Anime Figures I Love/Maybe

As I said before, I'm not a collector. I don't have the energy nor the motivation to get every single thing. I can be satisfied with having my favorite characters plastered on something like a notebook or have something that combined either two or more characters on it.

This is mainly a wishful listing of what I either will want in my collection and the maybe section where I'm indecisive and can't have but would love in my collection. For the latter, I really do like the figure but I don't know if I want to take it. Again, I am not planning a roomful. Perhaps a one detolf full at least in terms of space but that's all. I only have a bookshelf that I am planning to put my Gunpla and boxes including my various faceplates and jewelry but that's about it.

Now, this post may or may not be updated as times go on but regardless, don't expect a long list since while I do like admiring figures, very rarely I want a figure in my collection unless it caught my attention. And of course, it has to do with my favorite series.

I have a major preference for a five to seven inches figure. I don't like my figures too small, just palm-sized is enough. I don't have enough space for statues especially since my parents hadn't decluttered.

Now, I am looking for figures from major figure manufacturers. I do want to make it my goal to have at least one of each major figure from well-known categories. As for preferences, I do have a special liking for Good Smile Company and Banpresto. I'm usually drawn to those lines. As a whole, I do like figures with poses that look beautiful, unique, and awesome. I like statues but too bad, I don't have space for them.

It isn't a goal to get at least one figure from every line imaginable. I do like seeing these figures and windowshopping. Hell, I like to window shop figures before I even choose to begin collecting figures. I'm pretty sure even anime fans who don't collect anime figures like to look at them because they look good.

Heck, compared to expensive sculptors like Sideshow Collectibles and Quantum Mechanix, anime figures looked downright affordable by comparison. It's not by much but at least anime figures are known to the world. I didn't even know Sideshow and Quantum Mechanix even existed until I learn about them through their figures. Certainly, they have other wares just like the major anime figure manufacturing industry that is of affordable price. Good Smile is launching a new line called Pop Up Parade precisely to tackle those who are not willing to shell out too much. Banpresto is famous for its prize figures; Q Posket is a popular example, considering they are getting more figures into that line like Evangelion and Jojo.

Regardless of what category, all I just want is quality.

And I pick what I want.

This is just the wishlist. A figure on here is already preordered and that's because I fell in love so much I need to have it in my possession. You'll know which.

Want

Germany, help!

Yes, I do want to have a Hetalia figure in my collection, specifically a character. Don't care who. While England and Romano are my faves, I still like other characters too. I do like Japan, Germany, England, and America Nendoroids but Italy ignites the same feeling I saw my beloved Usopp figure.

Of note here, the recent ones won't be the original clothes. From what I could gather, it's a merchandise license issue since Hetalia began as webcomic just like One Punch Man. Which is why England and Japan are getting new Nendoroid designs because they were originally World Twinkle, not World Stars as we are in now. Hey, there are two Englands now and I'm happy!

Just look at her!

I love this so much and I need it in my collection. I love Riza and she's a favorite. I rarely see Winry figures nowadays but it's more likely I'll see Riza as a figure than any of the ladies in FMA. 

Ah, I just love this.

Just like my cousin who wants a Fire Emblem's Lucina figma, I want an Aigis figma. It's probably the only figma I want. Unlike wanting just two Nendoroids, I only want one figma and that's Aigis. I do like Figmas but I really like Aigis so I must have her.

I want to live!

I love this moment so much and it's in my favorite arc too!

Maybe

Just because I have a mixed attitude to Disney in later years does not mean I hate it. I grew up with Disney and I will criticize decisions and poor stories they made. As a rule, I refuse to get Frozen merch of any kind. Get me that and I'll give it to my little niece. Any figure you'll give me, I'll sell it.

While my faves are the classic Princesses - hey, Safiya Nygaard made it clear she loves Snow White up to getting a Funko Pop and traditionally visiting the Wishing Well in her Disneyland visits with Tyler - and Alice, I don't mind the Disney Renaissance. I don't hate Pinnochio either.

I don't hate the Q Posket line but I prefer that over Funko any day of the week. Just look at Vanessa!

Q Posket is just expressive enough and relatively inexpensive choice. I mean it is supposed to be a prize figure from a crane game but prize figures can be good in its own right.

While Q Posket does have some kind of presence due to its IPs (Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, One Piece, etc), it doesn't exactly have the presence as Funko.

Any of the above would be fine in my collection but I'm not in a hurry.

Not necessarily but I wouldn't mind having two figures that accompanied each other.

I have so many Zoro and Luffy figures to choose from that I have no idea what to choose.

I am a major fan of the Zosan pairing so I am planning to get something that has something plastered on them. As detailed here, hopefully, there are more choices I can choose from when I go to Japan. It doesn't necessarily have to be a figure but I do want something similar in case I see something like this.

Whatever color.

As much as I love this moment, I don't know if I can take this. It's a moment I love but I just don't know if I should or should not take this. Be it whatever color, I just don't know.

This is a maybe. I like the figure once I saw it but I am indecisive about it. Unlike the section above which I knew my immediate feelings are, this is just indecisive.

Maybe it's my demi self, but I didn't feel sexual energy even though it supposed to be a sexual pose. I can see it and I do like the figure but I don't feel the sexual energy.

Maybe it's not hentai pose enough? And I don't need to see hentai figures...

I like Hibari. I rarely ever see Reborn figures anymore but I hope to see more figures. Seriously, it's so rare to find any new or pre-owned Reborn figures that the only figures that I can find immediately are the Nendoroids and that's it.

Similar to such, I would love a Hikaru no Go figure but considering I found a Sai scale figure... Yeah...

Hopefully, they are oldies that can be found if I just scour Akiba and other nerd spots just for it. I'm pretty sure I can find the manga just fine but the merch will be lowered.

Admiration but Won't Get It
Would Get If Significantly Cut In Price
While Still In Good Condition
But Won't Hold Out On It
Given its value and rarity

I love Persona 3 and when I saw this figure, I fell in love with it in an instant. But even now, it's well over my typical price for figures. And I don't buy that many figures. 

I love this because it's so badass and I would gladly display it. I just love Thanatos, okay!? Orpheus and Thanatos are the first Personae I ever saw.

I always wanted a Godoka figure and I would love a scale figure because she's a god and she deserves that honor.

I love the OG Pokeani G.E.M. figures. Any of this will be fine in my collection but I would love the Ash surrounded by Pikachu and the Misty figure the most.

Since these are my favorite G.E.M figures, I'm pretty sure these are the only ones I want.

Funko Pops and the Commodity of Geek Culture

This is based only on my opinion.

Fans, especially women, have always been a thing. To say Star Wars and Star Trek never had female fans is disingenuous. Star Trek, need I remind you, is actually loved by women first and the diehard scifi fans denigrated Star Trek as scifi for women until they started to realize the good stories in there.

For nearly a decade now, geek culture had been largely accepted.

Even if people who don't understand fandom - Rian Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, Paul Feig, and the woke media to name a few -, geek culture is large and expansive. People are fans of something, be it casual or diehard. People don't have to be passionate. Let it be understood that only a small portion of the fanbase will be loud and/or SJW. People who have a realistic understanding of the flaws and problematic materials in the work they love won't be quite as outspoken and attacking.

Now that's out of the way, let's go into geek culture.

