The Tentacle

Another fact concerning emails: Â Sending one is apparently safer than texting..... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mifJG3ACjVs[/media]

Pet peeves? Â This'll be a long list so here's my top five: 1) Â The sound of babies crying in a public restaurant. 2) Â People who drive 45 mph in the 55 zone, especially when I want to run 65. 3) Â Those idiots who drive through the parking lot with the bass on their stereos turned all the way up. 4) Â The sound of someone talking on a cell phone in a public restaurant. 5) Â Neighbors who let their dogs bark all damn night.

I just started [b]Sacred Blacksmith[/b] this morning and I'll probably be marathoning that today. Â I've also got [b]Black Butler[/b] and [b]Phantom[/b] on the pile to keep me occupied for the time being.

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1295452455' post='704026'] "you don't like me and I don't like you either." [/quote] And that sounds like every relationship I've ever had.

Oh yeah, I remember these things.  [b]Laser Tag[/b] and [b]Photon[/b] were all the rage back in the 80's.  Laser Tag even had its own Saturday morning cartoon as I recall. The world of [url=http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/555/507/Lazertron_display_image.jpg?1291894839]pro-wrestling[/url] also tried to cash in on the lasermania. With FPS games being so popular I'm guessing there's a market for this somewhere.  Â

You are correct sir!

This one shouldn't be too hard to guess: [img]http://batrock.net/animeimages/uwm08-01.JPG[/img]

Is that from [b]Basilisk[/b]?

Are you or someone you know the spitting image of a character you've seen in anime or manga? Â Do you feel an emotional connection with one of them because they remind you so much of yourself? Â Or perhaps there is one particular character you wish you could be like. Â Whatever the case may be this is the thread to discuss such things. I've always thought I looked sort of like a slightly pudgier version of [b]Gendo Ikari[/b]. Â I have the same hairstyle and color and I also wear classes. Â I've even considered shaving off my moustache and growing my sideburns down to connect to my goatee but I don't think I could pull it off quite as well as he does. Â I have been known to steeple my hands while looking sullen at times though. I can't really think of anyone to compare myself to emotionally but I think I might like to walk a few miles in [b]Tenchi Masaki's[/b] shoes. Â Having random women fawn all over me for no apparent reason would probably get annoying after a while though. Â I find a lot of appeal in living the life of a carefree traveler like [b]Kino[/b] from Kino No Tabi though so that might be the way to go.

I see what you're saying and I agree with all of it. Â I was just trying to segue into another tirade. Â Sorry 'bout that. Â >__> Anyway, going back to a prior post I broached the subject of what the future holds for both the industry and fansubbers. Â I think that's a topic worth discussing as well. Â Where do the rest of you see the anime industry five years from now? Personally I'm seeing a lot of business moving into the online streaming market. Â I just hope anime will still be available for purchase on solid media if it comes to that. Â Fansubbers might also see a decline in support and a few of the major sites may be shut down to divert attention to legitimate sites. Â That's what I see on the horizon. Â How about the rest of you?

[quote name='Katana' timestamp='1294868911' post='703846'] [size="1"][color="royalblue"]Fansubs, on the other hand, aren't like that. The subbers didn't [i]make[/i] the anime (or draw the manga). They didn't write the stories. They didn't do the voice acting. All they're doing is translating it. But their motivation, I believe, is still pretty much the same; they're doing what they're doing out of love for the show and wanting to spread it to the masses. The problem is that they're not promoting people to watch the product, they're just giving out the product.[/color][/size][/quote] [color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]Yeah but that's like comparing a full-length novel written by a veteran author to a piece of fanfiction written by a teenager. My issue with this is that the fansubs being produced[/size][/font][/color][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"] [/size][/font][/color][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]aren't of the same quality as the official ones.  Nor are they dubbed in English and, in the case of the limited number of fandubs, the talents of the dubbers can't compete with those of a professional voice actor/actress. It's just the same as s[/size][/font][/color][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]ubtitling done by college students as opposed to professional writers.  It's that level of quality that I'm willing to pay for.[/size][/font][/color] [color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]Not only that but even if they were comparible and the fansubs had superb audio/visual capacity there's still the fact that I don't want to sit in front of my computer to watch anime [/size][/font][/color][font="Arial"][size="2"]when I have a perfectly good home theatre system set up in my living room right in front of a big comfortable recliner.[/size][/font][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]  [/size][/font][/color][font="Arial"][size="2"]Having to resort to torrenting my anime and then storing it on my hard drive [/size][/font][font="Arial"][size="2"]would be just as inconvenient to me as asking someone who only watches fansubs to drive to the Best Buy and purchase box sets of their favorite series from now on.[/size][/font] [color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]Overall fansubs aren't a product I'm the least bit interested in.  [/size][/font][/color][font="Arial"][size="2"] [/size][/font][font="Arial"]  [/font]

