BTW
Sorrow-kun

I recognised your name from some other forums you contribute to intellligently and just decided to say hello, that’s all

@craftruth2009
I’m all for the idea of “supporting the industry”, but the all-guns blazing punitive response just has so many undesirable consequences that licensing companies like Funi would be foolish to follow it. And they know this, hence why there hasn’t been a PR disaster like Odex in the NA market. This is a marketing problem, not a legal one (at least it should be seen as such by companies, unless they want to alienate their own demographic). The challenge that companies face is to change perceptions and convince people that their products are competitive with the illegal alternative. It’s a battle for “hearts and minds”, if we want to use rhetoric from the Bush administration.

Let’s Get Responsible,People!

The future of the anime industry is at stake!

Gregory Herbert
Chairman and General President
The Coalition For Responsible Anime Fandom
(CRAF)

Actually, the trend of fansubs and the market can be seen by the recent anime fan mindset.

This is more or less hearsay from anime fans of the mid 90′s, there has always been a code among fansubbers and fansub viewers alike that you only watch fansubs for anime that cannot be seen otherwise. It’s a code I personally try following. But when it comes to the generation of anime fans I’m part of, they couldn’t give a damn as long as it’s free/more convenient. They really have no right to complain, and even more so, considering that FUNimation, among other outlets, are, on a consistent schedule, STREAMING THE EPISODES FOR FREE.

It’s definitely not about scapegoating.

Though as to not sound completely anti-fansubbing. Geneon tanked due to overpriced merchandise, and ADV got to top heavy.

As for the anti-downloader stance, I’ll clarify. Over the last few years (coinciding with the drops in DVD sales), I have noticed a marked difference in perception regarding fansubs from every angle of anime fandom (fans, companies, intermediaries like news sites and blogs, cons, etc.), rather than something solely from Funimation. In fact, I honestly can’t seem to figure out where I started seeing it first. It was definitely after Geneon went under, maybe around the time when the ADV/Sojitz partnership broke up.

@SK
I’m of the opinion that FUNimation will not be able to return to profitability selling anime should they fail to change people’s perceptions, so I don’t see how they have a choice but to convince the masses they have a desirable product.

@AC
If I recall correctly, ODEX sued individual downloaders of anime. This is partially why I suggest FUNimation shouldn’t go after individual downloaders. Unlike the music industry, FUNi is catering towards a very small market where alienating even a few can actually hurt the bottom line.

As for utilizing fansubs as part of the solution… I think you can ask a Harvard PhD to create a model for this and they would still fail. I believe FUNimation has chosen to stream anime because they’ve seen far larger ventures into the medium (like Hulu) succeed. I don’t think they have the brainpower or the resources to actually develop an unprecedented model for integrating fansubs.

@jpmeyer
I find your stance rather amusing. If FUNimation got 100% of their respective market “buying” their products, I fail to see why they should or would care about other regions. Furthermore, I don’t see how FUNimation is scapegoating anyone. Over the last few years, the size of the anime fandom in NA has been increasing (based on the increasing attendance at conventions), but the sales of anime have been declining. At the same time, traffic downloading anime on torrents has been increasing and with the proliferation of video streaming sites, anime streaming has become more common. Though causality cannot be mathematically proven, I believe it’s not a stretch to say that fansubbing has been eroding the R1 market. (If you have other explanations please provide them)

@Owen S – 2
Ironically enough, FUNimation is saying the first statement; some fans are interpreting it as the second.

The fact is that FUNimation simply does not have the power to satisfy all parties involved, so they simply do what all buisnesses do and behave in a manner they believe will maximize their profit. If this comes across as heartless know that I can think of no company that has come up with a better method.

By the way, if you are criticizing the language of FUNimation’s comments, then you are doing so without any real basis. From what I’ve read, FUNimation has been professional in their statements. If the company officially and publicly indulges in undue vitriol, I would have to say that the company is run by idiots.

@jpmeyer – 2

I’ll be blunt; grow thicker skin. I do not recall FUNimation ever taking such a flagrant stance on the issue. They have made their case professionally and by warping their choice of words, you are effectively changing their intent. If you are taking quotes from the fandom, know that there are fans who like to debase others to increase their self esteem. Do not project this bullying attitude towards FUNimation without grounds. Yes, the company has stated that unauthorized distribution will be met with legal action, and yes, it has stated that fansubbing is damaging the NA market, but it is not the intent of FUNimation to have these comments used as pitchforks and knives against those who watch fansubs.

If FUNimation could get the license to distribute a stream worldwide, I don’t doubt that it would. I would think that that sort of thing would be something they’d consider after their North American stream proves to be more successful — if they could limit the fansub consumption of their legal audience, it would might sense that they might pursue the rest of the world, but if they can’t even tame North America, they why spend the effort. Meanwhile, there are undoubtedly local companies in the rest of the world that are capable of doing the same thing FUNi’s doing for their region. Just like the USA isn’t the only part of the world and the Internet, FUNimation isn’t the only company in the world and on the Internet. What a double-sided way of looking at it if you’re to blame FUNimation for geoblocking while simultaneously wanting a US company to service the world?

But I agree with jpmeyer, it is troublesome when those that DO have access to the stream vilify everyone else for continuing to seek out fansubs. I’ll admit to occasionally being one of those people and forgetting that not all the fans I talk to or am friends with are in North America. Remind me and I’ll let it go and just be pissed at my fellow, dumbass Americans who aren’t supporting the streams.

What makes them angry is being vilifed by the “Everyone that isn’t watching this stream is a thief! Fansubbers are killing our company! Look down at these people because they’re not true fans!”
mindset being fostered. It’s frustrating when someone wants to say, talk on a forum about something and then people pile on to shit on them when they say that they watched something as a fansub.