Geeks were commonly bullied and often outcasts in the past and now accepted to the point it seemed attractive now. Seriously, I never thought the day geeks would be attractive for their mere knowledge of geek-related stuff.

Shuffled into subscription boxes in almost all shapes and sizes, Pops for almost every single IP you can think of in every goddamn store, and god who knows where else Funko Pop is available because Funkos are damn everywhere. You will find a Funko pop somewhere geek-related by the power of the company.

For the last decade, geeks have now been one of the primary audiences of something. Be it attacked by the media for just having a small base of people instead of acknowledging that the rest of the fandom is not like this or simply having a toy out there for a particular series, geeks are in the public eye. Just to be clear, no geeks want to be called 'bad guys'; I already have enough trouble that liking something that has just the inkling of problematic deemed you a supporter when that's not how it works. Because of course, my cousin is problematic for liking Code Geass when all she did is that she just likes the damn thing.

If there's an IP without a figure that isn't a Funko Pop in some shape or form, Funko is going to get it, damn the increasing debt.

Funko is getting every IP so they can keep up with the popular trends. That's gotta be difficult, especially for a company who built their entire company in pop culture.

Figures/toys have existed long before Funko. Kidrobot, Bearbrick, prize figures, gacha, statues, posable figures, Sofubi, etc still have a large fanbase although Kidrobot doesn't have the same height as it once did. I can discuss the art vinyl scene in America before Funko arrived in the scene but I will give it to someone passionate about it. Now, the art vinyl scene in America is still living albeit shrinking but Kidrobot is still living. The Japanese art vinyl scene is alive and well; while Funko Pops still exist and sold in Japan (Amiami sold them including in their website store), it's not popular. If there's Funko Pops, it's in a small section as seen in that Amiami tour.

Geek spaces are niched. Just for an example, just look at Nakano Broadway and Akihabara.

There is no doubt it is. Seriously, there is a reason why Akihabara and Nakano are called the mecca for anime/manga fans. Even with the large cost that locals called either ripping off or scam, people point out people who are vacationing there will find the prices are worth it, especially in mint condition. On vacations, people want to spend lots of money. While they would try to find somewhat lower costs in what they could find, they want to spend money. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna spend lots of money on my Japan trips.

Before Funko Pops, there is merchandise for a particular game or none at all. However, it's very limited or costly. However, for the fans in the niched geek space, it's enough. It also doesn't help that some merchandise might not be of high quality.

I'm not saying Funko Pop is high quality because it really isn't... Well, depending on the sculpt and/or design that might make it worth it, but that's all on the detail.

For most people who love the art vinyl scene and/or figurines that are unique and created with passion, Funko Pops is an endemic of the geek space.

For them, Funko Pops repeats the same template (just the humans, just look at the humans and see what makes it different besides the name plastered on the box and whatever the figure is holding on its face or its hands) and doesn't do much of creativity.

What these people have a large problem with is devoid of creativity in Funko Pops. They aren't hating on people who collect them though I'm pretty sure a small group is hating on them. From what I heard, the couple who collected roomfuls of Funko Pop when word got out of the contract his wife made him sign was bullied and he was a loud and proud Funko Pop fan and he's proud of his collection. I am not and will not hurt him for doing what he loves: collecting Funko Pops.

While I'm sure some anime figure collectors had been lambasted by a small group before, those people never stopped their love of collecting figures.

And I'm sure, even if these people lost thousands of dollars, the experience they got from the Funko Pop fandom is enough.

And no, I'm not calling for the death of Funko Pops. If people like them, especially for the appeals I mentioned in the last post, then people who seemed to embolden themselves in hate should not really bother for something as trivial as a toy.

And yes, Funko Pop is a toy.

Not even anime fans would not dispute their figures are toys, especially in the posable and the model kit building departments.

For Funko, it's called a collectible. Even though anime figurines are also called collectibles, it's still placed in the toy department for many. Come on, it's a plastic toy that you can pose and simulate moments. Hell, even in the most static of poses, they are frozen in time of amazing dynamic poses.

That is not to say, Funko Pops can't be uncreative. If it's an animal or alien, they have to change the body design. While keeping the damn blocky head and beady black soulless eyes. Not that it has to be black, sometimes it's other colors depending on the color.

I just have problems with the level of creativity in Funko Pop.

And this level of creativity is just fine for people who just want a figure of their own favorite series.

Again, I won't hurt people who collect the figures of a series they love.

Even if it's in my opinion, it's not as good as many gachapon and prize figures.

I'm going to go off in a tangent.

Geek spaces are niched. There is no question about that. Regardless of whatever spectrum you are, geeks are geeks. There is quality merchandise out there made with a fine hand.

However, Funko invaded the space of geek spaces and made relatively low-quality figures for the cheap. Because it's cheap. And I'm not talking cheap as in price, cheap as in mass-produced cheap with mistakes all over the place. Because of this, people can casually stuff it in subscription boxes and sell it en-masse.

I am not against the low and middle class. That is not the point of people's arguments against Funko Pops. Anybody who tries to say that these people are against those classes is not seeing why people don't like it. I never saw people who hate Funko argue against the price. My cousin and I are middle class and while I don't hate Funko Pops, I do have my annoyances and my cousin hates them with a passion of a thousand suns. And she will never argue that it's understandable that people would want a cheap toy costing ten bucks. What she had against it is the beady eyes and feeble representation of the chibi design.

I will not say that there shouldn't be cheap prices for figures. I know this pain because I wish the figures I want are not over a hundred or so bucks. I wanted to cry whenever I see a figure I truly wanted but cost more than what I am willing to shell out. I always love seeing the Pokeani G.E.M figures and the Thanatos figures and you think I am willing to shell the money for that! I adore them and would love to display them because they give me a sense of joy just looking at them but they cost too much! I understand why people want cheap prices for the figures they want. Even my cousin who vehemently hates Funko pops won't deny that the price is generally an appeal for those who want figures of their faves. All she complains about is the eyes and just how poorly designed the chibi style doesn't work for the pops. Not once she mentioned the price in our discussions about figures.

I'm pretty sure people who hate Funko pops won't argue about the price either. Not once had I seen the price discussion came up unless fans themselves complain about the eBay prices or so forth.

Just why this argument? When the people who hate Funko pops made it clear they had other reasons to hate the pops, not the goddamn price! I fucking mentioned it in the previous post as an allure!

What I am against is the quality, not the price. Get it out of your head that I am so kind of elitist when all I just want is quality. I got a quality Usopp figure for nine bucks and a great deal! I always made it a point to tell my cousin who collects Fire Emblem Amiibo figures and wanted a goddamn Lucina figma! A figma cost more than she was willing to shell out currently! And the reason why prices came up about figures we want and it's inevitable we'll get to prices. Why the hell would I want to make people pay more than a hundred bucks for a figure they might not want?! All I want out of Funko is quality instead of pumping out the same figure.

There is a reason why people complain about Funko's sameness. If they all see is its same human pops, the unique pops or the ones who don't look like pops apart from the eyes and/or head would be lost in the clutter.

For them, it's low quality, shitty, poorly designed and stylized, and soulless inferior toys. It's not the price they're arguing against. For them, it's lazy and shoddy in terms of quality and all they want is quality and soul in a handmade toy.

That's the major problem that people who love Sofubi, Nendoroids, Figmas, Kidrobot, Kenkeshi, etc have with Funko. Even with the few Funko that managed to look good or managed to have the design appropriate for it, it's small in numbers so of course, people who seen Funko regularly in trips to geeky or toy spots are annoyed at the same Funko pops they see.

