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Legends of VHS Fansubs: Who is Miami Mike?


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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:47 am Reply with quote
I have to say I'm glad I didn't become an anime fan until 2009. I don't mind missing the fansubbed VHS tape days at all. Compared to what fans of yore had to endure, we've got it easy. Simulcast streams of virtually everything and physical releases in gorgeous HD for the majority of titles that come out of Japan. Good old days? No thanks!
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Cutiebunny



Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 1746
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:52 am Reply with quote
I'll be another voice in the "I'm not listening to an hour long podcast" camp. It was disappointing to go through that article and not get the story, so I thank the person who posted it in this thread. Kinda wish I had just gone to the forum instead of read the article in the first place.

Quote:
..copies of these same tapes would slowly make their way into comic shops and “China Town” video stores across the USA. These bootlegs would often come in clam-shell cases with color-printed copies of original Japanese VHS covers, making them look somewhat legitimate. And without the guidance of more knowledgeable fans and the anime clubs that originated the concept of fansubs, it was easy for newer fans (and sometimes their clueless parents) to buy or rent them without knowing they weren't official until the familiar “not for sale or rent” warning would pop up somewhere in the tape.


Regarding Chinatown, that was not my experience. San Francisco Chinatown had a mix of nth copied Japanese version with Cantonese subs or, in some cases, Cantonese dub versions. All of them came in clamshell cases; I never bought one that didn't have it. I don't know of any teenager or adult who bought or rented these tapes that did not know that they were bootleg. We were all aware very much aware that they were bootleg. Why did we buy them? The two main reasons were because 1) The show or later episodes were not licensed in the US and 2) Few teenagers could afford to pay the $50 for 3-4 episodes on a VHS tape that stores like Suncoast & Virgin Megastore sold.

I knew of a comic book store in my college town that would rent Sailor Moon fansubs, and I gladly paid to be able to finally see Sailor Moon S and SuperS. It did annoy me that I was paying to watch them when I could (and did) easily contact fansubbers and buy tapes directly from them. But, I was living in a dorm and had limited space...so, renting tapes it was.

Edit -
Blood- wrote:
I have to say I'm glad I didn't become an anime fan until 2009... Compared to what fans of yore had to endure, we've got it easy.


LOL. You haven't lived until you've listened to old Cantonese dubs. It sounds like they recorded all the voices in someone's bathroom for acoustics. I'll never forget how nasal sounding Usagi's voice was in the Sailor Moon dubs that I watched.


Last edited by Cutiebunny on Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:58 am; edited 1 time in total
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber



Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Posts: 3017
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:58 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
ANN is hard enough to browse as it is being overloaded with ads. I'd hate to see it go in a worse direction.


Worse than ads?!!! Gasp! I'm clutching my pearls right now!

...anyway, this was a neat trip down memory lane. I certainly recall trying to figure out what SASE meant, and whether I could trust guys online whom my parents said were just "trying to scam VHS tapes from people".
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G S Palmer



Joined: 02 Oct 2015
Posts: 246
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:17 pm Reply with quote
I'm with the people who don't want to listen to a 1-hour long podcast. I like reading ANN articles (I've been following "The Indestructible Studio Gainax" with interest), but I don't have the time/interest to listen to this. And I've listened to Anime Nostalgia before, so I'm not just saying that out of some weird hatred for audio media.

Also, it seems kind of unbecoming for an ANN staffer to be in the forum harassing someone who felt that the article was a bait and switch. They felt disappointed; leave it at that. You really shouldn't be going after them, especially since I've seen you guys state that you're "receptive to feedback". Plus, you should take it as a compliment that they could get invested enough in the article to care.

As for the article, I really think you should add some sort of paragraph at the start saying something like "Full story at the "Anime Nostalgia" podcast; this article is to draw attention to a very interesting podcast and only contains a brief overview of the story."


BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:
Vaisaga wrote:
ANN is hard enough to browse as it is being overloaded with ads. I'd hate to see it go in a worse direction.


Worse than ads?!!! Gasp! I'm clutching my pearls right now!

I mean, it has gotten pretty bad lately. The page completely froze at least twice while I was trying to post my last comment and I had to rewrite it from scratch. Not to mention how it always jumps all over the place and often makes me end up clicking on an ad instead of a link. And it's not like I have some crap PC that freezes at anything; both my computers are pretty decent.
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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:27 pm Reply with quote
Was expecting a "tune in next week for part 2*" rather than a link to the podcast, but was a fun read regardless.

