Thanksfest 2007

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A day early but tommorow's off-schedule so the Thanksgiving post is today; it's a bit of a break from the normal Shiori fanboying metaposts in order to give profuse thanks and a bit of recognition to everyone who makes being an anime fan possible.

And that's a lot of people.

I suppose I should start with the fansub groups, the most critical to 'illiterates' like me who can't speak nor write Japanese. Without them we'd have to settle for using the tried-and-true "Mystery Science Theater" method combined with the raws. And as funny as it may be (try it with a Chinese drama sometime) it's not much for actual understanding.

And so, hats off to you, translators.

To a.f.k., the popular group that, despite living up to their name scarily often now, continues to bring us high-quality translations of high-quality anime. I know that their brand name, so to speak, has drawn me to such entertaining slice-of-lives as Lucky Star and Zetsubou Sensei.

To m.3.3.w fansubs, for subbing an equally interesting variety of harem anime with lightning speed and top-notch quality for speedsubs.

To (the) Triad, for subbing all the manly shows that people claim to be 'too pointy' for them. No moe != no fun.

To HG-F, for picking up the slack in subbing Wangan Midnight, and allowing us car-show fanatics to get our vroom on.

To SS-Eclipse, for being just as high-quality as any of the groups out there and twice as willing to sub shows in 4:3 definition (aka yay Clannad fix) and shows that get horribly melon-panned, deserved or not.

To C1, for staying dedicated and subbing Tokimeki Memorial all the way to the end. They go to show that just because subs are slow doesn't mean that they are dead.

To all the anonymous subbers out there for swooping in in the dead of the night and finishing translation for lesser-known or dead series that otherwise might fade into the mist.

A shout-out to nyoro~n fansubs as well; as much criticism as they've taken (valid or not), they deserve a hand for shaping up and continuing on subbing instead of folding under fire like a house of cards.

And of course all the other groups that I can't mention because they sub a different genre of show.

No English Type-Moon fan could go without noting the great efforts put forth by mirror moon and Revolve Translations as well. Collectively these two have translated already nearly everything there is to see in the official Tsukihime universe (from Tsukihime to Kagetsu Tohya to even the Plus-Disc), and I think work is being done on Fate/Stay Night and Melty Blood as we speak. Where would we be today in a world that does not know sad Sacchin or moe Hisui?

And for the Key fans who can't just be satisfied with KyoAni productions, I'd like to thank the people who translated ONE, the first Key-style novel from some of their members, as well as Non-Directional Translations in advance for presumably releasing Kanon before I die. I'll be watching warmly for that. (Yeah, they did a Touhou game too, not to mention the name reference)

Then in the anime blogging universe, there's Maestro for providing a great dedicated, free hosting service - not to mention, an antenna for blogs all over the world - for budding anime bloggers everywhere.

Naturally, the original animators themselves (no studio in particular, either), and the local companies in America who officially bring things stateside are deserving of thanks as well, since they make it all possible for people like us.

Speaking of, ready to get tacky? Each one of you deserves a bit of kudos for keeping the faith up in some way. Whether it be writing or reading a blog, the fan community is always one of the driving factors behind any passion, and the anime one is always one that's very spirited.

Yeah, people don't get along at times, and yeah, sometimes it hurts to read some of the less coherent opinions, but there still are a lot of very interesting bloggers out there, whether it be one who can deliver a strong argumentative essay or one who can write a side-splitting post.

Don't ever forget that Your Voice Counts; just because no one comments on your posts, just because you're not mentioned in every blogroll, doesn't mean that your opinion doesn't matter. It'd be wrong to be deluded the other way either, to think that you have the right to strike it big, the right to be heard by everyone, but rather it's a simple fact that, while you may not get out to a wide range of people, someone out there is probably reading your work. And with the 'ripple in a pond' effect that the blogging community often has, all it takes is time and a little dedication.

And while I'm riding the wave of Shugo Chara-level "you can"-ism, thanks for all the readers of this blog (at least I hope it's a few and not just one person refreshing 100 times) for amusing yourself with the rants and writing practice of an anime fanboy.

So yeah, be thankful for something this weekend; we know you're already thankful for your family, for your job, for your friends, for your great country (political debate about administration notwithstanding) and for everything life has given you; it's the things that seem less 'deserving of thanks' at times that need the most recgonition.

And so if there was one slightly biased message I'd convey with this post, aside from the above, it'd be: give your thanks with your wallet too this holiday season. For some, anime isn't just a
free passion.

Merry Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good dinner. (Wait...)

-CCY