I'm pretty sure I'm not talking about geek commodification yet...

Let's just say it.

The geeks originally had the choice of not well made or well-made merch, depending on the price and location. In America, where merch is hard to come by, it's much more difficult to find one.

Funko Pop is everywhere. The only reason I never subscribe to an anime subscription box is that there's a Funko Pop added to it. Again, while I never had an interest in it, I dislike the beady eyes and the soullessness of the overall quality. You can find Funko Pops in the malls, game stores, and so forth. There's no escaping them. I'm pretty some stores are surviving off these pops until maybe Funko goes broke? I don't want to think of it but if Funko fails, the stores that managed to get their shops up and running just because of Pops alone fail too. Gamespot is an example.

Now, Funko pops' various IPs are targeted to geeks, casual or not.

At least, anime figures are niched. Even though they are everywhere, they are still reserved in geek spots and don't bother people because they are separated from the rest of the pack. Not every anime fan will buy an anime figure. Again, I bought mine because I fell in love with it and don't care what people have to say about it. And nobody would dispute because I took great care of it.

Funko Pops are everywhere. No matter what IP you love, it's there and burrowed into your soul with the vacuous nightmarish eyes.

They are targetted and became a commodity no matter the cost and price. If Funko released a poorly made Funko that is only made for the box or made more than what is necessary, then the geeks are commodified. Instead of giving geeks the worth of their money, they became a commodity because they'll buy anything. Unlike the collectors of Japanese products who know they have to be careful and cry every time because they could go broke the moment they walk out of the store.

Everywhere a franchise has so many merch. While I am glad that fans have their choice of merch, it's much different here in America. In Japan, you can support the people you like by buying the merch because that's how Japan works. There, the merch is different and varying prices. Even from the freaking gachapon machines, you can get unique figures and toys! From Chopper clinging on the Skytree to a small Pikachu dressed as a ghost, there are so many figures and toys you can choose from basically less than a dollar-yen. At least people are getting their money's worth with the quality and variety in selection.

Here, it's the same thing from pop keychains to the actual pops. I could not find the difference between a Deku pop keychain and the actual pop itself. It doesn't help that Funko Pops are included in subscription boxes or anything related to geekhood possibly. I don't subscribe to subscriptions for two reasons: I want to pick the merch I want and I don't want Funko Pops next to my figures and Gunpla!

For better or for worse, because it's everywhere, people get exposed to them often and by people, I mean normal people. Yes, they will probably get some pops but there will always be people, for a variety of reasons, will hate the figure after being exposed to it often. I mean I have seen enough of the pops to last a lifetime and I don't like the feeling that it's not reserved in geeky spots.

While I am glad it's accessible for people who like stuff casually, Funko pops' everywhere-ness doesn't help that the business expects their hardcore collectors will continuously buying and people who just don't like seeing Funko pop as the figure of choice and the nightmarish eyes. Since Top Pops and Box Attack eventually bought their own offices - although I'm pretty sure they were planning it anyway - the hardcore ones would not buy one. While it wouldn't hurt business to the point they'll go bankrupt, Funko had to be up-to-date with the latest trends.

Funko had been the forefront of geek figures in America. While figures are higher quality elsewhere, Funko's cheapness and accessibility to many various IPs, old and new, made them the broader and appealing choice.

Even though many argue that it's a poor choice due to its quality and just want other fans' to have better quality is worth putting on the shelf rather than the same figure over and over with the beady black eyes and teeny body that is only slightly adjusted. Seriously, chrome figures are the exact figure as the normal one and why the hell should you do that? At least, the gold Luffy looks different from other Luffy in similar poses.

Funko is cheaply made and mass-produced to the point that it can't be called a figure or something like a Sofubi. At least Lego has endless possibilities! It's everywhere from dollar stores to subscription boxes. You can't escape them.

No matter what people say about them, they aren't collectible. A collectible has to be a rarity in numbers (for example, Nendoroids are this to the point they will only re-release a figure only by surveys), historically significant, unique, and not mass-produced to the extent a normal person can pick it up.

As a collectible, it must not be pushed with such falseness. Having a sticker placed on a box on a near-identical figure is not the way the go. It's not a collectible if everybody has it or has the potential to have it and produced en-masse to be placed in every store imaginable and people can pick it up easily. There is no such thing as a common Luffy anime figure unless you count the Funko.

Yes, it's cheap both in the good and bad kind of cheap. Yes, there might be good sculpts and/or design where the Funko pop style might work but those numbers are low that people might not find them. If they're exposed to the same figure over and over again, it's not going to be good.

Especially the dead soulless eyes that people complain about.

While it is great to see affordable figures, it's not the best choice for figures or merch in general. It might be on the mediocre level.

I am glad people have the choice of affordable figures, but Funko pops shouldn't be the only and best choice. Seriously, if I put it near my beloved Usopp, I'll cry pitifully.

Funko, as a merch, represents a really low quality as that as long as it has the IP and pump it out daily that consumers who should have the best or what they can get. They don't have to necessarily spend more than they want to but should be priced reasonably. Funko priced it so affordably that people can easily make of and buy easily they could fill up a house if they choose to buy more.

What fans deserve is a good quality merch to choose from including figures. That they don't have to shell out a big expense for it. Only if they are willing to shell out that much for it. What they deserve is something quality but don't have to shell out constantly for a false collectible. YMMV about Funko's quality but most people will say it's not good quality. Even my brother's girlfriend who knows a little bit more of anime figures but collects only Star Wars and Marvel Funko pops says that Funko is not good quality, especially given how much they pump it out. Seriously, I'm surprised they will be releasing Baby Yoda pops in the spring but given that it's Disney whose supposed to give the go-ahead to produce them... I don't think Disney is hiding Baby Yoda toys from the crowd since the ones they pushed AKA the Porgs didn't do so well... If that was the case, we would've seen shelves stocked with Baby Yodas all ready for the holiday season. Because Disney would stop at nothing to squeeze out money from their customers, given their annual price increases at the parks.

This is my opinion only.

I don't want to hate on Funko when there's just so many things wrong with it being called a collectible when it's not.

I get it. Funko is the least expensive option when it comes to figures and that's why people choose it. It has more IPs that you know they'll be getting soon.

But it shouldn't be the only option in the market when there are more options out there that deserve recognition than a product that copies over and over again without stop.

Woke Culture vs Anime/Manga or just Japanese Media

I have already made it clear I hate woke culture. If my last few posts say anything more, as I told my cousin once, if the woke culture has a face, I'll punch it. And she complains about a costume that was changed from its original context. She literally moved her hand down as I told her that teenagers wear bikinis to show off their gangly bodies and she agreed just how ridiculous when the original context made more sense and more empowering to women who embraced their bodies.

These anime girls aren't real! They don't need protection from people who don't understand they are hurting the actual cause where actual human beings are being hurt! These fictional characters do not hurt the cause as much as they are just fictional!

Again, these fucking ladies aren't real!

Stop protecting fictional children who aren't fucking real and look at the real children who are being abused in fucking reality!

Saying these stuff made sexual abuse and child exploitation real is ridiculous. That existed long before anime became a concept! Let fiction explore and expand and let problematic things stand, not as something to wipe out of media altogether, as something to write about.

