Well, we've seen .hack enter the English market with their first episode shown on Cartoon Network. The English Dub is, at least in my opinion, not all that bad... but that's not here nor there, and not quite the point of the topic.
How do you guys think that the online .hack community, such as it is at this point, is going to be affected by an influx of new fans? There is always a bit of prestige that goes with being the 'first' group of people to have watched and enjoyed a series.
How do you think things are going to go from this point onwards? Become better with the new contributions? Worse, because of really odd things happening? Stay the same, with some good and some bad? Speak up, lets hear your thoughts!
.hack//SIGN in English
.hack//SIGN in English
Cha.
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
Well as the population of a fan base goes up there are bound to be umm more well unwanted elements however there will be more new ideas and good new fans to counter the lamers. Why do I suddenly think of a conversion that Subaru and Ginkan had about this very topic so to speak?
As the Rain falls...
I close my eyes...
And dream of rings...
spinning in the darkness....
-An unknown Hunter
I close my eyes...
And dream of rings...
spinning in the darkness....
-An unknown Hunter
On Fans and Fandoms
Well, we'll have to see. It really depends on how the american audiance responds to .hack. I remember one of the big problems with the Xenogears community before I dropped over the radar there was that a lot of people got rather full of themselves - as if being fans of something was enough to grant them some special status. Very strange, if you ask me. Very strange indeed.
But, we also will get to see more creative bits as well, hopefully. More .hack fanart, more fanfics, more theories and ideas being fielded, and as is always good with very popular fandoms... we get more of the same added on. Think on it - more .hack than you can shake a stick at. We've already got .hack//DUSK being released in Japan (scary cute!) so who knows what might actually be next?
But, we also will get to see more creative bits as well, hopefully. More .hack fanart, more fanfics, more theories and ideas being fielded, and as is always good with very popular fandoms... we get more of the same added on. Think on it - more .hack than you can shake a stick at. We've already got .hack//DUSK being released in Japan (scary cute!) so who knows what might actually be next?
Cha.
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
Hey hey, of course we're full of ourselves. "You shall be as gods," remember? We all know the Bible was written to accomodate the Xenogears community! How else would we be able to quote passages we know nothing about?
Ahem. Actually, I'm just the person who hates peepol hoo kant spel.
I agree with you, Rune - there will probably be more good than bad to come out of a bigger fan base. I, for one, would like to see more .hack fan art, and that won't happen if it stays obscure. (At least, not very fast.) Who knows - maybe someone will manage some really HUGE screenshots, and I'll be able to make a decent wallpaper for once. It would be nice.
Sadly... there will also be many lamers to make our lives hell. Balance, there must be. ^^
Ja.
Ahem. Actually, I'm just the person who hates peepol hoo kant spel.
I agree with you, Rune - there will probably be more good than bad to come out of a bigger fan base. I, for one, would like to see more .hack fan art, and that won't happen if it stays obscure. (At least, not very fast.) Who knows - maybe someone will manage some really HUGE screenshots, and I'll be able to make a decent wallpaper for once. It would be nice.
Sadly... there will also be many lamers to make our lives hell. Balance, there must be. ^^
Ja.
...alright, that is just a strange way to put it. But you were more involved in TheEthos than I was - what a bunch of braggerts those tended to be sometimes. Well, without as much metaphysical bits as Xenogears, I don't think .hack will have that sort of problem, though...
We can hope not, at least.
But I am looking forward to the most postive aspects, and hoping the more negative ones don't persist for all that long. It IS new, and I think the 'new obsession' smell will stay with us for a while. ^^
We can hope not, at least.
But I am looking forward to the most postive aspects, and hoping the more negative ones don't persist for all that long. It IS new, and I think the 'new obsession' smell will stay with us for a while. ^^
Cha.
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
Sorry, I can't help poking fun at them. ^.^ After spending so much time in one community, I've seen certain trends that annoy, and annoy, and annoy......alright, that is just a strange way to put it. But you were more involved in TheEthos than I was - what a bunch of braggerts those tended to be sometimes. Well, without as much metaphysical bits as Xenogears, I don't think .hack will have that sort of problem, though...
I bet I can find references in .hack//SIGN! ^.^ There's symbolism. And a few weird terms.
