Cross-posted from Anime Pulse
Episode 130 [53:30m]: Play in Popup | Download
We've got a great show this week. We talk about the new server move, do the news, talk about Bleach and review Special A and Le Chevalier D'Eon. We also talk about the new toy we got, the Amazon Kindle.
Special A - Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Le Chevalier D'Eon - Wouldn't kick it out of bed for crackers.
Show Notes
Music
Intro - Casting Dice by Yuuki Kanno from Amatsuki
Outro - Neko Mimi Mode by Dimitri From Paris from Tsukiyomi Moon Phase
Reviews
Special A
Wikipedia
Anime News Network
Official Site
Le Chevalier D'Eon
Wikipedia
Anime News Network
Official Site
On the Dubbing/Subbing Argument, A Consumer Perspective
I originally started to write this as a comment on Someguy's great essay on dubs. Once I reached my third paragraph I realized it had veered in a different direction and figured I should just write my own post. While there are many people who hate dubs or subs, my personal experience is that the current issues with the industry have nothing to do with that, it is in fact a purely market-driven issue.
I have no problem with the principle of dubbing. Great, get it out to more people who don't care enough to experience something in it's native language. My problem with it is a financial one and a market-driven one. The majority of distributors insist that people want the dubs, and that they can't sell them without (Bandai has proved them wrong on that). But yet when was the last time that a foreign movie came over to the US with a dub track? Pan's Labyrinth (Faun's Labyrinth), Amelie, Run Lola Run, House of Flying Daggers, Hero, etc.. all come in their native languages ONLY, with optional subtitles. There are a few, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as an example that has a English dub. But no one is insisting that Americans will only watch foreign movies if they have a dub track. Only Anime has that distinction.
So the argument is that kids won't watch it? Or that they won't watch it on TV? Ok, the TV one might be valid, but that's not what I'm addressing, I'm talking about DVD releases. Let's start there. What is the most impressionable time in a person's life? Childhood. If you want your kids to grow up to be people that respect other cultures then teach them that experiencing things in other languages are a good thing. I think the same thing about TV, but I don't have any good arguments on that one.. :-)
So my problem with dubs? I don't have a choice. I have to buy DVDs that have dubs on them (except Bandai's). And that means that I have to wait longer and pay more, because they have to charge prices that can pay for the ADR work in addition to the licensing. If I'm going to pay money for a physical object (which I do less and less. I pay for information, not physical objects.. not enough room), then I'm going to pay only for what I actually want, not some package deal that I'm told I should want. I don't buy that BS when I'm buying a car, a stereo, a gadget, why should I buy it when dealing with Anime?
So no one is serving my need. And as has always happened throughout history, when a need is not being addressed by the legitimate market, the black market (bootlegs, fansubs, etc..) does. Attacking consumers because they aren't buying what you feel they should want is not only counterproductive (it's never worked, see RIAA/MPAA/Anime Distributors/history in general), it also engenders a negative attitude towards the legitimate producers, making that consumer less likely to ever deal with that producer on a legal level.
Legal attacks aside, there's the shame attack. I'm referring to the "if you're a real fan, support the industry". This is the argument that makes me the most incensed. Consumers don't "support" industries, they consume. If an industry is serving a need people buy that industry's products. People support things all the time, it's called philanthropy. But guess what? The Anime industry is not a f***ing charity. It is a commercial industry that should be addressing a need in the market. If they can't provide what the consumers desire then they either need to change their focus or choose a different market. This is the crux, consumers will always get their needs met, that's the basis of a market-driven economy. Consumers are in control, not the producers. If you want to capitalize on the consumers, then provide what they actually want, not what you are convinced they "should" want.
My final thoughts. If there is a need for dubs, great. Address that need. But address my needs as well. I want (ideally) just the information, in a format that doesn't tie it to a specific device or piece of software, and has what I want: the video, the original audio and a subtitle track. I will pay for that. I will not pay for what I don't want. And calling me a bad "fan" is just stupid. I'm a consumer. I like something, therefore I will purchase it providing I can find what I want at a price I'm willing to pay (and I'm not unreasonable). If you won't sell it to me, I will find someone else who will. This is our world, love it or hate it, it's not going anywhere.
-Ichigo
Cross-posted from Anime Pulse
Episode 129 [46:00m]: Play in Popup | Download
We've got a great show for you this week. We review Kure-nai and Macross Frontier. We also do the news and do sweet Evangelion figure giveaway. Check it out!