Hell, there are just as many sexual American toys out there. But they aren't being called out to the extent Japanese anime figures are. Showing that the woke crowd not only does not know the hell they are talking about but outright attacking the Japanese on something as basic as toys. The reason why people love anime figures is due to the art put into it.

I hate cultural imperialism.

Woke culture, especially those espoused by the radicals, seemed to embrace cultural imperialism.

Instead of listening to what the Japanese have to say including on their own social issues, they seem to think they can control another nation's social issues and change from another country!

These guys are treating the Japanese like idiots and never I wish to punch these people as much as I do now.

But I won't punch. I will tell them the truth that their silly brains can't comprehend.

For people who are preaching not to be racist, you sure as hell being racist now!

The sudden war on anime is surprising and at the same time, not surprising.

Anime and manga have been increasingly popular as of recent years. Even manga and anime popular like two decades ago like Naruto and Bleach have come back in full force. One Piece has increased in readership and I know more people are watching the anime now.

Just check out this.

Oh, are you woke people scared that your influence is dying and now anime and manga is your next target?

Is it your misguided form of progressivism that had been criticized enough that you are now attacking anime and manga? They are only looking at anime and manga, not western animation or even fucking American comics that do show 'problematic' things like say child protagonists and had bad things happen to children. Even ATLA has this. What cynical hypocrites woke people are!

Towards one of the biggest fanbases in the world!

Anime and manga have been popular because people want entertainment and not to be fucking preached at over telling stories. All anime and manga offered is a clear story and characters. Whether or not is it good writing is another thing.

Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Disney Star Wars certainly do this and ultimately lead to fans turning their backs on them and just looking at what previous installments have to offer. Even fans are happy to look at the prequels now. Because seeing how far their beloved franchises have fallen is not easy for a fan which I don't think any fan would want to feel that, even mediocrity is better as seen in the opinion of Final Fantasy, Sonic and Digimon fans. Even those kind of mediocrity is better than the 'storytelling' that prioritize politics over basic storytelling. Even storytelling that is not very good could be taken as better than woke storytelling. I've been seeing that lately... Mediocrity is better than woke stories.

If these fans are passionate, anime and manga fans will be even more displeased at the attack on anime and manga.

Are these woke people so cynical and puritan that they refuse to listen to international criticism who flat out pointed out they are not helping and that they are not helping them? I'm pretty sure America has a bad repute for butting in situations they don't have the right to.

What this woke crowd does is being stupid.

They don't know anything about Japan's social issues, anime, manga, and culture.

They just think they know best - women being covered up even when real female teenagers wear fucking bikinis to the beach and of course, fucking child exploitation lies on fictional characters, not real people. I'll rather have the pedos on fictional animated kids over real kids who are hurt any day. - in a country that has its own difficulties. What they are doing is doing nothing more but cause more grief to the actual cause.

These guys aren't helping the actual cause! They are in it to poise themselves as the superior moral person and in it for brownie points from radicals. They are not helping the actual cause who looks at the real people, not the fictional people which these people use to cope with their trauma - fiction helps trauma! -, the real people who are being hurt by real people and need the help they can get from real people! Not the media who attacked people who don't agree on a simple movie's flaws and believe perfection and everything about it is perfection! On a fucking piece of entertainment there to cheer!

Woke people had always been insane but now they are out for anime and manga, after their trainwrecks of what used to be pillars of western entertainment, they think they can attack the Japanese and present themselves better than them! These woke people aren't self-aware of what harmful and ignorant things they are spewing; it's as if they don't think through what on earth they are doing as long as they present themselves as the superior moral person even to the people they are supposedly propping. I'm pretty sure they are doing that because the new Marvel New Warriors is really...something. And it's not a good something. They cross into the realm of unintentional comedy because if it was seriously satire, the backlash wouldn't be as brutal and a laughingstock. Because wokeness could jump into narm if they aren't careful and this New Warriors bs is so narmy. And I laugh at Netflix Death Note live action more of its narminess. And that movie is not woke, just funny.

Well then, if they are going to be spiteful towards entertainment and these woke culture people are such idiots, I will be happy to watch and rewatch anime and read and reread manga. I already love this stuff anyway since my cousins always turn to me about that. Even my brother's girlfriend knows about it that the Christmas present I got from her is a fucking Sailor Moon graphic tee!

But it makes me more spiteful that I will dive myself into more Japanese media!

Even the not so good stories there has better storytelling than the woke storytelling that prioritize politics over basic storytelling!

So far that, I will be happy to see FFVII Remake and dress up Cloud in the most ridiculous way possible in how many ways I could restart that point just so I could make Cloud look good!

And I will be happy to destroy woke dubbing - a difference from actual dubbing where they are going to be fucking faithful to what could be translated as much as they can be - by watching the subs and actual dubs. If the One Piece dub that is coming soon from Punk Hazard onward is gonna be PC the hell out, you can say there will be lots of protests from fans, especially when Oda would not like it. Oda might even mock it as he did with lollipop Sanji in the WCI arc. I'm not gonna be happy if they don't adapt as faithfully as they can.

Look, I watch subs and dubs and I watch it to see the adaptation and how much they changed dialogue and tone.

And let me tell you that anime and manga have been huge business.

I don't deny trying to make live-action adaptations of anime and manga from Netflix and Hollywood because they will happen. If they see cash, they will try to strip-mine it. It's how they work and how they will always work. Regardless of fans' protests, these things are still going to be produced because of money.

The woke culture would, of course, be critical of what was evidently Japanese in ethos and think in terms of their own Western-centric world. Heck, I loathe Digimon Adventure O2 finale as much as the next person but I see the motivations behind the girls' career paths. Even when I have an abhorrence for the entire epilogue. Not just on the shipping point but also just how the hell these characters went from this to this and implications just seemed like they don't know what the hell they are doing with these characters. That is 02's biggest failure in that they have so many ideas and cooks that they failed to formulate a coherent story and characterization that the finale can happen without anything reining in. Tri attempted to give an explanation but it's still cheap.

I know that in these fandoms, they are still trouble because these guys still look at it from a Western perspective when looking at it from a Japanese lens makes more sense!

This is why I prefer to see fans analyze basic storytelling over whatever Japanese thing is tackling in the Japanese product such as the obvious Japanese-ness in the Persona series. I doubt they would understand just how much being a bastard hurts in the Japanese system or that Naoto Shirogane is not trans but a cross-dressing woman that is evident in the workplace in Japan or why Adachi Tohru is the way he is as a Japanese cautionary tale or that the mecha genre is born out of anti-war sentiments or that Japanese feminists and LGBT use manga to tell their stories or Japanese feminism is another beast altogether. These Japanese products are made foremost for the Japanese consumer. Even with those who had to take into consideration global popularity. While I do think Japanese anime would expand overseas for dubbing, I doubt they would see the popularity coming abroad.

Oh, they don't understand anything about Japan at all beyond universal storytelling!

I'm pretty sure I can add Korea, China, and every other nation that isn't the West in there too.

Because I doubt they understand anything about those nations!

Look, I'm not interested in Kpop and Kdramas but I would try to understand them beyond their rocky relationship with Japan! I would try to understand their beauty standards to the point plastic surgery is everywhere, for example.

