Fansub Review: [WhyNot] Black Rock Shooter (Episode 01)

This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

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So there are only about 500 groups doing this. That’s okay. It’s not like I need to sleep or anything.

Release format: MKV (367 MB, 10-bit)

Japanesiness: No honorifics.

Group website: http://whynot.doesntexist.com/

8thsin’s translation critique: http://8ths.in/2011/12/02/winter-2011-anime-subtitle-comparison/#Black

Ji-hi’s screenshot comparisons: N/A

 

Karaoke.

The insert karaoke was not subbed.

 

Ending. Only the ending aired this episode.

Yeah, it’s not like a Vocaloid show needs good karaoke. Perish the fucking thought.

 

 

Typesetting.

No, I didn’t cut the screenshot short. This is how they did it.

When I see the typesetting for the books, it’s the only time I don’t want to kill the typesetter.

Goddamn. God… damn.

Okay, urge to kill fading…

Urge to kill rising…

Urge to kill fading (again)…

Urge to kill rising (again)…

It’s the title of the show! Come the fuck on!

/me grabs his knife

 

Script.

Okay, so how do I go about this one?

Dumb-chan (right) is talking to Sleepy-chan (left) about Wrist Cutter-chan’s (not pictured here) name. Apparently you can pronounce it as “Tiny Birds’ Game”. So for like 7 minutes in this show, they go off an on about this name. Those Japanese think they’re so punny. But for this release, I was scratching my head throughout, like “WTF is this bird shit? Why won’t these chicks shut the fuck up about it?” This whole thing could’ve been solved with one fucking TL Note at the beginning of the mess and it would have enabled everyone to get through the release just perfectly. Instead, WhyNot decided to let us suffer through “Birds’ Game” bullshit for what seems like forever.

Yes, I am advocating the use of a TL Note in cases where it saves the viewer confusion and enables them to watch the show without wanting to nuke Japan again. And then there’s THIS genius exchange:

Come on. Either put this into ACTUAL English or give me a fucking TL Note. The fuck is the significance of “Takanashi”? It seems to mean something, but your subs ain’t fucking helping.

Please put this in English.

“Is this how junior high clubs operate?”

lol “sketch out”

“Please sketch one another’s portraits.”

I went with “one another” instead of “each others” here because that’s how it’s traditionally said — each other for two people and one another for three or more. But I’m relatively certain that if one were to push for “each other” as the replacement for “one another”, this would be fine. Reason being, it’s

“Please sketch each of the others’ portraits.” vs. “Please sketch each of the other’s portraits.”

and the first is definitely better.

Still, “sketch out” is just shitty phrasing.

Is Dumb-chan down with the curry or not? I can’t tell from these subs. Fix this shit. I actually do care about whether or not she likes curry.

Doesn’t “keiki” mean “cake”, not “cookies”?

Actually, it’s macarons, not macaroons. http://www.yumsugar.com/Macarons-vs-Macaroons-8038818

 

Watchability: Watchable.

Overall grade: C-

The typesetting and karaoke are terrible, and the script is sometimes confusing. Unfortunately, “confusing” is not what you want your subs to be and I find it to be far worse of an offense than the regular spelling/grammar mistakes I point out that still enable you to get the gist of what’s happening.

The only way you can understand the name exchange is if you are extremely wapanese or if you can speak Japanese. Even at the end of the exchange, WhyNot’s script left me confused. The visual failure (kara/typesetting) was only the frosting on this failcake.

32 thoughts on “Fansub Review: [WhyNot] Black Rock Shooter (Episode 01)”

      • So WhyNot’s is confusing, Hatsuyuki I don’t really consider a group at this point anyway (never really gotten anything from them anyway), Commie’s probably just CR ripped unless they really did something for once, SubDESU probably has horrible mistakes, and Asenshi I know nothing of.

        Nishishi might be the best choice but I might be wrong as well. Here’s hoping one of these are good.

        Reply
        • Nishishi (so far) is less confusing than WhyNot and has lines that make sense. But Nishishi also had more basic errors than WhyNot did. I’m not pleased.

          Spoiler alert from the upcoming review:

          Wheelchair-chan says:

          WhyNot: I got it from Yomi.

          Nishishi: You know, this was all Yomi’s fault.

          It’s almost like one group had a TL that knew what they were saying and the other didn’t. And yes, this is really fucking important because if you watch WhyNot’s, the meaning is “Yomi gave Wheelchair-chan a wheelchair.” (aww, what a nice person.) If you watch Nishishi’s, the meaning is “Yomi is the reason Wheelchair-chan is in a wheelchair.” (aww, there’s a tragic story behind this and Yomi has a reason to be under the thumb of Wheelchair-chan.) It’s night-and-day with the meanings here.

          Reply
          • Yeah, that’s getting to 8th’s need to evaluate the accuracy for the groups doing the show. Hopefully not too long from now.

            Reply
          • Yeah I fucked that up. But I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t label my whole script “guesslation” because I misinterpreted a line. (The verb “yaru” can mean “give” as well and for some reason I can’t even guess myself I got the impression that she’s talking about the doll.) I beg forgiveness.

            Reply
        • How can you not know who Hatsuyuki? Their release are quite good though they are pretty slow sometimes. AFFTW-Hatsuyuki’s release for BRS is very good except for one TS mistake.

          Reply
  1. I don’t get the need for 100% perfect typesetting. What’s so bad about this? Are you sure you aren’t nitpicking? If you can read it well and know what it’s there for (sign, etc.), what’s the big deal? Sometimes it’s like I’m seeing “Lol the font is two shades off what shitty typesetting.”

    Reply
  2. Oh man, I love your reviews Dark_Sage. Dumb-chan, Sleepy-chan, and Wrist Cutter-chan had me rolling. After seeing Wheelchair-chan, I was in tears.

    Reply
  3. Re: macarons vs. macaroons

    Until recently I had never heard of “macarons”, and the term seems to be used more in American English. Here in Britain I’ve only ever known those little cakes to be called “macaroons”, and that includes talking to / watching programmes featuring several professional chefs.

    It’s not a huge deal (and since “junior high” is used in these subs I suspect that the group should be adhering to American standards anyway), but I thought it was worth mentioning.

    Reply
  4. I just want to watch and I don’t care about how good are the subs but..of course I don’t want shitty subs..

    I really need to download the anime and I’m confused..which sub is the best to download?

    Reply

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