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Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: A character's skintone does not matter if it isn't an integral part of that character's backstory.

There has recently been some controversy regarding a new character called Nessa in the new Pokemon game.

A Japanese artist was given backlash by western fans for "whitewashing" the character in their fanart. You can google it easily, currently on mobile so can't link easily. 

Now, my problem with this entire ordeal is that, other than the obvious outrage culture that's being paraded around in action, is that I don't think it really matters what Nessa's skin color is.

At least, for the moment.

From my perspective, an artist should be free to draw characters in whatever way they see fit. Of course, people are free to backlash against them, but it doesn't make it any less dumb.

Why is it that making light skin characters dark (not just tan, dark) or for western cosplayers to play usually Asian characters is okay, but this is considered racism regardless of context? If the artist did not have any intentions, apparent or otherwise, of downplaying a race for the color of their skin, it shouldn't really matter.

Take for example, a black man cosplaying as Spike from Cowboy Bebop. This is fine, in my opinion, because Spike's skin color is not an integral part to his character. Spike's background nor story does not rely on him being Caucasian, black or Asian. For Nessa, all we know is that she is a dark skinned Asian lady. I'm happy with her design and it's good to see Pokemon, a series which rarely has any dark skinned characters, show some representation and diversity.

I mean, even WHEN there is cultural significance, they are STILL fictional characters. A lot of very pale Asians love Black Panther and cosplay as him because they love his heroism and fins him cool. 

However, I don't think fans should be hounded if they make art of her that depicts her lighter. Frankly, the vibe I get from those who are hating on the different shade of dark is that it's "not ethnic enough" for them, which is a lot worse. Nessa's character seems to be someone who spends all their time at the beach, so it's more important to reflect that. I have some hangups about artists making her straight up white out of spite, but for the most part, it's just an artistic choice. Most of the fanart is still pretty faithful to the character's revealed personality, that being a water trainer. 


I know I might have some gaps in my knowledge here, so I want to hear other views.
gpt
Cosplaying isn't the same as artistic representation though. Cosplaying is humans, with unchangable features, dressing up like characters. Artists who draw things can decide exactly what shade to draw something. In this case, a Japanese artist who recreated a previous work of art that wasn't theirs made a character different in a way that wasn't theirs to really do. Let's not paint both artists as being equal.