see what the fuss is about.

Pure guessing game, maybe they think Namco is making a fool of a piece of history.

 

[ZettaiSeigi]

That's plausible but why would a company like Namco intentionally do something like that? Are they really willing to pull off such stunts, alienate an entire nation, and lose potential sales? Yeah, we're not a big market when it comes to games, but lost sales are still lost sales.

It's just a video game for crying out loud and it's hardly ever talked about in mainstream media here.

You know, I'm starting to figure out why Josie is actually said to be a crybaby. Geez!

 

[Mooreberg]

We all know the real problem is that she doesn't seem as sassy as Lucky Chloe.

 

[Monocle]

I like the character a lot more now that I know Mari Shimazaki and Markman are associated with her.

 

[ULTROS!]

Lots of people in my country are too damn sensitive. Kinda like when someone teases the country a bit or make a personification, they'll look for ways to take offense to it.

 

[MarkMan]

I wonder if Markman will respond to this.

MarkMan is an established member of NeoGAF.

What has he said about it?

I should state right now, I do not work for Bandai Namco Games. I am just close with the TEKKEN team.

Please SJW and nitpickers, don't take offense to anything I'm posting below...

Someone tell the government official that we meant no harm in creating Josie Rizal as a character. In fact, when coming up with the character name we wanted to do something that helped bring recognition and pay homage to the great nation of the Philippines and it's gaming community.

Well one thing for sure. It's working. There is more attention towards the Philippines and more and more people learning who Dr. Jose Rizal is. Which I should reiterate, Josie has nothing to do with the national hero. He's not her. She does not try to be anything from the past nor is trying to stereotype anything that's out there. Her story hasn't even been published/put out there yet.

I think for anyone to make judgement on a character based on looks or lack of background information is ridiculous. Also it's been noted before, this is a game this is not real life. This is not a history book or any type of historical document. Nor does this character represent a whole culture/nation. Do you think Kazuya is a representative of Japan as a whole?

But instead of just going with a common name (without reasons), instead I thought it would be nice to pay homage (not to copy or rip off) a hero in the Philippines. But you know how sensitive people can get from the motherland.

If anyone is curious, I am very familiar with the Pilipino culture. Aside from being brought up from with traditional Filipino values. I also studied the language and culture for over 4 years. I even took a native speaker course (not a native speaker). Delivered our graduation speech in Tagalog and was even offered a job by a government branch for this specific field (obviously I wanted to pursue other careers) . I've read El Filibusterismo & Noli me Tangere. So I know the source and where he came from and how modern society perceived his contributions now and then.

I'm pretty sure Hwoarang with a midriff gi was what delayed the T7 release in Korea. It gave the wrong impression that Koreans are lewd. /sarcasm

As a Filipino, just wanted to echo some of the sentiment here about how this is mostly the conservative old guard doing what they do.

Personally, when I told my Filipino fighting game and non-fighting game playing friends about Josie they were all ecstatic. And this isn't even about any "Pinoy Pride" propaganda garbage, I think it's very cool that Markman (who is Filipino), an important bedrock to the fighting game community (and a Gaf member of course) had a hand in creating the character.

Thanks for the kind words.

Bad MarkMan, bad!

Time to change her nationality to a more deserving country.

Sorry for being bad

 

[ZettaiSeigi]

Thanks for speaking up, MarkMan! That should address everything that's being thrown against the character and her designers. It's just a video game and it's never meant to be taken seriously.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I really hope that Jollibee costume would come true.

 

[jbug617]

Harada wrote some thoughts on Twitter.

Yeah. This moment, We receive over 90% positive feedback from fan community and Philippines gamer community.

I was planning this character since 2008.
The reason "Why she appeared in Tekken" ??

We've a lots of Tekken supporter in all over the world. Philippines is one of them.
The sales of a TEKKEN in Asia is quite small than Europe and North America.
Example: TEKKEN sold over 44 million copies worldwide(only console, without arcade machine). No.1 is Europe (over 22 million copies /44million), No.2 = North America. No.3 = Japan & Oceania area... No.4 = Asia, Middle-east, Africa, and more.

The Philippine console market is very small(Arcade market too).
We can't recoup development costs at the Philippines market.
But, we've many fans in the Philippines from the past.
We knew it.

I visited the Philippines several times in the past and felt a potential from Fighting game community.

And sometime, Access to TEKKEN community site (example TEKKEN FACEBOOK, Official etc...) was often the top from the Philippines.

