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hetalia2014-12-30 09:10 pm
xxmapsyrxx.livejournal.com) wrote in hetalia2014-12-30 09:10 pm
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End of Year Thoughts and Follow-up Discussion
It is the end of another year with Hetalia. If I am remembering correctly, the upcoming January marks six years since the first episode of Hetalia was aired online. Thinking back to six years ago, when I first saw Hetalia, I most definitely did not expect I would be entering a fandom of this magnitude and duration. I am posting this thread to reflect, discuss and speculate about a few points I have thought about over the years.
First, I would like to bring up that SIX years is actually a quite long time. Many things have changed since 2009, both personally and Hetalia-wise. For one, I have graduated high school and I am completing my last few courses in university. I have moved and made new friends (many of them through Hetalia). While other things have also remained constant, Hetalia has always provided a lot ways for me to explore and understand people, culture and history nearby and far. Good things don’t always last this long, but Hetalia, despite the repeated hiatus, has made more than one comebacks. Seeing as Hetalia is not a linear story like so many others, I have faith in the longevity of the material and I greatly appreciate the continuity of the experience.
Second, I want to do a follow-up discussion to this post from more than a year and half ago. It is recommended people who are not familiar with the previous discussion to review the thread first and then proceed.
Despite very limited knowledge about how the manga/anime industry works in Japan, I am still going to attempt to provide some analysis to recent development. One point brought up by the previous discussion is that Gentosha as a publisher potentially requires Hima-sensei to restrain online materials, thus the lack of updates. It seems have some validity at that point but the termination of hiatus have somewhat but not fully negated this.
It is curious to me that the first hiatus (January 2012 to July 2012), the second hiatus (August 2012 to August 2013) and the third hiatus (March 2014 to September 2014) all fall into a category I am going to simplify it as Spring Prohibition Period. Whether it is full year dormancy or not, he just doesn’t update around the April/May/June season anymore. Three years straight. I am hoping to be proven wrong by the upcoming SPP, but it is kind of weird.
The World Stars series is also making me wondering about the authorship adjustment as well. To be able to update TWICE A WEEK is very strenuous for a one-person team. Seeing as the CM87 team was a multi-person team can also help to explain possible structural adjustment behind how Hetalia is being made. All of this assumes that Hetalia used to be made by one person. There might have been corporate intervention and/or conflicts when this adjustment was agreed. My current guesses are that the repeated hiatus represents the negotiating periods for the structural adjustment. Deeply flawed, I believe something like this may have happened:
1. By early 2011 or even earlier, it has become abundantly clear to Gentosha and Studio Deen that the popularity of Hetalia was beyond their expectation and they wish to expand the production to generate more revenue.
I have always viewed Hetalia to be somewhat of a dark horse candidate because it does not have a conventionally structured (as in doesn’t really have a beginning, a middle and an end) plot. The prime storyline sets in WWII, but the most original material (created first back in 2006/07) is not even limited to that background. Both corporations believed that Hetalia will sell well, but NOT THIS WELL.
2. Both corporations went to negotiate with Hima-sensei for more materials, hoping he will turn the more freelance style storyline into something more concrete and structured, possibly into a storyline that can be worked on and updated more regularly.
This is a more familiar format of production that the companies are used to. An author writes a story under a schedule, a publisher publishes it on a schedule and a studio makes it into an animation series on a schedule. The type of binge two-year straight broadcast (2009-2011) cannot continue without the agreement of the partnership of Gentosha and Studio Deen, so the scenario of Studio Deen making anime episodes without Gentosha is eliminated. It is in the long term interest of both companies to turn the binge into a structured regular revenue generating production. This would require Hima-sensei to generate more material in the first place.
3. Negotiation stalemates due to disagreements on how the restructuring of the material will work. First hiatus.
There is a reason why Hima-sensei first started Hetalia the way it did, online and freelance. To maintain this status, it is possible for him to have explicitly or implicitly rejected the initial offer of transition around the time when the fourth season of anime is about to terminate. This action, however, led to the corporations restricting him releasing any materials on his blog (this still does not explain why he cannot post a picture of the neighbour’s cat) when working on the upcoming volume. The SPP often coincides with the months leading up to the release of a new volume, aka production period. It is even possible that Hima-sensei voluntarily terminated updates on his blog to deal with the open-ended status of the negotiation, that is no deal reached, cannot do anything in the meantime.
