Why the industry is against fansubs: The Legitimate Reasons

As mentioned before, perhaps the best argument put forth by the R1 companies is the doomsday scenario of the total collapse of the anime industry due to people choosing free fansubs over legitimate DVDs. But if the market does fall, can it be blamed on fansubs alone? Of course not; at the moment fansubs are indeed being used as a readily available scapegoat to explain the industry's current lackluster performance. That being said, it is also foolish to believe that the existence of fansubs has no effect on the current situation. Even if a fansub of a single show manages to take away one single DVD sale, it means that it has indeed had a negative effect on the industry. Of course a case can be made that the awareness that fansubs bring to anime does the industry immeasurable good, but the fact remains that calculating the net effect of fansubs is impossible. One must also not forget that the fansub motto of "Cease distribution upon licensing" is not just a catch phrase. The fansubbers are without a doubt, some of the biggest anime fans one can find and they clearly understand that monetary support is vital for the prosperity of their favorite medium. I believe the industry wouldn't have too much to say against fansubs if this motto was actually enforced. Unfortunately once a digital copy finds its way online, it gains immortality. For this reason the industry is left with no other option but to try to stop the flood at its source.

Messages such as these are quite common in fansubs. This particular one
appears at the end of My Hime

The issue of the industry's collapse was brought up in response to many fansub supporters basically wishing the downfall of the R1 distributors as to avoid shows being dropped by fansub groups due to them being licensed. Without clear financial data it is impossible to know exactly how strong the industry's dependence on R1 revenue is, but the fact that only a few years ago a number of Japanese studios went bankrupt and the flood was stopped only due to a US supported cash-infusion, proves that such a connection in fact does exist.

Many fansub supporters choose to simply ignore the "doomsday scenario"

But it is foolish to believe that the North American fall would have no effect over-seas

That being said, when talking about this doomsday scenario, some industry supporters make it sound like it would lead to the extinction of all anime which of course is a baseless assumption. Granted, if this scenario does come to pass, many studios will go out of business and the industry will become only a fraction of what it currently is. If at the moment 100 to 200 shows are being produced per year, the figure might go down to as low as 20 to 50. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Many might say that this means we'll only see high quality shows and the ultra-niche productions (such as "moe" titles) will cease to exist. There might be some truth to this as most likely only the best of the best will be able to pull through this downfall; unfortunately from a consumer standpoint, fewer options can never be considered a good thing. Yes, more resources going to fewer projects could mean better quality, but it also means less innovation and risk taking. Untested shows like Minami-ke, Seto no Hanayome, Seirei no Moribito or even last year's super smash hit Gurren Lagann might never see the light of day in such an atmosphere. Studios will move towards supporting long running franchises instead and we'll see a rise in titles going into 4+ seasons as continuing something with a solid audience is a lot less risky than starting something new. This of course means storylines will become diluted in order to support multiple seasons and quality will in fact drop (Shippuuden anyone?). Expect to see more tried and true formulas such as standard shonen series (Naruto, Bleach, etc) or more Gundam. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It should; it's basically Hollywood.

Anime, now with even longer stare contests

Premiering this fall, Haruhi season 13. Will Kyon's credit card application finally be accepted?

The next point I'm going to talk about was also brought forth as a response to a famous argument often used by fansub supporters; the argument that we should be able to watch anime for free, because it is free on Japanese TV. I'm sure if anyone thinks about that for a few moments they'll understand why it’s such a ridiculous argument. Yes, anime on Japanese TV is actually not free. The Japanese pay for it by purchasing products advertised during anime commercial breaks; they pay for it when they subscribe to Japanese cable and satellite television; and they pay for it when their tax money goes towards public broadcasting. Yes my friends, just because something is available on Japanese TV, it doesn't mean everyone else is entitled to watch it for free.

Finally we have the industry's stance that anime isn't really meant to be read (as in watched with subtitles). Would you find it surprising if I told you this is, more often than not, said by Japanese directors and studio heads and not ADV or Funimation reps? Again, if you think about this for a few moments you'll understand why the original creators would take such a stance. If I was the director of a show or part of the animation team, I would much rather my audience be paying attention to the art, animation and what's happening on the screen than reading a translation of the dialogue. Of course like most anime fans there are shows in which I enjoy a specific voice actor's work more than the visuals themselves (I would never watch Shakugan no Shana or Zero no Tsukaima dubbed) but in general I would much rather be enjoying the action than reading dialogue, as it was originally intended by the show's creators.

Most anime are definitely not meant to be read, especially when they involve
intricate plotlines and fast action

What the Future May Hold

I have to admit, the North American distributors definitely lead the entertainment business pack when it comes to listening to the fan-base. Constant price adjustments, licensing niche titles to cater to certain fan groups, doing multiple dubs for certain episodes so unedited DVDs would be available to fans even when the show needs to be censored for television broadcast, etc. Now we have companies moving away from the dreaded four episodes per volume model and offering six, 13 and in some cases full boxsets with the initial release of a product. The reason for the hyper-sensitivity of the companies to fan requests is mainly due to the fact that a great deal of the people in charge if these companies are anime fans themselves and not some random suite sitting behind a large mahogany desk fiddling with a bunch of pie-charts (go to conventions and actually sit in a room with these guys to see for yourself).

