Fire Emblem: Awakening, DLC, and canon

[commandercool]

One of my buddies borrowed my copy of Fire Emblem: Awakening months ago and he just finished it. He just spent an hour trying to "school me" on the canon because he insists that all of the Spot Pass DLC (most of which seems to consistent of characters who died in the story miraculously returning to life, becoming good if they were evil before, and joining your team) is supposed to be literally canon. To hear him talk about it, no character in the entire history of the franchise has ever died. I think this is fucking ridiculous and that the DLC is obviously fanservice fluff, but he won't hear it.

I tried searching around, but the only references I can seem to find regarding the Fire Emblem: Awakening canon have to do with pairings and I don't care about that. So does anyone know, is all DLC canon? And specifically does anyone have evidence I can point to that will shut this guy up to prove that it isn't?

[Monarda]

No, the Spot Pass DLC is DEFINITELY NOT canon, an example would be Hector From Fire Emblem 7 (Rekka no Ken), on the cronological sequel Fire Emblem 6 (Binding Blade), he dies at the start holding off Bern`s army.
There`s also Sigurd from Genealogy of the Holy War, he dies and MUST die in other for the second half of the game to be canon. I could go on and on but leaving a link would be better, here ya go.

http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Fire_Emblem_Awakening#New_Features

Just check the list and you`ll find many characters that needed to die to make stuff canon.
Well this is what i know. Hope it helps.

[commandercool]

I haven't played any of the Spot Pass DLC because I don't, you know, care, but apparently the game usually gives a bullshit one-sentence explanation of why each character is alive when they're supposed to be dead. "Everyone thought Hector died but he was actually totally faking it" or whatever.

So I guess his argument is that every game is now retconned to accomodate the fanservice fluff and retroactively no character has ever died. So unfortunately I don't think that would break through to him.

[Third Eye Lem]

So I guess his argument is that every game is now retconned to accomodate the fanservice fluff and retroactively no character has ever died. So unfortunately I don't think that would break through to him.

Give it time. With enough evidence, he'll probably crumble in a heap of deniability when he see he's wrong.

As for my take on Awakening...As far as I know, the game itself is canon; it is implied that Awakening takes place in the same timeline as Marth's adventures (FE1 and 3, for those who don't know). I also heard that the Tellius games (PoR and RD) are also in this timeline, but I need to confirm that for myself. The Spotpass DLC, to me at least, feels like an extension of the Netherealm Portal DLC in that the characters you actually fight (and fight alongside) aren't the actual heroes themselves, but just wandering phantoms. That's probably why they're all still "alive," even though certain characters like Fado and Hector are clearly dead in canon.

To me, all the DLC is canon in the same sense that the One Piece movies are canon...They happened, yes, but they don't really have much of an impact on the story, they're just a fun side adventure.

I dunno if my two cents will help at all, but that's my opinion for ya.