Anime Boston Incident

Event
Event:	Cosplayers at Anime Boston gain widespread scrutiny after doing a "heil Hitler" salute during a Hetalia cosplay photoshoot
Participants:	Hetalia cosplayers
Date(s):	Between April 2,2010 and April 4, 2010
Type:	Scandal
Fandom:	Hetalia
URL:
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The Anime Boston Incident is a term used to describe a infamous photoshoot wherein cosplayers portraying the characters Germany and Prussia from the anime/manga series Hetalia: Axis Powers did Nazi Heil Hitler Salutes in public. This event occurred in Boston, Massachusetts during the 2010 Anime Boston convention, which took place between April 2nd and April 4th.

The Incident

During the 2010 Anime Boston convention, a group of cosplayers had planned a photoshoot (one congoer would later describe the photoshoot as "HUGE"). However, the event's organizer (LiveJournal user KOENIG_CUPCAKE) learned that the original location for the event was closed. She decided to move the event to another location, which was outdoors near the Prudential Center. During the photoshoot, some of the cosplayers portraying the characters Germany and Prussia decided to pose giving the infamous heil Hitler salute. It is unknown exactly how or why the gesture started. KOENIG_CUPCAKE would later claim that one person started it, others followed suit, and it lasted for a very brief moment. Regardless of how long it lasted, it was long enough for at least one person to snap a photo (the photo)

Adding to its severity and offensive nature, the photoshoot took place close to a Holocaust memorial and also coincided with Passover.

A photograph depicting several cosplayers doing the heil Hitler salute was later posted to the Hetalia LiveJournal community, which generated substantial backlash.

Aftermath

Many Hetalia fans were quick to point out how inappropriate and offensive the cosplayers' actions were, even it was only intended as a joke. Others in the cosplay community, regardless of their involvement with Hetalia, also expressed their disapproval of the situation.

In response to the backlash, KOENIG_CUPCAKE issued an apology to the Hetalia LiveJournal community on April 5th.

I can't believe I allowed the heiling to take place. I talk about how I don't want to cause drama in photoshoots and how I don't allow such things, but I did allow it. And I participated. I'm hating myself for allowing the Nazi salute to be involved in the shoot, despite all I say to avoid such controversy. Of all things to display, this was the worst. Even before the con I had even stated that if there was questionable material that someone wanted in a photoshoot, then it would be best not to do it...And why I allowed it, I don't know. I supposed I just lost my head and was caught up in the moment. For this, I am beyond sorry. I can't think of any other way to say this.

I did not know this [the proximity to the Holocaust memorial] until just now. I'm not from the Boston area, so I was not aware....

I would like to send out my most sincerest apologies. Like, I'm so horrified. I didn't know, really. And I just feel awful that this happened. I'm so sorry everyone. I don't know if there's anything I can do to repent for this, but, I really feel terrible.

It was such a stupid thing to do, and really, I can't stress this enough. I'm so sorry. I really, really didn't know. I can't believe this happened, and it's just, something that's like unbelievable. I wish someone had said something to me or the other girl working the shoot and said that this was near a Holocaust memorial so we could have moved elsewhere. I just feel so terrible.

I almost want to like...contact the whole city of Boston right now to apologize for this whole mess. The least I can do for now is try and apologize the best I can to the Hetalia fandom.... I just don't know what else to say, but I'm sorry. This was so out of line, and I did something horrible to the fandom. But I didn't mean to. I was absolutely oblivious to the fact that there was such a memorial nearby. If someone had just told me that it was a bad move, I would have moved this somewhere else, we could have crammed into a smaller location like one of the alleys, or one of the alcoves in the Hynes.

...I did not mean for the fandom to be viewed so poorly. I've got absolutely nothing against the Jewish faith, I'm not a Neo-Nazi. I love equality, and I feel like my message was botched during this damn photoshoot.

I'm so sorry everyone, I've always seen myself as such a good fan, and I've let everyone down, just because I was oblivious to this. That's all I can say. I'm sorry....

To the messages I've been receiving privately and on here telling me to grow up, you know, I think my immaturity for allowing this to happen is where that need to grow up lies. Out of the entire group in that picture, I came forward and apologized. I knew it was wrong, and that in itself to me is one way of growing up. Yes, I did stupid shit at AnimeNext too, but I apologized then, and I shall apologize now. I've done some stupid shit. I'm owning up to it. There's a difference between brushing off the fact that someone has offended thousands of people, and admitting what you've done wrong. The first shows ignorance, the second shows something that others are calling admirable. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back here, but I am trying to make things better....

Thank you everyone who is granting me forgiveness. To those who have not, I don't blame you. And to those who can grant forgiveness for my stupidity, but not the action, I agree with you even more.

KOENIG_CUPCAKE, 5 April 2010 (excerpts) https://hetalia.livejournal.com/6828345.html

Overall, the Anime Boston incident resulted in the fandom self-reflecting on its own culture and fan behaviors. Many cosplay photoshoot organizers made sure to adamantly state that Nazi imagery was not acceptable under any circumstances.

