I don’t know if that would be a very flexible mnemonic though. It might work if there was a せい reading related to a company or maybe a song. The saber they’re going to be using in mnemonics refers specifically to a sword, so you’d have to make your own for those involving Sabre the company from an episode of The Office. But I still think Hard Gay is a lot more versatile and memorable.
I’m making the point that there is some individual creativity required. And while you can argue that weakens WaniKani’s usefulness the more it depends on individual creativity, I think most people modify at least a few of the mnemonics to their own brains/tastes. And if Hard Gay in particular has proven so controversial, what’s the harm in adding it to that category of “maybe used, maybe changed”?
I mean your ability to individually use hard gay as a mnemonic hasn’t been affected in the slightest. I’m still gonna use him. 
IMO it’s not that surprising at all that WK doesn’t want to have anything remotely politically or ethically controversial in the mnemonics. They designed this program to teach kanji to whomever pays for it and as they’re trying to spread their net as wide as possible. For inclusivity, it doesn’t make sense for them to obstinately stick to a character which, clearly, has bothered some users. They aren’t here to wave the flag of freedom of speech as though that’s the equivalent of freedom from criticism, they’re here to teach kanji and if people are turned away from their service over some mnemonics which can just be replaced, changing them is the only sensible business decision to make.
If you like hardgay as a mnemonic then use him as a mnemonic. Unlike the radicals which are a necessary foundation for building kanji, the mnemonics are just a story that catches in your head to help you remember. Make it whatever you want.
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Really? I wonder, I thought they were pretty passionate about wanikani and working on it constantly
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I think y’all are missing the point. Hard Gay wasn’t removed just because he’s offensive. He was removed because he’s a pop culture reference that many users won’t understand. Just like Charlie Sheen, etc.
That said, he is quite offensive and I’m glad to see him gone. Memorable mnemonics are all well and good, but there’s a line somewhere.
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Totally agree. I hate the use of pop culture figures because they really date your material. Charlie Sheen hasn’t been part of the public sphere for jokes for years now, and using him to represent a wacky person seems so lame and like trying to get down with the kids.
It always really annoyed me that the first mention of Hard Gay said that I should look him up if I didn’t know who he was. Users shouldn’t have to go and do extraneous research in the middle of learning kanji. If a user doesn’t know what a sabre is and they look it up, they’ve boosted their English vocabulary by one word. If you don’t know who Hard Gay and you look it up you’ve just wasted your time and potentially fallen down a YouTube rabbit hole during kanji practise.
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I believe search and find out who the hard gay was, was a really good way to burn something inside your memory. Really sorry he is gone forever 
I understood the need of making mnemonics more generic, but this in fact make things harder to remember.
To me it has been one of the good flavour of wanikani to have strange mnemonics associated to “colourful” characters, those mnemonics was what made wanikani special more than a simple SRS tool itself.
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Those thrusting hips don’t exist anymore…
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Honestly, I’m saddest about losing the Charlie Sheen references. I mean, I don’t blame them, he’s still alive and could sue them or something, but the Charlie Sheen mnemonics made me laugh so hard.
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To this day I haven’t yet forgotten the mnemonic for 子, where he appears out of nowhere and kidnaps an innocent child 
Yup, sounds like something he would do
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It also kind of cacks up the idea of “make sure you focus really hard on Hard Gay, こういち, Mrs Chou, etc etc because they’re going to keep coming back throughout the whole course because that’s a great way to remember”.
Trying to keep mnemonics straight in my head is hard enough without them changing around me. Hopefully Mrs Chou remains innocuous enough to remain…
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Since Mrs Chou doesn’t actually exist, I think she’s safe, unless her mnemonics were deemed too violent or something.
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I already use “seizure” (which I know doesn’t sound like せい, but it helps me remember nonetheless.)
Hard Gay isn’t truly gone, friends. I’ve heard that if you look up toward Cassiopeia on a clear night you can still see him pelvic thrusting his way across the the cosmos.
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Aside from not disclosing his HIV status to his sexual partners and being in a financial downward spiral, he has a WaniKani problem…who knows, Tofugu may have gotten a letter from his lawyer that no one will be 勝っている! if a paid site is using him as reference (though it was such a great reference).
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As long as the cat Maru is still there right
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Press F to pay respects
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Terrible change. Next thing you know, they will take away Nicholas Cage as a synonym for 国宝 National Treasure.
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Now, if they do that I’ll cancel my subscription immediately.
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