xelloss@pp.nic.fi writes:
It's a fanfic and ANIME convention. (I don't read enough [read "any"]
manga to know whether the sweatdrop appears in them or not...) I don't
use sweatdropping, facefaulting, and other such conventions in series
that don't have them. Sailor Moon characters sweatdrop rather
prolifically; so in keeping style with the show, I follow the
convention. In my original anime works, I don't.
Again, I wonder how *Allyn* would write a scene where someone sweat
drops or face-faults. Would he use english literary conventions instead?
Besides, Anime mannerisms are contageous. Not that I have face-faulted,
*yet*...
Nor have you grown a giant drop of sweat on the back or side of
your head (I would imagine), nor do you pull out giant mallets from thin
air, nor do tic-tac-toe shaped veins pop out on your forehead, nor do
you become super-deformed or grow cat-ears or grow fangs or have a volcano
erupt from the top of your head or .... These are visual conventions
used in manga and anime, much as speed lines and light bulbs in thought
ballons may be used in American comic strips and cartoons, and I'm
personally opposed to any use of them in a non-visual medium like
fanfiction. Instead, express the feelings or reactions that these
conventions symbolize the way you would in any story. If you're going to
pick out one or two, like sweatdropping or facefaulting, why not use
all the conventions? Aside from the fact that it would make a serious
story pretty silly, which is my objection.
Reid Carson
rcarson@rcarson.com