4. Negotiation restarts with both parties agree on a new deal. Birz Monthly and Season Five.
The contract Hima-sensei initially signed with Gentosha and Studio Deen may have included some kind clause where it is not easy to back out of it unless it is raised to a formal level of legal dispute. Thus, Hima-sensei deemed necessary and beneficial to reach a settlement with the corporations, made accommodations and proceeded to alter the style to a regularly scheduled, monthly updated structured story that, interestingly, starts at the very beginning, introducing the characters. This shift from web-release to magazine-release is very likely a corporate decision to put this author on a right track, or to paraphrase what I said in the previous post, transform it into a conveyor-belt product.
5. Hima-sensei is unhappy with the current partnership and is looking for new publisher and/or studio. Second hiatus.
This was an exceedingly long hiatus. An entire year can do a lot of stuff. Hima-sensei travelled (which is actually very important to the story he is writing) and researched for more story to write. But he is still tied to Gentosha and Studio Deen, which still requires him to cease online based releases. Potentially, he looked for new publishers and people who can work with him because he realizes A) No big companies will accept his freelance style. B) Sticking with Gentosha is no longer a viable option. C) Little accommodations can be made. D) Fans are very important to the health, survival and thriving of Hetalia. E) Blogging and holding events are great ways of maintaining a bond with fans.
This leads to Hima-sensei searching a way to resolve the aforementioned problems. He wants to be able to continue to do events and blog. In order to make a company accept that on a long term basis, he needs to make whatever company is releasing with his name on it more profitable (so more than once a month). He, alone, will not be able to achieve this easily. Find and negotiate with a new publisher, resolve issues from the previous publisher, work on the story, find suitable people to work with him. All of this stuff to do could somewhat explain why the second hiatus was that long.
6. Gentosha and Studio Deen into the final days of their partnership. Special Volume and Season Six. Deal reached with Shueisha. World Stars series began. Third hiatus.
As the contact ends, Gentosha and Studio Deen generate revenue one last time by re-packaging the material and whatever they planned on doing for the animation. It baffled me at first that Gentosha announced the re-package. But seeing the new World Stars series with another publisher made it clearer that Hima-sensei is moving on.
Interestingly, during the last Christmas Event, Hima-sensei specifically pointed out that the editors were asking him to finish stuff even though it is the holidays. Quickly after that, he made very limited updates and went on hiatus.
Third hiatus ends after the publication of Special Volume One and when publication of World Stars starts, seemingly to suggest that the new deal Hima-sensei reached with Shueisha allows him to connect with fans while releasing bi-weekly updates, potentially a clause attached to this allowance while Gentosha never conceded. To fulfill his bi-weekly dues, he potentially hired some assistants to help him finish the drawings on time, which would require additional income, hence the CM87 appearance. Although I believe the CM87 appearance has been greenlit by Shueisha and Shogakukan much early on, otherwise Hima-sensei would not have signed contracts with them in the first place.
7. Future?
Well, I want to be proven wrong for corporate schemes don’t always win. But I am not sure. I also made many pitfalls by guessing and assuming too many things without verification. So it is really speculative and conjectural.
Finally, after this ridiculously long post, I want to say to everyone that all I really hope is for Hima-sensei to work on whatever he wants with no strings attached whatsoever. Anyone with any expertise on how the industry works, what is Shueisha’s track record, how you think it all happened, things you are looking forward to for 2015 and Hetalia, please share your thoughts : ) Happy New Year to all !
First, I would like to bring up that SIX years is actually a quite long time. Many things have changed since 2009, both personally and Hetalia-wise. For one, I have graduated high school and I am completing my last few courses in university. I have moved and made new friends (many of them through Hetalia). While other things have also remained constant, Hetalia has always provided a lot ways for me to explore and understand people, culture and history nearby and far. Good things don’t always last this long, but Hetalia, despite the repeated hiatus, has made more than one comebacks. Seeing as Hetalia is not a linear story like so many others, I have faith in the longevity of the material and I greatly appreciate the continuity of the experience.
Second, I want to do a follow-up discussion to this post from more than a year and half ago. It is recommended people who are not familiar with the previous discussion to review the thread first and then proceed.
