Just a fan who like to put her thoughts into words. Design will vary depend on me. Not spoiler-free. Discourse-free. Ship hate/shipping wars-free. No AI usage for writing here. This is my thoughts written with no AI machine help to describe or anything. We have done it before AI.
This situation going on for FF7R is terrible. A leak of this magnitude of a game of equal magnitude is going to hurt how the industry going to handle going forward.
There is no doubt about it.
Nomura wasn't happy with KH3 leaks and he certainly won't be any happier with this situation.
It's terrible for a company and a team of devs who worked so hard.
No video game company deserves this, not even the controversial companies known as EA and Bethesda.
On the bright side, there had been nothing but positivity regarding the spoilers.
No, I won't even name the spoilers because I am saving myself for what the remake has to offer.
Leaks can be good. For example, rumors going around are fine. As long as they don't spoil too much, I guess it wouldn't be too bad.
However, it can ruin the experience who wants to experience something for the first time.
Especially a game of critical acclaim worldwide.
Square knows how much this game means to people. For many, it's their entry to JRPG and/or the wider video game sphere. If it wasn't for FF7, then JRPG wouldn't be as well-known and popular as they are now.
Even my family knows about FF7 when we don't even have a Playstation. Our first home console is an Xbox! Seriously, our family only became serious gamers when my dad bought home consoles and my cousins would've become serious gamers if they had a Playstation or N64 or just something in the bit era.
So have this game, spoilers and all, out in the open is horrible.
People want the full experience of what made this game special or be apart of what is video game history at its core. There is no doubt FF7 is a part of video game history, considering its impact on what JRPGs can go.
I want the full experience and I was smiling when I watched the opening cinematic.
I am glad I had been avoiding FF7R fan forums that have even a speckling of spoilers. I was waiting to see the demo and the official release and whatever SE has to say.
Again, sometimes leaks can be good. They can drive excitement and speculation of what this is.
For example, the Star Wars sequel movies from 8 to 9. As terrible as the movies are, the leaks had been out there and not many believe it because the fans believe there is no way it could be true. Not only it sounded ridiculous but also terrible. Fan speculations have better storytelling than this potential hodgepodge.
And guess what?
The leaks are more or less true and people were astounded. Most of the fans don't like it because it's just not Star Wars and that doesn't help the media and Rian Johnson's continued crusade against just people who hate the movie and want to move on from the trainwreck.
How about the Disney park rides? There had been rumors going on about Galaxy's Edge. Although Galaxy Edge is beautiful, the section is not that popular. I'm pretty sure the Animal Kingdom is still the most popular attraction and Galaxy Edge is not even close.
If people genuinely seek out spoilers for something they know won't be seeing like the Rise of Skywalker, then I guess in that situation it's fine.
However, in a game where there are new material and lore where people want to experience firsthand, then it's horrible!
In this situation, SE and the devs do not deserve this for an impatient data miners to release everything out there, entire script and all, for the world to see before release date and before the demo is even released!
Sometimes, data miners can do a good job to see what cut material had been done such as with KH3.
But in this case, it's horrendous!
Again, there is nothing but good things said about the leaks.
It's just everything is spoiled and people's potential experience is ruined.
And nobody deserves this.
I'm happy SE gonna move forward for now because all they can do for now is have cease-and-desist and copyright strikes for spoilers. It's the right choice because they can address it publicly when the date of arrival comes.
Crossdressing Cloud! Proper Lady Walk! Gorgeous Miss Cloud! Wall Market Dresses! Tifa's boobs! That is not censored! Ah, I just can't wait to see all the things I could do at Wall Market. I want to see the choice where Corneo picks the healthy-looking girl! Seriously, you have no idea how many tries I have to rig just to have Cloud be picked. Cloud's face in HD will be priceless since in the original, of course, Cloud didn't expect it and I need that face in full form so I can see it all the time. I sincerely want to see Miss Cloud with a tiara. Ah, dressing up Cloud as a beautiful woman is something I always look forward to when I play FFVII. I wonder if there is a skin that if we get the costume, we can get Cloud to wear it through Midgar including the ride out of Midgar. Because I have seen skins for Noctis that people chose willingly that appeared in important cutscenes. And I know I wasn't the only one putting someone in a silly costume throughout a game. Err.. yeah, I am guilty about forcing my characters to wear silly costumes and to see how they can react to it or just for fun. My cousin does it. I wonder if Mark Hamill is going to play Don Corneo because it does sound vaguely like him and Mark Hamill deserves to move on after the disaster that is the Disney Star Wars and its destruction of the OG characters to join SE in more titles than just KH.
The Stairs! Red XIII! Nanaki!!
Yes, I'm mainly focusing on that since I want to pretty up Cloud so very much. Because seriously if there is some way for me to dress up some boys in really pretty clothing and pulling it off, I will be a happy camper. Maybe it's because of my exposure to anime who used crossdressing liberally and I see a lot of times in anime and manga and my strong desire to just see boys in women's clothing and looking good wearing it and seriously I do not care about any of the PC bs when I want to see is boys gleefully wearing dresses and looking good or because I like dresses, I have no clue but the main thing is that I like to dress up boys in pretty clothing, especially women's clothing and see them pull it off. Whether it is a good rep or not is up to the Japanese because it's their goddamn work and how they view it. We should not let western thought destroy what the other culture think and progress at their own pace. I already have enough cultural imperialism in Tumblr and Twitter circles and I don't want other cultures to believe they are inferior just because they view it uniquely and their progress is a distinctive progressive than the West. And I know this is part of the dreaded shipping disaster that is today fandom, shipping is not activism. You just like them together and having fun with that. To say you don't ship this particular couple doesn't make you anti-LGBT. I rarely ship now but I still keep my tenets of shipping where I only read ships I have an inclination to. Does that make me anti-LGBT when I am fucking biromantic demisexual and that I took the time to fucking research what it means to these people in the real world sphere? A rep is a rep but it won't be the driving course to victory. Consider it a small one as media could change but don't expect a quick change. Either you don't care - as I have done recently but my preference for my ships is only for those I like and only seek out since for example, I don't enjoy AGSZC and GC and SC at all but I prefer ZC and Aerti and well ClEriTiAck of the FFVII to get an idea.
And I heard of Survive Said The Prophet, especially after Banana Fish and Vinland Saga! How can I can not? I was surprised to see the name of where this singer came from since I know about the band. Then again, I wasn't expecting to see Florence + The Machine and Vivienne Westwood near any JRPG, especially the latter. I expected some kind of product placement or some partnership with a brand since the Final Fantasy name is still popular. At least it's not the level of downfall as Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars... Godoka, just mentioning those poor franchises in the state they are in makes me depressed. Again, Final Fantasy and even Pokemon - yes, even with the current game controversies - doesn't have the same ruination, thank god.
Speaking of which, because I am spazzing, my brother bought me a Real Grade Gunpla! Holy Godoka! It's also my first RG too because initially, I was just planning to just have HG for now and move slowly into RG and MG. PG is something I would love to have mainly because of awe just looking at the damn thing.
I'm still in shock, to be honest. I keep glancing up at my shelf just looking at the unopened box because that's how much I was not expecting this.
If a Gunpla surprised me, then if my brother had bought me a figure, then I'm pretty sure I'll feel fainter than I first saw the gift. Or a PG Gunpla.
Considering how much I often profess I say I want to go to Japan seasonally, it's not an issue that my family would know what to get me. My brother's girlfriend even gave me Sailor Moon graphic tee as a Christmas present! That's how much she is aware I love Sailor Moon.
Let's get this out of the way. I have two expensive gifts of the Sailor Moon variety (Samantha Vega Luna and Artemis purse and backpack respectively) alongside a Loungfly Mickey Mouse mini backpack as one of the most expensive gifts I have. And this RG is right up there because not only I was not expecting it and the reasonable thing I could get was a graphic tee shirt of whatever franchise I made sure I like and I like many things.
And I was checking it again and it's a Gundam Seed Destiny Gunpla. Now Gunpla in that series is very good last I heard but I don't like the series unlike say Unicorn. Even Iron-Blooded Orphans is higher than Destiny and Seed any of the week. And no, I didn't say that because I don't like IBO, I do. Any series is above Seed and Destiny any day.
But the fact it's an RG Gunpla, no matter which series it comes from, is gonna shock me. I was expecting the purses and backpacks because my cousin discussed it beforehand about thinking about getting it for herself, her sister, and me. Because if my brother get me a PG instead, I just don't know how to feel.
I know that each progressive grade gets a bigger box each time. So to see it is I need more goddamn space.
It's one thing to know that the marginalized deserved better and should have but it's another to bully somebody for simply disliking a movie based on assumed politics.
People don't want too obvious politics in the media they consume. If there are politics, not only people would want to seek it out but make damn sure it's story and characters first and not politics.
If the politics are the driving force, no matter where you lean, then it's propaganda.
People don't like propaganda.
Especially by people who think they know best.
