>In this dark days, primitive anime fans used unwieldy contraptions called 'VCRs' to watch anime from Japan 
>with no translation. Sometimes, if they were lucky enough, they had a script to read along with. 
I tired that a few times, It was difficult to say the least, confusing to say the most.

>As humanity progressed out of these dark ages of fandom, equipment became available that allowed fans to 
>attach hard subtitles to the video. It was thus that the near-modern incarnation of the fansub was developed. 
…and it was good.

>Now, in these prehistoric days (the 1980's, for those of you who remember), there was no anime industry in
>the U.S. No ADV, no Pioneer and no Bandai. 
…..not a single luxury, like 1930’s cartoons it was as primitive as could be.

>If you wanted to see anime, you watched these fansubs or edited shows on TV like Voltron and Robotech. Even 
>as the anime industry developed in the late 80's and early 90's, the fansub never died because it's a commonly 
>known fact that there will always be more anime available than any American company could ever license 
>and release here.
Especially, since a lot of anime coming out of that era had horrible dub acting or were too “blood and guts” for many.  Sadly it would be a while before anime choices here would be more rounded.

>Now, the basic point of the fansub was (and supposedly still is) to provide fans the opportunity to see a series that
>hasn't been released domestically.
…and to many away to see a show that was over-edited in the first place, or skipped episodes.

>Now, while fansubbing is clearly in violation of copyrights, it is allowed to exist via a long-established gentlemen's
>agreement. That agreement is that most companies look the other way when fansubs are produced, 
Thank goodness the most of the anime industry is run by sensible people, sadly the same could not be said about the US government.

>but when they license a specific series, they expect all fansubbing and distribution to cease. 
As well it should.  Unless may I add if it picked up by what I call the “Axis of Bad Dub.”   These companies release only edited anime and 99% of the time do nothing for unedited and/or subtitled releases.  I like dubs, in fact I prefer them.  I don’t go over board if one frame is missing or the translation isn’t word for word, what I don’t like is skipping of seasons, character rewrites, and kiddy-ing series. The companies include Saban (which we haven’t heard from in a while), 4Kids, and Nelevia.  Now if another company releases an subbed version of one of these then yes, stop releasing the subs.  However, in the case of shows like YuGiOh which is hacked up in the dub (thank gods for Viz’s manga) and Digimon, which is a great series unedited, until I see a unedited dub or a sub. I think fansubs are a necessary transgression of the fansub code.  Particularly for unreleased movies, the have the rights, but they don’t release them.  First season of YuGiOh is licensed, but 4Kids skipped to the second season. At least let us see the first season unedited if nothing else.  Also I’d like to see StarBlazers (Yamato), Voltron (Go Lion), and Speed Racer (Mach Go Go Go) subbed by anyone, I’d prefer a professional release but at this point a sub IMHO would be fair, if no company is going to do it.

>That's the way it's been, and that's technically the way it's still supposed to be. However, in the
>last few years, the fansubbing community has changed radically. With the advent of digital fansubs
>(or digisubs), people all across the world have unprecedented access to anime. Now, instead of 
>waiting months or years, fans can watch the latest episodes of shows a few days after it airs in Japan. 
Not to mention the newer live action incarnations like You’re Under Arrest.

>This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On the good side, American fans are nearly toe-to-toe 
>with their Japanese counterparts when it comes to the newest series, which as of this writing 
>includes shows like Wolf's Rain and Gundam SEED. Also, the recent appearance of a file sharing 
>program named Bit Torrent has made the distribution of files even easier. This all sounds pretty 
>good, so what's the problem? Well, the anime industry has come pretty far after all these years, 
>and there's lots of companies cranking out product constantly.
Unless it an old series which sadly have been mostly overlooked, since sadly a lot of fans (mostly newer ones) complain about the animation quality, even if it’s from the 1970’s  (look at any anime board after “First” Gundam came out).

>And so when a series is inevitably licensed, the companies expect the fansubbers to cease and 
>desist on that series.
Which they should, unless it’s from the “Axis of Bad Dub”.

>Unfortunately, many fansubbers aren't following this gentlemen's agreement and continue to 
>subtitle the series. 
Which isn’t right

>Now that's certainly a problem, but there's another side to the coin: the fans. Before, it was nearly
>impossible to find a series fansubbed, let alone a complete series. However, with so much available
>now online, fans have become greedy and gluttonous when it comes to fansubs. They expect things 
>to be fansubbed instantly, and they also expect series to continue even after being licensed. 
One problem is see is that the digisubs’ picture quality is too good,  I have old VHS fourth thru tenth generation fansubs of Nausicaa, Macross 7, Sailor Stars, and Zeta Gundam that when they come out on DVD I will want to upgrade to DVD.  Digisubs have too high of picture quality, which not only is bad for business it’s a pain to download on 56k.