However, this did not entirely prevent the occasional fan from trying to incorporate Nazi imagery into their cosplays, such as one incident involving a cosplayer who wanted to incorporate swatstika imagery in a photoshoot in 2012. Around 2020, a reddit user would also recall an incident on tumblr in which Germany and Prussia cosplayers photographed themselves "pointing guns at a Jewish temple."

The incident would continue to be recalled, even years later, by people who had a negative opinion of the Hetalia fandom as an example of why the community was bad.

KOENIG_CUPCAKE would eventually leave fandom at some point in the mid-2010s after allegedly sexually harassing a minor while she pretended o be a Homestuck character. At the time, she was in her 20s

Commentary

Contemporary

... At Anime Boston last week, there were a bunch of Hetalia cosplayers. A handful of Germany cosplayers decided to have a little photoshoot with some Prussias, Austrias, a Norway and Denmark and some other nation-tan. Before I continue, allow me to set the stage: this photoshoot was not at the convention but rather near a shopping area and busy avenue. It was roughly 10 minutes away from a Holocaust museum. And to top it off, the convention was held on one heck of a weekend: Easter and Passover.

As you may have guessed, these cosplayers thought it would be a great idea to sieg heil and did so.

You must understand: a public place with people who only see strange kids in uniforms, and one of the biggest, religious holidays for Jews and Catholics alike. Clearly, this was not a good move.

Now, not all of these cosplayers did this. It was some Germany (and a Prussia) cosplayers and not all of them did it, some even blatantly showing disgust for those that did.

My point is this:

There are some things you simply don't do for decency's sake.

The thing that really grates on my nerves is that GERMANY DOESN'T DO THAT IN THE ANIME AT ALL. It's completely out-of-character for him to be doing that! And Prussia? Prussia wasn't even around at that time! He wouldn't even KNOW about Hitler.

Don't give me some BS excuse like, "It's just a salute," because IT'S NOT. It's a very particular salute used ONLY buy those particular people. It has only ONE meaning. And if you are unclear of what that is, do some research, read a book, ask your teacher but FIND OUT.

And while I'm on the topic, let's get something straight about swastikas:

Yes, they originated in India/Asia and are a symbol of good luck/fortune. Normally, it's general shape is akin to a square. BUT HITLER TURNED IT so it looked like a diamond and THAT ONE is the Nazi one. So the normal one is fine, but the tilted one is the farthest from fine you can get. In fact, the Nazi swastika is BANNED in Germany and Austria.

It distresses me that our children today don't know that these things are sensitive for a lot of people. And even if you aren't affected by them SOMEONE is.

Even more so is how the "outside world" will view the fandom after this. Think of all the many people who were shopping or driving by or WALKING by and saw that. They only know what they see and what they see is a bunch of kids in uniforms sieg heiling. If they had done it at a con, people might've thought it was funny. But no one's laughing now.

Even more so, this reflects badly on those Hetalia fans who like it for what historical context it has and NOT JUST THE GAY that people seem to over-ship....

I think the best suggestion I can give cosplayers who are thinking about doing a Nazi-related cosplay (or ANY character that deals with sensitive ideology) maybe leave the accurate armbands or patches or flags at home and only use them for PRIVATE photoshoots that are away from public eye.

kurohaneshizumi, 2010 https://kurohaneshizumi.livejournal.com/196468.html

...What's funny is that if these Mensa candidates had tried to do this in Germany, they all would have been arrested. Since it happened in America, let's just be grateful that those photos didn't end up on the five o'clock news.

The backlash against these girls has been gratifyingly intense, and the fandom appears to be united in a few good-to-know particulars: behavior like this is unacceptable; these twits besmirched not just the reputation of Hetalia fans, but the reputation of all anime fans, not to mention the hardworking people who organized the con; this is hurtful not only to Jews and Poles and other victims of the Holocaust, but also to Germans, who are still struggling to make peace with the crimes committed by Nazi Germany; and just, you know, on a general note, don't seig heil during Passover, you're all fucking retarded.

I've seen a lot of people saying that they're embarrassed and ashamed to be Hetalia fans because of spectacles like this, and I feel that. Empty-headed cosplayers aren't the only reason the Hetalia fandom has such a dubious reputation, but goose-stepping Prussias, and Americas who drag their flags across the floor on their way to the bathroom, aren't doing us a whole lot of favors. Incidents like this are disgraceful, and make me want to sigh until it hurts and say Hetalia, this is why we can't have nice things.

But I've also seen a lot of people saying that things like this make them reluctant to tell their friends from outside the fandom that they're into Hetalia--or that they intend to shun Hetalia photoshoots in the future.

Now, hold up.

I still like my fandom.

Do I like the elements of it that think it'd be cute to heil Hitler for a photoshoot? Not so much, but I don't like the psychopathic manhaters who call themselves feminists, either, or the gay-bashing, vagina-hating Christians who all too often make up the public face of Protestantism in America. I still wouldn't hesitate to describe myself as a feminist and a Christian.

Why? Because I am a feminist and a Christian. And a Hetalia fan.

Why else? Because we're not all like that.