And woke culture is exactly that. People who think they know best and think they have the entitlement to decide what people can like or dislike based purely on political standings and think something can just sink based on politics alone, even when politics isn't the end-goal. Disagree with them with the slightest due respect, you will find yourselves being called names. They honestly think if you like this, you support the politics and maintain that politics that made the world bad. It's a set of ideas that people will, of course, disagree with, but the woke crowd doesn't understand that human thought at all.
In the fandom, the youngest members who don't know much about fandom history and that older people are in the fandom thinks they know best by saying they should only ship this because it's 'pure' and doesn't glorify anything problematic or like this, because it has whatever progressive thing. All they want is healthy and the same age; seriously, even give a couple that only has just two age differences, they'll call it pedophile.
While fandoms have always been fiery, in recent years, it's grown venomous. Think gatekeeping to a ludicrous extent (for example, now shipping had always been serious business in fandoms, but no age differences are tolerated in any capacity and then there's the Given situation where fans are frantically trying to gatekeep shippers because they don't want them to 'taint' a gay product; it's gay and no one of those people ever brought up the fact Given is a yaoi. And all these are the young fans with the oldest around the early twenties.) and thinking nobody could like this based on the lack of progressivism or the promise thereof.
I have been in fandoms for over a decade already and I hate the puritan mindset of new fans that I want to push away from. I want to tell them they are not the be-all-end-all to people who have been in fandoms for decades. They should instead learn about fandom history and common sense. I have seen an uproar about AO3 that the puritan fans want to be discarded, instead of learning fandom history and just how significant the site is. I was damn glad AO3 won the Hugo Award because that shut them up real good and just how much support poured in from just the room alone; looking at so many people standing up in the award room is awesome and heartwarming.
It does not help that the media encouraged it through articles and mediums. Disney is an offender here since they seemed to prioritize politics over telling a good story. I'm pretty sure Eisner would put his foot down on politics when from whatever I saw, he's more a visionary who just wanted people to have fun.
This is not to say progressivism is bad. It's the opposite. However, calling people names and guilting them by calling them -ists and/or -phobes is not the way to go. Especially when most people never once call it to attention based on their criticism. If they have criticism based on politics, it would be either forced down their throats or something they note after they watched it. I recall people calling Wonder Woman feminist after watching. Those are what brought up after the fact. If people note something is wrong with the writing of politics, they will say it after what is put out there for all to see.
Considering politics had been in stories for a long time long before woke even came out, woke could only be considered woke if it's forced and made a priority above all reason, forcing people to be lectured. You can still have politics in entertainment but it shouldn't be the only thing going for it and make it above storytelling. Because storytelling is the most important feature with if you have politics that is worldbuilding and natural and not 'here, you dummy, this is what you should know and if you disagree on any level including storytelling, you are this and that' sprinkles on the cake.
Woke media AKA the people writing the articles are only out there for brownie points. It's their ego they based their politics around because apparently, that is where they think they have the moral high ground. Even try to disagree civilly and you will be called names while they will place themselves as the superior being, rather than equal who respects what the other thinks, not even just the agree to disagree thing. None of that rationale, just superiority.
Their common scapegoats are the white man and men in general, regardless of color, and their proclaimed love is the white and/or one Asian woman or the women that were presented foremost distinctly when they are LGBT. They will ditch POC characters if it suits their needs like Finn, the entire Alita cast, and the supporting POC cast in that new Rambo movie that wasn't a villain. Look no further than the Star Wars ST. They will bully anybody who doesn't revere Rose, Holdo, Rey, and Kathleen Kennedy but have no problem dismissing Finn, Poe, the ST, the OT, and PT characters, and the Clone Wars and Rebels characters.
Instead of celebrating Captain Marvel and Alita, they demanded a contest, not because it's capitalism where the movies have to vie for consideration, but because one female is not written out front as a feminist icon out front instead of letting the story let it stand on their feet, saying that the progressivism is overall the best over storytelling or fun and like the Joker situation, believed it is a bad movie that is regressive from the get-go but if you know anything about the damn movie, it is not that. And Alita the movie is feminism in its own right. And they didn't even care to know Alita the source material. Let me tell you, I was planning to watch Alita because it's a manga/anime adaptation to see if it adapts the story to the big screen well but giving the woke media, an addendum was added that I'll be watching it out of sheer spite for their incompetence.
Instead of giving Joker a chance, they demonized it from the get-go as some incel narrative when the actual movie is not about that. And Arthur Fleck is not that. At all. They're still doing it with Joker getting Oscar nominations; I'm pretty sure even if Joker just got one nomination, then they'll whine. Again, Arthur Fleck is not an incel; people who watch the movie know this to be true and people who even take a look at knowing the damn spoilers. Seriously, just thinking about it makes me want Joker to win all the awards out of utter spite.
Okay, here's the thing, woke culture, yes, you can call out the Oscars for various things. Hell, I call them out for not appreciating animation as anything more than just for kids. But the Oscars isn't going to be the end-all-be-all and don't expect the Oscars to go woke immediately when Joker is nominated. Hollywood being woke is not the same thing as actually understanding the actual cause. Woke does not equal true equality.
Woke culture is like that. And these are the infamous instances I know of.
They believe they are better from regular moviegoers to casual fans including people who have different cultures thus different ideas of progressivism. China and Japan called out American woke culture a couple times last I know. Now I just have the imagery of Kiku and Yao snapping at Alfred for not respecting their culture and Alfred sobbing into his burgers and fries because the nation he is representing is in the mayhem.
The woke people have a platform and a degree that apparently puts them above people who don't know.
Look, Lindsey Ellis has problems with the arrogant vibe in her videos too which is why I don't watch her often even though I know she could offer insight.
But not even she is at the level of woke culture.
Woke culture means abandoning something you love as soon as it depicted something not progressive or as it should've been.
If you abandon it for that alone, I don't know what to tell you.
I know people grow to dislike something based on some storytelling issues or something forced down their throats unnaturally. I know the feeling. VLD is one such example where the writing continues to decline and just the potential is lost because the showrunners don't understand how to create a natural story, just in their mind, a dark story without any substance where characters are puppets moving set-piece to set-piece.
At the same time though, despite the issues with story and characters and even the badly written politics in it, VLD is still loved. Even though the fans have admitted the later seasons have tainted their reasons for loving it, they will still love it because it's something they love. And spite is also a good motivator too.
Because spite is probably one of the most powerful emotions out there.
And that's not getting into woke culture's love for subversions and deconstructions instead of y'know to embrace cheesiness and wholesomeness. And that's weird too. Because when they are seemingly reasonable, they appeared to embrace the wholesomeness and cheesiness.
Before going off into crazy town with their rhetoric.
Deconstructions and subversions do have a place in media but it shouldn't be the only thing. You can have your realism, but there is nothing wrong with cheesiness and drug-induced writing. For all the problems Ryan Murphy has with his shows, nobody could have possibly made Glee as infamous as he did. There are no copycats because it is that one of a kind and not even Glee fanfiction like Dalton could even reach that level of infamy. They could get the soap opera melodrama down but not whatever the writer had been smoking when writing the series. Dalton only got the OHSHC vibe but not the canonical drug writing.
However, be sure, that letting people love something as 'problematic' shouldn't say they are the worst -ists and/or -phobes in the world. It means they love the dang thing and are well-aware of its flaws but still love it all the same.
But woke culture doesn't understand that. All they get is problematic elements dominate the entire thing therefore the work is bad. Instead of just acknowledging the flaws and still loving it because it made you happy, the problematic stuff is declared as 'here is the bad stuff, you shouldn't do the bad stuff, and this stuff is bad for glorifying this bad thing'. The last thing is not common sense.
It is great to bring attention to problematic elements in what you love. It's important to be critical of stuff you like because you see the flaws yet you still love it. The flaws don't bother you as much as you know that it's not perfect but you appreciate it nonetheless.
However, bring so much attention to the problematic elements and saying it's the death knell of something is repugnant.
People could still love it. Even with the many problematic elements and flaws told and known, nothing should be stopping you from liking it. Nobody is saying that you can't like this thing. I honestly don't care if you like or dislike the entertainment I mentioned in this post. You do you.
If you like the sequel trilogy Disney Star Wars, all the more power to you.
If you like VLD, more power to you.
If you like Captain Marvel, all the power to you.
And yet woke culture continued to attack geeks and calling them names. While it would be true there would be -ists and -phobes somewhere in this world, I never once recall fans are supposedly the worst -ists and -phobes in the world simply because of their reasons for not liking a movie. They have issues with pacing or characterization or that it's just not Star Wars or just something unrelated to politics, moreover writing issues and potential.
Because if they used ad hominem, they should have the upper hand, right?
I want to laugh right now because calling names is not right.
And all towards people who have legit criticisms. From people who genuinely wanted a better product. From people who love it all the same.
Listen, these geeks and the Fandom Menace (which I am calling for these guys) are evidently the vocal minority.
