I'm just gonna play Devil's advocate for a moment.
I can see the point. Kind of.
See, it depends on what you consider the essence of a series to be.
If you look at a given series in terms of themes and character interactions...then it might be possible to write about the characters in an AU 'real world' setting - while remaining 'true' to the source.
Take Naruto, for example. The series has overarching themes about alienation, discrimination, teamwork, and so on. We've got Naruto, a kid who's incredibly optimistic despite (or perhaps because of) his circumstances, who will fight for his friends. There's Rock Lee, who tells us that you can do anything with hard work and perseverance. Then there's Sasuke, who could be seen as a tragic hero in the classical or literary definition.
Now, I think someone could write a pretty good story about those themes, about those characters, about the friendships and rivalries...without them having to be ninja. Heck, I remember reading somewhere that Kishimoto's original concept for the series was a more contemporary urban setting (with a supernatural bent). The whole ninja idea came later.
Call it fanfic in abstract. The personalities, the relationships, and the overall message...you can convey that, you can explore those concepts, with a different framework.
And it remains fanfiction, rather than an original story, because you're still drawing on the source.
Mind you, I've yet to see a well-done AU 'real world' Naruto fic. There's a massive glut of the things, mostly by fangirls. And everything I've seen is utter drek. Because I'm sure most people who write these things aren't thinking in terms of the...meta-textual analysis I've outlined above.
But I think it's possible. I've seen some decent Rurouni Kenshin fics of the type.
-- Acyl
I can see the point. Kind of.
See, it depends on what you consider the essence of a series to be.
If you look at a given series in terms of themes and character interactions...then it might be possible to write about the characters in an AU 'real world' setting - while remaining 'true' to the source.
Take Naruto, for example. The series has overarching themes about alienation, discrimination, teamwork, and so on. We've got Naruto, a kid who's incredibly optimistic despite (or perhaps because of) his circumstances, who will fight for his friends. There's Rock Lee, who tells us that you can do anything with hard work and perseverance. Then there's Sasuke, who could be seen as a tragic hero in the classical or literary definition.
Now, I think someone could write a pretty good story about those themes, about those characters, about the friendships and rivalries...without them having to be ninja. Heck, I remember reading somewhere that Kishimoto's original concept for the series was a more contemporary urban setting (with a supernatural bent). The whole ninja idea came later.
Call it fanfic in abstract. The personalities, the relationships, and the overall message...you can convey that, you can explore those concepts, with a different framework.
And it remains fanfiction, rather than an original story, because you're still drawing on the source.
Mind you, I've yet to see a well-done AU 'real world' Naruto fic. There's a massive glut of the things, mostly by fangirls. And everything I've seen is utter drek. Because I'm sure most people who write these things aren't thinking in terms of the...meta-textual analysis I've outlined above.
But I think it's possible. I've seen some decent Rurouni Kenshin fics of the type.
-- Acyl