Can an anime or manga be separated from its artist?
I've heard rumors around that a certain anime that I happened to get into some time ago is based on a manga written by a nationalist. First of all, how do I confirm that this is/isn't true? Second, do I even want to know?
Let me address the first question first. What reliable sources are there for addressing rumors like this? I mean, it's anime were talking about, so I can't exactly look it up on a trusted news site. And since the person in question is a Japanese manga artist, it probably it might be a non-issue on a site targeting those who speak English. There might be articles about this on a Japanese site, but the problem is that I can't understand Japanese. I could either use a translating app/site and get gibberish, or be at the mercy of a fan translator who may or may not be biased.
My second point is that I might uncover scary stuff written by scary people online. The thing about the Internet is that there's a lot of anonymity so people can be as racist/prejudiced as they want. I know there are people out there who want me dead for merely existing, and I don't want to run into any of them on land or online. By the very nature of the question I'm trying to answer, I might come across a site that would make me fear for my life. Call me paranoid, but I don't know what hackers, much less racist ones, are capable of. Let's just say I've heard horror stores.
Finally, if I did find out the truth about its creator, what would that mean for me? I enjoyed this particular anime in the past. If my suspicions are confirmed, and the creator is a nationalist, I probably wouldn't be able to truly enjoy the anime again. I'd probably feel very unclean when I'd think about it and how I used to like it. Heck, I feel sick about it now.
Maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing. At least, that's what I hope. Still, I have a bad feeling about this.
