December 22, 2002

a spoiled generation

or something of the like ^_^

animedom and anime fandom has certainly changed a lot over
the last few years, especially in terms of fansubs -now digisubs-
and the sheer massively growing amount of available anime. and
there looks to be no end, of which i am glad :3

watching the digisub tapes greg has sent me reminds me of
my roots, of crowding around a tv with other otaku, hanging on every
5th gen fuzzy illegible sub. franticly fastforwarding to the next
episode cause damned if every episode didn't end with a cliff-hanger O_o
how each tape was coveted, especially the 1st-2nd gen tapes,
and where fansubs were a painstaking art-form of ultimate fandom
(and too much time on one's hands ^_- )

now we have digisubs. as long as they respect the same rules the
classic vhs fansubs and fansubbers did, then it's ok. but digisubs
are dangerous in that they are much more accesible and prone to
continuance and spreading after a series is liscenced. i'll buy the dvd
as soon as it comes out, fansubs or no, but some won't. and that is sad -.-
truly, i pity ye fool who raves over the latest digisub they downloaded,
but won't fork over a cent to buy the copyrighted liscenced dvd of it,
whether it be r1 or r2.

and what happened to spending hours, days, any resource possible
to rake in whatever news, tidbits, spoilage, info, background on your
latest anime obsessions and passions. now it's askaskask so you don't
have to find out on your own. for me, at least, anime is a very personal
passion which i enjoy on a most private/intimate level, but also that i like
to share with others so long as they respect that privacy/intimacy.
while i don't mind looking for and asking for insight on an anime, part of
the burning passion and love comes from that special something which
can't be quite put into words, you just feel it here ~points~ in your heart.
questions are ok, but i'm not going to provide all the answers. life
and anime isn't that easy; you gotta find some on your own :)

and what happened to the classics. yes, there is a lot of great anime
coming out today, along with the usual average and the usual shlock.
demo, i want some of those truly great classics on dvd too, especially
r1 dvd. that's one gripe i have with r1 companies is that they are truly
passing over some stellar timeless older anime just because it is older.
bah! age doesn't mean anything when it's g00d.

they call them Classics for a reason ^_^

Posted by k-chan at December 22, 2002 01:24 AM

Comments

Even of the new shows I'm starting to wonder if they are being too ambitious with licensing. There have been some great shows coming out, but there's a lot of mediocre stuff too.

Everyone's going nuts about Chobits for instance, but I thought the anime was pretty damn uneven. The manga is blowing it away based on what I've read. I'm sure some of this is just because of the CLAMP name behind it.

And there are a number of older series that I keep hoping to see. I keep my ear out to find out what wones I've been missing.

One other issue is quality. While divx stuff is pretty good. My saikano digisubs are nowhere near as nice looking as the DVD. There really is an order of magnitude difference between the two and I think people just need to see it to get that.

Posted by: gregory at December 22, 2002 04:33 AM

Hey wait, you said tapes, did you get them ALREADY?

I padded the end of each tape, abenobashi has one or two eps of Ai Yori Aoshi (mmm Aoi), and the other one has one of the funniest episodes of Galaxy Angel (Pizza Delivery!).

Posted by: gregory at December 22, 2002 04:36 AM

digisubs are ok, for watching on the computer, but when it comes down to comparing them with LD to svhs to vhs fansubs, amazingly the ole 1st gen vhs fansub is of higher quality. what wins the divx digisubs favor is overall ease and accesability.

for me, digisubs are great for getting some of my thirst sated till i can get my hands on the dvds, whether they be r1, r2, or both. because digisubs on vhs on a widescreen tv in analog is bloody painful to the eyes >.<

what's scary is i have met people who have been happy with their divx digisubs, so much so that they don't buy the commercial versions (r1 at least). they'll just keep downloading n downloading n dowloading while gloating about not having to spend a dime for their anime fix. that makes me sad and sick -.-

nope. haven't got the vhs tapes yet, but since i knew they were on their way, i figured i'd make the tapes plural. mm... Robin and Abenobashi ~drools~ especially Robin. if they do a cold-cast of Robin i am so THERE!! XD

Posted by: k-chan at December 22, 2002 08:23 AM

yeah, I don't get people who are more happy with divx stuff. I've seen it with real movies too and I just don't get it. I like things like my 5.1 sound and the better video quality.

Posted by: gregory at December 22, 2002 09:33 AM

It all boils down to this: de gustibus non disputandem est. I've always been more of a renter than a purchaser, though I make an exception for things I intend to watch over and over. So, for me, fansub divxen are a way-cheap (in both quality and cost) but way-convenient way to "rent" shows that I otherwise would never watch or would take forever to get around to. Shows that aren't available that way, I watch if Netflix gets 'em, but it's hard to get my butt over to a brick-and-mortar rental place.

Digisubs are extremely similar to the music tapes that my friends and I used to swap around in college -- poor quality and borderline legality, but allow me vastly greater exposure to what's available, and improving the chances I'll actually buy the best that's out there (as opposed to avoiding it all because I don't want to plop down bucks for something and have it turn out to be Najica Blitz Tactics or Tokyo Mew Mew)...

And the same thing applies to "The Classics" -- one person's classic is another's outdated trash. One of the kids at the local anime club that I just started attending didn't endear herself to me when she saw the Gunbuster and (original) Bubblegum Crisis tapes I brought and announced "I don't like badly-drawn anime!"

Posted by: elthar at December 22, 2002 10:03 AM

I still need to see gunbuster.

But BGC badly drawn anime? Yow, I would have gone crazy on that person! :) But then again that was really the show that made me fall in love with anime. That first sequence in the first episode that feels like a music video is still one of my favorites ever. So much so that I felt the new series was quite weak in comparison.

Posted by: gregory at December 22, 2002 12:38 PM

BGC, the original OVAs, were one of my first anime addictions and i still love it to this day ^_^

Gunbuster is a Classic, imnsho, and one of the rare anime that consistantly makes me cry near the end. great anime, and i still need the 3rd r2 dvd. i also still need the 3 cd music set.

Posted by: k-chan at December 26, 2002 06:53 AM

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