Monday, November 28, 2011 3:56:32 AM
industry, karaoke, fansubbing, japanese
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Scratch that. I don't have the time to maintain my blog much any more (school is resuming in less than a week) and I still have a boot load of anime to edit and typeset (~50). When I have the energy to rant about things and am not lazy, I'll post something on here. Until then, don't bother to waste your time checking to see if there is another more updates.
As for the FGA, it's shut down for the time being. I just don't have the patience and time to sit behind my computer watching crappy anime by crappy groups. Yes, that pretty much is my conclusion to it. Not a single "new" group is worthy of my recognition, except those that are subtitling anime which no other group or official "licensor" is providing. I won't even bother to judge even those group if that is your only option. However, if they are providing it as a soft-sub, you should change/fix any blatant obstructions.
That said, I have seen one group's work - Usagi Drop Specials by Oyatsu. Their encoding is good (quality), but seemed a bit "bright." I won't complain if the BD came like that. The translation/editing was almost stellar, but some blatant mistakes were there. I cannot remember what right now, but it was quite obvious. How can you mess up during QA, if any, for such a short anime? The biggest issue I had with their release that made me want to throw something at whoever did it, was the typesetting. You should never, and I mean NEVER use a light-coloured outline with a light-coloured primary for a "bright" anime. It was displeasing on many levels. It could have been resolved if some shadow were used or a dark-coloured outline was used. The typical white primary with a black outline would have been ideal. I would give Oyatsu's release a perfect rating IF the typesetting was pleasing and there were no translation mistakes as blatant as the ones I saw. Thankfully, both are resolvable since the release was soft-sub... I think.
Anyway, if you want to read about fan-sub group comparisons of new or old groups, check out 8thSin. I haven't seen or read any translations by 8thSin, but he seems like a very knowledgeable person (his Japanese by far is better than than me). However, I do have some disagreement with his views on translation and his translation method in general (judging from his speech). I would say his translation ratings are pretty accurate too.
Read more...
Sunday, September 25, 2011 6:27:34 PM
politics, water, environment, war
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It has already begun, but very little people actually know about it. The people that are suffering from it don't even know that it's a war. Yet, we have countless numbers of people affected by it. What can we do about it? Is there a solution? In this post, I shall analyse the situation of the next war that has been going on since World War II (Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt are something else). What we can do to solve the situation and how exactly must we do it. If it is not dealt with now, it will affect all of us, regardless of whether you are poor or rich (upper middle class).
Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt or these so-called war on terror are just part of this ongoing war. We all know that in present day, most, if not all people, look towards the media (newspapers, television, radio, etc) for their daily news and sometimes education (as in being educated or informed about the situation). But did you know, it is also an area that is heavily controlled by people that play a major role in our political system, governments, and pretty much any other form to get into our heads apart from through the media itself. In short, what I am trying to say is that those wars above are all instigated by the people in these corporations with their political power. Those wars are/were only an illusion or brainwash to keep your mind off the real war. Of course, oil plays a role in this, but again, that is part of the illusion. If your mind is focused on one particular thing, it's really hard to think about something else.
I won't be providing any sort of data to back up my opinion (which is based on just logical thinking, documentaries, and some theories), but I just want you to think about this war, because it is real and it is happening without us even knowing about it in places we don't know because the media, as I have mentioned, are controlling what to show and what not to show - and so, this is being covered up. I will be going through a number of points analysing things that you really should think about too and find out more about it - remember don't uses sources that are controlled by the media giants, otherwise it'll be biased. Try to find information from "public" or "independent" sources.
The African-Middle East wars are cover ups of a real ongoing war that is taking place all over the world. The country that I live in, Canada, will soon be under serious threat. I already see signs that it's nearing to the same status as places in the United States which are already heavily affected by it. If you study cognitive-science, you will come to understand that fear is one of the largest, if not the greatest form of emotion to change the beliefs of people to something completely the opposite - which in turn is also changing their identity. When people die, especially anyone close to us, we are in shock, hatred, but more so, fear - fear about death. It is also an undying emotion that can last a very long time in a person's lifespan. Therefore, if you trigger it via a large force, it will remain until something of equal force can change that emotion. These are the reasons why there are many people and their governments that continue wars beyond the expiration point. Beyond the time when they have already "won."
