Ask John: What’s the Difference Between a Fansub and a Sub?

Question:
I know you’ve already answered this question before, but it apparently got lost during one of AnimeNation’s last site re-vamps, so I thought I’d ask you again. What is the difference between a fansub anime video and a subtitled anime video?

Answer:
In practical terms, a sub and a fansub are the same thing. Both are anime videos with an English translation on the bottom of the screen. The main difference lies in who produced the translation. Fansubs, as the name implies, are subtitled anime videos produced by anime fans. Normal subtitled anime is licensed, copyright protected, and legally manufactured and distributed by professional companies like Pioneer and Central Park Media. Contrary to what many fans want to believe, fansubs are technically illegal because they are a copyright violation. Both Japan and the US have intellectual property rights, which prevent the public presentation or distribution of video, music, computer software and other similar media without proper permission and compensation obtained from and given to the media’s proper legal owner. Fansubbed anime tapes are generally tolerated, but not exactly approved of by the anime industry, mainly because “legitimate” fansubs do not have a tremendous impact on the financial potential of anime. Ethical, responsible fansubbers, fansub distributors and anime fans only share fansubs of anime that has not been legally licensed for translation and distribution in their respective country. The purpose of fansubs is to share and promote anime. Fansubs are a non-profit endeavor whose purpose is to allow fans to see anime that they wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to see translated. This way, fans can discover new shows that they want to see legally licensed, and petition anime translating companies to license these shows.

Many anime fans cherish their fansubs because fansubs are a labor of love. The vast majority of American fans that produce their own subtitled versions of anime films do so out of love for the medium, and out of a desire to share a particular anime series with other fans. Commercial translations have to be marketable and profitable, so they often get “watered down” to be more accessible to the widest possible audience. Because fansubs don’t have to appeal to a broad, mass-market audience, and because their purpose is to promote Japanese (emphasis on Japanese) animation, fansubs generally retain more of the “Japanese-ness” of anime than licensed, domestic subtitled presentations. Fansubs commonly retain the Japanese “honorable” prefixes and suffixes on Japanese names, the Japanese cultural references, the very accurate dialogue translations and controversial footage that commonly gets removed from commercial releases. Fansubs, though, unlike commercially licensed translations, do not contribute a financial reparation to the creators of the animation. When a title is commercially released, a US company has paid a lot of money to the show’s original Japanese creators, which is only right and fair. When hundreds or thousands of fans watch a fansub, the artists that created that video receive no compensation at all. In that regard, fansubs are technically stealing anime from its rightful owners.

The idea of stealing anime becomes more central when we consider bootleggers and bootleg fansubs. Fansubs have gotten a bad reputation because of the actions of a relatively small minority of unscrupulous, greedy people that sell fansubs for a profit. Die-hard anime fan fansub distributors don’t “sell” fansubs. They do a favor for fellow fans and in return expect to be simply reimbursed for their expenses. Bootleggers sell unlicensed fansubs and home-made copies of licensed anime and licensed anime translations. These bootleggers aren’t concerned with sharing or promoting anime. They don’t distribute anime to make more people aware of little known series. They are literally usurping sales and profits that should rightfully go to deserving anime creators.

Because “legitimate” fansubs are anime titles that have not been licensed for distribution in the US (or any country of subject), the Japanese creators and copyright holders are not expecting any money to come from these titles outside of Japan anyway, so fansubs are tolerated. If a fansub is intended to promote anime, its job is done when the representative series has been officially licensed. Therefore honest, responsible fansub distributors cease providing and sharing fansubbed copies of anime that’s been licensed. This isn’t to spite anime fans or prevent anyone from completing their fansub collection. That’s not the point of fansubs in the first place. Fansubs are not a replacement or substitute for licensed translations. If fans don’t buy legal, licensed anime, there won’t be any legal, licensed anime. If we ever want to see more anime movies in American theaters or more uncut anime on American television, it is vitally necessary that we support the professional translating companies.