Mamoru Oshii Takes A Swipe At Political Correctness, Sort Of

In a new interview with writer-director Mamoru Oshii, he seemingly has a go at the current spate of excessive political correctness, but it’s not that straightforward.

Specifically, Oshii has done a new interview over on the Japanese site Pia. The initial responses in the interview are pretty tame, but these aren’t what have caught the eye of Western press outlets.

No, it seems that some of Oshii’s other answers in the interview, which have been archived on X, have a more direct tone towards modern political correctness.

The catch? These answers can only be read via the Pia app, and only if you’re in Japan.

This is not to say the screenshots are wrong, but they could be taken out of context.

I only mention this, because back when the Dragon Quest III remaster was released, both Yuji Horii and Kazuhiko Torishima kicked off at all the bizarre changes inflicted on the game due to Western beliefs.

However, they both quickly retracted these statements, pulled down the video, and claimed they were mistranslated and taken out of context.

The same thing could be happening here, and the fact that Oshii’s spicier takes are behind a Japan-only paywall does give the general impression that they’re not intended for international consumption.

Having interviewed Oshii myself, he is indeed outspoken and also plays Western games like Fallout. So, if these quotes are real, then they make sense considering that he does consume current Western media and is open about his opinions.

That said, the fact these comments aren’t in full public view means he doesn’t want to cause a fuss, which is sadly what is happening already.

Personally, I agree that political correctness has gone too far and, in the case of games, is actively undermining the quality of some releases.

But I don’t think people like Oshii, or even Horii and Torishima, can make a difference in this debate.

In the case of Horii and Torishima, they created one of Japan’s most beloved gaming franchises, and they still backpedalled massively once their complaints went international.

The fact that Oshii has said these things behind a paywall is no accident, as it’s clear no one wants to get involved in this.

I get the frustration of fans, though, as they clearly just want to play games without some agenda shoved in their face. But there will be no Japanese cavalry on this topic; it’s clear no one wants the hassle.

Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.