When REAL LIFE bites you in the ass.

A lot of you may be wondering what happened to Hana Yori Dango Episode 6. Well, it's encoding now and will be ready shortly.

This past week something tragic happened in my personal life, thus my week-long absence. I apologize to those that were waiting patiently, but sometimes real life needs my undivided attention. I've suffered a personal loss and I'm really at a lost for words. Luckily, fansubbing has been my outlet to temporarily forget about the tragedy in my life. Please be considerate of my personal life and feelings at this crucial moment.

I thank all the loyal fans for their support!

Yes! Another release!

Another week has passed (less actually), but another episode of Hana Yori Dango has been released (since last night Wednesday). This episode was a lot easier to deal with since Junkboy77 did most of the translating. LOL. Thanks! Also with the help of chiisana_tantei, we were able to review/edit and QC the heck out of this episode. With our combined powers, we managed to bring this release out a lot earlier. But hey! It's also Thanksgiving break, so I thought it would've been nice if HYD fans get their HYD dose earlier. And here we are.

This episode was very touching because of what Tsukasa goes through for Tsukushi. But I won't spoil it for others, so be sure to watch it after eating some turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving and please enjoy the time you have with your families.

Currently released: Hana Yori Dango HDTV Episode 05

More sleep = Happy.

Well, last Friday morning marked another release of Hana Yori Dango. I'm very happy with the release because I slept a total of 8 hours and went to bed at 3am.
You can all thank chiisana_tantei and junkboy77 with assisting in the translation duty this time.

This particular episode (4) wasn't as funny as the last episode. I guess that's because I enjoy seeing Matsushima Nanako as Tsukasa's older sister. But I heard she'll be returning in episode 6! YippEE!!

Many viewers that were Hana Yori Dango fans before the Tv version came out, like to compare the japanese version against the taiwanese/manga/anime. Some are even disappointed! I'm glad that I haven't watched or read any of the previous versions. So, it makes me immune to make comments like "Oh, I'm disappointed in this episode. They cut out so much in this version from the manga version." But I've enjoyed this drama so far. To me it is a drama first and foremost. I think many viewers should view it in the same way. And not have any predefined hopes of how it should be. Because in the end, you'll enjoy the drama more.

Also, I've been receiving many replies concerning my previous rant in a blog post. It's safe to say that it was merely a rant and what I felt at the time. Fansubbers are human beings also... we have feelings and we have personal lives to tend to. So, I would like to thank all of you for all the positive feedback. It really helps that there's many supportive fans out there. It makes subbing more fun (which is how it's supposed to be).

Currently working on: Dating Now DVD Episode 05.
Currently released: Hana Yori Dango HDTV Episode 04

Another long night.

Recently, I've been distracted by many things this week. A new game called "Guitar Hero" that comes with guitar like controllers has piqued my interest for the past 2-3 days. So, my lack of subbing was caused by the evil PS2. Also I've been a bit swamped at my real life job, and had to work last night from home. It wasn't that bad, but it cut out from my subbing time.


Last night I made an effort to completely sub Episode 03 of Hana Yori Dango. I started at 12:30AM and finally encoded the file at 6:00AM. I'm still up at the moment, since I have some things to post for my work at 7:00AM. So, yes! A first ever?! I haven't slept all day today and all for the sake of fansubbing. Can you see how dedicated I am now?

Luckily, for this particular episode I received lots of help from a handful of translators and editors! You guys know who you are! amrayu <3 SARS-friends! Currently released: Hana Yori Dango HDTV Episode 03

After hours of slaving away.

I've finally managed to release Hana Yori Dango Episode 02! A bulk of the translations were done by moi. Hopefully, the following episodes will not require this much work out of me. For the past several days I've been chipping away at this episode, and sleeping pretty late also. But I'm pleased with the overall final encode.
I still have Taiyou no Kisetsu to finish up. So, after posting this blog it's back to the daily grind. I'm also looking for some skilled timers who can work on Dating Now. With the schedule and pace of HYD, Dating Now has been faltering behind. Please PM, email or MSG me some way.
I'm also happy to announce that several people have joined the team. Hopefully, we can launch the redesign and get all the staff more centralized.

