79 replies to this topic

[burnt glitter]

Tired of purchasing merchandise online at a push? Do you want to get more access to fanclub goodies? This is for you.

Hello!Project WORLDWIDE Fanclub Petition

Official petition to be printed:

To UFA:

We, the fans of Morning Musume (and other Hello! Project acts) would like to ask for the establishment of an official fanclub throughout the world. Many of us would love to join the official fanclub in Japan, unfortunately we do not have Japanese addresses to do so.

While we have access to purchase CDs and DVDs made available to the general public of Japan, we have a very hard time purchasing other merchandise either available online, in stores, at events or through fanclub orders. A number of us purchase items we find available through resellers or friends with foreign addresses but a good deal of us do not have access to these methods either.

A multi-national fanclub would give many of us the ability to purchase fanclub only DVDs, photo cards, t-shirts and other merchandise we would love to own. We also want to support our favorite members directly so they know how many fans they have around the world!

Please consider opening a new fanclub for fans outside of Japan, or opening the Japanese fanclub to foreign fans. We understand there would be extra costs to ship goods abroad and are more than willing to pay the shipping fees associated with this.

The undersigned.
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This has been edited from being just a U.S fanclub to being a World-wide fanclub.

If you are attending AnimeExpo, you can also sign up there if you choose not to mail in your information/a letter. Those not attending can mail/e-mail information.

Things to send:
-Letter expressing support for a fanclub.
-Pictures of your collection (to show what you have bought from them so they know we spend money), if you bought tracks from JapanFiles or iTunes write a list of what you bought since you can’t really take a picture of them.
-A signature card for the petition.

Letters must not be over one page in length (including both text and pictures). Please include lots of pictures of your collection to show how much we've gone out of our way to purchase merchandise! We want to make this a profitable endeavor for UFA.

Not everyone has to send a letter, but everyone who wishes to sign the petition must sign a signature card. We would like to have as much leverage as possible, so please spend the time to write out a letter/e-mail a document.

Signature card:
 wwpetition.jpg   47.76K   64 downloads

DO NOT POST IT HERE. You must use your real name, not your username.
Optional but helpful: Please put your country name underneath your signature.

Please either print this out and mail it or sign it on the computer (MS Paint the signature, type the full name).

Information can be mailed to puffypancake's work address:

Hammergirl Anime
c/o Gabrielle Varry
376 Jefferson Road
Rochester NY 14623

Or e-mailed to her account:

[email protected]

No information will be shared with anyone other than an official UFA or Anime Expo person who would pass the information along if UFA couldn’t take it directly. We are trusting that you will not abuse the contact information provided. If it comes to be a problem, we will remove it.

This is under the World Events section because the petition will be handed over at Anime Expo, but even if you are not attending please sign. Every name counts

If you have any suggestions please post them here.

We strongly encourage that people advertise the existence of the petition on other sites, in your signature, whatever is necessary. We want this to have an impact with as much support as humanly possible!!

This was all mainly organized and assembled by puffypancake. Thanks to her for setting this all up

[Himalia™]

You don't like it being exclusive to Japan and as a Fanclub member i agree it would be better if it was available for all. However this one is exclusive to the US. How about the rest of the world or is nobody else good enough other than the US for it ?

Surely a worldwide fan club would be better, hmm therefore i give no support to this whatsoever.

[ichigostrawberries]

^
I agree. Worldwide fan club would be awesome. It'd also give them more reason to go on a world tour, huh?

[Himalia™]

Totally, now that i would support. If its just for one area i would no support it even if it was just Europe or United Kingdom it would seem unfair on the "rest of the world".

[.gina]

I agree with you two, I'd much rather show my support for a worldwide fan club as opposed to just one region, even if it was the whole of Europe. It wouldn't be fair to petition for just a US fan club since there'd still be so many other fans missing out.

[chr0nik©]

Why would it be just for the US? Are all the foreign fans located there? Nope, they're not so I don't see why there should be one for the US. I'd rather be a member of the Japanese one or the ones with the Mexican wotas than an American one.

I would definetelly support a worldwide one but it's not like UFA would listen to a bunch of foreign fans anyway.

[Himalia™]

It is very unlikely anything would happen even with major support for it. However there is no harm in trying

[burnt glitter]

^Exactly, there's no harm in trying. But I don't see how it would be unlikely "even if there's major support"...

...I never even remotely suggested that no one else is good enough but the U.S for it, why would you even suggest such a thing? Bitter, much? I'm not really intending for people outside of America to be all for this, unless you'd like to obtain items a little easier, so the fact that you aren't supporting it and are expressing it openly is a little redundant and frankly kind of rude.

I thought a worldwide fanclub would be a little more out of reach than just a U.S one. The request is already a stretch, why make it even more of one by including the rest of the world? It would create much more trouble for UFA than it's worth, IMO. Plus it's somewhat unrelated to MM's appearance in Anime Expo, as they ARE in America, even though there are people from other countries traveling to the U.S to see them, their appearance in America is, in and of itself, catering to American fans. That's my standpoint on it. Most of the people who say they want a worldwide fanclub are in England... why not suggest a fanclub for England, then? Or for Europe? I'm not trying to exclude anyone, I'm just trying to keep a little bit of reality in this petition so they might actually go for it. Even if it would be "unfair to the rest of the world", business is not about fairness, it's about what's profitable.

[markRAWR]

I am probably the only one who thinks this, but i like the fact that the items seem so elusive, its what makes them more desirable. It makes the items you buy seem so much more "rare". I know ordering them from Japan can sometimes be quite costly, but it for me is worth the money.

