Where's the community?

[nymaas.livejournal.com]

It's sad seeing none's into that fandom anymore.

Life you see the new Hetaween posts and there are like... 0 comments. Looks like Hima-papa's losing all his fans during the last 2 years. It's true he doesn't upload regularly anymore but it's more like... everyone's gone suddenly.

I'm afraid he doesn't attend to peoples interests anymore (well he always did as he pleased) but now he brings all that historical persons into the comics and none bats an eye anymore.

I'm quite upset about it. There are no discussions in here anymore... as well as the Hetalia Blog Community ... bamboothicket2

Hope to see you guys there...!

Comments

[jazzy-strings.livejournal.com]

I would love to comment on the things he posts but I'm kinda shy... maybe I'll try it at some point, and I do think its a huge shame the fandom is much smaller than it used to be. But I think a lot of people worry about a language barrier or something like that.

I can't really comment on the historical figures thing as I have only been into Hetalia for about 2 years, so I'm kind of unfermilliar with how people acted before then. Did people kick up a fuss?

[jammerlea]

You can't comment directly on Himaruya's stuff. It's just fans sharing and commenting on his work. So please don't be shy. ( owo)/

[gohanshadow.livejournal.com]

Meh...check out facebook for that. My dashboard is FULL of people posting about his works and updates. They even put up the translations. Don't worry...his fans aren't fickled about him, just where they post. (^_^;) I'm actually not big on the idea of how he used the historical figures myself. He has made some of the most ruthless figures out to be funny and cute. I deal, though, by pretending they are all extras in the theater that is Hetalia and were never real. lol

[sushigal007.livejournal.com]

Or Tumblr. That's where I see all my Hetalia. I mostly use LJ for posting Sims updates these days, the entire site as a whole is pretty deserted these days, not just here.

[lost-hitsu.livejournal.com]

The fandom has moved to tumblr, that's where all translations are posted first too. LJ currently serves mostly for archiving purposes. Please move to tumblr in order to see the fandom is anything but dead.

[misty-rain.livejournal.com]

Seconding this.
My tumblr dash is filled with reactions/fan art/reblogging translations etc.

[misty-rain.livejournal.com]

This is more of an issue with LJ, not Hima.
We're largely on Tumblr now (and I guess FB too, going from the comment here?) LJ's kind of fallen out of fashion.
Also, without the lack of set times from Hima, no one knows when to be on the LJ or not for the updates (I mean, I know he was never... timely with his updates, but people generally knew when to go to the comm)

I mean, Tumblr was loaded full of reactions to that Prussia comic. Even older fans who've been away were coming back and freaking out about it.
The original translated Prussia comic has like 8,000+ notes on it? Sizable for our fandom (I think it's like 1,000-2,000 typically, which is still pretty significant).
We're definitely around!

I really do wish there were a list of active Hetalia tumblr blogs on here, so we'd see we were still around. I'd probably feel the same as you if I didn't know about Tumblr.

[gevio22kun.livejournal.com]

Well, Hima dissapeared for a very long time. Before he did he promised he will create new characters. But he didn't. I have no patience to wait again. Maybe I will come back to this community and Hetalia overall in 5 years to check what has changed. Sorry. I just lost my patience. :/

[misty-rain.livejournal.com]

To be fair, we're edging toward all the official UK character (closer than ever with actual potential designs), and Luxembourg was just officially introduced in a recent comic.
Also the whole Prussia-may-die thing is going on, which is a very dramatic change compared to our assumption that every living nation in the series is basically immortal, so long as they were/are a nation since the start of Hetalia.
The event appears to be concluding as well, with the historical figures appearing to be the big surprise of the whole event.
To each their own. Hima has given us a lot, and he always seems eager to return when can't for whatever reason. He appears to clearly love what he's doing, so it's enjoyable for him as well. And the fandom (on Tumblr/Facebook more than LJ this time around) expresses excitement every time he's back. For me, that's enough to have me wait.

[prussiablue.livejournal.com]

I guess many people moved on or "forgot" about Hetalia, since there weren't much updates in the past.
Then much moved on to tumblr, I guess? I've been reading most of the new updates there, so I guess there's still much going on.

I'm happy there are new updates again (that one strip with Prussia and the flute, it made me happy and sad at the same time) and I'm still looking forward to updates, but the way the last events ended, I'm not too optimistic about Himaruya actually getting it to an end...

