A letter from Japan
anonymous
February 9 2010, 06:53:04 UTC
Dear Hetalia fandom,
Forgive me if I come across as impertinent at any point in this letter. If I do, I assure you that it was entirely unintentional because I truly do appreciate you making my series into the worldwide success it has become. Hetalia wouldn't have come as far as it has if you didn't enjoy writing and drawing about me and the rest of the nations so much.
That said, there are some things I feel that I must clear up in regards to my portrayal in fandom:
Japanese fandom, while I really do appreciate the amount of attention you give me in your fanworks, I have to say that I'm embarrassed at the sheer number of nations you pair me up with. I know that shipping is a natural part of any fandom, but I think that you've taken it a little too far with making over 1000 images of me with Prussia on Pixiv. I honestly have not even interacted with him beyond a couple of conversations that ended with him running off to pester Germany or Hungary, so this sudden push to ship me with him baffles me. Two characters being popular with
( ... )
A letter from Japan (second and final part)
anonymous
February 9 2010, 06:54:45 UTC
English fandom, I know that many of you think that I'm boring and that you'd rather write about more interesting nations. I accept that, and I know that I'm the kind of person who tends to fade into the background, especially when compared to others like America.
However, I do believe that there is a personality somewhere underneath my apparently emotionless, doormat-like, and even vaguely sociopathic shell (I do have emotions and I'm not a Russia-in-training or something; do you seriously think that I don't care about anything or anyone other than me?), and that I do have friends I value and interact with. I don't expect you to make many fanworks for me like the Japanese fandom does (and trust me, sometimes they scare me too), but I would at least like some more acknowledgement about my role in the series or that I'm actually quite close to America in modern times
( ... )
Very nice fill, by the way! taking the prompt in a very different direction, but very interesting! OP is not a big fan of Japan's, but she's always been a bit angry when people accuse him of being a Mary Sue; I think that the problem is that his caricature is much subtler than the other nations', due to the author being japanese and taking on subtler things to parody. It's very good that Kiku is so polite and that you captured his voice perfectly; he's so rational here, and I'm glad somebody brought up many of these topics regarding the caracter, since at times he seems to be one of the most controversial ones, at least in the English speaking fandom ( which is also helluvah scary, Honda-san xD).
I was nodding and sometimes chuckling throughout all the fic, but this made me LOL:
However, I do believe that there is a personality somewhere underneath my apparently emotionless, doormat-like, and even vaguely sociopathic shell OP is very glad that all you anons have such a good grasp on
( ... )
Reply from writer
anonymous
February 9 2010, 07:58:49 UTC
I'm glad to get such a comprehensive comment from you, OP, and also that you liked it in spite of it not being exactly what you asked for.
Ah, is that one of the main reasons for the 'Mary Sue' thing, then? That does make a fair amount of sense; I've noticed that some English fans think that I'm not an exaggerated enough stereotype because I'm not overtly 'otaku'-like (really though, they'd be surprised if they ever caught me in one of my gaming or cosplaying moods).
I'm immensely glad to hear that my letter came across the way I wanted it to, and that you found it to be properly informative without being boring or too dry. (I also must admit that most of the humor was intentional, because I apparently can have a sense of humor in spite of being an emotionless doormat who only sits and stares blankly at world meetings without saying a word
( ... )
Reply from writer
anonymous
February 9 2010, 08:05:56 UTC
Thank you so much for leaving such a nice comment! It's people like you who make me truly grateful that Hidekaz agreed to make a series about us in the first place; if he hadn't, none of us would have gotten the amount of love that we do.
Forgive me if I come across as impertinent at any point in this letter. If I do, I assure you that it was entirely unintentional because I truly do appreciate you making my series into the worldwide success it has become. Hetalia wouldn't have come as far as it has if you didn't enjoy writing and drawing about me and the rest of the nations so much.
That said, there are some things I feel that I must clear up in regards to my portrayal in fandom:
Japanese fandom, while I really do appreciate the amount of attention you give me in your fanworks, I have to say that I'm embarrassed at the sheer number of nations you pair me up with. I know that shipping is a natural part of any fandom, but I think that you've taken it a little too far with making over 1000 images of me with Prussia on Pixiv. I honestly have not even interacted with him beyond a couple of conversations that ended with him running off to pester Germany or Hungary, so this sudden push to ship me with him baffles me. Two characters being popular with ( ... )
Reply
However, I do believe that there is a personality somewhere underneath my apparently emotionless, doormat-like, and even vaguely sociopathic shell (I do have emotions and I'm not a Russia-in-training or something; do you seriously think that I don't care about anything or anyone other than me?), and that I do have friends I value and interact with. I don't expect you to make many fanworks for me like the Japanese fandom does (and trust me, sometimes they scare me too), but I would at least like some more acknowledgement about my role in the series or that I'm actually quite close to America in modern times ( ... )
Reply
Very nice fill, by the way! taking the prompt in a very different direction, but very interesting! OP is not a big fan of Japan's, but she's always been a bit angry when people accuse him of being a Mary Sue; I think that the problem is that his caricature is much subtler than the other nations', due to the author being japanese and taking on subtler things to parody.
It's very good that Kiku is so polite and that you captured his voice perfectly; he's so rational here, and I'm glad somebody brought up many of these topics regarding the caracter, since at times he seems to be one of the most controversial ones, at least in the English speaking fandom ( which is also helluvah scary, Honda-san xD).
I was nodding and sometimes chuckling throughout all the fic, but this made me LOL:
However, I do believe that there is a personality somewhere underneath my apparently emotionless, doormat-like, and even vaguely sociopathic shell OP is very glad that all you anons have such a good grasp on ( ... )
Reply
Ah, is that one of the main reasons for the 'Mary Sue' thing, then? That does make a fair amount of sense; I've noticed that some English fans think that I'm not an exaggerated enough stereotype because I'm not overtly 'otaku'-like (really though, they'd be surprised if they ever caught me in one of my gaming or cosplaying moods).
I'm immensely glad to hear that my letter came across the way I wanted it to, and that you found it to be properly informative without being boring or too dry. (I also must admit that most of the humor was intentional, because I apparently can have a sense of humor in spite of being an emotionless doormat who only sits and stares blankly at world meetings without saying a word ( ... )
Reply
Totally in-character and fucking amusing as fuck. I APPROVE OF THIS!
Kiku, you're one of my favourite characters and I like you just the way Himaruya portrayed you!
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Thank you for this!
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