Azumanga is totally better than Lucky Star so SHUT YOUR TRAP!

So the other day on Plurk Magnetic Rose, who always has her finger on the pulse, called my attention to the recent Anime Expo mass resignation fiasco. A couple of days later another friend of mine gave me the inside scoop into the whole Alice and Rabbit Multiply mess.

Now I’m not privy to either incident, except through second-hand information — which means I don’t feel confident enough to make any pronouncements about either situation specifically.

What did strike me was the conclusion of many observers that all this was simply a sign that the otaku scene is full of dramu no matter where you go.

What’s worse is that, unlike my first impressions of the scene, there doesn’t seem to be any single reason why this is the case, unless you’re a fan of the vague and largely-unhelpful suggestion that all of this is simply ‘human nature’. It’s like an anime Pandora’s Box: there’s a bit of envy, a healthy dose of ‘picking on your perceived inferiors’, a shot of the old persecution complex, a touch of snobbery, and a whole lot of ‘fighting over who gets the biggest slice of the pie’. And sometimes it seems like people will use the slightest hint of disagreement over ANYTHING — which anime is better, how much your costume cost to make, or which particular people you should never be seen in public with — to bully the other side, just to feel good about themselves.

But what’s the alternative?

I mean it’s not like blind optimism or getting-along-for-the-sake-of-getting-along is helping things. I personally think a certain level of conflict is healthy for any community. Some days an indignant part of me wants to ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER, and I can easily tell when I’m going through this phase because I act as though a monolithic, faceless enemy stands between the True Otaku and victory — and there’s no such thing. There’s people, and then there’s more people.

On other days, I just lie back and watch the fireworks. There’s just something perversely entertaining about watching other people blow themselves up.

Popcorn?