Now, I'd like to share a picture of my new Nintendog Lola! (She's a min pin):


Currently released: Hana Yori Dango HDTV Episode 02

New project, more woes.

One week ago Hana Yori Dango was released. A lot of HYD fans downloaded it and were going beserk for it. As a dorama lover (and fansubbing whore) I wanted to watch HYD because Matsumoto Jun and Oguri Shun starred. It's been quite awhile when I last watched a dorama RAW, so it's always a big deal when I actually watch one. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the dorama tremendously.

Everything about Hana Yori Dango Episode 01 reminded me of the beautifully directed American fantasy movies such as Willy Wonka and Harry Potter. The richly designed sets, the vast amounts of money invested, the eerie yet intriguing background music, and the captivating cinematic direction---are all reasons why I wanted to fansub this dorama. While watching the first episode I already had a vision of how the typesetting should be, and what kind of karaoke effects that should be used.

Many may think... "Oh, SARS is just a project hogger, and they are merely working on HYD because it'll bring them popularity and fame." Frankly, I don't give a shit about popularity or fame. My passion for doramas and fansubbing is the driving force behind all of this. I've always been an artist at heart... drawing, painting, writing, acting. SO... as our world became more technologically-driven, my love for the arts has transformed into digital dorama fansubbing. I actually enjoy figuring out font faces, font colors, font sizes for each dorama that I pick up!
<-This is how I feel when working on a new fansubbing project.

Anyways, back to my qualm about leechers calling SARS a project hogger and being fame-hungry.

1. Project Hog: Currently the doramas that are on the list are: Taiyou no kisetsu (episodes 6-7), Sekai no chuushin de (Special episode), Dating Now (episodes 5-16), IWGP, Gokusen 2, Hana Yori Dango, Hitotsu Yane no shita, and Hotman 2. There are some misc dramas that will be worked on that just need revamping. [Golden Rule: FINISH WHAT YOU START! This is something that I live by when it comes to anything in my life--it's pretty evident at D-A. I just hate incomplete doramas. Two projects that I've finished off were previously dropped by other individuals/groups. Also Dating Now started off as an incomplete drama as well.]

Personally, I do not like making fans wait weeks and weeks for releases. So, I've devised a plan for doramas that have completely aired already: Have all translations, edits and timing completed before releasing ANYTHING. This is the main reason why Sekachuu was released so efficiently.

So... project hogger eh? Well, it's safe to say that most projects are already translated and are in a timing or editing phase right now (with the exception of Hana Yori Dango--since it's still airing). Also, most of the doramas we've picked up are relatively old (with the exception of a couple of doramas).

2. Got Fame? I started off subbing some small things such as "Beautiful Days." Jem had capped a couple of episodes where some subs magically disappeared. Why sub BD? I like to see things completed! Finally I tried my hand at subbing Kamisama mou sukoshi dake. Why sub KMSD? This is one of my favorite doramas! Next Gokusen was where I honed my skills and when I became a bonafide fansubber. Why Gokusen? Was I hungry for fame? FUCK NO. Some may say that Gokusen was picked up just because it was based on a manga/anime thus creating more "popular" hits. Hm, kay. First, I am a big fan of Nakama Yukie! Secondly, I was not even aware that Gokusen was a damn manga/anime, nor did I even care that it was.

Why have I brought up these lame accusations? Because some leechers have accused my group of just this---which came about from working on Hana Yori Dango. Just for the record, [NYA]'s version of HYD was not deleted by me from the D-A tracker. Some may think that I've deleted it because I'm power hungry... that's not the case. Also I do not mind multiple groups working on the same series. We all have our own ways of conveying things and subbing doramas is no different.

So, let's get it straight here. I LOVE DORAMAS. And I LOVE the actors and actresses in doramas! Also I <3 Fansubbing. It is my passion, it is my love and it is my outlet. I am just happy to be able to share my work to those that enjoy it. I gain nothing from it... except for support from fans. Eventually, I might quit because a lot of n00bs and leechers are so disrespectful. I do not want to be involved in a volatile community which prefers speed over quality. Until then, all I can do is "AJA AJA FIGHTING" or "FAITO- OH!"


