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hetalia2011-03-13 01:13 pm
minako134.livejournal.com) wrote in hetalia2011-03-13 01:13 pm
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in regards to hetalia (and other fandom) fanart referencing the recent disaster in Japan
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.
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.
Re: Copy pasted from what I've said earlier.
And going back to the Polish disaster, first major disaster I was in the Hetalia fandom for, there were plenty of people calling it "too soon" as well.