Ever since the Internet began to find its way into the life of the average person, sharing fan fiction online became a standard fandom outlet for all forms of media. I first discovered the world of fan fiction in the early 2000s thanks to my then brand new anime obsession and beginning exposure to computers. But although I dabbled in fan fiction for a few years, unlike fan art and fan made videos, it never stuck with me…
Since my interest in anime developed from my obsession with Pokemon, Pokemon fanfics were the first I read. More specifically, due to my infatuation with Rocketshipping, most of the Pokemon fanfics I read were Rocketshipping-themed. Thinking back on these fanfics compared to how I feel about fanfics now, most of them were pretty wild or just plain upsetting – often Jessie and/or James would die tragically in the end, or suffer some kind of horrible fate. Others would portray them as being in a (sometimes explicit) sexual relationship within the timeline of the anime, and I recall one which placed the entire Pokemon cast in some D&D style fantasy world where they all gained superpowers (the humans, not the pokemon!)
Amongst all the Rocketshippy fanfics I read, I only wrote one Pokemon fic myself that had nothing to do with shipping – it was a short comedy fic where the human characters switch places with the pokemon. Considering the fact that I wrote it when I was 15 years old, I don’t think it’s half bad. Not too long after that I wrote a crossover Pokemon/Digimon fic. I tried to make it short and comedic as well, but I’m not nearly as proud of it as the former. I soon made an account on Fanfiction.net in 2001 and uploaded my two fics.
Eventually, as my Pokemon obsession grew into an anime obsession, and my interest in Rocketshipping fizzled out, I ceased reading Pokemon fanfics. But strangely, I don’t recall having any further desire to read fanfics after that. Even as I went through my obsessions with Slayers, Tenchi Muyo!, Evangelion, and Inuyasha, I didn’t care to read any fanfics except for a few short, forgettable ones that friends recommended. The only one I remember was an InuyashaxKagome fic which started out okay until Kagome suddenly got shot and died and I was like “Okay, that’s enough of that” XP As for writing fics, during my summer vacation in 2003, an author’s fire lit up in me and I wrote two 30+ page fanfics in just a couple of months! One was a WYDS fic for The End of Evangelion and the other was a side-story for the Tenchi Muyo! OVA. I had planned to write a third fic for Inuyasha that same summer but I didn’t have time…and thus my history with fan fiction ends here.
So why did fan fiction never click with me even though I still indulge in fan art, AMVs, doujin games, and other fan-made works nowadays? There’s always the reason that it’s hard to find good ones amongst all the bad ones. But the same can be said of fan art and AMVs, so why do I have a problem with fanfics in particular?
After giving it some thought, I’ve found that my issue with fics comes completely from personal taste. As I expressed a bit in my post about shipping, the only fanfics I would have any interest in reading are ones that I feel stay true to the story and character canon of the series – in other words, a story that I imagine could air as actual episodes of the anime without fans thinking it couldn’t possibly be the work of the regular creators. All the characters would stay true to their canon personalities, events that happen wouldn’t seem out of place, and pairings that come to fruition would follow up on evidence from the series. I very much enjoy taking already created anime stories and characters and imaging different ways I could continue the plot or enhance the characters within the context of the canon series. To give an example, Haruhi is my current favorite series, but the only kind of fic I’d want to read is one that emulates Nagaru Tanigawa’s writing style (which I’d imagine is difficult) and considers all the canon plot and character development. So I would not want to read a fic where any of the main characters get into sexual relationships (in the current timeline of the story at least), are killed off with terrible violence, are whisked away to some new setting/plot that disregards the canon story, or even if they’re just acting in ways I don’t feel are in character.
I know there are probably a handful of fics out there that I would enjoy. But even if there are many that stay true to the canon material, I’ll most likely have disagreements about what is and isn’t a story comparable to something the original creators would make. I doubt there are many that would match my idea of a nearly possible canon story, so I’ve chosen to just opt out of fanfics and use my time to indulge in less frustrating parts of fandom. Again, my problem with fan fiction is a completely personal one and I in no way believe my idea of an enjoyable fanfic should be everyone’s standard. To conclude, fanfics are just another part of fandom that boils down to personal taste, and for me they’re just more miss than hit.
