Fandom Rant I

This, beyond all else, is my pet peeve in fanfiction. I hate it. I loathe it. I see it and I weep. The title of a fic written in Japanese will deter me quicker than the words “deathfic”, or “MPreg”. And why is that? Because the Japanese these writers utilize is a Japanese born of standard phrases used in animanga fandom, easily recognizable words ripped straight from watching too much anime; that evil thing called “Fangirl Japanese”. These words and phrases exist in fandom like an infectious disease, passing from fandom veteran to new initiate in an infinite cycle of self-propogation. It has become something of a status-symbol in fandom; the more random Japanese you know, the more knowledgable you are. The more ridiculous phrases you can sprout, the cooler you are. Someone make it stop, please. Tell these people their use of Japanese is nothing but an exercise is attention-seeking and, sometimes, even Elitism. Why must you write a sentence your character says in Japanese which you could just have easily written in English? Why?!

My feelings on this matter are perhaps particularly strong as I am a fan translator for my main fandom. I strive to translate everything, leaving only words I cannot translate in Japanese (with an explanation of their meaning). In my fics, my charcters never speak Japanese, even though I read the canon in Japanese and always watch the Japanese versions of anime. There are, I think, but a few exceptions to this ABSOLUTLY NO JAPANESE rule.

(1) Honourifics. Yes, I like them. To the Japanese speaker they say a lot about character relationships. But please, oh please, get them right. It truly makes me wince to see characters using honourifics they really shouldn’t. If in doubt, just don’t use them. I have no problem with dubs and English versions of manga. You do not have to use them.

(2) Japanese terminology. Clothes, furniture, objects and terms which have no English equivalent. These are all acceptable to me and I have used them all myself. However, if the context of what they are is not EXPLICIT, I would really like to know what they mean. I have seen this very effectively done with a very complex piece of ceremonial clothing where a link to a wonderful fully labeled diagram was included. This shows dedication and a real interest in accuracy. Research is a thing I think many authors sadly do not do.

(3) Place names and Personal names. Well, it’s kind of obvious but there you go. OCs in your fic will often require Japanese names. And please, do research your names. Some of the names writers pick sound ridiculous. I typically nick all mine from colleuges and students who are about the age of my character.

(4) Ums and Aahs. Here we get onto shaky ground. It’s a matter of translation, you see. “Um” works for “eto” and “ano”, but I can find no English equivalent for “mou” or “ne”. So sometimes I find myself using them. Whilst we’re on the subject of “eto” and “ano”, writers need to be aware that the use of these sounds are heavily governed by gender and level of politeness, thus causing many more cringe-worthy moments in fanfic reading.

Despite all my rantings and ravings, I know this will all fall on deaf ears. It is mainly younger writers, I have found, who resort to this kind of Japanese usage. It exists among a myriad of grammatical madness and overall story crapness as just another aspect of badfic. The writers of these fics often proclaim “it’s only fiction”, and “I will write how I like and woe-betide she who disagrees”, which is a shame. It seems that quality is not a word these people know, which is a shame. Wherever did the expectation of and strivance towards good writing go? (If it was really ever there.) I’m not talking about length, or genre, or even plot. I’m just talking about a desire to write something and write it well. Basic things like spelling and grammar. Characterisation if you’re lucky. Just getting it right. But even this seems like it’s asking too much of many writers. What a sad fate.