It makes me want to buy lewd figures out of absolute spite for these woke people and buy more anime stuff. But I'll rather not give them the time of day and satisfaction so really keep buying that Windblade figure and anime figures out there, fans. You want to support or show your love, buy it. Buying things out of spite, even though it would spite them, would just take space if you don't want it. I don't want lewd anime figures, just figures that make me happy. And what makes me happy is what I love. But since I already lined up for April, I don't know because I am totally getting my figures and FFVIIR.

Because I am going to be spiteful towards them if they are going to be malicious for what I considered my loves in life!

Funko Pop Animated Movie

I don't want to make another Funko Pop post but hearing some news about this movie makes me think the movie might be a somewhat decent idea.

If people honestly believe the Funko Pop is a fad, the movie might break or grow the base.

This is only if the movie is good. I am not ruling out that it could be the Emoji Movie 2.0. Most people would want the Lego Movie 2.0.

If it's a really bad movie, then it would dampen sales for Funko Pops. While it wouldn't strike it dead - because I'm sure a fanbase is still there and the IPs will keep it safe -, the sales would go down, something a public company like Funko does not need, especially one with massive debt.

If it's good, then it might shot up sales just like what it did to Legos.

These are my questions:

• Which demographic is this appealing to?
• Funko Pops, while categorized as a toy, is aimed at adults and collectors. Kids can play with their Funko Pops certainly but a large audience is mainly the collectors primarily. Seriously, pumping out every day with new series and aiming it at adult collectors, given how much exclusives there are... 
• There is some game called Funkoverse that came with various IPs. From what I heard, it's not a difficult game to learn but apparently, it offered just enough depth and innovation to keep it popular. I am not a Funko Pop fan so don't expect me to own one. From what I could gather, Funkoverse is a game for everyone and the Funkos played there is great even if the Funko Pop is just static in its pose because at least you are playing with the damn thing. 
• Are you going to use your original IPs or the vast other IPs?
• Freddy Funko and/or Wetmore Forest is the original IPs from this company.
• While it's known they are going to put DC and Marvel characters in there, are they going to overload? Because given how many licenses Funko has with that ever-increasing debt...
• Because putting too much unless you know how to balance it is not going to be a good thing. Because dating the movie is not a good thing. Just look at Emoji Movie and Wreck-it Ralph 2. 
• Would it involve humans?
• Are you? Because Funko Pops, more frequently than not, sit on shelves of collectors than actively played with. 
• What the goal of a Funko Pop?
• Again, this toy is aimed at adult collectors. Regardless of whether or not you are only collecting it because you like the series and/or it's the only figure that doesn't cost you lots, the toy is barely aimed at kids. 
• For most people, even on Youtube, even for those who don't collect that many pops, it's a collectible.

At least, I know going into this musical is that it's for everyone. Heck, Hillenberg was even involved with the production and last I heard, satisfied with the results. The original VA gave the show its full support. If it wasn't for the fans and the people who support it, the show continued on in some kind of form, culminating with a televised performance which you could tell from the audience absolutely adored.

The musical reminded a lot of the Broadway version of Lion King. Stylized enough you can recognize the characters but create something to provide an emotional response. You can see the actors and can tell they put their one hundred and ten percent in it. 

It's like Lion King and Legally Blonde musicals with symbolism and imagination of the former and the feel-good nature of the latter. Like Legally Blonde, it's another feel-good musical I can listen to because it's just so wholesome I don't care what people have to say. 

Let me embrace the wholesomeness without people saying it's for kids. I'm looking at you, Freddy Prince Jr. 

Don't expect me to see even a recording of anything for the Broadway version of Frozen. I like musicals and stage plays but do not expect me to see something I have grown a distaste for. 

No matter how much I say it, Funko is no longer a toy. At least I can categorize posable figures as toys because you can play with them!

Funko is a collectible. It's not a toy. These 'toys' sat on shelves, only being played with the very young ones. And even then, most people prefer to leave it on the shelves.

And it doesn't help that Funko is pumping out more and more. Fans are gradually worried about their space in their homes to the point the more popular Funko Pop Youtubers have an office just to store their growing collection.

That's the thing.

In a movie about a collectible, do you honestly think that the vital part of what Funko is will make it into the movie?

Because the IPs will be its mainstay.

Regardless of people thinking it a fad, the IPs will remain its major mainstay alongside its cheapness. And I do mean cheap in its overall design too.

Whether or not the movie will be good or not, I just worry, especially not when Funko pop is oversaturating the market.

I will still watch this movie because I want to support other animated movies than Disney any day of the week. Don't drag me to see Frozen 2. I'll watch Klaus or the Missing Link or How to Train Your Dragon 3 but I refuse to watch any Disney and Pixar movie.

If there's going to be a Funko pop movie, then here I go, ready to watch a movie about something I was originally disinterested in but grew a dislike for because of its sameness.

I don't hate all Funko Pops, unlike my cousin who hates them with a passion. There are expressive Funko Pops like Baby Groot and some Funko Pops that don't bend to the template like aliens and animals but even then the eyes are so expressionless when the face is the most important part of the character such as Toothless and the Pokemon.

There are pops where the blank eyes work adequately such as GotG's Baby Groot and One Piece's Brook.

However, when an expression be its eyes or a smile/smirk/etc is what made it work, then the soulless eyes won't work. Just look at Toothless, Pokemon, and a large majority of Funko Pops. Buzz is the worst offender here since where the fuck is his smug smile and his little goatee looks more like a mouth?

Thank god, there's no Funko Pops of Hetalia characters. There are so few and in-between Hetalia figures and not as good as Nendoroids. I saw dolls but those are the most expensive I seen. I only saw one scale figure and that's about it in terms of full-scale figures unless you count small ones. And it doesn't feature many of the characters.

Okay, so the media in all their salty woke wisdom decided Star Wars is for boys. This stupid woke media who cared nothing but their own ego thinks they get to decide when they don't have little common sense about the fandom and just the geeky thing they are tackling.

Umm... No.

The idea Star Wars is for boys only is not only stupid but also disingenuous.

Star Wars is something geeky and only because Hollywood began taking a look at it and deciding to make the geeks a source of revenue. Because they are out of touch with the fandom and its history, they seem to deem whatever demographics based on what it looks like. They say the entire fandom has the middle-aged white guy and the occasional girls thrown in the mix and the new fans are the droves of girls the ST aimed at, specifically the SJW radicals, completely ignoring the women, POC, and LGBTQIA  has been in the fandom for just as long as these white guys. They ignored the sane that everyone can like it and that includes the girls who loved it ever since they saw it.

Look at it this way.

Shounen and Shoujo translated roughly boys and girls respectively. But women and men love the other genre just as much. Hell, even in manga for boys like Daiya no Ace, there are characters who absolutely love shoujo manga and shamelessly cry in public about it. In the fandom, Eijun and Ishiki have endeared themselves for their outspoken love for shoujo manga.

While they will target their demographic, there is no doubt Japanese manga is niche. But boys and girls still love it because they are interested in it. Shounen Jump is brutal to find any work that can grab attention and maintain that attention.

I am just angry to hear that this and that is for a designated audience and saying it's like a recent thing, twisting words for their own purposes.

I hate woke media and their effort to look like they want better for the marginalized when all they want is to elevate themselves. They can say something that is approximately rational and what people and the fandom can agree about and then went off in the world of crazy, saying stuff like Star Wars is a boys club when last I remember the fandom never ever say that. I don't recall anything that is unwelcoming beyond people trying to gatekeep stuff like shipping and certain works like Given. Did they ever try to learn Given is yaoi? A simple google search is all you can do for something you don't know.