[castor-acer.livejournal.com]

"I really do wish there were a list of active Hetalia tumblr blogs on here, so we'd see we were still around. I'd probably feel the same as you if I didn't know about Tumblr. "

Does that list exist anywhere?

Please forgive my ignorance of Tumblr. I mean, I know about it and there are a few accounts I check regularly (International-Relations being the biggest), but is there one definitive Tumblr account that accumulates all the great Hima updates, episode links, comic translations, fan art, etc. PLUS the discussion aspect? I suppose this is where my lack of Tumblr knowledge kicks in: to me Tumblr is kind of disjointed and doesn't have a lot of opportunity for feedback or discussion. That's what I liked about this LJ community - I could come to one site instead of having to run around to dozens of others and get everything I need.

So I guess what I'm asking is: where is that one definitive site now? And I'm not asking rhetorically - I do really want to know! Thanks!

[disneyotaku.livejournal.com]

I don't think we have a list, but I remember a lot of people would share their accounts after a big event in an after party thread thing. But a list would be a cool idea!

Hmm.... I can't think of one specific blog that literally has everything all together, it's more like there are blogs for those each of those specific aspects ((thank you for checking out IR! ^//^ maybe I could try something to make more discussions happen with the blog??)). And I think the discussion aspect is very hard to do on Tumblr to interact with all fans. I usually go between here and Tumblr for everything. A website like that would be great, to have everything in one place, but I don't mind jumping around, it's actually kind of fun in my opinion!

[disneyotaku.livejournal.com]

It's just as everyone is saying in the comments, it's not so much that people aren't into the fandom, just that we've moved around quite a bit. And I would say (based on what I've seen) Tumblr is the biggest place to go as of right now, but Facebook, Dreamwidth, Twitter, and more are also used. Besides, you still see a lot of people come and go here on LJ : ) I wouldn't worry about the fans, if anything I think we're growing with the new content being posted!
I know for me personally it was always harder to check LJ, especially when Hima-papa took the long breaks. It was harder too in the beginning because I was so shy and I was too afraid to comment, lol! Though I did start here with the Hetalia fandom, and here is where I've found the community between fans and it's what made me keep loving Hetalia. I'll always come back and check up on this place, even if I don't post a comment.

Hima-papa loves doing what he does, and I'm totally fine with whatever he wants to showcase or discuss. Having the historical figures in the Hetaween comic was surprising! I was laughing really hard at Napoleon and France, felt happy for Prussia, I was smiling at America and Romano, it was great to see that. And the Nero comics in World Stars is interesting too! I think it's because we're not really used to this much interaction with the historical figures or with regular people in general because they only popped up once in a while and now all of a sudden they're everywhere! So it may just be that, but I know several people who are in love with Anicetus and Augustus; the fans are warming up them for sure!

The discussion aspect of LJ I do really love and it is sad to see less comments in that regard, but that doesn't mean discussions aren't happening (the recent Prussia comic had a lot of comments and discussion here!). I do think that's where Tumblr suffers, as it's hard to communicate with ALL fans versus the fans you follow, but you can still see what people are writing and you can communicate with them through the tags or sending a message or reading posts (or go to different sites to discuss new releases). The community spirit between the fans is still strong and you can see that, no matter where we go.

[heden-el.livejournal.com]

I think it's like all the other said in comments.
As for me, I'm still attached to Hetalia and I'm a bit sad I can't find blogs that are still active and have all the updates (or maybe it's because I don't know where to search? :S). I liked so much to wait and read posts and be with people from all over the world (even if the barrier language is strong for me XD). Now... well, I come here and then I go to Tumblr to find updates. But yes, I can't commento anymore and I find this really sad :(

[sammich]

The tumblr where the translators are posting their translation to is this site. If you're looking for a website that lists all the translations, that would probably be hetarchive.net/scanlations.
I hope this helps somewhat.

