As you read it.
Taka and BSS/GSS are dropping the fansubbing due letters from Funanimation.
You Can read Taka subs statement here.
You Can read GSS subs statement here.
Shinsen is not dropping FMA right now, but They are looking for a translator. See the thread here.
Sadly we lose some of the best fansub groups in the FMA: Brotherhood. Right now I dont know about Eclipse or the other fansubs groups about this subject of Funanimation treating them to drop the series.
As you know FMA: Brotherhood is being subbed by many, and I think every week a new comes out. Now we got guys like The Alchemists doing the subs and many others.
So hang in there, we probably wont lose our dear FMA wekly fix. Please continue to support the fansub groups, specially the ones who dont sucumb to big corporations.
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April 30th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Or… maybe watch it for free with a professional translation based on official Japanese scripts on FUNimation’s website. It’s not like they’re making the fansubs stop and then making you wait a year to watch the rest for a price. No, they’re making the episodes available for FREE the week they are released in Japan. Sure, it’s not same day, but who the hell cares? It’s free and we’re supporting Japan.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I think The_Alchmists is another fansub group under an alias…
And Ichigo, while I would normally agree with you, painful memories of the “professional tranlation” of Yu-Gi-Oh! Uncut by 4Kids still plague my mind…
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
I generally agree with Ichigo here. The only reason I downloaded fan subs—in my case, from Eclipse—is for the high definition format. I have a 24″ monitor that doesn’t get put to proper use with the low resolution on FUNimation’s Web site. It’s also nice to see multiple translations to get a better idea of the intent, being someone who hasn’t yet learned the language.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:05 am
I would agree with Ichigo under one condition if i could watch theyre streaming. Unfortunately the FUNimation staff somehow forgot about some small places on earths surface like Poland. Anime isnt popular here ,but thats just because noone is smart enough ,to bring it to the public. Ahh well untill the day when people notice ,that theres a whole empty business market which has no competition here im bound to fansubs.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Actually, the group I was following had better translations and karaoke than the official FUNimation translation. They dropped it, though…
June 14th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
It’s not just Poland, I’m in the Netherlands and I can’t access the site unless I use a U.S. Proxy. Don’t stop the fansubs until every country on earth has access to FMA. Funimation (and other U.S. corporations for that matter) doesn’t realize there are other countries besides the U.S.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Fansubbing is a hard gig. It’s too bad that corporations are so in-your-face about this stuff.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:49 am
ya, correct
sometimes fansub are more professional than “professional translator”.
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Fansubbing is done by fans that knows their stuff. In so short time, they are able to translate an episode, do the subbing and the timing. Some people will say that the translation isn’t always great but I’m sure that if they take 3 days instead of one, their work would be ”top notch”.
And I still wonder why they don’t let fansubbing groups do their thing. Some fans are discovering animes because of them. Some fans will go to convention to buy derived products because of them. They are promoting the anime industry.
That was just my 2 cents.
July 26th, 2009 at 2:30 am
It’s not just Poland and the Netherlands, it’s a very large chunk of Europe all together. What irritates me more is the fact that they don’t give you any indication on the website that your country is not available (Got that message with Naruto Shippuuden : first messaeg : buy subscription or wait a week to watch for free, then after a week you get the message, not available for free in your country, buy subscription, and after you bought the subscription it says : not available for your country… hell they could have said that in the first place)
August 11th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
First off, there really isn’t anything Funimation could actually do at this time against the fansubbing groups.
There’s no legal president for this situation and thus it has no legal interpetation. This means that by current laws that fansubbing is not a form of copyright.
This doesn’t stop them from threatening and attempting legal action. But the thing is these are currently empty threats in an attempt to control the market.
So honestly, until the supreme court decides to rule on this sort of thing, it is mostly just fear tactics in an attempt to bully people to do their way as is seen here.
And as for people getting into anime, fansubbing is actually the reason WHY anime is even in the United States to begin with. If there had not been groups doing this with anime to begin with, then Funimation wouldn’t have ever gotten a chance to start. These bastards should be grateful to fansubbers and instead of throwing threats like these around, maybe they should offer them jobs instead as it seems they do their job better anyways.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I wonder where these “professional translators” are from. Sure, many of them may be professional translators; however, that doesn’t make them professional subbers. Some fansubbers have translated an awful lot of material in the context of creating subtitles already.
Furthermore, some, if not a great lot of them also feature a great affinity towards the material they translate and sub, which with hired staff isn’t necessarily the case.
I’d be careful with statements that imply that fansubbers are any less professional than translators that do this for money.
And, yes, websites like Funimation aren’t particularly tailored towards anything outside the US. Often, even people that have languages like German or Spanish for a backup often get into trouble when English subbing is thwarted, because the large majority of subbing takes place in an anglophone spectrum.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Indeed aziroshin.
The only reason in judging a good sub is personal. The reasons of why I prefer better fansubbers are usually more personal, but full of logic none the less.
The fact some people do this for free doesnt make them less proffesional than the ones who do it for money.