>This is increasingly becoming a problem. At recent conventions, Bandai has announced licenses 
>for popular fansub series Wolf's Rain and Gundam SEED. In the cases of both series, fansubbing 
>has continued after those series have been licensed. Bandai has approached several groups, and
>fansubbing finally ceased for the most part. However, the reaction of fans has been very negative. 
>Many who have been following SEED specifically see Bandai as evil people depriving them of their
>favorite series, and they feel they've been 'screwed over' and claim Bandai doesn't care about the fans. 
Which reminds me on how fan anime fandom has fallen since I started.  I myself must admit was not completely pleased myself, but that was because I’m unemployed and can’t afford DVDs right now, if I was employed (the sooner the better) I would be very happy that it was licensed. 

>Some even go far enough to call for boycotts against Bandai and the endorsement of bootleg DVD's
>from Hong Kong. 
Why Bandai?  We should be doing that to 4Kids.

>What's been totally overlooked here is the fact that something historic has happened: this is the
>first time ever a Gundam series has been licensed for the U.S. while it's still on the air in Japan. 
….and within 5 years of it being shown.  Sadly Turn A, V and X are nowhere to be seen.

>Now, don't get me wrong here, I like watching new anime, and I've taken advantage of this new
>form of fansubbing. 
I would like to do it more myself but most digisubs are high quality and real pain on 56k.

>However, I also don't like watching anime on my computer that comes with at times questionable 
>translations. I'd much rather enjoy my anime on a TV, via a DVD player with top quality audio and 
>video, and maybe an extra here and there. This means that I buy domestic Region 1 anime DVD's,
>and when a new series is licensed, I look forward to buying it. 
Ditto, but sadly in my case my computer screen it bigger than my TV -_-;;;

>The licensing of anime is a GOOD thing, not 'screwing over the fans'. 
I cannot stress that enough, unless it by one of the Axis.  Then it’s playing with our minds.

>Is it preferable to have no anime industry at all? Is it better to go back to the old days of watching
>10th generation VHS tapes with scripts in hand?  The anime industry and fansubbing have a strange
>relationship that can't exactly be described as 'symbiotic'. 
Sadly, neither can Evangelion.

>While many series like Fushigi Yugi have become popular because of fansubs, it's also clear that
>fansubs can hurt series. Case in point: AnimEigo held back on releasing the Kimagure Orange Road
>TV series for a long time because they felt the anime community was over saturated with fansubs. In 
>this day of digisubs and DVD boxed sets, there's something I think people forget. Anime is a privilege, 
>not a right. 
…and if you can’t use it wisely we can and will take it away </evil laugh>

>If you can't afford to buy a series, too bad. Wait and save enough money or wait until it goes on sale.
….or do like me and buy used.  I’ve gotten some great deals on used anime.  Both VHS and DVD.  Mostly VHS since I have many fond memories of some VHS tapes I’ve rented. 

>If a series becomes licensed, well, buy the domestic release if you like it so much. 
Unless it’s YuGiOh, them either buy Hong Kong DVDs or learn Japanese.

>The idea that an anime company is robbing the fans of their series is to me ridiculous. 
Unless you are talking about the Nelevia’s handling of Card Captor Sakura, thank goodness Pioneer released it subbed .  But there are still some good anime still over edited and in dub only form.

>I find it disgusting that people would make such complaints when a domestic release will have better
>video and audio quality, and usually a more accurate translation. In essence, it is an appeal for mediocrity.
>There is no legal right to fansubs, but is an accepted practice up to a point. You can't claim your rights 
>are being violated in regards to a series because you never HAD a right to watch it in the first place. 
>Anime companies are here to make money, and that requires licensing series. Even in Japan, that land
>of anime milk and honey, anime isn't free. In fact, it's a lot more expensive than it is in America. 
I remember when one episode of an anime series would be on one tape at a time and cost $30, for one episode!

>Fansubs are all well in good, but only up to a certain point. Once that death knell of licensing is sounded,
>they have to be let go.
I keep some of mine because I like the fan translated lyrics better.  But overall, yes.  Unless it’s from one of the Axis and no one else subs it.