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TeraDyne

A growing anti-Japanese sentiment in the fandom?

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TeraDyne
, 13th July 2012 at 10:33 AM (207 Views)
(I'd normally post this on my personal blog off-site, but I figured it'd be suitable to post here due to the subject matter)

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a growing (and sadly ironic) "anti-Japanese" sentiment in the US/EUR Pokémon fandom? It's something I've noticed that's creeping up on various sites. Some of it specifically targets anyone using Japanese names and terms, even when the context calls for it. I've also seen people treat the entire franchise as English-centric, with some people writing out canonical events from the Japanese games as if they never happened, using the English translation as replacement. The main problem seems to the be that some people don't want any connection to the Japanese side of the fandom, or think that English speaking/English-centric sites should only accept the English side. I know it's not a large group, but they seem to be very vocal, some to the point of even becoming bullies in their own right.

I won't give any example, as I'm not trying to pick fights or say anyone's wrong, but it's something I've noticed recently. Personally, I use a lot of Japanese names and terms because... well, that's how I "grew up" as far as Pokémon goes. My first game in the series was an import copy of Pocket Monsters Midori that I found in a local used game store, and after a run with the US games, I started finding myself happier with imported copies than I was with US/C copies of the games. I STILL don't know all of the Gen V Pokémon by their English names, but I know roughly 90% of their Japanese names, and 100% of the Gen I-IV Japanese names.

Has anyone else noticed this trend starting to show up? (Please, don't name names or anything. I don't want to start any fights.)

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Comments

  1. Master Mew's Avatar
    People who don't speak Japanese tend to prefer not to be spoken to in Japanese (this includes names), since they can't understand what's being said to them. This is to be expected.
  2. TeraDyne's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Master Mew
    People who don't speak Japanese tend to prefer not to be spoken to in Japanese (this includes names), since they can't understand what's being said to them. This is to be expected.
    That's honestly not a problem. However, as I said in my post some people seem to be taking it much further, to the point of bullying users who prefer Japanese names. I saw such actions on another forum not too long ago where one user was outright ganged up on for even trying to defend themselves, and on Twitter today with someone lashing out at a pair of Pokemon Special fans.
  3. Contrary's Avatar
    I haven't noticed this, really. But the only Pokemon forum I go on is Bulba. And here, tons of people use the Japanese names, including the mods.
  4. Master Mew's Avatar
    I haven't seen it, either. A few people may have overreacted to the usage of Japanese names, but I wouldn't call it a growing sentiment in the fandom, there have always been English-speaking people who demand that everything be in English, and it's a sentiment that certainly isn't unique to this or any fandom.

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