<p>The concept you're explaining is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fansub" rel="nofollow">fansubs</a>, and this concept transcends borders outright; groups of fans will get together to translate a work that they are fans of for their language.</p>

<p>This <strong><em>radically</em></strong> differs from actual, licensed subtitle jobs done by bigger companies, with these key differences being present in the officially licensed subtitle jobs, but not the fansubs:</p>

<ul>
<li>The work is <strong>officially licensed</strong> for translation, meaning that a consumer will be directly supporting both the original creator and the team who made the translation possible;</li>
<li>The translated work is done <strong><em>professionally</em> and <em>accurately</em></strong>, especially given the nuances found in Japanese language which may not always accurately translate to English;</li>
<li>These works are often placed into stores and shops for <strong>regular retail purchase</strong>, or <strong>may be streamed in your country</strong>, depending on the license acquired.</li>
</ul>

<p>I have very little insight into the industry, but the key similarity between the two is that the translation is done in rough, proofread, and perhaps tweaked for tone and/or localized (again, jokes or concepts may not translate well across languages).</p>

<p>I'd like to highlight the third key difference, which is that the work is generally made widely available to the public for legal purchase in that region.  One of the major reasons that fansubs exist is due to the lack of general availability of the work, which means that in order for a region to enjoy the work, it must first be brought to that country, which may or may not have legal ramifications.</p>

<p>Note that I am not a lawyer, but I've read some things on fansubs and piracy before; in general, the industry isn't all that happy with it.</p>

<p>Distributors of fansubbed work may face repercussions due to the fact that the work may not be licensed in that country or that region, and the translators are effectively pirating the work.</p>

<p>I can't speak to China's anime climate, but I will state that official translations must be licensed for distribution in that country.  I encourage you to find licensed work in your country and support that, as that will ensure that more licensed works come over due to it being a more viable market.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-19T10:23:04.893Z
there are a lot of legal and licensed sub company which i didn't mention because it wasn't the main focus of the question, so it's OK, 99% of the anime/manga are legal. and you focused more on how the industry is different from fansubs which is not what i'm looking for but i do blame it on the question for not making it clear, i apologize.
Dragon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-19T06:10:06.967Z
2016-09-19T19:18:48.497Z
2016-09-19T19:18:48.497Z
Makoto
<p>As far as I know, In China, groups of people gather together to translate and add Sub/Dub an anime/manga, there will be a translator, an edit, and other people that is needed for the job. some of these groups are people who are fans of anime/manga and no funding from outside sources are used, there are however a lot of professional ones that does gain money and pay the workers and is liscensed. Most of the time, 1 anime/manga would only have 1 group to sub or dub it. Is the English sub/dub system similar to this?</p>

<p>TL;DR or if you simply don't care about China, explain how the English Sub/Dub industry work.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-19T09:27:07.890Z
FWIW my sense is that _Hong Kong_ dubs into Cantonese don't work that way: the quality and staffing is reasonably professional, and the contents often find their way onto television.
Maroon
<anime-production>
How does the English Sub/Dub system work?
# How does the English Sub/Dub system work?
Posted by: username_0 on 2016-09-19
As far as I know, In China, groups of people gather together to translate and add Sub/Dub an anime/manga, there will be a translator, an edit, and other people that is needed for the job. some of these groups are people who are fans of anime/manga and no funding from outside sources are used, there are however a lot of professional ones that does gain money and pay the workers and is liscensed. Most of the time, 1 anime/manga would only have 1 group to sub or dub it. Is the English sub/dub system similar to this?

TL;DR or if you simply don't care about China, explain how the English Sub/Dub industry work.
**Tags:** anime-production
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: FWIW my sense is that _Hong Kong_ dubs into Cantonese don't work that way: the quality and staffing is reasonably professional, and the contents often find their way onto television.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2016-09-19. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
The concept you're explaining is called [fansubs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fansub), and this concept transcends borders outright; groups of fans will get together to translate a work that they are fans of for their language.

This ***radically*** differs from actual, licensed subtitle jobs done by bigger companies, with these key differences being present in the officially licensed subtitle jobs, but not the fansubs:

* The work is **officially licensed** for translation, meaning that a consumer will be directly supporting both the original creator and the team who made the translation possible;
* The translated work is done ***professionally* and *accurately***, especially given the nuances found in Japanese language which may not always accurately translate to English;
* These works are often placed into stores and shops for **regular retail purchase**, or **may be streamed in your country**, depending on the license acquired.

I have very little insight into the industry, but the key similarity between the two is that the translation is done in rough, proofread, and perhaps tweaked for tone and/or localized (again, jokes or concepts may not translate well across languages).

I'd like to highlight the third key difference, which is that the work is generally made widely available to the public for legal purchase in that region. One of the major reasons that fansubs exist is due to the lack of general availability of the work, which means that in order for a region to enjoy the work, it must first be brought to that country, which may or may not have legal ramifications.

Note that I am not a lawyer, but I've read some things on fansubs and piracy before; in general, the industry isn't all that happy with it.

Distributors of fansubbed work may face repercussions due to the fact that the work may not be licensed in that country or that region, and the translators are effectively pirating the work.

I can't speak to China's anime climate, but I will state that official translations must be licensed for distribution in that country. I encourage you to find licensed work in your country and support that, as that will ensure that more licensed works come over due to it being a more viable market.
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2016-09-19): there are a lot of legal and licensed sub company which i didn't mention because it wasn't the main focus of the question, so it's OK, 99% of the anime/manga are legal. and you focused more on how the industry is different from fansubs which is not what i'm looking for but i do blame it on the question for not making it clear, i apologize.  
---
