Good Bye Megaupload...

by Jin

            
So as of late, we all know SOPA and PIPA didn't pull through. Many people were outraged by its ideas of censorship and so much more. Although, I don't like the idea of piracy taking over the internet, it's something most people do on a daily basis. Even though neither bill was passed, one site was shut down almost immediately.

Say goodbye to Megaupload.

Why? Well, most people upload videos of fansubs, dubs, and so much more on Megaupload. So, it only makes sense that it was shut down by the FBI. Many were devested that it was shut down. However, that is only the start. Other sites are also thinking of closing their doors to our humble anime lovers alike. For example, fileserve and filesonic have both closed their doors to uploading and downloading on a public server. You can still upload and download; however, it will only be your own files, and no one else's. (for full article, check out this website: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/filesonic-has-disabled-file-sharing-in-wake-of-megaupload-takedown.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) Other sites are at risk to these things. At this rate, many people will not be able to freely look for their favorite movie, anime, song, or anything else and download it to their computer. They will have to purchase it through an online store, watch it on DVD/Blu-Ray, or have to wait for it to appear in stores.


For anime lovers alike, including myself, we love to watch anime right after it's shown in Japan or even watch it streamed from Japan. Most of us don't want to wait for some company in America to license it and dub it, especially since Bandai is now out of the picture.

So is there a solution to all this? Most companies (manily Funimation) are starting to license your favorite animes quicker than before. You can also formally learn Japanese in order to skip all the subs and just go directly to the raw footage. (That WOULD look great in your résumé people!)

Another soluton for them is to do something what hulu and YouTube does and just start a website dedicated to streaming anime 24/7. I know we have crunchyroll and sometimes YouTube, but those are temporary solutions. Most people want things for free, so they will find ways to get them almost automatically without a price. What they should do is upload them with subs, but with ads. If you pay for the service, then it'll be ad free. For example, Funimation has done this for quite sometime (but I just discovered it). They sub it the same day as it comes out from Japan. It's an $8 per month subcription if you want to watch it in HD without ads.

There is a formal solution for the companies, too. Most of these companies are losing their money towards fansub groups. Why? Because these companies don't do it fast enough, they usually lose. Fansubs are out almost every week on a schedule. It's usually within the day or two after the airing in Japan. So, why not hire these people instead of calling the authorities when they are merely doing it for free for so many others?

The last solution to this is the idea of doing a simultaneous cast. About 3 years back, I recall an anime that did this, Kurokami: The Animation. When it was showing in Japan, they would also put up the dubs on YouTube almost right away. It only took them a few hours, but for the most part, that was one of the fastest dubs they did in such a short period of time.

So is this the answer the industry and the fans have been looking for?