A thread appeared on 2ch sometime yesterday talking about the event. Here are some of the Japanese fans' reactions:
- “It's a publicity stunt.”
- “It was an inside job.”
- “Isn't it awesome when you can dig up the URL before it's supposed to go live?”
- “The goal of simulcasts is to stop this, but it's hopeless.”
- “Isn't this becoming a big deal in Japan too?”
- “The industry I want to see lets people receive works. I guess Toei's just making a big deal to make a point. This is the best chance to make illegal uploaders and fansubbers look like bad people.”
- “On the other hand, Kurokami is...what's going on there?”
- “It was people on the inside who leaked it, wasn't it? That is to say, One Piece isn't popular in America.”
- “It's weird that the anime's original story is boring.”
- “By the way, are they not releasing next wee'ks episode?”
- “The culprit says: 'just as planned.'”
- “I'll just say this: One Piece's ways of doing things are interesting.”
- “In America, only ninja, samurai, and tentacles sell well.”
Hmm, interesting viewpoints all, and surprisingly unlike most of the commentary here. Though I'm pretty confident that this isn't a publicity stunt, it's interesting to see readers interpreting Toei's reaction as such, if not the leak itself. There were also several commenters who ignored the leak issue and discussed the anime original story that episode #403 began.
What do you guys think? I'm particularly interested in your response to the one about how the industry should "let people receive (its) works."
If "here" being animevice, yeah. But it's mostly echoing what I hear overall actually.
Really, how often do you hear their opinion on us.
The "just as planned" comment made me lol though.
And it seems FMA's gone down with the ship too. (Oh man, the puns.)
Anyone know if these official sub versions released simultaneously or just days after the JPN broadcast is having any actual impact on fansubbers or the availability of pirated versions? It might also be interesting to see what some of the more popular titles are in terms of view-count via these official streaming outlets, get a bead on what material fans are responding to. And if there's any difference between what anime people gravitate toward depending on what portal they're watching from. IMO I'm loving that most publishers have finally embraced streaming the material ad-supported/free. Now I think Japan's gotta get back on making an anime series that America will wanna watch in Cowboy Bebop/Ghost in the Shell/FMA/Dragon Ball numbers. Instead of more panty-laden otaku fantasy jobbies.
But I have a hard time thinking that Japan is going to be that quick to give up on us, even if they're pretty slow on being willing to try new stuff for us (and/or in general).
*keeps crossing fingers, eyes, and toes*
I agree that Toei is overreacting by pulling everything down related to One Piece, especially since the problem was confined to Funimation's backend, but by canceling the simulcast and doing the aforementioned, Funimation and Toei have done themselves no favors towards the fanbase, expecially given their past histories when it comes to production and licensing respectively.
I really believe Funimation's laissez-faire attitude when it came to their streams is what caused the debacle more than any torrent ever could. There's no way they'll admit guilt, but its plain for all to see.