Why Retire From Fansubbing?

[PEDOS_GRANDE]

Originally Posted by N-Bomb

You idiot, have you never heard Kyoji blathering about Tobikage all the time?

DOES NOT COUNT.

[I'm Oppressed]

Originally Posted by N-Bomb

Another reason to retire from fansubbing is because there's nothing being aired anymore that isn't softcore loliporn. Who the hell wants to work on that tripe? As a mecha fan, the shows I have at my disposal come largely before the turn of the century.

Sickening and saddening.

You enjoyed Kannaduki no Miko, so I don't know about your taste in mecha shows.

[gumbaloom]

Originally Posted by N-Bomb

Another reason to retire from fansubbing is because there's nothing being aired anymore that isn't softcore loliporn. Who the hell wants to work on that tripe? As a mecha fan, the shows I have at my disposal come largely before the turn of the century.

Sickening and saddening.

Theres still plenty of unsubbed mecha anime out there. Become famed as "THE" classic mecha anime subbers not just GGG'ers

-gumbaloom

[N-Bomb]

Originally Posted by gumbaloom

Theres still plenty of unsubbed mecha anime out there. Become famed as "THE" classic mecha anime subbers not just GGG'ers

-gumbaloom

Psh... none of them is as worth working on as GGG was.

[Soluzar]

Originally Posted by N-Bomb

Psh... none of them is as worth working on as GGG was.

O RLY? Who has subbed Mazinger Z then? How about more than one episode of Great Mazinger? How about more than 3 episodes of Getter Robo? Apart from GGG I don't think any other Yuusha are finished. I guess those mecha anime aren't worth working on, huh?

Seriously, I'm not suggesting that you ought to work on any of those anime. You've done a lot for mecha fans already. What I am asking is if you don't regard any of those classics as worthwhile? They aren't out in English, and nobody is working on the Go Nagai stuff unless you know different. Some groups are working on Yuusha, but I don't know if they've stalled, or quit or are just working slowly.

I just wonder if it's really your opinion that there's no decent unsubbed mecha anime left out there?

[N-Bomb]

Originally Posted by Soluzar

O RLY? Who has subbed Mazinger Z then? How about more than one episode of Great Mazinger? How about more than 3 episodes of Getter Robo? Apart from GGG I don't think any other Yuusha are finished. I guess those mecha anime aren't worth working on, huh?

Various groups have tried. No, none of the other Yuusha shows that I've seen are particularly good. I've not seen Da Garn or Goldran however.

Seriously, I'm not suggesting that you ought to work on any of those anime. You've done a lot for mecha fans already. What I am asking is if you don't regard any of those classics as worthwhile? They aren't out in English, and nobody is working on the Go Nagai stuff unless you know different. Some groups are working on Yuusha, but I don't know if they've stalled, or quit or are just working slowly.

I'd probably work on them, but I have no interest in doing EVERYTHING on them like I did for GGG. I can't stand timing anymore, for one, and translating (badly) really takes alot out of me since I stress over it :P

If someone wants to give me scripts, I'll be more than happy to get them timed and release them.

I just wonder if it's really your opinion that there's no decent unsubbed mecha anime left out there?

Nothing I want to contribute all my time to; nothing that would make me teach myself all the aspects of subbing for

[exedore]

Originally Posted by Soluzar

I don't think any other Yuusha are finished. I guess those mecha anime aren't worth working on, huh? Some groups are working on Yuusha, but I don't know if they've stalled, or quit or are just working slowly.

We're not dead yet, and more Da Garn is coming...slowly. Our translator and editor have real life jobs that demand more of their time than most 9-5's do, and the rest of us kind of need them to do their parts before we can do ours.

That said, our translator is pretty fast once she has time to sit down and hammer out episodes, which is why you'll see us release 3 eps of Da Garn in a row and then nothing for a while. FWIW, we will be subbing Goldran as well (I already have the R2's sitting on my shelf), but not until Da Garn's finished.

