I admit I am, largely, uninformed when it comes to the process and procedure of voice acting. I know and have spoken with voice actors and respect a great many of them as artists and as persons. I however am not a member of their rarefied and difficult profession. I am however a fan of anime and have been for more time than most of my contemporaries have been alive. This, as I'm sure you all know, gives me the power to rant like a sunnovabitch over something I know nothing about. So..here we go.
A voice-actor I have a small (Okay tinytinytiny) acquaintance with was recently stating that some of the members of their profession. I remind you again this profession is called voice ACTING, can be somewhat FAKE. They stated this as if it should be some kind of a surprise and as if the fandom should be angry or upset that this occurs. I however, call shenanigans. Voice actors, despite their larger than life roles are people and voice acting, despite the amount of attention it garners is a job.
Like any other job it gets done and a paycheck gets cashed. There are heroes and there are assholes. I don't see why it should come as any great surprise that some voice-actors aren't the sparkling gems they portray. At the end of the day, and here's a really depressing thought for you, voice acting is just another customer service job. Some people come home from it fresh and happy, others while doing it well enough are surly and mean about it afterward, the problem being that their shifts can sometimes last 96 hours of convention time. At the end of the day, sad as this may seem, voice actors, as people do not have any obligation to be nice to their fans, the same way anyone when confronted with a customer outside of work has any obligation to be nice to them. This is especially true when that customer is demanding attention and expects that person to be their "work face."
I will admit that I like it when voice actors are nice to me. I definitely have an easier time dealing with those who treat their fans well and can hold their bile until I leave the room. I do not, however, expect them to be chipper about me behind closed doors. Therein lies the rub, can we, as fans, really expect not to be complained about by the people we mob? Can we look down on them for bagging on us as customers the way any of us who might be in retail bag on the customers we may serve? I don't think we can. There is a certain point, where it becomes detrimental to that voice-actor's career, that shouldn't be crossed, but I do not count it as "fake" to be horrified or even a little off put by us fans.
We are a demanding bunch and sometimes have trouble with separating voice from role. I admit it, I'd love the chance to spend a second in the presence of Megumi Hyashibara. I'd literally be willing to clean her bathroom or change her motor oil. ( The motor oil changing being something unpleasant which I only vaguely know how to do because the only outcome I can imagine is having my head crushed by the wheel of a badly balanced car.) I will admit to having the fanboy shivers when Monica Rial signed something using my back as a pencil board, to me these are the closest I will ever come to knowing Lina Inverse from Slayers or Hyatt from Excel Saga. Am I a bad fan? I don't believe so. I have owned/still own the anime these voice actors worked in and I buy the merchandise these anime have inspired, but in the end it would be me changing Lina Inverse's oil (or Nuku-Nuku's or Girl Type Ranma's pick a role, really.) and having my back scribbled upon by Hyatt.
I've spoken with Monica Rial (Not for very long or even more than once or twice) she once offered to kidnap my daughter. (Ms. Rial, if you are still in the market, she's 7 now and I'd consider paying YOU to take her. -Call me sign-) She is a nice person and did considerably well dealing with me as a rabid fanboy, but I can imagine her shuddering after the meeting and shuffling my image into the "God this guy is creepy" category. I'm okay with that. I was creepy. I'd be creepy again, given the chance. I admit it. It cannot be a pleasant picture, a 350 lbs man with a goatee giggling like a schoolgirl while imagining her voice coming out of some other person's mouth, and that person ISN'T EVEN REAL. I can imagine that male voice actors, especially male voice actors that play popular, flavor of the moment roles, have it even worse.
So do I begrudge voice actors a little time or opportunity to complain about me behind closed doors? Not at all. Do I expect them to be happy and chipper and ready to deal with my nerdy ass at the drop of a hat? Not really. I expect them to be good at their jobs and willing, while in public, to put on a kind face, because putting on that kind face in public is their job. When I was working as a restaurant manager I stopped being a manager the second my work was done. Did I complain about my customers? You bet your ass I did. Did I hate some of them? Damn tootin'. I was professional and kind in front of them, but that has to get turned off sometimes or a person goes crazy. So, as long as they do their jobs and put on a good show for the public I don't mind voice actors being a little "fake". They work hard and they deserve to live the life they wish to live after the microphones are shut off and once their hotel room doors are shut. They are only human after all, humans playing the roles of super-humans. They have to get tired and surly sometimes and who am I to demand that they give up the right to complain after a job well done?
