We Don’t Need An AnimeGate

Rumblings about AnimeGate have been going on the last few days in conjunction with a story I talked about on the blog a couple of weeks ago, voice actor Vic Mignonia being targeted on Twitter for what amounts to the guy being overly-flirty at conventions with fans. The #MeToo movement acted to an extreme, and, though like usual it appears completely unjustified as Vic seems to be innocent of any crime, they are continuing and escalating. Vic has since been fired from FUNimatioon dub work, and a convention PensaCon has gone off the rails to say they’ll call the police on anyone who speaks on Vic’s behalf at the convention.

It’s nutty SJW stuff, it’s terrible, it looks like they’re asserting their dominance in the only way they can in anime: dubbing and conventions. This is standard and expected behavior on the Anime front. Vic appears to be targeted because he talks about being Christian, which these idiots equate as “EXTREME RIGHT WING” because that’s how SJWs operate. Vic mostly stays out of politics and is a fairly easy target to isolate and destroy.

But here’s the reaction we don’t need: another gate.

The first inclination of a lot of people is to start a hashtag and start blasting out with the hashtag which will then get extended to any time there’s a problem in anime. #AnimeGate is already taking off to some extent, followed by #WeebWars (which is at least a funny hashtag and slightly better), to try to raise awareness of this on the opposite side and push back.

But what happens with a gate every single time is the same thing – a few leaders get appointed, and the movement becomes about them and their social media platforms, and the SJWs focus fire there and every time there’s a perceived misstep, the SJWs go ballistic and show “this is why we are anti-Gate.” It’s worked for them culturally, and what it’s done is stagnate movements that are supposed to push agendas forward in the counter culture, because the narrative of what we want to push get lost in the celebrity aspect of it.

Right now with Anime, there are a couple of clear objectives:

1. We want it to be safe for male voice actors who don’t go full SJW to exist.
2. We want it to be safe for fans to go to convention and like who they like and support who they want.
3. We don’t want these idiots changing the words of dubs to be inconsistent with the original Japanese to push SJW causes.

It’s pretty simple. Those things can all be raised awareness about very easily, and without a gate. Stick to the topics. Keep it on topic, don’t make it a gate, because that tactic has been used, and everyone knows how to counter it at this point. When the enemy knows what you’re doing, you HAVE to adjust tactics, or you’re going to keep fighting the same losing battles over and over again. We can’t let that happen with our anime. Our waifus must remain pure.

If you appreciate my insight, check out my books. A lot of my work has anime influence and background, and you’ll probably enjoy For Steam And Country if you’re an anime fan. Check it out here.