Nozomi Entertainment will release Maria-sama ga Miteru straight in full season boxsets

Solty Rei is one of many titles available in download-to-own format from FUNimation

While doing research for this piece, it became perfectly clear to me that R1 distributors are not the main problem. If given the choice, I would doubt anyone in the industry would say "We can get this hot new license and release it immediately, but we decided not to". It is evident that most of the reasons that gives fansubs a leg up over legal releases are things that are in the hands of the Japanese license holders. It is these entities that control the cost by overcharging on licensing fees, it is these entities that delay North American releases by turning the licensing process into an impossible maze, and it is these entities that shy away from digital distribution in favor of older models. It is perfectly clear that the last remaining requests of the fan-base can only be granted from across the ocean and the land of the rising sun. The last remaining obstacles preventing legal releases from becoming competitive with fansubs cannot be conquered by the will of the R1 industry alone. The most Viz, Media Blasters and ADV can do is pressure their Japanese counterparts into understand the situation and embracing change.

If someone had approached me only two weeks ago and asked, "How do you see the future of anime? Do you think the Japanese would adapt before things go south?" I would have most likely replied that I did not believe that the Japanese would react in time and that the most likely outcome would be a lesser version of our doomsday scenario discussed in the previous section. But things suddenly took a very unexpected turn, leaving all fans (me included) shocked and amazed. This sudden turn of events began on March 13th by an announcement from the main administrator of Crunchyroll saying that they were in talks with Gonzo regarding possible collaboration between the website and the Japanese studio. The news was later confirmed by GDH (Gonzo's parent company).

The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk

The fact that Gonzo was in talks with a website infamous for streaming illegal fansubs of anime was shocking by itself, but most did not read much into this. That is until Gonzo’s sudden announcement on March 21st that The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk and Blassreiter, two new animated series set to premier in April, will be available online for viewers on the same day as the TV broadcast in Japan. Yes my friends, YouTube, Crunchyroll and BOST TV will stream (and perhaps offer paid high quality downloads) of subtitled versions of these shows within hours of the Japanese domestic broadcast. This has been the pie-in-the-sky dream of many anime fans for a long time and I for one did not expect it to become reality in such a short amount of time. There are obviously different angles to this story. For one, lack of a payment to Gonzo basically means that this is either an attempt on Gonzo's part to gain extra publicity for these two shows or that they are simply testing the waters to see how digital streaming of shows would affect fansubs or DVD sales. Even some raw traffic data during the streaming of these shows could go a long way in determining the viability of ad-supported online anime websites. It will be quite interesting to see the outcome of this little experiment. A few fansub groups had previously expressed interest in subbing The Tower of Druaga so I will personally be looking to see if any of these groups would decide to fully sub the series despite this change. Of course YouTube and Crunchyroll's video quality leave much to be desired and BOST is a pay-per-view service, so the lack of a free higher quality sub could mean that there will still be a demand for a fansub of these two shows thus reducing the accuracy of Gonzo's new experiment; but I for one hope that anime fans would give Gonzo a chance despite the obvious difficulties that will accompany this new endeavor. I know I will personally watch these shows through the newly available legal channels even if it means lower quality, as I believe that efforts such as these must be supported by fans for us to see positive changes.

I have to mention that I do not believe that an iTunes style, pay-per-view model, is appropriate for anime (though there are rumors that even Apple is experimenting with all-you-can-download subscription models). When downloading music, consumers would like to own the specific piece and be able to carry it around using portable devices but the same does not apply to television shows such as anime. Most fans like to approach anime as they would any other TV programming; basically just watching it once on a decently sized screen. And if someone is looking to own a specific show, buying it on DVD is a lot more attractive to them than owning a digital copy on a hard-drive.

What will the future of anime look like? I honestly cannot say for certain. The only question I can answer is "What would you hope to see in the future of anime" Websites such a Hulu have clearly proven that there is enormous demand for ad-supported online streaming services and my sincere hope is that some day (in the very near future) we'll have services such a Hulu providing high quality ad-supported streamings of anime in subtitled format within hours of Japanese broadcast. I believe this solution addresses all the needs currently met by fansubs (speed, convenience, price, availability, etc) while still providing the industry with a previously none-existant cash revenue and a method to help them keep control of their property, enabling them to discontinue a show's online presence when DVDs hit the market. Though one has to keep in mind that online anime streaming is not the only possible solution to this puzzle. According to David L. Williams of ADV films, releasing an English language dub of a series simultaneously with a Japanese broadcast is not impossible (though I'd imagine it lies very deep in the realm of 'freaking difficult').

Hulu's library of North American television programing is quite impressive

Could the dream of such a service catering to anime fans become reality?

How will North American distributors react to changes such as legally streamed anime? Hard to say; on one hand licensing fees could in fact increase since a case can be made that an increase in exposure and popularily of certain titles could in fact lead to an increase in DVD and merchandising sales. On the other hand, the North American distributors might negotiate and receive a piece of this digital pie. Also one can argue that it could be possible for licensing fees to go down since the Japanese can now balance their niche-title losses with online ad-revenue. What about DVD sales, will they take a hit due to shows being readily available for free? I do not believe that such a service would hurt DVD sales at all. After all, those who like to own a specific show will prefer a DVD to an online stream. In fact, this move could do what anime distributors have been trying to accomplish (by broadcasting shows on television channels) and push our beloved genre into the mainstream, thus actually boosting DVD sales and help the industry flourish.

One can only dream.

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