If you are on the opposite end of the spectrum, you see the world differently - in the light, not in a constant dark. And that is what everyone should be doing to solve the ongoing war. The war I am speaking of is the war for water, if it wasn't already clear enough from the header image and the image of the post. It is quite a serious issue and should be dealt with not "as soon as possible," but NOW! Before I go on further, I just want you to think about a couple of things and answer it to yourself. 1) Would you buy or pay for air? An essential part of life and necessity to live for all beings. 2) Now, ignoring the fact that you may be doing it, would you buy or pay for water knowing about air? Water is also an essential part of life for survival. Not just for humans, but other species. And you know the best part? It's abundant and FREE. 3) Would you or why would you pay for something that is FREE?
Seriously, this is a question that shouldn't be a question. We simple shouldn't be paying for something that is so abundant and free that we should restrict others, even our own self, from access to it. You should, however, ask yourself the question, how abundant is clean water and do I have access to it? Because not all of the water you see around the world is clean or safe. Ocean water is salt-water which is deadly if consumed in the large. Safe and clean water are usually those that come from mountain tops, glaciers, small streams or lakes, and natural wells. Canada just so happens to be a nation that has access to this clean and safe water (while the United States has pretty much given all of its access to corporations), but I feel there will be a time where it will be monopolised to corporations, corporations that are deliberately trying to make the government in debt (via corruption, continual spending on unnecessary war, etc) so that it is forced to sell off their assets and/or borrow money from these same corporations. Do you see a paradox here? If not, you need to see a psychiatrist.
Think about this this way: Company "CP" is drilling water out of a well that is "labelled" 'unlimited supply of water' (when in reality it probably is linked one way or another with the household water system - e.g. lake, stream, or the pipes itself). Company CP then takes this water, "manufacturers" it into another product that is made 95% of water (other 5% = chemicals and food additives), whether it be water itself, a sports drink, or non-natural juice. Company CP after that takes the "new" product, ships it around the world and locally to sell it. Charges $1-3 a bottle (this itself is a dangerous container) where over half goes directly into the pockets of rich people, that just so happens to be affiliated with the government... To me, honestly, there is something wrong with this situation. It's pretty much a chain that benefits only the corporations and any outside individuals cannot do anything about it - unless you protest, make legislations, and force closures of these money-mongers.
Thus, if you want to take action against these corporations, follow a simple schedule like this to ensure yourself as the victor. a) Target a corporation that you know sells water or water-like products (such as water with "flavour"). b) Research, explore, and find to make sure that this corporation is doing something wrong - which is always the case, so make sure you have concrete evidence. c) Collaborate with people that have the same belief as you. Step b) and c) may be combined. This is very important as you need a lot of people - the more people, the more bigger the impact. d) Take action by showing your evidence and findings to a local or international group that deals with issues such as this and arrange for a protest / newspaper companies are NOT going to help you as they are own by rich corporations. The protest should not target the company, but rather the government to take action against them. e) If the government does not find anything wrong in the situation (either they are bribed to not say anything or they lie about their findings), then you know via the evidence that you have (make sure to keep this updated), to file a lawsuit. f) Always make sure to collaborate and ask the help of people that are honest, otherwise you will face a great consequence. And finally, g) this procedure I mentioned above may not be 100% accurate in terms of legality or order, so use your knowledge, legal rights, and common sense. Mass uprisings and action against a corporation (or government) can change the way in which you live, so this method is the greatest weapon that you have provided its done right.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 5:02:40 PM
Argiris Karras
For all the yaoi fan-girls (and homosexual guys) out there, here is an exclusive catalogue of photos containing Argiris (Argy) Karras, better known as Riley Stavros from Degrassi, a real-life friend of mine. Leave a comment under the photo if you like an image (comments may be forwarded to Argy, depending on what you say). Please do not save any image on your computer or elsewhere and use it for your blog or web-site, instead just use the direct url. It's convenient and much easier for you to do. Otherwise, permission is required. Cheers! And enjoy! 
