moepsen3

Originality is a really good theme you hit on. Each genre, besides the actual books that make it up, has its own set of ‘rules’ for how elements of the story should be and all writers working with that genre are pulling from this pool – sometimes quite a bit and sometimes not as much in order to mix it up. But because they all have their characteristics, it is hard to say what’s original.

Usually, taking an author’s characters is getting into troublesome territory, but I think that is one facilitation in Fanfiction that is important. Most aren’t publishing their Fanfics for money, and from my reading experience, a large amount recognize that X is the author’s and only the plot is mine or something of the sort. Fanfic writers aren’t under the delusion that they’re being completely original, they are just having fun working on their writing! I don’t write FF myself, but do enjoy reading it – something people have laughed at me for sometimes – especially when I have an OTP the original work isn’t doing justice for!

Many of my friends had this debate when more of us started getting into anime. I really liked how you capitalized on both being valid art forms because I think the process of a person judging a voice actor performance is akin to how people who ‘read the book first’ feel when they go to see the movie. Usually, after the book, a reader has created an image in their head about a character – their looks, voice, style, etc. – and sometimes the movie version is very far from this and they may not like the defamiliarization that occurs. I usually go with subs, but part of that is my interest in language and enjoying the aspect of listening to the different pronunciation rules than my own. I like dubs as well, but sometimes I find that the voice just doesn’t match for me or that the emotion is being conveyed a bit stiffly. I go with whatever gets me closest to the pure emotion of an anime.

I was really glad to see a writer address this topic because it is one of the main reasons I am not as open about my passion for anime with others. I remember when I first delved into the realm it was with Naruto (pre-shipudden on Toonami), and it doesn’t even have that sexual element to it, but I’d always change the channel when my brother or parents walked into my room. Even though I was young, I got this feeling that there was a stigma and when I got older, I recognized the sexual elements being part of this.

Sometimes I get a little annoyed with fan service, especially when a piece of work is so good that it seems like ‘you don’t need this, it’s so good on its own’, but I understand it sells more. Usually, I object to it from a literary standpoint, though, rather than condemning it for being a bad thing.