Controversy hounds Pinay character in ‘Tekken 7’

A character named Josie Rizal, who specializes in eskrima and kickboxing, is joining the popular arcade game “Tekken 7.”

Namco Bandai Producer Katsuhiro Harada confirmed in a Twitter post that the character was named after Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal.

Josie Rizal (Screengrab photo)

“Yeah Of course I knew it,” said Harada in response to a netizen who asked, “Josie Rizal, is that true Mr. Harada?! Hahaha you took the name of national hero Jose Rizal.”

While Harada claimed that their company already received “tons of positive feedback about her (Josie Rizal)” since the unveiling, the character is not without some critics.

According to a report on GMA News, an official of the National Council for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is planning to take action to “correct” any wrong impression Josie Rizal might have given the Philippine hero.

Dr. Leodenito Cañete, Visayas coordinator of the NCCA’s Bayaning Bayan program, noted how the Tekken character wears sports skimpy wear, with the costume bearing the colors of the Philippine flag.

Without elaborating on the matter, he said, “Mahirap natin mapigilan ang ibang bansa na gumawa ng ganoong character kasi ang Pilipinas, sikat na sikat sa mundo.”

On Twitter, one netizen asked, “Seryoso? New Tekken 7 character si Josie Rizal? Di ba binabastos nun si Jose Rizal?”

Another asked Harada to “please change the name” of Josie Rizal, to which the producer replied, “No… You are a minority.”

Tekken’s YouTube channel has released a demo video of Josie Rizal showing her moves but no announcement has been made as of this writing on when the character will make her debut in “Tekken 7.”

Controversy hounds Pinay character in ‘Tekken 7’

Source: Mb.com.ph (April 01, 2015 at 06:04PM)

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