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Manga artist Ogawa’s controversy over character skin color: discussion on artistic style and discrimination
Renowned Japanese manga artist Ogawa Akira, known for his work “POP TEAM EPIC”, has recently been embroiled in an online controversy due to a fan illustration of the character Iida from “Splatoon”.
The cause of the incident was that some netizens believed that when he was drawing the dark skinned character Iida, his skin color was lighter than the original, so they accused him of “bleaching” the character’s skin color and even criticized him for discriminating against black people.
Event sequence
Ogawa Akira shared a fan illustration of Iida in his self drawn “Splatoon” on the X platform.
Iida is one of the popular characters in the “Splatoon” series, with deep skin and being one of the representative figures.
However, in the illustrations drawn by Ogawa Akira, Iida’s skin tone appears lighter than in the original work, which has caused dissatisfaction among some European and American netizens.
These netizens believe that Ogawa Akira can perfectly replicate the colors of the original work by using the “dropper tool” of drawing software, but chose a lighter skin tone, which is interpreted as a “bleaching” behavior and even accused of racial discrimination.
Why did you bleach her skin color? There’s clearly a dropper tool that can be used
Some netizens also “corrected” the skin tone of this illustration, changing Iida’s skin color to a darker shade that is closer to the original work.
Ohkawa bouldering
Faced with these accusations, Ogawa Akira issued an apology statement, explaining her intentions when creating this illustration. He stated that he had no intention of discrimination, and the reason why he did not draw the accurate skin color in the original work was entirely due to his inadequate coloring skills. He also stated that if Iida were a human character, her skin color should indeed be classified as black, but due to technical reasons, he was unable to present the correct skin color.
Collision of Different Perspectives
This incident sparked intense discussions with different opinions. Some netizens believe that fan illustrations are a form of artistic creation, where painters can freely express themselves according to their own style and understanding, without having to completely follow the original setting. Moreover, subtle changes in skin color do not represent discrimination in artistic creation, and excessive interpretation is actually detrimental to artistic freedom.
Ogawa often shares fan illustrations of various anime and games
Another group of netizens insist that, especially when it comes to dark skinned characters, adhering to the original color setting is a sign of respect for the character, culture, and group. In the context of multiculturalism such as Europe and America, skin color issues are often given deeper social and political significance, so they believe that Ogawa Akira should be more cautious when dealing with dark skinned characters.
Balance between artistic freedom and cultural sensitivity
This controversy reflects the complex relationship between artistic creation and cultural sensitivity. In the era of multiculturalism, especially when it comes to issues of race and skin color, artists need to find a balance between freedom of expression and cultural respect. Fan fiction is essentially a form of personal expression, however, when such works are publicly shared, how to respond to sensitive topics from different cultural backgrounds has become an important issue that creators need to face.
Ogawa’s apology demonstrates his open attitude towards criticism, but this debate also reminds us that artistic creation may face different cultural understandings and standards in its global dissemination, and these factors should be taken into account when creating.