The Tentacle

Another fact concerning emails: Â Sending one is apparently safer than texting..... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mifJG3ACjVs[/media]

Pet peeves? Â This'll be a long list so here's my top five: 1) Â The sound of babies crying in a public restaurant. 2) Â People who drive 45 mph in the 55 zone, especially when I want to run 65. 3) Â Those idiots who drive through the parking lot with the bass on their stereos turned all the way up. 4) Â The sound of someone talking on a cell phone in a public restaurant. 5) Â Neighbors who let their dogs bark all damn night.

I just started [b]Sacred Blacksmith[/b] this morning and I'll probably be marathoning that today. Â I've also got [b]Black Butler[/b] and [b]Phantom[/b] on the pile to keep me occupied for the time being.

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1295452455' post='704026'] "you don't like me and I don't like you either." [/quote] And that sounds like every relationship I've ever had.

Oh yeah, I remember these things.  [b]Laser Tag[/b] and [b]Photon[/b] were all the rage back in the 80's.  Laser Tag even had its own Saturday morning cartoon as I recall. The world of [url=http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/555/507/Lazertron_display_image.jpg?1291894839]pro-wrestling[/url] also tried to cash in on the lasermania. With FPS games being so popular I'm guessing there's a market for this somewhere.  Â

You are correct sir!

This one shouldn't be too hard to guess: [img]http://batrock.net/animeimages/uwm08-01.JPG[/img]

Is that from [b]Basilisk[/b]?

Are you or someone you know the spitting image of a character you've seen in anime or manga? Â Do you feel an emotional connection with one of them because they remind you so much of yourself? Â Or perhaps there is one particular character you wish you could be like. Â Whatever the case may be this is the thread to discuss such things. I've always thought I looked sort of like a slightly pudgier version of [b]Gendo Ikari[/b]. Â I have the same hairstyle and color and I also wear classes. Â I've even considered shaving off my moustache and growing my sideburns down to connect to my goatee but I don't think I could pull it off quite as well as he does. Â I have been known to steeple my hands while looking sullen at times though. I can't really think of anyone to compare myself to emotionally but I think I might like to walk a few miles in [b]Tenchi Masaki's[/b] shoes. Â Having random women fawn all over me for no apparent reason would probably get annoying after a while though. Â I find a lot of appeal in living the life of a carefree traveler like [b]Kino[/b] from Kino No Tabi though so that might be the way to go.

I see what you're saying and I agree with all of it. Â I was just trying to segue into another tirade. Â Sorry 'bout that. Â >__> Anyway, going back to a prior post I broached the subject of what the future holds for both the industry and fansubbers. Â I think that's a topic worth discussing as well. Â Where do the rest of you see the anime industry five years from now? Personally I'm seeing a lot of business moving into the online streaming market. Â I just hope anime will still be available for purchase on solid media if it comes to that. Â Fansubbers might also see a decline in support and a few of the major sites may be shut down to divert attention to legitimate sites. Â That's what I see on the horizon. Â How about the rest of you?

[quote name='Katana' timestamp='1294868911' post='703846'] [size="1"][color="royalblue"]Fansubs, on the other hand, aren't like that. The subbers didn't [i]make[/i] the anime (or draw the manga). They didn't write the stories. They didn't do the voice acting. All they're doing is translating it. But their motivation, I believe, is still pretty much the same; they're doing what they're doing out of love for the show and wanting to spread it to the masses. The problem is that they're not promoting people to watch the product, they're just giving out the product.[/color][/size][/quote] [color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]Yeah but that's like comparing a full-length novel written by a veteran author to a piece of fanfiction written by a teenager. My issue with this is that the fansubs being produced[/size][/font][/color][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"] [/size][/font][/color][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]aren't of the same quality as the official ones.  Nor are they dubbed in English and, in the case of the limited number of fandubs, the talents of the dubbers can't compete with those of a professional voice actor/actress. It's just the same as s[/size][/font][/color][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]ubtitling done by college students as opposed to professional writers.  It's that level of quality that I'm willing to pay for.[/size][/font][/color] [color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]Not only that but even if they were comparible and the fansubs had superb audio/visual capacity there's still the fact that I don't want to sit in front of my computer to watch anime [/size][/font][/color][font="Arial"][size="2"]when I have a perfectly good home theatre system set up in my living room right in front of a big comfortable recliner.[/size][/font][color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]  [/size][/font][/color][font="Arial"][size="2"]Having to resort to torrenting my anime and then storing it on my hard drive [/size][/font][font="Arial"][size="2"]would be just as inconvenient to me as asking someone who only watches fansubs to drive to the Best Buy and purchase box sets of their favorite series from now on.[/size][/font] [color="#000000"][font="Arial"][size="2"]Overall fansubs aren't a product I'm the least bit interested in.  [/size][/font][/color][font="Arial"][size="2"] [/size][/font][font="Arial"]  [/font]

Halfway through my second week of being laid-off from work for the winter. Â Only another six and a half weeks to go! Â Already going stir-crazy though. Â Halp! O__O

[quote name='Miss Anonymous' timestamp='1294816119' post='703837'] Goodness gracious, I hope this was relevant... uhhhhh so basically, fansubs: good or bad? Ehhh, good for exposure of certain shows and advertising, bad in that the company doesn't do any actual advertising for themselves and in that people simply watch fansubs, never buying anything ever which will result in a reduction or destruction of the American anime market. Or something like that. [/quote] It is indeed relevant and does a lot to sum up the current situation. Â I'm a very possessive guy when it comes to anime. Â I collect DVDs so when I come across a series I like I naturally want to add it to my collection. Â It's a vice, same as any other. Â And as with any other vice it's something I tend to spend quite a bit of money on. Â That's why I tend to side with licensing companies over fansubbers. Â I don't like seeing the source of my vice being threatened in any way. Â I would imagine it's the same with those who watch fansubs. Â Although you may not be willing (or able) to spend a lot of money on anime you still want to watch it. Â Having a stable supply is important and so long as you're satisfied with just watching a show rather than owning it fansubs are a good source. Â Getting something you want at no cost to you without having to leave your house is an offer few can refuse. Â It's only human nature and I can't really complain about people who view fansubs. But as Miss Anonymous points out its the fansubbers themselves who are causing the licensing companies grief. Â They're creating competition by essentially bypassing the licensing procedure and producing anime outside of Japan and offering it at no cost. Â That's an unbeatable marketing strategy even if it is illegal. Â And, as stated, it's an offer few can refuse. My question is "why?" though. Â What do fansubbers get from all of this? Â What's their goal? Â Seems like a lot of work for little reward and could also land them in a lot of trouble with the law to boot. Â Will fansubbing stop if series being aired in Japan are simulcast internationally via online streaming? Â Will fans be willing to pay for online anime if legitimate sites offer them the same services as fansubbers but with a higher level of quality? As long as fansubs exist I would expect people to choose them over an officially licensed product. Â But I'm curious as to how much longer fansubbers will keep plying their trade. Â If the concept of online streaming was indeed brought about to compete with them it might very well be the fansubbers who will go the way of the dinosaur as licensing companies flex their corporate muscles and take over what has, until now, been their domain. If that happens fansubs won't disappear entirely but some of the larger sites may be shut down and copyright laws be more heavily enforced. Â Eliminating the competition is also an unbeatable market strategy after all.