Thread: The Fansubbing Dilemma

Dial-up was nightmare. Warriors of the Wind even worse. That article makes me think back...

"Anime fans are some of the most knowledgeable consumers on the planet, they know bad product when they see it and if you try to pass off crap as gold they will call you on it." That is so true.

To help with the fansubbing dilemma... I can only suggest that liscensors start planning bringing shows that are already popular in Japan before fans have their anime appetites satiated through fansubs. Fansubbing groups are more likely to pick up an anime that's been critically acclaimed in Japan than something that most people would say is total garbage, right? And then good shows like that are more likely to be translated faster by fansubbers... Basically pick 'em up before the fansubbers has stolen the fanbase. And don't censor, hire people off the street for dubbing jobs, and/or get cheap translators.

Feds? Crack down on us? Please! if it weren't for us the market for anime outside Japan wouldn't be as raving, ravenous, or... significant. Though arresting pirates, I don't mind at all...

It's not just fansubs: it's everything. The internet age has also made us "The Generation of Entitlement". We consume everything. We've come to believe that it is our right to get things for free and then choose which of them are worth paying for (if any). We call it common sense, saving money and taking advantage of the wealth of information the internet has to offer.

We're failing to see that this way of doing things totally destroys every existing economic model that our hobbies depend on.

We do not see the affect our actions have as individuals... and companies have a bad reputation for being soulless coorporate bastards who don't exactly inspire sympathy.

Unfortunately: the business is what creates the original material. And if that material is no longer profitable ~ it will no longer be made.

Piracy is becoming a cop-out for "superfans", people who NEED constant stimulus but don't feel that they should have to pay for any more than those who don't feel the need to consume everything. Fans have gotten "into" more than they can devote any real time, effort or money to. They finish a series in four days and move right on to the next.

Works great for them now...

But we're shooting ourselves in the foot.

The economy is on the brink of a major downsurge. Both in the US and in Japan... and when things get tough, it isn't the major coorporations we hate that get canned: it's the small-time creators, independant labels and artists we love and count on for our fixes.

If you don't want to pay for it: fine. But you have no right at all to complain when it's gone. And you certainly won't have a job in the anime or manga industry in the future if it can barely support itself.

You know, there is one very obvious solution to all of this, that would make anime piracy diminish and anime fans happy: just release the subbed version at the same time (or close to) it is released in japan. And when I mean subbed, I don't mean what the FCC pressures companies to put on the screen, I mean the literal translation.

Even though there'd be some kinks to work out with this, I still think this is the best way to do this.

Companies make money off of TV airing; Anime fans see the shows they know and love.

Grumble Grumble Grumble

Originally Posted by ILikeApples5520

You know, there is one very obvious solution to all of this, that would make anime piracy diminish and anime fans happy: just release the subbed version at the same time (or close to) it is released in japan. And when I mean subbed, I don't mean what the FCC pressures companies to put on the screen, I mean the literal translation.

Even though there'd be some kinks to work out with this, I still think this is the best way to do this.

Companies make money off of TV airing; Anime fans see the shows they know and love.

Personally, I don't believe that near simultaneous release between the US and Japanese market is going to solve the problem. There is a large percentage of self-proclaimed Anime 'fans' who download because they want a 'free' product, not because its a recent and trendy release. The fact that there are fansub groups who insist on subbing series that are partially funded by US distributers, (e.g. Ghost in the Shell SAC: Solid State Society), and many download sites out there who offer Region 1 DVD rips shows evidence of this. The only way to stamp out this problem is to bring the threat of law enforcement into the picture...

Unfortunately most fansubs aren't free, they require paypal donations, and that's making money off of someone elses' artwork. There are many anime boxed sets in the U.S. that are very affordable, if you can stand a slightly older anime. With the low prices of some anime it just does'nt make sense to get a lower quaility picture and sound.

Well to tell you the truth there is nothing they can do now. By letting them handful of people back in the 70's pirate and release anime and.or monga's it has grown to nation wide problem they can never hope to stop. As i see it by then trying to finds ways to prevent this is like trying to put a fire out with gasoline it whont work. Its a problem tey are best to leave alone realy because they would be just wasting time and money trying to stop millions if not billions from doing this around the world.

Originally Posted by tsurara

But we're shooting ourselves in the foot.

The economy is on the brink of a major downsurge. Both in the US and in Japan... and when things get tough, it isn't the major coorporations we hate that get canned: it's the small-time creators, independant labels and artists we love and count on for our fixes.

If you don't want to pay for it: fine. But you have no right at all to complain when it's gone. And you certainly won't have a job in the anime or manga industry in the future if it can barely support itself.

Agreed. I'll admit that I watch the occasional fansub here and there (most of us do, there's no denying that). But if you're only watching fansubs, downloading and burning pirate DVDs--however you're accquiring your pirated work--you're basically showing your lack of support to the studios who created these shows we're all so addicted to. Shooting ourselves in the foot? No, we're cutting our own hands off!

Let's say that 7 out of 10 otaku have never paid a dime for the anime they watch or the manga they read and it's all thanks to the inter-web. With a rate of 70% of the fan base getting all this stuff for free, where does the extra money come from when it's time to budget for a new series/season? There's no profit if you're only getting 30% of what you're putting out there.

I personally think that TV networks and DVD publishers here in the US need to pick and choose what they're importing here more wisely and maybe that would increase the sales a bit. I support my fellow artists and pay for my fix (80% of the time ^_^), I think everyone else should follow suit. Because at the rate things are goin', we'll be out of new stuff to watch by 2015.

Enjoy it while you can. LOL.