This week, I'm addressing a more serious issue in the anime industry: Fandubs, fansubs, and scanlations. Fandubs and Fansubs, as their name implies are dubs and subs (subtitles) made by fans. Subs are the more common and more popular because they're easier to make, and the original voice actors are generally preferred to any dubbed voices, be they professional or not.
Anime is usually subbed/dubbed for three reasons. One, fans don't like waiting years to catch up with the Japanese version. They'd much rather watch ahead and see everything right when it's new. This also helps prevent spoilers.
Two, the dub is really bad, so the fan would rather watch the original. In most cases, if the anime has been released in America, this can be done simply by watching the Japanese audio track on the legal DVD. However, for older animes, or animes dubbed by 4kids (that, by definition, have bad dubs) no legalcopy of the Japanese version exists for Americans.
Three, fans are too cheap/too lazy to buy.
For the most part, fansubs and dubs are the result of the first two reasons. This is a big probelm for the anime industry, because if we've already seen the anime, why should we watch it again or spend money on it? Fans have argued that without subs, they wouldn't buy DVDs (who wants to spend $30 for 4 episodes of an anime they don't know if they'll like??) but the fact is, profits for anime dubbing (and producing--they lose money in Japan, too) companies are way down.
Here's an interview with Arthur Smith, the president of Gonzo Digital Holdings International. He gives his opinion of the state of the anime industry, and how fansubs and dubs are affecting it.
http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/2171/36/
Makes you feel pretty bad, doesn't it? Personally, yes, I have watched fansubs and dubs. Many of my favorite fandoms had the bad luck to fall into the dubbing hands of 4kids Entertainment, the bane of the anime dubbing world. Let's face it, subs of 4kids animes are infinitely better than their dubbed counterparts. Now, if 4kids was like NORMAL dubbing companies, and included the Japanese audio track on their DVDs, I would buy them. But 4kids has refused to do so. Not only are they dubbing anime horribly with no regards to the fans, they make it literally impossible to get a legal copy of the original versions of their shows. Why should I have to put up with a bad dub just because I live in a different part of the world? I won't stand for it. I watch the subs.
Now, as for things that have been subbed because the fans are too impaitient... well, I don't entirely agree with that, but let's face it, in America we're anywhere from 1-5 years behind an anime or manga series, depending on it's popularity and how long it took to get the liscense. Before I go any further, here's what a guy from ANN had to say:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2007-11-25
I agree completly. Anime should be dubbed immediately after it is aired and released no more than a week after its original Japanese air date. That's the only way to get things back on track. Hopefully, that would cut down on the number of subs and dubs, and then the legal stuff could happen with the people doing the subbing/dubbing.
Now, the next issue is scanlations. Manga, like anime, takes a long time to get to the US. (though I have to say, Viz is doing a good job keeping up with FMA. I'm pretty sure we're only a volume or two behind as of now) Fans don't want to wait, especially when it's so easy to find scans on the internet. Personally, I have done read scanlations, but manga is much cheaper and usually comes out ahead of anime, so I tend to stay away from them. (also, they don't much agree with my computer)
Overall, the state of the industry may be going down the drain, but it's not all the way gone yet. It can be fixed, but someone needs to push it in the right direction.
Now, to touch on my last article...
Christmas break may be over, but if you still want a movie to watch, here are links to some great ones you can order from the library!
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle (be warned; it's differnt from the book)
Whisper of the Heart
Porco Rosso
And in closing, I'd like to wish a happy birthday to Hayao Miyazaki, who turned 67 yesterday, January 5th. (I started this entry on Dec 29th, but I'm actually posting on January 6th) Happy birthday, sensei! ^__^
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