Great Teacher Largo...?

[SohmaYuki]

I wrote this huge ass thing and the forums killed it... wow... great.

1. I know, I'm a moderator on the forums... remember? I don't really read SD, or the comic... unless my friend asks me to, remember? I said that...

2. Simple, the people that do these panels are acting as if they are representitives and authorities of the comic. By creating these false scenerios and directly using the characters, they act as if they are representations of the characters and thusly the comic.

It's disrespectful. Why? because it's stating that what they say and do are representations of the comic, which probably isn't true. As I said, it's easy to misinterperet the characters and their designs. Let's take Largo. I've written a long time ago, that Largo isn't as simplistic as he seems and his thought process has a lot more to it than being an idiot that (thinks he) is good at games, and computers etc. His interactions with characters and how he feels is rather different than the perspective that he shows in person, so by using him as a base character, it's easilly to disrespectively display the character in an unnatural light.

Atleast on the forums, when people say retarded things, it's only opinion and general discussion, by having a "formal panel" with the actual names and characters, it is stating that it is a representation of the comic despite being unsanctioned by the comic itself.

3. Are you stating that I don't get it? That's kinda cute if you are... because clearly, I'm in the know of a lot more than you are. The reasoning of the panel is simple, the basis of it is simple, and the existance of it is there for a reason. That doesn't make the basis and reasoning correct or even justified. Let's look at it in a different light.

I've played the .hack series(the original 4)... but I have never played the newer ones, or watched some of the series'. It'd be like me running a panel and acting as if I'm an authority of why and how the characters were created and designed, the personality types etc. etc. etc.

I'm clearly not an authority, and it would be disrespectful to the creators, owners, etc. if I acted as if I was one. Even if everything I said was 100% correct, it's not something that's right to do.

I may be wrong...but you certainly do have an abnormal amount of hatred for a webcomic that's full of relatively harmless inaccuracies. Although I find it amusing that a comic that's so full of inaccuracies gets picked up by the #1 manga company in the US...written by a guy who apparently doesn't know half as much about all things Japanese as he claims as well as you. So what exactly is your claim to fame, other then apparently knowing some famous people, because it sounds to me that you're a talentless critic.

If you really hate MT that much...go put your money where your mouth is. Go produce a comic like MT and make it even MORE accurate and successful. Show us what YOU can do, instead of flaming other people's work. Seriously go make a life of your own, instead of trying to tear down other people's life. I'm leaving this topic to go to something productive like study for a test Rolling Eyes

Oh this is really cute. Really it is. I don't understand why you don't read my posts. I don't hate the comic because of inaccuracies, I think the comic is crappy due to poor writing and other things. He got picked up by the #1 manga company in the US... wait... he did? I'm guessing you don't know the story and drama that happened with publishing and all that, but I don't expect you to do. I don't care if Piro doesn't know that much about Japan, I joke around with some of the other staff about it a lot though. Talentless critic is cute. Really. You're stating that unless you can create a masterpiece, you have no right to criticize someone else. Sorry kid, that's not how the world works. I cannot cook a 4star dinner, but that doesn't mean I don't know what good and bad food is supposed to taste like. Though I know how to write for an audience.

Go make a life of my own? Curious, what about "my life" do you know about? I don't let on much about my personal life in here unless it applies directly to the topic... I don't want to be a writer, but I know what a good story is, and what a bad story is.

But nope, you're right though. I should only eat terrible food, because I cannot cook 4star dinner, so I should only eat crap that comes out of cans, because I have no right to say that it's bad. I cannot make a hollywood blockbuster movie that nets 20million on it's opening weekend, so I should clearly not think that Manos and Mars needs Women are terrible movies.

Nope, realism exists, so spoon feeding me shit, and expecting me to say it's great, isn't going to happen.

[otakuya]

....



Anyway, back to the real GTL panel discussion:


I haven't heard anything from Blues about having a panel lately. I hope he replies and there is a panel this year. The long line from last year's FC was disappointed...

[joshness]

I have no problems with anything else Sohma is saying about the comic, to each his own. I just have one question though, How do you feel about cosplay and the skits that people put on? Do you dissaprove of those as well? What about fanart and Doujinshi? I'm just curious where the line is for you.

[SohmaYuki]

Cosplay is cosplay, though bad cosplay is bad cosplay. Skits rarely have to do with the series they are dealing with and are parody/jokes usually. Fanart and doujinshi are the same thing.

[Chun]

However I will quote "I avoided it like the plague... Oh btw, Mikey did you want to play Duel Savior on my laptop?"

I want to play  :(

I may be wrong...but you certainly do have an abnormal amount of hatred for a webcomic that's full of relatively harmless inaccuracies. Although I find it amusing that a comic that's so full of inaccuracies gets picked up by the #1 manga company in the US...written by a guy who apparently doesn't know half as much about all things Japanese as he claims as well as you. So what exactly is your claim to fame, other then apparently knowing some famous people, because it sounds to me that you're a talentless critic.

