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Now Streaming: Sgt. Frog 1-30 (sub)




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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:10 pm Reply with quote
Why no more dubs?

Hate to say it, but the dub is superior when compared between the two...

Todd, Chris, Chuck, Brina, and J. are EXCELLENT froggies, and it makes an already funny layout transform into the funniest thing since School Rumble!

Oh well, these'll please sub-fans I guess...
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:32 pm Reply with quote
I have to agree, they take episodes that rely entirely on the audience being Japanese, and make them funny. I remember barely laughing at the Japanese version of the bikini comedy contest, but the dub really improved that episode. Same with the episode where they flat out tell you what the insanely obscure sentai series no one in America has ever heard of is.
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CCSYueh



Joined: 03 Jul 2004
Posts: 2707
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:11 pm Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
Why no more dubs?

Hate to say it, but the dub is superior when compared between the two...

Todd, Chris, Chuck, Brina, and J. are EXCELLENT froggies, and it makes an already funny layout transform into the funniest thing since School Rumble!

Oh well, these'll please sub-fans I guess...


Oh no.
You have Kumiko Watanabe (the adorable Shippou/InuYasha) as Keroro, the wonderfully gravelly Joji Nakata (Alucard/Hellsing, Folken/Escaflowne) as Giroro, the incredible Takehito Koyasu (Bobobo, Mu La Flaga/Gundam Seed, Sakujun/Saiunkoku, Keiki/12 Kingdoms, Ryuga/Mahoromatic) as the wicked evil Kululu, Takeshi Kusao (Trunks/DBZ, Kougaiji/Saiyuki, Saionji/Utena, Krad/DNAngel) as the long-suffering Dororo & Akira Ishida (Kaworu/Eva, Satoshi/DNAngel, Gara/Naruto, Hakkai/Saiyuki) as a less vicious Saburo than the dub is working. Which isn't to say he doesn't have his hand in more than it seems on the surface.
Sabat's great, & I can stand Palencia better than Etsuko Kozakura, but I really hate Tama anyway. The vocal work on the Japanese side is incredible. One can argue the humor works better for one in English of one wishes, though I find the Japanese pretty funny (judging from the subs since I don't understand Japanese).
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kawaiibunny3



Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 534
Location: Houston, Texas
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:22 pm Reply with quote
Maybe its because I've loved Keroro from the start, but I still love the Japanese version better (most of the time) Not that I don't love Funimation's dub. I love it alot. I dont know, it just seems like Funi's dub tries to make everything funny

but part of the reason I love Keroro Gunso, is because it has alot of heart too, that gets lost in Funi's dub.

but the manga's the best version of all to me. Mine Yoshizaki's comedic timing is perfect. I recommend that more than the anime personally
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merr



Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 487
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:57 pm Reply with quote
Honestly, does Funimation not even want people to buy their DVDs anymore? What is the point of posting THIRTY episodes of this show for free viewing online? That covers two and half DVD sets.

I can understand posting the first 8 episodes or so, that way people can get a good preview of the show and then decide to buy. But if they post the ENTIRE show online for free, it just seems like they're giving the show away for free.

I know, they're trying to do all that they can to make money off the fansub viewers, but aren't they at all concerned about their paying customers deciding that it's pointless to pay for DVDs if every single episode is going to show up online?

And yes, I'm just being bitter over the fact that I paid $100 for this show only to see the entirety of it appear on the free video portal one month later.

At this point, I'm no longer going to buy One Piece on DVD (unless it's on clearance), because I know that every single dubbed episode will show up on Funimation's video site shortly after the DVDs are released. Yes, it's convenient to watch the show on my TV whenever I want, but I'm not paying $50 for that convenience alone.
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TheTheory



Joined: 23 Mar 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: Central PA
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:17 pm Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
Why no more dubs?

Probably because they want to get the sales for those who want to watch the dub.

'course, I'm one of those crazy people who doesn't stream shows (hate the quality and hate watching on a laptop), but only watches subs on the DVDs.
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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:38 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Honestly, does Funimation not even want people to buy their DVDs anymore? What is the point of posting THIRTY episodes of this show for free viewing online? That covers two and half DVD sets.


Pretty much...

Quote:
Probably because they want to get the sales for those who want to watch the dub.


...because of this reason here.

But, you should still buy no matter what! Simply buying something, does more for them than you'd expect! Not to mention, it motivates them to dub more stuff!

