Do people want/need/appreciate our subtitles?

[Valzie]

Actually, I've changed a bit since I begin following the 48 related stuff subtitles...

Now I don't really care about how long people need to make the subtitles, because I really appreciate their time and effort...

First, it's volunteer works, so it might be their second priority over their jobs (or school/college)... They might not be sitting in the same room for this (CMIIW) and coordinating them might take some efforts...

Second, making sub might sounds easy, yet it is very tiresome. I've done some translations and making subs (for english lang.) and I found that it take quite some time to produce quality subs. Making subs of the same language should be a little easier, but translating it should take appropriate amount of time and/or dedication, not mentioning that some sentences only make sense in their original languages. Sometimes, I even need some external helps to actually use a word or create a sentence that people will understand without having to be explained too much...

Third, humans still can make mistakes, no matter how detailed you are, there will always be a chance for mistakes... Please don't judge a single typo and blame the whole tiresome works which might hurt the feeling of the subbers/translators...


Concerning your works, I believe that many people, though they might poorly show it, appreciate and dependent on your subtitles... Or at least you still have me... You know, I always wait for your subs... I have this tendency to collect files of the same sources to keep them the same quality... Like during the MG3 subs, though other group have done the english Sub earlier than you guys, I never use theirs because I've been using yours for a long time and I don't want to break that chain of collecting YOUR subtitles... I might use others once a while to understand certain shows that you haven't release for a while, but right after your release, I'll keep yours... If possible, or if you still doing subtitles for certain shows, I'll keep looking forward for them...

Just one simple confession:
I don't really rush AKBingo! and Shukan AKB subs, because there are too many of them. My interest on those shows has been reduced... I mean, I'm still waiting, but I'm not going to shout for subtitle release... Those shows are sure interesting, and one day, their subs might be completed... Until that time, I'll keep it in mind that this considerate amount of release time for the subtitles, from any sources, is the motivation for me to actually learn Japanese and understand them on my own without having to rely too much on subtitles...

[ehf]

I appreciate your relentless hard work.

However, I do think the lack of feedback is because people recognize discussion is not wanted here.

I agree with shows like AKBINGO there's barely a need for subs, but ultimately most english speaking fans aren't nearly as much interested in NMB48, or even SKE48.

It's also a sign of how fragmented this fandom seems to be, but the truth is that this is not a transaction, and the way you guys choose to spend your time is entirely up to the staff here.

I'd hate to see you stop subbing though, your releases are excellent quality and I consider sub48 a paragon of the AKB48 fan community.

[mayuyusuki]

I think everyone appreciates the subs you guys release.

While I often give thanks for the subs, I don't always reply to everything with thank yous. As ehf pointed out above, discussion isn't commonplace here. I usually just say "thanks" for the newest releases. I usually don't bother replying when it's for subs released 18 months ago. I don't really feel I'm qualified to give out critical feedback as my Japanese is very limited. The only thing I can say is I'm pretty sure the "Well, smack my ass and call me Judy" translation in the 4th episode of NMB Geinin is incorrect, lol.

To each their own on what they would like to be subtitled. But I do know one thing, there aren't enough subbers for AKB works. In comparison the Johnny's fansubbers are ridiculously abundant, so I think anything we can get our hands on related to AKB is a huge privilege.

I don't understand the poll above about the subs being too late or other groups creating subs. As far as I know, you guys and Aidol are the only ones who regularly sub AKB works. And generally for the handful of teams who are or were subbing AKB, there really isn't any overlap. So if you guys release subs for an episode 2 years ago or 9 months ago, I'm taking it.

Regarding AKBINGO!, while I watch every week, I do agree that it is starting to dull. You can get by with some episodes without subbing, but there are corners that would be beneficial to be translated (shojiki shougi, the recent "touzen" pie shows, and my current favorite "High and Low"). Recently what I've actually found pretty useful is that on some sites, translators will translate via text on vidcaps or summaries the gist of the dialogues. Just enough to get an idea of what they're talking about (I would kill to understand half the stuff they're talking about in those Naruhodo HS Onee48 vs AKB48 episodes).

I will say this about the lack of word-of-mouth on my part. Personally I don't have any friends that share my same interest in AKB. I would rep you guys in other forums, but for some reason I thought maybe you guys wouldn't want that in case it gets you guys in trouble or something. Seeing as how you're not providing the audio/video content, I guess there really wouldn't be a way for you guys to get in trouble. I also don't use FB or twitter much.

I'm not going to vote in the poll above because I don't really think it applies to me. I'd love for you guys to continue what you're doing.

[kidafohs]

I use your subs all the time as I am 100% into the 48 groups variety shows and until subbed some are over my head especially when they are just chatting but those are the ones that can be very funny. The subbing of their songs is great especially when you sub songs such as Gondola lift which I love and I would like it if Kareha no Station Matsui Rena was subbed.

AS for leaving thankyou's for the subs stick a box on the subs page next to the sub in question so lazy people can just click on it to say thanks. The other suggestion will be controversial but most sub sites require you to be a member before you can download it is something to think about.

