Fandom VS Fandom · 1:12am Apr 25th, 2012
Before being swept up into the My Little Pony phenomenon this past year, I was deep into other series that had a large fanbase. And, like many fanbases with a huge following, fanfiction was prevalent. So, I'd like to take a moment and point out some differences that I've encountered from one group of writers to another.
The largest fandom I was a part of before coming here was Ranma 1/2, an manga/anime series that ran through the late 80's to the mid 90's. I could get into a description of the show, but I'll let you seek it out on your own. I'm talking about fanfiction.
I wandered into the Ranma fanfiction crowd right around the time that the series ended and I've been reading stories about the series ever since. Back then there wasn't a site like fanfiction.net and certainly no Equestria Daily equivalent, so stories were posted everywhere on the internet. Many where on personal sites hosted by geocities or a foundry that tried to collect as many stories as possible. Trying to find good stories to read often had you scouring fansite after fansite, trying to figure out which ones were highly recommended and which to stay away from. It wasn't easy, and I think I spent just as much time searching around as I did reading.
The internet has grown since those days, and fanfiction.net and now fimfiction.net are a blessing to search through all the accumulated work that has been produced. Equestria Daily makes it easier to find stories that are generally considered the cream of the crop. The problem I face nowadays is finding the time to read all the stuff that's available!
The increase in internet traffic and the resources available have also influenced how stories are written. Since the MLP fans have EqD to judge what goes up and what doesn't, I've noticed a high bar of quality being met, even by rookie writers. Now, that isn't to say early Ranma 1/2 writers were terrible. They just wrote to a different audience. Richard Lawson, DB Sommer, Durandall, Cap'n Chryssalid and so many more were pioneers of their day. Many of my writing habits were picked up from them. Showing VS Telling wasn't a big issue. As long as grammar was decent, many fics got away with things that the EqD folks would immediately send to the sun. There were a few acknowledgements and awards back in the Ranma 1/2 hayday, but nothing like trying to get that post on EqD to showcase your work. So, many writing flubs were allowed just so long as the story was entertaining and not horribly cliche. Places like ponychan.net are also available to us, to make sure someone goes through our work and make it the best it can be. I don't remember any place like that for us poor Ranma 1/2 folks. Beta readers on fanfiction.net, perhaps?
And, just like now, there were controversial fics that divided the fandom. For FiM, we have the likes of My Little Dashie and Past Sins. No matter where I go, these two stories keep popping up. But, the biggest complaint that I've seen leveled at them is that they are over-hyped and not worth the attention they deserve. Big whoop.
What did Ranma 1/2 have in terms of controversy? The Bitter End, by Zen. Oh my god, that story. It sparked the nastiest, most bitter debates I have ever seen between fans. Perhaps Star Trek and Star Wars debates are worse, but I'm not that into those so I'm not counting them. What did The Bitter End do? It split the Akane fans and the Ukyo fans right down the center. You think shipping is controversial in FiM? You ain't seen nothing. Pairings in Ranma 1/2 have spawned the most die-hard sects that have ever lived. "The Knights of the True Fiancee" come to mind. I'm not joking. Being a fan of Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo or Kodachi was the equivalent of siding with either Sega or Nintendo. You were with one group or the other and the line was as wide as Ghastly Gorge. I still come across forums on fanfiction.net where the arguments still rage as to who should be paired up with who.
I'm going to end it here. I think I've covered enough for now. Anyone else want to contribute? What fandoms have you come from that were different in how they manage their stories? What things do you like or don't like about the FiM fanfiction community as opposed to others? Speak your mind!
Have you delved into Hetalia at all? If you want to see an uncompromising, unimaginable shipping MAELSTROM, Hetalia is the place to go. Not to mention Naruto. The Hinata/Sakura debate will never, ever end.
As for the fanfiction community... it's a difficult one to answer. All of my conceptions of FiM fiction are based around having such easy access to vast quantities of it. My gut says that FiM seems to have, as you said, something of a higher bar, but it may just be that, due to EqD highlighting them and FiMFiction being so easy to navigate, that it's just easier for me to find the better ones. Outside of FiM, I'm reduced to, essentially, hoping TVTropes mentions something good. That's how I found, say, Methods of Rationality or Shinji 40k.
But there does seem to be a certain... not elitism, but a high standard. Perhaps it's just due to the slightly circlejerky nature of the fandom itself, but there's a lot of pressure to help your fellow authors improve, and to improve yourself. Thinking back on it, there are things I used to read that, if I saw it pop up on the front page of this website, I would immediately say "Oh lord" and wilfully ignore.
It's a big old "hmm".