I dunno about you but I'd like to see some more dubbed ARMPIT platoon antics...
But... you payed $100 bucks for 50 episodes? I'd be happy about that, no matter what show it was!
Sgt. Frog was one of the best shows I tried out last year (in addition to Bakemonogatari, Welcome to the NHK, Planetes, Code Geass, Mushi-shi, School Rumble, Now and Then, Here and There, and Gankutsuou), and I'd like to see Funimation make as much money out of it as they probably are with Soul Eater!

Oh, and no, Clannad and After Story did not impress me... At all.
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merr



Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 487
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:19 am Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
Quote:
Honestly, does Funimation not even want people to buy their DVDs anymore? What is the point of posting THIRTY episodes of this show for free viewing online? That covers two and half DVD sets.


Pretty much...

Quote:
Probably because they want to get the sales for those who want to watch the dub.


...because of this reason here.

See, I would believe that except for the fact that with shows like One Piece, the ENTIRE dub is made available online for free. Admittedly, with most shows, Funimation only posts the subtitled version, but it's still kind of a slap in the face to the people who are willing to subsidize all this free streaming by paying for the actual DVDs.

Don't get me wrong, I love Sgt. Frog (especially the dub), and part of me would gladly shell out more money to see the rest of it. My problem is that Funimation seems to be devaluing their own products by posting the entirety of every series online for free. I want to support Funimation, mostly because they're the last company that still releases shows the way I like to watch them (dubbed), but my fiscally responsible side keeps telling me that it's not worth paying for all these DVDs if I can legally watch everything online for free.

And when people start thinking like that, it means Funimation starts losing money. We still don't know whether streaming shows can make significant money at all. And even if they do, it's fairly clear that much more money is being made off DVDs. It's great to have all these shows available for free (from the consumers' perspective), but I worry that it will ultimately lead to something unsustainable.
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:42 am Reply with quote
Merr the reason I bought Ouran High School Host Club was due to Funimation's streaming of the dub. Streaming a sub is nice, but if I am paying 50+ dollars for a series than I need to know what kind of dub I am getting. OHSHC's excellent dub was what sold me on that purchase since I love Vic's Tamaki and especially Catlin's Haruhi.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 6:20 am Reply with quote
Charred Knight wrote:
Merr the reason I bought Ouran High School Host Club was due to Funimation's streaming of the dub. Streaming a sub is nice, but if I am paying 50+ dollars for a series than I need to know what kind of dub I am getting. OHSHC's excellent dub was what sold me on that purchase since I love Vic's Tamaki and especially Catlin's Haruhi.

I was going to say the same thing. I believe streaming works for those who would buy the DVDs in the first place. If you watch a stream and don't buy the DVDs, then you probably wouldn't of bought it in the first place. So really, if you wouldn't of bought it anyways then they aren't losing money.
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leftbehindxp



Joined: 09 Dec 2007
Posts: 142
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:45 am Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:

I was going to say the same thing. I believe streaming works for those who would buy the DVDs in the first place. If you watch a stream and don't buy the DVDs, then you probably wouldn't of bought it in the first place. So really, if you wouldn't of bought it anyways then they aren't losing money.


Agree with this and what CharredKnight said.

I don't know where I'm trying to get but heres a shot. I looked at the number of views on Funimation shows on youtube and did a Dub vs. Sub. I choose youtube cause I imagine that's where they get the most views off their videos due to the popularity of youtube. Shows I looked at were Darker than Black, Baccano!, Ouran HSHC, and Devil May Cry for no particular reason. I found that there were more views on dubs then subs by double or even triple in number of views. There could be a number of outside variables why those numbers look like that but I won't go into that. Looking at this someone might say that people look for dubs more often and probably the majority of consumers look for a dub in their product. But, they only offer the first four episodes of these series dub vs. offering all the series sub. Going with the viewpoint that dub likers are the majority of consumers, Funimation is giving a little taste and wants the consumers to buy the product to get the rest of the dub.

Now I know the above is probably obvious. But in a situation where they offer such a huge number of sub episodes on Funimation, Youtube, or ANN I wonder why they do this. Somehow it seems that their benefitting from this cause they keep doing this. I can't really apply the theory above all that well to sub only viewers cause the number of views is low compared to dubs and perhaps outside variables. These moves always confuse me and I don't get it Laughing I'm probably missing something or just being stupid. Do they think that a good number of sub only viewers don't buy DVD's and hope to get revenue through online advertisement? What's the deal?
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CCSYueh



Joined: 03 Jul 2004
Posts: 2707
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:56 pm Reply with quote
merr wrote:
Honestly, does Funimation not even want people to buy their DVDs anymore? What is the point of posting THIRTY episodes of this show for free viewing online? That covers two and half DVD sets.