Halfway through my second week of being laid-off from work for the winter. Â Only another six and a half weeks to go! Â Already going stir-crazy though. Â Halp! O__O

[quote name='Miss Anonymous' timestamp='1294816119' post='703837'] Goodness gracious, I hope this was relevant... uhhhhh so basically, fansubs: good or bad? Ehhh, good for exposure of certain shows and advertising, bad in that the company doesn't do any actual advertising for themselves and in that people simply watch fansubs, never buying anything ever which will result in a reduction or destruction of the American anime market. Or something like that. [/quote] It is indeed relevant and does a lot to sum up the current situation. Â I'm a very possessive guy when it comes to anime. Â I collect DVDs so when I come across a series I like I naturally want to add it to my collection. Â It's a vice, same as any other. Â And as with any other vice it's something I tend to spend quite a bit of money on. Â That's why I tend to side with licensing companies over fansubbers. Â I don't like seeing the source of my vice being threatened in any way. Â I would imagine it's the same with those who watch fansubs. Â Although you may not be willing (or able) to spend a lot of money on anime you still want to watch it. Â Having a stable supply is important and so long as you're satisfied with just watching a show rather than owning it fansubs are a good source. Â Getting something you want at no cost to you without having to leave your house is an offer few can refuse. Â It's only human nature and I can't really complain about people who view fansubs. But as Miss Anonymous points out its the fansubbers themselves who are causing the licensing companies grief. Â They're creating competition by essentially bypassing the licensing procedure and producing anime outside of Japan and offering it at no cost. Â That's an unbeatable marketing strategy even if it is illegal. Â And, as stated, it's an offer few can refuse. My question is "why?" though. Â What do fansubbers get from all of this? Â What's their goal? Â Seems like a lot of work for little reward and could also land them in a lot of trouble with the law to boot. Â Will fansubbing stop if series being aired in Japan are simulcast internationally via online streaming? Â Will fans be willing to pay for online anime if legitimate sites offer them the same services as fansubbers but with a higher level of quality? As long as fansubs exist I would expect people to choose them over an officially licensed product. Â But I'm curious as to how much longer fansubbers will keep plying their trade. Â If the concept of online streaming was indeed brought about to compete with them it might very well be the fansubbers who will go the way of the dinosaur as licensing companies flex their corporate muscles and take over what has, until now, been their domain. If that happens fansubs won't disappear entirely but some of the larger sites may be shut down and copyright laws be more heavily enforced. Â Eliminating the competition is also an unbeatable market strategy after all.

Yep, that's Aquarion all right. Â You're up!

Here's a cap from one of my favorite shows: [img]http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7507/namethatanime2.png[/img]

I think that's Zetsui from [b]s-CRY-ed[/b] but I'm not 100% sure.

Sorry to hear about your troubles CaNz. Â I wish I could say something supportive but I'm not in the best state of mind right now either. Â I'd just end up ranting about feminine wiles or some such nonsense. Â If there's one thing I can say is that you should probably hold off on making any kind of decision or taking any action until you've put some distance between you and her. Â Take a while to let your emotions settle and think things through with a clear head. Â Don't wind up doing or saying anything in the heat of the moment that you will end up regretting.

[quote name='Desbreko' timestamp='1294523684' post='703719'] [color="#4B0082"]Does that justify the piracy? Not really, but you can't reasonably expect people to forgo a product they want in favor of one they don't out of moral obligation to some company.[/color][/quote] I'm winding down on this discussion and this touches on the last point I want to make.  To express that point I'll relate to you a story that best expresses how I feel.  ([i]Also, this is a completely true story.  No way fiction could compete with this bit of reality[/i].) ~ Down the road and across the river from my home there is a large flea mall that is open year round.  I collect exotic knives to decorate my house with so I frequent the place from time to time.  On one particular visit I chanced across a new vendor.  There, sprawled out across the top of a crude wooden table were a wide assortment of......crack pipes. I'm a straight-edge so I don't condone the use of any sort of controlled substance.  Yet even to my eyes, which are uneducated in this area, it was obvious what these objects were.  And, to give credit where credit is due, they were pretty nice as far as crack pipes go.  Acrylic handles in a variety of colors with polished brass mouthpieces and bowls all laid out in rows for the customers to peruse. But it wasn't the fact that this guy was selling drug paraphernalia so blantantly that I found offensive.  No, it was the crude cardboard sign that was taped to the front of the table that I thought was most upsetting.  Written on the front of this sign in black magic marker was the disclaimer: "All merchandise for the consumption of tobaco products only!"  Now looking at this cheaky vendor it was pretty obvious that what he was selling were indeed crack pipes designed expressely for the smoking of crack and that they were being markedt to the smokers of said crack.  Anyone could have seen that much and the poorly conceived lie that he was using to cover up this fact was what offended me.  I wanted to scream at him, "Those are crack pipes!  What do you think they're going to be used for?" but I held my peace and moved on. ~ Much like this analogy I see fansubbing as yet another facet of piracy.  Fansubs are created from pirated video and marketed to the public at no cost.  It's clearly a theft of not only intellectual property but of revenue that would have been generated by licensed dealers.  That's a crime people. It's also a fact of life.  Piracy will always exist in one form or another.  I accept that.  But what I don't accept is all of the propaganda that's being generated to gloss over the fact that fansubbing is illegal.  Now, it can be argued that fansubs do have some positive effects much like it is possible to smoke tobacco from a crack pipe.  But the bottom line is and always will be that fansubbing is form of piracy.  Nothing is going to change that. You can put up any sort of disclaimer you want, saying the fansubs will be taken down once the series has been licensed and urging viewers to delete their files and buy the official product. But do you really think they're going to do that in the end? Personally I have more respect for people who come right out and say "I watch fansubs because I refuse to pay for something when I can get for free," than I do for those who continue to insist that they're helping stimulate the industry in some form of fashion.  Whether you're doing it as a harmless hobby in your college dorm room or shilling illegal disks in a back alley to make a few quick bucks the result is the same.  It's still piracy. Â

