Fansub - Fanlore

A fansub is a video (usually an anime or J-Drama) which has been subtitled for release by fans. Fansubbing is the process undertaken to create a fansub.

Fansubs are done by fansubbers, so that other fans who can't understand the original language can watch and understand. They can vary enormously in quality, from painstakingly accurate translations and great effort to properly convey the spirit of the original language (the fansubs for KareKano were as clear as they possibly could be, given the insane amount of text and text-related visual gags in the series; and Kaizoku's One Piece fansubs feature extensive notes and explanations, as well as great visual effects ^[1]) to slapdash, poorly edited subs that may be almost as difficult to understand as the original language is to a non-speaker (though rarely as bad as Asian bootlegs.) There are also parody fansubs, which provide completely false, usually silly translations, and are sometimes done by fans with no knowledge of the original language or actual script.

Most fansubs are for series or movies that have not been officially released with subtitles. Currently, with online distribution, fansubs for popular series are often available within 24-48 hours of an episode's broadcast in Japan.

Fansubbing is a difficult process - it requires translation, timing of the script, and the video tech to code the subtitles onto the video. Due to the amount of work involved, fansubs are rarely undertaken by sole individuals. Instead, most fansubbers work together in fansub groups. While once fansubbers usually would stick to series that other fansubbers had not yet subbed, nowadays some fansub groups 'compete' for popular series, striving to be the first to release, or else have the highest quality subs; or with long series, subbing later or earlier episodes as other groups.

History

The first fansubbers distributed their fansubs on VHS via mail. Anime fans would often trade tapes and redubs, just as Western media fans would trade TV shows. Before anime's popularity skyrocketed in the late '90s, fansubs were the only way for many English-speaking fans to see the majority of anime series, and with other series available only in dubbed form, the only way to hear the original Japanese voices.

Starting in the late 1990s, fansubs began to be distributed chiefly online, once mostly through IRC and early peer-to-peer networks, now more through peer-to-peer services, especially bittorrent; and direct downloads.

Legal Issues

As with other types of fan distribution of official media, fansubs are on shaky legal ground. While some anime have never been officially licensed for English-speaking release, more and more are being licensed. Some fansubbers and fansub distribution sites will stop subbing or distributing an anime once it has been licensed.^[2]

However, a series that is licensed usually will not have an official release for over a year or more after the licensing, and many fans are unwilling to wait, especially if they have been following a series weekly. There is also a matter of cost - free online fansubs versus the price of DVDs. As well, some fansubs may be of higher quality (both in accuracy of translation, and appearance of the subs) than the official releases.

References

1. ↑ Kaizoku Fansubs (Accessed 1 March 2009)
2. ↑ "AnimeSuki will not list anime that has been licensed in North America." --Animesuki.com Listing Policy (Accessed 1 March 2009)