Spin, Spin, Twirl Around!

Well School Rumble has been officially taken off the net. And I don't know if this will be the end of fansubs as we know it or not. For those of you that don't know, fansubs are Japanese television shows that are put on a computer and subtitled in English. I just recently discovered them and think they are a wonderful way of seeing an anime before you decide to buy. The only thing is that some people, instead of buying it, simply put it on a disc and send it around to their friends. I have my eye on three different series that I never would have known about had it not been for fansubs. And while I understand the industries point of view, I wouldn't buy a movie if I wasn't sure I was going to like it, and I wouldn't spend 50+ on a series that I had never seen at least the first couple of episodes of. It's like our favorite television shows here. We wouldn't buy them if we hadn't first seen them on tv, and loved them. But because the animes only come on in Japan, then we don't get that first chance of experiencing them, before they get to DVD. While anime has made leaps and bounds, becoming more and more popular by the year, it is still not something that people have a lot of access to. So, if they want to know about a new series, they only know what they read online, but don't have any friends that they could borrow it from, or someplace to see it before they buy. Usually, when I download a new series I'll only get the first episode, and then if I bother to download any other episodes, then I'm definately going to buy the DVD's. Titles that I'm wild about right now include, Sensei No Ojikan (Doki Doki School Hours), Monster, Shura No Toki, School Rumble, and Bleach. In my opinion some of the best stuff out there and the only things that I have on my computer. Also the only DVD's that I'm asking for this Chirstmas. Personally, I think that fansubs do more than just spread more anime around. They create a community where not only can Americans who love anime just talk about new and emerging series, but otakus can lovingly sub those animes and deliver them to the people who love them. I've seen many occurances where the fansubbed version of something was better than the versions that were put of for purchase. So, sound off yourselves if you have any thoughts about fansubs, and even if you don't this can relate back to downloading music or video.