Culture Assassin's Creed Shadows Is Already Being Called "Woke" And "Disrespectful" - Assassin's Creed Shadows' two protagonists are getting the abuse we all sadly expected.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is already being labeled as "woke" and "disrespectful" following its announcement trailer, primarily due to main characters Naoe and Yasuke, the latter of whom is historically considered Japan's first black samurai.

Ubisoft has finally lifted the lid on the next mainline Assassin's Creed, revealing that Assassin's Creed Shadows will be available on November 15 later this year. While we didn't get any gameplay, we did get a lengthy cinematic trailer going into the backstories of the game's two main protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. Naoe appears to be a Shinboi from the Japanese provinces, while Yasuke is considered to be Japan's first black samurai, and came into contact with several prominent figures in Japanese history.

That means Assassin's Creed Shadows will center around a woman and a black man, and some people on social media have reacted with exactly the kind of behavior we have come to expect nowadays whenever a protagonist isn't a straight white man. In the replies of Ubisoft's announcement tweet, you don't have to look very hard for people decrying the game as "woke" and "disrespectful", with a sprinkling of DEI in there for good measure.

Assassin's Creed Shadows' Yasuke Is Somehow "Disrespectful" To Japan​

Most of the vitriol revolves around Yasuke, with some people taking issue with the fact that they're being made to play as a black man in a Feudal Japan setting, despite the character being a key figure in Japanese history. Some claim that it's inappropriate for Ubisoft to have someone who isn't native to the country as one of the main characters, though I don't think these same people take issue with the fact that the incredibly Welsh Edward Kenway was sailing around the Carribean in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag.

You've also got some stating that Yasuke wasn't actually a samurai, but was a retainer to Oda Nobunaga, and that this somehow "disrespects" Japanese culture. However, people are already pointing out Yasuke was Nobunaga's Kosho, which is essentially the bodyguard or personal servant of a general or lord and is considered a samurai in Japanese history. Just because Yasuke didn't belong to a Samurai clan, it doesn't mean he wasn't one.

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[TheArtilleryman]

I can't wait to read all the based Japanese takes with hilariously bad auto translations

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

I can't wait to read all the based Japanese takes with hilariously bad auto translations

Niche Gamer: Assassin’s Creed Shadows sparks Wikipedia edit war over Yasuke

https://archive.ph/nxKf6

The Wikipedia page for Yasuke has been the subject of an edit war after Assassin’s Creed Shadows released their first look at Yasuke as one of the game’s protagonists.

Yasuke is a historical figure claimed to be the first “black samurai”. The Wikipedia page as it reads now, paints a more ambiguous picture as records of Yasuke appear to be few and far between (the article even says he was “likely” of African origin). However the real excitement is happening in the Talk page for the article.

Users are currently having a back and forth about a particular line which clarifies Yasuke’s alleged status as a “samurai” rather than a “retainer”. The line currently reads.

“It is important to note that despite popular myth and modern depictions there are no historical writings nor evidence that Yasuke was ever granted the rank or title of samurai, he was never given a fief nor referred to as one in any writings. Most of our knowledge of his life comes from these messages written by missionaries and locals.”

The line comes with these two linked sources 1,2.

Users who disagree with this addition feel it’s “racist backlash” to Yasuke’s role in Assassin’s Creed Shadows meanwhile editors who support the addition claim it’s needed to prevent the spread of misinformation. Wikipedia editor “Ezio’s Assassin” explains:

“I support the idea that Wikipedia needs to make it clear on the article that there’s no evidence that Yasuke was granted the rank of samurai. Many random articles on the internet keep calling him a samurai (probably the effect of him being falsely portrayed as such in modern media). And now many people use those articles as a source to back their claim for political reasons. If that misinformation keeps spreading, it will become a fact eventually. If just one reliable source starts calling Yasuke a samurai, people will use that as a source to edit it on Wikipedia.”

Meanwhile on more public forums of discourse, Twitter users are posting screenshots of Japanese users questioning the choice and pointing out the potential racism of a foreigner slaughtering Japanese in their country.

