in regards to hetalia (and other fandom) fanart referencing the recent disaster in Japan

[minako134.livejournal.com]

Greetings, all!

Like all of you, I've been following along on the recent disaster in the Tohoku region of Japan. I have extended family who live in Tokyo, and finally about 48 hours after the earthquake, I got news that everyone is safe, though still emotionally shaken by the disaster. Seeing all those horrifying images on the news, it is natural that all of us Japanese animation fans want to do anything we can to help those in need, if it's even something as simple as offering prayers and our encouragement.

However, I would like to bring to your attention that while words of encouragement for Japan most certainly are well-intended, it can be very easy to take this disaster too lightly. Already, many fanarts like this have been submitted at Pixiv, for example; while they did serve to make some people feel better, it is becoming more apparent that it also comes off the wrong way to others. Hetalia fanart, in particular, is easy to offend someone with, in this regard. I've seen several art submissions addressing this topic go up at Pixiv on the daily rankings page, submitted by Japanese artists expressing their concern over insensitivity toward the suffering of those victims of the quake and tsunami.

As an example of this viewpoint (the main reason I've made this post on the comm here) I've translated (as best I could) one submission's description where a Japanese artist lays their thoughts all out on the table. I urge you all to please take the time to read it, and take from it what you may.

My translation, as well as the original Japanese text

The original Pixiv submission I took it from

Thank you for your time.

Comments

[ecchipiro.livejournal.com]

Thank you for making this post. ♥

[minako134.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading!

[fearedeyepatch.livejournal.com]

Thank you for pointing that out. While I don't think most people are posting the art or what not with *bad* intentions per say, I'm not sure it's something that has been thought out either. And in cases like this, it certainly is something that should be thought out. Thank you then for drawing attention to this.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Their wish for things to work out and for Japan to pull through are to be appreciated, of course, but the way lots of these artists are expressing it is having the opposite of the intended effect in many cases. Like the artist says, they don't blame those people, but they wish that more thought and respect was put into it.

[nike2422.livejournal.com]

We've also been discussing this issue in hetalia_wank

Personally, I think art and fic is way too soon. The tragedy is still happening, and like the Pixiv entry says, use some restraint. Thank you for the translation btw.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

Yup, I saw your link; I'm really glad that this can aid in more discussion on this topic!

The survey results definitely agree with you on that, that's for sure. They're not saying "don't post any encouraging art", since there are still a sizeable amount of people who are cheered up by it, but people need to remember that a fast "HANG IN THERE!!!!1one" or a cutesy cheering-on character might not come even close to soothing the pain and loss that hundreds of people in Japan have experienced ever since the earthquake.

Thanks for reading!

[natekeehl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting and translating this!
Someone really needed to say this.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I'm glad simply that I might be able to help Japanese artists and the English-speaking anime fandom a little closer together. The artists' words here speak for themselves, though of course my own bias will show through my translation of the original.

[curlee1029.livejournal.com]

Well, I was contemplating writing up a little fanfiction, but I've been worried about doing so, considering how people are being rather offended, I figured waiting a while would be for the best.

Although there are those couple of drawings that really do send profound meanings, most of them can be quite offensive. Being a writer, I know first-hand that tragedy is often a good place to draw inspiration from, but unless it is something that has occured to you and you have first-hand knowlegde about that tregedy, it is best not to write about it. And in this case, if you were going to write/draw about this tragedy, it is best to preform such actions when time has passed,because at this point in time, there are tons of people still being massively affected by these horrific events.

With that said, I still offer my condolenses to those in Japan and those who have relatives or friends in the area. I sincerly hope things improve soon and that you and/or your family are safe.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you what it means to me that you decided to reconsider. Part of me wants to speak up for free speech and say "don't hold back your creativity!!", but I don't think that applies here; it's all about the dialogue between the creator and the audience. As a creator, you're deciding how you want to present your muse to an audience who is coping with a horrible tragedy.

I love what you've shared in your comment, I couldn't have put it better myself. Thank you for giving us your thoughts.

They are all safe, for which I'm grateful. I'm still waiting to hear from my student exchange alma mater, but since they're west of Tokyo, I'm optimistic that the worst they've had to deal with is power outages. Still, I hope that everyone can find some peace in such a stressful time by staying with their loved ones and finding every day, normal things to keep them occupied.

[wakalakaosaka.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this :]

[minako134.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, and thank you!

[rinnington.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this, Ayame!

