Forum - View topicFun Subs Vs. Real
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trackstar1013
 Posts: 179 Location: Canada |
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I have seen around 20 different anime series most of them being fan subs, I was thinking that in most cases fan subs are better because they dont take the literal sence of what is being said, whilst some real subs can be repetative with the responces that some characters give, "hi" doesnt just mean "yes" in a fan sub. I know that that isnt allways true but fan subs can have a responce like "yea" "yes" "yup" "ok" ect... Anyway my question is what do you think is better and what do you think the differences are that make your choice better.
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Vukir
 Posts: 66 Location: California |
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Since it is more of an art to translate Japanese into English, it is hard to give a definative 'one is better than the other' answer. It is up to the translators opinion just how to phrase a sentance in English. And even in Japanese, they have the equivilent of 'yea', 'ok', and other affirmative words. 'Hai' is just a more formal way of saying it.
Other than that, not all 'real' and 'fansub' translations are the same. ADV may do better than FUNimation, just like different fansub groups can be good or bad (A lot of fansub groups, in my opinion, do not do a very good job to begin with). But, it all comes down to prefference. And, to my answer. I really preffer the quality of 'real' subs. For one, I preffer to pay for my anime, and keep the industry running. For the other, the quality and continuity(spelling) tend to be higher overall than a lot of fansub groups. That is not to say that all the fansubs do a bad job though. But, thats just my own opinion on that. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11509 Location: Frisco, TX |
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The thing about foreign languages is that there isn't really a literal translation a lot of the time. I speak a little Lao (if anyone's ever heard of it
 ) and there are several words that just carry an already understood meaning that've been there since whenever the language started.
In my language, the word for "light," like in a house or something, would literally translate as fire in English, but since you know a lot of people used fire as a source of light way back in the day the basic meaning is still understood today as "light." Like I said, it's kind of a culturally understood trait of the language because that's what a lot of people are use to, where as English is a bit more complicated because there're a lot of variations for a lot of base words, like "yes" for example. Primarily you'd just say "yes" as a positive remark for acknowledgement or confirmation. But over the years, the English language has developed many more ways to do this rather than the old fashioned "yes sir" or "yes ma'am." Today, you could say it as yes, yup, uh-huh, OK, alright, mm-hm, sure, fine then, yeah-yeah, or even point your finger at them like a gun, wink your eye and make a clicking noise with your mouth, etc., etc. I'm sure foreign langages do this as well to a degree, but it just so happens English does it a lot more and in various methods. And with that, I can see how some translations tend to be difficult at times, but it really just depends on the person doing it. As for my stance on fan made subs vs. official release subs, as much as I like how some fansubs keep names untranslated, aside from that, I'd rather pay for: 1) DVD quality picture 2) Dolby Digital sound (ranging from 2.0 to DTS 5.1) 3) Subtitles I know will at least be credible from a guy or gal who officially earned their jobs and were certified to translate Japanese to English by a multimillion dollar corporation. But I'd say the best subs I've seen on an official release are probably Media Blaster's Rurouni Kenshin. The did a great job keeping various words in Japanese and did an even better job in explaining them in the liner notes. And I know not every title will have the dubs or subs I like, but when you think about it, everything is really just superficial in the end and all that matters is that you enjoy what you're watching, regardless of a few words that basically mean the same thing anyway  (*points finger and makes gun clicking sound*).
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BoygetsfireD
 Posts: 475 Location: earth |
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tony - where is Lao from?
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Kazuki-san
 Posts: 2251 Location: Houston, TX |
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From Laos |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11509 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Laos. |
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kainzero
 Posts: 309 |
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It is wrong to assume that a fansubbed anime is more contextual whereas a licensed sub is more literal. "Hai," contextually, can translate from anything to "Okay" to "Yes" to "Yea, yea" to "Roger" in English, all with different connotations. Nor do I think this is the type of translation that makes or breaks anime. I have heard that the translation in fansubs isn't that great, but this is only hearsay since I personally do not know that much Japanese (just 1 quarter of college-level). Having spoken with some directors and producers, they agreed that they trust whoever the official subber is, so you know that whatever they put out is most likely what they intended... you can't always be too sure about that with fansubs. |
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ShellBullet
 Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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I am not so certain about fansubs. The desicion of whether to translate "hai" as yup, yes, or whatever is a little subjsctive. The same meaning gets across any way you translate it. I guess there is the issue of formality. Yes is the most "correct" form in English so anytime in anime when the speaker is using formal speech (keigo) "yes" would be the best translation; while in informal speech other words might be acceptable...
