An Open Letter to TV Tropes,
Without opening a topic, or, indeed an entire can of worms, I want to address an issue that is affecting TV Tropes. I will do this here, on my contributor page, which people are free to ignore. Anyone who wants to discuss this issue with me can do it privately, as there simply is no safe place to discuss it on the forums.
The issue is the rampant Japanese/Anime protectionism on TV Tropes. Anytime a Trope Namer is attached to an anime work, any attempt to rename it is met with fierce resistance. This resistance is based on no other rationale than "Keep it because it's Japanese" or "Keep it because it's Anime"
Any proposition to tamper with the anime status quo is met with accusations of Hate Dom and Fan Myopia. Crowner activity is flooded by a pro-anime lobby. There are 93 nay votes on the Yandere crowner. What other crowner has that level of activity?
Futhermore, Gratuitous Japanese infests trope examples like a cancer. Is there any reason to call voice talent "seiyuu"? No. Being voice talent in Japan doesn't make you any different than the guy who narrates a Tampax commercial, and nobody's calling him a "seiyuu".
Please understand that I have no issue with there being 1.5 million anime examples for every trope page. I am perfectly cool with epic anime indices. You have my full support in creating a works page for an anime series that only ran 2 episodes, and one of those was broadcast only in a super funky dream you had. My issue is with Daisy Duck being listed under Tsundere, or Easy Company from Band of Brothers being listed under Nakama.
I propose that those who feel like I do take the following actions:
- Monitor YKKTW, crowner activity, and new launches for gratuitous Japanese/anime trope namers.
- Keep up to date with the Trope Repair Shop. Chip in your $.02.
- If you come across a Gratuitous Japanese word in the trope examples, jump in there and replace it with a proper equivalent.
If you don't feel like I do, I propose you take the following actions:
- Consider your true feelings about the proposed rename, Gratuitous Japanese edit, or crowner vote. Is this about a correct and accurate article, or is this about "defending the faith"?
- Remember that maintaining the status quo is a poor reason to be against a rename.
- Chill out... it's just cartoons.
Sincerely,
D. Dodge Silver