Josie for the all fighting game community.
But Josie is very special for Philippines gamer community.

If Josie can't get supported in the Philippines, we give her up anytime.
TEKKEN7 arcade board has a network update system. We can change plan and change characters anytime & quickly.

Thanks

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/nj98ln

 

[Qvoth]

Harada wrote some thoughts on Twitter.


http://www.twitlonger.com/show/nj98ln

was going to post this, hopefully she does get taken out of the game, i bet more people will complain about that then compared to this

 

[pinsomniac]

But instead of just going with a common name (without reasons), instead I thought it would be nice to pay homage (not to copy or rip off) a hero in the Philippines. But you know how sensitive people can get from the motherland.

Thanks for the level-headed response & for the homage. I do wish her appearance was more distinctly Filipina (it's difficult to identify her as such without knowing beforehand, as others have pointed out), but at least it's nice to know the name was used with good intentions.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Oh yeah apparently there's now an official word with NCCA.

MANILA, Philippines — The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on Thursday denied having taken a position on the release of a new Filipino character in globally popular video game Tekken.

In a statement, NCCA chairman Felipe De Leon Jr. addressed reports that it has denounced the creation of Tekken 7's new fighter Josie Rizal, named after novelist-hero Jose Rizal.

"While the Commission is still studying what actions it may take on the issue of the name and image of Dr. Jose Rizal being dragged into this, we may safely say that NCCA has not issued any statement on the matter," De Leon said.

He also denied that the previously quoted "NCCA official" was not an employee of any of the agency's national committees.

De Leon said that NCCA will still take an official stand on the legal aspects of the issue.

So apparently NCCA isn't associated with the guy.

So fuck GMA (local news channel) for reporting a terribly researched news... like with all channels here.

 

[ZettaiSeigi]

That's Philippines media for you. *sigh*

Anyway, the NCCA said they're still studying what actions it may take. So they still might raise a ruckus concerning this. I hope they might as well just ignore this as it's a total non-issue.

 

[titiklabingapat]

I don't usually care but how would Harada feel if someone made a video game character and draped him with the Japanese flag colors in skimpy clothing and named her Anahito?

Jose Rizal is a very revered figure in the Philippines, almost akin to the reverence for the emperor of Japan. She looks nothing like the national figure at all and I like her design but I can see how some would like to have the name changed. I think part of it is the perceived racism by Filipinos from Japanese society. Many Filipinas basically go to Japan to become entertainers and dance in bars and clubs in skimpy outfits back in the day. They were/are called 'japayukis'.

 

[Shengar]

Hey Americans... how mad are you about Abraham Lincoln in Code Name S.T.E.A.M? Enraged I'll bet.

Different people treat their national heroes differently, you should know that.

 

[Shengar]

Oh yeah apparently there's now an official word with NCCA.



So apparently NCCA isn't associated with the guy.

So fuck GMA (local news channel) for reporting a terribly researched news... like with all channels here.

So that was fake news? Holy crap and I thought it was only Indonesia that have itterly garbage online media.

 

[Qvoth]

So that was fake news? Holy crap and I thought it was only Indonesia that have itterly garbage online media.

I think it's safe to say the whole of south east Asia is about the same, they're all pretty corrupt

 

[Boss Doggie]

I don't usually care but how would Harada feel if someone made a video game character and draped him with the Japanese flag colors in skimpy clothing and named her Anahito?

Jose Rizal is a very revered figure in the Philippines, almost akin to the reverence for the emperor of Japan. She looks nothing like the national figure at all and I like her design but I can see how some would like to have the name changed. I think part of it is the perceived racism by Filipinos from Japanese society. Many Filipinas basically go to Japan to become entertainers and dance in bars and clubs in skimpy outfits back in the day. They were/are called 'japayukis'.

lolwat, we don't revere him that much here, he's just a "hero"

trust me, only idiots make a big deal about this issue here

 

[Fusebox]

The NCCA now plans to take steps to "correct" any wrong impression "Josie Rizal" may have given about Dr. Rizal and the Philippines

Well they've certainly given me a first impression of the NCCA.

 

[PirateKing]

The worst thing about her character is her win pose. The crying bit is distasteful and i hope they remove that. Otherwise she could be one of my main in T7.

 

[lupinko]

The worst thing about her character is her win pose. The crying bit is distasteful and i hope they remove that. Otherwise she could be one of my main in T7.

Yes, she should break out into song instead.

And again for her appearance, easiest explanation is she's mestiza.

