Thursday, September 11, 2008

I really should stop going on to theOtaku.com, because now i'm thinking again. Anyway, i just read a few essays on the relationship between the companies (Viz, Tokyopop, etc) and the consumers (us). And that got me thinking about pirating. Last year in english i wrote an essay about pirating and fansubs and all of that related joy. Anyway, i just wanted to babble in a less-conformed way about the similar topic. Thing is, i know about the temptation to steal anime or even manga off the internet. In fact, i did steal manga off the internet briefly. In fact, the only reason i'm not stealing it now is because i told a friend of mine about this awesome site with free manga and she said "Sorry, I don't like to pirate." And i had one of those moments where if i was an anime character, my eyse would be wide open, i wouldn't be able to talk, or move, except to fall to my knees. Basically, i went into shock. Later, when i went back home, i thought about what she said and went on a major guilt trip. I haven't gone back to that site since then, and even stopped reading the manga i'd already downloaded onto my computer. I'm still ashamed that a.) i stole manga, from authors who's work i really loved and b.) i didn't even realize i was stealing, reading in essence fansubs, which i'd already written a paper against and was firmly opposed to. it took a comment from a friend to make me realize that i was being a freakin terrible hypocrite. But that whole story wasn't the point of this post. The point is, that stealing anime and manga,(and yes, taking it off the internet without the author's express persmission that it can be viewed for free, is stealing. plain and simple.) is wrong. totally wrong. One, it depletes the businesses that supply us with dubs, give us voice actors to idolize, and helps generalize anime and give it to a greater audience. I mean, for me, and many of my generation, we first were introduced to anime when we were little kids, watching tv after school on Toonami. for us, anime like Sailor Moon, DBZ, and Gundam Zero were what brought us into the world of anime. and we owe that to the companies. But, i also read that the companies depend on us, not the other way around. And they do, but, we also depend on them for legal anime dubs. I'm not saying that anime will disappear, far from it. But easy to obtain anime in the english language will no longer be so easy to obtain.
And i know that anime is freakishly expensive-especially compared to a box series of an American series. Think InuYasha (yes i'm obsessed-deal with it) and uh, CSI. Which one would give you more hours on the dvd for a less price. Now, i really don't know, maybe CSI is way more expensive than Inu-i didn't research and don't plan on it. But you get the point. An American TV series is normally cheaper than anime. but you also have to realize that producing anime in America is much more expensive. Not only do the countries have to pay the voice actors, they also have to buy the rights from the Japanese companies, hire a translator, and sometimes reformat things in the anime. All that costs a lot of money, which they make back by charging obscenely high prices for their products. Unfortunatly, many otaku seem to be in the poorer class. like me in all of my lower end of the lower middle class spectrum. Plus, if the fans don't pay, we aren't supporting anime, manga, or the authors who depend on us for their money. Anyway, i think i've basically gone off topic. Again. sorry.
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