-Cameron
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
My First Blog Post Can't be This Annoying
It is no secret to many who know me that I harbor an Imouto (Little Sister) complex. This, weirdly enough, is one of my more pure interests and involves almost no sexual overtones (There is only 1 exception and I will not post who it is in a public space.) . I just like the idea of being a cherished protector of something and someone cute and innocent and delicate. It's one of my psychological hang ups, I'd guess.
"Cameron" you may ask, "Don't you have sisters? Isn't that as much as four tens, and isn't that horrible?" and I say to you "Yes, I have two half-sisters, but even though they are, for the most part decent, kind human beings they are not imouto. There is a subtle difference that begins with the phrase 'They aren't fictional.' that I could explain, but if you don't already understand the explanation would be a waste of time for both of us. "
Take it as rote though, that in most cases fictional younger sisters are a source of much joy and adoration for the Cam-Cam. There is a notable exception even to this though. Her name is Kirino, and she is from the series, Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (Translating out to " My Little Sister Can't be This Cute") She annoys the living hell out of me. I can't point out exactly why this is. I don't particularly mind Tsundere characters (unless it is taken to a stupid extreme) and her character design is cute, but she still annoys the hell out of me. Part of it is how far the show goes to make her appear sexy. I have been made to realize that she has a decently shaped rear-end, and that she wears tiny shorts and waves it in the air like some kind of flag when she's searching under other people's beds. The series has also not failed in it's intention to inform me that she is a fashion model that wears tiny skirts easily accessible to panty shots, all well and good, but at the same time it doesn't sit right with me. I don't mind fan-service at all, and am not particularly opposed to the whole "Sexy Little Sister" thing such as presented by Sakuya in Sister Princess. Kirino however pisses me off. Possibly because her physical attractiveness is used as a justification, possibly because when she isn't being a complete and total angry bitch she is being manipulative and demanding. I don't know. What I do know is she feels persecuted and entitled and that pisses me off.
Even though she and I share having an Imouto-complex I can't relate to her, even though she plays galge and ero games I find no common ground with this character. It isn't because she is female. I know a few female ero-game players and get along with them pretty well. It lies again with her feeling of entitlement. She demands that her brother understands what she's doing. She forces her tastes on her otaku friends and she leaves her brother to clean up the mess when her dad catches her with an Eroge. (True, she is too young to own them, but that isn't the point, for now.) She feels angry and mistreated when others react negatively to her obsessions even though a major part of the show is her hiding her hobby from polite society. She then takes it out on the first person to even attempt to understand how she really is.
This angers me, as an american anime nerd. (Understand this. We are not Otaku. We over on this side of the Pacific are looked down upon by even that group of rejects. According to the Japanese, American anime nerds are not good enough to even have the term Otaku applied to us. The earlier that more of us accept this fact the better it will be for the fandom in general.) Anime fans over the age of 13 no matter where they are have to accept that we will not be treated kindly be the general public. We cannot expect the unwashed masses to understand out love of "Cartoons" no matter where we are. We should expect, and as a matter of fact, we should take pride in the rejection of the outside world. This does not mean we should become a stereotype or a social pariah. We still need to interact with the world and it does us more good to harm to make those interactions pleasant on both sides. What it does mean is that when people do not share a love for our hobbies we should accept that, allow them to think what they think, and move on. This is doubly so if we are enamoured of the more "adult" aspects of the fandom. To their mind, we are in the wrong, and it is very rarely ever worth it to argue the point. It is not up to us to make converts. This doesn't mean that we need bow to bullying or harassment. It does mean that we should walk away from such confrontations with an "agree to disagree" attitude rather than with a chip on our shoulder or bruises all over our faces. Being an anime nerd and eroge fan is a lonely path.
This is perhaps what annoys me about Kirino, she reacts as if she doesn't expect the abuse. If she doesn't expect it she does not deserve to be a part of the fandom. Anger will get you nowhere, sadness will get you nowhere, acceptance of your position and a refusal to let the bastards grind you down is the way to go. You cannot change how they think, but on the other hand, they cannot change how you think either. Love what you love, gather others who love it around you, ignore the haters and score some more of the CG in the game you are playing. You are entitled to nothing but your own enjoyment of our unique and satisfying hobby. Find peace in that enjoyment and let everything else flow off your back as much as you can. Don't be a Kirino.