Despite very limited knowledge about how the manga/anime industry works in Japan, I am still going to attempt to provide some analysis to recent development. One point brought up by the previous discussion is that Gentosha as a publisher potentially requires Hima-sensei to restrain online materials, thus the lack of updates. It seems have some validity at that point but the termination of hiatus have somewhat but not fully negated this.
It is curious to me that the first hiatus (January 2012 to July 2012), the second hiatus (August 2012 to August 2013) and the third hiatus (March 2014 to September 2014) all fall into a category I am going to simplify it as Spring Prohibition Period. Whether it is full year dormancy or not, he just doesn’t update around the April/May/June season anymore. Three years straight. I am hoping to be proven wrong by the upcoming SPP, but it is kind of weird.
The World Stars series is also making me wondering about the authorship adjustment as well. To be able to update TWICE A WEEK is very strenuous for a one-person team. Seeing as the CM87 team was a multi-person team can also help to explain possible structural adjustment behind how Hetalia is being made. All of this assumes that Hetalia used to be made by one person. There might have been corporate intervention and/or conflicts when this adjustment was agreed. My current guesses are that the repeated hiatus represents the negotiating periods for the structural adjustment. Deeply flawed, I believe something like this may have happened:
1. By early 2011 or even earlier, it has become abundantly clear to Gentosha and Studio Deen that the popularity of Hetalia was beyond their expectation and they wish to expand the production to generate more revenue.
I have always viewed Hetalia to be somewhat of a dark horse candidate because it does not have a conventionally structured (as in doesn’t really have a beginning, a middle and an end) plot. The prime storyline sets in WWII, but the most original material (created first back in 2006/07) is not even limited to that background. Both corporations believed that Hetalia will sell well, but NOT THIS WELL.
2. Both corporations went to negotiate with Hima-sensei for more materials, hoping he will turn the more freelance style storyline into something more concrete and structured, possibly into a storyline that can be worked on and updated more regularly.
This is a more familiar format of production that the companies are used to. An author writes a story under a schedule, a publisher publishes it on a schedule and a studio makes it into an animation series on a schedule. The type of binge two-year straight broadcast (2009-2011) cannot continue without the agreement of the partnership of Gentosha and Studio Deen, so the scenario of Studio Deen making anime episodes without Gentosha is eliminated. It is in the long term interest of both companies to turn the binge into a structured regular revenue generating production. This would require Hima-sensei to generate more material in the first place.
3. Negotiation stalemates due to disagreements on how the restructuring of the material will work. First hiatus.
There is a reason why Hima-sensei first started Hetalia the way it did, online and freelance. To maintain this status, it is possible for him to have explicitly or implicitly rejected the initial offer of transition around the time when the fourth season of anime is about to terminate. This action, however, led to the corporations restricting him releasing any materials on his blog (this still does not explain why he cannot post a picture of the neighbour’s cat) when working on the upcoming volume. The SPP often coincides with the months leading up to the release of a new volume, aka production period. It is even possible that Hima-sensei voluntarily terminated updates on his blog to deal with the open-ended status of the negotiation, that is no deal reached, cannot do anything in the meantime.
4. Negotiation restarts with both parties agree on a new deal. Birz Monthly and Season Five.
The contract Hima-sensei initially signed with Gentosha and Studio Deen may have included some kind clause where it is not easy to back out of it unless it is raised to a formal level of legal dispute. Thus, Hima-sensei deemed necessary and beneficial to reach a settlement with the corporations, made accommodations and proceeded to alter the style to a regularly scheduled, monthly updated structured story that, interestingly, starts at the very beginning, introducing the characters. This shift from web-release to magazine-release is very likely a corporate decision to put this author on a right track, or to paraphrase what I said in the previous post, transform it into a conveyor-belt product.
5. Hima-sensei is unhappy with the current partnership and is looking for new publisher and/or studio. Second hiatus.
This was an exceedingly long hiatus. An entire year can do a lot of stuff. Hima-sensei travelled (which is actually very important to the story he is writing) and researched for more story to write. But he is still tied to Gentosha and Studio Deen, which still requires him to cease online based releases. Potentially, he looked for new publishers and people who can work with him because he realizes A) No big companies will accept his freelance style. B) Sticking with Gentosha is no longer a viable option. C) Little accommodations can be made. D) Fans are very important to the health, survival and thriving of Hetalia. E) Blogging and holding events are great ways of maintaining a bond with fans.