The woke culture is absolutely not seeing the general audience who also called them out. Because these guys are casuals. Because they don't see the failing toy sales that are bought from regular people who like the product enough to buy it. Because they don't see the general audience is the one who actually has the final say. This is why Disney is desperately trying to get back to this general audience after the Last Jedi fails.
The woke media have presented themselves as irrational idiots who believed they have the power to change the minds or manipulate the people.
They don't care about the actual cause.
They don't care about the people who are hurt over a single flick.
They don't care about the criticisms from people who genuinely support the cause.
All they care about is their own conceit.
They can hide behind progressivism and say you are an -ist and/or -phobe solely because you don't like a 'progressive' movie. Forcing their politics and credentials down your throat as if saying you are stupid and can't make your own decisions. Even from your own fucking culture.
Yes, the cultural imperialism in woke culture is a major hot button for me. If you can find a previous post from me, you would know cultural imperialism is horrendous and cruel.
I have a lot of issues with the woke culture.
On one hand, they appeared to want progressivism as fast as they can. Which should not be feasible, given how much human history is concerned.
They could bring attention independently from recreation to politics and point out what is wrong on how it's told.
However, woke culture is not wise.
For example, in Disney Star Wars, if you don't worship Rose Tico, Rey, Holdo, and Kathleen Kennedy, you have deemed a -ist because you don't love 'strong women'.
When they should be called WAHmen, women who perpetuated the system because singularly they are women and therefore superior to all men, even the men are just working in tandem.
They don't care about Ahsoka, Padme, Leia, Mara Jade, Mon Mothma, any woman who is not sequel trilogy.
They don't care about other POC in there who should deserve their screen time like Finn, Luke, and every male in the sequel trilogy and not in the Disney Star Wars trainwreck.
Look, feminism's definition has been debated then and back but there is no issue that people just want better written female CHARACTER, not FEMALE character. Don't make it a priority of identity and politics first over what should be important for entertainment really, story and characterization.
Putting politics first and forcing characters to move in that path abnormally all because you want to push your politics is distasteful.
If people wanted politics, they can seek it out.
However, in the world of entertainment, they would rather have the subtlety of politics.
For example, Persona 5 can get political at times but no one had given it a hard time. Fans have noted its politics but there are no harsh outcries about it in the likes of Disney Star Wars. And yet it is popular enough that even non-gamers should at least hear about the Persona series by now.
Fans don't have much of an outcry when Hamilton came out. While that play has a lot of issues, its politics is not what people have a problem with. They enjoy it certainly in spite of its political undertones.
Again, if there were problems with its politics, it would be noted and taken into account on how it's portrayed.
But the politics in those works came from the heart and not from a place to promote some kind of propaganda.
Just look at FFVII. Its green message came from the heart, not the Saturday morning cartoon who just want you to recycle without giving any kind of nuance. Looking at you, Power Rangers Megaforce.
Politics is a touchy subject unsurprisingly. Both as a story idea and what is unintentionally getting out there because people would see it as reflective of the author, instead of y'know just the exploration of ideas.
But if there is a vital politics in a work that came from the heart, it wouldn't be surprising that it would be praised, especially when it didn't draw too much attention to it.
When it's part of the story naturally, it wouldn't be called out as woke. Not when it doesn't seem to be the forefront but rather part of the worldbuilding.
Hell, even Square Enix knows the cross-dressing Cloud is important to fans as to the natural progression of the story. They know they have to be careful with some stuff because the global sphere demands something but they also know they have to keep up-to-date with the modern sensibilities. Given JRPGs are globally successful, it's not surprising that entries are getting modern and to adjust to how it would work worldwide sensibly. Just look at P5. P5 is still Japanese in what it's tackling, let's get that out of the way, but considered how globally popular the Persona series is, it seemed to fly over the heads of those who don't understand Japanese politics.
And even then these 'modern' JRPGs focused on story and characters first, balancing with the politics so that the story doesn't detract from what made fans love it in the first damn place.
Because in Japan, if you get too political where the audience expects a good story, then you will really die out. The audience expects a good story going in or at least something holding their interest. Shounen Jump made it clear through their actions that if something doesn't stick to the wall, then they will drop you.
You can have your politics but keep it to a minimum or don't bring too much attention to it that people will notice it instantly you are trying to lecture them. Because they are the ones who get to decide what they lean towards.
But woke culture doesn't care about subtlety or entertainment.
All they care about is forcing your face into whatever food you are given and tried to tell you 'THIS IS IMPORTANT AND YOU SHOULD LEARN THIS WHEREVER YOU ARE AND YOU ARE DUMB IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING INCLUDING FLAWS IN A STORYTELLING MANNER'. All they care about is to make things as pure as possible.
And not the good kind of pure here.
And I'm referring to how everything had to be healthy.
Not caring they are refusing exploration and fun. Just the story potential of exploration. And unadulterated fun.
Woke media and the woke culture, in general, refused to get to the program of common sense.
Instead of allowing people to dislike a simple movie, they go as far as ad hominem.
Instead of having stories made from the heart and a natural place to progress, they want all politics upfront, not caring how much it would disrupt the story and characters.
Instead of allowing people to have fun, they would force people to face something they believed they have the power to convey.
Instead of allowing people to explore something, they want healthy and pure. Fluff with no substance. And not the good kind of fluff.
Instead of just allowing opinions to be opinions even politically, they just want to posture themselves as this superior person.
Instead of moving on and allow people to move on and create better, they want people to create better ASAP but in their terms.
I would be happy to see woke culture die out.
But they shouldn't get the wrong idea that progressivism is bad from woke culture dying out.
If anything, they should learn that people are smarter than woke culture likes to portray them as and that entertainment can have progressivism and politics if it's subtle and natural. They can have their politics if it doesn't force it down their throats and hit them over the head with a sledgehammer.
Woke culture, as a whole, will fade. I don't know when but if more people are going to call out woke culture and point out what is wrong with these people who are in a position of power is not doing the right thing exactly, then woke can lose steam.
Because woke culture has to lose against rationale. When woke is nothing but common sense, the woke have to discover and recognize that people have opinions, have the right to it and that not everything has to focus primarily on politics alone and that should carry a work.
Woke culture could fade away as soon as rationale and actual progressivism move forward, not forced piss-poor rep only approved by the radicals.
Because woke culture is the epitome of radical intersectional feminism.
Not the moderate or realistic or reasonable or sane kind of intersectional feminism.
It's just disheartening to see Star Wars, Star Trek, DC, Marvel, Doctor Who, and so forth be destroyed by fools. Fools who don't care about what came before or what made the product famous in the first place or just hate the damn thing and believe they can do it 'better' than their predecessors.
As a fan who has been in fandoms for over a decade, these fools deserved to be called out for their idiocy.
What we can hope that these franchises need more love than ever and need to move on and create better of what these franchises are remembered are. Fans shouldn't lose hope in a time where these works need love than ever. Even if it's broken by the current treatment, the fans can express their love by creating fanworks and letting their imagination flow.
Love and passion are what kept fandoms alive and we do need these emotions in a time where fandoms and its subsections are ostracized for nonsensical reasons. But remember, that this love doesn't mean loving the entire dang thing, you can dislike some elements and so forth, but you could love in spite of the flaws. Then again, add spite if you want, considering spite is a potent emotion. Because since the works I mentioned earlier being wrecked by woke culture, I'm pretty sure spite for the woke people would work as a motivator.
As for the general audience, I will say this: You do you. So what if you aren't passionate about the stuff I mentioned earlier? You have your own opinions and have the right to it. And naturally, you have more common sense than these woke people anyway.
Do not insult the fans, especially the fans who buy the stuff continually.
Only a small section of fans will be rabid and loud and attacking. Get this out of your head that everybody in the fandom is like this.
Generalizing like this is not good, especially for people who are merely passionate about what they love. Some would be louder and crueler than others.
20% of the audience will buy stuff continually because they are the diehards. Eighty percent will be the casuals and sure they will buy some stuff but not as often as the twenty percent.
Insulting the twenty percent is what Rian and the media did.
Rian nor the media do not own Star Wars. In terms of the license, Disney does own it but they do have the indignity to destroy the franchise and fanbase.
Diehards are really finding it hard to get back on Star Wars. They still love the OT and grew to respect the PT.
Do not insult the fans who made the franchise what it is.
If it wasn't for the fans, casual or otherwise, Star Wars wouldn't be the juggernaut it used to be.
I said used to be because Star Wars has lost so much dignity since the Last Jedi and its aftermath.
Star Wars is so big that Disney destroying it just seemed saddening. Star Wars is to make people happy and it's timeless, not to divide and say that this is no longer something yours to make you happy, it's for us and who the fuck cares about lore?! That is insulting for fans who love the lore and made it clear they love and know Star Wars isn't above critique.
Fans and the actors involved do not deserve the hate given to them. They are allowed to hate on something.
As a note, the leads of the ST hate their roles and refuse to return, no matter how the money they are offered. This puts in contrast with the PT cast where they love to return with the exception of Portman.
People are allowed to dislike or like things.
