Fansubs: A good thing, or a bad thing?

[EricDent]

There are tons of people in the anime fandom who download & watch fansubs. Most of which are available for free. They get to see the latest episodes of a rather long-running series (One Piece, Bleach, Naruto) months or even years before the dub gets around to it. Or they get to see the "hot" shows (like Haruhi Suzimiya) way before the official DVD releases.

Is this a good thing? Well if you are doing it to possibly warrant a future purchase of said show then yes it is. If not then it is a bad thing.

Most people who watch fansubs have the mentality of "Hey if I can get it free, why should I pay for it?" Cause if this keeps happening, pretty soon anime itself will go away, or become so focused on one aspect, that only the most hardcore fans will even want to watch it. If you have not noticed, more & more shows in Japan are becoming "Moe" shows. This is because Japanese anime companies are reallying more & more on Japanese anime fans, who are into that sort of stuff.

Read this article: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2007-11-25

The article is basically saying that anime companies need to start to actually do something to catch up with the times. Especially in the USA where most fans are rather computer savvy and can find a show that aired a couple of days ago (or even yesterday) in Japan online somewhere.

What should we do to solve this problem? Fansubs won't ever go away, cause if you shut one down 4 more pop-up (sort of like Napster). Also anime fans of this generation want their anime rather quickly, which is why they don't wait till the dubs get done. So what should be done to prevent the anime industry from going under? I'm not saying it will be soon, but it will happen.

Here are my options:

1: Only release DVDs subtitled, and give the fansubbers jobs as translators at the anime company. This is most likely not going to happen, cause the average anime fan really does not want to have to read when they are watching a show. If they wanted to read, they would get a Manga (which probably explains why Manga in the USA is doing so well).

2: Advertise on the fansub sites, or charge some sort of fee to see them there. Again probably not going to happen, cause if you start charging then the freeloaders will just go to another site to get it free.

3: Stop it at the source Japan is the place that is letting the people do anything with the show once it airs on TV. That is where all the RAWs that people fansub come from. Japanese anime companies are not doing a thing to prevent this either, and are basically asking the USA Anime companies to do something about it, when it is their product. This is probably the only thing that can do anything to stop the death of the industry.

4: Japanese anime companies provide the newest stuff on their sites for a small fee that is as good or better than the fansubs. With professional translators to subtitle a show, and surround sound (which most fansubs don't have) this would basically get rid of the need for fansubs, and once the program is licensed in the USA, would provide a means to advertise said title.

I realize that not every show made in Japan is going to be licensed over here, but the ones that are that you really liked, PLEASE buy the DVDs.

[holy_jumbo]

I watch fan-subs because it's the only way I can watch most of animes,
in my country (Portugal) there isn't any channel that airs bleach or one piece and of course no dvds,
I there were anime dvds here I would probably buy them because I prefer to have the actual dvds and not just a file in my computer that can be erased by a virus or something and it would have the subs in portuguese wich I prefer, maybe even with dubs if they were any good

[EricDent]

I always forget that there are folks from different countries here. This is obviously for the USA people that do this.

[Planeswalker28]

I always forget that there are folks from different countries here. This is obviously for the USA people that do this.

I almost have to if i wanna watch most anime.There is only one station that i know of that airs anime in english around here (Canada,N-B) and that is YTV where they only have like 3-4 different anime and only once a week when its late.:mad:

[holy_jumbo]

I always forget that there are folks from different countries here. This is obviously for the USA people that do this.
I know that but I wanted to give my opinion on the subject based on my expiriences

[SpiritOfFire]

I already know, and I don't care if I stole an iPhone. Who the hell cares outside of the industry.

Normal fans don't even like dubs. Normal is often the majority, and so on, etc. You see where I'm coming from, right? Also, I don't know about the "Death" of the industry, it's really complicated, I'm sure but companies are simply trying to make lots and lots of money, but blame it on fansubs when they fail.

I really don't feel like getting into this everlasting debate, though. Let me say that American companies should simply not waste so much of their effort with dubs, and just do subtitled DVDs for shows that are not on television. They would gain money if they did this and came up with internationally closer release\Air dates.

[EricDent]

OK then, obviously this is a good thing for people in other countries who don't have national DVD distributors or stations that show anime pretty much 24/7 (FUNimation Channel & Anime Network) or at least 6 nights a week (Cartoon Network, FUSE).

I personally don't really mind if someone watches these shows online, it just irks me when people don't buy the DVDs when (and if) they come out in the future. They always complain that "it costs too much". Try telling that to a Japanese anime fan, there they pay about $40 for a 2 episode show on DVD.

In the USA stuff like that is unheard of, since we get 4-5 episode DVDs for about $20-25 each.

Seriously if you have a job, you can afford to buy some DVDs once in awhile.