EDIT: In fact, now I come to think of it, even Methods of Rationality and Shinji 40k, two of my favourite fanfics of all time (and widely considered two of the best), aren't fantastically written. But their ideas are fantastic, and that carries them where they stumble.
I think that's the difference. The way I see it, FiM fiction strives for technical excellence but is starting to fall down on variety (with obvious notable exceptions). Other fandoms have every possibility under the sun, but don't try as hard to be good.
Now if we could only combine the two...
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I haven't heard of that series, but this is the internet and I believe it. Perhaps saying that the Ranma 1/2 sects are the worst is stretching it since that's really the only one I'm really familiar with. I don't even want to think about what the Harry Potter and Naruto fandoms are like in terms of shipping. Have you seen how many stories are in each of their sections on fanfiction.net? I don't know how anyone could muck through so many stories!
Yeah, as much as people complain about fimfiction.net, Knighty and his crew have created one of the best sites for posting fanfiction that I have ever seen. I'd go so far as to say that it beats out facebook in the ways I can contact and interact with fellow writers and readers. We don't know how good we have it!
Standards certainly have changed in the past year for us authors. I think it's a good thing overall. And the fact that many are willing to help just makes me smile. Our community is awesome!
Ranma pretty much had it all. Fond memories of the heyday of rakhal come to mind. I used to read EVERY Ranma fic. Especially the crossovers. I do believe to this day that Ranma is the one series that was universally crossoverable. I have not seen anything yet to disprove me. Considering the English VA for Shampoo is doing Spike in MLP...not even the ponies are exempt.
"Spike is too too happy to make delicious ramen for Rarity."
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Rakhal and the Lost Library of Florestica. Both of those sites had some of the best. Though, you had to sift through the rakhal site to find something that appealed to you.
Yeah, Ranma 1/2 had an easy time in both crossovers and alternate universes. So many possibilities! I'm still working on my AU over on fanfiction.net, but ponies have derailed that story HARD.
And Shampoo is my favorite character! So when I learned that Spike was Cathy Weseluck, I squeed!
I miss the Ranma 1/2 fandom :(.
Also Akane was a complete and utter bitch.
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The fandom's still going, just not at the levels it once did. Still, you were right in that message you sent me that Ranma 1/2 had quite a long and strong run for a time. I don't regret spending my time reading such wonderful tales that inspired me to try writing for myself.
I'll stay clear of my opinions of the Ranma characters. I've learned that character bashing is the quickest way to derail a thread and spread bad feelings. We certainly don't want that here where love and tolerance is at its highest!
I'll just say I love them all but do have my favorites.
Thanks for commenting!
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Yeah, I still look fondly upon that fandom. Sorry I was always in the character arguments because so many female characters during the 90's were incredibly abusive in the ways they were portrayed.
Says the guy who married into that culture
Still I'm seeing the MLP fandom evolve in much the same way that the Ranma 1/2 one did. The stories are getting better, the horrible fics are beginning to get marginalized and I think we're going to see the real mind blowing, high quality stuff increase.
Ukyou 4 lyfe (ok Shampoo rules too)
Wow, I just read this and it brought back memories... XD I was/am an Ukyo fan myself. My call to fame for Ranma 1/2 was "The Secret of Ukyo" and perhaps "Ranma the Patryn" but yeah, I remember the whole Knight's of the True Fiancee thing... they didn't really do much but they struck fear into a couple of authors. Me? I would have welcomed them hacking my site, I mean, that would have made me pretty famous back then!
Zen's story is much sadder than MLD, sorry, but it is true. THAT was pure torture to see happen. Did Zen ever come back and update his stories?
I also remember how big the Sailor Moon community was... "Masks and Dragons" got me some renown but nothing like what the likes of Fyre, who wrote those massive Sailor Moon/Ranma crossovers had. It was a big deal to get your guestbook signed, and to participate in 'The Bet' (which I still insist is the Ranma parallel to FIM's "Chessgame of the Gods" or whatever it's called) and be recognized on some level? Pure awesome.
Then fanfic.net came and all the old authors who posted there were basically ignored in favor of the n00bs.
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Ukyo's cool too! I just never found her as interesting as some of the others.
I wonder if I ever read any of those stories of yours? I'll have to check out your profile on ff.net and see.
I don't think Zen ever made a sequel to "The Bitter End" but I do remember another story called "The Batter End" that parodied it or changed the ending. I'm not sure as it's been a while. And yeah, Zen's story was pretty sad and tragic. By the way, I've never read "My Little Dashie" but have heard so much about it that I might as well have.
Ah yes, "The Bet" series. I think it was metroanime that got that going. There's so much that I didn't talk about, but may put into another blog post at some point. I didn't even get into all the crossover potential that Ranma 1/2 had. Fuku Fics come to mind.
Thanks for taking the time and commenting!