For the past 3 months, Vr-zone Forums started an interesting post and poll on a interesting yet a re-visited sensitive topic – downloading of subbed animes.
Their topic of discussion – Does Downloading Of Subbed Animes Enhance The Sales of Merchandise ?
Many fans and lovers of animes are aware of the Odex saga that happened some time ago, an event that shook the anime blogosphere and even the general public. Many are aware of the “famous” letters sent to the selected people who are accused of downloading animes via Bit Torrent, captures of the audit logs of the files downloaded were attached as well. The recent spate of course, was that Japanese companies are suing the parties directly.
While we are not gonna touch on the legal issues and the sensative points that relates to who is right when it is about downloading of animes. Instead, the question, or rather, Vr-zone forums’s poll – Does Downloading Of Subbed Animes Enhance The Sales of Merchandise ? holds any truth in it .
uguu~
From my own opinion, the anime community scene in Singapore is pretty obvious – fansubs are heavily relied upon in the past for fans to watch the new animes and in return, purchase related merchandise for it and even participating in events.
Looking at a few examples from the posts made in that thread,
kinda agree with this. All the goods u see @ sunshine “those new ones” how will the people know of the existence? if u nvr play the galge/watch the anime, will u get those figures?
boils down to:
NO SUBS = NO FIGURE = NO SALES = NO MOOLAH!!
From: zh3usleonheart
AFA08 should be an eyeopener. How did so many Singaporeans find out about animes like Macross Frontier that were not legally released here?
From: DragonFire
But again in a country where original anime DVD is rather a rarety, how would it push the sales of the DVD/VCDs, but sales of anime figurine definitely is a booming business here because of the existence of underground animes.
From: l..l,
Its more of these anime companies making profits mainly out of merchandise rather than selling their anime series.
The widespread of ‘subbed’ anime are mainly helping in promoting these animes , otherwise how would us , get to watch animes and to be fall in love with it….although piracy is wrong but it is inevitable to say that these fansub services have done some help in spreading the ‘love’ around.From: Darkbyte
To be honest, I would not have purchased merchandise related to Lucky Star, Haruhi, Utawarerumono, Macross Frontier, Kanon, etc if not for the awareness created by fansubbed animes and I wonder, without the fan subbed anime scene before, would shops like KKnM and Latendo generate a massive community ? Kanon did made me went to KKnM and bought a small “poster for my CPU’s side panel though
As of now, their poll currently stands at 135 votes for yes and 15 votes for no. What’s yours ?
Source of article: here
The man who started The Banzai! Effect and Anime Banzai! (discontinued), took an avid interest in blogging and also photography. Integrating his interests with the likes of Japanese pop culture, he starts out his path on the blogging world 
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well, I agree that no fansub = little or no movement of merchandise.
The anime companies should actually sue Odex for suing people downloading anime.
uguu~ xD I get the 136th.
It’s coincidence that you posed this question when I am in the midst of reading Remix by Lawrence Lessig.
The most important feature in this debate, including the Singapore VR-Forums debate, is that access is more important in the 21st century economics. You don’t provide the access the people want, you drive the fandom underground. As Lessig commented, “we’re raising a generation of criminals” because the copyright laws have become absurd to the point that all of our activities become criminal.
I read with great ease with omo’s two articles about the anime industry grasping with the 21st century realities. It’s a step in right direction: unfortunately I did not input into the factors, the local Singaporean factors.
(The Remix book and Omo’s posts are inherently American in context.)
Articles like this and this (NB: the second link requires that you search inline for this ID: 336611. I’ll wait until the week expired so that I can link it to Asiaone website, which archives local newspapers’ articles) aggravates the point of driving anime watching underground.
I can only surmise to say that the increase figurine merchandises, as well as the success of anime fan subculture in Singapore, is largely due to “illegal downloading” of anime shows from Japan.
And this is what Lawrence Lessig fears: we are raising a generation of criminals because the law states so.
Copyright laws have been abused and perverted to hurt the consumer rather than protect the creators. blame the rulez lawyers and down with the law!
ROW ROW FIGHT DA POWA!
Just saying hello to you all .. Still a bit confused about the goings on here, but I guess I’ll keep poking around.