-C. Emrys Carrington
"Cameron" you may ask, "Don't you have sisters? Isn't that as much as four tens, and isn't that horrible?" and I say to you "Yes, I have two half-sisters, but even though they are, for the most part decent, kind human beings they are not imouto. There is a subtle difference that begins with the phrase 'They aren't fictional.' that I could explain, but if you don't already understand the explanation would be a waste of time for both of us. "
Take it as rote though, that in most cases fictional younger sisters are a source of much joy and adoration for the Cam-Cam. There is a notable exception even to this though. Her name is Kirino, and she is from the series, Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (Translating out to " My Little Sister Can't be This Cute") She annoys the living hell out of me. I can't point out exactly why this is. I don't particularly mind Tsundere characters (unless it is taken to a stupid extreme) and her character design is cute, but she still annoys the hell out of me. Part of it is how far the show goes to make her appear sexy. I have been made to realize that she has a decently shaped rear-end, and that she wears tiny shorts and waves it in the air like some kind of flag when she's searching under other people's beds. The series has also not failed in it's intention to inform me that she is a fashion model that wears tiny skirts easily accessible to panty shots, all well and good, but at the same time it doesn't sit right with me. I don't mind fan-service at all, and am not particularly opposed to the whole "Sexy Little Sister" thing such as presented by Sakuya in Sister Princess. Kirino however pisses me off. Possibly because her physical attractiveness is used as a justification, possibly because when she isn't being a complete and total angry bitch she is being manipulative and demanding. I don't know. What I do know is she feels persecuted and entitled and that pisses me off.
Even though she and I share having an Imouto-complex I can't relate to her, even though she plays galge and ero games I find no common ground with this character. It isn't because she is female. I know a few female ero-game players and get along with them pretty well. It lies again with her feeling of entitlement. She demands that her brother understands what she's doing. She forces her tastes on her otaku friends and she leaves her brother to clean up the mess when her dad catches her with an Eroge. (True, she is too young to own them, but that isn't the point, for now.) She feels angry and mistreated when others react negatively to her obsessions even though a major part of the show is her hiding her hobby from polite society. She then takes it out on the first person to even attempt to understand how she really is.
This angers me, as an american anime nerd. (Understand this. We are not Otaku. We over on this side of the Pacific are looked down upon by even that group of rejects. According to the Japanese, American anime nerds are not good enough to even have the term Otaku applied to us. The earlier that more of us accept this fact the better it will be for the fandom in general.) Anime fans over the age of 13 no matter where they are have to accept that we will not be treated kindly be the general public. We cannot expect the unwashed masses to understand out love of "Cartoons" no matter where we are. We should expect, and as a matter of fact, we should take pride in the rejection of the outside world. This does not mean we should become a stereotype or a social pariah. We still need to interact with the world and it does us more good to harm to make those interactions pleasant on both sides. What it does mean is that when people do not share a love for our hobbies we should accept that, allow them to think what they think, and move on. This is doubly so if we are enamoured of the more "adult" aspects of the fandom. To their mind, we are in the wrong, and it is very rarely ever worth it to argue the point. It is not up to us to make converts. This doesn't mean that we need bow to bullying or harassment. It does mean that we should walk away from such confrontations with an "agree to disagree" attitude rather than with a chip on our shoulder or bruises all over our faces. Being an anime nerd and eroge fan is a lonely path.
This is perhaps what annoys me about Kirino, she reacts as if she doesn't expect the abuse. If she doesn't expect it she does not deserve to be a part of the fandom. Anger will get you nowhere, sadness will get you nowhere, acceptance of your position and a refusal to let the bastards grind you down is the way to go. You cannot change how they think, but on the other hand, they cannot change how you think either. Love what you love, gather others who love it around you, ignore the haters and score some more of the CG in the game you are playing. You are entitled to nothing but your own enjoyment of our unique and satisfying hobby. Find peace in that enjoyment and let everything else flow off your back as much as you can. Don't be a Kirino.
-C. Emrys Carrington
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