One of the more popular arguments I hear in favor of fansubbing is that fans want to watch anime that's out right now in Japan instead of having to wait for it to be released in our native countries.  The previous posters stated this but I'm mainly going to respond to [url="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/fheadarticles/view/4103/"]another article[/url] that Pleides linked me to. Okay, so to sum it up the author of that particular essay wants to watch anime at the same time the Japanese are getting it because what's being released here stateside is old and outdated.  Let me ask this question:  WHY exactly are our domestic series old and outdated?  Because they've been seen already via unlicensed and illegal fansubs. I don't, nor will I ever, watch fansubs.  Hence domestic releases are what is fresh and new to me.  I just got the third installment of [b]Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood[/b] from Amazon.com and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of [b]Highschool of the Dead[/b].  What's that?  Both of those series are out and have been out for ages and people in this country have already viewd both via a fansub?  Well, I haven't.  They're new to me and that's why I can enjoy them.  That's also why I don't need to watch any fansubs.  I'm satisfied with what I have. Do you see what I'm saying?  You watch a fansub series and then have no reason to buy the DVDs because it's old to you by the time it's released in your country.  Instead you watch another fansub series because that's what is new and fresh to you.  You catch yourself in this vicious cycle that will keep repeating itself over and over again until you kick the fansub habit. Now granted, I am fully aware of many series that are out in Japan and available via fansub that I'm dying to watch.  The [b]new Fate Stay/Night movie[/b] and [b]Mai-Otome OVA[/b] in particular are sorely tempting me right about now.  I don't like having to wait for them any more than anyone else does.  But I will because I am content to watch the new releases that are available now while patiently waiting for stuff that's out right now in Japan to be licensed and produced overseas.  I accept the fact that what's out in Japan right now won't be available in America for a while and I can live with it.  That's something that fansubbers don't understand.  Yet they go on demanding they be provided with episodes that are airing in Japan at the time they are being shown on Japanese television networks.  It's an incredibly unreasonable demand and, short of moving to Japan themselves, would be impossible for any licensing company to do for them.  Fansubbers go on demanding this nonetheless and continue to blame the distributors for the problem that was instigated by the fansubbers themselves.  There's no need to accept a handout from someone after you've already robbed him blind. But now there's hope on the horizon.  Fansubbers are finally being given what they're asking for in the way of video streaming.  It's profitable for the anime industry too and all perfectly legal.  But I'm guessing that this is going to become an issue to the current fansubbers as well.  You say you want to watch anime as soon as it comes out in Japan?  Here it is.  You say you want it available online so you don't have to leave your house to get it?  Okay, here it is.  You say you're willing to pay for it so long as it's current and convenient?  Well.......that remains to be seen. Streaming will not only be the perfect solution to this issue but it's going to be the filter through which honest anime fans can be seperated from the pirates who are stealing intellectual property for their own amusement.  Hopefully in the near future all the demands will have been met and all parties will be satisfied. I wonder what excuse the fansubbers will come up with then.

I've gotten on a kick with looking up old cartoon series lately and unearthed a whole slew of favorites. Â I'm giving serious consideration to branching out into collecting non-anime stuff now. Â [b]The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers[/b] would probably be first on my list with [b]Marshal Bravestar[/b] and the [b]Bionic Six[/b] being added later. Â I'm sure I'll think of a few more before long.

That was a lot of fun to listen to guys, even if it was cut short. Â I love the humor you guys bring into the broadcast. Â Keep up the good work!