Twitter artist @IronicnotSavage has become a trend after sharing an illustration in which he reimagined Hitori “Bocchi” Gotou, the protagonist of the popular anime series “Bocchi the Rock!”, as a dark-skinned character. The illustration unleashed a strong wave of critical comments, mainly focused on the phenomenon known as “blackwashing,” a trend in which fictional characters, generally light-skinned, are reinterpreted as people of color. These types of actions have sparked heated debates online, particularly about representation and identity in fiction.

Bocchi the Rock!
©Twitter

“Blackwashing” has been a sensitive topic within certain communities, who feel that it is a forced appropriation of characters where there is no representation of people of color originally. This has generated both criticism and support in various areas. In the case of Bocchi's reimagining, the majority of comments were negative, accusing the artist of having intentionally distorted the image of a character beloved by many.

One of the most viral comments reflected the frustration of the community: “Bocchi, but instead of working to meet the band's dues, he uses welfare money and steals other people's things.“. Other messages followed the same critical line: “This is absolutely rubbish“, and “Why did you make her ugly too?“. One user even went further saying: “Eliminate this and reevaluate your life. How dare you use art to force ugliness into the world?“.

Among the comments that directly attack the artist's work, there were some quite direct ones: “Bocchi the thief“, “Daily reminder that this is why gatekeeping exists“, and “If you didn't have pronouns in your bio, I could appreciate this as a work of art. But seeing as you have them, I'm disgusted by your opinion disguised as art.“. Even debates about racial representation in the art of the series gained strength: “Please stop blackwashing, racism is unhealthy“, and “You know you don't need to make her ugly just because she's black, right?“.

On the other hand, some comments defended the artist's right to experiment with his interpretation, although they also expressed their doubts: “I'm not a fan of race changes, but if you like doing it, go ahead with it. If you enjoy it, the rest is just opinions. Keep making good art“.

An interesting point was the comparison that arose with “Brazil Miku”, a viral phenomenon in which Hatsune Miku was reimagined with Afro-Brazilian features and which, curiously, was well received by the community. One user questioned: “Why does everyone hate when they make a black character, but everyone loved Brazil Miku?“. This led to debates about why certain characters are better accepted when reinterpreted with characteristics from other cultures.

Japanese reactions

In Japan, the reception was somewhat different. Some comments reflected surprise at the negative reaction, with one mentioning: “I don't understand why everyone is praising Brazil Miku, isn't that the same?“. Others focused on more aesthetic aspects, commenting that the character design seemed to have lost the essence of Bocchi: “It doesn't have any of the Bocchi element, it just looks like a cosplay of a person of color“. In addition, some users pointed out that the skin change was not enough to give life to the character, arguing that the reinterpretation seemed more like an original character than an adaptation of Bocchi.

Another interesting comment highlighted the following: “If he didn't have the pink jacket, he would be a completely original character“. And some wondered: “Why not just create an original character?“. Despite the criticism, there were voices that defended artistic freedom, as reflected in the comment: “Isn't this just fanart? It's freedom of expression“. However, the debate over the lack of “authenticity” continued: “It's not cute, but it does have some style“.

Fountain: Yaraon!

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