[saplings.livejournal.com]

I'd like to know the exact Tumblr and/or Facebook links where everyone flocked to, as I've relied solely on LiveJournal for my Hetalia fix and with updates now being posted elsewhere I've also lost some interest in the fandom even though I still want to keep up with the series. I don't have a Tumblr either, but I'd at least like to be aware that there is some discussion or excitement going on besides my lonesome

I agree that we need a list here, seeing as the Community's being converted into an archive; updates, discussion, fanworks, the whole lot. It would help those of us who have been abandoned here without an inkling of what's going on, and give the fandom a more inviting atmosphere to new or old members alike. I became more active in LJ thanks to the buzz in this Community, and if I'm able to see that Tumblr or where-have-you can do the same then I might be more inclined to hop over there too; as it is, I also see Tumblr as merely a series of disjointed journals where people post their thoughts but there isn't really much communication or interaction going around

As for the historical figures, they were quite jarring to me at first but I've grown to like them; I do agree that it might be better for Hetalia to focus on the countries themselves, so in that regards I'm neutral with how Himaruya's been handling Nero & Co. so far. Sure, they've been in the spotlight lately due to being new characters but I don't see the fame as being a permanent thing; people have already been clamouring for additional countries since the start, so I would hope that Hima-papa would be able to stay below the radar with these historical figures before it balloons out-of-control and fans start requesting Obama or something o_O

[xxmapsyrxx.livejournal.com]

balloons out-of-control and fans start requesting Obama or something o_O

My nightmare said out loud. History is called history for a reason. Current events are called current events for a reason. For everything Hima-sensei has alluded to in regards to current events, it has already stirred enough troubles. I would really like him to stay away from things after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Like if there is not enough controversial topics to discuss before that point : /

[natcat5.livejournal.com]

I know it's not an official list, but if you're looking for the hetalia community on tumblr, I'd reccommend going to the official hetascanlations blog and just looking through the notes on the posts? If you don't want to go through the hetalia tag then that's a good way to find people who are actively blogging hetalia, I think.
http://hetascanlations.tumblr.com/

[pink-cass.livejournal.com]

I too blame tumblr, but unlike what seems to be the majority of people, I'm not liking it.
I remember when the fandomly started losing more and more members to tumblr, I (and others) tried to get them back/keep them from leaving, pointing out that it's incredibly hard to keep track of what used to be over a hundred people in individual blogs with no option for discussion. Tumblr is a nice platform for spreading news and pictures - but that's all it's good for: Spreading. There is no real interaction going on, outside of asks that are limited to two people (one ask, one reply) and maybe a comment button where nobody will ever read or reply to your comment. It's so cold.
But no, more and more fans continued to switch to that place and abandon Livejournal in its favor. I guess the interaction with us was just not important to them. I felt deeply hurt by this and still do, and it probably shows, so I'd rather not go into thesubject too far.
My points are as such:

1) If you abandon us, you don't get to complain that the comms are abandoned. It's one thing to have to cut back on internet time because you have to study hard, or have other important issues. It's another thing entirely to vanish into thin air without a word of explanation, or what amounts to "lol screw you guys, I'm going tumblr", and act like we never existed. I'm happy for every long lost member coming back to us, but if you're then going to complain that it's too quiet? I dare you. >:(

2) If you look at the previous threads, you will notice that a handful of people tried to revive this comm with updates and received very few reactions. The logical conclusion is that there's little remaining interest. Whether the little bit is enough to justify further update threads is up to your personal opinion. But it looks like people don't feel motivated to post new threads at the moment.
I personally definitely can't keep doing this on a regular basis for several reasons, both practical and personal. I'll be glad to occasionally help out, or to explain to anyone who feels up to it how to create a topic, post pictures and desize them, make a cut and tag properly, if it helps.

3) I think of the non-tumblr fans, quite a few stopped coming here simply because of the massive amounts of fanart and fanfics. I'm sorry to say it thisd bluntly, guys, but to some of us, these things are little more than spam, even if a lot of work goes into them. It was suggested at some point that fan creations should get their very own comm so all would be happier, but it never happened, as far as I'm aware.
We don't come here to see the sample-library of fanfiction.net, so in lack of official updates during the hiatus, some of us just stopped coming here altogether.

Still, the main problem is tumblr. The amount of reblogs for the translated official updates there should be evidence enough. I guess likes and reblogs are more popular than actual discussion these days. And if you sense a hint of cynicism in my tone here, that's because this topic seriously ruins my mood.

But, yeah. Would be nice if we could get some life back in here.

[castor-acer.livejournal.com]

I've managed my own forums in the past and the same thing has happened to me . . . other social platforms sucked members away from what is essentially a 10 year old practice. It sucks, especially when you do put a lot of work into something and you try your best to keep people around. It's probably best not to take it personally. :) It's just something that happens (and I think a lot of people don't think about the consequences of leaving something behind when they move on to other things).

