Hey guys, Samurai here once again with Part 2 of my multi-part series looking back at the scandal that rocked the anime community one year ago. If you haven’t read my first post where
I interviewed the awesome Kaylyn Saucedo, please go back and check it out before going onwards because it’s a really great read, if I do say so myself, and she was such a sport to let me interview her!
Now, this next interview I did was with a good friend of mine on Twitter,
DigiRamna. I’ve known Digi for a couple years now through our love of anime and heckling bad movies, and I suppose through this scandal, I got to know him a good bit more. He’s a PRODIGIOUS guy and has had more than his fair share of harassment from the more extreme corner of the Vic Mignogna fandom. But he takes it all in his stride and punches back with an intelect that some on the other side only dream of. I sat down with him and chewed the proverbial fat to see what exactly went down, and where exactly do we go from here.
Cajun Samurai: You’ve been following along with this whole case from the beginning. It’s been a long effing year, suffice it to say. How much of an impact do you think this has had on the anime community?
DigiRanma: On the one hand, I think it’s divisive, but on the other not the way most people think. Most of the Vickers, who I call the fanboys that keep saying that’s a dragon on their heads, are acting out because they ether already thought the way he does, think it’s an attack on them, or they’re going after a “Good Christian Man” for his job/faith. Those who are actual anime fans, or even his sane fanbase, understand reality and ether accept what’s happened or are waiting without going off the rails.
Samurai: Ah, I see where you’re coming from. Now you know you and I have both been put on blast by the “ISWV” [“I Stand With Vic”] group, and in fact, we’ve both been mentioned a couple times on Kiwi Farms…and you’ll be surprised to know, not too flatteringly. What’s the worst interaction you’ve had with one of Mignogna’s die-hard defenders?
[
Editors Note – For any of the Kiwi Farm members who happen upon my blog post. Yes, I did write Digimon Fanfiction back in the day. It was fun and I took great enjoyment in it. I hope you liked it too!]
DigiRanma: Oh Lord…can I have a minute? I’ve had everything from “Hair grabbing is not assault” to all the messes I’ve had with Zero, including defending the industry as a whole from him, AND moments where, not even kidding, Vickers said “Wait, Vic has to prove it? Whose dumb idea was that?” The most HILARIOUS is whenever a Vicker said the entire state/legal system of Texas was out to get this ONE GUY.
[
Editor’s Note – Just as a reminder, the lawsuit in question was filed by Mignogna. In the US Legal system, the burden of proof is on the Plaintiff. Mignogna needed to prove his case against the defendants.]
Samurai: During this whole case, a lot of very salacious details came out about another Funimation V/A, namely Todd Habberkorn. While his accusations weren’t AS egregious as Mignogna’s, they still prompted a short-lived hash tag along the lines of “Truth for Todd”. Of course, Funimation hasn’t cut bait with him and he’s still getting work in dubs. Do you think he got off Scott free (no pun intended)?
DigiRanma: Honestly, I think I can still stomach Habberkorn, unless I’m wrong about this, because he saw he was becoming a problem, stepped back, and got help. Vic saw/sees no problems in his actions, but Todd stepped back. Now, don’t get me wrong, a monster’s a monster, but I believe if you get AND take help, along with a few actions, people can change. There’s a reason paroles happen, you know.
Samurai: Agreed. Todd did step back, cleared the record on his end as best he could, and kept his head in his work. Speaking of people changing, as you’ve seen, Mignogna’s fans are just hell bent on defending him, even though he lost every one of the claims in his suit. What do you think it would take to finally get these obsessive fans like Zero Resurrected to break away? Or do you think they’re a lost cause? https://archive.li/o/LSCG7/https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/
DigiRanma: Honestly, I think for fans like that, and this is true for my friends (the SANE Vic fans), a legal trial saying he did it. It’s one thing with a lawsuit, it’s another with detectives and cops finding things. And in the case of Zero and other Vickers (who I call the insane fans), that’s being hopeful. My fear is they’ll SOMEHOW TRIPLE down and say the state is out to get this ONE guy, even planting evidence. One, for example, yesterday said the judge, not kidding, was on the take. Again, for this ONE guy.
Samurai: Yes, there does seem to be an “Us Against the World” feel among the more extreme sect of fans. Now, shifting a little to the founder of Mignogna’s Go Fund Me, Nick Rekieta. For someone that Mignogna claims he only knew a short amount of time, he certainly has taken on a large number of roles including funding manager, hype man, and unofficial Co-council. How much of do you credit him for the growing discord in the anime community right now?
