57 thoughts on “Fansub Review: [Anime-Koi] Tokyo Ravens (Episode 04)”

1. Oh boy.

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2. This is just bad…

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3. I feel sorry for anyone who’s watching this release over GG’s just because D_S said that the GG releases are trollsubs. Yes, Funimation’s subtitles are generally quite bad, but there’s no excuse for the absolute lack of editing displayed in this Funi edit.

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   • Sometimes it’s a matter of picking your poison. A Koi’s failure does not make gg’s release good, and the same goes for the other way around. You’re gonna have to pick the lesser of two evils here.

     And what exactly makes you think gg’s subs are A-tier sans the trolling? I’m very interested in how you came to the conclusion that they’re good.

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     • I wouldn’t say they’re A-tier or anything, but at the very least I didn’t notice massive errors like I did in the Anime-koi releases. If I want to watch this show subbed, I have to pick either GG or Anime-koi, and in my book, some silly translation choices beat out frequent errors in both grammar and word choice.

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4. Well, I was at least able to make it through episode 6 of Anime-Koi’s release for this show, unlike gg’s, where I had to stop at “Golly gee willikers”, but it was still pretty terrible. And at least Anime-Koi translated “depaato” as “department store” instead of gg’s “supermarket”. So there’s that.

   Still, I’ve never actually considered watching a show raw, but the two available releases just might drive me to it. I guess I’ll stick with A-Koi for a few more episodes and hope it gets better…

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   • Inb4 editor swap.

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5. You weren’t kidding when you said there was a lack of editing/QC… o.0

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6. “A whole conversation, just for you”
   It’s a carbon copy of Funi’s subs there.

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7. Cancer lasts for more than 1 week silly

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8. glad downloaded gg version..

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9. They probably meant that it’s a cellophane romance novel.

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   • Yes it is a typo.

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   • Cellophane novel? What is that? Do you mean Cell Phone Novels?

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     • http://i.imgur.com/ZpMPEK6.gif

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       • Hey, I had just woken up and— Oh, to hell with you all ಠ︵ಠ凸

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         • It’s okay. There’s no shame in assuming the worst of people.

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           • OK

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10. Hi reviewer, let me get this straight to the point from the start, I’m a fan of koi releases so I’m interested in how you listed these as issues for example:

    “The world of adults is complicated, isn’t it?”
    Add quite is quite the preference matter. Do you consider that grammar error?

    Because that’s reality.
    I don’t know if your suggestion “Because that’s real life.” is better than “Because that’s reality.” I read the Novels. He’s saying “it is a reality” that her school hired such carefree teacher. How did you miss that idea?

    It’s contradictory, isn’t it?
    He’s saying the school hiring him is the goes against the school’s policy.

    The “soft” ones who don’t realize what’s going on should just leave.
    He’s emphasizing with Kansai accent on the soft part referring to the weak-heart guys in such a sarcastic way. And realize is more fit here than cuz it is got with the situation’s awareness.

    “rescuing”
    rescuing the ones in trouble. Guess it’s your preferences.

    Don’t you think the people from the organization are being too careful?
    Is that grammar error?!

    I’m not a person you should humble yourself to—
    I think you missed how this conversation played:
    Haruto: I’m not a person you should humble yourself to—
    Kon: That’s not true! -> She stops him from finish his sentence here!
    Kon: I stayed by your side all day today. –> So she knows how good he is.

    Kurahashi Miyo. The doyenne of the Kurahashi family.
    Man I must say here your suggestion matriarch is wrong. But I see you listed http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doyenne
    “a woman who has a lot of experience in or knowledge about a particular profession”
    She is NOT the school director only. She is quite the famous pro exorcist in Exoticism Bureau, Spell Crimes Investigation Division beside other organizations which belongs to Onmyo Agency.

    Yeah, she’s the daughter of the Kurahashi family.
    As I mentioned I read the novels and Kurahashi Kyōko (倉橋 京子) is the only daughter alive. Keep in mind they used reijou 令嬢 for the daughter here as “Young lady.” She’s the next heir after Kurahashi Miyo(倉橋 美代)

    I’m studying a special curriculum right now.
    The answer is like this:
    What are you studying?
    + I’m studying the U.S. curriculum
    + I’m studying International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework: http://www.studyincanada.ualberta.ca/en/StudyAtUAlberta/Undergraduate/ProgramsAndAdmissions.aspx
    From The University of Alberta
    That’s for all applicants to English-speaking section.

    she’s one of the people pulling the strings behind the scenes of this business.
    Administrator when you mentioned this line, you literally awed me. You don’t know the story of this show.
    Kurahashi Miyo is really a big shot in the onmyouji world. She is a known figure in the underworld of Onmyouji and her son (and Kyouko’s father) is the Chief of Exoticism Bureau branch of Onmyo Agency. The current Kurahashi Clan is considered one of most powerful noble families who’s influence over the politics of Onmyoudo and Japan rivals that of once glorious Tsuchimikado family. So she’s pulling the strings in Onmyouji world business.

