EDIT: The accusations on Nairo were false.
I had a Min Min impressions post I wanted to do but I didn't feel it would be right to go forward with anymore Smash related content without addressing the recent developments regarding the Super Smash Bros. community.
As I continue to keep up with videos on YouTube on COVID-19 and the civil unrest sweeping the country, I've been watching less videos about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sure, I still check out stuff from Alpharad and Little Z but even then, days can go by before I get to the latest upload. It occurred to me that videos from Nairo and ZeRo hadn't appeared in my sub or recommended sections for more than a week. When I finally decided to watch a video about the latest going ons in the Smash community, it became all to clear why.
If you are not aware, allegations of sexual misconduct with minors have been labeled against some pretty big names in the Smash community, including Nairo and ZeRo among others. I won't dive in any further on the allegations. If you want to know the full details, you can look things up on your own, but Nairo and ZeRo have confirmed that the allegations labeled against them are true. Of course it isn't all dudes that have been accused of some pretty bad deeds. Cinnpie, a pretty well know female member of the Smash community has kept silent about the allegations against her. Naturally all this has cast a dark shadow over the Smash scene.
A lesson we are forced to learn all too often is that we should not place people on pedestals. Even before this wave of Smash news hit, I was reminded of this awful truth: our heroes, people we hold in the utmost of highest regards, are not flawless individuals. Everyone has secrets that they would rather keep hidden from the rest of the world. In this case, the secrets were pretty damaging. Nairo and ZeRo weren't my heroes. I don't even really pay a great deal of attention to the competitive Smash scene. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed seeing Smash Ultimate videos from these guys. Cinnpie I can't say much about but her silence on the matter does make me question if the claims against her are true. As of this writing, she still hasn't said a word. This whole situation reminds me that last year, I learned that some pretty prolific voice actors in the anime community were not the good people I thought they were just because of their talents.
In 2019, Vic Mignongna had his life ruined by Mars Girl (Channel Awesome) and several members from Funimation which included Monica Rial, Christopher Sabat, Jammie Marchi among others. They spewed lie after lie and got him fired from Funimation. The reason for their attacks on Vic? They didn't like him. These people (minus Mars Girl) are pretty big names in the English dubbing anime scene. While they went on a rampage attacking Vic via Twitter numerous times, they revealed to the world that despite their outstanding voice work, they turned out to be some pretty awful people. Vic lost work because of them but he's managed to stay positive in spite of what has to be the lowest point in his life. All they could do was pull stories out of their butts and provide no actual evidence, which made them look so much worse. At the very least, Nairo and ZeRo owned up to their dark pasts. Rial and Marchi continue to spout lie after lie and Vic continues to show that he is ten times the human being they will ever hope to be. Vic is currently engaged in a lawsuit against his former colleagues and he's maintained tremendous fan support in addition to getting more work.
Finding out that some of my favorite voice actors were some pretty horrible sacks of flesh was a tough pill for myself and others to swallow. Knowing this was enough for some people to stop watching dubbed anime entirely. I have my own reasons for watching my anime dubbed and if someone wants to watch subbed anime that's fine but I highly doubt the Japanese voice actors are all saints. So what happens when news surfaces that some Japanese voice actors did some pretty terrible things? Stop watching subbed anime as well? Swear off anime all together?
My point? Don't let this ruin Super Smash Bros. for you. I have loved Smash since 1999 and there is no way I am going to stop playing it because high profile people in the community have some pretty reprehensible behavior. Likewise, you also shouldn't let it keep you from enjoying one of gaming's greatest crossover titles. Now if you need to take a break then by all means, take all the time you need. For those that knew Nairo and ZeRo personally, I can only imagine the hurt you feel and it has to be a thousand times worse for the victims.
I can still watch dubbed anime even though Sabat, Rial and Marchi are not the most upstanding people. I hate what they've done to Vic but I can still commend the great voice work they've done. It was and in some ways still tough to separate the art from the artist but if I dropped the things I love every time those that had a hand in it turned out to be awful people or did something horrid, I would never enjoy anything.
Nairo, Zero and other well know pro players were a big part of the Smash scene. That being said, Smash is more than big name participants. Heck, there is more to the community than just the competitive scene. Smash is bigger than big and there is no way this is gonna destroy it.
This is not the end. It is a new beginning. So select "continue" and let's get moving.
