Forum - View topicChicks On Anime - Fan Fiction (Part 2)
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lord_darkseid
 Posts: 57 |
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I just have one question: why does every character HAVE to be gay?
It just seems like every time I look up, there's an emphasis on whether two characters (usually of the same sex) want to sleep together, instead of actually laying out a given story / conflict, it's all about making two characters go to bed together. I used to write short anime-based fics in high school for either my English class or just to play around with story ideas, so I can see teachers using them as a method of getting through to students among other things. |
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Big Hed
 Posts: 1607 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with this viewpoint, but it surely is an unfortunate one. So many wonderful stories have tragic endings, and don't deserve to be dismissed critically on that basis. |
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stuckinfresno
 Posts: 223 Location: Fresno, CA |
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First apologies for the long quote - I hate doing that. Still Cait this is a an excellent response. Not to team up on Nanook, but I think you misunderstand what fanfiction is about. Granted there are a large number of PWP fic out there that are nothing short of hey let's just throw these two into bed. However, there are also a fair number of fics out there that actually build a story and create a world for the existing characters to move in. I will agree that these are hard to find, but once they are discovered these types of fics tend to have large following. I cannot for the life of me think of the name of the fic but it was an AU fic for Descendants of Darkness that had me hooked. The writer was extremely good providing detail and characterization. (Granted it was a slash pairing but that its so far fetched considering the fandom) She also provided a large number of new characters that were really interesting and flowed well within the fandom. I understand that there are people who are frustrated at their favorite characters suddenly coming out of the closet, but I remind myself it is fanfiction. I don't like every pairing that there has ever been. A good example are Hellsing fanfics that do pairings like AlucardxAnderson or IntergraxSeras. I feel like asking um, hello do you even watch the show/read the manga? Then I remind myself it is FANFICTION. It is meant to be outlandish and fun - so if someone out there wanted it this way so be it. It is just like picking TV shows or choosing a good novel - to each his own. As the famous saying goes on facfic boards "If you don't like - don't read." |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Because that's what the person writing the fanfic wants to write? It's sort of similar to the music video debate at the dawn of MTV. Concert videos were "booor-innng", but a lot of the musicians voiced the issue they didn't want to make a video & have fans say "See! That's what it's about!" Most creative types seem happy if the person sees any answer whatsoever whether it's what the artist had in mind originally. I loved that interview with ABe in Animerica where the interviewer kept trying to pin down an explanation for part of Haibane whatever-it was (Renmai? My daughter was the ABe fan.) ABe kept saying whatever the viewer sees in it is correct for that viewer. There's also the fact some of these are hinted at so blatantly, it's not even funny. What was that 3 pages of a naked Matsumoto in Orihime's face in a recent Viz release of Bleach (was it 23?) A last page shot of Kenpachi & Mayuri. Aren't these just planting the seeds? Watase commented she was sort of fond of the NakagoXTamahome pairing herself. It really seems to be more the various fans who freak more. (Suggest KenpachiXwhoever). Yes, some fans do go overboard. There's that crack pairing faction that seems to look for the most impossible pairing, but there is a window for many pairings that, on the surface, seem impossible. But in the same way that artists often start out drawing fanart of their fav characters/artist's work, fanfics are the same thing. Some never progress past the horrid stage, but others do, developing their own style. |
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writerpatrick
 Posts: 672 Location: Canada |
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The quality of the writing depends upon the skill and experience of the writer, regardless of whether the work is fanfic or not. The problem with most fanfic is that it's written by non-writers and as such is often dull and filled with amateurish mistakes.
Experienced writers don't usually bother writing fanfic unless they have a real passion for the subject. Usually they're too busy working on stories with characters and settings of thier own creation. |
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musouka
Posts: 707 |
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And, uh, what's wrong if someone does? I will never, ever understand the way people froth over the fact that someone, somewhere is [GASP] writing something about someone else's characters. Someone rewriting the ending of Romeo and Juliet so that they have a million babies and live happily ever after should have exactly zero impact on your enjoyment of the text. Do you fume at the people next to you in movies, assuming they aren't watching the movie the exact same way you do? Do you mock random people in the bookstore, just knowing they might have a different reaction to a text you've also read? What people choose to do and share with like-minded people is their own business. I'm not a published author, but I have had people--strangers, yes, not friends--write things based on my original characters. Sometimes they took them in directions I wasn't comfortable with, but contrary to popular belief, fictional characters are not my "children" or my "babies". Someone de-aging one of my characters to write shotacon, or having two of my characters engage in incest does not change my vision of of the characters, or my blueprint for their lives. |
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turboyoshi
Posts: 16 |
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I think some authors do have a possessive feeling towards their own creations or maybe they see it as a bit of criticism of the original work. Nothing wrong with the creator feeling that way, but it shouldn't stop anyone else from going ahead with their fanfic as long as they're not trying to make money off it. I like happy endings too although I don't lose respect for a sad ending, if it's done properly. A few anime I've watched seem to have this "everyone dies" approach and the ending itself seems like it was thrown together because the creator got tired of the series or something. Whatever the reasons, it's very unsatisfying and if it compels someone else to write and create or reimagine a world, I think that's something to be encouraged. |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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And I will never understand why as soon as a shred of criticism enters into a discussion, so many people immediately say “we’re not allowed to talk about this! Mind your own business!”. Who’s really being intolerant of other opinions here? There's not only like-minded people here. If you really don’t want to talk about something, set an example by keeping silent yourself. If not, prepare for response. Behold the nature of a forum. That said, let’s look back at the quote I originally responded to:
If a story is unhappy, “major points” are subtracted. This is very narrow-minded, and that’s why I made fun of it, not merely because it's different from my own tastes. |
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musouka
Posts: 707 |
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Where did I say "don't talk about it"? To be perfectly honest, I think rewriting the ending of Romeo and Juliet is pretty dumb myself, but I don't suggest the mere idea is abhorrent and offensive, as though Shakespeare is going to spin in his grave like an airplane turbine at the suggestion. The idea that fanfiction is "insulting" seems to come from the equally ridiculous idea that fiction is so sacred that having your own ideas and expressing said ideas is impugning the original work. I don't like CLAMP, I think Seishirou and Subaru are a shitty couple, but even I can't see the insult in going "what if" when it comes to their relationship. It's not as though fanfic writers are claiming to be better than the original, they're just exploring their perception of something they enjoy. If the thought of that makes you break out in hives, well, I guess it's a good thing there's no mandatory "you have to search out and read things you don't like under penalty of death" law on the books, huh? |
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Anime World Order
 Posts: 389 Location: Florida |
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While I've never read or seen any of Bleach, the scenario you've described sounds like a fine example of neo-shonen pandering at its most obvious.