Saturday, July 23, 2011 3:50:27 AM
manga, fansubbing, japanese, anime
16/10/2011 - I am offering the translator position to anyone that that has any kind of experience (whether it be personal, subbing community, professional, for friends or family, etc) or no experience. Additionally, the translation project has been changed to another anime which is from the same decade, however, the change is temporarily as the other anime is about half the number of episodes of Maicchingu Machiko Sensei. I shall let applicants know about it (the name, length) once they apply and complete a couple translation tests.
Rules & Regulations: If you decide you want to be paid to translate, you must either be a professional (with at least a few years of experience) or me that you can be as good as a professional. Being a native Japanese will not give you any points, however, it will give you an edge in terms of understanding dialogues that are not as clear as others. Professional translators do not have to do the translation tests, but must show me a Resume/CV. Contact me via email (see about page, use hotmail address) for more information.
25/9/2011 - Due to the leave of a translator that was on the project, I am once again hiring a translator (if you cannot do it for free - though take note that there are rules and regulations - read below) to do Maicchingu Machiko Sensei. The charge is $1 per minute of dialogue video/audio. Opening and Ending songs are not included, therefore should not be done. If you want to get a sample of the anime, search it via YouTube.
22/7/2011 - The charge has been lowered to $5 per episode since the translator I spoke about previously is charging this amount. How do I know? I am currently getting it checked by that person. It's a very competitive rate, so the only form that you can do better is to translation check alternate episodes for free. Otherwise, to do all for free. Who knows, maybe you'll like the anime if you get into it.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 1:54:04 AM
industry, fansubbing, japanese, monopoly
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I know, I know. It took me a very long to figure out, but I noticed something yesterday that confirmed fansubbing is not done for fun or providing "the unfortunate with subs/eastern hemisphere" ideal. The two things that I noticed justifies my belief it has changed from something many people loved and enjoyed doing to a "game" between so-called licensing groups like Crunchyroll and existing fan-sub groups. It's a matter of "e-peen" and reputation/we're better than you sort of thing today (and they want to keep it that way).
The two things are the following: 1) groups that have access to transport streams or closed captions are at a very higher advantage than those that do not, and 2) due to those groups having those resources, translators are more than ever likely to join them instead of a group with a slightly lower reputation or far less resources to help them in their translations.
I'm not 100% sure, but am more than 90% sure the following groups have these advantages: gg, Commie, Mazui, (THORA), Underwater, UTW, SS, Eclipse, and various other groups from within members of those eight groups such as Frostii, umai, Nuke, Saizen, Ayako, m.3.3.w and Doki. DTCP (Detective Conan Translation Project) does also have a transport stream provider, but that person is exclusive to the Detective Conan project. At one point, he did provide MJN (Minor Ja Nai) with transport streams of the baseball anime series MAJOR. I doubt he does any more since MJN is pretty much dead.
Now, I should address that not all anime can be translated using resources like closed captions such as for older anime which are not aired any more and some DVD/BD series or films. I won't say it's unfair that certain groups (the main groups mentioned above) have these advantages because some of their members are much more experienced (meaning, have been in the scene much longer and know the -ins and -outs) than my meagre four years. Some are just lucky to find translators because of things surrounding them in real life such as a school anime club or being oriental (trust me, being one puts you in a much higher advantage than not when trying to find translators). Although I am Asian, I am not oriental, so I have very little to no ability befriending oriental translators in real life. There is no anime club in the college I attend either (most programs are 3-year, 2-year or less, so there is very little resources to maintain such a club to keep going for more than a semester and not to mention, my campus is not the main one).
Why is fansubbing a monopoly? As you may or may not know, so-called licensing groups such as Crunchyroll also have access to transport stream raws and the actual scripts (instead of them trying to rip it from the stream). Then you add the fact that those 8 to 16 groups also have resources to the mix, you get a monopoly on all these groups taking and releasing any popular anime from any season at almost the same rate as Crunchyroll (they don't simulcast all of their new anime shows any more). Translators and Project Leaders from new groups or other groups are almost instantly turned away from trying to fan-sub that anime as they know a better group released or will be releasing before them, so they won't get any attention - especially if they rely on donations for their web-site or whatnot (read up on my previous post on that subject matter). Instead of translation taking a good 2-4 hours, it is being cut to 1-2 hours (maximum) due to closed captions.