I started off with Pokemon fanfiction too. I used to browse PokemonElite2000 for fanfiction and then moved to fanfiction.net. Back in my sophmore year of high school I got really into fanfiction and wrote a ton. It bled a little into my junior year, but then it just fell off. I’ve read fanfiction off and on and go through reading periods then dry spells. I’ll still read some ‘go on an adventure’ Pokemon series, and I read more of the romantic fanfiction like from Dragonballz, fullmetal Alchemist and Ouran Host Club.
Cool…the only Pokemon fanfics I recall reading were Rocketshippy ones, so the only web sites I got them from were those kinds of sites and not general Pokemon sites.
Thinking about it now, I would say that I’m also more interested in fanfics that develop the romantic relationships between characters I see as a couple, but again only if it stays true to the canon personalities of the characters and story.
I’m not too wild about fanfiction either. I’m either really picky or looking for really specific things. I also have certain standards; correct grammar, it can’t be written in script format, no random Japanese words, etc.
Pokemon fanfiction was how I got started too. My favorite Pokemon fanfic/fanart site has been http://thepokemontower.com for years now. There are a few really good stories there. I used to read Ash/Misty stuff on there for hours. Though the most memorable Pokemon one I read is Pokemon Master: http://members.iinet.net.au/~aceywacey/pokemon.htm
I was never a big writer myself, but I did write a couple of Kingdom Hearts fics. But they sucked. If I had the tools and talent, I’d be writing graphic novels or doujinshis, because just writing dialogue seems easier than writing paragraphs and descriptions of everything, in addition to the fact I’m more of a visual person. (Though I don’t read doujinshis either.)
Really good and quality fanfiction is just really hard to come by. Though it isn’t anime related, the Harry Potter site, The Sugar Quill, only accepts decently written fics. I try to avoid crossovers, but I know one or two decent ones. I like reading drabbles though. But I’m really not a big fanfiction person, and I don’t think I ever will be.
Oh, it looks like a lot of time and effort was put into that Pokemon Master story =)
I got my Rocketshippy fanfics from various sites, but the one I remember the most was run by a friend and former Rocketshipper. She wrote a ton of Rocketshippy fics, mostly WYDS stories from the actual episodes.
I think I would actually prefer writing a prose story rather than dialogue for a graphic novel. But then again, I haven’t written in story style for years (only essays for school papers and blog posts =P) so I don’t know how I feel about it now.
I get what you mean. I did read some Harry Potter fan fiction, and I could not relate to ones that changed the characters so much, or just acted a bit out of place. However, there were some really, really good ones that were written in a style very close to the original works… And that brought another problem…
I read some really good fanfics for Harry Potter (shortly before the 7th book came out), and some of it was so good, that it was even similar to what actually came in the last book. So when I read the real book, I felt that some of the stuff I had read before, and when something happened in the book, and I tried recalling what had happened before, I sometimes confused it with events that happened in some fanfic. It got really confusing for me, and I had to read the 7th book twice to get all the facts straight.
I love details, and I have a really good memory for those kind of details. In movies, books, anime, etc. So that worked against me in that case. After that, I decided not to read any fanfic at all. Even if some of them were really good.
Whoa, I never heard of that happening before so far as confusing the real ending with a well written fanfic, but I guess it could happen. That’s actually another reason I was reluctant to write Inuyasha and Haruhi fanfics that I was thinking about for years. Because I’m so obsessed with fanfics matching the canon of the story, and my fic ideas involve ending the stories or other significant events, it just made me uncomfortable to write them out before knowing how the original creators would end the series =P
The only bits of fanfiction I’ve read was for a Gameboy Advance game called Golden Sun. I really enjoyed this game during the senior year of college, but the fanfics I found were sadly disappointing because they were just badly written. Several years down the road, I find that anime and manga are mainly visual media, so reading “words-only” fanfiction isn’t that interesting since that’s what I do in my day job anyway. But I’m quite happy to look at well-drawn doujinshi and fanart any day, though. As we’ve seen on pixiv, sometimes fanart can be more impressive than the original work!