[EmptySoul]

While I personally feel the only reason to retire from fansubbing would be if it was no longer fun... a lot of people actually do quit due to leeches bashing their hard work. About animes being good in the past more than they are today... I feel that while animes were very good back in the day with stuff like... Record of Lodoss War, Love Hina, Fruits Basket, Kenshin, Slayers, etc... there are many good shows out today. And like someone said before, there is just a much wider audience that watches anime now. I do however feel that people are over obsessed with how subs look these days, but that's their choice... As far as I go, I do what I do because I like to see these animes, and I like for other people to have the chance to see them. Even if it's some old classic anime, to even a new anime that is subbed by more than one group... which by most old school subbers is seen as a horrible thing, it still makes me happy to give people who appreciate the subs what they like. Those people are what matter and it wouldn't cause me to retire just because of a few assholes here and there. For me, the only thing that matters is being able to watch the anime, and being able to help others who'd appreciate it watch the anime. Nothing more, nothing less.

[exedore]

Originally Posted by EmptySoul

there are many good shows out today. And like someone said before, there is just a much wider audience that watches anime now.

There are more new anime titles airing each year in Japan than before right now - almost twice as many this year as in the mid to late 80's/early 90's. That means that while there are still a lot of good shows (and perhaps more new good shows per year than before), there's a lot more crap to go with it (Sturgeon's law), and a lot of that crap gets subbed.

Also remember that with anime from the 70's-90's, getting raws was INFINITELY more difficult - getting sources before the net meant living near a Japanese grocery store that rented (often poor quality) tapes, or knowing someone (including yourself) who could go to Japan and hit the secondhand stores to buy you laserdiscs. Even after the net took off in the US, it didn't really boom in Japan until i-Mode phones. As such, internet commerce in Japan failed to boom until the very late 90's/early 2000's. Now, of course, you can go to amazon.jp for R2 DVDs (at a discount!), or grab raws off Winny or Share for any show you want for free. Combined with fandom's increasing desire to have what's hot and new *NOW*, a lot of things that would have been passed over beforehand are getting worked on.

To put it another way, people are fansubbing closer to 70-80% of a given season's new titles, versus the three or four big titles that a VHS subber would feel was worth the money to buy on laserdisc (often to the tune of $600+ per series). This is what inflates the "good old days" myth. Yes, there were a lot of high quality titles back then, but that's because nobody ever bothered to spread the word about some of the utter crap that aired during the period.

I do however feel that people are over obsessed with how subs look these days, but that's their choice...

Indeed it is. When we started A-C, one of the things I was adamant about was that we keep the subs as simple and readable as possible - to the point where they're considered to look crude by today's standards. While typesetters can do some really cool work, it boggles my mind that typesetting gets so much attention in terms of "how do I do this" and the discussion at fansubbing panels at cons, etc.

Even if it's some old classic anime, to even a new anime that is subbed by more than one group... which by most old school subbers is seen as a horrible thing,

As someone who's both been subbing for a decent amount of time (since 2001) and who focuses on old classic anime, it doesn't bother me at all to see people subbing new shows. It takes all kinds to make the world go round (even creepy lolis). Yes, oversubbing is annoying, but hey, whatever floats your boat. The world would suck if the only subbers to do shows were like AnimeJunkies, Arctic, and Fushigi.

I will say also that the "rules of the game", so to speak, are different when you're working on older titles. There's no racing to get leechers to grab your release, and the enthusiasts who go for oldskool are a lot more forgiving if you don't color match your fonts or animate onscreen text. It is both infinitely more selfish ("I'm subbing this for myself because nobody else ever will") and selfless ("I just spent $400 on the R2s for Da Garn and am going through all this for 400 downloads while Bleach is getting 40000").

To keep this on topic....

I don't have plans to retire soon, but I'd probably do so if we ever had a reason to break up the group. Virtually everybody who works on stuff for A-C knows each other (or at least has met on multiple occasions) in real life, so for us to reach that point would have a lot of bitterness attached to it.

