Ask John: Why Is So Little Vintage Anime Fansubbed?

Question:
Recently I have been looking for classic anime that never made it to the U.S. In my search I’ve come across a frustrating fact: there is a huge lack of fansubs for classic anime. I understand that U.S. companies are wary of licensing older titles due to the fact that the general public does not have as large an interest in older anime, but it doesn’t make sense to me why fan-based, fan-oriented, non-profit subbers would not be subbing classics such as Ashita no Joe and the World Masterpiece Theater titles. Granted there are fansubs of a few classic series here and there, but they are rare and many were dropped by their subbers far before their ends. Why is there such a lack of fansubs for classic anime?

Answer:
By their very nature, fansubs are created by and for anime fans, so they reflect the tastes and interests of anime fans. Unfortunately, there’s simply not much interest in vintage anime among English speaking anime fans. For example, English translated fansubs of the 1969 Puss in Boots movie and the first seven episodes of the 1978 Takarajima television series have been released into the fan community within the past year, but I suspect that most native English speaking anime fans aren’t even aware that these fansubs exist. Likewise, untranslated versions of the first episode of Osamu Tezuka’s 1967 Ribbon no Kishi television series and the two Ashita no Joe movies filtered into the fan community earlier this year, yet no one seems to have decided to translate them.

Vocal American anime fans often request an official American release of the 1979 Rose of Versailles television series, but domestic licensing and translating companies are hesitant to invest in such a license because of doubts that many anime fans will pay money for vintage anime when these same fans won’t even watch vintage anime that’s available for free. It’s not my goal to belittle American and European anime fans, but I think that for a large majority, contemporary English speaking anime fans don’t really think of anime as Japanese animation. They think of anime as appealing, trendy animation. Especially since such a large percentage of the contemporary English speaking anime fan community has been introduced to anime through contemporary programs, that’s what they’re most interested in. Most contemporary English speaking anime fans seem to have little interest in old anime that doesn’t have the glossy veneer of contemporary productions.

While I’ve never claimed to have seen everything, I do think that I’m familiar enough with vintage anime to make informed statements. Many classic anime titles don’t have the technical sophistication of contemporary anime, but they have unique charms that modern anime lack. Vintage anime don’t have the precise, crisp visual look of contemporary anime, and older anime typically don’t investigate psychological depth or have the complex narratives of many modern anime. However, vintage anime exhibit the warmth and charm of fully hand crafted art, and especially in the case of 1980s anime, may have more fluid and detailed animation quality than typical contemporary productions. Many older anime titles are very enjoyable, are technically impressive or revolutionary for their age, and contain characteristics absent from modern anime. But they look dated and don’t have the characteristics that contemporary anime fans expect from anime. So I suspect that many contemporary English speaking fans refuse to consider watching old anime.

The absence of classic anime in the fansub community seems to have three explanations. Because most of the currently active fan translators seem to be fans from relatively recent generations, their interest lies mainly in contemporary anime. Fan translating is a hobby, so it’s unfair to expect amateur translators to spend time on titles that they’re not interested in. Second, as I’ve mentioned, viewers seem to have little interest in watching vintage anime. No one wants to spend time and effort uselessly. I can’t blame amateur translators for not wanting to translate anime that viewers won’t watch. Finally, part of the function of fansubbing itself has changed. A lot of the fan translated vintage anime available now dates back to the era of VHS fansubbing, when the purpose of fansubbing was to broaden awareness of anime. Many of the vintage anime fansubs available in digital format, like Romeo’s Blue Skies & Heidi of the Alps are encodes of old VHS fansubs, not “new” digital fansubs. The purpose of the contemporary anime fan translation community seems to be split between pet projects and personal ego trips. The function of fansubbing is now less about generating awareness of little known titles to increase respect for anime, and more about personal ego and feeding a trendy, underground community. Many vintage anime series are being released on Japanese DVD, so the lack of fansubs of vintage anime can’t be blamed on lack of source material. Note that I’m not encouraging video piracy; I’m merely observing facts. There just doesn’t seem to be much interest in vintage anime, especially among American anime fans.