However in the overall scheme of things, 30 eps out of a couple hundred plus movies is a very small slice of the pie. The dub is also more American in tone (loud, brash. obvious), so running the sub would possibly entice more people to go for the box.

merr wrote:
I can understand posting the first 8 episodes or so, that way people can get a good preview of the show and then decide to buy. But if they post the ENTIRE show online for free, it just seems like they're giving the show away for free.


This is the fansub debate. Not getting into it.
Somehow anime fans have developed this idea they need to see an entire show (I've seen people protest about it going south in the last eps as an excuse to see the entire thing before buying it). Apparenty anime fans need to see more of a title than the usual 5 minute movie trailer we all see that entices us to see movies, etc.
I don't like watching anime or reading manga on my computer so I buy it. Hot title XXX isn't available? There is so much out there, one really can find licensed stuff to watch.
Whatever.

merr wrote:
I know, they're trying to do all that they can to make money off the fansub viewers, but aren't they at all concerned about their paying customers deciding that it's pointless to pay for DVDs if every single episode is going to show up online?

And yes, I'm just being bitter over the fact that I paid $100 for this show only to see the entirety of it appear on the free video portal one month later.


I finally, after months of thinking about it, bought Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan. I no sooner finished than MB announces a new hybrid edition for, I bleieve, the same cost as the sub-only I bought.
That's life. Everything gets boxed cheaper. Half seasons get mashed into single boxes if one is willing to wait a year or 3. Super deluxe boxes get nice priced a lot of times.
On the other hand, licenses expire. Those streams will go away. My copies of Sailor Moon & CCS are on my dvd shelves. I may have paid an obscene amount for my FMA tins, but I have FMA in tins.

So the issue is-do I buy Sgt Frog now for $22/13 eps or wait for the inevitable 26 ep boxes? Do I buy One Piece now at $27/13 eps or wait for some eps-long box similar to the DBZ dragon boxes (which would take up so much less room than those singles I re-did into thin cases & still take up an entire shelf or so)?

It all comes down to what it's worth to the buyer.
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merr



Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 487
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:38 pm Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
I was going to say the same thing. I believe streaming works for those who would buy the DVDs in the first place. If you watch a stream and don't buy the DVDs, then you probably wouldn't of bought it in the first place. So really, if you wouldn't of bought it anyways then they aren't losing money.

See, here's my problem with that. If I see 8 episodes of a show online and really enjoy it, I'm quite likely to go out and buy the rest on DVD. But if I see all 26 episodes for free, I've seen the entire show. There's now much less justification for me to spend money, since I could spend that same money on a show that I know I'll enjoy but haven't watched all the way through. In my case, watching the entire show streaming makes me less likely to go out and buy the DVDs.

Moreover, even if it's a show I really like, I can always just go online and watch my favorite episodes. It's not the same as watching a show on network television and then going out to buy the DVD a few months later. In that case, an episode airs, and if I miss it, I can probably catch it on demand or on Hulu for about a month. What I can't do is go online and watch every episode from every season of the show whenever I want. Sometimes Funimation leaves an entire show online for almost a year. In cases like that, there's little impetus for me to go out and buy the DVD until it goes on clearance (at which point Funimation makes less money). The content of the show, the bulk of what I would be paying for, is all online for free. If I want to be smart with my money, I'll watch the free version and not bother paying $50 for the DVDs.

I'm not opposed to streaming; I just think Funimation and other companies should be handling it better. Is there any reason why they can't do like most American companies and post only the five trailing episodes of a series? That way people have the ability to preview an entire show (just like they would if they were in Japan watching it on TV), but all that content isn't left online. People shouldn't have to buy shows blind, that's why streaming is so great. But if all the episodes are left online, the only real value of buying the DVD becomes the convenience of watching it on a TV. That's not worth $50 to most people.

Being able to watch a show wherever and whenever I want is a big reason why I buy DVDs. But if Funimation is going to make that same experience available for free online, the comparative value of the DVDs goes down quite a bit for me. I like getting stuff for free, but if Funimation wants to make money off people like me, they need to do more to make the DVDs seem like a worthwhile purchase. I don't care how many extra features they cram in. If the content of a show is legally available at a much lower price (in this case free), I'm not going to buy the DVDs.
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Jeikobu



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 154
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:52 pm Reply with quote
Wow, ANN just keeps adding more and more things I want to see, and SUBBED! ^__^ ANN, I just want to say thank you very, very, very much for all this streaming, and also for giving so much subbed anime! Very Happy
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