Toshio Okada on Accessibility, Subs, and Japanese Films:
While I believe many western fans of anime have had debates on subs versus dubs, I don't believe I've seen much in the way of discussion on subs or dubs pertaining to Japan. As someone who is partially deaf and suffering from Tinnitus, I soon learned after importing my first anime disc from Japan many, many years ago that there was little in the way of accessibility options for someone like me, and going online, there were only fanmade Japanese subtitles available for a small handful of series. Being unable to fully understand and enjoy media you pay an arm and a leg for a mere 2-episode disc is the primary reason I still don't care much for the Japanese anime industry, and mainly stuck to comics and novels.
In any case, I saw this video recently, and was pleased to read its comments by people who actually felt the same way I do about having Japanese subtitles included in their film media; generally the response is they prefer dubs cause they can pay attention to the action and scenery. Like if there's something people who fancy themselves as social justice warriors should be complaining to Japanese anime companies about, it should be their rampant discrimination against the hearing impaired. I fully agree with with the sentiment Japanese subtitles should be obligatory.
I expect there's few individuals here who import Japanese media, so I doubt this would spark much of a conversation. But it's still something I care about.
As for the topic of the video under 'good crimes'. Okada comments on those who make pirated versions of film not for commercial gain, but to make the work accessible for those who are hearing impaired. He considers this a 'good crime', and that those who do it should do more of it. If they actually wind up being arrested, Okada will give a defence speech on their behalf.
On a semi-related topic to 'good crimes', I saw some dumb westerners getting upset over Akamatsu Ken spending his time discussing means to oppose 'piracy', rather than tackling matters like foreign meddling. Akamatsu Ken is not against file-sharing; he created a website called J-comi to act as a way for file-sharers to submit their files to be hosted on it. However, the original creators need to give their blessing so it can be digitally and legally preserved with all of the advertising fees going to each creator (otherwise it'll be subject to floating in the ethers of Winny and Share until it disappears for good like many things digital). Akamatsu Ken actually received the help of a file sharer who sent him high-quality scans of his 'Itsudatte My Santa!' manga for J-comi because he lost his original manuscript for it. So when he speaks about piracy, he's talking about stuff like Chinese websites illegally distributing works commercially. Like with Comiket fanzine creators, foreign fan translators can exist in a grey area where they're not detrimental to the system, but an important part of the absolutely vital task that is digital preservation and accessibility. When I did scanlations when I was younger, I always included links to amazon.co.jp and bk1 for the original Japanese manga of all my projects so fans could legally support the creators (instead of sending me donations).
0:00: Highlights
0:26 Speech Guised as a Question
1:50 How to Add More Subtitles to Japanese Films
2:02 Good Crimes
3:25 Sub or Dub, Which is Better?
0:26 Speech Guised as a Question
1:50 How to Add More Subtitles to Japanese Films
2:02 Good Crimes
3:25 Sub or Dub, Which is Better?
While I believe many western fans of anime have had debates on subs versus dubs, I don't believe I've seen much in the way of discussion on subs or dubs pertaining to Japan. As someone who is partially deaf and suffering from Tinnitus, I soon learned after importing my first anime disc from Japan many, many years ago that there was little in the way of accessibility options for someone like me, and going online, there were only fanmade Japanese subtitles available for a small handful of series. Being unable to fully understand and enjoy media you pay an arm and a leg for a mere 2-episode disc is the primary reason I still don't care much for the Japanese anime industry, and mainly stuck to comics and novels.
In any case, I saw this video recently, and was pleased to read its comments by people who actually felt the same way I do about having Japanese subtitles included in their film media; generally the response is they prefer dubs cause they can pay attention to the action and scenery. Like if there's something people who fancy themselves as social justice warriors should be complaining to Japanese anime companies about, it should be their rampant discrimination against the hearing impaired. I fully agree with with the sentiment Japanese subtitles should be obligatory.
"It would be convenient if there were subtitles for foreigners to use to study Japanese. As for myself, I have imported dozens of DVDs with subs and dubs for both languages to study English and Chinese."
"In America, captions are almost always included."
"2:18 Indeed. Then the next step will be by legal means. Let's file a lawsuit. Let's file a lawsuit that this is discrimination against the hearing impaired when a work doesn't include Japanese subtitles (not against the original creator or copyright holder of the work, but rather the sales company that commercialises the work and releases it to the public). In addition to the hearing-impaired, there's surely foreigners, studying Japanese, who want Japanese subtitles. If we go to court, we will definitely win (because we'll have no opposition). The ideal would be to make Japanese subtitles obligatory through reform."
I expect there's few individuals here who import Japanese media, so I doubt this would spark much of a conversation. But it's still something I care about.
As for the topic of the video under 'good crimes'. Okada comments on those who make pirated versions of film not for commercial gain, but to make the work accessible for those who are hearing impaired. He considers this a 'good crime', and that those who do it should do more of it. If they actually wind up being arrested, Okada will give a defence speech on their behalf.
On a semi-related topic to 'good crimes', I saw some dumb westerners getting upset over Akamatsu Ken spending his time discussing means to oppose 'piracy', rather than tackling matters like foreign meddling. Akamatsu Ken is not against file-sharing; he created a website called J-comi to act as a way for file-sharers to submit their files to be hosted on it. However, the original creators need to give their blessing so it can be digitally and legally preserved with all of the advertising fees going to each creator (otherwise it'll be subject to floating in the ethers of Winny and Share until it disappears for good like many things digital). Akamatsu Ken actually received the help of a file sharer who sent him high-quality scans of his 'Itsudatte My Santa!' manga for J-comi because he lost his original manuscript for it. So when he speaks about piracy, he's talking about stuff like Chinese websites illegally distributing works commercially. Like with Comiket fanzine creators, foreign fan translators can exist in a grey area where they're not detrimental to the system, but an important part of the absolutely vital task that is digital preservation and accessibility. When I did scanlations when I was younger, I always included links to amazon.co.jp and bk1 for the original Japanese manga of all my projects so fans could legally support the creators (instead of sending me donations).
Last edited:
