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American Anime Localization Company Tries Torrents
zalas writes "AnimeOnDVD reports that David Williams of ADV Films is testing out using BitTorrent as a distribution method. Currently, he has a promotional video of Madlax, one of their titles, up for download via a torrent and has "much larger plans in mind." He is looking for feedback regarding this and can be left on the AnimeOnDVD Forums. ADV Films licenses Japanese animation from Japanese studios for distribution in North America and the UK."
While I'm not a big Anime fan (tastes are limited to the overly popular Akira and Ghost in the Shell), I wish more media companies would have more open thinking like Mr. Williams and ADV. Instead of vilifying the technology, use it to your advantage. If there is an enemy to the media companies, it isn't the method, but the users, the method can benefit anyone willing to use the technology, including the media companies. So I applaud this move, and I hope it works extremely well for them, so maybe those who want to defend bittorrent have a good arguement in their favor and if they still decide to shut it down; don't worry, something better is waiting in the wings for sure.
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
...what. ADV + torrent? Sorry, you just broke my brain.
Some of us consider using horrible voice actors as "butchering". Not only are the voice actors horrible, there is only a small pool of voice actors that they select from. So the same person who ruined Character X from Series X has gone on to ruin Character Y from Series Y. I haven't gone to an anime convention in two years because I'd probably end up in jail for assaulting anyone who is there to represent the american dubbing companies (I like to think of them all as slaughter houses). Anime and manga from Japan are art. The types of voices that the producer and director select are part of the package. They are part of the vision. What these American dubbing companies do is the equivalent of walking into an art gallery with a sledge hammer and a box cutter. Art galleries have security guards. Who will protect anime from these vandals?
"The portion of the anime audience with the technical know-how to operate bittorrent are probably already taking advantage of the great efforts of fansubbers, and those who may be introduced to bittorrent through ADV in some way will surely go on to find these resources."
.RAR files. (Note: Yeah, yeah, I know, bittorrent downloads don't typically use that.)
One of the reasons that I don't have a broader anime library right now is that I basically have to order on-line to get it. (I live in a small town that doesn't have a lot of selection...) Speaking for my household specifically, the instant gratification factor of this distribution model is quite attractive. Yes, I could go download episodes on the web. I really don't want to. I don't want to go looking for them. I don't want to deal with questionable quality. I don't want to put together a bunch of
I'm not saying your point is invalid. I don't know what the masses will do. I can tell you that for the shows I'm fanatical about, I want them now now now and I'm willing to pay a reasonable price for the convenience. I doubt I'm alone.
"Derp de derp."
Video capture + cheap storage + modest processor + P2P software + internet connection = the end of broadcast, cable and sat TV.
If they were in high quality xvid mkv with soft subs and dual audio, I would pay say $4 per episode, or a pack of 6 for $20.
Maybe even allow you to earn credit by seeding a ton, to encourage the BT usage...
What the hell? I accuse them of butchery and suddenly I'm a dub-watcher?
I'd still rather eat glass than watch dubbed anime, but what's wrong with the concept that they SHOULD be able to do a decent dub? I mean, I AM paying for it afterall. By buying a crappy, low-bitrate American anime DVD, I AM PAYING FOR IT. And on top of that, 99% of the time anime is on TV in the US, it'll be dubbed. So, don't you think it's in their vested interest to produce something that doesn't suck, so people aren't immediately turned off?
But that's all beside the point; if you think the 'butchering' I'm referring to has something to do with the dubs though, you obviously don't know enough Japanese to know that the subtitle translation is inaccurate, at best, let alone watch it WITHOUT them.
If Japanese DVDs didn't cost twice as much for half as many episodes, I wouldn't have any R1 DVDs in my collection. Since the lack of subs wouldn't be a deal-breaker; the R1s are so bad as it is I usually don't want to watch them with my (non-anime-loving) friends.
Something worth noting: A good Japanese anime DVD with 2 episodes on it, uses more of the DVD's space than a US DVD with 4-5 episodes and English audio.
Would you say compromising the visual quality of the DVDs falls under the heading of 'butchery'? I would.
Would you say that cluttering the disc with crappy dubs no one listens to, and subtitles that sometimes come within a mile or two of an 'accurate translation' maybe, kinda sorta, falls under the heading of 'butchery', or at the very least 'bullshit'? Meh.
Would you say that doing bad things to the original content for no good reason falls under the heading of 'butchery'? I certainly would. Want proof? Rent RahXephon, DVD 1. Watch the first couple minutes of episode 1 and explain to me why they needed to do that.