That's what'll save this fandom, you know - the apparent lack of literary/mythological reference. I've only seen it through once, so I can't really say that's an absolute truth, but I didn't spot much. And that's the big problem with the Xenogears fandom, in my opinion. It isn't like any random fool can't grab an angel dictionary and figure out what 'Metatron' is, but they think that knowledge makes them godlike.
When, of course, we all know it only makes me godlike. *ducks and runs*
Sorry, I don't mean to turn this into a Xeno-bashing thread. ^_^; Really.
Ja.
Amber Michelle
The fallen angels said to Enoch, "O man of God! Pray for us to the Lord," and he answered: "Who am I, a mortal man, that I should pray for angels?
The fallen angels said to Enoch, "O man of God! Pray for us to the Lord," and he answered: "Who am I, a mortal man, that I should pray for angels?
*laughs* And the big post from the self proclaimed lurker! 
And if we annoy people, they'll tell us to stop. In the morning. ^_^
I know there are some imagery and references in em - Gearhead broke out an entire mini-dissertation the other day of things that I didn't notice. But at least this sort of thing is more based around modern day, technological bits. That probably helps over quasi-religious references.
Not to mention that there isn't any mythical 'holy grail' sourcebook like Perfect Works that will never be translated into English. I think that added to the entire Xenogears mystique.
That is what this fandom needs! LOTS of merchandising! ^_^
And if we annoy people, they'll tell us to stop. In the morning. ^_^
I know there are some imagery and references in em - Gearhead broke out an entire mini-dissertation the other day of things that I didn't notice. But at least this sort of thing is more based around modern day, technological bits. That probably helps over quasi-religious references.
Not to mention that there isn't any mythical 'holy grail' sourcebook like Perfect Works that will never be translated into English. I think that added to the entire Xenogears mystique.
That is what this fandom needs! LOTS of merchandising! ^_^
Cha.
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
I both fear and impatiently await the coming future of .hack//. I know that there will be lots of people of the 'pokemon' generation and yeah, they'll be the ones that scare me... I really more than anything am worried about how most of the younger mainstream American fanbase is less mature than those who have been into anime longer... but also when I look back at how I was before I got to where I am today, I remember I was probably a scary newbie as well. I guess we all start somewhere. I wouldn't mind all the extra stuff too, it'll be neat to get it publicity, instead of having to search high and low just to find tiny tidbits of stuff.
One thing though, with .hack// as a series, it gets quite confusing and even I still have trouble figuring it out. Will most people even take the -time- to try and understand it, or will they whine about it and say it sucks because they can't just have it on a plate and handed to them? Oh well, perhaps I'm just paranoid. :\
One thing though, with .hack// as a series, it gets quite confusing and even I still have trouble figuring it out. Will most people even take the -time- to try and understand it, or will they whine about it and say it sucks because they can't just have it on a plate and handed to them? Oh well, perhaps I'm just paranoid. :\
Durhi - Retarded puchiguso
Ah-ha.. you have invoked the Gear...
I can't help it if I'm studying aspects of this rather intensely in a Japanese media and pop culture class right now. My professor has been encouraging critical thinking and keeping our eyes peeled for solid parallels.
We've been paying a lot of attention to computers.
I can't help it if I'm studying aspects of this rather intensely in a Japanese media and pop culture class right now. My professor has been encouraging critical thinking and keeping our eyes peeled for solid parallels.
We've been paying a lot of attention to computers.
~ Resident Voodoo Techie ~
Well some of the more confusing plot elements in .hack might actually keep some of the more unwanted types away as they can't get it and goes this sucks. Anyhow just me two gold on the matter.
As the Rain falls...
I close my eyes...
And dream of rings...
spinning in the darkness....
-An unknown Hunter
I close my eyes...
And dream of rings...
spinning in the darkness....
-An unknown Hunter
I'm adding a comment to this just to say one thing:
I'm pretty sure that Brianne Siddall plays both Tsukasa and Elk (just as Mitsuki Saiga does... hurm.....)
BUT! I think she does a much better job as Elk than she does as Tsukasa. @.@ I love her voice as Elk, but not Tsukasa! ;_;
I'm just picky. :p
HOWEVER....