Let's see how well-received the latest stunning and brave Assassin's Creed Shadows is in Japan. I'm sure things are going to be fin… omg pic.twitter.com/bJVZziuKxw
— LearningTheLaw (@Mangalawyer) May 15, 2024

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is expected to release on November 15 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

 

[Weebburner]

hoh wow another assasin's slop from ubishit. Havent touched another one of these since the Ezio series. The game has not evolved or been interesting since. The gameplay is shit, spam parry&counter, run up a tower, shit stealth, shit story, and now even more woke shit where people have to force this black samurai shit. This will do poorly in the east based on that alone.

 

[Cardef1121]

Now this is "cultural appropriation". I've seen people compare yasuke and this Asscreed to William and games based on him. The difference being William Adams and the vast majority of the games to feature him have been made in Japan whereas this yasuke fellow is a woke amalgamation created as a propaganda tool. You can easily see it from how inorganic the search results are on Google. Beyond that, in Japan, William is accepted as part of Japan's history whereas you ask about yasuke and it's 'yasuke who?'.

Regardless it's being released under Ubisoft's AAAA release strategy of trying to normalize 130$ game prices, while releasing woke buggy garbage, so nobody is going to buy it. Even me, as one of the freaks that likes what I call 'map simulators'-- which Ubisoft invented and was best at.

 

[Meat Target]

Good. Abuse these malignant fucksticks more. Abuse them until they are reduced to sniveling and fawning at your feet. Shitlibs are on the wrong side if they're defending multi-billion-dollar corporations.

 

[Osama Bin Laden]

the samauri is gonna hold the sword sideways

 

[not william stenchever]

Assassins Creed Black Flag also had main cast black character with Jackdaw quartermaster Adéwalé.

It's been a while but I remember Adewale being a bro who didn't try to make bitching about slavery a thing, he was just happy to be on the crew.

 

[Racist Trash]

I can't believe they called it shadows just because a black guy is in it, how racist.

 

[Sithis]

It's been a while but I remember Adewale being a bro who didn't try to make bitching about slavery a thing, he was just happy to be on the crew.

He stopped working on the Jackdaw and took up with the Assassins because Edward didn't listen to his bitching about slavery and then led the templars to the assassin den, it was one of the major turning points in the game because Edward was on a downward spiral and getting drunk on power.

But still, it fit to have it there, because the character literally escapes slavery with your character, so it's understandable why there'd be a dialogue about Caribbean slave owners and sugar plantations in there.

Feudal Japan though? Nah.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

This journoscums argument about AC4 makes no fucking sense, considering most pirates were Europeans or colonists. Does this retard think that its an own because Edward wasn't a Native Caribbean? If so, that game would have sucked because they were all dead by 1715. And being a Welshman would be more fun anyway. Silly accents we can understand, and he was the last protagonist I can remember liking from AC, other than Shay from Rogue.

Even worse, pointing out Kenway being a foreigner is accidentally bringing attention to a candidate very, very similar to Edward that was actually real, and would have a better claim to being a samurai and being more historically relevant than Yasuke. Hell, we actually know his name: William Adams.

View attachment 5992445

More information on him, more important to Japanese history, small contribution as it was, and more remembered in Japan. But having a white English protagonist is a no-no, and Nioh already used him and was more fun than any AC game since Rogue, so too bad. Also, didn't Yasuke get sent back into slavery when Nobunga got gutted? If so, Jesus Ubisoft, how are you going to tie that loose end?

Tecmo beat them to it. He’s the protagonist to Nioh. Ghost of Tsushima also beat them to the AC Japan bit.

 

[Mr. Zed da Robot Poon Fed]

This all reeks of obsession and desperatism. We've already have an anime, manga, TV shows, video game appearances and some films in production based on this dude, like that's all black people can produce. We've seen this figure so many times already in this century along, it's already tiresome.

You're taking this anomaly in Japanese history and stretching out so far throughout all of feudal Japan.

He's not even a samurai; he was at most a lapdog for Nobunaga Oda. Funny that they call folks "sellouts", but foam at the mouths at the presence of Yasuke.

 

[Cpt. Stud Beefpile]

Oh boy, I can't wait for sub-par stealth, and to CLIMB TOWERS to unlock more of the map. No thanks Ubisoftcock, I was tired of your shitty gameplay loop back in 2013. These niggers have been copy-pasting open world dieversity fests since 2008 right? Coming up on 20 years of this trash.