[DaFool]

Originally Posted by exedore

To put it another way, people are fansubbing closer to 70-80% of a given season's new titles, versus the three or four big titles that a VHS subber would feel was worth the money to buy on laserdisc (often to the tune of $600+ per series). This is what inflates the "good old days" myth. Yes, there were a lot of high quality titles back then, but that's because nobody ever bothered to spread the word about some of the utter crap that aired during the period.

Thank you , this is the quote I just needed. Also, some crappy licenses from the late nineties have not been renewed (e.g. fanservice titles such as Girl from Phantasia, Voogie's Angels-- yes, T & A did exist back then too!), so those only getting into anime now look into the treasure chest of the past and see only heavy hitters.

I do sympathize with N-Bomb though. There are lots of good anime recently, but sadly none of them fall within the mecha genre. Among the (now) 67 titles premiering next month, there is only Full Metal Panic OVA (which is a sequel title) and Zegapain (which is a teen primetime show (and primetime means mainstream, not hardcore, and maybe not mature). I'd say the mecha niche is screwed as far as variety goes. So yes, if your favorite niche disappears, a fansubbing hiatus might be in order.

I'm pretty sure though that Gundams will last forever as long as Bandai is around.

[Kudo-kun]

Just want to comment on a couple of things. I feel that fans few years appreciate subbing work more than fans nowadays since subbing resources and files are not as accessible and easily obtained back then as today. Also, I think that the typesetting work today has gone beyond what is necessary and some groups forgot to focus on the subbing work as a whole.

[fict_ticious]

Well, its been said before, but when it stops being fun and more of a chore, then one can't help but feeling that they need out.

I, for one, think that its just the natural progression of things. Things change, people move on - fact of life. I know there'll be one day where I'll get tired of certain things I enjoyed in my youth, but the fact that I retire from them doesn't make what I experienced any less valuable. So if a fansubber is thinking of retiring, then we should take off our hats, thank them, and wish em the best of luck

[Soluzar]

Originally Posted by exedore

We're not dead yet, and more Da Garn is coming...slowly. Our translator and editor have real life jobs that demand more of their time than most 9-5's do, and the rest of us kind of need them to do their parts before we can do ours.

Yeah, I understand that its always hard to find the time for this stuff. It's not like a translation is something you can knock out in a spare five minutes, it takes time. It wasn't intended as a criticism. I really don't know which groups are still active... I don't assume they are dead, but I don't know.

That said, our translator is pretty fast once she has time to sit down and hammer out episodes, which is why you'll see us release 3 eps of Da Garn in a row and then nothing for a while. FWIW, we will be subbing Goldran as well (I already have the R2's sitting on my shelf), but not until Da Garn's finished.

Damn nice to know! I can promise you that comes as music to my ears!

[Kazekun]

Hmm, I'll just add in my 2cents. Since I only made it to page 6 before giving up >.>, some of this might already have been said a 1000 more times. I don't completely agree with lythka's thoughts on leechers. However, I can agree in some ways...

When you get into fansubbing, you want to work hard, and learn new things. And then once it becomes a chore and you know everything you need too. The critiscm gets much more annoying, the constant... This wasn't good enough, or this could have been better. And for the people who have just started or have never fansubbed, I don't really see where you have any talk in this.

Time and experience mean everything, even in the real world.
I think that lythka doesn't like how, fansubbers can pour hours and hours into quality fansubs for people. And then the second they're gone, it's okay to just shrug and wait for new fansubbers to show up. Yeah, alot of stress does come from competitive groups... But like lythka said, these people are all people until they get online. These people could be geeks/dorks/goths/emo's in real life, and are just looking for that mega ego booster that they'll never obtain in real life.

And yeah, I don't think leechers need to be falling to the ground to thank us every release, but maybe no negativity would help? When you don't provide any help at all to a fansub... Why should your input matter? Especially when half of you are okay with throwing us out for new fansubbers.