    “Bluster.”
    He talks in a noisy swaggering threats with funny kansai dialect something similar to what used here in south America.

    And then he would sulk when he lost,\N so he caused everyone a lot of trouble.
    Kurahashi Miyo literally saying he is troubling them so using annoying here would be a bit of going liberal. I don’t know about koi conventions guess they are more on the literal side.

    Natsume has been putting up with that kind of thing this whole time.

    Yeah seems my guess was right koi group is more of literal group. Administrator that’s the literal line but regardless I don’t see any grammar issue? Preference from your side?

    ———————————————–

    End.
    Now I’d like to hear your thoughts and reasons as professional reviewer guess this site what is there for.
    And a request from me plz don’t shot down my questions based on your personal preferences because we fans deserves more than that.

    P.S. Looking forward to your replay

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    • Sure I’ll get you a reply. Just gimme a few hours since I’d rather formulate a response on my desktop than my phone.

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      • Warmly waiting. Don’t spend too much time trying to explain to Alex that you can’t just take individual sentences out of a conversation and say “look, this makes sense on its own!” and mean the whole thing makes sense.

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    • >>“The world of adults is complicated, isn’t it?”
      >Add quite is quite the preference matter. Do you consider that grammar error?

      LOL, I thought D_S just responding to that line. Someone does not get the joke.

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    • While we’re waiting for D_S to get back to you, I’d just like to say that since you’re obviously not a native English speaker (I hope), a fair number of D_S’ edits are going to go straight over your head. Just because the sentence is technically correct doesn’t mean it reads well or sounds remotely like anything people would say in actual conversation. In light of the fact that you don’t seem to understand enough about the language to judge nuance or flow, you’re probably going to have to take D_S’ word for it when he edits stuff.

      In the words of the above review, “If this reads fine to you, add two full letter grades to the final script score and take a bath in a garbage disposal.”

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    • So, first off, there’s something you need to understand about my reviews: Not everything I say is intended to be an example of a correction I would make. I try very hard to make it obvious when I am in fact offering a full line correction by indicating so with quotation marks or the like. So when you see me reply to a line with something similar that doesn’t seem quite right, that’s probably because I’m mocking the line. I do this quite often, so hopefully you have not been reading my reviews with the idea that when I reply to a screenshot where the line is “You’re are a great” with “You’re are a stupid” that I am actually recommending the line be changed to “You’re are a stupid”. Because I’m not.

      Yes, it may be confusing to you as a non-native speaker, but without such remarks, my reviews would be very boring to native readers and those who have a decent grasp on the language and my sense of humor. Mm, if it helps, try to go through my posts with the general idea that I’m being an asshole.

      I’m also just going to lay down some ground concepts, so I don’t need to repeat them when I go line by line. (And I do apologize, but I might get a bit frustrated and skip some lines until you ask for clarification, because I’m writing this on my lunch break and I really just wanted to jerk off to Yuushibu.)

      *Words that mean similar things are not necessarily interchangeable. This is because different words have different connotations, and certain words are used in specific phrases/contexts more often than others. For example, just because “dumb” and “dummy” are similar in the idea they’re trying to convey (a lack of intelligence), “dummy” is far more playful and can be used in situations where “dumb” wouldn’t quite fit in. It’s such an integral part of the language that there are a ridiculous number of examples to give, so if this doesn’t cut it for you, let me know.

      **Just because a line is contextually understandable does not mean it is good. Lines need to fit basic grammatical standards AND be reflective of how people actually speak. This is important so that people aren’t taken out of the release by the subtitles.

      ***What’s acceptable in the Japanese language may not be acceptable in the English language. There are certain sacrifices that need to be made due to inherent differences in language and culture (keep in mind that it is impossible to even attempt a 1:1 translation between languages). For example, in your native language I’m sure you have idioms that have no functional equivalent in English. A good example of something that can never be exactly as it was in Japanese is Bakemonogatari. Kanji wordplay cannot be adequately represented in English subs, simply because that’s not how the English alphabet works.

      If you need any clarification at all, just ask. Okay, now for the line-by-line…

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    • 1. I was literally responding the question “The world of adults is complicated, isn’t it?”

      The issue with those two screens ironically lies mostly in the “How’s that?” because you wouldn’t say that after a four-sentence explanation. But following it up with “The world of adults is complicated, isn’t it?” just hurts my brain, considering the prior lines don’t quite lead up to that grand finale. It falls flat.

