As the summer vacation comes nearer and nearer, I suddenly recalled how the past Christmas vacation started – a few hours before my block Christmas party. On that fateful Saturday afternoon, I got to school well before my class (!) and so I headed to the Bahay ng Alumni, where an, uh, Otakon, or anime convention was being held. It’s called an Otakon since it’s a conference of anime crazed people (like, uh, yours truly) who are called Otakus.
So, what do Otakus do in an POtakon? Why, they infringe copyrights, that’s what they do! Uh, hmm, maybe I should rephrase that. Wait a sec….
Okey so I cant put a nice (credible) on it, people were burning copyrighted material (anime or Japanese cartoons and the accompanying soundtracks for such) and selling them left and right. That it did not get raided is quite a puzzle to me, but in the same time a joy. Maybe the industry get a whiff of it. Maybe they did but they didn’t care. Maybe the organizers didn’t care. In any case, I went to see their wares.
As a would be lawyer who actually took electives in IPL and Infotech, I had quite an odd feeling. Well, maybe the fact that I was in a dark red polo shirt and jeans while everyone else were in cosplay mode (this is when otakus wear the silly costumes of their favorite anime characters) and were giving me a semi-puzzled-semi-hostile look added to the odd feeling. Anyways, I said to myself “to heck with you people, I’m playing a communist anime character, if ever there was one. I was able to shrug off their stares.
Anyways, it is of note that in Japan Otakon is a bigger thing for Doujinshi than for original copyrights owners/creators of anime. Doujinshi are basically different versions of copyrighted material made by fans of the original, and instead of curtailing such, creators often allow them. It appears that for them it is a mark that their creation is valuable and is well loved. An analogy in local terms could be made with the spoofs done by Bubblegang, as people have recognized the fact that a commercial spoofed by the said show indicates the popularity and strength of such commercial. Thus, almost no complaints are made. This is just logical considering that after a spoof (or Doujinshi), the original becomes even more stronger.
Thus, to my mind it would be a interesting experiment that instead of having pirated materials it would be best to actually have our own spin on the creations of others, the goal being that ultimately such an exercise would nurture our creativity. After all, its been said over and over that we Filipinos can adapt things very easily. Why not stretch it a bit and therefore be more creative?
-by Stanley Cabrera
So, what do Otakus do in an POtakon? Why, they infringe copyrights, that’s what they do! Uh, hmm, maybe I should rephrase that. Wait a sec….
Okey so I cant put a nice (credible) on it, people were burning copyrighted material (anime or Japanese cartoons and the accompanying soundtracks for such) and selling them left and right. That it did not get raided is quite a puzzle to me, but in the same time a joy. Maybe the industry get a whiff of it. Maybe they did but they didn’t care. Maybe the organizers didn’t care. In any case, I went to see their wares.
As a would be lawyer who actually took electives in IPL and Infotech, I had quite an odd feeling. Well, maybe the fact that I was in a dark red polo shirt and jeans while everyone else were in cosplay mode (this is when otakus wear the silly costumes of their favorite anime characters) and were giving me a semi-puzzled-semi-hostile look added to the odd feeling. Anyways, I said to myself “to heck with you people, I’m playing a communist anime character, if ever there was one. I was able to shrug off their stares.
Anyways, it is of note that in Japan Otakon is a bigger thing for Doujinshi than for original copyrights owners/creators of anime. Doujinshi are basically different versions of copyrighted material made by fans of the original, and instead of curtailing such, creators often allow them. It appears that for them it is a mark that their creation is valuable and is well loved. An analogy in local terms could be made with the spoofs done by Bubblegang, as people have recognized the fact that a commercial spoofed by the said show indicates the popularity and strength of such commercial. Thus, almost no complaints are made. This is just logical considering that after a spoof (or Doujinshi), the original becomes even more stronger.
Thus, to my mind it would be a interesting experiment that instead of having pirated materials it would be best to actually have our own spin on the creations of others, the goal being that ultimately such an exercise would nurture our creativity. After all, its been said over and over that we Filipinos can adapt things very easily. Why not stretch it a bit and therefore be more creative?
-by Stanley Cabrera
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