Shout out to my fellow nerds, because we've done it. Fullmetal Alchemist, a manga and anime by author Hiromu Arakawa, is getting its own live-action movie.

For those who don't know what Fullmetal Alchemist is, it's more of a fantasy book/show that's based in another timeline and universe. Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers, practice alchemy. When they were children, they attempted a huge taboo in alchemy which failed and resulted in the loss of Alphonse's body and Edward's right arm and left leg. The series follow them both as they journey to get their bodies back, with many trials along the way. Of course, this isn't the entire premise, but the gist of it.

The franchise, which is well known among fans of both manga and anime (which is the animated version of manga) has two different versions and two full-length animated films, as well as light novels, video games, and now, a live-action film. The live-action follows in the veins of other anime-to-live-action films such as Rurouni Kenshin, which is about a samurai who fought during the Meiji era; Attack on Titan, which is about a group of soldiers defending their home against man-eating giants called titans (for lack of a better description) and Ghost in the Shell, which is becoming a movie with Scarlett Johansson as the main character.

Of course, there would be controversy surrounding this. There has already been controversy with Johansson's role as the main character in Ghost in the Shell, which is set in a futuristic Japan. Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks, who are working together to bring this iconic film to life, used Scarlett Johansson, a Caucasian woman, to portray a Japanese woman. The publisher of the work is fine with this, saying that Johansson is "well cast" and that she has the "cyber punk feel."

Rurouni Kenshin, though not as popular and well-known as Ghost in the Shell, wasn't produced by American producers and still did pretty well, from what I've seen. The movie was popular enough to have a sequel, with a third movie in the works with English subtitles for fans that didn't speak Japanese. The cast for the former movie included an all-Japanese cast and included little to no whitewashing.

For Fullmetal Alchemist, it seems that the controversy was avoided, which was like a breath of relief for fans. Though the series includes many European-like characters, both the anime and the manga include many Japanese mannerisms. If the casting was another way around and Americans were producing the movie with white characters, there would be another outcry.

Hollywood is known for whitewashing its characters. This includes Emma Stone's character in the movie Aloha, in which she play a half-white, half-Japanese woman; Johnny Depp as the Native American character Tonto in The Lone Ranger remake; and spans back to when Warner Oland played Charlie Chan, a Chinese character back in the '30s.

Though it was avoided, the idea that this fan favorite could have been whitewashed is a subject that stays at the back of people's minds. Whitewashing erases the minority characters that have a voice, and and overlooks the minorities that are actually auditioning for the roles. The idea that a well-known star garners more attention and appeal than a lesser known star is true, but we shouldn't be judging movies by what star is in them. We should judge by what they bring to the table and if the characters are true to themselves.