      2. “Because that’s reality” makes no sense here. Based on what you said, you understand what the phrase means, but it has no connection to “You know why they did that?” I mean, it’s technically an answer, but it’s the same as answering “What’s 2+2?” with “Maple syrup.”

      3. No, hiring him doesn’t go against their policy. Why would it? He’s saying that even though they hired them, he doesn’t necessarily agree with all their views, and that they accept that.

      Hiring people who do not agree with every single thing your organization does is not “contradictory”.

      4. “soft” wouldn’t really be used here. Actually, the whole line would make more sense as a response to her “I don’t want to waste time because of people who are not aware of how behind they are.” but even that line’s wrong because it’s not like they don’t understand their situation in the class.

      Ugh.

      See, the only way to make this line right is to make another line right, and it just keeps going and going since the subs are all linked together in a giant, tangled mess of stupid.

      5. Okay?

      6. It’s not really a grammatical error, so much as it is a phrasing one. “cautious” and “careful” have different connotations. I mean, you can just look at English idioms for this. “You can never be too careful” is a common phrase. But being “too cautious” can be a bad thing.

      (Continued in next post)

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      • >Because that’s reality doesn’t make truth here

        Maybe rephrasing it as >Because that’s the truth of it.

        Meaning, just because he doesn’t agree on some of the schools views, doesn’t mean they’ll just fire him on the spot.

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        • Doesn’t make much sense here, but*

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        • Kay even the line I just made up was shit, but I think you can see my point. (Triple post wooo)

          Because that’s the way society is.*

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11. I don’t think the problem’s with the grammar. Rather, it’s more of an issue with the context. Let’s see what D_S has to say. Waiting eagerly here. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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    • Lot of the sentences are poorly worded, and when you take a FUNi script, generally, you need to reword their stiff lines. There is quite a few grammar errors, though.

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12. http://www.diffchecker.com/wmh8gn5o
    (Left is Funimation, Right is a-koi)

    So, uh, how exactly did this qualify for a review again? I mean, they edited like 10 lines since stuff like adding line breaks, reversing name order, adding honorifics, and running search/replace to change all uses of mage to exorcist (they even fucked this up by the way, the original funi translation for “an exorcist is one type of magic” line you posted a screenshot of was “an image is one type of magic” so a-koi is definitely doing a great job) should not count as actual editing.

    Also, like almost all of the books that can been seen on the list that’s part of your typesetting section of the review are real books with actual English names, so I can definitely tell a lot of effort was put into this since simply searching the Japanese names on google get you proper translations (in the screen shot “Fortune-telling” should be “Classic of Changes” and “Abbreviation Decision for Fortune Telling” should be “The Summary to Judgements of Divinations” for example).

    Plus, the TLC which they claim to have (not sure if I believe them) didn’t fix a single one of funi’s translation mistakes (like, say, the “Because that’s reality.” line you complained about) so great job there. Not to mention the fact that somehow with an editor, TLC, and 2 QCs (seems more like only one person who doesn’t even know English checked this script to me) looking over the episode they completely failed to even fix any of the typos throughout Funimation’s script.

    So again I ask you why exactly this was even reviewed as these kinds of releases are usually disqualified by you, and how you can even recommend something that took an already bad Funimation script and somehow made it even worse through their obvious lack of care and effort.

    P.S. I checked episode 6 too and it’s pretty much the same thing there. I mean, they even added shitty typos like “cell a phone” to that one (original Funimation translation for that line was just “It’s a cell phone romance novel!”) on top of not fixing anything. So yes, everyone should definitely go watch a-koi as they’re obviously doing a great job on this show. It’s definitely not true that running a spellcheck would serve to improve the original Funimation script more than a-koi’s editor, TLC, and 2 QCs have.

    P.S.S Only like one of the screenshots in this entire review contains a line that a-koi actually touched, and that was them adding the “I knew you were idiot” typo.

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    • So salty.

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      • True, but he has a point.

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        • Very valid point. Needs a new editor, and Idk what the Quality checker is doing, but he’s not doing his job, well, neither is the editor.

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    • This probably didn’t get disqualified because Funi is hardsubbed, so there was no easy way for D_S to compare the scripts side-by-side.
      Too much effort to OCR it, and probably assumed that having TLC+Editors+QCers look over it would result in a better script.

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      • Yup.

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    • Oh what the fuck…

      Yeah, it only qualified because I was unaware there were Funi script rips lying around. It’s hard for me to compare hardsubs to softsubs, so I just don’t (I’m not gonna watch a show and pause at every line to check versus a group’s script). I was also unaware that they made Funi’s version worse. Damn.

      So now I’m left with recommending either your childish attempts to be funny and… this fucking failedited mess. Tokyo Ravens has not put me in a good position.

