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  • TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25 2007 6:30 PM

The 9 Worst Asian Characters of All Time



This is it, the bottom of the barrel. You won't find a more offensive batch of "orientals" than these right here.

This is not a bitter, angry list. I actually like some of these characters, though no one could argue the fact that they're terrible. I don't know why, (especially considering I was called one or more of these character names growing up) but, characters like these really do make me laugh. Not intentionally (obviously) but the fact that someone actually wrote them... with their brazen, completely un-PC traits...

Maybe 'cause at one time, they were all there was? I used to have a joke, in answer to another friend's complaints about the lack of black role models around, that all asians had was Bruce Lee... followed by Pat Morita from The Karate Kid ... and uh, after him was Pat Morita from "Happy Days"... Not exactly an all-star super hero team-up...

I draw a line betwen ignorance and racism and, well, ignorance is funny. Somebody not knowing how bad these guys were is fucking hilarious to me.


The 9 Worst Asian Characters of All Time


1) Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think this same kid was the "gadget" geek in Goonies.

He actually drives a pedicab/rickshaw in this movie, but his legs don't reach the pedals so he's got wooden blocks on his shoes. Ahh, I guess I know why they call you Short Round, Short Round. Coming up short in height, as well as dignity. What was it you said,"No time for love, Dr. Jones"? If only it was your tiny simian head Jones had torn into, rather than those frozen monkey brains.

2) Mickey Rooney as the upstairs neighbor from Breakfast at Tiffany's. He actually donned a pair of "asian-eye" specs for the role. What about broken English? Fear not, it's more broken than the hearts of every asian man who auditioned for that role. Although, my gut tells me that the number of asian auditioners was none.

Part of me really looks forward to the day Daniel Day Kim plays James Dean in a biopic with "round eye" glasses, white-face, and a slice of apple pie in his hand.

3) Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles. When a "gong" sound announces your arrival on the scene, the odds are fairly high that you're not a great asian character. Other not great signs are an intolerance to alcohol, a habit of getting kicked in the nuts, and your presence, naked, high in a tree on the morning of your white family's big important wedding. The "Donger need food!" indeed.

4) Trade Federation alien bad guys from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. The absolute worst. Asian-style clothes and a Death Star's worth of broken "Engrish." I'm surprised they weren't wearing rice hats, solving equations, and driving the wrong way down a one way street. Believe it or not, these guys aren't even one of the 3 most racist characters in the movie.

5) Takashi from Revenge of the Nerds. Why Takashi, you ask? Well, at one point he asks to eat some "robster craws." At another he's mixing a huge bin of dirty jock straps with a spoon when he exclaims "Ahh, is like salad."

When he answers no to the jock's question of whether he knows karate he gets a jock strap put on his head. Classic asian-stereotype mistake...

6) Kwai Chang Cane from "Kung Fu." Let's take an awesome show idea, fire the guy who developed it as a passion project, then get a white guy to star in it. Um, you know, a "squinty," one... Clint Eastwood or... David Carradine! Yeah, perfect.

Oh, who did we let go? Whose idea was it, the guy that we fired? Bruce Lee.

7) Wong, Dr. Strange's manservant. Doctor Strange, for those of you who grew up handome and playing sports, is the Sorceror Supreme of the Marvel Comics universe. Heck of an existence. Picking up the Doc's laundry, keeping the Mansion tidy... oh, and getting the shit beat out of him every time some supervillain decided to come a calling.

How hard would it be for Strange to teach him a few self-defense spells to fend off interlopers? Who knows, cause the Doc can't be bothered. Too busy gazing into his precious Eye of Agamotto, which as we all know, isn't slanty.

8) Any Jackie Chan character from an American film, including Jackie himself during any appearances on an American talk shows. Sorry kung fu fans, he's an asian "Uncle Tom."

Nodding, grinning ear to ear like a moron, and happy to kick and punch on cue, no different than a trained animal. At least the animals got treats, all Jackie got was a handshake and a poor showing at the box office. Blisswully unaware of the host's jokes flying up and over his head, sadly, they were the one oppenent too fast for him to block.

9) Tom Cruise from The Last Samurai. Remember that formula that worked so well for David Carradine? Let's do that again, only this time we won't even bother making the character asian. White guy in samurai armor and gear who, like, kills a bunch of asians and then teaches them to get along, or something.

But, he's the last samurai, okay? It's got to be him, no one else. If we have to we can make the asian guy the "last railroad worker"? Is that cool?


Honorable mention: The "Howard Cosell" asians from Better Off Dead, asian nail salon ladies from "Seinfeld," Rob Fukuzaki.



TheCoolerKing does not know karate but his dad does.

 

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Cigarette

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH
April 2004

SEP 25, 2007 08:23 PM

Nic Cage as Fu Manchu?
zoom image

10k

10k

San Antonio, TX
July 2002

SEP 25, 2007 08:23 PM

I know its already been pointed out, but I'm gonna say it anyways. Tom Cruise was not the samurai referred to in the title "The Last Samurai" And he wasn't supposed to be japanese tongue He played an american soldier who fought in the civil war and was then sent to japan to train japanese soldiers in western tactics. He was wounded in a battle and captured by Ken Watanabe's character. (Can't remember the name right now) While being held prisoner, he came to respect and admire the samurai way of life and code of honor. He was not the 'last samurai' and was never called a samurai in the whole movie. The movie managed to be not too bad despite having Tom Cruise as the lead. I know that the movie trailer did make it look as if Tom Cruise was the last samurai in question, but it still a good idea to actually watch the movie before criticizing it so roundly. Other than the bit about this movie, I really did like the rest of the article.

