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Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama isn't happy just being a war crime denier, is anti-LGBT too!
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I don't care about his opinion so much as his actions. He uses his money AND fame to contribute to negative propaganda and bad activism. By continuing to do business with him they are contributing to that knowingly. This isn't some secret thing or some personal conversation he has with friends on Facebook. He is politically active. He stands for something. How is this hard to understand?
What separates Sugiyama from those two in my mind is that he's still being hired and revered. Lasseter is being forced to step down by the end of the year, while Walt Disney is long gone. I can only really separate the art from the artist in good faith when I know the artist isn't benefiting from it.
If Square Enix decides to sever ties with Sugiyama I'll pick up Dragon Quest XI, but until then, nah.
Moreover, it's not just some random dude on the team. I have no fucking doubt that at other places in SE and everywhere else there are random artists and modelers and animators etc etc who are homophobic and making a salary, but they aren't like Sugiyama where he's at the top and directly profiting from the game. This is the same as the Kingdom Come Deliverance or The Last Night situations where the shitheels also happen to own (at least part of) the product.
"Separate the art from the artist" means that you should not judge the quality of an artist's work based on who the artist is. So yes, a lot of John Lasseter's works are phenomenal, just like Sugiyama's music is still great. I don't think these are even in contention.
It doesn't really mean "enjoy art for what it is." It's not an excuse to have a clear conscience whenever one enjoys the works of terrible people. Stop abusing the phrase and tell it as it is: "I care less about this issue than you."
And really, that's your prerogative. It just bugs me when people promote it as if it's some kind of ideal to strive for.
He's an outspoken and high-profile contributor to their game and his "opinions" are particularly abhorrent. He uses the money and power from his work to fuel his propaganda. Just because you separate the artist from the art, doesn't mean others can or should.
This is so frustrating to me. I want Dragon Quest to do well in the west, but since it directly puts money into this guy's pocket, I also don't want to reward Square Enix for keeping these ties. This dude's problematic nature has been public information for quite a long time now, and no effort is being made to address it. I won't look down on the folks who can distance themselves from these elements, but I don't want to fund this guy any more. Dragon Quest has been demoted to a bargain bin/second hand game to me, and I'll deliberately avoid playing it during its launch year to avoid signal boosting it.
To make matters worse too, is that Sugiyama has kind of been phoning it in for a decade and a half now too. His continued inclusion is amounting to little more other than clinging onto a legacy. Dragon Quest has had multiple artists filling in for him, and I think they could do a much better job. They wouldn't have a needlessly limiting influence on titles either. I want Square Enix to replace him while he's still alive and willing to work, as it would send a stronger statement, but I guess they're going to wait it out and let nature do their responsibility for them.
To make matters worse too, is that Sugiyama has kind of been phoning it in for a decade and a half now too. His continued inclusion is amounting to little more other than clinging onto a legacy. Dragon Quest has had multiple artists filling in for him, and I think they could do a much better job. They wouldn't have a needlessly limiting influence on titles either. I want Square Enix to replace him while he's still alive and willing to work, as it would send a stronger statement, but I guess they're going to wait it out and let nature do their responsibility for them.
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Fuck it, I'm going all in.
You run a company making toys for pre-schooler children. They are popular and sales are good. One of your lead artists has gotten very successful and is now using his fame and fortune to lobby for the decriminalization of child pornography. He goes on talk shows telling people how age is just a number. He puts out print ads pointing to bullock studies on how the age of maturity in children is getting lower. Your customers are very concerned about this. They ask you why you are still doing business with this man. You have an entire team working passionately on producing the new line of toys. None of them are pedophiles. Do you say "his opinions don't represent the company's opinion, please separate the artist from the art" or do you stop doing business with him? Tell me.
This guy is such a piece of human trash and I cannot wait for the day that he leaves Dragon Quest.
And to all of you people saying or even implying that homophobia is an "OPINION" I hope that someday you also live in fear of being put down by the majority of society just for existing.
And to all of you people saying or even implying that homophobia is an "OPINION" I hope that someday you also live in fear of being put down by the majority of society just for existing.