For what it's worth -- and I realize I should have said this awhile ago -- I visit this LJ page quite a lot and I do appreciate all the work that has gone into it. I've managed to collect a lot of OCF due to the sales posts, I'm notified when there are new episodes online (because I wouldn't know elsewise!), and I sort of use it as a measuring stick of community activity. It's nice to get all that (plus more) in one place. So thank you for keeping it going.

[aokakesu.livejournal.com]

Personally I still jump between here, dreamwidth, tumblr and Pixiv all the the time because none of the platforms has it all.
As some comments above this pointed out, tumblr is great to get and spread information really fast, almost right after the source is posted. Also, many fan-artists receive more attention and encouragement over tumblr than they ever did here because when they posted something they hardly got comments and over there they get likes, reblogs, asks and start gaining a following base as they improve, which I think is cool when properly done.

However, discussion or interaction over there is really difficult to follow and most things get shallowed within minutes into the depths of the dash, that's why I like coming back here and read the comments and opinions at my own pace and because things posted in the past are easier to find. I know, it would be unrealistic to expect it to move as fast as it did during the 2010-2011 period when you could hardly keep up with all the daily threads here but I kinda still hope new material to bring people back even if only for a short time.

But going back to the original question, the community has mainly moved to tumblr and it's far from being dead.

[007dragonstar.livejournal.com]

Just adding my two cents, as someone who's real life has pretty much taken over I've not been on LiveJournal much...

It does feel like less people are on nowadays, but I think the fandom's far from died out. If anything, it's probably just mellowed out from the craziness with constant updates and events that was, say, five years ago.
And I've noticed a surge in people over on Tumblr too (which probably plays a big role); however I'm not interested in joining them anytime soon so can't say much about fans on that site.
As for me though, I'm not someone to just comment on posts/threads out of instinct but I definitely try and keep up with everything that's going on (though I'm much busier than I was before)!

Mmm...

[reyechan.livejournal.com]

To be honest, since most of the fandom members that were around when I first joined have long since moved on to other things, I've been avoiding the rest of the fandom. I had some really bad experiences with some people at cons whilst I was cosplaying Russia and it's soured my opinions of the fandom quite a bit, unfortunately.
I try to keep up to date on my own and buy the issues that come out in English, but all in all I'm hesitant to involve myself like I used to.

RE: Mmm...

[sammich]

I'm sorry to hear that you've had bad experiences. I think sometimes in various fandoms one will find people who are altogether unkind and rude. It's unfortunate that it basically left a bad feeling for you about the fandom as a whole. I hope somehow you'll be able to find a little bit of joy or at least be able to relax in communities like this.

[allekha.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm shy about posting comments, although I'm trying to work on it.

I think the main problem is that everyone is on Tumblr or FB. But I don't want to do fandom on FB, and I find Tumblr such a terrible platform for anything other than images that I still don't understand why so many people latched on to it.

Maybe we could have a friending meme on here and the DW comm? If people feel as if there are still others around here/DW, perhaps they would be more inclined to comment and discuss.

[pink-cass.livejournal.com]

Excuse me for sounding so clueless, but what's the DW comm?

Also, if you just want company, you could always join what remains of the fandomly comm (http://hetaliafandomly.livejournal.com/). It's mostly an offtopic comm these days, and there are dead hours like everywhere else, but if you come in during the American evening hours, there are usually a couple people around.
And if you want to discuss something Hetalia, I guess it should be fine to open a thread about it on this comm by now. I believe there used to be rules about this, but with as little activity as we have, my guess is that anything would be appreciated.

[mindwarp.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with folks that said that fandom activity is more on Tumblr rather than LJ (which is pretty typical for a lot of fandoms nowadays). I'm another non-Tumblr user because I wouldn't have any new content to post, and endless reblogging is a waste of a personal site. I do read some Tumblrs, though (the File Archive and the wiki's, to be precise), to keep up with the latest, and those and Hetascanlations (although the previous two mirror from there) are the best places to go for info. The File Archive and wiki's Tumblrs have always been active, and have many followers, so the fandom is still alive. I do also agree with folks who said that the problem with fandom being on Tumblr/FB/Twitter is simply that you don't really have the same type of interactivity that forums/mailing lists/Usenet groups/LJ communities have - and my list of interactive fandom places shows how long I've been on the Internet. (g) The difference in interaction is what makes it appear like Hetalia fandom is dead.

