| |
It isn't about insolence on the part of the industry. It isn't about a bad attitude on the part of the subtitling fandom. It isn't a tragedy either, despite all the noise around it. It's about rights and money. It's about J.A.I.L.E.D.* and it's about time.
Now, before anyone goes flying off the handle, there are a few points to consider. First off, the fandom was, for the longest time, the backbone of anime in North America. Script providers and fan subtitlers, along with the various clubs and networks which reproduced and distributed their copies, were vital in making anime as strong as it is now. They now feel that with J.A.I.L.E.D. they are shoved aside and forced to yield to those who will make a profit off an activity that should be a labor of love. Unfortunately, this is in great part the fault of those who abused an unregulated system (pirates-for-profit) and of those few clubs who pirated recklessly, arguing that "it's only the Japanese, what can they do?" or "We're the fans, it's okay for us to subtitle, it's our right." Tolerance, when abused, quickly reaches its limits.
Still, from a slightly different perspective, there is something reassuring about the emergence of an industry coalition such as J.A.I.L.E.D. What this means is that because anime-translating companies are banding together against piracy, there actually IS a North American anime industry. And when you say industry, you say market. In the final analysis, we conclude that mainstream North American viewers are finally paying attention to Japanese animations and actually spending money to get them. If anything, this is good news. Anime is finally here to stay.
As for J.A.I.L.E.D., we doubt that it will go after small fish, but it is not unlikely that it will attempt to shut down fan-subber groups -- first those who subtitle anime whose rights belong to an American company, then the other ones, to prevent piracy. It is their right and they have the law on their side in this matter. As anyone who is trying to make a living off a given market, the companies that form J.A.I.L.E.D. have an inherent right to protect their market and prosecute people who illegally hurt their potential profits.
This kind of initiative was long overdue. It is sign that the industry has developed enough to protect itself. However, we worry that it may be done with disregard and disdain for the fandom, who made it all possible in the first place. We must fear that soft-pirates (clubs making copies to promote anime) might be put in the same bag as hard-pirates-for-profit. J.A.I.L.E.D. is necessary and will greatly help the market, but it could also hurt the true, honest fans.
Time will tell. We'll just have to wait and see.
Jean Carrieres
Claude J. Pelletier
* J.A.I.L.E.D. = Japanese Animation Industry Legal Enforcement Division