*spoiler[Dawn. Nobody else can read this. You should blag another article commission & just put the interview transcript in it. Easy money.]

Oh & #EthicsInWeebJournalism & all that.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:35 pm Reply with quote
G S Palmer wrote:


Also, it seems kind of unbecoming for an ANN staffer to be in the forum harassing someone who felt that the article was a bait and switch. They felt disappointed; leave it at that. You really shouldn't be going after them, especially since I've seen you guys state that you're "receptive to feedback". Plus, you should take it as a compliment that they could get invested enough in the article to care.


Oh, lighten up.

Quote:

As for the article, I really think you should add some sort of paragraph at the start saying something like "Full story at the "Anime Nostalgia" podcast; this article is to draw attention to a very interesting podcast and only contains a brief overview of the story."


OK, I've added that.
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SciasSlash



Joined: 09 Jun 2015
Posts: 117
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:41 pm Reply with quote
Zac wrote:

Oh, lighten up.

you're the one getting hugely defensive over mild criticism dude
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:54 pm Reply with quote
SciasSlash wrote:
Zac wrote:

Oh, lighten up.

you're the one getting hugely defensive over mild criticism dude


I am far from a Zac supporter, but even I have to say I think he has kept a pretty decent level of sangfroid in the face of some pretty petty and obnoxiously articulated views.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
Location: PA
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:16 pm Reply with quote
I missed this era of VHS fansubs almost completely.. But I am quite familiar with the time period of bootlegs.. bootlegs everywhere.. and to find something legit was like finding a diamond in the sand.

I have however inherited from the various clubs I've been a member of.. many VHS and VCD.. copies, of many different series.. from Yamato and Macross... to A-ko, Sailor Moon, and I think even Gundam W or whatever the latest Gundam fad was at the time.
Then as the internet took hold fansubs departed the media realm and went digital with torrents and DDLs where they are today.

Good times..
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nobodyhome



Joined: 11 Jun 2016
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:20 pm Reply with quote
I don't mind the article being a way to bring attention to a podcast, but… Podcasts are all well and fine for people who can hear properly. Anybody willing to provide a transcript for those with hearing difficulties who wonder about Miami Mike?
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:23 pm Reply with quote
This reminds me of Funimation's advertising for Spiral. Who are the Blade Children? was basically everywhere in their advertising for the show and yet the anime never even answers that question. Laughing
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xchampion



Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Posts: 370
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:48 pm Reply with quote
I came and read the article after Zac made the changes mentioned here in the comments and now there is nothing wrong with how the article presents the story and podcast.. I do think Vaisaga kept on beating a dead horse after Zac made changes to satisfy the complaints. I think he was right to basically say Be cool!
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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4787
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:30 pm Reply with quote
G S Palmer wrote:

I mean, it has gotten pretty bad lately. The page completely froze at least twice while I was trying to post my last comment and I had to rewrite it from scratch. Not to mention how it always jumps all over the place and often makes me end up clicking on an ad instead of a link. And it's not like I have some crap PC that freezes at anything; both my computers are pretty decent.
You can use Adblock Plus you know.
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McDoogle



Joined: 06 Aug 2014
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:40 pm Reply with quote
I don't really mind the format of the article at all - I think it makes sense, especially given that the interview itself probably doesn't go into the level of background detail that the article itself did on VHS fansubbing and whatnot. I do wish there was a transcript or summary somewhere as someone who might not want to listen to the podcast in full, but it's nothing to get so upset about.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:42 pm Reply with quote
xchampion wrote:
I came and read the article after Zac made the changes mentioned here in the comments and now there is nothing wrong with how the article presents the story and podcast.. I do think Vaisaga kept on beating a dead horse after Zac made changes to satisfy the complaints. I think he was right to basically say Be cool!


Hardly beating a dead horse (we were only a few posts in) and one was in a response to another user acting like we were somehow wrong to take issue with it.

I commend him for making the changes, but from his comments I got the impression that he doesn't think there was actually anything wrong and only made said changes to get us "whiners" to shut up. If he doesn't understand why others took issue with it then this sort of thing will likely repeat and before you know it we'll get 'articles' that say "Top 10 Anime Betrayals! Number 1 will shock you!"
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