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This was an extremely difficult vlog to make. After a lot of consideration.. I decided I had to say something publicly as to why I am stepping away from Sasuke. Please note that this is my own decision and I don't speak for anyone else but myself.
Thanks for the support of my long-time readers, members of the Sasuke and ANW communities. I owe it to all of you to give a proper explanation as why after all of this time I'm done supporting the show. It is a difficult subject but it was important for me to not only defend myself, but defend my friends and ultimately the entire foreign community whom was directly affected. I don't expect much to come out of this and I'm not reversing my decision, but I am grateful that even when it got really bad.. you guys were there for me. Words cannot possibly express how thankful I am for all of you who took the time to send me messages when I needed it the most. ♥
http://www.finalstagepodcast.com/
http://www.ramblingrican.com/
https://twitter.com/Arsenette
https://www.instagram.com/ramblingrican/
Music: "Namaste" by Audionautix
YouTube Royalty Free Music
Thanks for the support of my long-time readers, members of the Sasuke and ANW communities. I owe it to all of you to give a proper explanation as why after all of this time I'm done supporting the show. It is a difficult subject but it was important for me to not only defend myself, but defend my friends and ultimately the entire foreign community whom was directly affected. I don't expect much to come out of this and I'm not reversing my decision, but I am grateful that even when it got really bad.. you guys were there for me. Words cannot possibly express how thankful I am for all of you who took the time to send me messages when I needed it the most. ♥
http://www.finalstagepodcast.com/
http://www.ramblingrican.com/
https://twitter.com/Arsenette
https://www.instagram.com/ramblingrican/
Music: "Namaste" by Audionautix
YouTube Royalty Free Music
8 comments:
I've been very much out of the loop when it comes to Sasuke lately (blame Kancolle, I'm addicted, lol, plus I was promoted at work last summer and have been busy with learning my new position), so I hadn't heard of any of the mess and the fallout from it. I don't know if casual racism or xenophobia are the right terms (or both, if not one or the other), but that most definitely is still a cultural thing in Japan sadly. I'm sad that you had this happen to you, and you're definitely making the right decision for yourself. No one should be treated like that, especially someone who has been a champion for them for so long. Good luck with whatever you decide to do post all Sasuke related things!
Hah! I had to google Kankolle :)
Yeah.. definitely a culture thing - probably a mix of both. That incident though opened up a lot of lines of communication on a very touchy subject with a lot of my friends. They saw both sides but ultimately realized the punishment was applied to the wrong person. In the end we all agreed that this doesn't bode well for foreign participation in the future and it was a good idea to retire last year. Just sucks my name is used a weapon against them from now on. Grrrrrrr
And thanks! I'm still figuring out what I want to do. I have the book I still am going to write but in the interim I still have a lot of hobbies, games and whatnot that I still do. Not sure how many are going on YouTube.. it's not like I'm going to turn into Max and twitch every night of the week. LOL
Heh, even he doesn't do that, he takes Mondays off. Then again, Jae Jae's now sporadically doing cooking streams on her Twitch. (g)
IMHO, looking at Japanese history, Japanese cultural attitudes towards non-Japanese are deeply entrenched, but things are changing thanks to the ease of global interaction and cultural exchange. Being Japan, the change is very slow, but at least it is happening. Still, coming from a culture that is more openly dealing with the same issues and is hopefully a little further along the process, it might be harder to deal with where they still are. Thankfully, you have people who understand, and hopefully that will help further positive change.
Of course, this is coming from someone who loves that the sole American aircraft carrier in Kancolle (surprised you hadn't heard of it, Crunchy aired the sub, FUNi's going to release the DVD, and there's tons of fanworks and merch, which is how I learned about it) has an outfit reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe and instead of using a bow or shikigami to launch her planes, she has a Tommy Gun. (g)
Aaaahahahahah I have to catch up on recent anime. I'm like 3 seasons behind which is crazy. Hubby keeps up to date. I guess now I have a lot more time in my schedule huh? LOL
Yeah I've been so lucky in my journey to find a lot of forward thinking Japanese friends who embrace everyone including foreigners. I know I shouldn't be surprised by what happened but it still stings. Even so my generation and the one behind it isn't the problem. It's the one ahead of me. I hope that means the future is brighter in Japan given my friends exist. One could hope. I love Japan. ♥
I really should see Jae Jae's stream.. I wonder if she will upload on YouTube. I usually miss Max's live stream and catch up later when it's edited into a boss rage or something on either YoGames or Max's channel. I don't plan on doing that but I do game a lot... just not sure if anyone would watch. LOL
Well that sucks. I felt bad for you. I would love to see Anime reviews on your channel in the future.
I'm so far behind current season in anime but I do watch a lot.. I may dabble in it though on my channel. It's a thought. Thanks! ♥
I first came across your site when you first reported on Malaysia's first Sasuke. I managed to see the stars, got myself a nice T-shirt and have my picture taken with Mr Nagano. He made my kid's day.
You have always been my go-to site for everything that is related to Sasuke.
I just realised that you have quit Sasuke today when my kids asked me about Sasuke 2017.
I do not think you are a victim of racism. Rather you are a victim of corporate politics. Someone has to take the fall. Unfortunately, you are expendable in the grand scheme of things. They cannot drop foreign competitors. So they drop you.
Dropping you will not make headlines, and the suits can report back to leadership that they have plugged the hole.
Like you said, the site is not about the competition but the contestants. I am sure they are many whom you would still call friends. Let it be you be the bridge to connect the fans from all around the world.
I am a 14 year old boy from New Zealand hoping to one day compete on SASUKE, I don't care what age, when it is, all I want is SASUKE to still be a show and that I can have a shot on it. This is devastating to hear and quite rude on the Japanese behalf, but things like this happen. I know Wreath Man and Drew Drechsel still got to compete, so did the Taiwanese Representative in SASUKE 33. I like almost everything about SASUKE and one of my dreams is to beat it. Tomohiro Kawaguchi thinks that it shouldn't be a life goal and I love him, but I am not taking his advice, I really want to do it. SASUKE is a great show, what else can I say? I believe I can compete on it and with that thought in my head, I can do it. If you put your mind to it, you can do anything. Anything.
Luka Wilson.
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