Fansubbing: the state of the anime nation

Posted by Dominic von Riedemann Aug 23, 2006

Entertainment companies all over the world are dealing with illegal copying: people selling or distributing movies and TV shows without getting permission to do so. Such copying, without paying licensing fees to the company who produces them, is video piracy and punishable by law.

But when it comes to animes, the practice (called fansubbing) isn't so clear-cut. If an anime title hasn't been dubbed into English, then the only way a unilingual fan could watch it is through an illegal copy. And if a title is getting fansubbed in a certain market, that's a pretty good indication that an official release (with a better dub and associated "special features") would sell well there.

Yes, fansubbing is against the law, but it's also a risk-free way for companies to find out which titles will do well overseas. Studies have shown that most fansubbers will buy a legal copy of an anime if there is one available. Why would companies want to shut down this free resource?

Ironically, during the first wave of video piracy in 2004, entertainment conglomerates saw record profits from both box office and video & DVD sales. So the canard that "video piracy hurts sales" is not necessarily true.

In 2004, Media Factory Inc. declared that they would crack down on the practice of fansubbing, using the courts if necessary. Fansubbers backed off, but apologists argued that MFI hurt their chances of getting their titles, such as the hit School Rumble, released in North America. Who's right? Who's wrong? Over the next several weeks, I intend to find out.