Some controversy erupted on the Yami no Matsuei ML a while ago when it was pointed out that Matsushita-sensei was rude to her fans in some of her freetalks. Some thought this was un-cool behavior and that she should treasure every one of her fans, while others argued that she has a right to be picky.
So I have taken the liberty to translate her freetalks from volume 6 of Yami no Matsuei (the "rude" freetalks in question). These are translated by Me from the original Japanese manga (those of you with different language versions might wish to compare…) This is where she explains how she wants her fans to write fan letters.
I also thought this information might be useful to anyone who wants to write her a fan letter (or hate mail; take your pick after reading these freetalks ^_-) I feel pretty neutral about the whole thing (heck, if I were in her shoes, I’m sure I’d say the same things; rude or not. ^^;;)
So here we go…. (I smashed all the freetalks up together in one big block.)
"How to write a proper fan letter"
First, I would like to get this out of the way: The use of pencil is absolutely prohibited!!! I already mentioned this back in volume 3, but there are still people out there who write me letters in pencil. One of my readers informed me that in letter-etiquette, using pencil is considered a very rude act. So no matter how young you are, I hope that you at least follow this rule. Because it really is hard to read if it’s in pencil.
And now onto the back of the envelope. Please be sure to write your return address and name on it. [*Japanese write their return addresses on the backs of the envelopes; not in the upper left hand corner -TnM]. If you write your name and return address on the actual envelope, there will be no need to write it on the actual letter.
Since these two are the very basics of letter-etiquette, I would really appreciate it if everyone followed these rules.
"The contents of the letter"
I have received some very terrible letters in my time. Naturally, letters I receive from people over twenty are proper from the beginning to the end and leave me with a good feeling as I read it. However…
I would like all you students to pay close attention to the following:
1. Be sure to write exactly who your letter is addressing. (Sometimes I get meaningless letters)
2. Be sure to use your best manners as you write. (Try to stay away from lines like "Gimme a reply!" or "Give Hisoka more screen time!") But let me remind you that you are not writing to a friend, so I would at least expect a "Hello" or "How are you" as a greeting. Keeping everything on a polite level makes the letter more pleasant.
3. Be sure to write clearly and legibly. (Don’t worry if you don’t have excellent penmanship; just try your best).
I would be very pleased if you all followed these rules.
"How to chose the proper stationery"
In case you are interested in which kind of stationery I prefer…
"Simple is best"!
I simply adore plain stationery (like that off-white textured stuff). I also like simple stationery with maybe a picture on the side of an animal or flower or the like. I also like a simple, standard envelope. As long as it’s nothing too gaudy, I’ll leave it up to your sense of aesthetics.
However, there are some things I wish you to refrain from using.
- Stationery from magazine "furoku" [*Like Hana to Yume magazine and other Japanese magazines which have free goodies in them every issue. Sometimes they give away stationery (I have some Imadoki stationery ^_-) -TnM]
- Stationery with manga characters on it
- Stationery with rock/pop stars on it
- Lined note paper or spiral notebook paper torn from the spine, etc.
By no means should you use any of the above.
Especially "furoku"!!!
The paper they use for "furoku" is very bad quality and by the time your letters reach me, they are torn and dirty and crumbled. That doesn’t exactly make me happy to open your letter…
"Things included with the letter"
Sometimes, people like to send me jewelry with their letters. However, I don’t wear any jewelry, ever. If you absolutely feel the need to send me jewelry, just be sure to wrap it either in bubble-wrap or seal it tightly in paper. Failure to do so often results in the contents of your letter falling out of the envelope before it even reaches me, so be careful.
I have a few more miscellaneous points I wish you to consider.
If you use stationery with designs on it, please be sure to be consistent and use the same kind without the letter. With different sized papers and designs, it’s hard for me to read.
Also, several people like to write to me using a pen-name, but that’s rather meaningless, so please stop it. I don’t think it makes any difference whether or not I know your real name.
And as far as pens go, I prefer black or blue ink. Please refrain from using magic markers or other fancy pens.
*Also be sure to fold your letter simply [*Since Japanese envelopes are long and skinny, they usually fold in 4’s or 3’s. In the case of a normal envelope, that would translate to 3’s or 6’s -TnM]. Folding your letter in those cutesy, complicated ways makes it difficult for me to open it.
That is all! Class dismissed!!
Hi, Tetris no Miko speaking again ^-^. So those are her points. While some of you may find them offensive, many of them are useful and can apply when writing fan mail to just about anyone. Some other points I remember her mentioning in a freetalk of volume 3 were "Don’t talk about other Manga-ka in your letter" (if you want to talk about the other Manga-ka and their manga, why not write a letter to them instead?!), and that if she didn’t like the looks of your letter, she wouldn’t even open it (like if you didn’t write your return address on it or if it’s falling apart, etc.) She basically sounds like some very specific teachers I had in High School who had this special format you had to follow… Always bugged the hell outta me… >.< But you can take it however you want. This translation was not to glorify or badmouth Matsushita-sensei in any way. I was simply trying to clarify the controversy… or maybe I only complicated it more… ^^;; Ach, well, back to my cooking ^_-…
