What does it take to change the world?
A now-famous anime character by the name of Light Yagami once asked himself that question when he witnessed the horrors that humans are capable of. If you’ll allow me to take things out of context and talk about a story I haven’t read in 3 years, you’ll see where I’m going with this.
He was just a kid, ultimately. A genius, maybe, but still only human. But even so, did he stop? Did he hold back? He dared to do something that few of us could ever do – and he paid the ultimate price because of it.
Was he a hero? I’m not quite sure. An anti-hero, maybe; or at least that’s the term we use for people like him. But practically speaking, every reader finds a different answer to that question. Some would sympathize with him, understanding his hatred for the scum of society; others would despise him for his self-righteous attitude. Like Hakim and Hachi from Planetes, it would be unfair to paint one as right and the other as wrong.
…Are you tired of reading yet? Wondering why I’m talking about Death Note when I barely even remember the story? Maybe your ears will perk up when I mention the Otaku Elimination Game.
Whoa, wait! Don’t start scrolling yet. You heard me? Don’t scroll to the comment section and start ranting. You don’t even know what I’m going to talk about yet! There’s been a lot of hate for these guys, and understandably so, but leaving your rage-filled comments here certainly won’t do anything about that.
So, let’s go back to square one. Square one being Light and the messed up world, not the self-proclaimed ota-kings and the blogosphere.
Are we agreed that Light wasn’t necessarily good or evil? He might have been twisted, and it’s hard to deny that he lost a good bit of his sanity by the end, but I don’t think his intentions were evil. Whenever I remember his last moments, clawing at the ground and begging for life – or the day he decided to kill the investigator who was pursuing him – I force myself to think of the first chapter. I force myself to remember the innocent hostages who were saved, the young woman who was about to be raped. I remember the horrible world that Light lived in – that we live in – and I realize that he had a point.
But when you look at Death Note in retrospect, it’s pretty obvious that Light suffered a fatal deterioration. Part of this was because his means were wrong.
Before you say it, I’m not trying to preach. In all fairness, is there anything else he could have done with the power of a death god? Killing criminals might not be the most effective method, but ultimately, the world can’t change without sacrifice. He made the conscious decision to hurt the minority to save the majority, and we know for a fact that he made a positive impact on at least a few lives out there, even if his plan ultimately failed.
Now, for the topic at hand: the puppeteers behind this cyberspace battle royale. They want, in short, a finer world. Sound familiar? It should, because it is. Even to its residents, the blogosphere is often the topic of debate and criticism. There will always be at least one person to represent every different view: a casual fan, a troll, a loudmouthed hentai-addict, a gushing moe fanboy…the list can go on and on. But by and large, the good bloggers are able to recognize the flaws of the community and solve those flaws through their own blogs.
So, where does that put the Elimination team? For argument’s sake, let’s say that they aren’t lying. If these people have indeed been going to Comiket since before I was born, then I’m willing to admit defeat to their superior knowledge. A lot of people don’t like that concept, but I’m fine with it. Facts are facts: a more experienced fan is indeed more experienced. But what about their goal, their mission statement? Is it just? And do the ends justify the means…?
I think it’s time I drew some conclusions, so I’ll lay things out as plainly as I can.
- From the looks of it, the Otaku Elimination staff have a point. The blogosphere is one of the most public communities in Western anime fandom, and they have a right to challenge us.
- Despite the fact that they have a right to challenge us, nothing will change. Like campaigning for fanart rights, the use of such an aggressive tone isn’t conductive to change.
- While the writers aren’t mincing their words, they seem satisfied to make their point only with words, and nothing more.
So where does this leave us? It leaves us with a group of self-proclaimed kings of otaku-dom who want to dethrone the community that misrepresents themselves and their kin.
It goes without saying that their methods are harsh, and that the majority of the sphere will hate them. That’s a given. I don’t think they care, and I’m not about to tell you to forgive and forget, either.
But, come on. Let’s think about this for a moment. Do you really think an issue like this would arise if the problem didn’t exist to begin with? Would a straight-A student have thrown away his sanity if society wasn’t corrupt? People are bashing the Eliminators for not providing constructive criticism and for playing the semantics card on the word “otaku”, but while both of these arguments are legitimate, I think they’re both missing the point.
The real point – and correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the feeling I’m getting – is that the knowledge and experience of many anime bloggers doesn’t match with the way they sell themselves, and it’s a misrepresentation that runs rampant to the point that it’s considered appropriate. Now, being an anime blogger does not in any way require you to be an otaku, but looking at the big picture, is there not a problem here? Surely some of you – perhaps the older and more experienced who aren’t on the victim list – realize that these flaws are not the fabricated propaganda of a trolling teenager?
The way I see it, the Eliminators are a wake-up call. Unlike Planetes’ Hakim, I don’t believe that the world’s problems can be solved by blowing things up; and thankfully, these guys don’t seem to either. While their methods might still be extreme, I think they can tell us something: they’re a harsh stab where it hurts, a reminder that the blogosphere is not just a pointless circle-jerk and that we fulfill a purpose within the community as a whole. It’s a reminder that passing ourselves off as dedicated fans while taking pictures of figures bought with our parents’ money will earn us harsh words from certain internet-dwellers, and rightfully so. However, regardless of what their intentions are, we can use this as an opportunity to step up our game and respond with our keyboards instead of the caps lock button or a cowardly DDoS.
And as long as the Otaku Elimination Game keeps it clean and argues objectively, we might genuinely be able to learn something.
~ ETERNAL
つづく