They don't care about the women who had stayed with the fandom for years, who recognized the flaws of their favorite works but still love it in spite of it. They don't care about the fans who kept the work alive precisely just how much they love it. They don't care about fandom and its history.

Ego is all they have and they have a platform for their ego and their limited knowledge of what fandom is and just how fandom works.

Did they ever see the compilations for when the announcement for FF7R came out that men and women are screaming and crying out of pure joy?

Did they ever go to Japan where One Piece is an almost religion and the events are populated with men and women?

Didn't they see women in the audience at Star Wars screenings?

Oh, what ignorant bumbling fools they are.

It's one thing to be a fan but it's another to present yourself as the 'higher moral' person that knows everything when you don't have the inkling of common sense.

Sure, try to destroy the fanbase who have been giving money all in your pursuit of an ego trip. The wokeness in American media channels set back what is needed to be progressive while artificially created progressive. Again, on one hand, they look like they wanted the world to be better, but on the other hand, they didn't have much experience or try to understand what it meant, equating fandom hate for -isms, which is disingenuous for the world to move forward.

And we are slowly edging them out because they would later learn not to mess with a company who wants money and people who just want quality stories that just happen to be progressive, rather politics first and the story forced to revolve around it without any rhyme or reason. Don't take it the wrong way that we are regressing when they are the ones regressing.

Woke media and people, learn what it means to be actually progressive and fight for what is right than the artificial. And study because your common sense is not going even a tad bit there. And stop generalizing and denigrating, forcing a false narrative for people who either don't care or don't know the full situation. Because from what I have seen, people got the wrong idea of what is happening a lot because more often than not, the woke media always portrayed themselves as this moral person who says the right thing but at the same time denigrate and generalize their opponent in an effort to be this progressive thing.

Woke is not the way to go for being progressive and moving forward. It's more like talking the talk but not doing the walk. They can say one thing that is reasonable that people just might agree with them and then run right into crazy town with their demonizing insane rhetoric. And getting into crazy town like the SJWs and radicals in the likes of Brie Larson and the youngest fandom members who honestly believe their ship will be canon despite evidence to the contrary is not good for anybody. Including the people I just mentioned.

Pandering vs Respecting Fans

Fans are the bread and butter of what can make or break your work.

It is their passion for whatever is what made and keeps whatever alive. Even if people in the fandoms still having trouble like say flames or ship wars or just wanting reviews for fics and arts or purity madness, whatever they love is kept alive by love.

And if a work is particularly spiteful, then they'll be spiteful back and create something better than the trainwreck. Just look at VLD and the vows of rewrites since the laughable finale.

So...insult these fans who kept what they love alive and well into the decades onwards and what you get?

These fans won't support you.

In my previous posts about woke culture, I mentioned not insulting fans and the casuals.

The casuals are the ones who look from the outside. They can buy stuff from a series they like such as graphic tees or toys. Funko Pops strived well here because it hits all the spots I previously mentioned in another post.

While the common rule is to not insult fans, don't insult the casuals too. Especially when they are in the outside looking in and don't know. Hell, in Gamergate and the geeky-gates out there, I have no clue what is going on and I just want somebody neutral and unbiased to explain both sides without any propaganda thrown in. Because of course, both sides would paint the other as the bad. When all I just want is somebody to tell me what both sides want and how the world can move forward via learning what people want.

But human nature is just that, I supposed.

Insulting your main consumer base or just consumers, in general, is not a good idea.

There is a difference between pandering and accommodating.

Pandering to fans means something along the lines giving what the fans want regardless of where the actual story and characters are going. It's what they want. Yes, fans can give encouragement and sprout out ideas and advice but giving fanservice without any rhyme or reason is not what most fans want.

Yes, fans do want to see whatever they like about a work onscreen or written officially. They can provide great ideas but it is not their work.

Fans love and critique. They can see imperfections and bring it to attention. However, they are still in love with the product. Of course, they won't easily accept whatever food would be given. They would still be critical but they still love the product and want the said product to move forward and do better or other products to that.

Above all else, fans expect a good story and character going in, not being lectured about ideals that overtook the story and idea. They won't even mind the politics if it's natural and isn't a sledgehammer.

Fans would not mind the female Doctor so much if it weren't for the fact they are being lectured and when they point out that the politics is ruining the story or the story just isn't good, they are called names precisely because they disagree about the story. Even in a civil discussion too!

Look at me! Let's pick something from the west and east respectively.

I know the flaws of Power Rangers and Kamen Rider but I still love it all the same. I do have my critiques. Linkara has his criticisms of Power Rangers, just look at his retrospective. Speaking of which, I hope Hasbro could revitalize the American adaptation of Kamen Rider, Power Rider. I seriously wonder how and if they would a Gaim adaptation, considering just how complex it is. I really wonder if they are going to make the main protag a god just like Gaim did.

Here's the thing: hate and love is a thin line. What actually kills something is apathy. If you don't care, whatever it is dies out with a whimper, not a bang. I won't name any here because I will make myself depressed just naming even one.

How about this? Fallout 76.

People complained because they wanted Bethesda to do better and wanted something fun that is worth their time and money. They are fans, fans who are willing to spend money.

Yes, everybody knew about the fiasco that it quickly led to Bethesda's state of affairs. Both Bethesda and EA became one of the most hated video games companies in recent history just based on this alone although lots of stuff led into it the mess catapulted them into infamy that would take years for them to regain any standing.

All fans want is a good product, a fun product where they have the freedom to critique. Critiquing does not mean hatred, no, it just means passion and love for a product they dedicated themselves to the fandom.

Because love keeps fandom alive and denigrating that love because of some nonsensical reason such as blaming them for something's failure on a basis of being an -ist and -phobe is stupid.

Look, fandoms of today are having trouble with the puritans and woke culture.

There is nothing wrong with being progressive and fans won't mind having better rep but being shoved into the food they are giving a chance too but forced to consume because of the politics in it that overtook storytelling. Fans have no problem if they weren't called names.

Fans are again the bread and butter. If it weren't for that, that something would somewhat die off.

Look, Pokemon does have some misfires as of late but the anime version won fans back, especially the return of Misty and Brock twice.

How about a series that kept giving fans in a good way and not in a meme-y way too? Gundam! The new series accommodating new and old fans.

Square Enix knows FFVII is a favorite and a major part of childhood. They also know they have to pull in new fans too because people would want to experience what made FFVII great in the first place.

Even when fans are hesitant about the changes - because fans would be scared of changes -, they are at least open-minded to experience the new product because they love the thing so damn much and want to see the new lore and material.

Japan knows for the most part that fans are the thing that kept them alive. Why else would they have many geeky spots that are not in Akiba and Otaroad and Nakano? Even when they themselves have trouble because money and/or poor decision, at least their mind is in the right place. I prefer bad storytelling that is made from the heart than bad storytelling that politics and spite towards fans overtook natural storytelling.