Currently released: Hana Yori Dango HDTV Episode 01

More distractions.

Ever since I bought the Nintendo DS, I've been craving to play more games on it. So, today I went to Fry's Electronics and bought 3 games! Trauma Center Under the Knife, Castlevania, and Phoenix Wright. For the past 2 hours I've been playing Trauma Center and I feel as if I'm a surgeon on ER!
I'm sure that more time will be taken away from fansubbing for the next month. If only there were more time in the day...

Currently released: Taiyou no Kisetsu Episode 02 and 03 DVD

Fansubs sold for profit.

Those who are new to the fansubbing scene will eventually be exposed to the bootleg pirate scene which has run rampant on sites such as Ebay. Once a dorama has been completed by a fansubber, it [the dorama] will appear on Ebay and Distro sites almost at once. What kind of feelings does a fansubber experience at that moment? Anger, sadness and bitterness. It's sad and pathetic that such pirates exist and try to profit from the hard work of others. But the reality is that such assholes will exist in this world.
What can we do as a community to stop pirating?
I think all we can do is to spread the word about the various methods of getting dramas.

Currently released: Taiyou no Kisetsu Episode 01 DVD

Finally... back to fansubbing.

There's been a lot of confusion and problems concerning "Dating Now." Confusion that is mostly related within the editing team. Hopefully, with Thunder's help the confusion has been cleared (I hope). I felt a little restless from all the emails exchanged regarding the "Dating Now" project, so I decided to work on something that was pretty much stress-free. For the past 1-2 hours I've been working on "Taiyou no Kisetsu" [太陽の季節] Episode 01.
Some people may wonder why I decided to re-do these episodes. Well, it was mostly Junkboy77's decision since he wanted to translate the other episodes. I call this project a "filler" project--something that keeps me busy and fans happy in the meantime. As I'm typing this, Episode 01 is encoding right at this moment.

An interesting tidbit: These days I've only had time to watch doramas that I sub. So, that means I've only watched the last 4 episodes of [Taiyou]!
I was very tempted today to work on IWGP instead of [Taiyou]... but I wanted to get [Taiyou] off my plate first.

In Korean drama news--"Country Princess" has wrapped up it's broadcast. But unfortunately, Episode 01 did not re-air. "Ruler of your own world" aired immediately the next day. I've already encoded 6 episodes worth in Xvid/avi format, so once those are all completely encoded, I'll seed the whole series as a batch. What will I do about Episode 01? I'll just reuse Ruro's encoded VHS version for the time being.

Currently working on: Taiyou no Kisetsu Episodes 1 [Encoding], 2-4 [Editing, Typesetting]
Things that distract fansubbers from subbing: Nintendo DS [I bought one over the weekend, along with Nintendogs!...There's just too many good games that were recently released. I couldn't resist. ]
Harry Potter! [I know I'm lagging but I finally finished off Book 2. The last few chapters kind of freaked me out. I hate spiders and snakes. ]

Favorite Scenes from "Dating Now."

It's sad but I only watch doramas that I sub. Fansubbing takes so much time, that I don't have enough free time to enjoy other doramas out there. And recently, I've been playing a lot of PSP games (電車でGo! -Densha de go is a train simulation game, Metal Gear Ac!d - Man this game sucks!, Ridge Racer - I <3 Racing games).Episode 1: Yun Ho-jung finds out that Soo-ji had a crush on the choir guy also.
Episode 2: Kyu-in corrects Ho-jung's homework. But Ho-jung is stupid, so he punishes her.
Episode 3: Kyu-in and Ho-jae in the swimming pool. Need I say more?!
Episode 4: Soo-ji's contacts situation. If any of you wore contacts before, you all know that feeling.
Please comment/post because I want to hear your favorite scenes so far.

Currently working on: Dating Now Episode 6 [Timing]
Currently listening to: Jem "Finally Woken" and The Cure "Mixed Up."