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questmark · 2006-03-06, 13:39

As someone said before, it's wonderful that anyone has subbed this at all. For that, I am very grateful. All that's below is just my opinion.

I'm planning on ripping these on to some DVD's for myself to get them off my computer, so I did a reasonably thourough comparison of the 3 fansubs for the first 10 eps or so. This is what I found--

VIDEO-
ANBU and C-1 have, IMO, about the same video quality when watching from the couch on my computer monitor.
I think AF-F has the clearest pic with the least banding and blocking of all the fansubs, but I'm not sure if it's really making a difference from the distance at which I'm watching the show. Still, in re: to banding and blocking, sitting at the computer-- it seems that AF-F has the least of these artifacts.
Also, I found that the first 2 or 3 eps were not very representative of the video quality of the fansubs over the course of the whole show. Things sort of seemed to iron themselves out after those first few eps.

AUDIO-
ANBU and C-1 seem similar to my untrained ears. AF-F is definitely louder. Clearer too?? I don't know. Maybe. I definitely hear more, but I can't tell if that's just because it's louder. And I don't know if I were just to immediately turn the volume up on an ANBU or C-1 release, if their experience would be essentialy the same as listening to AF-F (seems that way to me, but it's hard to tell). Basically, I'm not sure about this.

TRANSLATION--
I think they're all very reasonable. I find C-1 the most literal, which perhaps means it carries the meaning the most intact. However, ANBU has, IMO, the most fluid, conversational translation, with some slang like "stop freaking out", etc. and just a generally more "comparative cultural experience" attitude about translating-- it doesn't seem as literal as the C-1 translations. AF-F also has a very nice translation that catches a lot of subtlties (that's not meant to be subtitles, but rather... that which is subtle), but it's more... refined and esoteric sounding.

ANBU doesn't sub the intro song. Both C-1 and AF-F do.

FONT--
I never thought this was very important to me before watching this show, but the truth is that I find ANBU's decidedly the most readable. C-1's is perfeclty readable too, but I happen to prefer ANBU's translation style personally. AF-F's font is just too small for me. I can read it, but my eyes get tired, and if I'm watching an ep at the end of the day from the couch, me and my wife have had, on occasion, a hard time reading it. ANBU's isn't _that_ much larger, but it's noticeable, and, to me, much much more readable. ANBU also include italics, and this adds a certain quality to the subs that I like-- oral emphasis is included in the reading experience, and they highlight when someone is thinking something by making it in italics.

FILE SIZE-- ANBU is decidedly the smallest, around 125-145 mb per file. C-1 and AF-F average around 175.

SPEED-- C-1 is generally the first out with a sub. Thanks so much for that too!!

Well, for myself, I eventually decided to dl C-1 subs as they come out, and then to go with ANBU-- the size is smaller, I can fit more eps on a DVD, the video quality is good enough for watching from the couch, and most importantly to me- I can easily read the subs from far away and I like their style of translation.

Still, they've all got their benefits. It's really more a matter of opinion-- what style of translation do you like? what clarity of video do you need? how good is your sound system? how good are your eyes? are you putting these on to DVDs for yourself? do you want the karaoke for the english language op or not?

Each of the fansubs seems to answer these in differently. I hope all of that was useful to someone.

Again, I wanted to thank all the fansub groups for working on this show. What a luxury to get to compare so many fansubs!! If any one of these groups had been the only one to fansub this show, I'm sure I would have been perfectly happy with only having their fansub. Everything I spoke about above is really just getting down to the real nit-picky, nitty gritty stuff that largely boils down to opinion, details of your sound system and screen, and your personal preferences. They're all well done.

2006-03-06, 13:39	Link #166
questmark Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Age: 47	re: different fansubs.... As someone said before, it's wonderful that anyone has subbed this at all. For that, I am very grateful. All that's below is just my opinion. I'm planning on ripping these on to some DVD's for myself to get them off my computer, so I did a reasonably thourough comparison of the 3 fansubs for the first 10 eps or so. This is what I found-- VIDEO- ANBU and C-1 have, IMO, about the same video quality when watching from the couch on my computer monitor. I think AF-F has the clearest pic with the least banding and blocking of all the fansubs, but I'm not sure if it's really making a difference from the distance at which I'm watching the show. Still, in re: to banding and blocking, sitting at the computer-- it seems that AF-F has the least of these artifacts. Also, I found that the first 2 or 3 eps were not very representative of the video quality of the fansubs over the course of the whole show. Things sort of seemed to iron themselves out after those first few eps. AUDIO- ANBU and C-1 seem similar to my untrained ears. AF-F is definitely louder. Clearer too?? I don't know. Maybe. I definitely hear more, but I can't tell if that's just because it's louder. And I don't know if I were just to immediately turn the volume up on an ANBU or C-1 release, if their experience would be essentialy the same as listening to AF-F (seems that way to me, but it's hard to tell). Basically, I'm not sure about this. TRANSLATION-- I think they're all very reasonable. I find C-1 the most literal, which perhaps means it carries the meaning the most intact. However, ANBU has, IMO, the most fluid, conversational translation, with some slang like "stop freaking out", etc. and just a generally more "comparative cultural experience" attitude about translating-- it doesn't seem as literal as the C-1 translations. AF-F also has a very nice translation that catches a lot of subtlties (that's not meant to be subtitles, but rather... that which is subtle), but it's more... refined and esoteric sounding. ANBU doesn't sub the intro song. Both C-1 and AF-F do. FONT-- I never thought this was very important to me before watching this show, but the truth is that I find ANBU's decidedly the most readable. C-1's is perfeclty readable too, but I happen to prefer ANBU's translation style personally. AF-F's font is just too small for me. I can read it, but my eyes get tired, and if I'm watching an ep at the end of the day from the couch, me and my wife have had, on occasion, a hard time reading it. ANBU's isn't _that_ much larger, but it's noticeable, and, to me, much much more readable. ANBU also include italics, and this adds a certain quality to the subs that I like-- oral emphasis is included in the reading experience, and they highlight when someone is thinking something by making it in italics. FILE SIZE-- ANBU is decidedly the smallest, around 125-145 mb per file. C-1 and AF-F average around 175. SPEED-- C-1 is generally the first out with a sub. Thanks so much for that too!! Well, for myself, I eventually decided to dl C-1 subs as they come out, and then to go with ANBU-- the size is smaller, I can fit more eps on a DVD, the video quality is good enough for watching from the couch, and most importantly to me- I can easily read the subs from far away and I like their style of translation. Still, they've all got their benefits. It's really more a matter of opinion-- what style of translation do you like? what clarity of video do you need? how good is your sound system? how good are your eyes? are you putting these on to DVDs for yourself? do you want the karaoke for the english language op or not? Each of the fansubs seems to answer these in differently. I hope all of that was useful to someone. Again, I wanted to thank all the fansub groups for working on this show. What a luxury to get to compare so many fansubs!! If any one of these groups had been the only one to fansub this show, I'm sure I would have been perfectly happy with only having their fansub. Everything I spoke about above is really just getting down to the real nit-picky, nitty gritty stuff that largely boils down to opinion, details of your sound system and screen, and your personal preferences. They're all well done.