Furthermore, fan-subbing today is about speed. I don't know if quality applies much with the exception of a few groups that have been consistent, but almost all of the above 8-16 groups goal is to provide the subtitles at maximum within a week after it has aired. Even if they use a better channel whose airing of the same anime is a few days after the first airing of the new anime, they intend to release it before the first airing channel airs the next episode. And of course, having closed captions allows for any of those groups to surely release at this pace and be consistent about it. This is EXACTLY how Eclipse were able to make consistent and speedy releases.
Now, I personally don't have a problem with those groups mentioned above working on anime series I don't watch or wish to subtitle (I have been losing interest in present day anime anyway - I may cover this topic in the future), but I do dislike the fact that they have the monopoly on the translators. In the four and ongoing years I've been in the fan-sub scene, not a single Japanese to English translator have stayed and completed a project I lead (they fled due to real life obligations). Three (3) alone for the Before Green Gables anime series.
The series I work on may not be a very popular manga-based, game-based, or novel-based work in present day, but a few years ago, they brought more attention on themselves than anime you see today. Yoiko and Maicchingu Machiko Sensei are prime examples of this. Both are intended for children and both contain nudity. Full-upper nudity. Today, full-upper nudity is censored to the max. Sekirei (manga is uncensored) was heavily censored. Queen's Blade which is an anime that revolves around nudity was also censored with the exception of one (1) channel - the shittiest quality channel. In the 90s and 80s, nudity, even for a children audience, was accepted. Of course, back in that time, hentai was also uncensored. Censorship of content in anime, manga, hentai and other mediums are only recent news.
My point is, regardless though, the popularity of anime are all about the same when you consider the time they aired in. Some are slightly more because they bring more attention (Maicchingu Machiko Sensei with the PTA) and some less (World Masterpiece Theatre). Just like with politics and school, translators should keep an open-mind when thinking about working on any show. They must first and always view at least one episode from that anime and decide if they like it enough that they want to translate it. Of course, the length of the anime series is another key, but if you are being compensated in some way or form, that should be considered.
I know for a fact that both Yoiko and Maicchingu Machiko Sensei at its time were extremely popular anime due to the success of their manga. Today, they may not be very popular anime, but their success still remains apparent. Let's take Maicchingu Machiko Sensei as an example. After the anime finished airing and the DVD box set was released, the price of the series was a hefty 100,000 yen (approx. $1200 USD). Today, the price remains approximately the same. If the popularity and rarity of the anime were less, the price would have decreased substantially, but it hadn't. It is, pretty much, a collector's item.
In conclusion, a word of advice to potential future translators: keep an open-mind when thinking about working on an anime series. You don't have to do the latest things, old things do have a large fan-base too. If you want to work in Japan as a translator or work for a Japanese company, you should challenge yourself when it comes to translating and go for projects that don't have any closed captions, is in a dialect that is not your strong point, and/or has a lot of on-screen text - anime like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Though, you can do the latter part just by working on manga that has a lot of kanji, hiragana, or katakana - whatever is your weak point among those three. It may be expensive, but try to take proficiency tests like the JLPT. Getting JLPT N1 level certification does not mean you are a perfect translator, it just means you are at the same level as someone that went to a Japanese school. You should join a group that has at least one (1) active translator who you can contact if you have any questions relating to the language that cannot be answered via a dictionary or a search engine.
If you are translating anime or manga to learn Japanese, that will not be enough. You need to read books, attend classes, take tests and keep-up-to-date on the language. The method is to actually do a degree in Japanese language studies (to get the most out of the language), go on that 1-year trip to Japan via school (usually the final year). In addition to experiencing Japan via school, you need to experience it alone - but at the same time keep a social life by making friends there, preferably natives, not foreigners. If you are complimented by a Japanese native on your Japanese language skills, that is a sign that you know the language very well (at least when it comes to speaking).
My Opera
