Darn. I was going to get Romeo X Juliet when it was licensed over here. And by "get" I mean "purchase". But not now.

You call yourself an anime fan? You’re nothing but one of the fans that leech from the industry and having a website for anime makes you even more pathetic. You are one of the reasons why the anime industry is such in disarray. You and your site only exist for your own gratification and nothing more.

On another note, you have illegal videos you’re streaming on your site. Makes you even more of a wretched.

“Can someone please expain to me what the fuck is going on here? “ If you cannot figure that out, then you should better F**K off and shut your site down, as you are totally unaware of what’s going on. All you want is illegal materials to satisfy your need. And your image of Lolis crying doesn’t get any sympathy.

You are correct, we are doomed, but thanks in part of you. And thanks for admitting to us in the online world that you’re the one that watches illegal distribution.

"illegal videos"? I wonder where you got that crazy idea from.

Must appologize to the owner of this site.

Having a bad day and running into this article didn't mesh properly, and I ended up writing something I shouldn't have. You have every right write your own opinion and do what you want, but be aware that fansubs is really hurting the anime business.

Well I think your assessment of "We are Doomed" is quite accurate, but I do think there are quite a few flaws in your post. For one this is not the first time an anime company from Japan has done this. If you'll recall a few years ago Media Factory sent cease and desist letters to several fan subbing groups threatening legal action for distribution of unliscensed material. So this move by STUDIO GONZO is NOT a first. Also an "Unwritten Agreement" is infact not an agreement. All of the Japanese companies are furious about the fan subbing, bit torrenting and bootlegging that is going on.

If you don't think Fansubbing etc is illegal I suggest you read the transcipts from "The Berne Convention"

http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html

and then tell me how it's legal.

What most fans fail to understand is that the Anime industry in Japan is being kept in motion by the Anime industry in America, and when the industry in America Tanks, it will be lights out in terms of anime for all of us. We've already seen the collapse of a major distribution company (Geneon) and it is highly likely that we will see more before the end of the year, or just after the new year. This is all a direct result of fan subbing and bit torrenting. The american companies pay the Japanese for the right to legally distribute their products, The money they make from selling their DVD's go right back into liscensing new material from Japan, so when the american companies don't sell, that means money stops going into the anime market in Japan. There have already been several great titles that just suddenly stopped being produced... why because there was no money. So the whole market is cyclical. When the american industry tanks due to illegal distribution, as I said, it will be over in Japan as well, and then there will be NO NEW ANIME. You can doubt and scoff all you want, but it's on it's away (some industry insiders in both America and Japan are thinking the industry may not have 5 years left.) So you can continue to download and fan sub all you want, but when it's all over and there is no more, the fans will only have themselves to blame.

Please don't get me wrong, I am an anime fan, and I love anime fans. I think we are one of the smartest, passionate and tech savvy group of fans out there. We are so passionate that we want to share our love of the medium and the titles we enjoy with everyone, but to do that illegally is going to ruin it for all of us. As I said I'm a fan of Anime, but I'm also a fan of Stephen King, and becausue I am, I would NEVER dream of walking into his Home and stealing the latest manuscript that he is writing, and letting everyone and their mother read it. Why... That would be stealing, and that is the same thing we are doing when we down load and distribute products that we do not hold the liscense to, we are stealing from the companies, directors and artists that we claim to love. If we love them we wouldn't steal from them. A leading professor of law once stated in regardts to ethics.. "Either you have them or you don't" I know which catagory I fall in to, its time for every fan in amearica to ask the same question of themselves.

So yes you may be right, we may be doomed, unless we as fans get out and legally support this industry that we claim to love rather than inadvertently destroy it.

Thank you for your time.

The above poster has not addressed the point of what form of advertising the companies have ready to go to take the place of fansubs. Yes, way too many people just use them as a source of piracy now compared to the days where fansubs were distributed on VHS tapes but for many legitimate fans they still are the preferred and sometimes only way to find out if a series is worth your money. There is no way in hell I would have spent the amount of money I have on Haruhi, Tsukiyomi/Moon Phase, or many other DVDs I purchased in the past few months had I not seen them in fansub form before. The industry does not have a widespread network of review sites and magazines to support it and wading through discussion forums hoping to find guinea pigs that share your tastes isn't something everyone has time for. I'm still in college and could drop by my anime club's showings to get a sample of what's out there, but most people don't have that luxury and I won't either in a few months.