The point is the environment in Hollywood is so toxic to fans.
Nobody is allowed to dislike a movie, just a movie. Not for the many 'progressive' stuff in there, but for being a movie they just don't like.
Now people who just don't like a fucking movie is called so many -ists that those -ists are now buzzwords.
These guys insulting the people who just don't like a fucking movie is not doing the good fight. It's stupid when the proper thing to do is learn and try to get people and the government to provide a better understanding and environment.
Hurting people over a movie is not doing the right thing and spreading a good message.
No, people aren't any of the -ists just for disliking a movie.
That is narrow-minded.
Splitting the fandom, saying that this movie is only for a particular group, and alienating the fans who kept it alive all this time is not the way to go.
Disney only wants to make money. Let's get this out of the way. Disney is not perfect and will never be. Looking behind the veil is not good, especially for admirers.
When the Last Jedi hurts the bottom line up to toy sales dying off that only the OT and PT stuff is only doing well and probably Mandalorian too, Disney worried about the money. If it hurts their bottom line, of course, they would do anything to get that money back.
Why else are they only just getting the Baby Yodas made? Of course, don't believe what Disney says that they are keeping it under wraps. If they were, toys would be already made and sent out after the reveal. But nope, people have to wait until spring to get their items.
And Disney is losing money at the moment at the loss of Baby Yodas right now.
Of course, Disney would discard the media that shilled them that Rian spearheaded in the trolling and attack on the fanbase. I said fanbase because they clearly have it out for the entire fanbase.
Don't hurt the fans who give you money in the first damn place.
This is why Japan understands this because fans and the audience come first. Shounen Jump is particularly brutal because if a series doesn't catch attention in any way, then they'll cancel it and let the same person do something else because what the person doing previously is not good for both the audience and the business.
This is why the Bleach live-action did well because it honored the story and the fans so well fans love it. The reason why fans hate the Bleach finale is that it's just so spiteful.
Oda Eiichiro made an effort to communicate with his fans with the SBS. He knows that the fans are how far he came. If it wasn't for the fans, One Piece wouldn't be the almost religion it is in Japan.
Naruto and Bleach are still popular with fans despite the decline in popularity and rancid finales. Figures and merch are still being produced, especially given the rise of popularity of anime and manga in America especially.
Do not hurt the fanbase. They are the bread and butter of whatever work you created.
As fans and people in general, they have the right to criticize, dislike, or like. Nothing is above criticism. Rian Johnson deserves criticism for the Last Jedi's scriptwriting that apparently a large majority of scriptwriters and producers hate.
Throwing the -ists words to the point of buzzwords just to guilt them is not the right thing to do, not for anybody in the fandom or everyone really.
Even if Final Fantasy right now is not a good state, at least Final Fantasy 15 doesn't destroy Final Fantasy the same way the Last Jedi did for Star Wars. At people are getting reasonably excited for the Final Fantasy 7 remake. I'm especially excited to see the Teen Wolf reunion, especially Tyler Hoechlin, a talented actor that Andrea Romano herself picked, and Cody Christian. Hey, I'm a Teen Wolf fan and I would defend it.
Even Kingdom Hearts 3 is doing reasonably well for Square Enix. Yes, that part of the saga has many issues, including the lack of inclusion of Final Fantasy characters in any form. And what is even remotely Final Fantasy seemed more like a knock against Square Enix for Final Fantasy 15. What would have made the Keyblade Graveyard scene better is the inclusion of the Final Fantasy characters because of the Hollow Bastion war in KH2. And I fucking love that scene! I wondered a lot of the decisions since it seemed more Disney-focused, something that annoyed me, rather than striking a balance of both franchises. And the original story isn't gotten in-depth as it should have, given it's the finale. For all of Disney and some of the good it has like Big Hero 6, the Disney worlds don't seem to relate much to the core story we need of this! And that's with the lack of FF too! Just ugh! Yes, the Final Fantasy aspect being gone in 3 is not a fun aspect for me and that Disney was focused on more rather than the original content and said expansion and the FF in it. It just doesn't strike a balance between FF and Disney all too well when the point of KH is to be that balance of seriousness and deepness of FF and the lighthearted comedy of Disney. KH3 isn't horrible nor is it too disappointing but KH3 - for all its better graphics and gameplay and Verum Rex - doesn't even compare to KH2 and BBS. Seriously, Zack was such a memorable appearance in BBS that fans don't make an outcry as they did in 3 and Zack was the only FF character to appear in BBS; again, his appearance was so memorable people made theories. I'm fucking hoping Re:Mind doesn't disappoint me and at least made sure that the original content and FF is given the attention it deserves. Because too much Disney is bad Disney in KH. The Disney worlds felt more tacked on than usual; when nobody complains about the FF content in KH beyond hoping some resolution but complained just how tacked on the Disney content is... Even if the Disney characters are more connected to the plot, the FF subplots should deserve the same dignity rather than tossed aside just because you have too much fucking content! I don't believe that, not when the Disney worlds felt more tacked on than being relevant to the actual plotline! Put the FF and original content back in there and explain and explore the original content that the FF exists in the context of! Dragon Quest is getting reasonably popular too. Even the FF7 Remake is getting better attention and I'm excited to see that!
And guess what? Square knows they wouldn't be where they are if it weren't for the fans who kept it alive.
Because the economy in Japan knows the fans are where the money is at. Gundam is doing well because of this, welcoming new and old fans alike in their new series! They know they have to accommodate the fans, not pander, but give the fans who made them what they have grown. Why else would be many events for fans like USJ and other unique stuff like a themed cafe? Anime figures are such big business after all. Japan is so upfront about loving their pop culture that they don't care that people find it weird to have themed cafes after Kamen Rider and Pokemon. It's a part of their culture and they are proud of it.
Compared to the woke media and Rian Johnson, they found it better to insult the fans, the very fans who would spread the word, not even thinking the general audience is the main reason. While fans will bring in the money, it's the general audience is the one who will make the final call.
The woke media and the arrogant Rian Johnson really don't understand the audience and the fans. All they care about is their own ego.
Woke media is all about ego, not even caring about trying to help the people they supposedly want to 'rise up' and don't do the research. Do they even know what a 'nice guy' is? A nice guy is not Arthur Fleck version of the Joker, it's Hal from Megamind. Whenever I see the media try to tank Joker, not only is it heartbreaking for a movie that isn't even released yet but the pure misinformation about what a 'nice guy' really is getting out there.
Rian Johnson obviously cares about his fragile ego because he kept trolling the fans and insisting that behavior that even the trolled fans have enough and ignored him, not caring his behavior might rub people the wrong way and his defensive manner in interviews is headache-inducing.
Do not insult the fans or anybody just for having a different opinion. It's not because of the -isms that these people supposedly have. Some people might have it but that's not the point.
What they want are good quality movies.
Black Panther, Creed, and Into the Spiderverse shows that black leads can do well. It's the quality of these stories with great acting is what people kept saying.
Rian Johnson was the one who really normalized hurting the fans just for having a different opinion. He's so petty he won't let go, even when Disney already stepped over him and Kathleen Kennedy for hurting the bottom line.
He just won't let go because his ego is just so fragile that his movie is even just disliked. Directors had learned to move on from bad movies and even take it with grace...Some not but at least they know how to handle it.
Rian just doesn't know how to take his movie is being disliked by so many people and that he hurt so many people in his crusade that he's right when he's not right.
And his deliberate trolling and attacking of fans are not good for anybody.
He isn't a Star Wars fan nor is JJ Abrams. At least Star Trek isn't too badly damaged since it's a continuous series and all JJ did was do a reboot that only became Star Trek with the last movie. Discovery might damage the brand...
Rian didn't help the destruction of the brand in the aftermath. What fans felt in the Last Jedi was what Leia felt when Alderaan was destroyed.
Rian and Disney...
Star Wars and most things come with a built-in fanbase. Why else do you think people keep buying Star Wars stuff anyway?
Rian should never ever set foot in a series with a build-in fanbase ever again. I will never let him touch a series with such a thing ever again. It's obvious all he cares about is his own ego and that he somehow 'subvert' than doing the right thing and make an enjoyable thing for fans and moviegoers alike. He's so egotistic that I can literally feel it from his tweets and interviews and I did was just glean from it.
Disney...you won't ever lose the fanbase or try to get a new one. You made movies for no one but the social justice creed people.
I don't think bad fanfiction should be compared to the Sequal trilogy. Fanfiction is made by fans with love and either they do have the skill to make the story in their head a reality is something up in the air. Fanfiction Mary sues are forgiven since they are beginner writers then. Fanfiction is just creative writing.
The sequel trilogy is not creative writing. It's money-grubbing hate for a franchise who made people happy. It's hate for the people who created it all possible.
When George Lucas is no longer the hated person in the fandom, you know Disney fucked up so badly.
The legacy the Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy would leave behind would not be a good one.