Feminists, Christians, fans, shippers, Americans, atheists, Democrats, Republicans, con-goers, cosplayers, whites, blacks, asians, straights and queers--we've all got dozens of groups that represent us and that we represent, and all of them are going to have constituents who make us want to hide our faces and cringe. Some of them are going to do racist, hurtful, frightening, or offensive things, either through ignorance or out of genuine contempt and malice. Some of them are going to be the kinds of people we wouldn't be caught dead posing with in a photograph. But are they a reason to distance ourselves from the group itself?

Fuck no! Because we're not all like that.

And how are people supposed to know we're not all like that if our smartest, most sensitive, and most respectful members won't own up to being Hetalia fans except when we're surrounded by other Hetalia fans?

I still like my fandom.

Fuck that, I'm still proud of my fandom.

Hetalia fans are the most curious, open-minded, respectful and kind group of people I have ever had a chance to meet. We tackle sensitive issues here, big, thorny, ugly, spiny-black-bits issues, and we do it with humor, compassion, and grace. How many fandoms not only entertain their members, but educate them? How many fandoms flock around fics that aren't just well-written, but sometimes come with half a page or more of footnotes? In how many fandoms is it just as common to hear "I've learned so much!" as it is to hear "Five stars, would fap again?" I refuse to entertain the notion that our minority of nitwits, our occasional handful of dumbass losers who would seig heil in German uniform, somehow invalidates all the good things that Hetalia fans do. The behavior of these cosplayers embarrasses me, I don't like to be associated with them, but it doesn't lessen my devotion to this thing I enjoy, or the many wonderful people I enjoy it with.

We're not all like that.

I still love my fandom.

And I'll say so, any chance I get. I want people who might have the wrong idea about Hetalia fans to hear from me, and the many many fans like me: smart, decent people with a genuine enthusiasm for history, who think it's awesome that we have comics about the Age of Exploration now, and we're eager to fangirl about why, to anyone who will listen. I've never been a con-goer in the past, but this incident makes me want to become one--in cosplay, in Germany cosplay, even. And I want to go to the photoshoots, and talk to people from outside my fandom. And I want people to see how respectful, warm-hearted, and well-informed many of us are about the Unfortunate Implications our fandom skirts every day.

Don't be ashamed to be Hetalia fans, guys. Don't let the bad behavior of a few corner you into allowing them to speak for all of us. If you're one of the good Hetalia fans--and if you're still reading this, I suspect you are--then come out of the back row and say it with me.

I still like my fandom.

And I'll tell you why.

pyrrhiccomedy, 2010 https://pyrrhiccomedy.livejournal.com/35062.html

In Reflection

Truly WILD to revisit this specific incident, and that it was over a decade ago.

If it means anything: last year, the Japanese publisher Kadokawa interviewed me for a book of essays on fandom studies (in Japanese) where I talked about the differences between the American and Japanese fandoms for Hetalia. (I’m a fanartist who’s been involved in American conventions and Japanese doujinshi events, and I have more friends on the Japanese side of things than American.)

It was really funny how the Japanese interviewers thought it was so “devoted” and “cool” that I had been involved with the series for a decade. I then had to explain the rotten and embarrassing reputation Hetalia had in western fandom — specifically citing this event. Man, oh man, were they not anticipating this crazy shit.

yosb, c. 2020 https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/jiugnm/comment/ga90kg2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

To this day I genuinely feel bad for the cosplayers in the front row who either didn’t see what’s happening behind them or realized, were too afraid to wreck a group picture at the big shoot, and tried to cover their faces. (I had already dipped out of Hetalia before the fandom got huge but I later became something of an accidental Homestuck BNF and there’s a specific sort of terror when you’re at the big shoot and people start doing stuff you’re not okay with for pictures and you’re young enough that “making a fuss” feels more dangerous than “looking in a picture like I condone that”.) It’s odd though that modern fandom in general retells the story of this incident like everyone in the fandom was OK with the photo at the time when no, almost the entire fandom came down to condemn the events of this picture in droves. Hetalia fandom had some big issues but “everyone thought this photo was FINE” was not one of them.

DianaSoreil, c. 2020  https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/jiugnm/comment/gaag35t/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

It's not that Hetalia is inherently bad, though certain aspects of it of course deserve to be criticized -- I think it's moreso that its largely young-skewing demographic just wasn't well-equipped to engage with the show in a healthy way.

insert_title_here, c. 2020 https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/jiugnm/hetalia_fandom_the_anime_boston_incident_aka_that/

Goodddddd the only saving grace of this fiasco is how quickly everyone in the fandom was to condemn it. One thing that I always remembered is that one poor cosplayer who was just giving the most uncomfortable thumbs up in a sea of Nazi salutes. Reminds me tangentially of the "FLAGS ARE SACRED" drama if only because it was my big fandom faux pas, though thankfully nowhere close to the Nazi salute level. I (teen cosplayer at the time) was yelled at by another cosplayer for disrespecting the American flag by wearing it as a cape. My 2012 self was deeply ashamed to be "disrespectful" to my country. My 2020 self still enjoys some Hetalia fandom stuff, but is now deeply ashamed of my country. OH HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED.

foxeared_asshole, c. 2020  https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/jiugnm/comment/ga911mi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button