Controversial Fansub Documentary

[Utils]

What's up with this place? When someone doesn't agree with you, you label them a troll?

Cut that shit out.


And Jiyuu, there's no need to do a carriage return when you reach the end of the textbox.

[kenjiharima]

Best thing that ever happened is that FANSUBBERS do it for fans and doesn't get paid for it.

The video has some points, but the effort of the the individual fansub teams must not go unrecognized for there hard work also.

[Jiyuu]

Originally Posted by Razer_2mb

I have ADHD, and I can ignore plenty of crap, but I cannot ignore those clusterfucks. You should NEVER have three things on the screen at once or have a translation note for something that does can easily be made into one or two words. It's pointless, burdensome, and it distracts the eye from the actual show itself which, last time I checked, is the polar opposite of what a person subbing anything should be trying to do.

Don't presume that someone has ADHD or any other disability. All it does is show just how ignorant you are and the fact that you have no idea what ADHD even refers to. If he did have it, then he wouldn't be able to sit around and pay attention to any of the subtitles in the first place, much less be distracted by one.

well first of all
i do know what ADHD is, my brother has it and i have read enough about it.
being distracted by other stimulations easily is one of the signs of ADHD.

second

Once again, I apologize for not having such a highly evolved brain such as yours. In fact, I apologize on the behalf of those who don't have such intense focus like you. I hope I and thousands of others can be forgiven by you, O great deity of fansub viewing. Have mercy on me for not even being even one-hundredth as great as you after watching subtitles for nearly half of my life.

well then as long as you know your faults..
no, really did i refer to myself at any point?
i don't think so, the one thing i wrote that could imply that is that i wrote "they/we" and that just shows i don't necessarily group myself with them.
I am basing what I'm saying here not on you or me, I'm basing it on the mass response, and it would seem that most people aren't really bothered by that thus not being able to deal with it is the exception and not the rule.
moreover i was not talking about a more evolved brain.
i was referring a couple of researches that showed that young people nowadays handle large amounts of information a lot better than older people.
and that there are lot's of causes for that, some proposed are that in modern times we are bombarded with information and that causes people to learn to filter all of that and just get what they need.
you are welcome to search for some of those researches in Google if you don't believe me.
anyway the point is it's no ones fault.. it's just the way things are.


and lastly

The right way if to make it feel natural and straight-forward and give the viewer the same experience as those who watched it when it was first released. The wrong way is to give the viewer a crash course in Japanese 101.

Whoosh. Over your head.


It doesn't matter if you like it or if many people like it. The point is that fansubs should be appreciated for two things: Being accurate and being able to not distract the viewer from the show itself. You should be able to pay attention to the subtitles and what is going on visually in the show itself without pausing even once because you missed something.

As for me, I don't like the hard to read light-colored fonts many groups use today, I don't like the karaoke stuff for the OP and ED, I don't like having translator notes, I don't like seeing the fansubbers name displayed so much that the group is pleasuring itself to every time it comes up on screen. All I want is a plain font that is easy to read. No additional BS. This man has managed to call out all the things in fansubs I have been hating for four years, and I cannot applaud him enough for handing back the asses of so many groups today.

No, no, no, no ,no, and...

NO.

The purpose of fansubbing was to give people a ray of hope to view shows that they thought would never see the day that it made itself over to the western world. It was never about who's the most awesome group in Awesomeland, but rather giving people a chance to experience animated media from across the Pacific. The subbers back then were hell-bent and spent thousands out of their own pockets to make what was once thought impossible now possible. Hell, look at ADV. They started out as a fan-subbing group, and I can assure you if they did half the crap 15 years ago that we do today, we wouldn't see Haruhi, AzuDai, PPP!, Excel Saga, and an assload of other anime that has managed to make it over here today available to buy and own.

Fansubbing should be a service for those who are not fortunate enough to live in Japan and/or understand Japanese, NOT for proving who's the "bestest", and all you have done is further prove his point. All you are doing is covering your ears and going "LALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUU~ LALALALALA".

well, you sure are open minded!

would you be so kind as to show me from which dictionary/holy book you got the definitions of "good subbing" and "fansubber"?
cause i can't really see what makes you think that what you are saying is as absolute as the fact that when you throw a ball in the air it falls..


and just for arguments sake,

give the viewer the same experience as those who watched it when it was first released

what makes you think that would necessarily mean that the screen should look as much as they saw?
you know it could also refer to having the people watching the sub understand what happened.

[Starks]

General theory of sub groups: If not for the fans, then definitely for the lulz.

[Vegard Aune]

I just thought of one thing here, isn't it kinda ironic how he uses AFK's sub of Lucky Star as examples for one of his complaints, when they generally avoid just about all the other issues he mentions. (Their karaoke-subs are completely static and inobtrusive, they don't add japanese words in the subs other than a few honorifics, they hardly any translator's notes as far as I can remember, and they did the whole name-reversing-thing that professional companies tend to do, though I consider that rather unncecessary.)

[Starks]

a.f.k. was just an odd group in general. they rejected pretty much every single emerging or mainstreaming trend in fansubbing. instead, they defined their group around a minimalist approach that focused on the importance of effective translations above all else.

[Vegard Aune]

Originally Posted by Starks

a.f.k. was just an odd group in general. they rejected pretty much every single emerging or mainstreaming trend in fansubbing. instead, they defined their group around a minimalist approach that focused on the importance of effective translations above all else.

And I kinda wish other groups would follow their example. Some of their translation-choices might be a bit odd, (Ketsuron = Q.E.D? What the heck is that supposed to mean anyway?) but they do a much better job than most other fansub-groups I've seen. Also, their subs for Haruhi were far better than the DVD-ones...

