'Cuz Christ Knows, Fandom is Srz Bsnusz
So now that Axis Powers Hetalia just got licensed in the US, you'd think that the majority of the English-speaking fandom would be happy, right?
Well, uh... yeah. Not so much with that, no.
Usually I'm a pretty polite person, but I've been in a foul mood since yesterday night, and this has made my mood even fouler. So, since I'm going to try and update this thing more often now that my depression is finally on the wane, and because my therapist says it's good for me to talk about what I'm feeling and thinking, here's what I think about this whole deal.
If I see one more fucking post in the Hetalia community involving fans flailing and wailing about how an official US/English license for the anime is going to "ruin" the anime/the fandom/the fucking space-time continuum, I swear I am going to punch something.
Let's review a few fun facts, shall we?
1. The existence of an official English-dubbed version does not change the original version one iota. Even if Vic whatshisface voices every character including Hungary, and the dialogue consists of nothing but the word "cheese."
2. Yes, a bad translation for the anime or the manga is a concern, as is the possible loss of cute little details like the word "FUCK" randomly appearing on boxes. Obviously. But can we please excoriate the translation after it has been done? Borrowing trouble like this is just, well, making a whole lot of lives harder than they have to be. And besides, there's nothing any of us can really do about its quality unless we're fans who do translations for Funimation. (Note: The GG subs will likely still be out there regardless for those who want another take on the translation.).
3. The licensure may conceivably lead to a bigger fan base (though who in this economy has $30 to drop on a DVD besides the most hardcore Hetalia or anime fans is anyone's guess). Even so:
* This is not necessarily a bad thing.
* Those fans may be a bunch of historians or history nerds/hardcore anime geeks/people my age and older who aren't as well-versed with teh intranetz as Hetalia's current young-skewing fanbase and who therefore didn't know it existed until it showed up shrink-wrapped at F.Y.E. You know, folks who will bring even more diversity, insight and all-around awesomeness to this fandom. Hell, I often wish I knew a few more Hetalia fans my age or older.
* And even if some, or most, of them are not, so what? Let the people who want to have their ship wars and fap over the pretty boys without thinking about history go and do their own thing. I have never, ever understood why the presence of some, or even many, ill-behaved fans automatically "ruins" anything for the rest of the world. I mean, fuck. The Kataang/Zutara ship war in the Avatar fandom exhausts and frustrates me--so I just avoid people who treat shipping as srz bznusz and the comms where they hang out. It really isn't that hard.
* Most importantly: The English-speaking Hetalia fandom is already fucking huge. The main Hetalia comm on LJ in that language has, at the time of my writing this post, nearly 25,000 members. And these are just people who have joined--who knows how many (English-speaking) people who don't have LJs or who haven't at least put it on their watch list visit it, to say nothing of all the other (English language) communities on Gaia, Proboards, or wherever the cool kids are hanging out these days.
Yet, somehow if it becomes a big fandom the world's going to end? Uh...
* This is not going to become as popular as Naruto or Bleach. It's a five minute long anime that won't conceivably appear on TV, which doesn't involve people beating each other up, and which discusses obscure historical trivia. Somehow I don't think it's going to become a household name, people.
* The whole "things suck when they get popular"/"I liked _________ before it was cool"/"I wish the fandom was smaller" shtick is really fucking insulting to people who discovered the fandom later than you did, and who have still contributed a lot of good work and discussions to it -- or at least who have supported the fan community and who haven't been wanky, rude or immature. Just knock that shit off, OK? Seriously.
Yes, this is a ton of tl;dr, but the hand-wringing is really beginning to irritate me.
Well, uh... yeah. Not so much with that, no.
Usually I'm a pretty polite person, but I've been in a foul mood since yesterday night, and this has made my mood even fouler. So, since I'm going to try and update this thing more often now that my depression is finally on the wane, and because my therapist says it's good for me to talk about what I'm feeling and thinking, here's what I think about this whole deal.
If I see one more fucking post in the Hetalia community involving fans flailing and wailing about how an official US/English license for the anime is going to "ruin" the anime/the fandom/the fucking space-time continuum, I swear I am going to punch something.
Let's review a few fun facts, shall we?
1. The existence of an official English-dubbed version does not change the original version one iota. Even if Vic whatshisface voices every character including Hungary, and the dialogue consists of nothing but the word "cheese."
2. Yes, a bad translation for the anime or the manga is a concern, as is the possible loss of cute little details like the word "FUCK" randomly appearing on boxes. Obviously. But can we please excoriate the translation after it has been done? Borrowing trouble like this is just, well, making a whole lot of lives harder than they have to be. And besides, there's nothing any of us can really do about its quality unless we're fans who do translations for Funimation. (Note: The GG subs will likely still be out there regardless for those who want another take on the translation.).
3. The licensure may conceivably lead to a bigger fan base (though who in this economy has $30 to drop on a DVD besides the most hardcore Hetalia or anime fans is anyone's guess). Even so:
* This is not necessarily a bad thing.
* Those fans may be a bunch of historians or history nerds/hardcore anime geeks/people my age and older who aren't as well-versed with teh intranetz as Hetalia's current young-skewing fanbase and who therefore didn't know it existed until it showed up shrink-wrapped at F.Y.E. You know, folks who will bring even more diversity, insight and all-around awesomeness to this fandom. Hell, I often wish I knew a few more Hetalia fans my age or older.
* And even if some, or most, of them are not, so what? Let the people who want to have their ship wars and fap over the pretty boys without thinking about history go and do their own thing. I have never, ever understood why the presence of some, or even many, ill-behaved fans automatically "ruins" anything for the rest of the world. I mean, fuck. The Kataang/Zutara ship war in the Avatar fandom exhausts and frustrates me--so I just avoid people who treat shipping as srz bznusz and the comms where they hang out. It really isn't that hard.
* Most importantly: The English-speaking Hetalia fandom is already fucking huge. The main Hetalia comm on LJ in that language has, at the time of my writing this post, nearly 25,000 members. And these are just people who have joined--who knows how many (English-speaking) people who don't have LJs or who haven't at least put it on their watch list visit it, to say nothing of all the other (English language) communities on Gaia, Proboards, or wherever the cool kids are hanging out these days.
Yet, somehow if it becomes a big fandom the world's going to end? Uh...
* This is not going to become as popular as Naruto or Bleach. It's a five minute long anime that won't conceivably appear on TV, which doesn't involve people beating each other up, and which discusses obscure historical trivia. Somehow I don't think it's going to become a household name, people.
* The whole "things suck when they get popular"/"I liked _________ before it was cool"/"I wish the fandom was smaller" shtick is really fucking insulting to people who discovered the fandom later than you did, and who have still contributed a lot of good work and discussions to it -- or at least who have supported the fan community and who haven't been wanky, rude or immature. Just knock that shit off, OK? Seriously.
Yes, this is a ton of tl;dr, but the hand-wringing is really beginning to irritate me.