IKR?! Ass Effect is less repetitive than this shit!

 

[The Last Stand]

The difference being William Adams and the vast majority of the games to feature him have been made in Japan whereas this yasuke fellow is a woke amalgamation created as a propaganda tool. You can easily see it from how inorganic the search results are on Google. Beyond that, in Japan, William is accepted as part of Japan's history whereas you ask about yasuke and it's 'yasuke who?'.

I thought Yasuke was a made up character that Ubisoft invented for Assassin's Creed. How down bad does your historical research have to be to where Wikipedia editors are revising themselves for some obscure figure in history? If that's not erasing history for profit, I don't know what is. All of this could've been avoided if they merely said inspired by real life events.

 

[RA-5C Vigilante]

Wikipedia editor “Ezio’s Assassin” explains

Props to a Wikipedo not being a week-kneed bitch. With a user name like that, you can tell he was watching that trailer and was gearing up for a lot of edit wars.

Oh and cause no one else will say that: this shitstorm is going to be the only interesting thing about this game.

 

[Catch The Rainbow]

Reading the wiki page is hilarious:

Luís Fróis's Annual Report on Japan states that Nobunaga also longed to see a black man, and summoned him, and Fr. Organtino took him to him and that Nobunaga, seeing a black man for the first time, refused to believe that his skin colour was natural and not applied later, and made him remove his clothes from the belt upwards. Valignano describes how Nobunaga, thinking that he might have ink on his body, made him take off his clothes and wash his body, but the more he washed and scrubbed, the darker his skin became.

Fróis wrote in the annual report of the Jesuits:

The black man understood a little Japanese, and Nobunaga never tired of talking with him. And because he was strong and could do a few tricks, Nobunaga took great pleasure in protecting him and had him roam around the city of Kyoto with an attendant. Some people in the town thought that Nobunaga might make him as tono ("lord").

Luís Fróis's Annual Report on Japan contains the following statements:

A black man whom the visitor [Valignano] sent to Nobunaga went to the house of Nobunaga's son after his death and was fighting for quite a long time, when a vassal of Akechi approached him and said, 'Do not be afraid, give me that sword', so he gave him the sword. The vassal asked Akechi what should be done with the black man, and he said, 'A black slave is an animal (bestial) and knows nothing, nor is he Japanese, so do not kill him, and place him in the custody at the cathedral of Padre in India.[3][18]

There are no historical documents to show the true meaning of Mitsuhide's statement, and it is not known whether it was a sign of his discriminatory mindset or an expedient to save Yasuke's life.

This shit is amazing, they took some warlords pet nigger and made him into a WE WUZ character

 

[The Dude]

What's the first microtransaction going to be? 50000 Ubi-Gold or whatever for a cosmetic pack so you can play as an actual Japanese Samurai instead of Weeaboo Nigger?

 

[Cardef1121]

Samurai never were for Japanese people.

Off-topic but in a shocking turn of events, Temco actually released a good PC port. So if all this talk of Samurai has got you in the mood, and you like musou games, Samurai Warriors 4 DX came out today on PC and is the best version of that game with all DLC.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

hoh wow another assasin's slop from ubishit. Havent touched another one of these since the Ezio series. The game has not evolved or been interesting since.

It evolved... into a historical fiction action RPG with microtransactions. I have not played those, so I can't say if they are good.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

People asked for a Japan AC game for damn near 10 years, and Ubisoft didn't start working on it until Ghosts of Tsushima came out and basically made it pointless.

Not only that, but they leaked this shit about the Afro Samurai like two years ago at least, and absolutely everyone I saw who read about it thought it was awful.

Does modern entertainment do any sort of market research? focus group testing? All I have consistently seen since at least 2020, but probably even before, are films and video games that not only does nobody actually want, but they actively say do not fucking make. It's like film and video games want their industry to crash or something.

Either that, or they honestly forget that they pay for these bots and shills on social media and that they don't actually spend money.

 

[SiccDicc]

Does modern entertainment do any sort of market research? focus group testing?

Yes, but they ignore it anyways for progressive investments and social credit loans.

It's honestly why the Disney shareholders have a really good case of neglecting fiduciary duty.