      All right, lemme revise this review, and my recommendation, and give you guys a re-review sans the trollsub=auto-F qualifier. Goddammit.

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      • Well, that worked out pretty well, and I guess it’s understandable that you didn’t watch funi’s. Only reason I made the comparison was because I was curious after seeing this review. Though I’m still waiting for a-koi response/back-pedaling…

        If the whole hurrtora thing really bothers you so much just review like episode 5 or 6, I guess.

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        • 06 it is.

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          • Now I’m hyped. XD

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      • Actually, fuck it. Policy change time.

        I’m just gonna drop the auto-F qualifier altogether and change it to “disqualified” when subs are exceptionally, inarguably trolly. gg’s Tokyo Ravens 03 review has now been stricken from Crymore canon (though I stand by my position that they fucking ruined the arc’s climax).

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      • Dark_Sage,
        I don’t see any softsub for Tokyo Ravens-Funimation
        https://animetosho.org/search?q=Ravens

        How did that DxS guy got them to compare?!

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        • I watched funimation’s release and typed out the episode’s subs. Just go onto their site and do it yourself if you don’t trust me for whatever reasons.

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    • Butthurted?
      Okay speaking of derps and failure care to explain how did your translator translate 事実上 [じじつじょう] Jijitsujō to jutsu 術 [じゅつ]
      Don’t tell me your translator used Google translate?!

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      • What line are you talking about exactly?

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        • The “Because’s that’s reality” line.

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          • Because* ty based blogs for not having an edit function.

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            • http://i.imgur.com/MVzLADK.png

              Look at the last line on the left it clearly says 呪術 (Jujutsu,sorcery), not 事実上 (Jijitsujō, reality).

              Another comment in his post by alex says “I read the Novels. He’s saying “it is a reality” that her school hired such carefree teacher. How did you miss that idea?” which is completely wrong. What the line actually says is that sorcery is all about contradictions (like keeping around a guy who goes directly against their officially stated policies). So I’d rather ask how he missed that idea considering he claims to have read the novels.

              So maybe he should actually read the novels or learn how to interpret Japanese instead of claiming he knows what he’s talking about and calling out people because “he’s a big fan who has read the novels.” Though he can feel free to keep pretending he knows what he’s talking about since it’s quite amusing for me.

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              • I personally tried arguing this line and saying it didn’t make sense either, but y’know, my lack of JP doesn’t help.

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              • 大友がにこやかに尋ねる。Ootomo questions with the smile.
                誰も答えられるものは１人もいない。There is no one who can answers his question
                それが呪術というものやから。　That’s the truth behind magic.

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                • He is saying learning Jyujyutsu is not that easy and it does not matter if one disagrees with the school policy, As long as you have talents to teach, it’s more important. That’s how I interpreted from the story.

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                  • Except that the original comment in this thread was you saying “how did your translator translate 事実上 [じじつじょう] Jijitsujō to jutsu 術 [じゅつ]
                    Don’t tell me your translator used Google translate?!” and calling us out on a mistake we didn’t make when it is in fact you and a-koi who made a mistake, as shown by the page from the LN I linked.

                    Also like I’ve already said, in an earlier comment on this very post you stated, “Because that’s reality.
                    I don’t know if your suggestion “Because that’s real life.” is better than “Because that’s reality.” I read the Novels. He’s saying “it is a reality” that her school hired such carefree teacher. How did you miss that idea?” so you clearly though the a-koi translation was correct for whatever reason and used your apparent knowledge of the novels to justify how there’s nothing wrong with the line even though it is a complete mistranslation that changes the meaning of the line entirely.

                    So I’m not really sure what the point of either of the comments you’ve made is besides an attempt to backpedal. Feel free to keep pretending you were right all along and have made no mistakes though, it really is quite amusing.

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    • Well his comparison shows me how they came up with the “An exorcist is one type of magic” line. Anime-Koi change every instance of mage into exorcist. The original funi line had “An image is one type of magic” here, so they screwed up and changed image to exocist since it’s close to mage.

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13. I’ll still stick with Anime-Koi. At least I can watch it with my brain on auto-pilot. GG’s trolling will cause a sudden crash landing if I try that.

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14. I’ll still stick with Anime-Koi. At least I can watch it with my brain on auto-pilot. GG’s trolling will cause a sudden crash landing if I try that.

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15. >Revised Results
    >Overall grade: Disqualified.

    Canon aside, does Fail beat Disqualified? Also, should this entry still be tagged D-Tier on the home page?

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    • It’s D-tier because I actually did a full review for it. And disqualified/F are bad in their own ways, but I’d say I look down more upon groups that are disqualified than those who get F’s.

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