armadillo | Regarding the Recent Hikaru no Go Debacle:

I won't lie, I'm quite bothered by this discussion. I'm a total nobody in the Hikaru no Go fandom, I've never been particularly active in it and I probably won't become active anytime soon, but I'm very fond of it. I love the series deeply and I respect many people in this fandom; I've always liked it for its general maturity. And I don't want it to get wanky. Perhaps it's inevitable, but still, I'm just honestly upset, even though I'm not truly close to anyone involved in this conflict (I mean, I have actual friends in the Hikaru no Go fandom, but they aren't in the very center of this kerfuffle, so to say). No, I don't think that the concept of plagiarism is overrated. At the same time, I do believe that this term is to be used cautiously, especially in literature, where plots are constantly recycled. Even the idea of Death Note is not 100% new - there's a short 70s manga by the great Shigeru Mizuki that is also focused on a mysterious killing notebook, but most people in Japan, including Mizuki himself, don't seem to view that as a possible legal issue (at least I've never seen or heard any negative comments from Mizuki, and he's influential enough in the manga department, more so than Ohba). I understand that it's a completely different situation, but... anyway, I think that the atmosphere is too heated and painful for everyone. Naturally, I can't just show up with a PLAY NICE! flag and stop the wank; even so, it's sad to look at. And I guess I'm being subjective here because the accused person is a friend's friend, and I hate it when the ones I care for are hurt, whether it's fair or not. Um. Perhaps I simply need to read all posts related to this situation.