If you really hate MT that much...go put your money where your mouth is. Go produce a comic like MT and make it even MORE accurate and successful. Show us what YOU can do, instead of flaming other people's work. Seriously go make a life of your own, instead of trying to tear down other people's life. I'm leaving this topic to go to something productive like study for a test Rolling Eyes

I know this comment isn't for me, but I'd like to interject.

Fred's work on Megatokyo as you already know, started as a pet project but then became his proffession the point at which he was laid off from his archetectural work.

There are a lot of inconsistencies in perception of the megatokyo way, in terms of story. The first strips were created with a "gag of the week" premise that was ongoing. When Rodney Caston left the team Fred decided to take a more shoujo-novel approach.

However, even though it is established, there are still a latter amount of people that believe that this "seriousness" is detracting from the "original" or "canon" storyline premise. In other words, people STILL complain "Where's the cool thing", "OMG L33TDUDE COME BACK", "Why IS LARGO NOT L33T HAX LOLOL". The current story is trying to exhibit a growth of characters, but instead people refuse it, and continue without any attention to new revelations. In that sense Sohma and myself find that in general the majority of the audience still doesn't get it.

Rei, I hate to be a prick if this sounds like it, but saying "Go make your own" has to be the most overused, invalid excuse used by 99% of the fandom that circulates comics or series in general. It's terribly flawed, given that A) in such a statement that means you assume only the critics that already own webcomics/produce their own are valid, and B) that includes yourself and other individuals.

Don't focus on who is tearing what. Focus on what is being teared upon and the validity of it.

~Chun

[Blues]

So sorry to necropost.  Someone linked me to this ever so recently, however, so here I am.

I wasn't really planning on posting here again due to certain outstanding circumstances, but considering there's still discussion concerning me going on, I figured I should at least set a couple things straight for anyone who was wondering.  This is also very long, so if you're not SohmaYuki and in the habit of replying to things like this with "tl;dr", then skip down to the part for everyone else.

To SohmaYuki:
You seem to really pride yourself on having all the facts, but you're operating on some false ideas, so let's see if I can help you out.

Yes, I do know who you are from the MT boards.  Does that earn me cool points?  I even know you from the IRC room.  The funny thing, though, is that you apparently don't know me.  Tsk tsk, bad moderator.  

To quote Mr. Gallagher:

Posted: Aug 14 2005, 02:56 PM

The Great Teacher Largo is a fan-run panel. If you recall, there is a guy who did an impromptu GTL class in the lobby of Otakon three years ago - that's him. Nicknamed 'blue' i believe.

I wont be there, i don't think, and i nor anyone at Megatokyo is involved in it, but from what i've seen of it in the past, it was quite amusing, and i have given blue the thumbs up to go to town and have fun with it. Its like fan-art, only... live.

Link

I'm on the user list as Blues.  I've posted in the forums before on the subject of GTL.

It's not intellectual property theft if I've been publicly given the consent to perform the panel.  Furthermore, in my talks with Mr. Gallagher (yes, I've talked to him on several occasions, too.  More cool points?), he described the panel as "live-action doujin".  Terms such as "fanart" and "doujin" imply that it is homage to the original, but may have taken on a personal flair from the artist.  That's all I'm doing with the panel.  

I've never stated that I was being 100% accurate, or even attempting to be.  I don't know where you got the idea that I or anyone else involved fancied ourselves as "representatives and authorities of the comic", but you're pretty much wrong as you can get there.  Even on the page that I started to promote the panel and spread it to some other cons, the disclaimer reads as follows:

Largo, and all other intellectual property of Fred Gallagher, © Fred Gallagher. All other material ©2002-2007 Mike Mallon. GTL Project is a personal project, and not affiliated with Mega Tokyo.

Personal.  Unaffiliated.  I don't know how else to say it to make it any clearer.

This site was advertised on the front page of Megatokyo, and those post on it’s forums.  You had every opportunity to get this information; it's been out there for almost 2 years.  If you were truly an expert of all things Megatokyo and so involved in the inner workings, shouldn't you have known about this?  

Don’t claim to know what’s really going on when you miss something right in front of you.

Moving on...

The purpose of the panel was to celebrate that element of the comic that has sort of slipped to the back burner: just pure wacky entertainment.  I try to do it in a way that gets the crowd involved and pumped.  

The focus was on GTL, and to be even more specific, the first interpretation of GTL.  I'm aware that particular aspect of his character has developed since then, but that's the Largo I like, so that's the one I'm going to keep in mind when I do the panel.
Yes, I know there's depth to Largo beyond this one facet, but there's only so much I can do with a 50 minute panel, and I don't think anyone goes to those panels with the hope of seeing Largo pine after Erika.  That would be sort of confusing, anyway, since the panels have always had "Great Teacher Largo" in their titles.  

In short, it's a comedy panel, not a Broadway play.

Have I strayed from an exact interpretation of the original incarnation of the character?  Absolutely.  And why not?  Too much of the same thing gets boring, and I like to keep things fresh.  People keep lining up, so they must agree with what I'm doing.