Tart

Tart

SUICIDEGIRL

New York, USA

SEP 25, 2007 08:26 PM

best asian character of all time is the dude in the Queens of the Stone Age video for Everybody knows that you're insane. i cant post it cause it's not on anywhere i can grab it because the guy is running around naked, flopping his dick around and exposing his butthole, but i can assure you, he's #1.

TheCoolerKing

TheCoolerKing

NEWSWIRE

Los Angeles, CA

SEP 25, 2007 08:37 PM

10k said:
I know its already been pointed out, but I'm gonna say it anyways. Tom Cruise was not the samurai referred to in the title "The Last Samurai" And he wasn't supposed to be japanese tongue He played an american soldier who fought in the civil war and was then sent to japan to train japanese soldiers in western tactics. He was wounded in a battle and captured by Ken Watanabe's character. (Can't remember the name right now) While being held prisoner, he came to respect and admire the samurai way of life and code of honor. He was not the 'last samurai' and was never called a samurai in the whole movie. The movie managed to be not too bad despite having Tom Cruise as the lead. I know that the movie trailer did make it look as if Tom Cruise was the last samurai in question, but it still a good idea to actually watch the movie before criticizing it so roundly. Other than the bit about this movie, I really did like the rest of the article.


Thanks... Actually, I've seen the movie twice (once while nursing a hangover). But I have a pretty shitty memory...

I mentioned in the article that the character wasn't Japanese. I don't hate the film, I listed the role because whether he's the last or not it was still preposterous to have him run in as the great white hero saving all the backwards asians. Other than that, I recall there being some cool shit in it.


disgrasian

disgrasian

I'm lost
September 2007

SEP 25, 2007 08:39 PM

Gedde Watanabe of Sixteen Candles fame in Ron Howard's Gung Ho.

His direct descendant Masi Oka on Heroes, who's learning how to be a Samurai from...another white dude!

The Harajuku Girls definitely, but more importantly, Gwen Stefani for enslaving them.

And I couldn't agree more about Jackie Chan...not an Uncle Tom but an Uncle Tam.

All my friend Diana and I talk about on our blog are disgraces to the races:

DISGRASIAN

Please check us out!

Cyanea

Cyanea

Seattle, WA
June 2006

SEP 25, 2007 08:41 PM

Dr_Lizardo

Dr_Lizardo

Indian Orchard, MA
February 2006

SEP 25, 2007 09:04 PM

I quite like Jackie Chan actually. He is a far more likeable action hero than someone like Steven Seagal, although that is perhaps an extreme contrast of likeability. The closest American to Jackie Chan's characters in terms of or personality and physical prowess would, I think, be Buster Keaton.

Skywisdom

Skywisdom

Portland, OR
December 2005

SEP 25, 2007 09:19 PM

Dr_Lizardo said:
I quite like Jackie Chan actually. He is a far more likeable action hero than someone like Steven Seagal, although that is perhaps an extreme contrast of likeability. The closest American to Jackie Chan's characters in terms of or personality and physical prowess would, I think, be Buster Keaton.



Yeah, I gotta say, I love Rumble in the Bronx.
Yeah, what about Christopher Lee as Fu Man Chu? That's pretty awful. Even with Christoper Lee being awesome.

abstractartsK

abstractartsK

East York, ON
September 2006

SEP 25, 2007 09:21 PM

not sure if anybody else said this cause Im too lazy to read 3 pages of responses but the word samurai is like Fish so the title of the movie is not about one character but about the end of Samurai as a people

I dont know why i feel the need to type this but I hate when people go on about that.

oh and Tom Cruise still sucks

_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

SEP 25, 2007 09:43 PM

I would just like to say that American-Born Chinese (the comic from which the header picture is taken) is fucking awesome.

CptofMySoul

CptofMySoul

Tucson, AZ
September 2007

SEP 25, 2007 10:13 PM

Boy "The Last Samurai" really sucked! The shoehorned connection made between the removal of the samurai class (fief lords) and the slaughter of native Americans was simply offensive.

In my opinion, a much more interesting and beautifully done movie about the same time period is Twilight Samurai. Of course, it is subtitled.

Drake

Drake

SUICIDEGIRL

I'm lost

SEP 25, 2007 10:14 PM

umanam

umanam

San Francisco, CA
October 2005

SEP 25, 2007 10:15 PM

meh. I liked Last Samurai. it was no Ghost Dog though, of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWJvDeeELG8
Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai

umanam

umanam

San Francisco, CA
October 2005

SEP 25, 2007 10:30 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPJTsIhMHqE
Ghost Dog (Bobby Digitial, you know)

jbmars

jbmars

Cedar Park, TX
August 2007

SEP 25, 2007 10:58 PM

The fact that David Carradine is awesome overrides your article, he's squinty, perhaps not so much... He still rocks... Remember Kill Bill?

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