Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2019: Week 29

A fansub is a video 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. 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 in the 90s and early 2000s, fansubbers usually would stick to series that other fansubbers had not yet subbed, current fansub groups sometimes 'compete' for popular series, striving to be the first to release, or else to the highest quality subs; or with long series, subbing later or earlier episodes than other groups.