It's deviated even further since you've last seen it, too.  The original panel was intended to be fairly accurate, but every year, I keep what works and change what doesn't.  As of Otakon 06, it was described as sort of “Largo-based standup with a slideshow”.  The theme of the classroom was still there, along with Largo's lack of understanding of Japanese culture but piqued curiosity due to his personal interests.  I won't argue that there's a good part of myself going into the role, which helps me stay in character regardless of what's thrown at me from the crowd.

Speaking of which...

As for your master plans of overthrowing my panel, I'm afraid you'd have been sorely disappointed at the outcome.  I can tell you that the crowd itself probably would have turned on you if you were really intent on stopping the panel from the audience, and you would have been removed pretty quickly.  And for rushing the stage and stealing the mic, I've never had a panel (even when I was doing lobby shows) where a good number of staff and/or security guards weren't on hand.  Had you actually managed to get me off stage, you and your friend would have followed shortly after, been removed from the con, and taken a trip to the police station, as that definitely qualifies as battery, and you can bet I would press charges, what with a room full of hundreds of witnesses.  

You should also look up the definition of assault.

Amusingly enough, you're the second Megatokyo moderator that's talked big about shutting my panel down for intellectual property theft and whatnot (I'm sure you know Ukyo), and that was also after Mr. Gallagher posted his consent on the forums; the same forums where Ukyo made this statement.  

You mods are just sharp as tacks over there.

Also, it’s no mystery to me that the people over at Megetokyo aren’t fans of the panel.  Asmodeus stated that one of his favorite things about Otakon one year was NOT seeing my panel.  I believe it was Dom that said he and Mr. Gallagher attended the first panel, but had to leave after a few minutes because their heads hurt from the surrealism of it all, and asked themselves if they were to blame over driving the people doing the panel insane.

Your .Hack comparison is flawed, because at no point have I ever stated that I was any sort of authority on either Megatokyo, or even simply the character of Largo.  

You’re reading far too much into this than there really is to it and are jumping to conclusions.  You truly don’t get it, despite how cute you think it is that people say so.

If you think it’s disrespectful, too bad.  There isn’t a thing you can do about it.  The only person who can truly determine that is Mr. Gallagher himself, and he has yet to say anything to me about it.  He, unlike you, understands that it’s a fan thing and open to interpretation.

If you feel the need to argue anything that I’ve said, feel free, but you can’t really debate the simple truth.  You can, however, continue to throw around this egotistical, elitist, arrogant attitude like an immature little jackass, since you seem to be so good at doing it.

P.S.: While I was there, I wasn't involved with, nor did I hear anything about any sort of GTL happening at ACen.  There will, however, be a panel this year.  I'll be sure to send you some pictures and let you know how it went.

To everyone else:
I appreciate your interest in the show, and I honestly apologize for what happened last year, but what was done was done for a reason, and it is very unlikely that I’ll be doing any shows at Fanime in the future.  I am working on securing another Cali-based con, but won’t say any more on that until I have something substantial to share.

I loved performing for you guys, and I miss those of you who have personally touched the show (or fallen on it).  Your support for me, even despite my silence, is nothing short of incredible.  It’s people like you that make the show worth doing, and are the reason I continue to do so.  I can’t thank you enough, and I hope to see you all again in the future.

The GTL Project site has, due to several reasons that are all pretty much my own fault, fallen apart a little, but will be back in order by the 14th of this month at the latest.  Anyone interested in contacting me can do so via PM on this board until then, at which point, you can find me on the project site.  

I’ll update this post with more information later for anyone interested.

[Crazy_Saiko]

I loved performing for you guys, and I miss those of you who have personally touched the show (or fallen on it).  

... you still keep reminding everyone that, don't you ^^;

btw: if you need help this year
PM me

[otakuya]

I wanna help out too, if it's another Cal con, like AX or Sac.

[Crazy_Saiko]

well me,
i just hope its Fanime Con

[Blues]

I loved performing for you guys, and I miss those of you who have personally touched the show (or fallen on it).  

... you still keep reminding everyone that, don't you ^^;

btw: if you need help this year
PM me

A year cannot pass without me making some sort of throwback to that.  That's written in stone somewhere.

Anyway, as I said, I can't really say anything specific at this point, but as soon as news of when and where the GTL show will be happening, I'll let you guys know.  All I can tell you for now is it won't be happening any time this year out West.

[Crazy_Saiko]

well
if it doesn't turn out to be a panel for GTL

i can try to gather people in honor of it anyway -^^-
that'd be fun! ... parading our great teacher and all -^^-

[Blues]

As promised, the new location of the GTL prokect sides is GTLproject.net

[Crazy_Saiko]

AAUuuu~~~

Linx broken!!!!

Teacher must fix link plz!!! *tear*

[Blues]

Are you sure?  I just checked it and it works for me.  Try just manually entering the URL: http://www.gtlproject.net

[Crazy_Saiko]

yay!!!!