Now I know when it comes to fancasts for series like Naruto and Dragonball race is a controversial issue. But what people don't seem to understand is that most of these characters aren't drawn to look white. Japan is a pretty homogeneous country, and it would be boring to draw a comic where EVERYONE looked the same. So even in manga that's blatantly set in Japan you see Japanese characters with characteristics like blonde hair and blue eyes. Take Bleach for example, Ichigo is obviously Japanese but his hair is orange.Also the whole eye thing that people would bring up in arguments, think about it, all the protaganists have wide eyes, while the villains seem more small and narrow.It's just a way for artists to distinguish characters NOT an indicator of race.
One can also make the argument that Naruto does not live in Japan, so he can't be Japanese. But let's be honest the world he lives in is basically a fantasy version of Japan.
Which brings me to the case of casting caucasian actors in roles that are obviously meant for ethnic actors.Take the upcoming adaption of "The Weapon" for example. The main character is named Tommy Zhou, he is a Chinese-American, but then they cast David Henrie...he's Italian-American. Another example is the adaption of the novel All you need is kill, which is written by a Japanese author and stars a Japanese man as the protagonist. BUT you have the director, an American, who says he's only going to cast American actors, not even Japanese-American. And then there's the issue of when actors of foreign descent are not even given a chance. Casting for the last airbender called for actors of Caucasian descent, with all other actors as a side note. Movies like Avatar, Dragonball, and The Forbidden Kingdom are great for the average movie goer, all the asian culture they love with no actual Asian people. That being said I think Japan should only handle anime/manga adaptions. But in the case of Avatar I say give the reins to John Woo, imagine how epic that would be. So with that off my chest onto the fancast...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Konohagakure:
Naruto Uzumaki-Shu Watanabe
Why: I loved Shu's character in Kamen Rider OOO, he showed he can play goofy and light hearted one minute, but the next he could be completely serious. He pulled that off flawlessly on OOOs why not Naruto?.
Sasuke Uchiha-Tori Matsuzaka
Why: Tori Can play an arrogant prick that's a fact, but he can also make that prick more sympathetic to the audience.
Sakura Haruno-Erika Toda
Why:She's gorgeous but the girl can also act, very well at that. She's been in three anime adaptions already, and though I am not a big fan of death note I am of liar game and she was great in that.
Kakashi Hatake-Joe Odagiri
Why: Joe exudes suave coolness, by just looking at him you can tell his laid back, but when the situation calls for it he can be pretty darn terrifying. Scrap Heaven and Shinobi are still some of my favorite films because of him.
Sai-Haruma Miura
Why: I found his character in Crows Zero II to be quite emotionless and it seemed like he had an agenda, very similar to Sai in my opinion.
Hiruzen Sarutobi-Takeshi Kitano
Why: People who are not familiar with Japanese culture may recognize him from the tv show MXC. But to those who are in the know he is a phenomenal actor, director, comedian, basically a man of many talents.He can play a terrifying, evil character one minute and then the next minute he'll be playing the wise mentor type character.
Asuma Sarutobi-Asano Tadanobu
Why: He has the looks,acting skills, and the charisma to pull it off, what more can a fan ask for?.
Shikamaru Nara-Shota Matsuda
Why: I have so many fond memories of Liar Game, and the way I see it he did justice to that series and another, maybe he can go for three good manga adaptions with Naruto.
Hinata Hyuga-Yui Aragaki
Why: The first time I saw her in anything was the show Dragon Zakura, and she was great for such a young actress. She also looks so innocent, which is perfect for Hinata.
Neji Hyuga-Yuya Matsushita
Why: The boy can act, he may be a singer but like alot of Japanese actors he has other talents.
Ino Yamanaka-Nozomi Sasaki
Why: She's only played minor roles and is more famous for modeling, but in my opinion Ino is not a central character so having a newer actress would be good for the role.
With such a huge cast of characters it's almost impossible to cast them all. Being realistic I will post the rest of the central cast and other misc characters in my next post :D .