Much like Asmaria, I'm afraid of what's going to happen with the English market. This is a fear that was bred when I was working at Planet Anime when the Pokemon craze started. *twitch* We had pokemon stuff BEFORE it became popular in the states. n.n_v
However... That's another topic entirely. American fandom scares me, honestly. There are some people out there that really need to be slapped and whatnot. And often times, companies will feed this fandom to get money off of them. Make all sorts of paraphanelia and whatnot. Not that I don't think figurines and stuff wouldn't be cool, but you get what I'm saying, right? n.n;;
I also tend to start disliking a series once it gets really popular. That's why I don't like Kenshin very much, because I never got exposed to it before the masses came in- the whole... 'Toonami Generation' of anime fans as the president of the RAC and I call 'em. n.n;; They all were like... 'I want to see Kenshin go against Gokuu!' and stupid BS like that.
I'll hold firm to my happy hole of .hack, but... We'll see. Depends on what age group latches onto it here in the US. I mean, we've got a better tolerance for 'animation isn't just for kids' than we did when I first got into anime (I've seen video rental places put Urotsukidoji in the freakin' KIDS section! @.@; Stupid stupid people.) Hopefully, it'll be a group that is mature about it. c.c I mean, I'm glad the games are rated for Teen and up. Even if the ESRP (or whatever they're called) says it's for mild sexual issues or whatnot. It's because the games have a story that younger kids cannot handle unless they can look at it from a mature perspective.
This isn't a kid's story. This is a very mixed up, convoluted, screw with your mind story. And a very good one at that...
....and I'm rambling again. ^-^;;; I'll hush now. You get my idea, though. -_^
I'm pretty sure that Brianne Siddall plays both Tsukasa and Elk (just as Mitsuki Saiga does... hurm.....)
BUT! I think she does a much better job as Elk than she does as Tsukasa. @.@ I love her voice as Elk, but not Tsukasa! ;_;
I'm just picky. :p
HOWEVER....
Much like Asmaria, I'm afraid of what's going to happen with the English market. This is a fear that was bred when I was working at Planet Anime when the Pokemon craze started. *twitch* We had pokemon stuff BEFORE it became popular in the states. n.n_v
However... That's another topic entirely. American fandom scares me, honestly. There are some people out there that really need to be slapped and whatnot. And often times, companies will feed this fandom to get money off of them. Make all sorts of paraphanelia and whatnot. Not that I don't think figurines and stuff wouldn't be cool, but you get what I'm saying, right? n.n;;
I also tend to start disliking a series once it gets really popular. That's why I don't like Kenshin very much, because I never got exposed to it before the masses came in- the whole... 'Toonami Generation' of anime fans as the president of the RAC and I call 'em. n.n;; They all were like... 'I want to see Kenshin go against Gokuu!' and stupid BS like that.
I'll hold firm to my happy hole of .hack, but... We'll see. Depends on what age group latches onto it here in the US. I mean, we've got a better tolerance for 'animation isn't just for kids' than we did when I first got into anime (I've seen video rental places put Urotsukidoji in the freakin' KIDS section! @.@; Stupid stupid people.) Hopefully, it'll be a group that is mature about it. c.c I mean, I'm glad the games are rated for Teen and up. Even if the ESRP (or whatever they're called) says it's for mild sexual issues or whatnot. It's because the games have a story that younger kids cannot handle unless they can look at it from a mature perspective.
This isn't a kid's story. This is a very mixed up, convoluted, screw with your mind story. And a very good one at that...
....and I'm rambling again. ^-^;;; I'll hush now. You get my idea, though. -_^
Oooh, new spell to add to my book of happy fun ways to destroy the world - 'Invoke Gearhead'. Need to keep that one in mind. ^_~
But yes, it is a more complex story, and I don't think that its going to attract your usual 'Oooh I wanna see things go boom!' audiance that we're used to seeing in the states, especially among people who's main source of anime is the Toonami block. But as has been pointed out earlier, just because someone got STARTED with Toonami doesn't mean that they can't make their contributions to the fandom and such. Newbie does not automatically make you scum of the earth and unworthy of respect - it just means you're new!
But I would like to see new merchandising bits - who wouldn't? I like happy fun little toys (and figurines, and models, etc) so its certainly not gonna hurt to see new stuff coming over here. It can only help the franchise overall, if things do well.