DigiRanma: Let’s just say if Vic’s the gas, he’s the match. People like Rek—no, I’m not gonna show him any respect…people like “Wreckita” go towards cases like this because all he sees are suckers that never stop. He took this on like how The Producers were trying to find a play; he fails, he still gets rich. Even richer. But it’s not enough that he lost the case, no, no, he’s gotta make sure the Vickers are good and pissed off so he can get even MORE money, be it from Mr. Botox and said Mr. Botox thinks “Wow, they love me!” or using that anger to fuel his Grift Fund Me. Gotta get that 3rd car somehow. And for the record? The GFM kinda tells me how far mommy & daddy law school money gets ya as far as a career goes. Sorry for being a bit mouthy/jerk, but Vic is just an idiot monster, Wreckita is a GASLIGHTING idiot monster.
[
Editor’s Note – At the time I finish writing this, the current amount in the Go Fund Me is now $273,172 with 5.8K donors.]
Samurai: Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly fine. This whole case has frustrated me as well. Sticking with the fan support, I do have to ask, do you believe that the fans would be so quick to rush and defend Mignogna if he were a minority? If he were a brown Skinned Muslim instead of a blonde haired blue eyed Christian White guy? Do you think Nick Rekieta would be so quick to defend Vince from the Southside or Muhammad from the Bronx? Would the fans shell out over a quarter million for Montel Johnson in Louisiana?
DigiRanma: Honestly? I think for every Vicker that is “COME, WE MUST DEFEND OUR JESUS,” there’s a Vicker that’s going “*BLEEP* ONE OF OUR OWN WHITE BOYS NEEDS US!” I believe there’s more good people than bad, but I also know people and, sadly, you’re gonna get a few that are helping Botox Jesus ’cause of his skin, or his gender, over being an actual person. As for if Vic was another race all together? Eh, I think an asshole’s an asshole and, yeah, most of the nut jobs that are coming to his aid will still do. Anybody who jumps on a “HE DID IT” because of racial profiling was already a moron/asshole/idiot anyway. And as for Nick? I think he’s quicker to defend the guy that’ll get him a house payment. Oh, and anybody who jumps on “HE DIDN’T DO IT” for his skin is an idiot/moron/jerk, too. Hope I made that clear.
Samurai: Crystal. Now I know that a lot of people, including some of our own mutual friends, have often said that we should try to practice some kind of separation between the actor and what he did. While personally I do have a problem with that, I was wondering if you had issues separating the actor and the work he did from the many accusations levied against him.
DigiRanma: It usually depends on how much of an impact the work’s had on my life. A good…ish example of this is I can still watch
Ruroni Kenshin despite it coming out that his creator is a pedo scum bag because
Kenshin was one of those animes that shaped me as an anime fan. At the same time, as much as I can’t stand Vic, I can also re-watch both
Fullmetal Alchemist series because, again, they shaped my taste in anime being a fan. BUT that said? No way was I gonna get Vic’s newer stuff, get the new
Kenshin stuff, etc. I’m glad they got JYB [
Johnny Bosch] to voice Broly for one of the games, I’m hoping they can redub him into the
Super movie. To top it all off, I can’t 100% dismiss ALL anime Vic’s in. He was two of the characters during the Black Tournament in
Yu Yu Hakusho, so I’m not gonna just stop watching an anime I love for one scum bag.
Samurai: I understand where you’re coming from. If you could somehow speak to every single one of the “ISWV” people uninterrupted and face-to-face, what would you say to them?
DigiRanma: He’s not Jesus, if you’re going to use his faith, I can argue why it’s fake, I find it interesting you think hair grabbing isn’t assault yet are afraid to do it (I wonder why…), and since I think some of you live at home, I wonder if your family follows your twitter feed.
Samurai: And lastly, if you had five minutes alone to say whatever you wanted to to Michelle Specht, Mignogna’s ex fiancé, what would you say?
DigiRanma: I’d just simply say that I was sorry what happened and wish she found out sooner and didn’t deserve all the trouble and emotional horror during the entire time. Oh, and ask if there’s a certain Botox Peter Pan she wants me to roshambo [
Rock, Paper Scissors].
And that’s it for my interview with DigiRanma. I want to thank him so much for sitting down and taking the time out to talk with me and help me put this whole last year into perspective. He’s really a great guy, and you should totally follow him on Twitter. However, I’m not quite done with him yet!
In another part of this series that will post tomorrow, I ask Digi to interview ME. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but hey, these are crazy times. Stick around for that one, okay? I promise It will be worth the wait and I’ll explain later.
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