Do I have to point out that Shounen Jump would throw just about any genre to the wall (Promised Neverland is a horror then look at One Piece which is definitely an adventure and then look at Captain Tsubasa, a sports manga), hoping to see what sticks? Do I have to point out studios can create just about any genre as long as they manage, hoping for what sticks? This is why a studio like Mappa have anime like Banana Fish and Yuri on Ice as well as Sunrise producing the mecha anime and Tiger and Bunny. They will produce just about anything as long as sticks to the wall. Many anime, underrated or otherwise, slipped through and remember, only a couple anime per season can actually grow a fanbase. Heck, look at light novels like Baccano and Violet Evergarden. They reward fans with many, many events like say a Sailor Moon Exhibit and USJ. Heck, just look at Red Bard telling you just how many merch is there out there for Evangelion and the Fate series.

Take this in contrast with the west with Doctor Who and Star Wars.

As mentioned in the posts I made about woke, woke does not get anything about the fandoms. Instead of understanding them or seeing their point, woke culture preferred to take the so-called moral high ground and present themselves in the right.

This is what happened to Star Wars and Doctor Who.

All fans want is respect for what came before and the evolution and betterment of whatever they love and that they are allowed to critique something as basic as storytelling issues.

That is common sense. Especially when respecting others' opinions which woke won't allow. Because of ad hominem.

All the Star Wars and Doctor Who want is exactly that. For the love of Godoka, even Power Rangers is regaining some level of faith with Beast Morphers! It shouldn't be that hard when even fucking Power Rangers is doing well because the staff recognized the need to have a good story. Seriously after the near trainwreck that is the Neo-Saban and half of the Disney Power Rangers, Hasbro knows they need to only win back old fans but also new fans. And it should be easy since fans flat-out wanted good stories since diversity is a non-issue with PR in the first place, kinda since there are oopsy moments like accidentally casting POC in the colors they 'rep' in. To be fair, they did realize their mistake.

Seriously, just mentioning Disney Power Rangers and the Disney Star Wars is insanely different. While Disney never got both series, Disney doesn't even like Power Rangers and relatively hands-off. Relatively because there are worst choices in there too. And Disney prefers to not have Power Rangers in their hands because that's how much they don't like PR.

And look at the Disney-era Power Rangers nowadays. Yeah, the worst decisions are there all to see including some of the terrible seasons of PR in the franchise. But after what came afterward in the Neo-Saban saga, people are willing to say the Disney era Power Rangers isn't as bad as many think.

Not the hot stinking mess that is Disney Star Wars. I think I would call Disney's handling of Star Wars that since it can mean many things and those things are true.

Comparing how the two series were handled by Disney is funny. On the one hand, it's relatively okay but on the other hand, it's a complete disaster. However, it's pretty clear that one is motivated by money and the other is motivated by 'what is this, I don't get it but okay if you people are enthusiastic about it, go ahead but we should have some kind of say in it even if we don't get it'. Seriously, I would rather take the Kalishplosions and the weak storytelling of OO over the forced storytelling of Disney SW any day.

Now Disney is stepping over Kathleen Kennedy, Rian Johnson, and the woke culture who white knighted the Disney Star Wars.

Because Disney cared about money and if something doesn't gain that, they would cut you off. Seriously, just look at the game studio that produced the Epic Mickey games. Thank god, not only they couldn't buy a Japanese studio due to Japanese law, but Square Enix is also a well-established studio. And if they know better, then they won't hire Rian Johnson ever again in the proximity of Star Wars.

Y'know it's bad when George Lucas is no longer the most hated person in the fandom. Like yeah, he is still hated but in comparison to how Disney is faring, Disney found themselves in backlash from both TLJ and TROS. People either don't like or like the other is in the opposite reaction and well... Disney Star Wars is not in a good place and the High Republic bs is making rounds with fans laughing maniacally in despair.

Disney wants money. Seriously if the ever-increasing prices in the parks are any indication, they want money and as a business, they need it.

Yes, people will still spend money on them. Fans will put in the money to support what they love.

Fanservice - and not just the showing off boobs, panties, and general cleavage kind -  can be okay. Sometimes, looking at the suggestions and advice from fans can be fun.

However, one must realize that while they are the bread and butter of whatever you are creating, they shouldn't be the end-all-be-all. Instead, fans act as the motivator and responders of what they love.

And sometimes they can get dangerous with it via abandonment as soon as it shows the slightest form of 'problematic'. As those fans are crazy just to abandon it for that alone.

No, I am not asking for spiting fans because what the hell are you thinking?

This is a jab at Voltron Legendary Defender's showrunners who is utterly spiteful towards their fans based on the bad behavior of a minority of fans. And it certainly doesn't help they are also spiteful towards the higher-ups too because they threw out the plan when the higher powers demanded Shiro to come back. Just why JDS and LM, just why? I can literally feel spite in the last few seasons, while previous seasons were able to hide the spite by sheer confusion of 'what the heck is going on, why is this happening'. Seriously, the spite comes off like a stink that doesn't help by the poor writing. Like I don't get the Clone Shiro character and arc at all or why Atlas is necessary or plot lines that were possibly bought up and dropped and what the hell happened to Romelle and Lotor is just... why... what is happening... And I'm mainly focusing on poor writing because there are just so many potential things that could be explored but were dropped. And I long since moved on from VLD too. I only bought it up because it's not only the recent example that is animated and just lost it at poor writing. I could also bring up GOT because it suffered a lot from poor writing too. But what we can do now is just move forward and create good stories.

Now the VLD fandom is being spiteful back with the rewrites. I haven't read the VLD AO3 section in a long time but I bet there are lots of rewrites and canon divergences to fulfill what they deem they want.

Or just want a better story. Either what they want - which is a thing in fandoms since forever - or a better story - because I'm pretty sure everybody in the fandom who don't like VLD's downward spiral wants something better than the sloppy poor writing that doesn't have the first clue of basic storytelling.

Look, only a minority of fans will be loud and vocal. And for worst, they are often the most heard and often 'represented' as all the fans. And when people see that only a small group, they think that's how the rest of the fandom behaves. The woke media found great pleasure in demonizing only just a small group just to present themselves as a higher moral person.

For the most part, fans just want a good story, either in their terms or what the author wants with their authorial intent. But a good story nonetheless.

Fans aren't expecting anything groundbreaking from the Sonic movie or the Birds of Prey movie. Yes, I will get to that soon.

All they want is something better. Something that doesn't force them to consume politics that disrupt story and characterization in an unnatural way.

I am willing to say that even Code Geass, for all its problems, doesn't force politics down their consumers' throats. And that show is fucking nationalistic and people have noted just how over-the-top and not subtle the politics and symbolism are.

Oh yeah, politics is a natural part of the story of CG. Because I can critique CG on all its flaws and I know people love it including my cousin and my brother's girlfriend. But I won't hit them over the head about whatever flaws because I'm pretty sure they're focusing on story and characterization than actually seeing the Japanese in a Japanese product. I would know because I discussed CG with my cousin who loves it. And right now according to my bro, she's right now a Kpop fan and I don't care about Kpop since it's not my thing but I can listen to it. Because the fans who even want to attempt analysis on a Japanese work without the full implications it's a Japanese work with all the culture and ethos and so forth in it...doesn't know a thing. It's fine if it's story and characterization since that's universal but knowing just how the foreign implications wherein a country's politics is different from the West is something else. This also goes to other foreign media because it's great to know about foreign perspectives and how they dealt with their stuff. And fans don't get that so I mostly avoid analysis beyond mere storytelling for foreign pop culture.

