The Current State of Fansubs Part II
It’s no surprise that my post yesterday caused up a little bit of a ruckus. Some people thought that I was being an asshole to complain about some things. Others knew it wasn’t their place to complain, but still felt the same way that I did. One person gave me this great link that shows what groups have called dibs on what series. I was able to get the following information from it.
- For the fall season of last year, 88% of all series that weren’t licensed in the US were fansubbed. Considering that at least 40 different series came out then, that’s a hell of a number!
- For the winter season, that number dropped to 76%.
- So far this season, the number of series that are planned to be fansubed is 59%. However, the actual number of series that have a fansub out by now is only 23%, and we’re a couple of weeks into the new season.
And thus, the current state of fansubs is on the decline. Now true, more then likely those numbers will increase when people realize this. I really hope that someone picks up Koi Koi 7, because right now that’s the only thing I’m interested in that no one’s going to sub. Hell, if I had the capability to do so, I would sub it myself! Maybe a year or so down the line I will. But whether or not I’m being an ass for pointing it out, this news should be really upsetting for people who enjoy fansubs.
Anyway, that’s just my little follow up to this whole thing. I’ll be taking a small break for the weekend, so I hope everyone else out there will have just as much fun as I will for the next couple of days. I know that I’m getting people from all over the world reading this, especially in Japan! But spring has finally come to my part of the US, so I hope the weather’s just as nice for you as it is for me. (^_^) See you next week when hopefully I can finally check out He is My Master as well as the latest Ichigo, Mahoraba, and Yakitate episodes.
I guess you could call it a decline, I would call it a return to normalcy. Fall 2004 was an exceptional season with very few, in my opinion, marginal titles and Lunar picked up 6-7 titles. I also wouldn’t forget that many of the past titles aren’t even completed yet. That site also doesn’t specify when the titles were picked up, so its not really fair to compare. You can’t always look at it in terms of picking up new series, overall the amount of fansubbing being done remains the same or perhaps a slight decline that can be attributed to the turmoils of college life. Any way I look at it, we’ve come a long ways since the Love Hina days and taking the “analysis” of two seasons and making it a trend is a little presumptious and certainly hasty.
Summer usually sees a decline in fansubbing too, so I wouldn’t be too quick to point that out to support your argument.
I hope the show you want gets fansubbed. I certainly know the feeling.
Comment by rixot — April 18, 2005 @ 8:22 am