How to Fansub Anime

This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

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A lot of people have asked me, “Dark_Sage, how do you fansub anime?” It’s easy, my friends, let me show you how!

A traditional English fansub

 

First, you have to decide which anime you want to fansub. I’m going to choose Kuroko’s Basketball, the sleeper hit of Spring 2012.

So head on over to Tokyotosho and type in the anime’s name that you want to sub.

As a fansubber, you will never use the “raw” option. So go ahead and grab a HorribleSubs release.

Pull up your copy of MKVExtract and take those subs out. This is what we call “translating” in the fansub world.

 

Now it’s time to edit the script (the super hard part!). So boot up your copy of Aegisub.

A built-in spellchecker? It’s almost too good to be true! This is all you need to edit, so run that thing.

As you come across Japanese words while you’re editing, think to yourself, “Can I find this in a dictionary somewhere online?” If you can, leave it in. This is what we call “liberal editing”. “literal editing” results in you adding more words in Japanese to the script.

Banzai, itadakimasu-san!

After you’re done with your edits, save the file and exit. You’re almost done!

 

All right, so you’ve got a script and a Horriblesubs video. Now you just need to mux them together with MKVmerge. You need to name it, of course. So choose a cool fansub name. Something like [Repub]. It’s short for “Republican” and the viewers will know they can trust you because you’re being ironic, lol. Upload the result to TokyoTosho or Nyaa so everyone can watch it.

 

~You’re not done yet~

 

Okay, now you have an anime fansubbed. Time to shape public opinion. Create your own fansub review site and “review” the release you just made.

Now, remember, you didn’t create a review site to review other releases. You created it to tear down your competitors and say that whatever you do is the best. You may think, “Hey, isn’t it a serious conflict of interest if I review my groups’ subs, some of which I worked on?” And the answer to that is “Who cares? I have my own review site.”

Sweet review. You gave yourself a 5/5 and you totally deserve it. Think of all the work you put into this! A 5/5 may be too low, but you’re a humble person so you’ll keep it like that.

Whenever you comment on your site, be sure to be as bitter and sarcastic as possible. Always remember that whatever you say about yourself is accurate because you say it is. This is part of the review process.

 

And that’s pretty much it. Enjoy being a fansubber! ^_^

 

72 thoughts on “How to Fansub Anime”

      • Denote the sarcasm in the article. Consider that he wants your (a generalized pronoun, here) subgroup to rip simulcast scripts. Look at the “TAGS” section. ‘kay, now think of all these things together. GL.

        • I got those, the group-sponsored review thingy was what threw me cause I live under a rock :/

          After long enough of dealing with groups, you risk getting so sick of them you stop trying to branch out or stay connected. I’m getting too old for this shit.

  7. Oh shit, I’ve been using the inverse theme on tokyotosho for so long, I’ve forgotten that its default color scheme is white.

    Also, it’s that time for aniblog sphere jerking again.

  8. Look, I already apologized. I may even watch Commie’s release of a particular spring show once everyone releases their batches. But… then again, I might just wait for BDs ’cause I’m just that much of an anal nerd.

    Stay mad if you’d like, though. I’m not.

    I’ve been having friendly conversations with Xythar for the past several days, maybe you should come to #whine-subs and join us?

    <3

  11. So, anyone want to write up a summary on what this is really about for those of us who are actively avoiding most of the fansub community because of all the petty drama?

  13. I’ve only just got the Not Red joke (I’m assuming the original was a play on words) and I feel disappointed that it took me that long to “get” it.

  15. > Kuroko’s Basketball, the sleeper hit of Spring 2012

    Great show, I’ll give you that, but for my money, it’s Space Brothers. Though for me personally, KB was more of a sleeper in that I pretty much knew I was going to like SB from the start (/me is a huge space nerd), whereas KB was a shot in the dark, as I’m not much of a sports fan or a fan of sports anime. (Though I’ve always had a soft spot for basketball, having been a Phoenix high school student when the Suns were having their *first* moment in the sun (no, not Charles Barkley, but Dick Van Arsdale. Look him up, all you punk kids. Crap, you probably don’t even remember Charles Barkley).

    Nice post, by the way. It helps explain why I, um, bailed on fansubbing.

  18. Comedy rule number 1, if you have to explain a joke, it means it’s not funny. Nuff said. Forget the subtle and in jokes, go back to the crass and in your face jokes you guys are good at.

  21. How do you re-encode a file (like that of matroska) into an AVI file without destroying the beauty of subs?
    ive learned this years ago but ive forgot the necessary tools and processes. tnx.

      • yes.. rip it. but what tools do i need, i forgot all the tools needed, and the steps. i recall it was avisynth, mkvextractgui? am not sure. can you teach me? :)

        • Be manly and use Virtualdub. Extract the subs + video + audio in MKVextract. Then import all of them into virtualdub. Go “Video > Filters”. Then go “Add”. In that box, press “Load”. Download VSfilter.dll. Once that has downloaded, open that in your “Load” box (make sure you selected .dll not .vdf). After that, another box will appear and you can select your ripped .ass file. And then, you’re subs will appear! Then all you have to do is go “Video > Compression” and select the codec you want. I’d choose a lossless uncompressed format because they’re usually smallest. http://s1.static.gotsmile.net/images/2012/06/19/org-trollface_134008835769.jpg

          Den you go “File > Save as AVI” and you iz done. And dat is how to be uber good at encoding and making hardsubbed [email protected]%!!% Oh, btw, make sure your ripped video has ads after the opening and ending. That’ll make your rips more popular if you upload them.

  22. Sub an anime and make a website to review all the anime in the season (of course only to say all other releases are suck)- sound like awful lot similar to a certain dotPRO website.

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