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Haiseikoh 1973
 Posts: 1590 Location: Waiting for the Japanese 1000 Gunieas. |
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So wouldn't that be Laotian? |
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ShellBullet
Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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You ever watch King of the Hill? |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11509 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Ugh. I'm SO tired of hearing that. It's Lao. That's what we label anything in our culture from people, to places, to food. In any Lao sentence spoken in Lao, we'd say whatever words and use the term Lao to refer to something as being of Lao origin, not "Lay-ocean"  .
And on another note, I haven't seen a single Lao family act like that in my 21 and a half years of living here in the U.S. And yes, I do live in Texas. I've been here since I was about 3 months old  .
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BoygetsfireD
Posts: 475 Location: earth |
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heh heh 
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Translating any language is a complex issue. I've never downloaded because I like to be paid for my work so I believe in paying others for theirs. I've seen dozens of variations of the InuYasha names & attacks off the net & various people posting on message boards who are convinced the one they've picked up from their fav site are the true translations. However Viz has access to Ms. Takahashi & her opinions, so I'll gamble the names they ran in the art book are what Ms. Takahashi intended. Yes, they do adjustments, sometimes to please the original artists(anyone seen Heroic Legend of Arislan?)-like Zoro/Zolo in One Piece but that's a whole other messy issue (the l/r thing)
Fansubs, from what I understand, don't have access to the original scripts for clarification purposes. You have someone translating what they're hearing, but that's colored by their own perspectives & not necessarily the true meaning. In particular Americans like closure-clearcut answers while the Japanese seem to love vague-let the viewer decide. I can't remember all the posts I've seen complaining about "lousy" open endings on anime. I told my daughter a joke I heard on the radio-she laughed.(off the mornnig show I listen to-this one was about Clinton wondering what the people wanted-the spirit of George Washington said lower taxes-no, Clinton didn't agree. The spirit of Jefferson said lower taxes-no, Clinton didn't agree. The spirit of Lincoln said "Bill, the people want you to go to the theater"-I explained that was where Lincoln was assasssinated, The area I live in is largely Republican so it's funny in a political mentality way even though I'm a Democrat & have no problems with Clinton as president. I didn't want him dead, but I knew a LOT of Republicans who would have celebrated) Translating a language is similar-knowing what the words means doesn't necessarily mean one can do an accurate translation. ADV doesn't always go for literal, but does a decent job on retaining the feel on many of the humorous titles they dub which they need to because what's funny in Japan isn't necessarily funny in America. THe purists scream they're playing fast & loose with the dub, but for the title to work, they need to keep the spirit as well as the literal. So I prefer the proffessional dub/sub. I've never uinderstood why people assume the fansubs are more correct than the official version. Yes, there are glaring exceptions-the stuff butchered to appeal to the mass market like CCS got in Cardcaptors. But overall the official subtitles seem correct. |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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It is about preference. American subs tend to "massage" the script, making it more palatable to American audiences, using more American wording. Fansub scripts tend to keep more of the Flavor of the Japanese script, leaving in the various "-san"s, "-chan"s, etc., as well as certain other commonly known Japanese words.
The real gem about fansubs though (aside from how quickly they are released), is that with the better ones yuo get some excelent liner notes and text subtitles. If a series has complex Japanese jokes or concepts in it, there will generally be a text overlay at the begining of the episode (generally over the "sponsored by" page" that describes what the joke means. If some strange word or action comes up, there will generally be a text translating it (for example all of Sanji from One Piece's moves are in French, the subtitle is generally left in French, with a second title across the top giving its English translation). Also, in shows like Yakitate!! Japan, or Last Exile, which contain technical information (about baking or fliying in these cases), this information is generally provided in tasteful text overlays across the top or side of the screen. Few, if any, professional subtitles go this extra length to make the series available to the viewer. They will generally leave the information out completely, or rewrite the dialog so that it works in English (and is not at all a dirrect translation of the Japanese text). Also, the fonts used in fansubs are generally easier on the eys than in professional subs. This is due to pro-subs using the DVD closed captioning systems to deliver the text, while fansubs use more subtle fonts that blend better with the original work. Now, with pro-sbs, you're generally guaranteed a minimal level of quality. With fansubs, you'll have to know which groups are good, and which aren't. So long as you stick to the ones that are good, you'll have considerably better quality across the board. |
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one3rd
 Posts: 1819 Location: アメリカ |
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Rather than cluttering the screen, professionals generally reserve translation notes for the liner notes. See RahXephon as an example.
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