Also, the fandom has aged, which means you will find more members having to deal with RL issues that keep them away. Speaking solely for myself, I only have Internet at work now because of serious financial issues - and if I'm online, I'm not doing my job, so I have to restrict myself. I was always mostly a lurker here except during events, but now it's worse (and I haven't posted to my own personal LJ in ages...). :^(

That said, the lack of an updated event thread here may be hindering fan interaction as well, although I do keep checking there...

[pink-cass.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that about your financial issues. I hope things will get better for you soon.

[sotnosen93.livejournal.com]

Oh, I assure you, I'm still a fan. As a matter of fact, I can honestly tell you I never left the fandom to begin with. I'm just not the commenting type, that's all.

[boo-sagara.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I think the migration from LJ to tumblr happened not only with Hetalia, but with other communities as well. I do enjoy tumblr because it's easer to follow a lot of artists and people you like at the same time, but it really isn't the best platform for discussions.

Not to mention that I feel like on LJ people seems more open about sharing their theories/feelings and also, they are more open about listening others as well; for example, here and in other comms/foruns I participated years ago it was never a problem when person A and person B had different theories or preferences for characters/ships. Like, even here on the comments there are people who like how Hima is portraying historical figures and others that are not liking it so much and everyone is fine with that. But on tumblr things seems to get out of hand so easily, as in, if someone decides to make a post saying why they hate how Hima is portraying the emperors + why everyone else should dislike it as well and another person replies that they disagree, then run for the montains because it can evolve and cause a lot of drama in minutes lol! Idk what happens on tumblr, but it's like people don't know how to discuss without offending who don't agree with you, as if just because they don't see or prefer things the same as you they are automatically wrong or bad people :/ ... and that's why I end up only commenting on my tags and talking with friends via private message instead of openly posting my opinions most of the time.

The fact that Hima vanished for a long period didn't help as well, but maybe now that he's back and the comic is being published on a big magazine we'll get new fans coming :)

As for me, I hope I can spend more time in the fandomily now that the year is ending since I'll get a bit more of peace at my job but gosh, looking back this year was like a rollercoaster for me lol

[jammerlea]

omg the drama on tumblr is absolutely ridiculous and of course there's no way to moderate it. I had some people trying to argue with ME over the Italy strips from World Stars and it's just like, please just let it go. If you don't like it, stop reading? But they feel the need to crusade. fff

[castor-acer.livejournal.com]

Can I just say that this thread and everyone in it is awesome? :)

[xxmapsyrxx.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I think this thread reaffirms the community is here and LJ is irreplaceable by Tumblr despite the migration.

[anubismito]

I'm still here :D :D
I know I don't enter too often at LJ now ^^Uuu... Short time and Tumblr had eaten my life ;A; xD

[een nur icmi (from livejournal.com)]

There're still many people in this fandom, maybe they don't have energy to comment. Let's think positive!

[sammich]

Yes, a lot of people have moved to Tumblr. It isn't the best way to discuss things. And for a while Himaruya did not work on Hetalia (possibly as he was shifting from Gentosha to Jump and working on other projects in between).
The newest scanlations are posted here as soon as the translator group is able to finish them.
They are, of course, backed up on Hetarchive.net/scanlations.
I think the active fans are just simply more active on social websites like Tumblr and Facebook currently. Hopefully with the new posts more people will be inclined to post here.

[talonicefire.livejournal.com]

There's a semi-Hetalia/ex-Hetalia community that's alive at hetaliafandomly

It's just a group of people who've gotten together because of Hetalia, but despite whether they still like Hetalia or have gotten bored of it, they still get together on this comm and talk about whatever's on their mind.

*shot for shameless advertising*

But yeah, just like everyone says here: the fans have moved onto tumblr and FB. Which is a shame because it makes it harder for new fans to find the community and really get to know the community. There's only so much you can know from people when you're limited to reading what they choose to express on their personal blog, and having a very very very restricted opportunity to get into a discussion with them to learn what you need to know about their personality.

[thisisvodka.livejournal.com]

i'll throw in my two cents: i'm one of the people who migrated to tumblr, but i admit, i actually wish people checked in here more often. i kind of liked how easy it was to communicate here? tumblr is rather... solitary, i guess. you feel like you're intruding by commenting on someone's post. the "proper etiquette" is to post your comments in the tags and move on. but it makes any kind of conversation kind of hard.

idk. i kind of wish the lj community would come alive again, personally. i don't even use this place for anything else (other than buying/selling merchandise)... the time i had here is some of the fondest memories i have.