Castlevania vs. Akumajou Dracula -- The Fandom

[Destina Faroda]

One of the things that is most amazing regarding the Internet is that despite it being dominated by English-speakers, other languages and cultures make their presence known as well.  This is especially important in regard to video games because most of the games we grew up on and still play come from Japan.  Without widespread access to the Internet, of course, there'd be far less discussion regarding the difference between the "original" version and the North American version of games.  That same access also allows users to look at opinions and works of people around the world, even if we can't understand them.

Now while I'm the "igniorant American" who neither frequents nor even likes Japanese fan sites, I can't deny their existence.  And occasionally, I stumble across one.  Aside from the gorgeous fan art, though, I end up beating my head against the barrier of language.  I don't know how the maintainers feel about their fan pages, other than them being fans. 

But I wonder if these Japanese authors and artist treat Akumajou Dracula with reverence, indifference, a bit of humor, or what?  For instance some fandoms take their product more seriously than others, although much of the sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek approach may be due to the.  I gather that old school Castlevania fans (not people who joined the bandwagon from SOTN onward), from what I've seen, really don't take the series all that seriously.  You all might love the games, but there seems to be a more laid back approach to how you express your love for them.

I also can't help but wonder what the non-English speaking Japanese think when they come across and English only page.  I know that usually, Japanese sites tend to be more insular in the fact that you only linked to one if you had permission whereas Western sites (even ones not in English) actually want encourage people to spread the link.  But I'm not confusing privacy with reality -- they've come across Castlevania sites and we've come across  Akumajou Dracula .  I mean, are they in general?  Do they turn their nose down at the site immediately?  Or do they follow some of the English fan sites as some devoted English-speaking fans follow the Japanese sites, even if they don't understand what's going on?  I mean, I can't help but wonder what Japanese fan with minimal knowledge of English would think if he or she stumbled across CVRPG.

I guess this post really had no point other than me being long-winded.  It's been a while since I did this.

[Darkmoon]

The thought of a japanese person finding CVRPG makes me rather curious... Hrmmm...

[Green Lantern]

I'm sure they're curious of the english sites just as we are of theirs. What Castlevania fan wouldn't be curious if they stumbled on to a whole database dedicated to one of their favorite video game series, but couldn't make anything of the information there?

[Darkmoon]

I wouldn't. I hate being directed to foreign sites.