It normalized bullying the fans who made it all possible, normalizing bullying people who dislike a simple movie just because they aren't into art - listen, movies are art, but the way they are portraying it seemed like 'my opinion is better than yours purely because I know high cinema and love it and you are a insert-ist and/or -phobe manbaby. I don't care if you have legit reasons like pacing or pointless filler, you are this and that and I have the superior opinion), destroying what the creator had in mind, the people who helped create it in the phenomenon it became it did.
When the prequel trilogy, for all its faults, is still Star Wars for fans, the sequel trilogy is not so much. You can list any flaws of the prequel trilogy and what had been said is already been said. Nobody manages to find anything wrong about the prequels beyond what had already been known.
The sequels... No matter where I look, people manage to find something wrong with it even with the piles of mistakes people had already found. The longer you mine it, the more serious it ended up performing. That is the situation with the sequel trilogy. Even two years later, the Last Jedi is called out for more mistakes I have ever seen from a Star Wars movie.
The fractured fanbase, the Star Wars movie base, forcing Star Wars to go tv and streaming...
Yeah, Star Wars had been killed by the Last Jedi and its grave was further ravaged by the Rise of Skywalker.
What I hope for fans is to regain their hope and not look at the sequel trilogy as some kind of salvation. They shouldn't lose their enthusiasm now, not when Star Wars need love more than ever.
Yes, looking at the OT and PT is going to be marred by the ST's decisions. I can't look at the ST without thinking it ruined the rhymes and mythos of OT and PT and just how ST's potential was ruined for the sake of 'subversion' and piss-poor representation with only rep considered by radicals.
What I hope for Disney, Rian Johnson, and Kathleen Kennedy is to look at themselves and think insulting people who just are passionate about something warrant ostracization.
All I want out of Disney is to get out of their rear end because their woke is not doing any good for helping the cause and get their creative juices going. They weren't the ones that managed the beautiful animation of Klaus and Into the Spiderverse. This isn't the company that transformed a fucking cat dance from the Sleeping Beauty ballet into Maleficent's spell.
Disney is no longer what it once was. For all his faults, Micheal Eisner wanted to create something. Iger just wanted IPs. While he did acknowledge and willing to give Nomura the go-ahead and faith in Kingdom Hearts and Disney owning Kingdom Hearts whereas Square Enix was in charge of the rest excepting needing help from the Disney people for recreation, Iger is a businessman first and foremost. Eisner may make creative blunders but he is at least trying to create a Disney experience rather than making it high-end everywhere. Iger made good business decisions but also made bad business decisions.
Since this is going wrong again...
Let me make this clear: A majority of shippers are actually sane and don't actually expect their ship to be canon. Shipping is supposed to be a fun subsection of a fandom where they just like the two people together for all kinds of reasons.
The general audience doesn't care about the ships. All they care about is the story.
Again, you can ship Reylo or Batjokes. You can be aware of their unhealthy nature but that should not stop you from shipping it.
But the small section of insane shippers who will go out of the way to bully and demonize somebody just for not shipping something or shipping something for problematic elements.
A huge problem in Tumblr and a lot of spaces is puritanism. They say you can't ship this or support this series just because it has problematic elements or glorifies something.
When shipping is supposed to be free. Acknowledging the flaws of the ship but people use the unhealthiness to explore or use as power from a formerly abused party member. Shipping is fun as fandom is supposed to be.
I used to enjoy VLD but the declining story and characters and the glorification of war without any irony which I can blame on USA's massive military propaganda are so bad. You can literally see the decline in VLD season to season.
The shipping fanbase of VLD is too loud about puritanism. Just ship anything else and you would be called out for an age difference. When ships are supposed to explore anything you wish to.
I will defend shipping as a practice, crackshipping for example.
However, I won't defend people who bully and belittle others for shipping something they don't. And I will not stand people denigrating shipping for shipping unhealthy relationships for puritan reasons. When shipping called for the ability of power for a formerly abused party member and general fun exploring dynamics. Shipping has everything to know of and to explore into.
It's simply the general audience that doesn't care.
And if people only care for the ship and don't care for the other stuff available, I worry about your state of mind. Hell, people are willing to attack others just for not having their ship canon.
When shipping is supposed to be fun.
And not necessarily wishful thinking for the canon.
Why do you care about making it canon when you have your power of creating fanworks and analysis?
I know Cloud and Tifa are canon while I very much prefer Cloud and Zack whereas Tifa has Aerith.
I know there is little chance for Zoro and Sanji to get together canonically while Pudding and Sanji seem more likely.
People are allowed to ship what they want regardless of issues with the people they are shipping.
But they should not belittle and bully others just for shipping something they don't for puritan reasons.
Shipping doesn't have much power in the general atmosphere at all. Unless people invite it by presenting it as a foremost thing.
Prices are often a sore point for figure collectors.
For a normal person, affordable is all it's at. They are willing to spend ten dollars per figure if possible. That's what is often the cut-off pricing is at for a normal person.
Yes, people are willing to get more. Which is why with Funko's cheapness, it adds up to a pretty big collection.
For a diehard, the price can be meaningless. I know diehard Disney Parks fans are willing to shell out a lot of money for the best experiences, even when it's clear Disney is increasing prices every freaking year. While most people either downgrade or chose not to renew their AP, it doesn't change people still want AP because they love the parks just that much. I know this because my brother and probably cousin recently got a Flexpass AP.
Major collectors out there are willing to shell out to some extent to get what they want in their collection. It doesn't matter what you collect as you collect just something. How to consider it a collectible, it had been rare, significant historically, unique, and not sold everywhere that everyone can have it.
I harp a lot about Funko's false collectibility, but I won't deny what made others feel joy. Nobody should deny what others love. People should embrace the cheesiness and love, rather than hate on others simply because they love and would defend their passion for it. People are allowed to dislike and like something, but nobody deserves hate just for disliking and liking something. In a climate, where Americans don't seem to embrace the cheesiness and embrace subversion and deconstruction, people who loves something to go as far as getting a figure of it. Seriously, why can't people love something, cheesiness and all, without pushing it away just because they're 'grownup' now? Yes, you can seek out subversion and deconstruction but it shouldn't be the only thing. It's great to see people embrace their loves wholeheartedly but it's another to say that just because it's cheesy doesn't make it bad. Cheesiness never equals bad and should never be.
People are willing to shell out money for what they love. Given the 80/20 rule...
80% will spend money on casual things like affordable things to a somewhat reasonable degree. 20% will buy what they love, similarly to the other percentage, but will have more merchandise.
Let's get this out of the way.
Figure collecting is not cheap.
If you are a diehard or casual, figures are not cheap in price. In fact, it can get fairly steep. Anybody who is mildly interested in figure collecting or just getting some figures to know that they have to choose.
Depending on the company, the figure they're selling can be god knows what.
For a lack of a better price range, let's compare with Funko.
Funko cost ten dollars commonly. They can throw an extra five or ten in there for good measure if it's a special pop like an exclusive or specially made like Chrome.
This is why people like Funko. It's affordable and offers a wide range of IPs that kept it relevant.
Anime figures are exactly that. Anime figures. Yes, they can have video games and comic books. But for the sake of simplicity, let's just stick with anime figures.
Prize figures and trading figures, especially of the gasha variety, are priced affordably. Preorders tend to be around twenty to thirty dollars area.
That's worth about two to three Funko pops.
That's somewhat reasonable. Since even the eighty percent probably will choose that. A figure for three Funko pops is okay. It's not too hard-hitting like the next category.
Figures that cost around the thirty up to seventy or eighty bucks at best.
Thirty dollars is around a reasonable range for most people. Hell, my cut-off range is 40 dollars per figure and that's because I know I won't collect that many. And I still tend to choose the mid 30 dollar range. Upwards of that and I refuse to buy it. Yes, I will cry when I see a figure I truly love to have but it's just too much.
This would mostly comprise of what most figures people would see of anime figures. Prize figures would still be among them but if you know which is which, then you will know.
The common ones you see in this area is the Nendoroids and Figmas. Some statues too like SH Figuarts are commonly in the higher range. Looking as a Funko, it's probably three to seven pops.
Here, it's a gray area. People will spend at least thirty dollars or so for a figure. Hell, they are willing to spend for a twenty-something merch.
This just depends. It costs way too much for the common people. While some may try to get it, it's still too much for most people.
Again, most people won't try to shell out for a figure that costs a decent chunk of seventy bucks.
But that's not compared to figures that cost in the hundreds.
I won't shell out that much. I cry whenever I see I truly love to see in my collection but it just too much.
Here, the most expensive figures are the best of the bunch. In the quality that it deemed the price range.
It's relatively high-end. It's costly and would put a dent in your bank.
Some people might pay around the hundreds if they pool together money with a relative or significant other. My brother and his girlfriend are doing this for Disneyland AP Flexpass. At least, that's what I heard because I know they pool together to get the damn 200 dollars lightsaber experience. My brother's girlfriend confirmed it herself.
