Jump to content
UnevenEdge

Funimation issues apology for mildly homophobic ad campaign


mochi

Recommended Posts

so long story short a day or two ago funimation launched an Ad campagin on tumblr for the new series of Shonen Ai/gay romance anime they licensed essentially glorifying fujoshis (I.e. heterosexual women who think gay men are sex objects)

 

a looooooooot of actually Gay people found it....slightly weird that funimation was trying to appeal to fujoshis and not Gay people and told them that it seemed kinda homophobic to ignore Gay people as a demographic for a show that is actually supposed to be Gay, as well as the fact that the comments about gay men in the ad campagin were very stereotypical

 

so funi posted this just a little while ago

tumblr_inline_omkpnle97P1r6msyq_540.jpg

 

that's.........very surprising.....I didn't even have that big of an issue with the "fujoshi life" ad campaign....but....they apologized for it, hah ::HMM::

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh... if it's a day ending in Y, there's a chance of Funi screwing something up. But this seems like another thing that was very subjective, like that GamerGate reference in the Prison School dub.

I'm still pleasantly surprised funi actually decided to admit fault and issue an apology, that's more than some companies do when LGBT fans call them out for homophobic remarks or portrayals
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was hoping to be able to find what they said online,  but Funi covered their tracks well. Now I'm not sure whether they just tweeted out a hashtag or burned a rainbow flag, and word-of-mouth isn't going to cut it.

they pushed a hashtag called #fujoshi life

 

and posted a bunch of supposed quotes from female funi employees that were comments about being fujoshis

 

some were really creepy and predatory (typical stereotypical yaoi is so hot! **gross pervy slurping noises** type stuff) and painted a stereotypical picture both of actual gay people, and of non LGBT people who support shonen ai series and Lgbt rights

 

I didn't read the comments but left a comment politely mentioning that It was kind of annoying that they downplayed the lesbian subtext in the dub of dragon maid (I realize the show isn't truly a yuri series but there were lesbian lines in it that they cut out in their dub but retained in the sub and it was strange), a day later the whole post was purged and they issued this apology

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh... if it's a day ending in Y, there's a chance of Funi screwing something up. But this seems like another thing that was very subjective, like that GamerGate reference in the Prison School dub.

 

.... sorry but how often does Funi actually screw something up?  I only heard that they're top of their game and have been for years, and on the blue moon chance that they DO screw something up, they're quick to apologize on social media, even when it's something out of their hands like the tapes from Japan coming in late for dubs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.... sorry but how often does Funi actually screw something up?  I only heard that they're top of their game and have been for years, and on the blue moon chance that they DO screw something up, they're quick to apologize on social media, even when it's something out of their hands like the tapes from Japan coming in late for dubs.

not often, Viz actually screws up more than Funi

 

that said, Funi is kind of having a shaky experience with their sudden decision to support LGBT rights

 

they're a tiny  bit overzealous and making odd decisions with said shows

 

like Removing the Gay lines from Dragon maid (they were jokes and in some contexts could be considered homophobic jokes but still)

 

that said if they add lines retconning the boys from Free! as actually being Gay  in the dub I'll forgive the few mistakes they've made because the only thing wrong with that show was Kyoani's insistance that the boys were not Gay after all the blatant Gay subtext

Link to comment
Share on other sites

not often, Viz actually screws up more than Funi

 

that said, Funi is kind of having a shaky experience with their sudden decision to support LGBT rights

 

they're a tiny  bit overzealous and making odd decisions with said shows

 

like Removing the Gay lines from Dragon maid (they were jokes and in some contexts could be considered homophobic jokes but still)

 

that said if they add lines retconning the boys from Free! as actually being Gay  in the dub I'll forgive the few mistakes they've made because the only thing wrong with that show was Kyoani's insistance that the boys were not Gay after all the blatant Gay subtext

 

.... now??? I'm sorry.... they acquired and dubbed both seasons of Free!, and Yuri on Ice, and you're saying they support LGBT rights NOW???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.... now??? I'm sorry.... they acquired and dubbed both seasons of Free!, and Yuri on Ice, and you're saying they support LGBT rights NOW???

both shows were recent pick-ups and they specifically picked up YOI as a show of support for LGBT rights (they more or less said so)

 

 

also unless it's dub changed some lines Free! is not a Gay show. Kyoani denies any of the boys are Gay

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think they specifically picked up Yuri on Ice because it's a gargantuan hit that's guaranteed to make them money.

they also made some of the lines in the dub Gayer though(despite already being extremely gay)

 

so I get the feeling they also wanted to show support for Gay rights

Link to comment
Share on other sites

they also made some of the lines in the dub Gayer though(despite already being extremely gay)

 

so I get the feeling they also wanted to show support for Gay rights

 

I gotta watch the dub to really judge, but I saw the dub of Free and didn't get gayer vibes in that version

 

Honestly, all this gay themes in Funimation shows are the result of the Japanese realizing "oh right WOMEN and GAYS like watching anime!" finally.  Is that a coincidence, or did they really outright say they're gonna support gay rights?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gotta watch the dub to really judge, but I saw the dub of Free and didn't get gayer vibes in that version

 

Honestly, all this gay themes in Funimation shows are the result of the Japanese realizing "oh right WOMEN and GAYS like watching anime!" finally.  Is that a coincidence, or did they really outright say they're gonna support gay rights?

read the apology in the OP

 

they flat out say they support LGBT rights

Link to comment
Share on other sites

they also made some of the lines in the dub Gayer though(despite already being extremely gay)

Or they were making the dub more like what was being conveyed in the original Japanese, which was a lot gayer than Crunchy's subs let on.  If you're really interested, read this (super long, but worth it).

 

Also, I've read both sides of the Dragon Maid argument and it seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.  Both the sub and the dub line could be read as homophobic or non-homophobic, depending on the viewer's own biases and how they view the context (not just KDM context, but historical context of how such lines have been used in countless other anime).  It's one of those arguments that left me shaking my head, almost feeling sympathy for the "OMG, PC run amok!" idiots.  The whole thing was so benign it just struck me as manufactured outrage.

 

I'd still like to see the ad that sparked all this though.  I thought things on the internet were supposed to be eternal.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or they were making the dub more like what was being conveyed in the original Japanese, which was a lot gayer than Crunchy's subs let on.  If you're really interested, read this (super long, but worth it).

 

Also, I've read both sides of the Dragon Maid argument and it seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.  Both the sub and the dub line could be read as homophobic or non-homophobic, depending on the viewer's own biases and how they view the context (not just KDM context, but historical context of how such lines have been used in countless other anime).  It's one of those arguments that left me shaking my head, almost feeling sympathy for the "OMG, PC run amok!" idiots.  The whole thing was so benign it just struck me as manufactured outrage.

 

I'd still like to see the ad that sparked all this though.  I thought things on the internet were supposed to be eternal.  :)

I didn't realize there were so many, all I knew about was the mistranslation of them implying Victor had once been in a heterosexual relationshp (whether or not he had was never stated in the correct translation or dub, only in Crunchy's subs)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...