Maybe they need to start showing an episode for an upcoming show, or a long trailer for said show on DVDs, of course they would be free at any store that sells anime on DVD. Sort of like those Animerica mini-magazines they have in Best Buy & Borders. Instead of charging $15 for a crappy magazine (Otaku USA, or Newtype USA) and getting a DVD with 2-3 episodes & trailers.

What Spirit said is true, of hardcore anime fans. While casual fans (and kids) don't really want to read while they watch a film or TV show. If they wanted to do that they would read a Manga. Which is probably why Manga is selling so well in the USA right now.

[Planeswalker28]

OK then, obviously this is a good thing for people in other countries who don't have national DVD distributors or stations that show anime pretty much 24/7 (FUNimation Channel & Anime Network) or at least 6 nights a week (Cartoon Network, FUSE).

I personally don't really mind if someone watches these shows online, it just irks me when people don't buy the DVDs when (and if) they come out in the future. They always complain that "it costs too much". Try telling that to a Japanese anime fan, there they pay about $40 for a 2 episode show on DVD.

In the USA stuff like that is unheard of, since we get 4-5 episode DVDs for about $20-25 each.

Seriously if you have a job, you can afford to buy some DVDs once in awhile.

Maybe they need to start showing an episode for an upcoming show, or a long trailer for said show on DVDs, of course they would be free at any store that sells anime on DVD. Sort of like those Animerica mini-magazines they have in Best Buy & Borders. Instead of charging $15 for a crappy magazine (Otaku USA, or Newtype USA) and getting a DVD with 2-3 episodes & trailers.

What Spirit said is true, of hardcore anime fans. While casual fans (and kids) don't really want to read while they watch a film or TV show. If they wanted to do that they would read a Manga. Which is probably why Manga is selling so well in the USA right now.

Déja vu.:bulb:

But like i stated in another thread,the closest place that i know of that sells anime/manga is Gamezilla witch is a two hour drive from where i live and i only go in that area once every couple of months.:cry:

[EricDent]

Does Canada use the same region code as the US for DVDs? If so, you could order from Amazon, or someplace similar online. If not then maybe there is a site that carries the DVDs for your region.

Manga is a lot easier, cause every bookstore's website you can order off of online carries Manga.

[Planeswalker28]

Does Canada use the same region code as the US for DVDs? If so, you could order from Amazon, or someplace similar online. If not then maybe there is a site that carries the DVDs for your region.

Manga is a lot easier, cause every bookstore's website you can order off of online carries Manga.

Closest decent bookstore i know of is Chapters and that is two hours away.:cry:

And i my parents are not to fond of ordering stuff offline,but im asking for Death Note volumes 1-5 for XMas and hopeffuly i will get them.

[Fallen_Hero]

The only issue with fan subs is money. Americans want it all, but fan sub's not only hurt them, but aid them at the same time. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean.

I'll never stop watching fansubs. :up:

[SpiritOfFire]

The only issue with fan subs is money. Americans want it all, but fan sub's not only hurt them, but aid them at the same time. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean.

I'll never stop watching fansubs. :up:

You *******, I thought you were leaving!:mad:

[Fallen_Hero]

You *******, I thought you were leaving!:mad:Im here untill I find out my problem with my Nintendo Wifi USB connector. I started posting on all of my old forums, because Nintendo said it'll take weeks for someone to call me. Im very pissed.


Anyways, sorry for going OT eric.

[EricDent]

I can't really help you with your Wii problem, I have a normal Wi-Fi connection, I am not sure if you really need the USB connector, cause my DS & Wii work fine off of just the router in our house.

[True Perfection]

I think fan-subs are good. They are generally more true to the original source then some licensed versions.

[EricDent]

OK, so maybe fansubs are a quick way to get more anime to see. You say that they treat the animes with more "respect" cause they are in Japanese with subtitles.

I have a question. If you don't really know what they are saying (unless you are totally fluent in Japanese) how do you know that the fansubbers translated it correctly?

[SpiritOfFire]

OK, so maybe fansubs are a quick way to get more anime to see. You say that they treat the animes with more "respect" cause they are in Japanese with subtitles.

I have a question. If you don't really know what they are saying (unless you are totally fluent in Japanese) how do you know that the fansubbers translated it correctly?I'll assume you don't watch fansubs from what you just said. We are all anime fans, Fansubbers are people and fans too, if there's ever any problem with a translation, they release a version 2. They would not purposely botch up a translation just for the hell of it.

[EricDent]

No, I don't watch fansubs. I always buy the show on DVD, which is why I sometimes ask for recomondations from other people on the internet, or in a store (if someone else is looking at anime at the time).

I ran into a very nice person (at the local Best Buy), he said that he did watch fansubs, and then when they are licenced (and at a good price) he buys the boxsets (for example Naruto). I did not go into my usual attack mode, by condeming him for watching that stuff. So maybe I have finally just given up on the whole "spreading the word" about not downloading anime.

[blackman34]

i would rather catch up than wait forit to be aired years later. its annoying. products wil also not be seen here