Finally being a pain in the backside I would love to see some of the specials subbed such as the trip to the lost world, Team 4 flying in Guam and the last bunch sent to the Korean Marines for training. They are enjoyable to watch but interactions such as between Mariya and the Korean Instructor when they were talking and laughing while everybody else was crying, it would be interesting to know what they were saying.

[Ready2]

The only thing I can say is I'm pretty sure the "Well, smack my ass and call me Judy" translation in the 4th episode of NMB Geinin is incorrect, lol.

Actually it's not as far as you think. It means that the speaker is very surprised just like what the original "sugoi na" means. So instead of going the usual "wow" for translation I thought I'd spice it up a bit in that episode and maybe get some feedback. Well that didn't work out as only 2 people noticed it lol.
Also note that I tried to translate the kansai dialect in a ghetto slang style to show that they don't speak in standard japanese.

(BTW that line is from a Friends episode. I wonder who got the reference.)

[et443]

As for leaving thankyou's for the subs stick a box on the subs page next to the sub in question just clsck on it to say thanks.

That's the issue, if there are too few people downloading the subtitles there would be too few thanks anyways...

However, I do think the lack of feedback is because people recognize discussion is not wanted here.

As I mentioned in the opening post, I don't quite worry about people posting thanks here. In fact, for our first releases I considered locking the thread, since as you mention, I'm don't want to build a community as others. However, in the end I left the threads open in case someone had to report a serious mistake. It's obvious that many aren't just interested in things we are (Magical Radio, Geinin, etc), so we count in mouth-to-mouth to make them visible. It's a pity such a good shows are shunned just because some people think SKE or NMB are second class groups, or that they are competing against AKB or similar.

[ehf]

Regarding AKBINGO!, while I watch every week, I do agree that it is starting to dull. You can get by with some episodes without subbing, but there are corners that would be beneficial to be translated (shojiki shougi, the recent "touzen" pie shows, and my current favorite "High and Low").

I agree on this point, especially shoujiki shougi since they are dialogue-only episodes.

[mayuyusuki]

The only thing I can say is I'm pretty sure the "Well, smack my ass and call me Judy" translation in the 4th episode of NMB Geinin is incorrect, lol.

Actually it's not as far as you think. It means that the speaker is very surprised just like what the original "sugoi na" means. So instead of going the usual "wow" for translation I thought I'd spice it up a bit in that episode and maybe get some feedback. Well that didn't work out as only 2 people noticed it lol.
Also note that I tried to translate the kansai dialect in a ghetto slang style to show that they don't speak in standard japanese.

(BTW that line is from a Friends episode. I wonder who got the reference.)

Can't say I know much of the difference between Kansai and Kanto dialects. I'll be on the lookout to try and catch it though; is there an emphasis in rolling "Rs"?

And now you've got me stumped on the Friends reference. Is it a line Ross said?

I will say this though about translations. You know how you come across the same sentence uttered over and over again (i.e. yoroshiku onegaishimasu, otsukaresamadeshita, etc)? I do appreciate spicing it up. In English we say the same thing in several different ways so it's nice to breakup the monotony in Japanese (i.e. how's it going?, what's up?, how's it hanging?, etc).

[doubleheadeddude]

I always thought that the shows the team is subbing is the interesting ones (Never would have known geinin is fkin awesome if it wasn't for you guys).
I guess my only fault is that I don't show my appreciation by not saying thanks.
So, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE SUBS!

[hungrybookworm]

I think if you want more downloads, you should:

a) Make yourself more visible. If I didn't lurk on JpopSuki I honestly wouldn't know you guys existed. Do you use twitter? Maybe start uploading batches of your subs to a torrent site, or...

b) Consider encoding the subs with a video. I get that you might not want to do this, but if download counts matter that much, you're gonna have to go that extra mile to please the lazy. I know about AiDol because I see their vids on Hello!Online's tracker, but you guys don't have much of a presence there.

Incidently I do fan translation work in a very niche fandom too, so I understand your pain. The trick is to pimp pimp pimp! People ALWAYS appreciate subs, especially when you're one group out of two-or-three total. If you aren't getting enough downloads, then you just need to be a bit louder. Give it a try! You'll be surprised by the results.

As for my personal preferences, the part of AKB I'm interested in the most is the behind-the-scenes stuff, so the documentaries, some eps of Shuukan, Star Hime Sagashitarou etc. I'm really uninterested in dramas personally. As for sub critiques, I can't recall you guys doing this, but I know AiDol does it a lot: leaving in English-sounding katakana that doesn't actually mean the same thing in English. Example: tension. In English, it refers to tensing your muscles and feeling nervous, or a 'tense atmosphere'. When the Japanese say 'tension', they're referring to how lively and perky someone is. Yeah, completely the opposite meaning. The other one is 'one piece'. God, would it kill people to say 'dress'? That's what it is after all. In English, a 'one piece' is a swimsuit. But anyway, that's my feedback. I hope it helps in some way.

EDIT: Actually bothered to read the rest of the thread, and it seems a lot of people have said the same as me already lol Ah well.