Quite simply, if the industry does not have systems in place to replace the use of fansubs by legitimate purchasers to gauge the worth of a series, they're going to be hurting some of its biggest supporters. The pirates on the other hand are not guaranteed to run out and buy DVDs. Just as people will take free samples at a supermarket for food they don't feel like purchasing, often times the only reason a pirate is interested in what they're stealing is because it's perceived as free. Without fansubs, I lose my litmus test for one of my hobbies and will likely shift those funds into video games and other hobbies I still have reliable ways of getting trusted information for. The pirates will probably just watch other non-anime shows on youtube and the like.

Hi, sorry I'm sure there are more points than you've brought up that I have missed, and it wasn't really my thought to debate every issue partaining to fansubs and it's effect on the industry, but I'll be happy to comment, since you asked I will take a stab at it.

Is there more that the industry can do for fan's, well the answer from fans will almost always be yes, but they are doing more and more and that should be taken into account. If you'll notice sevearl studio's have entire series up for purchase on I-tunes and X-Box 360 live. In some of those cases you can purchase the entire series for less than it would cost to buy two DVD's of the same series. Several studio's are offering downloads at a reduced rate on their websites. Studios are also streaming first episodes on sites like IGN and others so that potential viewers can get a "Taste test" and see if it's a series they would enjoy. There are also things like NEW TYPE which offer first episodes as well as previews of other attractions. Studio's are also putting more trailers on line than ever before. So I think they are trying to help the legitimate anime fans get a small sample of what shows have to offer.

Before anyone jumps on me about trailers not being completely accurate portrayals of what a series is like, You have to realize hollywood and telvision have been doing that for years. How often have we seen a trailer that looked amazing only to pay 9.00 for a movie ticket (22 if you include drinks and popcorn and more if you have a date) only to find that the film didn't live up to the hype. That happens with preivews, they are designed to get an audience excited about the product.

All of that aside, we would see more anime legitimately available for purchase, but the fansubbing and bit torrenting has almost killed that as well. I know for a fact that studio's have for a long time been trying to use the internet to help get products to fans faster, but that has to be cleared with the Japanese companies that own the liscense. Most of them are so angry about the situation with fan subbing and bit torrenting, becuase they work and product has essentailly been stolen and given out for free, that they are more than a little skittish of having their products available on line. After all how many R1 bootlegs and rips are there out there available in torrent of products that have been liscensed and people are still stealing them. I can understand if I were the head of a studio in Japan and someone came to me after all the trouble my company has had with fan subs and bit torrents and asked to be allowed to put the legitimate product on line that I would be a little more than skpetical.

I'm not saying that this is the answer and belive me the american studios are doing everythign they can to try and get samples out and help fans find new things. Can they do more, probably, will they continue to do more definately, will it be enough for fans, probably not, it's usually never enough unfortunately.

Oh before I close I do have two other suggestions. You can always go over to a friends house and watch something that they have as a taste test, or let them watch something that you have, then you get to share a show you love with someone who might legitimately purchase it. There are also a few websites that have very comprehensive reviews of anime, such as Animeondvd, Dubreview, ActiveAnime, those are great places to find balance unbiased reviews without having to sift though a ton of message board pages.

While I don't think I've answerd all of your questtions, I hope to have at least helped shed some light on the subject. I'll try to check back this weekend and see if anyone has any other thoughts or questions. Again I don't claim to have all of the answers, but I am a fan who doesn't want to see this industry dissappear.

The anime industry does have a huge disadvantage, compared to the gaming industry for instance. About 20 years ago, games were much like animes are today in terms of Western market "penetration". And they both are / were pirated in their early days. It's just that without the mighty internets back then, the gaming industry was able to survive piracy and be quite confortable with it today (games are way more pirated than animes today, but so is the industry WAAAY much bigger).

With animes, the problem is that they have to surive against the much tougher online piracy straight from the start, and if publishers don't start pushing serious money to advertise them, then yes - we may be doomed!

Releasing more trailers is a good start, indeed, and soon enough I hope we can see more first-episodes out there (and by extension right here :D). But until then, we - the fans - will continue to "sample" animes the only way we can: through fansubs. And since many of them are finished by the time the anime is licensed in the West... well, good luck selling that, publisher-kun!

one of my poit was: You like, you buy. Just like video games. BUT. Houw the fuck can you buy this shit in a country that does not import anime? Internetz? No, cause we are also on the black list of publishers for just being romanian. No one delivers here due to... certain events. What can i do? I want to buy but i cant. Suggestions?

