hetalia | Confirmation of Petition

Getting this upset over a TV show?....That would be like me getting mad about Italy or America because they make fun of them at times.

I doubt they will be able to cancel it either, they could prob prevent it from coming on there networks, but I find it highly unlikely for Japan to cancel it.

Korea is just too cute to not have in the series as well.

All that uproar over something as innocently-funny as Hetalia. :-(

I don't want to point fingers at anybody, but - 10,000 signatures? Did all these people actually read the comic, or did they just act on some distorted information that a Japanese manga artist might be insulting Koreans?

People have probably every right to be really, really jumpy about this sort of thing, given Japan and Korea's history. And hell, there ARE some offensive manga around that make my blood boil, too (has anybody heard of Kobayashi Yoshinori's "Washisumu" series? -__-). But really, protesting against Hetalia is like shooting with canons at sparrows.

I wish people'd get informed themselves before protesting. But even more than that I wish newspapers'd get their facts straight before making the issue even bigger than it probably is.

If anything at all, probably just those distorted strips that were on the Korean blog site (or whatever that was).

No one can seem to substantiate the 10,000 signature claim, so it's clear to me that it's all exaggeration and hearsay for X party's slow news day/trolling attempt. The only proof is that right-wingers are complaining from a right-wing 'internet news' site, but god, they always do. They'll complain about Japanese furniture and still use it to sit on and blog from.

TBH, I don't think Koreans could care less. 10 000 is A LOT, even for a highly-digitised country like Korea. I think most are more concerned with their Cyworld blogs. X0

$10 says this appears on Fandom Secrets X million times in the next few days.

I understand that Japan and Korea aren't on the best of terms, and I certainly can see how some may be offended. But to me, Hetalia has always promoted an attitude of understanding and tolerance through it's lighthearted jabs at countries' stereotypes. After reading a strip, I never get the impression that "so-and-so country is stupid/evil/whatever". Instead, it's more like "Hey, when you think about it, we're all funny in our own way, aren't we?"

I don't expect Hetalia to change the minds of everyone, especially not of those already set in their ways. But I honestly do think that when you look at the big picture and the message it conveys, this silly little webcomic could prove to be a significant first step in encouraging acceptance of the cultures and people of all countries portrayed.

Sorry if this was too cheesy, haha. XD

Couldn't have said it better myself. If anything, it seems to send the message of, "we've all got our cultural quirks, so can't we all just accept each other and get along?" That's one of the reasons I like it, personally. In addition to that, it's brought people from all over the world together, in this community, because we're all fans of a series that does seem to strongly promote tolerance and an attitude of "even with our quirks and even our flaws, we're all okay."

...you keep saying all this smart, wonderful stuff, and putting things better than I ever could. *_*

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-13 23:51 (UTC) - Expand

Yeah, I definitely agree. For some, being offended is understandable, but instead of immediately issuing a call to arms I wish they could take a look at how the majority are responding. Like you said, this community has brought people from all over the world together, and how many of us have become more interested in other countries' histories and cultures as a result? That's certainly a far cry from racism of any form, which some claim Hetalia promotes.

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-13 23:55 (UTC) - Expand

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kiwifruiti.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 00:49 (UTC) - Expand

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 01:01 (UTC) - Expand

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kiwifruiti.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 04:34 (UTC) - Expand

It definitely wasn't cheesy - all of those things are true.
Honestly (and people might say this is going a little far for a fandom/manga but..it's okay), Hetalia has changed the way I see so many countries and so many parts of the world. I love that it gives us all these tidbits and things about each character - you can really learn something about another culture through so many of the strips.
And there are lots of diverse people here from different backgrounds and we've all learned to laugh at each other and ourselves together, which is such a big step in the right direction for cooperation and communication in the world.
I wonder if Himaruya-san had any idea his manga would bring so many people together XD

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kiwifruiti.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 05:20 (UTC) - Expand