And she does Eskrima and Kickboxing.

It's not even Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) either.

 

[Phocks]

Josie looks nice. I wish this was a black guy named "Martin Luther King" instead though, a response to a character like that would be hilarious.

 

[show me your skeleton]

well, it is a really shoddy design.

 

[Creaking]

well, it is a really shoddy design.

That's what I've been thinking. Anything to improve that generic pile of design slop.

 

[titiklabingapat]

lolwat, we don't revere him that much here, he's just a "hero"

trust me, only idiots make a big deal about this issue here

The main park in the country is named in his honor, the day he died is a national holiday and has a whole province named after him. He is more than 'just a hero.'

 

[jerry1594]

She looks vaguely filipina. Is it just me or do they have an aversion to making characters look asian in Japan?

 

[Creaking]

She looks vaguely filipina. Is it just me or do they have an aversion to making characters look asian in Japan?

Ever since Tekken Revolution, they've been modeling the female faces to be softer and have larger eyes. Incidentally this also tends to make them look less distinct, especially from one another.

 

[spiritfox]

I think it's safe to say the whole of south east Asia is about the same, they're all pretty corrupt

Please keep Singapore out of your broad strokes.

 

[jerry1594]

Ever since Tekken Revolution, they've been modeling the female faces to be softer and have larger eyes. Incidentally this also tends to make them look less distinct, especially from one another.

Huh. I guess market research is pointing them that way. Sucks nonetheless

 

[Boss Doggie]

The main park in the country is named in his honor, the day he died is a national holiday and has a whole province named after him. He is more than 'just a hero.'

Yeah but it's no more different than having a county named after someone. Also said park is being ruined by a condomenium the mayor of the city even proposed on building... so yeah.

 

[omg_mjd]

The main park in the country is named in his honor, the day he died is a national holiday and has a whole province named after him. He is more than 'just a hero.'

I think you're overstating it a bit.

If people mention Rizal's name at all in conversation it's probably to say "noong panahon ni Rizal...." which is like saying "during the time of the Spaniards...". In other words, it's to reference the abstract, distant past. Unlike MLK who stood for issues that are still very much a part of contemporary life in America, Rizal's main beef was against Spanish friars and their abuses against native Filipinos. Not exactly stuff that carries over today (except in a symbolic, allegorical sense) so the idea of Rizal-worship is really an academic construct kept afloat by history lessons and a mandatory college subject on his life.

But in the real world to be a "Rizalista" (i.e. to see Rizal as more than a historical figure) is literally to be a member of a tiny cult.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Not to mention in actual studies Rizal is more of a "let the Filipinos be accepted as Spanish" than freedom.

 

[addik]

LOL at this talk of Rizal in GamingGAF.

But yes, I agree that he isn't really revered as much in the country. The educational system teaches you to do so, but even within the academe, I have heard of debates on whether Rizal is truly worthy of being a national hero, for many reasons (from his alleged11th hour allegiance to Chistianity to save his skin, to his supposed "elitista" mind frame as an illustrado).

That said, I do want to shout out my appreciation to MarkMan. Aside from the design, I do like this initiative, and I actually found the Jose Rizal homage to be pretty neat.

 

[Pachimari]

I have to agree it must be the old guard who have something against the name. Nobody from my family or anyone I know take offense toward the character or name.

 

[dofry]

After reading about who the guy was, I'd say choosing him is kinda weird for Tekken even though the Tekken character itself is just tipping the hat towards Philippines and no real relation to Dr. Rizal. Name only.

I would have definitely chosen some other famous character that would at least fit the narrative. Or made a totally fake one.

Skimpy outfit is the best and should stay that way, but it doesn't suit Rizal theme. And Philippines is too religious, so outrage is understandable.

Change the name, problem solved.

 

[omg_mjd]

Just name her "Andrea Bonifacio" in tribute to the true badass revolutionist of the Spanish Colonial era.

EDIT: But seriously, they should just keep the name if they want to. Don't give the petty naysayers any satisfaction.

 

[Dazza]

Is it just me or do they have an aversion to making characters look asian in Japan?

Honestly I don't get this comment at all, she looks Asian to me, as does every Tekken Asian character. If anything it's the characters of other racial identities that seem to take on some Asian characteristics, at least in Tekken. It's almost like the "why aren't anime characters asian?" thing that gets thrown around often

 

[antisoulless]

Whats the big deal?

 

[Boss Doggie]

To be fair though Rizal isn't Asian looking as he is a "mestizo".