Both really. You can make a huge debate on this particular topic.
Good
It allows you easy access to the shows that are currently in Japan. American dubbing just can't keep up really...
Original tends to be the best. It sounds better in Japanese (to some) and things tend to make more sense (i.e. Detective Conan and wordplay of Japanese words and whatnots)
Also grows the fandom so that people go out and buy the stuff when it does come in America or buy figures and items from Japan to support the artist.
Sometimes the way fansubber translate things, they're nice to provide culture notes for things we might not understand or color effects to match the tone or mood, or to help tell apart people speaking like for example in Super Sentai series (Japan's Power Rangers) when the red ranger speaks, it's red colored text.
Nothing gets cut or edited and or made for a younger audience.
Bad
Let's be realistic, it's illegal. If they're doing it for free and stop after it's being licensed here, not too bad. If they're doing it for profit that's when it's a huge no-no.
Some fansubbers are not that great. Subtitles are broken English or don't make sense because they're not fluent enough to understand what the original Japanese text is saying.
Some animes actually do better in English. Especially the ones set in an American setting. (Because then you can actually use the right accents too, assuming the company that picks up is decent enough to have access to that kind of talent)
@Green I agree. There is simply no other way to see if it under those circumstances unless you're willing to learn another language.
@Alura If you enjoy the series you should buy it if only to support the creator. :3 If not the DVDs buy stuff like the figures or the manga. Personally I buy the series I truly love to pieces and will watch over and over again.
Of course if you're like me, you can't readily afford to buy all the ones you like, but you do what you can.
Yes and no. They don't openly support it but they also know that it helps spread their product. There's an official term for it but I cannot remember it off the top of my head at the present moment.
Well I realized a lot of shows i've seen online are licensed here but debating about buying them since I already saw them >.>
I'd buy them just because it's supporting the people that worked on it. I did that with Hetalia, granted it was a plus that the characters had accents which made it funnier XD
Oh yeah. That's one of the things that I like about when animes get licensed, the accent (when the characters are suppose to have them) are right 8D <3
I think it's a good idea, for those who want to see an anime but cannot find it in English, or dont watch english dubs at all. Mind you the subtitles have to be accurate, or it makes the subber look silly or like a troll.
I'm all for fansubs not done for profit. It's how I got into anime really. Granted I paid for this fansubbed VHS in Chinatown but that wasn't the fault of the fansubber. But I saw the VHS of the Sailor Moon R movie and at that point Sailor Moon was popular in America, the dub. Seeing the subbed version I think changed my life. I bought so many subs in Chinatown, it's how I got my anime fix.
Now, of course, I watch them online. Better computer, better internet connection and of course more resources. I really don't care if the series is licensed or not, I probably won't be buying the DVD unless it's cheap or a really good series (like, I may consider buying Madoka even though I've seen it already) but I honestly can't afford to buy every DVD of an anime. Box sets are expensive and I only watch the Japanese version of an anime, I don't feel like paying because they dubbed into English with shitty voice actors. All the anime DVDs I have I bought on ebay, second hand and for a marked down price.
My only issues, as have been stated, are people who just aren't good at fansubbing. People who don't have a grasp of Japanese or hell, even English. People to try to translate word for word instead of making things keep their meaning but actually make sense in English. And of course, people who keep in too many Japanese words. I was watching a sub recently and they called someone a a hikikomori, granted I know what it means but couldn't they just have changed it to shut in or hermit? And when they add chan and san to end of the names, just screams of weeaboo.
And I hate when they use different font colors or font styles. No, I don't need the Red Ranger's text to be in red. I just need to be able to read it. No fancy effects, no sparkles, just translate the shit!
I actually helped out a fansubbing team for a couple of episodes of an OVA, so yeah, I'm okay with fansubbing for fun. Honestly, I did see some of what Usako mentioned about doing literal translation versus vernacular. As much as I liked one of my team members, it was a bit annoying when someone who was not a native English speaker arguing with me about what would make sense in English! I also had another friend tell me about some truly awful subs. An attack became "Starlight Fritters." To this day that's what I call a mistranslation.
I've never come across someone who tried to sell me fansubs, honestly.
I'm also not a fan of leaving in Japanese words. If it's a term for an idea that's unique/native to the culture, then yeah, but if it has an English equivalent, please use the term used by English speakers! I can tolerate the use of honorifics, however.
I find the colored text only really helps in Sentai/Kamen Rider-like series just because everyone spends so much time in a suit (that is you cannot see who's mouth is moving to help connect the voice to actor) that it takes at least a few episodes to tell everyone apart. Even more so in the movies when suddenly there's like double the amount of characters to keep track of. Other then that I don't care for special text/color as long as it's consistent.
I like the use of honorifics actually. There's a subtle whole understanding that can come from honorifics. Makes me wish English had more then just Ms. Mrs. Mr. Aunty/Uncle etc. I'm at that awkward stage of life where I'm young enough that it's weird to address an older co-worker/friend of the family by their first name and calling them Mr or Ms is too cold and Aunty/Uncle is too personal.
I agree with you two about if the term is unique to the culture it should be left in. However, the hikikomori case is one of the few that I will disagree upon. While hermit or shut-in are appropriate translation, I feel it doesn't carry the same cause behind it. Hermit is by choice, shut in is by mental disease but hikikomori is more social withdraw. (It's not so much that they're mentally ill though some can be, but the simple matter being unable to cope with the pressures of society) But that's just me. :ninja: For all I know I could be misunderstanding something.
I also think names of attacks should be left alone in Japanese. A side note is fine but translating attacks into English is one of the few things that have always bothered me because translating the attack seems to make it longer and more woody.
For example:
Hakurō Tenbu vs Heaven's Dance of Hazy White
Usually, fansubbers are making no profit off their work, and they're making media available to people it otherwise wouldn't be available to, thus expanding its market for merchandise - therefore, I laugh at accusations of "piracy". Maybe in the most technical sense, it is, but it does a lot more good for the industry than it does harm. Very nearly no one's going to go buying DVDs they don't understand. Usually I don't care for them if the series is marketed in English, but there are exceptions - such as when the dub is completely terrible (when they can't pronounce the names, I find it just painful to listen to), or it's been edited for the sake of being "child-friendly" in the eyes of US audiences - Digimon is the first example that comes to mind. Evil orange? Really?
But I don't hate on fansubs for existing when an official version exists either. I'd like to know if I like something before I go buying it. I'm not a bottomless pocket. I know very well I'm not alone in this.
For me, fansubs are the only way I can watch some things (mostly not anime anymore; I have gotten to the point of understanding Japanese enough that I can understand most of the things I want to watch...most), though sometimes they just do things that are an embarrassment to English-speaking fans of anything ever.
Actually, probably my favorite part of the Gundam 00 movie was when Bandai/Sunrise made fun of the things fansubbers do...
This is an Actual Thing That Happened. Those subtitles are on the original everything. You may have to pause a few times to catch it all, and I'm pretty sure THAT part was intentional too.
...needless to say, I am not a huge fan of leaving things untranslated where a good translation exists. I actually like it when people accept loanwords for things that genuinely can't be translated, such as cultural concepts or (usually) invented words, but...anything like the above. Anything like the above...no. Just No.
As someone who has a lot of anime and such subbed officially that are completely off in the translation or MISSING lines, fansubbing if done properly makes it much easier to transition into understanding the storyline easier. However, if mistranslated it can be quite confusing.