Whether a fan club were ever to be made would be nice but getting items that were once so "hard" to get ahold of will lose it's novelty. I like travelling to Japan for items and ordering them from there, because the waiting just makes you want the item so much more than if you were to just walk down the road and buy it from a shop.

Edit: This seemed so much better in my head Damn you stupid brain to computer abilities.

[burnt glitter]

^I actually agree to some extent, some items would lose their rarity, but I for one don't like paying more just because I don't have a Japanese address/don't live in Japan, I like MM just as much as a Japanese fan does.

[chr0nik©]

@burnt glitter

No one is saying there should be an England only FC just because some of us are from England.

You seem to say that just because they're playing one concert in America people then should travel to America to see them or join an American FC? Well, MM/H!P are Japanese and their main market and fan support is in Japan so if you want to see them, they you or any other foreign fan should go to Japan and see them.

[burnt glitter]

@chr0nik, no, I don't mean people SHOULD travel, I'm just saying that people are. Since they're expressing interest in America by performing here, it wouldn't be ridiculous for them to establish an easier way for us to obtain goods.

[chr0nik©]

@chr0nik, no, I don't mean people SHOULD travel, I'm just saying that people are. Since they're expressing interest in America by performing here, it wouldn't be ridiculous for them to establish an easier way for us to obtain goods.

But why does it have to be centered in the US? Since it's pretty hard to get a Japanese membership without a Japanese address then why not have a worldwide one? Remember, Buono are going to Stockholm.

The US is not the centre of the world.

[°Chrisron]

@Erika2113: As a collector in many different areas I think it's fun to own rare stuff, but at the same time I have always thought that it's a shame that brand new products sell out before everybody that wants one have got one.

I don't see why it should be a US fanclub instead of an international one either btw.

[Himalia™]

^ I agree. It can be fun and it is nice owning very rare or even exclusive to the point of being unique items which ok can be an exception to the rule.

However i feel more strongly that everyone should be able to benefit from the FC item. Think about it why make some concert dvd FC and the rest normal release just seems silly and its the resellers who fundamentally are the big winners in this, certainly not the fans or the Hello Project.

^Exactly, there's no harm in trying. But I don't see how it would be unlikely "even if there's major support"...

So you actually think this will happen then and is likely ?

...I never even remotely suggested that no one else is good enough but the U.S for it, why would you even suggest such a thing? Bitter, much?

Erm no. Bitter about what ?

I'm not really intending for people outside of America to be all for this, unless you'd like to obtain items a little easier, so the fact that you aren't supporting it and are expressing it openly is a little redundant and frankly kind of rude.

I can't see how this would make it any easier it would just means items being shipped from Japan to the US then to another country plus handling fees etc it would make no difference since that can be done in a roundabout way anyway.

More importantly i was not intending to be rude so i hope you can accept an apology if i caused offence.

Even if it would be "unfair to the rest of the world", business is not about fairness, it's about what's profitable.

Shipping to one or many countries takes no more effort that would simply be more profitable.

I for one don't like paying more just because I don't have a Japanese address/don't live in Japan, I like MM just as much as a Japanese fan does.

This is why i would like a world wide one so everyone benefits. Although i am a member of he FC and its nice to get many of these items, if it was for me alone to choose i would ditch the FC and allow everyone to order these items all over the world. Ok so i wont have access when many don't , so what it would simply be better for all fans and that is what i personally would prefer.

[Tony Oguri]

It's cooler that H!P is Japan only. Well... it's not any more. H!P is cool because it's Japanese and Japanese influenced. Probably not too many of us want to see MM, C-ute, or BK with a Western (read Britney Spears, Michael Jackson) influence.

The good thing is... Milky Way will never become Westernized.

Long live Princess Koharu!

[Himalia™]

The good thing is... Milky Way will never become Westernized.

Hmm we can always hope and what you make there is a very good point. If HP becomes very easily accessible outside of Japan it would become more westernised and that would not be a good thing since it would loose alot of its charm , many factors that we hold dear about it would change. That makes me think that perhaps it is best left the way it is. Then the other side says everyone should be able to have it.

Long live Princess Koharu!

Yay for Koharu

[chr0nik©]

@eye2...

That's my point, there are so many people who wants to see them westernized and it's silly because it would suck. Also, an American only FC to solve the issue of having Japanese address and postage? that would suck too.

If you like them like the Japanese do, go to Japan and see them. A number of people here have done and it's one of the best experiences ever.

[markRAWR]

@Chrisron: True, that would be the upside to having an international fanclub. I do hate missing out on some items (like Small t-shirts ).

[burnt glitter]

@chr0nik, I never asserted that the U.S was the center of the world, either... I do like them like the Japanese do, but it's different if you live somewhere far away. Just because I'm not willing to pay ridiculous flight costs doesn't mean I'm not as much of a fan. The Japanese fans don't have to pay that, so just because I'm not willing that means I'm not enough of a fan?

@Himalia™, well, if we had MAJOR SUPPORT I wouldn't throw all possibilities out the window.

I'll talk to puffypancake about it and see what she thinks about a worldwide fanclub. I'm becoming more and more convinced that a worldwide one would actually be a better idea. The words "major support" have been bouncing around in my head and I think with a proposition of a worldwide fanclub instead of just a U.S one, and participation from other sites, this could actually be pretty spectacular. There are people in other countries that can't go to Anime Expo and this wouldn't really benefit them at all, and we've been trying to think of a way to include everyone... I think we can make this their opportunity to show that they exist and shouldn't be forgotten about.