Slow Start Episode 5 Discussion

Nyaa said:
I remember a time, about 7 years ago, when fansubs were good and strong.

Anime was something that rarely ever made it outside of Japan before a DVD release. Companies releasing international DVDs had time to get things right; and they did - they cared about their product.
But for English anime fans, the wait was long. That's where fansubs came in: passionate fans like us who were bilingual bound together in groups and put great effort into bringing us airing anime with quality subtitles.

Some released DVD/BD editions as well with their subs. Some released with official subs stylized to look good - keeping up with with advancements in technology - giving an alternative to the pixellated piss-yellow subs that some companies were still using from the VHS days.

Sure there was the occasional turd, but shows were often picked up by multiple groups - each striving to give us the best. Those that chose to troll were quickly identified by fans, lost their reputation, and ultimately ended up disbanding.

Anime would eventually become more popular in America and get picked up by companies like CrunchyRoll. American companies began licensing airing anime and releasing it on a tight schedule with the Japanese release - without much time to make a polished product like we got with DVD subs. Unlike fansubbers who are passionate about their work(hobby) and care about their reputation, there is no standard excellence among officially hired translators. Subs needed only be legible. In fact crappy, over-localized subs that were dumbed-down for the masses were encouraged in the interest of appealing to a broader audience at the expense of true anime fans.

Now here is the problem: With official subs available before even the fastest fansub group could put something out, many stopped even trying. Many fansub groups went from doing their own translations to just polishing the turd released by crunchyroll to be more accurate and watchable - it's easier than doing everything yourself after all.
Most groups went down this path, with few actually staying true to their roots.

But one group rules the tier of not-giving-a-shit and releases Crunchyroll/Funimation/Aniplex subs entirely unedited. That group is HorribleSubs.
When the official subs are good, they're good; but when the official subs are horrible, they're horrible.
No reputation to protect, you take what you get.

If you want good subs, get them from someone who cares.

Nyaa said:
Unfortunately, there is no good answer to every situation. The sub providers change frequently. Good groups come and go. I'll can list some of my go-to ones, but they may not all be around now or in the future. It's best to learn how to pick out good subs for yourself.

So how do I do it?...

I consult a few sources for each anime to determine which sub group to choose:
* My experience - Groups that have done a good job on shows I've previously watched are preferred.
* crymore.net - Dark_Sage provides detailed sub comparisons for some shows.
* fansub.co - Looking at screenshots to decide for myself which makes the most sense.
* MAL Reviews - seeing what other MAL users think in the "Fansubbing Groups" section at the bottom of the anime page. (you must be logged in)
* What BakaBT selected as their best version. (And NyaaTorrents's A+ before its death and rebirth)
* Reading opinions on forums like Myanimelist and Kametsu (a bunch of decent groups even post on Kametsu)
* If need be: Actually downloading multiple subs and comparing them myself.

Some things to note:
* Crymore.net and Fansub.co may only compare one episode and don't necessarily guarantee quality for the whole season.
* MAL reviews often tend to be skewed in favor of HorribleSubs (believe it or not, official subs actually have quite a following here who don't care for improvements) - unless they're egregiously bad like they are for Slow Start.
* Consult multiple of the above sources for the best chance of making a good choice.

So who do I like:
Asenshi, Ayako, Chihiro, DameDesuYo, Doki, EveTaku, FFF, GJM, Harunatsu, Hatsuyuki, Hiryuu, Interrobang, Kaitou, kdfss, KiteSeekers, Lazy Lily, Mazui, Nii-sama, Oyatsu, SallySubs, ShiN-gx, SubDesu, Underwater, UTW, Vivid, Wasurenai, WhyNot

There's probably more that I've forgotten about. Some of these may no longer be around, but their work is still out there.
If two of these collaborate, you've got an even better chance at a quality product.

Since HorribleSubs releases source subs unedited, I'll always go with one of my preferred groups if available as improvements are likely to have been made.
Sadly, for some of the less popular shows, they're the only option.

BD/DVDs:
In addition to some of the groups above, I have found decent BD releases from:
CoalGirls, CTR, DmonHiro, Exiled-Destiny, Kametsu, Kira-Fansubs, Polished, THORA, tlacatlc6, Tsundere

In many cases, BD release groups combine multiple sources to achieve what, in their opinion, is the best combination of Video, Audio, and Subtitles available.

Note: ColaGirls releases are often excessively bloated in size, so I only go with them if there isn't a better release by someone else.
On the other extreme, If tiny releases are what you want (I prefer full size): project-gxs.

Torllsubs (to be avoided):
Commie, gg - originally started out good (may have some acceptable past releases) and turned into deliberate troll trash.
Commie did a good job on some of the Monogatari Series, and gg did a good job on Mawaru Penguindrum - but those are the exception rather than the rule.

Basically, picking subs is a skill gained with experience. I consult multiple sources and choose for myself.
If a translation seems stupid, I'll be inclined to download another to check if it's better.
That post in the Slow Start thread is an obvious example:
Audio: "do-doppe-gerungar" - an obvious mispronunciation of "doppelgänger"
Subtitle: "Doped-up gangbanger" - not even close.

------

How/Where do I get my anime?
I always Download the best quality version I can find.
I use BitTorrent, XDCC, and DDL in that order of preference.
This means I usually get what I want via BitTorrent, but sometimes have to fall back to XDCC for older or more rare anime where torrents may be unseeded.
DDL is rarely ever useful in the rare cases where all Torrents are dead, but sometimes it is.

Torrents:
* I usually start my search at Anime Tosho - it combines torrent sources from Nyaa, Tokyo Toshokan, and AniDex.
* I'll sometimes browse those three torrent sites individually too.
* Nyaa Pantsu is another NyaaTorrents clone that I frequent (different to the one used by Anime Tosho)
* The Minglong tracker is also an option.
* If I can't get them publicly on one of the above, I go to BakaBT (I'm a member from before when they closed to the public, but that's my last resort due to ratio concerns of a private tracker and the client white-list causing frustrations with up-to-date qBittorrent software)

(Note: to comply with MAL policy, I haven't linked anything but these sites can easily be found by name with a search engine)

If all the torrents are dead, I'll get my anime over XDCC (IRC Download) from the respective group.

General:
The Kametsu forum is a great place for finding decent releases to get via Torrent, XDCC, or DDL - Especially for Dual-Audio BDs.

Other:
I don't frequent these, but have visited them on occasion: Shana Project (Torrents); anime-sharing (DDL)

Most DDL sites and unofficial streaming sites ultimately die.
Torrent sites are often last longer and are quickly replaced when they cease operating: When NyaaTorrents died, multiple replacements sprung up.