An apology.

[puella_nerdii]

I'm not really back, mostly because I'm in the middle of hell week for the production I'm working on and today's my only free day until next week, but I've been doing some thinking over the weekend, and I wanted to say this.

I reacted badly last Wednesday, and I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have said that the behavior of dub fans "sickened" me. There are

Comments

[llamrei]

The "he doesn't mean ill by it" is why I can keep reading the strips, because I think Himaruya has a lot of affection for all of his characters even when there are problems there he doesn't quite see or isn't looking for, but there are still problems, you know?

This is why I still enjoy Hetalia, despite its problems. Because it certainly has them, but I feel Himaruya is never being malicious or purposefully derisive of other countries -- that he creates the strips out of an honest fondness for every country, and that the problems that arise come from his own ignorance (which we all have, to an extent). That's why I'm glad the issues are pointed out and discussed, but they aren't dealbreakers for me. Sometimes I feel shitty about liking something that so many other people are very offended by, but I remind myself that it really is okay to enjoy something that has problems. The mistake would be to deny that those problems exist at all.

The dub does things that are not in line with Hetalia humor (the 'not a Jew' joke revealed yesterday finally motivated me to send my own letter in to Funi), and they are also done with the knowledge that those things are offensive. I don't like that. But they aren't the majority of the dub moments, either, which is why I wish that people writing Funi will make them notice that those sorts of things aren't necessary for people to enjoy their version, and will in fact impede its popularity.