I don't get it, what's with the strip that the petitioners find insulting? But I think whatever it meant, fans would still love Korea-tan xD

this whole business is kinda stupid y'know?
Most people that are singing are doing it becasue it's "A stereotyped image of koreans"
Yes.
Exactly, stereotypes the whole reson Hetalia is about history and sterotypes.
If you don't like stereotypes Hetalia is not for you so that's pretty much it.
Also this is mostly form some hetalia-hating korean blog and they are using Korea as an excuse pretty much.
Also don't take this as offence to koreans koreans aren't stupid, I love koreans, but this petition guys are a little uptight.

woha I didn't realize how racist that post sounded D:
Also I doubt a lot of Koreans find Korea offensive I've meet some koreans in the hetalia fandomn who actually love korea so I can't pretty much get it.
Then again I'm pretty immature.

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midoriankh.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 03:19 (UTC) - Expand

Why are we still talking about this? Like many have said in prior comments, CHECK YOUR SOURCES before you post a link and start freaking out.

There seems to be some confusion over Korea's planned omission from anime, since some posters were reading an edited source that removed the TV channel's statement on the omission. I added more links and direct sources in the comments above, as well as in an update to the ANN article:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-01-13/korean-protests-call-for-hetalia-anime-cancellation

I hope this helps!

lol

Apparently, they have stopped production (http://www.kids-station.com/rni9hp00000026n6.html), as someone pointed out earlier. It's not specified whether it was because of some ridiculous Internet petition (if it was, I wouldn't specify that, either, because I would be the subject of ridicule forever) or because of some other problems, but apparently there was some sort of problem that caused production to stop, so it most likely will not air in February. Whether or not it's cancelled for good is still not clear. (If it is, then that's the first time in history that an Internet petition has actually worked, and we can all look forward to Korea having a strangle hold on the anime industry from now on.)

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 17:10 (UTC) - Expand

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shincaru.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 17:38 (UTC) - Expand

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 17:47 (UTC) - Expand

So do they actually cancelled the first airing on the 24th or they just skipped the month?

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 17:59 (UTC) - Expand

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bubbole.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 18:03 (UTC) - Expand

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kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com - 2009-01-14 18:06 (UTC) - Expand

If I read correctly... the update by the official website states that one episode (or more? I'm not sure. It pretty much says like a collection of the best episode) will not be airing in Feb. due to editing problems. So it will still be airing on the same date.

That's good, then. At least the Korean Internet petition people didn't manage to shut this thing down. (Seriously, what sort of respectable business would take those things seriously, anyway?)

Oh great... I found these on the internet.
First of all, I found a Korean televison news video on niconico (in Korean), reporting about this protest on the web, even introducing what Hetalia is about and using the fan pictures shown on the Korean web (without the author's permisson too.)

And more online resources point out that this issue went to the admistrator of international relationship in Korea (if I translated it correctly)
Webpage here (in Korean):
http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=001&oid=214&aid=0000091163&

Video here (in Korean. I have no idean what they're saying, but I heard the word "Hetalia"):
http://news.naver.com/vod/vod.nhn?office_id=214&article_id=0000091163

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This is just great... way to make such a minor issue into something big.
I seriously hope the anime won't stop airing because of this, even if Korea doesn't show up in the anime.

I heard "HETALIA," too... BUT IT'S NOT HETALIA!
IT'S "AXIS POWERS HETALIA!" /gets bashed on the head

Boo. :(

I bring bad news.

It's been confirmed that the anime will stop airing on the television.
It doesn't say whether it will air in another time or whatever.
This is so depressing...
http://www.kids-station.com/rni9hp00000027q9.html

I also found another link on the official anime website. Seems like Hetalia won't be airing on the television but you can watch it using other methods.
http://hetalia.com/news/index.htm#090116

Please burn me, guys. I'm disgraced at my country.

O-oi.

If there won't be Korea... will be there minor characters like Prussia, Hungary, Seychelles or Denmark??

I hope... I hope that Prussia will be in anime, but he hasn't voice actor or any info yet, so.... D: Hungary at least have voice actor. XP

And also, Austria was not in first ep. That's kinda strange, cause he was in CD Drama.