Not satisfied with forcing a cancellation of the main TV broadcast of WWII parody anime Axis Powers Hetalia in Japan, or rather, perhaps emboldened by the ease with which the station was overcome, Koreans have redoubled their efforts and are taking action to see the rest of the online broadcasts, DVD sales, and presumably manga, cancelled.
A new petition (below) has already gathered 5,000 signatures, and extremists are advocating attacking Japanese websites connected with the anime to force a cessation of its distribution. The previous petition with more signatures led in part to the cancellation of the TV broadcast…
Talk on the Korean major board relating to the issue falls into two major camps, with many advocating pressuring the Korean Foreign Ministry to demand Japan stop its “criminal” and “discriminatory” broadcasting.
Even more ominously, another group advocates directly attacking Japanese websites in acts of “cyber-terrorism”.
Such action would not be unprecedented; only recently a sustained DoS attack emanating from Korea attempted rather optimistically to take down 2ch, but failed miserably in the face of those ironclad servers.
As usual, it is not clear whether such statements are overheated froth or a genuine threat, but they certainly illustrate the strength of sentiment amongst the ever maddened Korean nationalists.
A Japanese fan response has seen some interest in establishing their own online petition, asking that broadcast be resumed with any offending portions cut, pointing out correctly no other countries voiced offence at their unflattering portrayals, but it looks unlikely to have any effect.
Probably the most effective response, and the one preferred by the apparently non-confrontational Japanese fanbase, is buying the DVDs and manga; the manga appears to be enjoying a healthy response thanks to all the publicity.
Via Etnews (Korean), you can see the article translated into Japanese here (along with the 2ch response).
The issue should not be underestimated; it has already reached the Korean National Assembly at least once:
Interestingly, we also hear defamatory Korean news broadcasts about the issue, which would never be allowed in Japanese broadcasts:
“When we say ‘perverted’, we hardly need to explain that we’re talking about Japan”, etc.
Well, this is ridiculous. Why hate on a series that’s supposed to be funny? They’re just jokes; ever heard about black humor? I love Hetalia, although it’s a silly comedy, it’s, surprisingly, educational in a way. Lots of people wouldn’t have known about the country “Prussia”. Hetalia helped me recognize flags and remember historical events. Just how does hating on something that’s supposed to just be humor do anything good at all? Seriously Korea, why so serious? Pun intended. Just sit back, enjoy the show, and lol at the lovely Korean character. It’s not supposed to be bashing you.
lol japan got nuked! lol
someone should send that ‘anonymous’ group against the Korean government, they already attacked the Australian government for trying to censor the internet so they should do the same to Korea
SERIOUSLY!!! THIS IS STUPID!!! WHY? WHY THE HELL DID THEY HAD TO CANCEL HETALIA??? WHY THE f♥♥k!!! KOREANS!!
SO WHAT? THEY CANCEL IT? UGH! you see im just a confused person here….not sure why it was canceled……..but i miss it…..will they EVER bring it back? I wish i could do something…but im just a useless little girl (15) who cant do anything….i myself am half american and half mexican……i think the koreans got offended…yeah i understand…but hey what about the other people? Did they cared? ….*cough* not sure *cough*….. well…all i can say is….LONG LIVE HETALIA AND ITS FANS!!! (still unhappy & curious)
HOW ABOUT WE ALL GET ALONG!!!! THE WHOLE WORLD A GOD CREATED (im not religious though) HE MADE US ALL! SERIOUSLY…HAVENT YOU HERD OF “ITS A SMALL WORLD” (song)??? LETS ALL GET ALONG!!! (although it will never happen…till we are all dead) GOD IS PROBABLY TESTING ALL OF US HUMANS IN THE WORLD…IF WE GET ALONG..(apperently i dont even kno what im talking about…but im some-what proud of it..)
PLUS!!! I HAVE SOME KOREAN FRIENDS…THEY HAVE WATCHED HETALIA AND LOVED IT….(they lucky though…) THEY DONT EVEN GIVE A CRAP ABOUT THE CHARACTER KOREA…THEY JUST THINK ITS FUNNY THAT ALL THE CARACTERS ARE DIFFERENT, WEIRD, FUNNY, CUTE, ETC.
NOW IMA EXCUSE MYSELF TO THE TOILET AND TAKE A BIG MAD DUMP ABOUT ALL THIS s♥♥t ABOUT THE CANCELATION OF HETALIA!!!
– TACO VALDEZ
ACASO SON OBAKAAAAAAAAAAA HETLAI ES LO MAXIMO YA QUE EXPLICA LA HISTORIA DE UN MODO MAS FACIL PARA MUCHOS (Y ME AYUDO EN UN EXAMEN DE HISTORIA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD) ADEMAS NO GENERA NINGUN CAOS POLITICO COMO MANIFIESTAN MUCHOS… ASI QUE
VIVA HETALIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