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Starks

a.f.k. was just an odd group in general. they rejected pretty much every single emerging or mainstreaming trend in fansubbing. instead, they defined their group around a minimalist approach that focused on the importance of effective translations above all else.

Why are you talking about them in past tense? They're just a.f.k. <_<;

[Starks]

I wouldn't mind others following their example and escaping the ******ry that plagues fansubbing nowadays.

Of course, this assumes that the translation doesn't butcher concepts like "moe" and transform them into more globally identifiable contexts such as "turn ons".

[日本ひきこもり協会]

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

And I kinda wish other groups would follow their example. Some of their translation-choices might be a bit odd, (Ketsuron = Q.E.D? What the heck is that supposed to mean anyway?) but they do a much better job than most other fansub-groups I've seen. Also, their subs for Haruhi were far better than the DVD-ones...

It means quod erat demonstrandum (as demonstrated, used as an alternative to double underline your math solution etc). Then again it's not hard to look up things thanks to google.

Originally Posted by Starks

Of course, this assumes that the translation doesn't butcher concepts like "moe" and transform them into more globally identifiable contexts such as "turn ons".

If you have watched the documentary you will notice that it underlines the importance of leaving no words untranslated. Like translating Amano senpai as Captain Amano. I think a.f.k. managed to convey the meaning of moe (it's not some complex term that is unable to be translated to begin with) in a very good manner. I think "turn ons" fits perfectly as a translation.

[Starks]

i disagree. if the concept or word in question is unique to the japanese lexicon or culture, it certainly merits a tl note regardless of whether it is actually translated or left as is.

[D404]

I don't see why we are arguing. Everyone will do stuff their own way, regardless. There is not "one right way" ...

[Medalist]

Originally Posted by D404

I don't see why we are arguing. Everyone will do stuff their own way, regardless. There is not "one right way" ...

So is my way right?

"Sumimasen, D404 Onii-sama! Can ore be your nakama-doushi, choudaiiiii!

I don't think thats' the point to a japanese to english translation, but that could just be me

[getfresh]

I personally think that the real matter at hand is, fansubbing is a hobby. A hobby is done the way that the person doing it enjoys most. If doing it a "way" that others disagree with, or would rather not watch, then they have 2 choices. Watch releases by fansubbers who sub the way you like, or sub it yourself the way you want. In short, someone who is receiving a free service which is the by product of some other persons hobby then they should either take it or leave it. I don't really understand where people get off believing that fansubbing is some type of service industry. I've been around in subbing for a bit of time, and last I checked we make absolutely no money, we get a few thank yous but mostly we get flamed, or treated as if we "owe" something to the fans. In the end it boils down to people just getting the hell over themselves and moving on.

[TheFluff]

Originally Posted by Medalist

So is my way right?

"Sumimasen, D404 Onii-sama! Can ore be your nakama-doushi, choudaiiiii!

I don't think thats' the point to a japanese to english translation, but that could just be me

While this is a pretty good strawman, people have already been called out on using it earlier in the thread. Try harder.

[cors8]

Originally Posted by Medalist

So is my way right?

"Sumimasen, D404 Onii-sama! Can ore be your nakama-doushi, choudaiiiii!

I don't think thats' the point to a japanese to english translation, but that could just be me

Guess what I'd do? If I didn't like that type of translating, I would not download from that group!

Amazing concept, I know.

[Medalist]

Originally Posted by TheFluff

While this is a pretty good strawman, people have already been called out on using it earlier in the thread. Try harder.

Personally, I was going to post it a few pages prior, but there weren't very many "icons?" to pick from.

Originally Posted by cors8

Guess what I'd do? If I didn't like that type of translating, I would not download from that group!

Amazing concept, I know.

In the documentary that's the implied generalization of most fansubs. To the point where, it's hardly even translating anymore.

If all groups had some sense of that tendency, what would you do then

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Medalist

If all groups had some sense of that tendency, what would you do then

Then other people would realize fansubbing is just a joke practice and form their own groups for translating anime... If you can't join them, beat them?

[cors8]

Originally Posted by Medalist

If all groups had some sense of that tendency, what would you do then

Big "If". Fortunately, that's not the case. And if it were, the solution would be to either not watch and just read summaries, hope it gets licensed, or figure out how to start my own group.

[Access]

Originally Posted by getfresh

I personally think that the real matter at hand is, fansubbing is a hobby. A hobby is done the way that the person doing it enjoys most. If doing it a "way" that others disagree with, or would rather not watch, then they have 2 choices. Watch releases by fansubbers who sub the way you like, or sub it yourself the way you want. In short, someone who is receiving a free service which is the by product of some other persons hobby then they should either take it or leave it. I don't really understand where people get off believing that fansubbing is some type of service industry. I've been around in subbing for a bit of time, and last I checked we make absolutely no money, we get a few thank yous but mostly we get flamed, or treated as if we "owe" something to the fans. In the end it boils down to people just getting the hell over themselves and moving on.

Well that is why people were saying from the beginning this whole issue (or how some address it) is narcissistic. You have things like: 1) people who try to define the morality and motives behind what fansubbing was 10+ years ago and try to apply that to current times, 2) people who insist it should be done 'their way' when they are not doing it, nor paying the person doing it. This video, and the contextual attitude of the video author, in the video itself, comes across that way without fail. But then, so do a lot of other things in the community et al. I don't know why this thread has gone on so long, or why anyone really benefits from spending any more time on this, the argument is just running around in circles over some random bozo who probably had too much time on his hands between jobs and made a video, then gets all tied up in drama when his anonymous identity is broken down... that's all, really.