And I still think you're just baised about Tsukasa's voice, Tsu. ^_~
But yes, it is a more complex story, and I don't think that its going to attract your usual 'Oooh I wanna see things go boom!' audiance that we're used to seeing in the states, especially among people who's main source of anime is the Toonami block. But as has been pointed out earlier, just because someone got STARTED with Toonami doesn't mean that they can't make their contributions to the fandom and such. Newbie does not automatically make you scum of the earth and unworthy of respect - it just means you're new!
But I would like to see new merchandising bits - who wouldn't? I like happy fun little toys (and figurines, and models, etc) so its certainly not gonna hurt to see new stuff coming over here. It can only help the franchise overall, if things do well.
And I still think you're just baised about Tsukasa's voice, Tsu. ^_~
Cha.
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
I'm not saying I WOULDN'T like to see it... But... there's a group of people out there that have a very low intelligence level and I remember talking to them. @.@;;;
I refer to them as 'toonami' generation as that's the time period of when they started. A large number of these people, though, still do little thinks that really irk me. They can 'mature' out of that and into another field of anime fandom... But that's just me. I'm not quite an old schooler, but I'm close to it, having got involved in stuff made in the late 80's as my first series (BGC, Dirty Pair, etc). It's a fandom that not only am I not used to seeing, but I don't like seeing, because it feels like they don't respect it as much... If that makes sense. n.n;; I dunno. It's hard to explain...
and maybe I am biased. :p I still think that her voice is perfect for Elk. There ARE points when she sounded good in .hack//SIGN. I think part of it is that her voice for Tsu sound incredibly forced. @.@;; That's an immediate turn off for me. n.n;; When Saiga played the role, dropping her voice down an octave, it sounded more natural to my ears, at least.
I'm also the jaded fan that WANTS to be a fan, but fears a lot of the fans out there now. n.n;; I think working at Planet Anime did that. People said it'd kill my love for anime, but I think it did someth similar instead, killed my hopes in the fandom. n.n;;
Oh. and you sig keeps making me think of Ayumu's line in Spiral. "The melody of logic will always be heard." or someth like that. @.@ I can't remember it exactly. I can't remember much right now anyway. n.n;;
I refer to them as 'toonami' generation as that's the time period of when they started. A large number of these people, though, still do little thinks that really irk me. They can 'mature' out of that and into another field of anime fandom... But that's just me. I'm not quite an old schooler, but I'm close to it, having got involved in stuff made in the late 80's as my first series (BGC, Dirty Pair, etc). It's a fandom that not only am I not used to seeing, but I don't like seeing, because it feels like they don't respect it as much... If that makes sense. n.n;; I dunno. It's hard to explain...
and maybe I am biased. :p I still think that her voice is perfect for Elk. There ARE points when she sounded good in .hack//SIGN. I think part of it is that her voice for Tsu sound incredibly forced. @.@;; That's an immediate turn off for me. n.n;; When Saiga played the role, dropping her voice down an octave, it sounded more natural to my ears, at least.
I'm also the jaded fan that WANTS to be a fan, but fears a lot of the fans out there now. n.n;; I think working at Planet Anime did that. People said it'd kill my love for anime, but I think it did someth similar instead, killed my hopes in the fandom. n.n;;
Oh. and you sig keeps making me think of Ayumu's line in Spiral. "The melody of logic will always be heard." or someth like that. @.@ I can't remember it exactly. I can't remember much right now anyway. n.n;;
Hnnn...
Well, I generally take a negative approach on the expansion of a fandom if only due to the ratio of serious (not obsessive) fans to idiots. There will always be an idiot in the mix, no matter the fandom. It's just statistics. However, there is generally a ratio of idiot to fan that isn't horribly bad when the fandom is smallish.. however, as it grows, the number of idiots -also- increases, and being exposed to that much idiocy can certainly drive me away.
I have an aquaintance at home that defines 'annoying fanboy' and is responsible for me hating Slayers, Invader Zim, Star Wars, and Monty Python even for months after I stopped interacting with him. People like that can make me despise my favorite series.. and unfortunately, with Cartoon Network's carrying //SIGN, undoubtedly he will know if it, much to my unhappiness when I have to go home and might be exposed to him again.
HOWEVER. That's a strictly personal viewpoint and extremely biased!