He's not being hired in this case, just like Horii and Toriyama aren't since they have the copyright in the franchise along Square Enix. Sugiyama has ownership on the franchise, much like Itoi has ownership on Mother. It's not something that they can withdraw from him even if they wanted to. Beyond the fact that Sugiyama's compositions are extremely iconic as well and without it, the franchise would get quite damage in public opinion which Sugiyama have a big one in the country for DQ and outside of it as a composer and musician.
So yes, it's not simple as it seems for many factors between copyright, ownership, public opinion and other things and SE won't do anything about it regardless of what people here tries to do, since they can't anyways.
Let's see. Wants to "separate the art from the artist" with a Homophobic, War Crime Denier who actively funds and promotes Hate, but is 100% on board with the firing of an outspoken woman.
Gee golly, that's not telling of anything.
I don't agree with him and I don't think his music is very good...but you shouldn't wish this upon someone no matter how bad they are
When being rude to a customer is worse than laughing about LGBT ppl killing themselves and using your wealth to deny your country war atrocities.
I don't see why he/she shouldn't. If someone told me they wished Hitler to die, then I'd completely understand, and even feel the same way.
That just makes me feel more justified in ignoring the series until he's gone. I was hoping XI would revitalize Dragon Quest in the west but now, eh. It's not like we're in a JRPG wasteland anymore, it's easy enough to forget about it.
Hahaha.
Seperate the art from the artist, as long as it isn't a woman.
Why do so many people show their ass when it comes to defending bigots.
To answer you Duckroll (I know it wasn't at me)? I'd be the first at the door of the company calling for the guys firing. Out of a cannon.
Oh I just love the high and mighty morality committee in this thread telling people they're wrong for being excited at the prospect of an 87 year old (which is fucking old) dying of old age so that there's one less hateful person in this world and that a good franchise is free from the selfish shackles placed upon it by said person.
If you feel like it, you definitely have the right to do it. I don't do it because I love the series and I can separate the man and the art but I'm in no way going to judge someone that don't want or can do it.
I just hope that you can be able to do that in the next one. Hopefully he's out until then.
This is against the rules and as you can see with all the posters replying "lmao" and crap you should realize why. I don't necessarily agree with everything this person is saying but you don't know if this person wouldn't feel the same way if the subject of this thread was also fired. Referring to the last line of the image quoted. The situations are not quite the same as one was fired and the other is not.
I'll definitely pick it up if I can get it used. Don't get me wrong I want Dragon Quest to do well eventually, but the idea that any of the money, or even credit, could go to someone like Sugiyama in the process makes me feel ill.
Yeah, fuck this piece of shit. When I learned about his person many years ago it actually was the first time I really had to think about the separate-art-from-artist thing since I had been listening a lot to the DQ orchestral albums at that time and, still naively, struggled with the discrepancy of how such an asshole can make such beautiful music. I personally settled on still possibly buying DQ games, but I would never pay for the OSTs and orchestral albums.
What is that saying exactly? Spell it out for me instead of these one word posts. (btw, I do understand what irony is but fuck all about having actual discussion on a forum)
This news is disappointing that's for sure and it's unfortunate. His views are disgusting but other people also worked hard on this game, I'm not telling people to support the game with open arms but if you were excited for the game originally, you shouldn't let one horrible and bigoted person ruin that excitement. Of course this is my opinion and I totally understand if people decide not to buy the game at all because of this news or decide to purchase the game used.
Yeah that's pretty much where I've settled on over the years. It makes me far less excited for new DQ stuff though. Games I wouldn't mind buying, especially if I actually want to play them then and there. Would not buy them by default anymore to put them on a backlog. And NEVER to buying any OST or concerts.
No need to wish death on him: being 87 years old with shitty ideas and the world going forward without he and his turdpinions is fine too. This guy probably knows he is retrograde as fuck, and he can't do shit about that. He's going to die and if he's lucky people will forget the shit and remember the music, but no one will look back and think "yeah he was cool".
By the way, looks like he won't also be celebrated on his way out here.
By the way, looks like he won't also be celebrated on his way out here.
People wishing the death on Sugiyama...
I mean, even if he dies, I think the number of his death (1) would be exaggerated. No one really died!
I mean, even if he dies, I think the number of his death (1) would be exaggerated. No one really died!
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How come it's agains It's the rules? Is it quoting from an outside forum?
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