Omigod I wasn't thinking about colour or ethnicity. Why is that the first thing that springs to your mind when someone uses the word 'appearance'? I was thinking about attractiveness. There's no actual need, for example, for the actors who voice Tifa or Aerith to be as beautiful as Tifa or Aerith. What they need is the right voice. Maybe that's where SE has been going wrong?
Moreover, any of these characters could have been voiced by black actors. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Sephiroth... Don't tell me there aren't non-Caucasian actors out there who would have done a great job.I agree that characters of colour shouldn't be voiced by white actors, but that's because black actors already don't get enough opportunities for work. I also think that principle should change once we have complete equality of opportunity in acting, if that day ever comes.
Barret raises so many issues. Why does he have to be voiced by an American? Why not a Jamaican? Or a Londoner? Or a Kenyan? Just out of interest, who does Barret's VA in Japanese?