And what about releasing DVDs that are quite simply...SCREWED? I especially loved the RahXephon movie. They made sure the English audio was perfect...but the Japanese...well, they didn't seem to notice that for half the movie, all the audio was coming from one side. Oops. Atleast they RECALLED that one, no such luck with what they did to the TV series' first DVD.
4kids is another story, their butchery is so far beyond the scope of the normal order of things that it defies a proper definition...
Tokyopop wouldn't be far off, if they hadn't included the ORIGINAL Initial D on the DVDs with their Americanized craptastrophe. (I actually own those, 10 DVDs and counting, even my father loves Initial D...the fact that he drives like Bunta is probably responsible for me never getting behind the wheel of anything not being rendered by a game engine.)
One last thing, when ADV's Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai DVDs came out, I reviewed them sub, dub and all. I thought they'd turned over a new leaf; the dub was actually GOOD (for a dub, anyway), and the subtitles were fairly ACCURATE...they even included these popup bubbles that explained things to the uninitiated, so they didn't have to dumb down the subs! As time passed, I started to suspect that the series was either an isolated incident, or it was outsourced to people who knew what they're doing.
Funimation's work on Fruits Basket isn't bad either...which is surprising, as Funimation is...bad. They have two subtitle tracks, a sort of dumbed down set of English subs, and another that includes name suffixes, and were generally pretty neat.
It'd be nice if more companies followed those two examples. (For one, I really hate it when they drop name suffixes, or God forbid, actually try to 'translate' them. Pioneer's 'x-chan = little x', anyone? The choice and use of particular suffixes is a very important clue to how characters relate to eachother... And the optional pop-up subpicture track would eliminate the need to overexplain typical Japanese stuff, by including notes for people who don't understand Japanese culture. Even fansub groups include notes. Why the hell don't t
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
It's called an example. If you want another one how about "Groove Adventure RAVE" becoming 'Rave Master". "Konjiki no Gash Bell" becoming "Zatch Bell". Or shall I go more detailed? As in how Viz tore out all the Inuyasha Zubon Omakes, the commercial transitions, and resused the same ending video for all of the 2nd season endings when each was different? I can recall a list a mile long.
Also, where exactly did I claim fansubs were more accurate? You're just inferring that I'm some "ignorant" fanboy. Fansubs range in translation quality just like licensed material. The difference is the fansubbers actually understand the community and their wants. Fansubbers don't tear out every last drop of Japanese culture in order to make it more "American Friendly". They accept it and THAT is what makes their translations preferred. Fans want to watch Naruto and see the actual Jutsu names along with translational notes not some stupid sounding English translation, accuracy alone is NOT enough, STYLE COUNTS!
As to Kenshin... you realize the fansubs were done in the VHS era right? There really wasn't a community back then nor was it taken as seriously. It's akin to the fansubbing stone-age. Additionally, the reason fans ribbed Media Blaster is because they ripped out the Japanese culture and used akward phrases like "manslayer". As a fan, it's Hitokiri Battousai or bust. Licensing companies don't understand what the fans want out of a translation and that's the problem and why I said they're piss poor.
Also, to the creators doing the most damage? Shall we go through exactly Nevala, 4kids, DiC, Funimation, Viz, and pretty much everyone else has done? Should I repeat the above examples?
in what way is japanese voice acting superior?
They spend more effort on it, I guess. I'm hardly a serious critic, but when I hear a squeaky Goku, or Minmay's singing, it's bad. Overacting abounds. The problem does tend to be less with the newer/more popular animes.
for me, i would have to have a far more enormous understanding of japanese culture and people and language to make such a distinction.
It helps if you understand the language of course. My knowledge of japanese is hardly encylopedic, so I often need the subtitles anyways. Then again, I often tend to turn on subtitles for english flicks as well. As for having a Phd, Anime is hardly Shakespeare, and many of the 'in-jokes' remain, even after dubbing. Remember, many titles are 'light' entertainment.
Oh, and I can read at 9600 baud, so reading the subtitles isn't a big deal to me.
Even so, I think I'd prefer dub, as long as the voice-acting is up to at least television standards. It's just that many of my early experiences were so bad that I tend to think of the subtitled version as the 'safe' one.
I don't read AC A human right
Let's not forget why they are desperate to try anything... They went on a rampage attacking websites through their ISP with out first talking to webmasters, it created more bad blood then anything else, and people have boycotted their dvds (I know I have) I bite my toungue when I buy their manga even..
They didn't want people to learn about their anime like that, so people couldn't learn about the anime they owned, watching dubs on tv wasn't helpful for that, and so people just decided most of it wasn't worth their time to buy blind.
I don't think they are embrassing BT, they are just trying to get the online community to believe they arn't so bad, too bad some of us remember how their gestopo tactics were and still can't support them.