In fansubbing it's either quality or quanity, and it just flips based on the situation. If the series is popular like naruto. Then quanity is all that matters. If it's a decent show with some popularity, then everything has to be quality or you're just not good enough to sub it.

Anyways, that's just my 2cents.

Edit: Another thing that annoys me, is when something isn't being subbed fast enough for a leecher. He'll take it upon himself in that moment, to say 1-2 weeks is to much. And start subbing an anime right from that point on =\. Sure it's one thing if the anime is unpopular and has 1-2 subbers that have been stopped for like a month. But when it's only been days to a couple of weeks, it's ridiculous... Unfortunaly anyone can pick up the tools and look like a fansubber. It takes truly devoted people who want to achieve quality, and I sub for people who want that quality.. Not speed.

[checkers]

don't go gravedigging, yo

[asunder]

I've given up on the idea that the majority of anime watchers actually care about the groups/quality they watch. The new (younger) generation of fans use youtube and don't need to bother with fancy things like torrents or irc clients. I've seen anime watchers watch the HK bootlegs/chinese subs since they couldn't wait for particular groups to catch up to the latest episode.

In the US, there's been an explosion of popularity with FMA and Inuyasha being shown on tv. (I'm sure Naruto and the upcoming dub of Bleach will also cause a surge in fandom) So you have this new group of anime fans that really don't understand anything about the fansubbing world, and more importantly ..they couldn't care less. They watch their anime on tv or on youtube / myspace etc.. Fansubbers aren't getting as much acknowledgement or appreciation as they once did. (Which in some respects is a good thing) While you'll still have a die hard set of fans, and you'll still have the retarded leecher category, I think the new generation of fans (in the US) just don't really care about fansubbers.
[/rant]
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That being said, I've retired from fansubbing back in 2002. After finishing undergrad and the terrible loss of the golden T1/.edu connection. I left irc and the fansubbing/anime leeching community for ~2 years...The anime scene back then was quite enjoyable, but i needed a break from it and needed to sort out my life.

I returned to irc after finishing my graduate studies. A few weeks later, I was asked to return to this terrible world

I'm sure all fansubbers know this but.....
Real life > anime + irc + fansubbing + ...

[SCR512]

Just to add to the discussion, I have a good reason for any fansubber to retire...

Try having a kid! You would be suprised how much time it takes to sooth, hold, feed and change dirty diapers Finding the time to fansub after all that is next to impossible.

BTW if you don't know (Which would be most of the AnimeSuki world since I hide from the evil evil people on this board.) I am the happy father of a baby girl named Maya Isabelle.

To answer any future questions about my eventual strategy against boys that will attempt to someday date my daughter... I'll be sure to tell them about having no quelms about returning to jail for murder (Jimmy Hoffa... I sware I wasn't involed in his disapearence.)

[NoSanninWa]

As reasons for retiring go, that is absolutely the best one that I have ever heard.

[Kudo-kun]

Originally Posted by Kazekun

Anyways, that's just my 2cents.

Edit: Another thing that annoys me, is when something isn't being subbed fast enough for a leecher. He'll take it upon himself in that moment, to say 1-2 weeks is to much. And start subbing an anime right from that point on =\. Sure it's one thing if the anime is unpopular and has 1-2 subbers that have been stopped for like a month. But when it's only been days to a couple of weeks, it's ridiculous... Unfortunaly anyone can pick up the tools and look like a fansubber. It takes truly devoted people who want to achieve quality, and I sub for people who want that quality.. Not speed.

What a 2cents of yours. There are reasons that groups stop releasing for a month or so. Maybe some of the members are busy at work/school or they are having some real life issues (illness/death of a family member, moving to a new place, etc). Or they just decide not to be a "slave" of fansub like you. I don't think a fansubbing "slave" like you will ever understand. lol

[Maceart]

Well my motto is "Real Life > Fansubbing", so I'll never let fansubs take over my life. Also, if the anime I'm timing isn't fun, then why bother doing it?

Keroro Gunsou, Ojamajo Doremi, Petopeto-san, Kasimasi... those were all fun anime.