In general, when a fandom grows, the company responsible for $series knows this and will milk us for -more-, which means more merchandise, more cool stuff, more information, just so long as things keep growing and people are willing to, and -wanting- to get more. Until it gets 'old', I think we can expect more 'stuff', which makes the merchandise whore in me get starry eyed, and my wallet start to cry.
As for Fanart, as much as I'm glad, it will also provide more competition for me, which makes me slightly wary because I need to be better or just as good as my peers to be able to sell stuff ^^;; at this moment, doing fanart of obscure stuff most fanartists don't know about helps me sell ^o^;; but maybe I'll get better fast enough to keep up ~o~
But again, that's a personal bias. In general, the growing of a fandom is a good thing, as relative as that word is -anyway-.
Considering, as of late, I've seen a lot of people not like .hack//SIGN because it was boring (no action, just conversations 'n stuff), which means that it obviously didn't appeal to their intellectual side, which is generally what I like. I think that's a good way to filter out who would otherwise be just another person who doesn't generally think before they spout out some random theory.
But that's just me o.-
Well, I generally take a negative approach on the expansion of a fandom if only due to the ratio of serious (not obsessive) fans to idiots. There will always be an idiot in the mix, no matter the fandom. It's just statistics. However, there is generally a ratio of idiot to fan that isn't horribly bad when the fandom is smallish.. however, as it grows, the number of idiots -also- increases, and being exposed to that much idiocy can certainly drive me away.
I have an aquaintance at home that defines 'annoying fanboy' and is responsible for me hating Slayers, Invader Zim, Star Wars, and Monty Python even for months after I stopped interacting with him. People like that can make me despise my favorite series.. and unfortunately, with Cartoon Network's carrying //SIGN, undoubtedly he will know if it, much to my unhappiness when I have to go home and might be exposed to him again.
HOWEVER. That's a strictly personal viewpoint and extremely biased!
In general, when a fandom grows, the company responsible for $series knows this and will milk us for -more-, which means more merchandise, more cool stuff, more information, just so long as things keep growing and people are willing to, and -wanting- to get more. Until it gets 'old', I think we can expect more 'stuff', which makes the merchandise whore in me get starry eyed, and my wallet start to cry.
As for Fanart, as much as I'm glad, it will also provide more competition for me, which makes me slightly wary because I need to be better or just as good as my peers to be able to sell stuff ^^;; at this moment, doing fanart of obscure stuff most fanartists don't know about helps me sell ^o^;; but maybe I'll get better fast enough to keep up ~o~
But again, that's a personal bias. In general, the growing of a fandom is a good thing, as relative as that word is -anyway-.
Considering, as of late, I've seen a lot of people not like .hack//SIGN because it was boring (no action, just conversations 'n stuff), which means that it obviously didn't appeal to their intellectual side, which is generally what I like. I think that's a good way to filter out who would otherwise be just another person who doesn't generally think before they spout out some random theory.
But that's just me o.-
Being an anime fan was much easier when it was a nich group - at least them it tended to be kinda exclusive, due to the fact that anime was EXPENSIVE to say the least. Generally you needed a fairly regular source of income and a good amount of dedication to shell out $40 for a half hour episode - which is all that was being released on one tape for quite a while.
This tended to make it so that only more educated (And ths affluent) and dedicated epople were in the fandom. So when people began to get more interested, and the fandom became more mainstream, we began getting a much wider cross-section of the fandom involved.
The big thing that .hack has to contend with is saturation and burnout - that's a problem a lot of people have had with Pokemon, for example, or any of the other popular series. Its not as easy to do when you've always got new stuff being released for a series, but when you're exposed to the same material over and over again... well, eventually you're going to get sick of it. Just remains to be seen if Bandai will be intelligent about this.
This tended to make it so that only more educated (And ths affluent) and dedicated epople were in the fandom. So when people began to get more interested, and the fandom became more mainstream, we began getting a much wider cross-section of the fandom involved.
The big thing that .hack has to contend with is saturation and burnout - that's a problem a lot of people have had with Pokemon, for example, or any of the other popular series. Its not as easy to do when you've always got new stuff being released for a series, but when you're exposed to the same material over and over again... well, eventually you're going to get sick of it. Just remains to be seen if Bandai will be intelligent about this.
Cha.
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~
~Perpetual Thorn of Logic and Reason~