Compared to a figure that might cost around a thousand or more... I'm pretty sure most people would take their chances of buying a figure that cost seventy. I'm one of them since I'm pretty sure I'll see the price tag first before seeing the figure. Like just seeing the figure, hmming about the look of the figure, see the price, gawk at it, and move on.
Most people won't shell out that money. Only the diehards of diehards will shell out that much! And because of this price, they might be rare as fuck.
Listen, I would love the Thanatos figure about to be released next year and unlike the Veneziano figure I'm getting, I draw the line of spending nearly two hundred something for a figure. Even a Perfect Grade is a heck-no no matter how much I would love one.
People want a good deal. I got my first figure for eight to nine dollars so I'm satisfied. While I am getting three preorders - does a Re-ment count as a figure? -, it's not too costly unlike say the 200-something figure of Stars Bless You Sakura Kinomoto figure or Thanatos DX. While it could cause a dent, it's not as much as I would get a two hundred something figure individually.
This is why Funko pops is the popular choice for the common people. Most people would have at least a ten to thirty-something dollars than say a hundred for a figure that would cost little. A good deal is all it's at.
This is why Nakano Broadway and other stores are often recommended for those who wanted cheap nerdy stuff in Japan. Akiba for locals is often called a rip-off. Again, when you're on vacation and you seriously wanted a souvenir, especially from a place you wanted to visit a long-ass time, would you blow money there too? I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get an extra suitcase
Let's look at it from a Switch example.
The Switch is hugely popular in America. It's almost a given that people would be shocked you don't have a Switch in your family at the very least. My cousin and her fiance have two Switches in their possession.
People are willing to buy games. Games are around the thirty to sixty upwards variety. And people are somewhat willing to pay. Casual gamers may not go that far but they would prefer good games.
Japanese and Korean products are hugely popular. For a diehard BTS fan, they would rather spend money on concert tickets or merch, preferably the former, than say a bloody plastic surgery to look like their idol...and not even looking close, look more like a poor Jeffree Star knockoff.
People are willing to spend money on what they love. If they aren't collecting figures, they're getting games at either good deals or buying full price.
You could compare figure buying to other prices. While most people want to get games than figures, it doesn't mean people don't want figures. Funko pops are still hugely popular. Japan probably never understood it, especially when they're used to Sofubi and other garage kits. Compared that to Funko pops, I don't think Japan would see the value in Funko pops, especially when WonderFest is incredibly popular. Funkos are still being sold in Japan but Japan is used to quality and better designed than this. Just look at Funko partnering with the Pokemon Center to produce A Day with Pikachu figures which turned out to be quite popular.
People are willing to spend at thirty or so dollars at the very least. Not everyone wants to shell out a hundred for a figure.
While this started as a figure discussion, it boiled straight to other markets.
I'm sure that regardless of whether or not people are willing to pay full price or not, people just want a good deal.
A comic book that costs four dollars a pop with just one story that isn't even complete yet wouldn't compare to a Funko pop or hell a video game. Even an anime figure that costs around the mid-thirty dollar range is worth better than that.
Figure shopping is costly.
Figure manufacturing companies still provide wares of the affordable variety. They have to, especially when not everyone would shell out that much money for them. Preorders are around the twenty dollar range for prize figures generally.
While it is still around the lower end of thirty dollars, Good Smile Company is releasing a new line called Pop Up Parade. Quantum Mechanix released the Q-Figs with around the twenty dollar price tag.
And those are the affordable ones I can name at the top of my head.
A prize figure is the cheapest regular sized figure you could find if you want a figure. While in America, it's sold in retail for thirty dollars generally.
I mean, compared to a Funko pop which is sold at ten and an Amiibo sold at fifteen, it's a lot more but if you know what you want, then you could get it.
The ones I could name at the top of my head that is incredibly expensive would be Kotobukiya, Good Smile, Megahouse, and so forth. Seriously, I would love to have a GEM figure of Ash and Misty.
Those are the ones that people would complain about, price-wise. They are willing to pay at least thirty for not so much for a figure that could be around seventy.
I don't want to harp on anybody willing to shell out that much. They can spend however they like.
It can get difficult. Especially when you're spoiled with choice. Anime Figures does have choices you can choose from even if it's not an extensive list like Funko.
There are many good figures you can get out there. Entire stores are lined up entirely for figures you can pick in Japan.
Regardless of price, anime figures are various and unique to your own taste.
While I have a major preference for Banpresto and Nendoroids, I don't mind Kotobukiya and others. I would like to have them if I can find a figure I truly like and would have in my collection.
Each company offered something distinct and they try to do something different while keeping true to the character they are putting in figure form.
Funko pop offered both stylization chibi and a variety of IPs I don't think Kotobukiya or Banpresto have. I don't think Kotobukiya has Twin Peaks as something they can make.
By measuring things by Funko pops, since Funko pops is something people are willing to buy, a figure might be two to seven Funko pop in one. So one big figure or a figure that cost two Funko pops vs exactly two up to seven pops... Which do you choose?
It's approximately the same thing. With Funko pops, you would have a lot while for anime figures, it's a figure for the price of several pops.
It depends on what you choose.
For example, my cousin focuses primarily on Fire Emblem Amiibo while wanting Joker and Cloud Player 2 Amiibos. She does want other characters besides FE but she wants the characters she's interested in Amiibo forms. She isn't willing to pay 15-16 dollars but only if it's a 'damn the price' moment...
Now while I do have a variety to choose from. I don't want to list them here since there will be many. I just had a hard time picking and choosing what I like since you are basically spoiled for choice from many lines available. While I do focus on certain series over others, that doesn't mean I won't look at other figures and what they have to offer.
Now those are what I focus on, as for figure designs, I choose designs that just make me happy. Just looking at it makes me smile.
I choose figures that brighten my day, something that had my heart in an instant, something that makes me happy just looking at it. When I feel down, just looking at me calms me.
As a rule, I am not planning to get a roomful. While I do like scales and statues, I need to find space for them and I don't. I would love to display at their full capacity, but I don't. At best, I just hope to display the figures I have now without worry.
Figures aren't the only thing that is in this price range. Most figures are in this including companies not in Japan. Again, these companies do have relatively budget-friendly wares you can choose from.
Even Loungefly, which has lots of seventy dollars wares, has more affordable stuff. And their stuff sold in the Disney parks is not the fun kind of money you want to shell out. You can find more affordable prices at the Disney Warehouse Outlet.
If you consider these stuff in Funko pop numbers (and I don't mean the numbering on the box), then it should be better. If people are willing to buy at least a shelf full of them, even those within a budget of a college or high school student, then the measurement should be easier.
Seriously, people kept saying Funko is the more affordable choice for figures. If people are saying that, measuring the price of actual anime figures to the price of Funko pops usually is. In America, they typically cost ten dollars with the exclusives and 'specials' (referring to Chrome for example) so if you want a figure that costs thirty, it's three Funko pops.
I don't want to force anybody to spend money on a figure they don't want. All I want them is to know where they are willing to spend and to give a barometer on how much people are willing to spend.
At this moment in time, people are willing to spend things on what they like. Heck, my brother bought with his friend, a giant Iron Man Miniso plushie, that my brother was the one who kept it. Considering that he gave it a name just like how we often do with our plushes, I don't think he is willing to let things go.
Hell, I preordered a Re-ment Kid perfume bottle, a Sabo OP Mania Produce prize figure, and the Nendoroid Italy Veneziano/Feliciano. I'm not looking at any new figures beyond sighing at the Hetalia Nendos.
People are willing to spend, even preordering stuff. People already preordered games around sixty and statues around 200 bucks and buying exclusives at conventions. People are willing to spend for what they love. It's no different for figure shopping.
If people are willing to spend a bunch on Marvel Funko pops and I do mean there are many to choose from, then they should have no problem having a figure that cost thirty bucks.
Just that they have to eliminate Funko pops and exchange that for a figure that costs the same amount but in one figure instead of multiple.
Again, think of it at Funko pop prices and it should be easier because people are willing to spend on Funko pops. The casuals would spend money on Funko pops since you are more likely to find those than a Q-fig or a prize figure. Seriously in stores I find, there are more often prize figures sold for thirty. And that's not how it is in Japan where prize figures are sold for the relatively cheap, cheaper than their counterparts anyway.
Considering a run-off-the-mill good bowl of pork katsu on rice would sell much cheaper in Japan than in America, I don't hold out much breath considering relatively foreign stuff would sell for a much larger price.
When some people say that anti-Funko pops are elitism, they should think again. Funko may be the more affordable choice, especially if you want more figures in your collection but that is not what people are saying. Most anti-Funko pops are usually about the quality and the horrors of the eyes than anything else. Seriously, James of TRO hates Funko pops and you think he's elitist for saying he loathes the lifeless eyes?
No, since people are willing to buy Funko pops and likely over anime figures or Loungefly which in the most expensive case could go for seventy to hundreds, then whatever they're buying should compute up in whatever they can think of as long as they know what they are doing.
Just to get this out of the way, these figure manufacturing companies do sell other stuff.