You’re right that anime is more of a visual medium, but I find that reading an anime in prose can present a different perspective and offer insight into the series’ visual qualities that one may miss just by watching (such as the author using specific descriptive words to describe how a character looks or feels). I assume fanfics would seem more natural for anime based on light novels, such as Haruhi and Toradora!
While I don’t think any fanfics can replace the fulfillment of the real thing, I definitely agree that a lot of fan art looks better than official art XD
Golden Sun is awesome!
@ Myna – Yay, a fellow GS fan! I haven’t played the new game for the DS yet. Something to enjoy for the summer.
Whether I decide to initially check out a fanfic depends on its summary. If the summary has poor grammar, punctuation, spelling, and doesn’t sound that interesting, I stay away from it. I instantly ignore it when I see “This story is better than the summary!” or something like that.
I stay far away from OC’s, because I know that they can easily evolve into Mary Sue’s (or Gary Stu’s). Sometimes an author throws a whole bunch of them in there and they take over the story. Most of the time, I can’t bring myself to care about them or the plot at all.
I support a wide range of creativity. I’m perfectly fine with the characters acting a little OOC or putting them in an alternate universe – in fact, those would probably make some of the best ones. I don’t mind suspension of disbelief as long as it isn’t too out there. I’m a fujoshi, so I’m partial to BL pairings (although I’m fine with a little yuri and straight pairings that don’t annoy me). However, they have to make sense and be well-written.
I have read very good fanfics that have made me laugh for a good while, stare at the screen in shock with sudden developments, get excited with descriptive action scenes, or leave me in tears with powerful writing. I continue search for these little gems because I know that there’s a lot of potential out there.
I guess I could accept OC fics, again if the OCs don’t take over the story, if they work within the canon of the original work, and they don’t turn into Mary/Gary Sues. Kind of like how long-running series like Naruto and Bleach have movies that are often side stories and focus on an original character.
It’s great that you’ve managed to find lots of good fics despite having to weed through all the bad ones. Maybe one day if I get in a fanfic mood again I’ll see if I can find ones I like and see exactly how picky I am XD
Like many other commenters have posted here, I agree that the problem with fan-fiction tends to be that the stories are usually just poorly written. I am not a grammar specialist, but I do recognize when people at least spell and punctuate correctly (most of the time anyway). Those things go a long way to having me read a story.
I also tend to find that the authors that have the best stories, should have just written their own characters anyway, and not even bothered with the fanfic, although it is nice to already have characters that are established in the readers minds (which becomes a problem if you are going to try to do a lot to change the character)
I don’t personally mind so much if a character acts OC or is even an AU version of that character ( as long as the changes are believable, or something happens in the context of the story to have a character suddenly act a certain way against canon). This goes for every aspect of a story.
As for the shipping aspects, I think it is just a good way for many people to explore the characters they know and love even more ( and what better way for the sometimes hopeless romantic than to analyze relationships and consider alternate coupling pairs?) I don’t even mind non-canonical ships, as long as the build up can be done in a way to make me believe that it is possible for the character involved to feel the way they do. I think many people forget other types of shipping ( which are friendships and the like). Also the canon relationships are established a certain way for a reason (which is why they happen in the story and therefore are canon).
I ultimately have no problem with fan-fiction, but like you tend to not as actively engage in the shipping realms, though I have some of my pet favorites. A couple are non-canon, but most tend to follow the natural story.
A side thought, but kind of related is that you can learn a lot about a character by playing around with them in your own creative endeavors. I have gained a greater appreciation for Kuroko’s character from Railgun, because I have been playing a slightly altered version of her in a mutants and masterminds campaign that we call supers. By having to place her in my own and the other gamemasters’ stories (and try to make decisions like she would), you can really start to see sides of a character that you never really noticed before. So I guess it is all a matter of just involving yourself in a different way of thinking about loved characters :)
Yes, a fic being well written and relatively free of spelling/grammar errors is a prerequisite for me. I also agree that there are a lot of well-written fics out there that should have just used original characters, since the characters act so OOC compared to the canon material that it would have made more sense if the story was focused on different characters altogether.