Then again, I must re-ask: why does the supermajority of fan fiction writers want to write about every character being gay or otherwise engaged in some sort of romantic and/or sexual pursuit? Is it really as simple as "because the supermajority of fanfic authors are interested in this sort of thing because they're teenage girls...only it's also true when they're in their 20s-30s...and especially in their 30s-40s and up"? Because I must say that if I was a card-carrying misogynist--AND I AM, WOOP WOOP WOOP--that sounds like exactly the answer I would provide. The most telling excerpt from this column was probably this:
The implication of this statement is that of all the Gundam Wing fan fiction out there that Natalie Baan--a self-professed huge fan fiction enthusiast--read, none of them placed any significant focus on the political aspect of the series, which happens to be its fundamental narrative element! That entire fan fiction communities will handily and gladly jettison wholesale entire aspects of a series en masse, no matter how essential they may be, begs the question: "do they even actually WANT the show itself?" If so many are THAT willing to collectively change/ignore the actual storyline and characterizations present within a given series in order to write "they're all gay!" wouldn't they be equally (if not BETTER) served by simply being handed some drawings of a bunch of characters in various outfits and poses plus some short biographies/vital stats? Perhaps include a drama CD if voice acting is important to the equation? Would this not accomplish the same task for fan fiction authors as the multiple anime for say, Weiss Kreuz?
As I mentioned in my response to last week's column, the problem at hand is that there's a disconnect between what should happen (it is exactly as you say; nothing should happen at all and there should be exactly zero impact) and what actually does happen. Last edited by Anime World Order on Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:17 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Cait
 Posts: 503 |
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I actually find it interesting how a difference of opinion so often results in misunderstanding and conflict on online forums. I have to wonder if such a conflict would still result if the same conversation were had face to face.
I think the crux of the issue here, that some folks are misrepresenting themselves trying to communicate, is that some people just don't like unhappy endings. The counter to this argument (and my personal opinion as well) is, or rather should be, that limiting yourself by taste and preference alone is a detriment to the potential enjoyment of works you might otherwise find yourself experiencing (and possibly enjoying despite your preference). Preferring happy endings does not mean you should only read stories with happy ones, however, it is completely up to you whether or not you do. Preferring happy endings is fine, but limiting yourself or passing pre-judgement before you even consider a story is unfortunate. But ultimately, let's not allow a difference of opinion to create conflict. There's enough of that in the world. |
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Dahling
Posts: 49 |
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Wow, once again both the actual article and the comments posted in response are fantastic. It pains me a little when people automatically assume that young girls write bad smut about their favorite guys (especially speaking as a young female writer myslef, read early teens), but I can understand the where that sentiment comes from and so won't try and (futilely, it seems) argue the point.
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Kimiko_0
 Posts: 1796 Location: Leiden, NL, EU |
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Well, Shakespeare is overrated anyway. He's only as popular as he is because there are few English language writers/manuscripts from that age, and because every English-speaking country insists on putting his works in their school curricula. Having a different native language (Dutch), I find it rather strange to accord just one writer (and a playwright at that) such authority and influence. Eh, but that's a whole 'nother discussion, isn't it? 
Maybe I am narrow-minded. It hasn't hurt my enjoyment of anime so far  I hope my narrow-mindedness doesn't hurt yours either 
As for much fanfic being male slash, maybe that's because most fanfic writers are straight women? |
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edzieba
Posts: 704 |
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Even after quite a while, the sheer volume of slash fiction, and it's massively skewed proportion to everything else, never ceases to surprise and alarm me. Then again, there are only two pieces of fanfiction I can really say I've enjoyed. One is H-Opera's series of Nanoha vs. Evangelion doujins, and the other is the venerable Shinji and Warhammer 40k. That both have an utterly ridiculous premise, depart almost entirely from the source materiel (in terms of setting and plot), and are exceptionally well executed probably says much. If the premise essentially boils down to "It's just like X, except Y and Z like each other LOLOLOL" I really don't see the point in bothering to write it down. Have people's imaginations degraded that far?
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Showsni
 Posts: 641 |
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I definitely agree with this sentiment. If it's a fan writing about a series they like then sure, I'm fine with it; but if some author not the creator is writing books meant to be "official sequels" or spin offs to someone else's work, then it rubs me completely the wrong way. If they're not by the original author, they're not official. Label them as fan fics, but don't try to make them something they're not. This goes for just about any series that has inspired these kind of sequels. |
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