fansubs
Volunteer anime translations
Fansubs are unauthorized subtitled versions of foreign media—typically anime or other Japanese content—created and distributed by fans rather than official licensors.
Before streaming services made foreign content widely accessible, fansubs were often the only way to watch shows unavailable in one's country: I watched the whole series through fansubs before it got an official release.
The practice exists in legal gray areas, with some fans treating official licensing as the signal to stop distributing their versions.
Adapting for specific markets
- honorificsRespectful name additions
- romanizationScript-to-alphabet conversion process
- transliterationCross-script phonetic spelling
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
culturalization · idioms · wordplay · typesetting · styling · fonts · positioning · timing
Obsessive anime enthusiast
- mangaJapanese comic medium
- cosplayDressing as media characters
- shonenManga for young males
- shojoManga aimed at girls
mecha · isekai · kawaii · chibi · hentai · yuri · harem · simulcast
Enthusiast community collectively
- seedersPlanting equipment
- leechersThose who take without giving
- distroBundled OS release
- IRCText-based chat protocol
torrents · forums · proofreading · editing · collaboration · crowdsourcing · volunteers · amateur
Text describing visual content
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- transcriptVerbatim written account
- openingGap or start
- endingFinal portion of something
Without official permit
- copyrightExclusive reproduction rights
- DMCADigital copyright protection law
- takedownForced grounding maneuver
- peer-to-peerServerless network architecture
localization
Adapting for specific markets
- honorificsRespectful name additions
- romanizationScript-to-alphabet conversion process
- transliterationCross-script phonetic spelling
adaptation · culturalization · idioms · wordplay · typesetting · styling · fonts · positioning · timing · syncing
otaku
Obsessive anime enthusiast
shojo · mecha · isekai · kawaii · chibi · hentai · yuri · harem · simulcast · raw
fandom
Enthusiast community collectively
IRC · torrents · forums · proofreading · editing · collaboration · crowdsourcing · volunteers · amateur · enthusiast
captions
Text describing visual content
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- transcriptVerbatim written account
- openingGap or start
unlicensed
Without official permit
- copyrightExclusive reproduction rights
- DMCADigital copyright protection law
- takedownForced grounding maneuver
peer-to-peer · ripping · licensing · Crunchyroll · Funimation
- subtitlessubtitling, CC, SDH, open captions, closed captions
- fansubsfansub, translator, subber, raw, raws
- fanworksfanfic, fanfiction, fanart, fanfilm, fanzine