Kure-nai - Wouldn't kick it out of bed for crackers.
Macross Frontier - Download Now!
Show Notes
Music
Intro - Triangular by Maaya Sakamoto from Macross Frontier
Outro - Neko Mimi Mode by Dimitri From Paris from Tsukiyomi Moon Phase
Reviews
Kure-nai
Wikipedia
Anime News Network
Official Site
Macross Frontier
Wikipedia
Anime News Network
Official Site
Cross-posted from Anime Pulse
Episode 128 [45:16m]: Play in Popup | Download
We've got a good episode for you this week. We review Love Hina and do an update of Dragonaut ~ The Resonance. We also do the news and talk about Bleach. Check out this great show!
Love Hina - Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Dragonaut ~ The Resonance - Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Show Notes
Music
Intro - Resonance by T.M. Revolution from Soul Eater
Outro - Neko Mimi Mode by Dimitri From Paris from Tsukiyomi Moon Phase
Reviews
Love Hina
Wikipedia
Anime News Network
Dragonaut ~ The Resonance
Wikipedia
Anime News Network
Official Site
Well, the weekend is over, and so is StarFest 2008, Denver, CO.
I was flying solo this weekend, as my co-host had to work. So since my car isn't running, and I didn't feel like riding my motorcycle 50 miles each way each day (Max had some teeth out, so I had to come back at night to give him his meds), I hitched a ride with Jason and Heather Martin from ArtPlayMix.com. Getting in was no problem. I went up and told them who I was, the lady looked, unsuccessfully, for a list of press people, gave up and just gave me the worth-more-than-it-weighs-in-gold "All Access" badge, and I was on my way.
Turns out Anime Pulse drove the most traffic to the StarFest site out of any sites doing banner ads for them. Since I "won", they gave me two free autograph/photograph tickets, which I immediately used for Adam Baldwin (see pic below.. Oh Yeah!).
There were a lot of cosplayers, especially Empire. And I lost count of the number of Browncoats wearing Jayne's stupid hat. The dealers room had a lot of good geekery schwag, and I managed to find one dealer who had two small boxes of Anime keychains. But that was the only Anime stuff there. There were some Anime cosplayers, which was nice to see.
The video room. They had one Anime video room, that was really good. They showed lots of new stuff and, to my approval, they actually showed fansubs. This meant that there were actually people in the rooms, as some stuff they might not have seen yet. Although I had already seen them, I stopped in for a couple episodes of the first season of Code Geass and Spice and Wolf.
Prior to the costume contest they had a Sci-Fi Parody Skit hour, which was great. They had a Sci-Fi match game, with horrible jokes, then a Star Wars play/musical and then a Star Wars TNG/Terminator: SCC play/musical. They were hilarious. See the pics.
Adam Baldwin had a Q&A panel, that absolutely packed the main events room. Prior to him coming out from behind the curtain, the MC had all the Browncoats in the room stand up. Then the "leader" of the Browncoats had apparently arranged to sing the "Hero of Canton" but didn't know the words past the chorus! I was so offended. I could have gotten up there and sang every single verse, and I didn't even need to prepare. Seriously, why not actually do a bit of study if you're going to do something like that for Adam Baldwin. But luckily Adam is an awesome guy. He came out, make some jokes, did some background on himself and his career, and then started the Q&A session. I didn't stay much past the start of that, since it's filled with people going "I love you man, thanks for coming, blah blah blah", and finally a question, maybe.
Attendance was good, the hotel seemed pretty packed. The only real problem I had with this con was traffic. They needed to get some of the NDK people in charge of that, because it was horrible. They thought it was a good idea to set up caricature booths and photo op booths (see the storm troopers/Darth Vader and R2-D2 pics for what I'm talking about) right in the middle of the major funnel points, causing huge traffic jams from the second the con started to the end of the night. It never cleared out. It got so bad I would loop all the way around the long way just to avoid it. Whoever thought that was a good idea should have their head examined.
So, traffic issues aside, all the staff was very friendly, the attendees were in good cheer, the weather cooperated and the guests were great. In my humble opinion StarFest 2008 was a success, and I would go back another year in a heartbeat. Download Now on the AP review scale for StarFest... Oh yeah, and Adam Baldwin put his arm around me, so yeah, awesome.