This leads to Hima-sensei searching a way to resolve the aforementioned problems. He wants to be able to continue to do events and blog. In order to make a company accept that on a long term basis, he needs to make whatever company is releasing with his name on it more profitable (so more than once a month). He, alone, will not be able to achieve this easily. Find and negotiate with a new publisher, resolve issues from the previous publisher, work on the story, find suitable people to work with him. All of this stuff to do could somewhat explain why the second hiatus was that long.
6. Gentosha and Studio Deen into the final days of their partnership. Special Volume and Season Six. Deal reached with Shueisha. World Stars series began. Third hiatus.
As the contact ends, Gentosha and Studio Deen generate revenue one last time by re-packaging the material and whatever they planned on doing for the animation. It baffled me at first that Gentosha announced the re-package. But seeing the new World Stars series with another publisher made it clearer that Hima-sensei is moving on.
Interestingly, during the last Christmas Event, Hima-sensei specifically pointed out that the editors were asking him to finish stuff even though it is the holidays. Quickly after that, he made very limited updates and went on hiatus.
Third hiatus ends after the publication of Special Volume One and when publication of World Stars starts, seemingly to suggest that the new deal Hima-sensei reached with Shueisha allows him to connect with fans while releasing bi-weekly updates, potentially a clause attached to this allowance while Gentosha never conceded. To fulfill his bi-weekly dues, he potentially hired some assistants to help him finish the drawings on time, which would require additional income, hence the CM87 appearance. Although I believe the CM87 appearance has been greenlit by Shueisha and Shogakukan much early on, otherwise Hima-sensei would not have signed contracts with them in the first place.
7. Future?
Well, I want to be proven wrong for corporate schemes don’t always win. But I am not sure. I also made many pitfalls by guessing and assuming too many things without verification. So it is really speculative and conjectural.
Finally, after this ridiculously long post, I want to say to everyone that all I really hope is for Hima-sensei to work on whatever he wants with no strings attached whatsoever. Anyone with any expertise on how the industry works, what is Shueisha’s track record, how you think it all happened, things you are looking forward to for 2015 and Hetalia, please share your thoughts : ) Happy New Year to all !
no subject
Humm, I also don't know well how these things work, but I'm pretty sure each magazine/publisher has different policies regarding deadlines, periodicity etc. Some magazines require that the author finish a 20 pages chapter per week, while Shingeki no Kyojin gets a 50 pages chapter per month. There's also authors like Kentaro Miura that finishes a 20 pages chapter per month and authors that end up on hiatus for some reason but don't have their series canceled due to their popularity.
About Hima we can only speculate, but like you said, in the last year he was ill, then he traveled and well, I also think he had some sort of problem regarding his blog updates and periodicity with Gentosha. As for why now he updates twice a week, I think that he either has some assistance to help him or that he had some chapters prepared before starting publishing again.
I'm personally enjoying how things are going at the moment; because since he's updating his blog regularly again, I guess he is handling the serialization well and also has some time to work on other things, such as the illustrations for that horror game.
I also like the fact that the chapters seems more tied in some way now, but you can also read them separately if you want. And who knows, but I would like to see more ancient history intercalated with the modern strips like he's doing right now! I wonder if the intention is to keep the new manga volumes more "thematic" (to compensate the lack of linearity maybe?) as in, he's focusing on Ancient Roma, but he then can focus on Ancient Egypt, Germania, Persia etc.
Anyway, I also hope Hima is enjoying what he's doing right now and that he isn't pushing himself too hard like in the past! Oh, and it made me super happy to see new characters and the old events being resumed!
And a Happy New Year for you all too! May we all have a great 2015 ^^!
no subject
Personally, I don't know what happened - whether the people in charge actually became aware of our displeasure (or maybe the potential drop in sales), or Hima found a way to improve the situation himself, perhaps through new contacts, or maybe new people were put in the position of previously unpleasant people in charge, who knows.
But it does seem that things have improved a lot.
no subject
no subject
So switching to Shueisha has been a relief for him thankfully. He does still have resentment against Hetalia after trying the other new series (which ended soon as well after I think 5 volumes too) and spinning off World Stars to include filler content that is the Ancient Roman emperors, but he seems to be happy of all this stuff now. I don't mind the changes, as long as Hetalia keeps running till then.
I think I'm making up stories (<_<')