The two movies, Sonic and Birds of Prey, are for two different audiences. Yet the media pits them together somehow even when the common people don't regard them together as truly competing aside from just vying for attention in the movie theatre.

Yet the Sonic movie is doing well for various reasons and among them is respecting the fanbase and audience that they actually went out to support the film. Again, nobody is expecting a groundbreaking film but people went to support it because the studio and director went out of their way to correct.

While to most people, pandering and respecting is a thin line, especially in regards to a fanbase.

But regardless, the creator must know the fans are the bread and butter but also at the same time, not the end-all-be-all. Yeah, fans won't be civil and lash out when things don't go their way even when the creator is just polite. But they are passionate and do deserve their say even if the creator doesn't agree or realize the implications of what they say.

I just want fandoms to calm down and go back to normal, not take things to nonsensical and rancid levels to the point of destroying the creators. Hell, I am willing to give a chance to JDS and LM because I want them to do well and be better than their previous outing as showrunners that showed they don't know what they are doing. I won't condemn any creator that easily. All I want out of Steven Moffat, JDS, LM, etc is for them to be better. Actually out of all creators really. All I just want them is to create better stories instead of the wtf the story structure and lore is gone. Then again, I think I would take that over woke storytelling any day. Because at least theirs comes in some form of emotion.

There is a difference between cancel culture and making mistakes whether or not they can understand or not. Cancel culture is never good, just to be clear because, in the age of social media, we can apparently push out people who don't agree politically as long as there is a mob mentality. And sometimes it might wreck good causes.

Fans who are expecting perfection and purity and social justice only will be in for a rude awakening. Creators who are only putting in diversity for the sake of scoring points is in for a rude awakening.

Japan, Korea, and China built themselves an audience on what they are throwing at the wall and guess what they put first? Story. Because if the audience doesn't like it, the thing might die off.

This might be why those works have grown in popularity, even the ones I thought have small fandoms or at least not as big as it used to be. Hell, even with good word of mouth, the Pokemon anime is doing well too. Seriously, I didn't expect Naruto and Bleach to come up in the list of people are watching anime in flocks. Then again, those two used to be a part of the Big Three of Shounen Jump and I should've expected that, especially when anime and manga are rising in popularity. And people would rather choose a story over clearly forced diversity that overtook the story. Even now I see One Piece spreading in more popularity than usual and nobody can call it woke especially if you really look at it, Oda has a fascination with okamas and trans people so much that O-Kiku is seen as a trap instead. Seriously, I don't know where people are getting an idea why One Piece is woke in the first place when there are obvious fanservice - see Nami in her ninja costume - and the okamas and trans people are treated as people first, not diversity first since a lot of people in the fandom cried a lot about the badassery of Bon Clay and O-Kiku. And those are the most vehement that these characters are badass, not because they are trans, but because they are badass who has duty and friendship at the top of their minds. Like Bon Clay is not pure and all-around good when he helped burn down a city! If it was here in America, trans are supposed to be treated as good and pure and defined entirely as trans when we should be treating as equals, not put on a fucking pedestal! Hell, we fucking see Bon Clay take decisive action as a leader and we later see him the leader of Level 5.5 in Impel Down and he rightfully earned that! The only reason I see the ladies being covered up is that they're in fucking kimonos! Fuck, we see Ivankov for the sake of Godoka! People would notice he's an obvious play on Rocky Horror Show's Frank-n-Furter! We even learn of O-Kiku's sibling and we are still learning her character especially when they are foreshadowing if you know your damn Japanese for god's sake so to say One Piece is woke is untrue. People have criticized the WCI arc, especially the treatment of Big Mom, in the western sphere as unfeminist. In the West. And we're still getting fanservice in the Wano arc so I don't get where the idea One Piece is woke from! Speaking of, Japanese mangakas have a fascination with LGBT so I don't get where woke in Japan originated from since I keep up with anime and I would've learned an anime or manga is woke by fans leaving in troves and nobody is leaving One Piece in troves in the likes of Disney Star Wars! If anything, I saw more people checking out long-running anime and manga than ever before! Woke is defining a character entirely on their diversity for diversity's sake; just look at the marketing for Disney Star Wars and just Disney SW in general really. The Force is feminist, WTF. Did they know the Force is not a gender but is the source of every living thing? And that only some including women but not everyone will be Force-sensitive. Whatever, Kathleen Kennedy, I hope you have that humble pie that definitely has the ingredients of canon and harsh truths. No canon or base work, you say, Kathleen Kennedy? I say nope! It's already distressing to see SW in the state it is now but the way Disney wants to make money off it even after their failed movie trilogy showed all they want is the money and to pay back the debt.

I'm sorry about that rant but I saw somebody say One Piece is woke and I blew up here. And the damn situation with Disney Star Wars and those who spearheaded the woke.

What fans are passionate and loving but also critiquing about what they love. I know this because my cousins, as well as myself who are fans of something, do critique what they love. I know this because I discussed whatever with games and anime. My aforementioned cousin loves Code Geass but is aware of the flaws. However, I notice in our discussion, only story and characterization came up.

They aren't the enemies. Calling them names and assumptions will damage moving forward with the forward.

Again, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, DC, Marvel... no wonder Japanese and Korean works are shooting into popularity. All I can think of now is Alfred watching anime and listening to Kpop while eating his burgers and fries as his country's famous works of pop culture burned behind him and his collection of Funko pop displayed somewhere in his houses, Tony joining in and crying. Considering he is likely an anime fan for a long-ass time, I won't call him a weeb. And Arthur sipping tea and turned off the TV once the Doctor Who aired and went for his laptop instead to listen to some Kpop.

Because if these personifications are literally the general, then while they would care for geeky things, disinterest will wane, especially for products who don't know good storytelling if it didn't hit them over the head with a sledgehammer because all they care about is politics first, not story and characters first.

All I just want for DW, SW, ST, DC, Marvel, and other works currently ruined by a spiteful woke culture which don't respect the lore and basic storytelling... is for the fans, not only to continuing what made them love it in the first place but to keep that love alive because those franchises need more love more than ever, especially when it's currently handled by disrespectful hostility from people who simply don't get it and only using it to spread their politics.

All these fans don't expect you to be a fan but for you to respect what came before. Just look at Nicholas Meyer. He wasn't a fan of ST but he still went out of his way to research via talking with actors and watching old episodes. And what has he granted the fans? Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country! The former movie is called one of the greatest SciFi movie of all time and revered in ST circles.

What fans want is not only respect for them but also the source material and lore, what came before. Fans are allowed to criticize something that destroys what they love. Just look at DW with the recent trainwreck being Timeless Children. I mean I long since quit watching DW, well nuWho since Eleven since the writing is just crazy. But then again, from what I have been hearing, ever since that new showrunner, Chibnall, is far more worried about politics than writing a good story. Look, RTD is fucking gay and he has LGBT and POC characters in there but the fans aren't raging over that in RTD's era but over Chibnall's era where he prioritizes whatever identity you have over characterization and story. I'm pretty sure at this rate, people would prefer Moffat over Chibnall just based on woke culture alone.

Again, respect fans, source material, lore, what came before that made the franchise so big. Fans are allowed to criticize because they love the product and do want the product to do better. People, in general, will criticize the flaws because whether or not they love or hate it, they are still allowed to comment on the flaws. Criticizing does not mean hate. Especially hate for diversity and representation. Fans won't mind if it's natural and isn't placed above storytelling.