Even if people mean well, fandom should be a place where people can escape from tragedies. They shouldn't have to be reminded of it, and they especially shouldn't have to feel like the tragedy affecting them or their loved ones is being taken lightly.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your cheering me on~ ;u;

This, this, and this. It is heartening, at the least, that I have seen some really great submissions on Pixiv that were like "I know this is a really difficult time for everyone, but I wanted to draw something for everyone, so here's some K-ON! yuri..." and the piece had nothing to do with the disaster, it was just Mio and Ritsu playing kissy-face. They knew that nothing they did could possibly make up for someone's loss or suffering, but they were completely honest in their wish to help contribute to normalcy for those coming to Pixiv for a respite from the chaos.

[miezen.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the translation, Ayame! I completely agree; it's way too soon, and the people whose lives are currently being wrecked like this not appreciating outsiders expressing their "concern" though fanart of fictional works makes perfect sense to me.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, even though it's still a pretty rough translation! ;~; The artists' words speak for themselves, while there are some people who appreciate peoples' thoughts, there's even more people who wish fanartists would stop and reconsider the most appropriate way to express their concern.

[lokichan2004.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. I was trolling Pixiv last night and saw some fanart related to the earthquake. I can understand how people want to express their concern, but imho it's way too soon for stuff like this.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, thanks for reading! I hope no one feels like they're being forced to take back their concerns for the people of Japan; it's all a matter of how they do it, that's the key.

[crazy-gemini124.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the translation. Glad to know I made the right choice and decide to not do a picture. Waaaaay to early.

[minako134.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, and thank you for reading. I can't tell you what it means to me that I helped you be a little more sure of your decision, that tells me that it might help other people, too. Like I've said in above comments, posting art for the benefit of victims seeking respite from all the chaos and uncertainty is perfectly fine, just so long as it's not an attempt to make things better, because nothing could possibly make up for the loss of lives and homes that has happened. If it's an attempt at letting people look at cute art that is unrelated to the disaster, then that's a much bigger help, is what I think! Right now, all those people are just searching for some kind of normalcy, if they're looking at art websites.

Re: Copy pasted from what I've said earlier.

[teruhiko.livejournal.com]

nice opinion genius, who asked you

[kenzi-chi.livejournal.com]

thanks for posting!

ahh, i just hate how all this has gone out of hand! well, the people and artists on DA and pixiv. DA i've experienced more with the haters stamp like "don't pray, donate!" and "i bet you only care because of anime" it's all really getting on my nerves!

can't we pray? just because we're praying DOESN'T mean we aren't donating too. and for some all they CAN do is pray so let them! idk... i'm really upset about all this, but i'm glad so many people are supportive of the cause :')

[myojo-s-me.livejournal.com]

Pretty much seconded on all accounts. And even... what if getting into Manga made you start to care about Japan years ago? Many people I know that got into Japan through Manga now are genuinely interested in the country, even before the earthquake, even after falling out of any fandom >| Only that those people had no clue where Japan was on a map before this happened does not mean that all Mangafans only care because of some drawn pictures <.<;

[lethal-bonbon.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting. I was curious to know what the Japanese artists think of those insensitive fanarts.
My country itself is often a soft target for rape and death fics due to it's gruesome colonial history and current poverty problem. But I kinda go over it now....and kinda glad that it doesn't have a character!
My prayers are with Japan. People here are all busy organizing prayer meets and charity fests; the churches and temples are full of this activity all day and night. It's heartwarming to see how the world forget differences and come together for Japan.

[gominolasyfresa.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for posting, different points of view of a subject are always welcome.
I admit I had done a couple of drawings for the sake of "relieving" and posted them, all this before reading your entry. Seriously, I did not have in mind the offensive consequences, I seriously apologize for being that "insensitive". And I know that Japan is not only cartoons and comics (well, I happen to love both Hetalia and Sengoku Basara). As any other country, it has history, culture and people.

I was trying to help with something while I was looking for somewhere to donate (It is almost impossible for many of us to go to Japan and help in person, what else we can do?)

I have contacted my Japanese friends and thanks heavens they are ok (some were from zones not hit by earthquake, some people with difficulties to return home but finally returned, still two people missing and I don't have any other way to contact but Twitter...). As many people, I wish that Japan (without forgetting the countries also hit by catastrophes) recovers as fast and as safely as possible. I believe in the world and its people.

[kecen.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is I think I'm still seeing fanworks posted (on this community even) that break the rules of courtesy regarding this :/