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Recently, Paul “OtaKing” Johnson uploaded this "documentary" about anime fansubbing on YouTube. He obviously put alot of time and effort into it. The animation were well done, the examples where entertaining, and I found the entire video quite enjoyable. To sum it up in a sentence, he describes modern fansubbing as subbers comparing their epeens with one another.
Now, since he was so academic in his argument, I have to say that this video is anything but a documentary. A documentary is supposed to be "presenting facts objectively without editorialising or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film", which he failed to do. Therefore, this is nothing more than a video editorial expressing OtaKing's personal opinion. Nonetheless, it's a personal opinion I agree with... for the most parts.
OtaKing criticised fansubbers for plastering their own names across the opening sequence and adding flashy karaoke effects; completely disrespecting the creators and animators that made the show. However, he should keep in mind that these are fansubs we're talking about. Made by fans who spend a great deal of time for little or no reward. He seems to enjoy comparing them with professional translators who are PAID to be invisible and unrecognized. If splashing their name across the opening sequence and flashy karaoke is the fansubbers' way of stroking their epeens, then stroke away I say. Anyway, the fact that DVDs use simple fonts is simply because DVDs can't use fancy fonts.
However, while I don't particularly care about the typesetting of fansubs, I have to agree with his arguements about the translation aspects of fansubbing. The recent and rather sad trend is for quality translations to give way to speed. So now not only does the odd line not flow quite correctly, a typo here and there is considered to be good quality subs. The drop in standards in fansubs seems to be accepted as long as the speed increases. Of course, not all fansubbers are like the bottom barrel examples OtaKing gave to illustrate his points. There are plenty out there that have very high quality translations. I do fear for the future of fansubbing if so called "speedsubbing" is the path the community is taking.
Now, since he was so academic in his argument, I have to say that this video is anything but a documentary. A documentary is supposed to be "presenting facts objectively without editorialising or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film", which he failed to do. Therefore, this is nothing more than a video editorial expressing OtaKing's personal opinion. Nonetheless, it's a personal opinion I agree with... for the most parts.
OtaKing criticised fansubbers for plastering their own names across the opening sequence and adding flashy karaoke effects; completely disrespecting the creators and animators that made the show. However, he should keep in mind that these are fansubs we're talking about. Made by fans who spend a great deal of time for little or no reward. He seems to enjoy comparing them with professional translators who are PAID to be invisible and unrecognized. If splashing their name across the opening sequence and flashy karaoke is the fansubbers' way of stroking their epeens, then stroke away I say. Anyway, the fact that DVDs use simple fonts is simply because DVDs can't use fancy fonts.
However, while I don't particularly care about the typesetting of fansubs, I have to agree with his arguements about the translation aspects of fansubbing. The recent and rather sad trend is for quality translations to give way to speed. So now not only does the odd line not flow quite correctly, a typo here and there is considered to be good quality subs. The drop in standards in fansubs seems to be accepted as long as the speed increases. Of course, not all fansubbers are like the bottom barrel examples OtaKing gave to illustrate his points. There are plenty out there that have very high quality translations. I do fear for the future of fansubbing if so called "speedsubbing" is the path the community is taking.
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