Fansub Comparison: [Commie vs HorribleSubs vs Kaitou vs Mori] Military! (Episode 01)

This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

Twitter    


“It’s a three-and-a-half minute show. How bad could fansubs make it?” – Dark_Sage, before his innocence was taken.

Releases compared:

  • [Commie] Military! – 01 [49B6037A]
  • [HorribleSubs] Military! – 01 [720p]
  • [Kaitou]_Military!_-_01v2_[720p][10bit][D4A7B8F7]
  • [Mori] Military! – 01 [720p]

Commie and Kaitou are both edits of the HorribleSubs/Crunchyroll release, whereas Mori’s release is an original TL.

 

 

Visuals

Typesetting

Commie

[Commie] Military! 01 - Typesetting 01 [Commie] Military! 01 - Typesetting 02

As you check the rest, it’s gonna be pretty obvious that Commie wins this comparison.

 

HorribleSubs

[HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Typesetting 01 [HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Typesetting 02

I’m quite pleased Crunchyroll is at least trying to typeset their shows. Due to needing a standardized font for their streams, this is probably about the best they can do.

 

Kaitou

[Kaitou] Military! 01 - Typesetting 01 [Kaitou] Military! 01 - Typesetting 02

It’s worth noting this is their v2.

 

Mori

[Mori] Military! 01 - Typesetting 01 [Mori] Military! 01 - Typesetting 02

Mori is a one-man group that appears new to the scene, so it’s reasonable to expect typesetting quality will improve going forward. But they don’t get a pass based on potential — this is the worst typesetting of the four choices.

 

 

Karaoke

Commie

[Commie] Military! 01 - Karaoke 01 [Commie] Military! 01 - Karaoke 02

My fucking eyes. You’re damn right I’m mad. Christ, the fuck were you thinking? Use borders, for the love of me.

 

HorribleSubs

[HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Karaoke 01 [HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Karaoke 02

As this is the official release, it can be inferred this ending does not exist in Military! canon. Official subs fans, please shield your eyes for the 30-second duration of this ED; it is not for you to experience.

 

Kaitou

[Kaitou] Military! 01 - Karaoke 01 [Kaitou] Military! 01 - Karaoke 02

I’ll take it.

 

Mori

[Mori] Military! 01 - Karaoke 01 [Mori] Military! 01 - Karaoke 02

Based on Mori’s blog, I do not believe he intends to add karaoke to future releases.

 

 

Encode

Commie

[Commie] Military! 01 - Encode

Have to give this nod to Commie.

 

HorribleSubs

[HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Encode

It’s acceptable.

 

Kaitou

[Kaitou] Military! 01 - Encode

Between this release and Commie’s, it was a bit difficult to decide which was better. The scale tipper for me was the lines — they looked blurrier in Kaitou’s than in Commie’s.

Here’s a screenshot comparison link. …in case you’re incapable of saving the images and comparing them yourself: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/108500

 

Mori

[Mori] Military! 01 - Encode

Even if you’re not autistic about encode quality, Mori’s release is unacceptable. Compare this screen to any of the others and you’ll see the issues pop out like zits on a white kid.

 

 

 

Script

Commie

[Commie] Military! 01 - Unprepared

How do you screw this up when Aegisub fucking tells you it’s wrong?

Preperations
It’s highlighted in fucking red, you imbeciles.

If you’re colorblind or something, then learn to use the Spell Checker feature. It takes all of ten seconds to not look as retarded as you actually are.

 

[Commie] Military! 01 - Grenade

That’s a grenade.

 

HorribleSubs

[HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Disputes 01 [HorribleSubs] Military! 01 - Disputes 02

Oh, this is a civil strife kinda deal? Interesting, considering your fucking site’s synopsis spells out in no uncertain terms that it’s not.

The Krakozhia Dukedom and the Grania Republic are at war” — sauce: http://www.crunchyroll.com/military

Kaitou and Mori got it right, but Commie also got this wrong.

 

Kaitou

[Kaitou] Military! 01 - Karaoke 02

Why not something like “Every day can be a battle!” for the dual meaning? Reads awful right here.

For a karaoke comparison, Commie’s is more entertaining though obviously way more liberal, and Kaitou’s is rather standard. It’s a personal choice as to which is better, though I’m partial to the one that fits in a comedy anime.

 

Mori

[Mori] Military! - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_00.28_[2015.01.10_01.39.17] [Mori] Military! - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_00.30_[2015.01.10_01.39.23]

Compared to HorribleSubs and its edits, this is rather… dull.

“What are you hiding there?! Take it out!” // “No way! Taking that out would get me in trouble!”

[Mori] Military! - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_01.50_[2015.01.10_01.45.02] [Mori] Military! - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_02.44_[2015.01.10_01.45.17]

And Mori doesn’t exactly follow standards. For an original TL by a newcomer to the scene, I was expecting worse, though.

 

 

Verdict

[Commie] Military! 01 - Fish

It’s a bit difficult to draw too many conclusions from releases of this length, but Commie and Kaitou come out as the obvious choices. They’re pretty even, but I’m leaning toward Commie cuz I like their ED better, and they didn’t fuck up their v2. Either should suffice, though.

 

25 thoughts on “Fansub Comparison: [Commie vs HorribleSubs vs Kaitou vs Mori] Military! (Episode 01)”

  1. The Kaitou v2 typesetting was correct when I watched the release earlier though MPC. However, It was broken when I loaded it up in VLC just now. I don’t exactly understand the reason for it, but I’m down for still blaming Kaitou.

    Reply
      • Nope. No font renderer is going to change the fact that a typo in their typesetting results in the renderer trying to find a font called “FrankRuehl1a&HFF&”, which doesn’t exist, so the typesetting renders in Arial.

        What I can’t understand is why some viewers (D_S and me) also see the extra serif text while others (Kaitou_Kid, jonwoo, and Dozo) don’t see it. (And this is with xy-VSFilter)

        Regardless of the result, both versions are wrong because of the incorrect font. I can’t be bothered to look into it though.

        Reply
  2. Compare this screen to any of the others and you’ll see the issues pop out like zits on a white kid.

    I wonder what would have happened if you swapped the word “white” for “black” in this sentence…

    Reply
  3. It’s pretty cool to see CR trying to typeset things, and hopefully they continue to improve in that division.

    I downloaded Kaitou for this since they released faster than Commie.

    Reply
  4. Commie’s Typesetting and ED will be fixed next episode. I was waaayyy to tired when I did everything.

    Also expect a release a lot faster since I picked up the show a day after it aired.

    Reply

Leave a Comment