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Hey, Answerman! - Patchwork Guilt

But then again, I guess the new generation doesn't really care; they can just get it illegally.... yeesh, now I'm depressed....

Because I can't buy this antiquated anime series, I can pirate all anime.

The feck?

Could always import figures or other things that don't require language to enjoy.

...but you know what? That's how the artists make a profit! The commercial companies pay Funi or Hulu a certain amount so that YOU can watch their stuff FOR FREE.
...I mean, how easier do they have to make it for you guys? Seriously? Jeez!

I waited a few extra months to see Madoka Magica on Hulu, and I've waited as long as 5 years to see some anime films get released in the states. I try to do everything by the book, just so I can support Oda, or Miyazaki, or Kon, or any of the other greats from Japan that put their time and effort into these shows and films you guys claim to "love" so much.

Because I can't buy this antiquated anime series, I can pirate all anime.

The feck?

Of course, not everything gets picked up for DVD release, but there are fewer and fewer shows each year that I wish got picked up that didn't. I will throw wads of cash at anyone who releases Nodame Cantabile, Cross Game, Mawaru Penguindrum or Bunny Drop. In truth, the only shows I've downloaded recently are those 4, and even that was only because I don't trust their streams to be around forever (and Penguindrum didn't even get a stream).

configspace wrote:

Quote: BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS, *ALWAYS* A LEGAL OPTION. ... what exactly is Answerman talking about here, since obviously that is not the case with anime. (context seemed to be switching back and forth with US shows)

He's trying to say that there are legal means to watch what you want and go seek them out. Unfortunately, as some of us have proven, Answerman has committed a fallacy.

For example, Sazae-san began airing on October 5, 1969. 6,345+ episodes later, and there is no single legal VHS, DVD, or streaming option available to watch past episodes. If you even want to see the episodes pre-1980's.......good ****ing luck!!!

configspace wrote:

Chagen46 wrote: Either I'm deaf or something else, because I've never noticed any of this bullshit about "unnaturalness" in dubs. Maybe if you'd stop seeing problems where there are none, you could actually judge dubs on their own merit. I'm comparing dubs right on their own merits. In fact I'm not even comparing them to the Japanese. I'm comparing them to the level of naturalness found in WESTERN cartoons

I'm one of the biggest dub fans around, and even I have to admit that you're right. It's not even anime thing specifically, it's just, in all truth, the best dubs have trouble standing up against pre-lay; it's basically apples to oranges anyways since the work and skills required are different.

Post-lay (dubbing) just has so much working against since it's difficult to make a character yours. An anime character is nothing more than an empty husk that an actor - English or Japanese - must fill with their talent. There are lines they must specifically say in certain amount of time to match what is already drawn. Even if the actor gets an amazing performance, the character still mostly belongs to the script the actor used.

Meanwhile, an actor doing pre-lay work for a cartoon owns that character from the beginning. Heck, there are numerous examples characters that are drawn to resemble the actor voicing them. The character's mouth, their motions, their tone, everything are drawn to reflect the performance of the actor, not vice versa like in dubbing.

All that said, I find the majority of English to be at least good (which I don't mean as an insult in anyway) and I can appreciate them tremendously from all points - acting, writing, and directing. Even though I accept that there are built in handicaps to dubbing that gives pre-lay a huge advantage, I wouldn't take anything away from the numerous great dubs out there.

Quote:

(which is one of the reasons why I mentioned how I noticed a lack of contractions)

That has always bothered me, and it's not a timing thing. It can be worked around fairly easily if you're willing to do it. One of the things I always focus on doing when I do scripts is make sure the high school aged characters and younger use contractions; it's just more natural, like you said. The only time I don't use contractions is when there's a formal/well-bred student or when they're talking to an adult. I think a lot of English dubs focus too much on using the most proper of proper English, when in reality, that's not how people talk. I've actually always appreciated how Funimation doesn't shy away from using slang and other forms of improper English.

Matt was interviewed about this episode, and the voice actor for Homer in reality did mess up spelling out "smart", but Matt decided to keep the error.

Melanchthon wrote:

What we have here is not a argument about piracy, it is an argument about philosophy. It is a fair argument, and I shall frame it as such, to try to avoid the namecalling and mudslinging that so often fill the threads. The real argument is the question of where the onus lies on generating wealth from intellectual property. You, my friend, argue quite passionately that the onus lies on the consumer. I hold the onus lies on the creator. I see no clearly correct answer here, as both arguments have disadvantages to them. As I said, this is a matter philosophical differences. As an example, take a look at the differences between America and Europe over artistic creations. If I, in America, buy a book written by A-Ko, I own the work, and I can do what I want with it (apart from violating copyright of course). I can read it, resell it, display it, use it for a pillow, whatever. But in Europe, if I then resell the book to B-Ko, then I have to pay a royalty back to A-Ko. And if B-Ko then sells it to C-Ko, B-Ko has to pay a royalty to A-Ko as well. As an American, I feel this is quite unfair to the customer, but I imagine a Frenchman would feel the American system is horribly unfair to the creator. This is philosophy equivalent to our problem. One choice is unfair to the creator, and one is unfair to the consumer. Here is how I view my solution. It is the responsibility of the creator, or his agents, to spread his creation into the market. If the creator fails to provide an option for a consumer, acting in good faith, to obtain their desired product, then the fault lies with the creator. As long as the consumer acts in good faith, then he is free of blame. The good faith is important, in the Oatmeal comic, the character does not act in good faith, because as mentioned, the show is wide-available now. Some modicum of restrain is required.

The fundamental philosophical problem with piracy is the act of viewing someone else's work without their permission. When you create a book, a painting, a song or even an anime, you should be able to decide how and under what circumstances other people get to see and enjoy it, whether you're a starving artist or a large corporation.

To this day I've never heard an argument in support of piracy that can justify the viewing of someone else's work without their permission: your "good faith" argument included.

As an aside, I also wanted to mention that I'm glad Brian is addressing the issue of piracy in his column as of late. His concerns and sentiments largely echo my own.

"I want my show immediately as it airs, subtitled to my tastes (i.e. translated the way I want), without commercials, in high-def, for free, to own forever" is not reasonable. And the problem with modern piracy, as I've seen it working with young people, is that we have an emerging generation that is so used to getting things for free that they don't believe they should pay for it.

For example, Sazae-san began airing on October 5, 1969. 6,345+ episodes later, and there is no single legal VHS, DVD, or streaming option available to watch past episodes. If you even want to see the episodes pre-1980's.......good ****ing luck!!!

Incidentally, because of this I have developed a new love of NicoNico and wish they would pick up EVERYTHING now. One thing I have always hated about Crunchyroll is that they a) don't have a visible buffer bar and b) they only buffer about a minute ahead anyway. NicoNico buffers the whole video, so even if it takes 2-3 hours I just leave it buffering and watch it when it finishes. WHY THE HELL does Crunchyroll not do that when basically every video streaming service worth its salt does? Anyone know if there is an actual business reason for this?

So, is it the consumers fault that an industry hasn't bothered to keep up with the times?