Using shipping and other ways of imagining a character your own way are definitely good for learning more about the character, especially your own interpretation of him/her. Even though I’m personally picky about fanfics, I certainly believe fans should write about whatever they want =)
Doujins are better in some ways
EVA has Re-take, which is perhaps the best doujin ever
I never cared to read any doujinshis, mostly because I lack the motivation to seek out good ones translated into English, and I simply don’t enjoy reading manga (or anything in manga-style) extensively online.
Yeah, fanfiction tends to be a bit of a minefield sometimes. There’re some real gems but you may have to dig a little through all the badfics to find them. Then by the time you actually find them, you’ve lost your motivation, haha.
When I first discovered fanfiction.net back when I was about 11, I remember writing some terrible fics which thankfully disappeared off the face of the Earth. XD Then after a dry spell, I rediscovered it a year later and started writing ‘properly’. I too started off in Pokemon, although I only wrote one fic for it before I moved on to my major fandom, Harry Potter (namely, Draco/Hermione). I hit my peak somewhere in 2005 where I was updating fairly frequently and getting lots of reviews, but my interest tapered off by 2006 so any unfinished fics I had ended up being updated really sporadically after that point.
Funnily enough I’m still writing fanfiction now, thanks to the completionist in me – albeit really really slowly (my average update time is about 2 months…). I also started a 100-theme challenge a few years back for some reason and have been gradually chugging through it. At this rate I’m going to be writing fics forever. :(
Also, I found it interesting that you like fics that seem ‘canon’. For me it’s generally the opposite – although I occasionally enjoy well-written and believable fics that describe another side of a canon situation, I’m only truly interested in situations that won’t happen in canon (usually pairings). There’s already canon in the original work, so reading fanfiction for the purpose of finding more canon just seems odd to me. But hey, to each their own!
Looking at yours and a couple other comments, it seems like Harry Potter fan fiction is a pretty big thing =P I don’t think I cared to ship anyone in the HP universe…so maybe that would have made me less offended by non-canon pairings XD
I’m really anal about finishing what I start too, no matter how slowly. There are still many pages on my main AnimeYume.com site that I intend to either finish or just scrap altogether, though I may not get to updating them for…who knows how long.
My interest in stories that mimic canon isn’t for the sake of retelling what’s already been told but simply exploring something the original creator has established but not explored to my satisfaction (or for ongoing series, the fanfic writer’s believable idea of how the series should end). For example, my Tenchi Muyo! fic is a side story that presents the characters in a kind of situation I would have liked to see in the real series but didn’t. And my Evangelion fic is Asuka’s point of view of the movie that we can only guess at since she was absent for much of the original work. In both cases, the characters, setting, storyline, etc., mimic the canon material but focus on areas I feel are “underdeveloped.”
As a writer of fanfiction I can see where you are coming from. The problem is finding all of the good stories under all the mess of badly written stories that just make you want to cry(personally a couple of writers on FF.net have asked me to read their stories and critique them, and let’s just say that most of them had lots of problems. >_>)
For me, the appeal of fanfiction is to write another side to a story that’s already been written or explore a relationship in more details. Personally I’m not a fan of the tragic stories if the main focus is on a relationship, if it’s a story with a unique plot then fine, the character can die.
The sad part is though, after writing fanfiction for five years, what I’ve noticed that the two types of stories that are most popular are tragedies and explicit stories. Sadly that makes it the kind people want to read the most. Somehow I was able to make a popular Harvest Moon comedy fic but I think the whole reason I was able to pull it off was because I brought my own twist to the story that could fit in with the actual canon(the character Bo is actually a girl crossdressing as a boy).
The reason it’s difficult to weed through all the bad fanfics as opposed to bad fan art or AMVs is that it just takes more time and effort. Seeing whether a piece of fan art or video is bad can be decided by a glance of a few seconds, while a bad fanfic could require reading nearly all of it only to eventually discover your disappointment.
I don’t mind tragic stories as long as they stay within the context of the original. So if we have a fic based off a comedic slice-of-life anime, having a character die tragically just wouldn’t work. Even in a dramatic series, having the main hero or other popular character die might not seem right either.
