With the box art for the upcoming Princess Peach: Showtime! being changed not only in the west but also Japan, Japanese Internet users were quick to share their opinions on Peach’s new look.
The old box art (top) compared with the new box art (bottom), for those unfamiliar:
Many were quick to acknowledge that Peach’s face has been “westernized” and given a more realistic appearance, as opposed to the more feminine look she had before.
It is clear this change was likely done to make Peach look more like her design from the Super Mario Bros. movie, and purposefully give the film more attention.
Here’s some of the remarks from Japanese Internet denizens negatively criticizing Peach’s new look, though others were also appreciative of it:
“Disney flavor.”
“The Kung Fu one is better after the change, but the center one’s shading is too strong.”
“The character design looks like it was made by shitty gaijin.”
“It changed from a psychopath’s face to a villain’s face.”
“Pixar, perhaps?”
“Yes, political correctness.”
“If political correctness arrives, you’ll be turned into a strong woman.”
“Smug-faced kung-fu Peach I really love.”
“It’s sort of become old woman-ish lol.”
“Beautiful.”
“It’s like a cockroach’s face to an extent <3”
“Blonde hair, thin eyebrows, Goth Lolita fashion. She’d be a painfully ugly woman if she existed.”
“She looks like a fake Peach.”
“The texture of the mouth is disgusting.”
“Strong-willed guys seem to be an object of admiration, but in actuality they are hated.”
“It’s a burden that it won’t sell overseas unless the art gives off an impression of strength. It seems we don’t have the flexibility of separating it from Asia like in the past.”
“The aim is to display her as a strong woman and appeal to political correctness, right?”
“Thank you, politically correct Nintendo.”
“Princess Peach probably has a philanthropic position, right? There is no demand for something like a sinister Princess Peach.”
“Has Peach also entered the Aloy highway by way of political correctness?”
“It’s not a considerable change. It would have been funny if it was the case of like ‘Peach was suddenly changed to be a black person’.”
