Nowadays, almost everything is licensed, so there’s no place for fansubs.
Summary:
Fansubs used to be popular, but now only the most dedicated fans watch them.
The rise of seasonal culture gave birth to streaming services, which often prioritize speed over quality.
Proper quality control is needed for official subbed releases.
Many older fans remember the age of fansubs. Before official streaming services existed, seasonals were often translated by fans. These translations, known as fansubs, were vastly different in quality from release to release.
Many otaku feel that some of the better fansubs were much better than the official subtitles are today — and they aren’t exactly wrong.
Fansubs aren’t really watched by the majority of anime fans anymore
With official subs being available for most airing shows, fansubs for seasonals are basically dead. Yes, some series still get them, but they are only watched by a tiny subsection of fans. One thing that has contributed a lot to that is accessibility.
Back in the day, if you couldn’t get your hands on a physical release or watch the series on TV, getting a fansubbed release was often your only option. Many series had no official translation at all, so the fansub scene thrived.
Speed matters more than quality nowadays
Fansubbers were motivated to make subs as good as possible: there wasn’t much competition, and fans were more used to waiting for anime. As the number of anime increased, the discussions about anime started focusing mostly on seasonals.
As a result, the speed of the subbed release was prioritized, and streaming services like Crunchyroll appeared.
Speed and quality of subtitles are often considered incompatible. That is especially true when it comes to typesetting — which usually involves putting the translated text onto a sign that is originally in Japanese.
Why is there no proper typesetting in official subs?
Many streaming services don’t translate signs and on-screen text at all, like in the case of the official subs for Komi Can't Communicate (Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu). In other cases, this text is translated, but put together with the subtitles for dialogues — making the subs nearly incomprehensible.
Often this is due to the limitations of the player on the streaming service — Hidive and Netflix are like that. A lot of viewers don’t seem to mind, though, and are clearly more concerned with watching anime as soon as possible instead of waiting for good subs.
More quality control in official subbed releases is needed
Sometimes the subs are even completely wrong. One of the most egregious cases were the official subs for Bloom Into You (Yagate Kimi ni Naru) from a few years ago.
While fansubs aren’t perfect — no one guarantees they are perfectly accurate, of course — the fact that they initially prioritized quality over speed makes many fans remember them fondly. Sadly, their existence raises concerns over piracy. Perhaps the solution is to demand better quality control from official streaming services.
Nowadays, almost everything is licensed, so there’s no place for fansubs.
Summary:
Fansubs used to be popular, but now only the most dedicated fans watch them.
The rise of seasonal culture gave birth to streaming services, which often prioritize speed over quality.
Proper quality control is needed for official subbed releases.
Many older fans remember the age of fansubs. Before official streaming services existed, seasonals were often translated by fans. These translations, known as fansubs, were vastly different in quality from release to release.
Many otaku feel that some of the better fansubs were much better than the official subtitles are today — and they aren’t exactly wrong.
Fansubs aren’t really watched by the majority of anime fans anymore
With official subs being available for most airing shows, fansubs for seasonals are basically dead. Yes, some series still get them, but they are only watched by a tiny subsection of fans. One thing that has contributed a lot to that is accessibility.
Back in the day, if you couldn’t get your hands on a physical release or watch the series on TV, getting a fansubbed release was often your only option. Many series had no official translation at all, so the fansub scene thrived.
Speed matters more than quality nowadays
Fansubbers were motivated to make subs as good as possible: there wasn’t much competition, and fans were more used to waiting for anime. As the number of anime increased, the discussions about anime started focusing mostly on seasonals.
As a result, the speed of the subbed release was prioritized, and streaming services like Crunchyroll appeared.
Speed and quality of subtitles are often considered incompatible. That is especially true when it comes to typesetting — which usually involves putting the translated text onto a sign that is originally in Japanese.
Why is there no proper typesetting in official subs?
Many streaming services don’t translate signs and on-screen text at all, like in the case of the official subs for Komi Can't Communicate (Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu). In other cases, this text is translated, but put together with the subtitles for dialogues — making the subs nearly incomprehensible.
Often this is due to the limitations of the player on the streaming service — Hidive and Netflix are like that. A lot of viewers don’t seem to mind, though, and are clearly more concerned with watching anime as soon as possible instead of waiting for good subs.
More quality control in official subbed releases is needed
Sometimes the subs are even completely wrong. One of the most egregious cases were the official subs for Bloom Into You (Yagate Kimi ni Naru) from a few years ago.
While fansubs aren’t perfect — no one guarantees they are perfectly accurate, of course — the fact that they initially prioritized quality over speed makes many fans remember them fondly. Sadly, their existence raises concerns over piracy. Perhaps the solution is to demand better quality control from official streaming services.