My interest in fanfiction tends to follow what I’m watching, but once I really latch onto a fandom, it’s kinda stuck. At this point I’m stuck in the Cardcaptor Sakura and Haruhi fanfics, but I’ve also been into Type-Moon, Gundam Wing and Harry Potter.
As to what I look for, generally I’m into good writing and good characterization. Canon or not is negotiable since it is a fiction of a fiction. Alternate realities, paths not taken, different perspectives on a situation, all those are interesting to read. Good characterization is important b/c it causes too much jarring mentally when reading a story if it’s bad.
As for what I read, I do try to sift out what I’m looking for based on recommendations (how I got into Harry Potter) and favorites (look through favorites lists on ff.net long enough and certain stories get repeated). If you really wanted it, I could be bothered to wade through the Haruhi fandom for some I think are good.
I also would only be interested in reading fanfics from a fandom that I “latch onto” =) For me, I would only want to read fics from anime I really love at the moment. So I wouldn’t be interested in reading good Inuyasha or Evangelion fics now even though I would have several years ago…nowadays I think I would only be interested in Haruhi, and Kannagi and Angel Beats! maybe (Pokemon too but not Rocketshippy anymore).
Speaking of which, I’m open to recommendations for good Haruhi fanfics since you’ve read this post and have an idea of what I’m looking for. I can’t say I’ll actually get motivated to read any, but if you want to find me any, I’ll at least consider it.
Personally, I’ve really enjoyed Durandall’s fics, particularly Blunt Force Trauma and K:BDH (currently in-progress, and a slightly OOC fic). Other ones I’ve liked are an alternate end to the anime season, an amnesia-related fic, a somewhat longer what-if fic and an Endless Eight fic.
A bit random, but I hope these meet your expectations.
Hmm, that alternate end link should be this instead.
I think the problem with fanfiction is that there are just too many fics out there that, frankly, aren’t very good at all. I’m okay with reading alternate universe fics or shipping fics, so long as the situation isn’t too unreasonable and the characters stay in canon. It’s really hard to generalise what’s bad and what’s good, though, because I’ve read some great ones out there that diverge from canon almost completely. I think what makes a good fic is really the author’s ability to write something that makes sense, rather than just a scene badly written (and something along the lines of wish fulfillment for some of them).
But if you want something decent and can’t be bothered sifting through hundreds of fics, TV Tropes has a fanfic recommendation page:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FanFicRecommendations
It doesn’t have everything but it’s worth checking out, at any rate. :)
I completely agree with you.
Fanfics tend to unsatisfying to me simply because it’s not official, and it’s very difficult for a writer to capture the characters in such a way that is believable.
I know you nay not read this but if you’re a fan of Nagaru Tanigawa writing style I strongly recommend the fanfic “The Dream Of Suzumiya Haruhi” in my opinion the author almost perfectly replicates Tanigawa’s style and stays true to the characters personalities
and this is coming from somebody who despises most fanfiction XD. The author also tries to write so his stories fit into the real Haruhi universe instead of just creating his own continuity.
As an fanfic “author” myself I can understand you. There are a lot fanfics out there, that have sexual relations of characters in it. And at the moment those kind of relations are the main plot of a fanfiction. It’s really sad to see it everywhere. I tried to read those fanfictions but it was just so unreal I couldn’t read anymore.
But there are also (few) proper fanfics I really enjoy reading. The charactes don’t behave like psychopaths or kill others (violently). Unfortunately these kind of stories are quite unpopular among all the readers. It’s a really sad thing ;(
If you don’t come up with an idea which readers like then you most likely have no chance to get feedback. Of course the main reason why people write should not be the reviews they get, but the fun they have while writing. Still, feedback helps you to get even better in writing. And also one’s losing his motivation for writing if there is no one who finds interest in the fanfic.
That’s the reason why I tend to read as many fanfictions as I can. Those with poor grammar, spelling, etc. normally just get one review from me with some tips whereas better fanfictions get more reviews from me. Sometimes I just find it hard to “help” other authors becausethey just wouldn’t accept the help and critizm. They just want praise, and that’s the reason why “bad” fanfictions spread /sigh.