But it tells you a great deal because they do it because of their passion for it. There’s a big difference in doing something for money and doing it because you like to.
Not saying all corporate subs are bad, heck no. I have bought anime dvds and shows and other stuff that is subbed by a big corporation and are very well done.
But well, this is an extensive subject.
The conclusion is, only you can determine whats more of your taste.
December 20th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Another thing, what do they intend to do? Its not like they are talking about american citizens only here. They going to put out an arrest warrent for the Typsetter from Sweden the translator from Singapore and the Japanese that put the video online and the 1000s of people all over the globe that downloaded the video? FUNimation needes to take its head out of the sand and see that the world has changed! Change along or you go the way of the dinosaur.
Realy translations are all over the place and its impossible to stop, id say once you release your dvds put extras with it like merchandise and extra exclusive footage or behind the scenes stuff to make your dvd worth while. But threatening the international comunity of anime fans just isnt going to work.
December 21st, 2009 at 9:00 am
▲ hey guise. did you know all those changes you guys were talking about were the japanese companies ideas.the dubbing companies are trying their best to keep up with the fansubbers. they have been releasing stuff for free, adding more extras to the dvd’s, even cheapening their products just so it sells.
do you guys think that if the anime industry here in the us dies the japanese anime will still survive…
i have a question, who do you think is funding the japanese anime industry… yeah the dub companies. if their comapnies tank, then the japanese companies also tanks. do you guys know the reason fma got a new series? because it was so successful here in the states. if the industry here tanks then almost all the anime in jap will be gone. no more FMA, no more Bleach, no more soul eater, d.gray-man, no more famous animes, even mangas will stop.
as a parting thought, if the fansubbers are good, why not get paid for their work, if they apply to those anime companies and they are actually good, they will get hired. i know some translators who work funimation used to be fansubbers
December 21st, 2009 at 4:12 pm
“Taguchi noted that Japan Expo in Paris and Comic-Con International in San Diego each attracted over 100,000 people every July. However, he also said that he thinks that comics as a business is not faring well overseas. After Fullmetal Alchemist aired, Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto were among the top-selling comics in America. However, their American sales were about 1/20th to 1/10th the size of their Japanese sales.”
http://bizmakoto.jp/makoto/articles/0910/09/news003_6.html
Get your facts straight. Even though what you say makes sense. There is anime because a manga sells well IN JAPAN. And thats it. In Japan the anime/manga scene is way bigger than overseas. Their main income comes from Japan.
I usually end up buying on dvd series I love. Have done so with around 10-15 series. I even have vhs of some.
Let me tell you something.
A DVD with 3 episodes 8 years ago, how much was it, the price? Around 15-20 bucks.
Then dvds were pretty expensive. Now they just cost 1/20 of what they used to cost.
How much is a DVD now days with 3 episodes? Still around 15-20 bucks.
Dont give me that oh they need to sell, or anime dies.
Its all about profits. Always has, always will be.
The main income for Japan in anime is JAPAN.
A lot of series dont come out of Japan, thus thanks for fansubbing.
Should subbers be paid? Of course! Is a work.
But if there is an alternative, why not use it?
Only now, like a year or two ago “cheap” anime service began to surface the internet.
But most of it is again, the same cost as 5-10 years ago. Technology is better, more automated, easier, cheaper, but the videos are not getting cheaper, why?
Profits.
December 29th, 2009 at 8:39 am
“If the industry here tanks then almost all the anime in jap will be gone”
no….
If the industry in the US tanks, the only consequence is less overseas fandom, thats it. Kurosaki is right on the money, anime seasons have come about due to 3 reasons: manga sales, light novel/DVD (of the previous seasons) or other merchandise sales. IN JAPAN.
I spend hundreds on overpriced manga (15-20 bucks compared to 5 bucks in Japan), I’m doing my part over here, I derserve to see translations of anime in good quality I think. Keep the subbers going, and as a scanlator myself, I am having to make up for manga series that have been neglected and only got a chance in Japan. Licencing companies weren’t there to pick them up, ever.
Ja ne
January 13th, 2010 at 9:52 am
i generally have no problems with the professionals doing it… but i do like fan subs because to me its like a hobby where there are those who just take their hobby and buy from a big box store… and there are those who take it further… do their research and turn their hobby into something life long and meaningful
i dont mind that the big companies sub it or dub it… but i do like the option of looking at how others translate it… because im sure there are things that will be left out because the big companies are trying to broadcast for all viewers so they cant just show everything… i got these feelings with some of the anime that ive watched back in the past then see them showing up on the us air waves and see the big differences in what was cut out… plus i feel theres a big difference between someone who loves what they do and someone whos just doing it to get paid
January 13th, 2010 at 9:57 am
ohh and plus i do miss the days when the us didnt try to import anime and those that watched it was those that were exposed and dedicated to trying to find a fansub to watch it… if japans anime business was gonna tank and their fundings wad determined by international sales they would produce their animes with subtitles already instead of passing it on to the “professionals”