If you're going to read this:
1. I am a high school student therefore entitle to borrow quotes from others. This project is supposed to persuade you...does it? Do I get a reaction from you? And it's informal hence the first person found just about everywhere...
2. I need a sub headline...dammit!!! (Any suggestions?)
3. With that "Ready Aim Censor" as a headline...can anyone think of a good screencap or anime pic to post under it? Currently searching...
4. Constructive criticism would be very much appreciated ^^
Anyways be gentle ^^
(psst...the stupid thing won't let me indent...
sorry bout that )Ready Aim Censor!
Most people wouldn’t understand the word anime had it been mentioned ten years ago. However, as Japanese Animation creeps subtlety into the mainstream world of Western culture the word anime takes on a whole new meaning. People are beginning to understand that these “big eyed cartoons” are more than just kid shows that the Saturday morning line-up makes them out to be. The Japanese animation industry is without a doubt more diverse in content that North America’s regular television line-up. It includes all genres found in Cinema, from heroic epics, science fiction, dramas, comedies and romance to risqué types such as pornography. As Matt Greenfield, the founder of ADVision (a popular dubbing company), points out: “I think that one of the mistakes a lot of people initially had was those shows [anime] were all fighting giant robots, there’s nothing wrong with fighting giant robots, but that’s like looking at American TV and saying that’s all car crashes. We’ve got a lot of car crashes but that’s not what it’s all about. Anime is not a genre, it’s a medium.” Most anime features sophisticated storylines with complex characters aimed for adults. So what does this all mean? In most cases, unless you are already an anime fan, it means absolutely nothing. Yet as a fan, I know that many anime titles have been butchered in the editing room, and I along with legions of others, want the uncut.
But why does a show originally geared for teenagers become a show for children five and up? The answer is simple, marketing. North American companies would rather release a title where they can appeal to a broader audience than the actual age group it was intended for. The result being unfavourable episodes and scenes cut, dialogue changed and even entire storylines altered. A fitting example is that of Cardcaptor Sakura, a recent anime title whose entire demographic was changed to solicit the maximum amount of viewers as possible. The show in its uncut format features an NAPC rating of 13+ yet it became 5+ once it aired on North American television. In addition to the rating change, the plot was altered. Cardcaptor Sakura was a romance drama aimed at girls, focusing primarily on the heroine’s ability to build relationships. Yet somehow the show became male oriented, centring instead on Sakura’s love interest Shaoran Li, and dealt largely with the capture of the magical tarot cards, which in the original series barely makes up a third of the eighty episodes. Characters were changed, relationships skewed and homosexuality cut out. Fans were outraged with the result and sought out ways to rectify their disappointment. The answer? Fansubs, (fan subtitled) were released over the Internet. Japanese and English speaking individuals captured the show from Japanese laser disks and inserted English subtitles using computer software. This is a common practice.
The problem with fansubbing is that it’s illegal, and as such fans have developed a code of ethics to appeal to the companies who produce the anime. First, no money for a fansub is ever exchanged, and if it does, it should only be for the cost of postage and whatever blank medium the anime is being copied to. Second, there is an unofficial agreement with fans to stop distributing a title should it become licensed for commercial release. However, due to the recent advancements in modern technology, improving image quality and the accessibility of the Internet, these ethics have been virtually destroyed. Instead the fansubbing practice has begun to stop the release of newer titles that have yet to arrive in North America. Ken Wiatrek of ADVision’s marketing department says: “ It hurts the industry, because why do we want to release something when it’s been fansubbed to death? We don’t want people aware of it that aren’t aware of it. We don’t want people to get it for free.” Ironically, both sides manage to cancel each other out. Companies that refuse to release uncut anime force fans to acquire it illegally, which in turn delays, if not stops future commercial releases. But in all fairness, how is it possible to test the marketability of a title when companies refuse to take the initial risk? It has been shown that if you give fans what they desire, sales will rise. The uncut Cardcaptor Sakura DVDs outsold the edited televised versions despite the episodes still floating around on the Internet. Cartoon Network even created an “Adult Swim” airing late at night, where fans can find less censored programs more suited to their demographic. While most fans admit that they have watched fansubs, they insist that if anything the experience has left them wanting more, therefore promoting the series in question.
And so we are left with a question of ethics. Should fansubbing cease and desist? In all honesty I don’t think the anime industry would be ascending so quickly into the realm of mainstream entertainment if it weren’t for fansubs. People can be exposed to raw uncut anime in its true form, before it has been sliced apart in the editing room. When fans see the difference between the original versus the censored, they demand the uncut. Shows like Sailor Moon, released in 1995, whose editing ordeal was just as horrifying as Cardcaptor Sakura, has finally begun to be released in its uncut format now in 2003. This is atrocious! Fans have been screaming for these titles uncut have now, eight years after the fact, been given what is rightfully theirs. Why should anyone have to wait that long? Though make no mistake, sales of those DVDs are selling as fast as proverbial hotcakes. Companies need to re-evaluate their marketing strategy and learn to appeal to the rightful audience, the intended audience. Only then will fansubbing become obsolete.