They have to, especially when people do want to buy their stuff at an affordable price range.
Funko does this. Aside from keychains and apparel, you find they also have other subsidiaries like Loungefly which is really popular with the ladies.
Good Smile Company does this. While Nendoroids is their most popular item - hell, I would love to have the entire Hetalia Nendo in my collection -, they are well aware they need to have affordable stuff. There are keychains, lines that are in the affordable range, and other stuff like that.
Quantum Mechanix sold affordable figures at 20 bucks called Q-Figs.
To not sell affordable wares especially to a consumer base who might not want to buy a hundred-dollar figure is unreasonable. Seriously, I would not likely buy a crazy expensive figure but prize figures are a go for a lot of people. If there are any anime figures people could get, it's often a prize figure. Even a preorder for a prize figure only goes up to twenty, thirty at the worst. In Japan, you could get a gasha figure for only a hundred or so yen AKA one to three dollars.
They need to spread their consumer base.
Again, if people are willing to buy Funko pops, then they can compute the prices vs what they want.
Because seriously, how else I'm going to tackle the problem of prices when Funko enjoyed a decade of success so far?
Look, the intervening chapter between the new arc and the Nationals arc is rushed. The info dump is not well done and we've at least seen more of the third years passing the torch with Asahi entrusting the ace role to Tanaka. Just something more because it's just so sudden. We could've gotten the flow of time till the third years' graduation like three chapters at most instead of just one chapter with rushed info-dump.
While we have seen Hinata evolve as a player, we still have no clue if Hinata achieved his desire for the ace role. Because it seemed so rushed, the buildup to would-be rematches like Date Tech, Nekoma, and Kamomedai is lost. Any promises made were done offscreen. For the love of Godoka, what in the hell happened to Hyakuzawa? Because Hinata flat out said to him that he wanted him strong just so he could have a match with him. Captain Ennoshita? The confidence of Kinoshita and Narita? Ace Tanaka and his relationship with Kanoka? What the fuck happened to Fukurodani? At least I know where Bokuto is going but I don't know what happened in the nationals then!
Like, could've at least seen their matches? Or interactions before and after matches? A montage or this arc is going to be non-linear?
It was so rushed that if you didn't know that the mangaka is planning the Olympics arc, the chapter blindsides you. Seriously, I didn't even know the mangaka is planning a time skip and it came out of nowhere. Naruto and One Piece have a logistic reason for the time skips because it flowed easily into it. Heck, there's better transitions had been better done in Haikyuu arcs before so the rushed intervening chapter is probably the worst written of the entire manga I have seen.
While I am happy to see Yamaguchi as captain in his third year up to making the team go up to the third place at Nationals, what happened to Tsukishima? Because while Kei now has a deep love for volleyball, probably selecting a college with a strong volleyball team, I don't think the attention was drawn about going pro in his end. Unlike Kageyama who immediately joined the pro leagues, we learn Tsukishima go to college instead. Kei did want to block Hinata but I don't think he would ever will, the rate the story is going. Kei is unlikely to go pro in the likes of Oikawa, Hinata, Ushiwaka, and Kageyama.
Because of the rushed way the ending happened, I was left thinking what the fuck happened to these characters and did they ever achieve their goals or manage to get their character shown after the matches?
In the nationals, we were shown the Miya brothers and the so forth. After the Miyagi finals, we just saw Ushiwaka passing the torch to his juniors. Just what the fuck happened because it was just so fast and somebody who is used to Haikyuu's pacing is going to surprised going into the International arc.
People are allowed to feel the way they do, regarding the sudden change because they have little time to adjust. Even past arcs in Haikyuu spent a few chapters before it flowed into the new arc. Just look at the intervening chapters between the nationals arcs and the practice arc.
Regardless, I rethought the path of the story going on. The Tokyo Spring Nationals arc is dedicated to regaining Karasuno's glory, particularly since the seniors just wanted to go Nationals and not win exactly. Bokuto actually said that Fukurodani is going to win and we have no freaking clue who won in the end. At least, we got Karasuno's place in the third year. Just who won the first nationals Karasuno went to?
Because the scene is not in the anime, Hinata and Kageyama actually made a promise to meet each other in the Olympics. Not in a match since they are different disciplinaries as of currently but they will sometimes years into the future.
We should've seen this coming because Kageyama went to that path the fastest, immediately joining a pro team and then selected to join the National team to represent Japan at the Olympics. Of course, he didn't win in Rio 2016 but he probably wanted to win with Hinata.
This final arc, which I'm going to call the International Pro League arc and the Olympics arc, is going to be Hinata and Kageyama's goal to win the medal with Oikawa and Ushiwaka.
We haven't seen the rest of the cast yet, introducing little by little either through flashback or time skip. I'm pretty sure we're going to see them one way or another because it would be a disservice to the characters who are probably going to be pros unlike the characters we are focusing are in this arc extensively. While we'll likely see supporting characters from the original Japan teams, we are going to see support from Brazilian characters as well.
What I'm more surprised about to see international leagues and pros into this.
I had already guessed the pros would be in Haikyuu because it's Kageyama and Hinata's goal. It's part of their promise so of course, we'll likely see teams against each other in an international league before officially joining the national team together.
Hinata and Oikawa vs Ushiwaka and Kageyama in a match before the Olympics before all of them are selected to the National Team for the Olympics.
I'm at least sure of that since we're a year past the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hinata is one year into his stay in Brazil. He could probably move to Argentina to join Oikawa or something. He obviously didn't participate in the beach volleyball part of the Olympics nor the indoor volleyball.
What is with sports manga/anime with international and pro leagues nowadays?
Daiya no Ace featured an American team.
Free is diving more into pro leagues with Rin actively training to participate for the Olympics. We've seen more of Australia than what happened in season two.
And now Haikyuu is going headfirst into the Olympics training for the 2020 Olympics.
Baby Steps featured pro leagues with the main protagonist choosing to go pro. But this is before all these started into the pro international leagues themselves.
From what I could gather, Yuri on Ice probably kicked it off since it's the first to feature only the international leagues for a mainstream audience.
But these mangakas have to be careful because the international league demanded much more from their athletes. If they are training to be an Olympic athlete, then they better train to be one.
If you are training for the Olympics or at least major leagues around the world, the athletes have to be serious.
And the characters in these arcs now and then are completely serious.
And anybody thinking Haikyuu is going to end like in a few chapters... No, it's not. Have you seen long-running manga with long arcs? It's not gonna happen that soon, probably in a few years give or take. Let's just hope Furudate doesn't rush out the final arc as he did the interval chapter between the final and the Nationals arc. Given the mixed responses to the interval chapter, it's better for Furudate not to rush it out just because he was burnt out. Furudate took a semi-vacation to Brazil so he could've gotten time to rest and think.
We are in the year 2017 canonically, just a year after the Rio Olympics. We literally just seen Hinata watching Kageyama in a volleyball match on TV while doing his delivery work. It had been hinted that Hinata was in Rio by the time Olympics took place since it's implied he moved there sometime in the next school year and he's currently nineteen.
There are three years left until we head to Tokyo in 2020. Commonly in Haikyuu or sports manga/anime, they'll always be a training arc before the tournament. Haikyuu would have the training arc before the tournaments arc.
Because given the mixed responses to the sudden time skip that I'm pretty sure nobody has the time to adjust to the change - just one chapter -, the mangaka has to be careful if we are going to have another time skip so suddenly in the final arc. We're having a flashback to Hinata's beginnings in his stay in Brazil and reconnecting with Oikawa.
Even if people say it's the final arc, it's gonna be dang long. Just like the Wano arc having five acts just like kabuki and many fans including me are pretty sure the arc is going to be pretty long, I'm pretty sure there are mini-arcs within the final arc.
And hell yeah, Hinata is an OP fanboy and loves Zoro! Pedro couldn't even choose though Luffy is definitely one of his favorites!
I don't hate Funko Pops. There are lots of problems I had with the figure, especially since sometimes it just doesn't look good overall.
My cousin really hates them. She doesn't think the chibi design is well done. Unlike something like Hello Kitty which she bore no ill to, hell she even grew up with it being exposed to it during childhood, she hates Funko Pops in every fiber of her being.
I mentioned improvements in my first post of Funko Pops.
Here, I'll mention the price range.
Common Funko Pops are typically within the range of ten dollars. Certainly, they'll be some be fifteen or twenty or even running up to the expensive.
Compare that to anime figures which typically cost around fifteen dollars range with Nendoroids costing about seventy to eighty bucks. The most expensive figures are really valuable from the hundreds to the thousands.
Look, I get it, anime figurines are bloody expensive and would break the bank if you weren't careful. I was only lucky to get my Usopp figure for nine bucks. Hell, I donated loads of textbooks so I could have space to display my Gunpla and get a tax deduction.
Funko Pop is supposed to be the easiest collector's toy out there. As a rule and probably why Funko is popular:
affordable - it's really cheap for a common one. This is one of the main appeals really. Unlike the anime figures which cost a bunch, this is inexpensive. If anybody wants to compete with them, they need to be a low-cost alternative which Funko unfortunately cornered. Not everybody will shell out a hundred for a figure. I know this, any anime figure collector knows this, the entire world knows this. Although getting Funko Pops will add up if you aren't careful... At least anime figure collectors understand they have to be careful. I'm pretty sure getting thousands of Funko Pops will head up to the thousands pretty quick.
accessible - not every franchise will have a figure, especially for some obscure work or some work that doesn't demand a figure to be made. There could've been a better alternative than Funko Pops but in most people's minds, a Funko Pop figure which is the cheapest they could find for any figure that isn't vintage or cost a whole lot more.
don't require that much care - pretty obvious. Whether you leave it out or not, at least you don't have to care that much for it. You can leave it on your shelf in the box. All you have to worry about dust on your shelf.
Sure, there can be good figures and incredible detail that shows a good work on it.
But its general quality doesn't hold a candle to even a gacha or a prize figure. And those are probably the cheapest I could think of. And the prize figures are given to winners of Ichiban Kuji or crane games.
I love Gunpla because aside from cleaning, it's therapeutic once I got into the rhythm. Now, unlike others who can complete theirs within twenty or thirty minutes, I took typically two to three hours if it's an easy one but two days - but when I calculate the hours, it would be half a day - to complete a relatively normal one. When I go at my own pace, especially since firstly I have to follow directions and see how much I can complete within a time frame, it's satisfying, especially when the final product looks decent.
Even when looking at my precious anime figures, it just gives me a sense of happiness. When my cousins see her Amiibo that she personally put on her desk so she can see it at all times, she's genuinely happy.
Now, Funko wouldn't make her happy. While there are sculpts that she can see is well and good, she just doesn't like the eyes. I'm pretty sure people would agree with her on the eyes that just seem to lose any light or joy. She especially hates the Pokemon Funko Pops and thinks some of the poses made it look like it's going to pounce on her or stare into her soul.
If Funko Pops make you happy, you do you. I honestly don't care about what you collect or like as long as Funko itself finds some way to sustain itself rather than pumping out pops every single day.
Look, I understand Funko is a business, a public one too. The point of their marketability is affordable and accessibility. But when does common becomes too common and when will oversaturation will become too oversaturated that people feel like they wouldn't be caught dead with one and it doesn't help the black expressionless eyes unnerve people...
Some pops do look good and those pops have to change radically from the pop template. That's what I prefer.
As much as I like the Zoro and Brook Funko Pops, I refuse to put a single Funko Pop on my shelf because I can't play with them or display them with the grandeur. Seriously, I can play with my Nendoroids but I can't play with a Funko Pop because it's too stationary.
*sighs*
The prices depended on the store and the pop's exclusiveness. It's a far more reasonable price. Which means it loses some of its collectability and rarity. There are Funko common for a reason.
No anime figure is the same as the other. They have their unique poses. I have seen many Luffy figures and none have I seen are the same as the other. Similar in poses certainly like the Gear poses but I never heard the complaints from the anime figure collecting community much. From what I seen of the Luffy Gear figures, they are small, large, expressions similar but different enough from each other because the figures are sculpted with care.
As for Funko Pops, due to its accessibility, it can be a curse and a blessing.
Not only is it everywhere. You can find the same figure twice in stores, sometimes just because the only difference can be as minuscule as holding something or a streak of color. The supposed difference is the sticker stamped on the box. Sometimes, they'll overlay with something like glitter or scent or metal. Yet it's the same figure. Lego Minifigs have more features than Funko pops!
Better yet, anime figures have the thrill of the hunt AKA rarity in the numbers sold. That means anime figure collectors can sell/resell their figures. There is a reason Good Smile re-release Nendoroids. I know the feeling, especially when seeking out figures. Even before I started collecting figures and Gunpla, I did like looking at the figures because they are unique regardless of price.
Even Amiibo gets this with the lowered number getting out.
Funko is having too many of the Commons, Flocks, Chases out there, getting rid of the thrill of the hunt. Now, I understand the selling in various shops but for the love of Mew, there is no fun in getting the figures if you can find it easily.
Please, I'm pretty sure the common folk can get a common which would lose its value pretty quickly because it's not unique.
A common is not going to worth much unlike a Flocked. You can literally pass a common off to a younger kid without any thought because it's that basic.
For better or for worse, anime figures' prices and their low numbers made figure collecting, especially since this type of collecting can be restrained due to the figures' prices.
Anime figure collecting does not force you to get every single figure regardless of price.
It means a certain allocation of which figures you want and if you truly want it. It means understanding what figures you want and if you are willing to shell out the money for it.
It means you must really like the figure.
Anime figures are only in anime shops or anime designated places such as thrift shops. Not every shop shares the same prices or the same figure. Akihabara is a goldmine of anime figures. There are exclusives to Ichiban Kuji, shops, etc. Gunpla is the same where there is Gunpla available only at Divers City. Because it's only sold in anime-related shops or in geeky spots, anime figures are highly sought after, especially given its high quality and uniqueness.
As for Funko, you can have the liking for the figure, yes. I won't dispute that.
However, because it's everywhere, it loses its collectibility quickly. It forced you technically into collectibility because it's often in series and lines. Especially if it's not the only line of Stan Lees, Deadpools, and Batmans out there. Seriously, if you are only collecting just one of the aforementioned three, Funko Pops pumps out more. And the only difference is something as small as holding something or just different clothes despite the same squatting beady-eyed figure.
If the serious collectors aren't getting it, then the common folk aren't getting it either.
The anime figure community is relatively niched. It's not like people can easily get it unless you want it. It's available through many means but you have to want to get it.
Funko Pops...
They are making mistakes and in a bubble that could kill or at least cripple them.
The anime figure collecting has not died down anytime soon nor had the Gunpla which had been going on since its conception. For Godoka's sake, nobody can dispute that Gunpla is something people can just snap build. And you don't have to collect every single one either.
The reason why anime figure collecting is so huge is that each figure is unique and there are various ways to get certain figures from claw machines to winning a fucking lottery. And when I say each figure is unique is not a joke.
It's not something as small as holding a detail that differentiates it. It's an entirely new pose and face and feature. There's a figure with squishy breasts for the love of Godoka.
As for Funko, you could collect what you want.
What you should be doing is being careful, especially if something might lose its value pretty quickly precisely because of shady business practices and the loss of the thrill of the hunt.
Funko Pops should not be everywhere. Just like anime figures are only in anime shops, Funko shops should only be designated in particular shops and low numbers so that their cost and rarity would actually count. That way, it would not lose its value quickly as soon as one jot down the number.
Funko must not continue doing this, not when their figures aren't typically unique from one other, too common that it loses its value, and don't require much care or creativity.
I understand Funko Pop is supposed to be the everyman's collectible. However, it's a double-edged sword.
Collecting is a niched hobby ranging from model ships to antique toys.
The difference is its rarity and uniqueness in its history and/or numbers. I'm pretty sure not everyone would have the figures I have and quite literally everyone who collects anime figures has different figures in their collection. It shouldn't be the same old pop just with different coloring. It should be just different enough so that it was worth buying and collecting.
Yes, I do love the details in certain Funko Pops. Zoro is the first to pop in my mind alongside Spider-Ham.
But I refuse to have a Funko among my collection. Regardless of its detail or sculpt, it's just too common when I have differences among my Gunpla and anime figures. Seriously as much as I love the detail on that Zoro Funko, I would rather have an actual anime figure of Zoro who looks cool.
It just wouldn't look good in my collection, especially given just how samey Funko figures ended up looking.
Funko, as a figure, has a problem right now, probably in a bubble that could burst sooner or later because of their business practices.
If Funko must survive, they have to change up their strategy.
Unlike anime figures or Gunpla which I recall never having been called a fad, Funko Pops are called a fad, whether it is by the people who dislike or just critical of it despite their love for it.
Regardless of your stance on Funko Pops, Funko would be in trouble if this short-term plan vanished.
Even Loungefly has a better chance of survival because they offer variation in their merchandise and I love them for it. Really, even looking through their catalog alone, I think Loungefly would still do well.
As for Funko, there's a probability the figures wouldn't even survive in the climate of figure collecting when it's just everywhere.
While I don't think Funko will fail completely, I do think the only reason it hasn't fallen off of relevancy is because of the IPs. The IPs will keep it relevant or at least be its mainstay, no matter how samey the figures ended up getting.
Seriously, the details on certain Funko Pops like the Zoro one I just mentioned have so many details go into it like the scars and the swords.
But as much as I like that Zoro Funko, I want an actual Zoro anime figure because I want my Zoro to look awesome. I love my Zoro to be that demon as much as I love him dorky.
I am not hating on Funko. Yes, I don't like Funko Pops on a variety of issues while my cousin truly hates it.
What I do want Funko and their fans are to worry about the business practices and why the figures just aren't unique with pumping out news and pop every freaking day without consideration of the space and money of the customers.
