OTW Guest Post: Sean Anderson
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | OTW Guest Post: Sean Anderson |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Sean Anderson |
| Date(s): | February 13, 2015 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | |
| External Links: | OTW Guest Post: Sean Anderson, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
OTW Guest Post: Sean Anderson is an 2015 interview with Sean Anderson.
It was done as part of a series. See OTW Guest Post.
Introduction
Today’s post is an interview with Sean Anderson, head of the Ryu X Chun-Li Project, a fan-made 300 page graphic novel which aims to inspire CAPCOM, makers of Street Fighter, to create a romantic storyline between the two characters. Begun on December 31, 2012, the project has contributions from 85 artists internationally, and the final result will be distributed free online on February 14. [1]
Excerpts
You came across the OTW after seeing a PBS Idea Channel video that mentioned us. What about the OTW’s mission spoke to you?
The OTW has an ambitious vision with an unmistakably professional tone held by passionate hard-working people who have put a significant amount of their time and money into the organization. The same is true for the Ryu X Chun-Li Project (RXCLP). Consequently we feel the OTW is worthy of our respect. Also, the cite from PBS Idea Channel, a reputable educational YouTube Channel that chooses its sources of information wisely, is further credit to your organization.
There are fans out there that would like their ideas based on an entertainment company’s intellectual property (IP) to be adopted by the entertainment company that owns the IP. These fans want their ideas to be truly transformative. But that is not going to happen until these fans start reaching for the company’s standards with their work (e.g. a high-quality prototype of their idea to show the company and gauge interest from the public). OTW understands this inconvenient truth and champions it.
You’re a Canadian who has been living in Japan for 16 years, and this project has received contributions from around the world. What’s your perspective on different countries’ fandom cultures?
My perspective is…limited. I’ve spent very little time in person with fandom cultures. All I know is what I learn from intelligent media and the fans who spend time with fan culture that I communicate with through social media. Don’t get me wrong. I WANT to spend time with these wonderful people, but my family and work schedules have always had to come first, and to be honest, up until the RXCLP, I felt I had nothing to bring to the fan table. I have no skill for cosplay. I can’t win a Street Fighter tournament of any note. I can’t draw. I have no means to produce a fanfilm. Until my drive to start the RXCLP came along, I felt I would be just one more face in the crowd. I’m tired of just being a consumer! When I finally enter fan culture in person, I want to do so with something to share with it.
I have a lot of enthusiastic e-mails from my volunteer artists and donators telling me how pleased they are to be a part of the RXCLP. I strongly believe these generous people would not have given me their work if they did not believe in the goals of the RXCLP and want to see the book it has produced exist.
Are there any questions you wish people would ask you?
Is there a question I wish people would ask me? Yeah. One. “Why did I start the Ryu X Chun-Li Project and produce Street Fighter: The Heart of Battle?” Because after almost 100 blog entries, I’m still not sure. To say I did it because I love Street Fighter and its characters is horrifically trite. Every so often as I worked, I felt a pang of guilt. Why didn’t I use all my money and time to feed the hungry? To save some animals from extinction? To spend more time with my family? But the truth is, this book meant so much to me that I would have regretted it on my death bed if it did not exist. I looked around and saw my life ticking away with no Ryu/Chun-Li story at the level of quality I wanted. So, I…panicked? (There has to have been some insanity involved) And, I produced this book. I guess it’s true what they say: you can’t help who (or what) you fall in love with.