This is a reply to the second post.

As I said I'd return today to see if there were any questions that I could answer. Well I'm sorry to see the statement
"But until then we - the fans - will continue to "sample" animes the only way we can: through fansubs,"

The only response I have to that is that when the industry dies and there is no more new anime coming out, the people who have been sampling and not buying (which happens more often than not "Oh I've already got it fansubbed, I'm not gonna buy it") they will only have themsleves to blame.

As for the person writing from Rominaia, I don't have an answer at this time, but I'll talk to some people and see what suggestions we can come up with.

Hope everyone has a great and wonderful saturday.

PS: Walls of text critted me for over nine thousand @_@

I know my "sampling" argument is silly, but it's painfully true. There are always animes I'd like to check if they're worth watching or not. And if the first episode is great, waiting another year for the full thing to be licensed sounds rather unlikely, at least to me. (plus who knows how long until online distributors agree to deliver around this part of the world)

To doomnezeu:
Romania has Animax - http://www.animaxtv.ro/, it might be just a matter of time for Romania to get their anime on DVD, so don't loose hope. Animax is own by Sony Entertainment.

Anime took a while to get its foot hold here in the US, so please be patience. It will take time, but it will get there.

Hey Stokky,
what part of the world are you in, I know it's the European market is very slow in getting anime out. But you're basic argument is not only "taste test" but the "I just can't wait" argument. My thoughts on the taste test have already stated, so I'll address the new issue. I would hazard a guess that you've not seen everything out that's already out there. I would suggest you look at some of the older series, that you may not have seen before, and get the whole series, or watch a first ep or so that a friend has, and decided if you want to get the whole series. This is actually a great idea, becuase of the advent of the slim packs, where you can get a whole series for a relatively low price. I'm excited about this, myself because of of my favorite series in both Japanese and English is Gantz, I've got the individual sticks, the slim packs for both seasons and there is about to be a limited edition of the entire series released in a limited edition metal Gantz ball. (Sorry, had to go all fan boy for a moment. lol) But the thin packs are a great way to get a series, and still help the industry, both in america and japan stay afloat. The sad thing about the instant gratification factor is that Legal Anime is coming to the united states faster than it ever has in the history of the anime culture and it's still not fast enough for some people.

I did some asking around and do have a possible answer for our friend in Romania. You can do what alot of people in europe do and buy them imported, yes they cost more and if you buy from Japan you'll be getting considerably less anime for your money, (It averages about 2 eps per disc and the price is about 60 - 70 dollars american) But that's what alot of people are doing they're ordering on line from the U.S. or Japan so that they can still see anime. I'm sure I've not answered everyones quetion, but at least I'm trying, becuaase I don't want to see the death of anime.

I'll try to check back in tomorrow. Have a Great day.

Animax has one flaw. It's not pay per view so i can't choose what i want to watch, sadly. Plus, you would also be outraged if you saw what they are airing. No, Animax is not an option.

I really hope the other part is true, about anime getting here.

ps: Stokky is also from Romania, we two are the owners of this site ;P

Watching an episode at my friend? Well, the thing is, one episode leads to another glass of vodka, which leads to another episode, then another vodka and so on, until we finish either the anime or the booze. At which point, naturally, I have no idea how the anime began in the first place ^^

But seriously, there are many good suggestions posted here, and the truth is I *could* do more to "save the industry". It took me almost 10 years to start buying original games, so eventually I will start doing the same with animes. But right now, I'd rather spend 60-70 dollars on booze & food milk & cookies for a whole month, than on a couple of top-notch episodes from Japan ('seen most of the old ones I was curious about).

P.S. The next poll next week will be about this issue of paying for animes, I'm sure curious how many fans have their conscience clear (or if they have a conscience at all)

I've looked at roster you have there in Animax, and what you have there are the successful series in Japan and North America.

Well you just proven my theory ...Vodka (or alcohol) really don't mix with anime, but sports and alchohol do. So I suggest, stay away from your vodka while watching anime. =)

BLASPHEMY! ^^

Oh and the most (commercially-) successful series are usually the most crappy ones. Whereas a show like Kodomo no Jikan... well, you can't see that even on some Japanese TV stations, let alone in the West.

I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting!