Fansub Review: [Commie] Vividred Operation (Episode 05)

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This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

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I’m really getting tired of playing English teacher this season.

Table of Contents

Release Information

Visual Quality

Script Quality

Results

Release Information

Episode details.

Release format: MKV (324 MB, 10-bit)

Japanesiness: No honorifics.

English style: American English.

Encoding details: http://pastebin.com/2C4AZTGM

Speed: Quick (<48 hours)

 

External links.

Group website: http://commiesubs.com/

IRC channel: #[email protected]

SubCompare screenshot comparisons: http://www.subcompare.com/vividred_operation/

 

Visual Review

Karaoke.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_00.46_[2013.02.18_23.35.14]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_01.16_[2013.02.18_23.36.14]

Opening. So desperate to be WhyNot. So… not. I’d like to say they put some thought into their color choice here, but I’d also like to ride a flying motorcycle dinosaur. Sometimes shit just doesn’t square with reality.

Rating: Bad.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_23.24_[2013.02.19_01.10.03] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_23.55_[2013.02.19_01.10.10]

Ending. The font doesn’t fit at all, but the color is white-ish, so… it’s okay? I dunno, I’ll throw Commie a bone here, since by the end of this review, I’ll be wanting to break theirs.

Rating: Okay.

 

 

Typesetting.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_02.16_[2013.02.18_23.36.47]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_22.40_[2013.02.19_01.08.09]

I don’t see why removing the Japanese text was necessary, but if your typesetters couldn’t handle working around it, your decision here makes sense.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_06.08_[2013.02.19_00.10.43]

The “National shin oshi–” part was done by the animators.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_21.26_[2013.02.19_01.06.21]

Excellent translation, Commie! Nothing but the best.

 

 

 

Script Review

Karaoke.

I spent way too much time on the script section to waste my breath on the karaoke. It wasn’t great, if that’s what you wanted to know. (fnord, if ya TL’d this one too, we can go over it in the comments section, but this review is too long to include my thoughts here.)

 

Main Script.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_00.07_[2013.02.18_23.31.55]

And right off the bat we have some stupid gibberish shoved in our face. Yes, it’s supposed to be a cute little song, but “cute” doesn’t translate to “stupid”.

Could we have a real translation please?

“Tomorrow I’ll still be smiling and going vroom-vroom!” (Courtesy of [JK])

“Another day with a smile on my face…” (Courtesy of [CR])

“Tomorrow I’ll also be going vroom-vroom with a smile.” (Courtesy of [Hatsuyuki-Hybrid])

Yeah, looks like Commie translated “egao” into “happy vroom-vroom”. And Vale bills himself as one of the best translators around? Hah.

Thanks, every other group. Don’t know what I’d do without you. (Probably watch the show raw.)

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_02.48_[2013.02.18_23.38.33]

This really shouldn’t be something I have to educate you on.

In this sentence, the “right?” implies the speaker requires an answer from someone or something. It’s not at all the correct way to phrase internal thoughts.

The line should be “Isn’t she the girl I saw this morning?”

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_03.33_[2013.02.18_23.41.48]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_03.34_[2013.02.18_23.43.19]

Mind-numbingly juvenile writing. Yes, they consider this a conversation.

I almost feel offended on behalf of Commie’s viewers.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_03.56_[2013.02.18_23.51.26]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_03.58_[2013.02.18_23.51.46]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_03.59_[2013.02.18_23.54.19]

I’m just gonna stop the subs right here and have a little rant.

These subs are extremely stupid. And I don’t mean this in the “Haha, they don’t know how to use commas, they’re so dumb” way. I mean this in the “Holy shit, I don’t think their editor has ever picked up a book in their life” way.

Let’s start by moving backward. “Right, Himawari?” plays off “I’m looking forward to it so much!”, making the full thought “Aren’t I looking forward to it so much, Himawari?” That makes no sense. It’s non-negotiably wrong as fuck. The phrase you wanted was “How about you, Himawari?” or really any one of fifty different fucking ways you want to phrase it. But it must be grammatically and logically correct, which it currently is not.

On the first line, how the fuck are we supposed to interpret “This will be my first time on a trip with my friends!”? Read straight, she’s saying this will be the first time she’s ever gone on a trip with any friends, ever.

What a crock of shit.

I can buy CR’s “this will be my first sleepover with friends” line, and H-H and JK went with the camping route, which is… acceptable enough. But the first time going on a trip, in general? No.

Even assuming this is the correct translation and that blue-chan has never gone on a trip with a friend ever, the line is off. Reason being, the “my friends” piece confuses the line’s logic. What you want to get across is that all those girls around her are blue-chan’s friends. And that because they’ll be going with her on the trip, she’ll finally be allowed the chance to go on a trip with friends. That’s the point. So you want something like “This will be the first time I get to go on a trip with friends!”

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_04.15_[2013.02.18_23.55.18]

Do you like causing me pain, Commie? Because these subs hurt. A lot.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_04.31_[2013.02.18_23.56.16] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_04.33_[2013.02.18_23.56.54] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_04.35_[2013.02.18_23.57.00]

Native English speakers, stop me if this is how you talk… and kill yourselves, you impostors.

This is not at all spoken English. Either the TL or the editor needs to realize you can’t learn the human version of English from a fucking textbook.

“Hey Wakaba, who’s that?” {The “who’s she” is too formal in common speak to use in this situation.}

“Ah, her?” {Alt: “Ah, Kuroki?”}

“Her name’s Kuroki Rei.” {Alt: “That’s Kuroki Rei.”}

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_04.41_[2013.02.18_23.58.29]

Why is it so hard for non-natives to learn tenses? I mean, yeah, I get that the more advanced tenses might be hard to master, like the pluperfect and what have you. But the past tense? Really? Jesus Joseph-fucking Christ!

“I saw her a bunch of times with my camera,” would be the fix.

Actually, no, even that wouldn’t be right. “I saw her a bunch of times” isn’t how you’d phrase this.

“I watched her through my camera a few times,”

There you go. Now it actually fits what she did.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_05.17_[2013.02.19_00.08.39]

A six-syllable translation for a quickly worded three-syllable line. Great.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_07.39_[2013.02.19_00.13.50] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_07.42_[2013.02.19_00.13.57]

Well, technically it’s a call, not a cry, but we’ll just chalk her mistake up to her not being an avid birder.

The issue is the second line’s wording, which is just an example of some of this script’s issues. “It’s almost their mating season.” is how you’d want to phrase it. I don’t know how Commie found a voice worse than the passive, but by the gods they managed it.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_07.57_[2013.02.19_00.14.52]

What? No. She’s saying deal with the situation, not with her.

“Bear with it for a moment.” {The “it” here referring to either the cover she’s placing over the cage or the presence of the crow.}

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_08.27_[2013.02.19_00.17.37] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_08.33_[2013.02.19_00.17.20] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_08.37_[2013.02.19_00.17.50]

Okay, I’m gonna stop with the writing critiques here. I just don’t have the time to fucking teach writing skills. Grammar and spelling tips? Sure. General phrasing advice? Hell yeah. But I don’t have enough time to teach you how to write. That’s a skill you have to build up over the years. I’m sorry.

This entire script reads like a mediocre translator’s first draft, and that’s just not acceptable.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_12.39_[2013.02.19_00.38.43]

…

  • But
  • though

Choose one. This isn’t Disney’s Magic Grammar Kingdom — you can’t have both.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_13.31_[2013.02.19_20.46.38] [Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_13.34_[2013.02.19_20.46.45]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_13.38_[2013.02.19_00.40.35]

Close.

“Well… it was actually my little sister, Momo, who made it.”

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_15.10_[2013.02.19_00.48.45]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_15.16_[2013.02.19_00.48.38]

That “too” would work great if her dad was also hospitalized. But he’s dead. So no, turns out that doesn’t work great.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_15.52_[2013.02.19_00.50.20]

to->for

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_16.44_[2013.02.19_00.51.50]

You know how I said that shit before about commas? Yeah… it actually is an issue throughout.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_18.10_[2013.02.19_00.54.43]

You’re gonna make me have a meltdown, Commie.

How does energy become critical? And how does energy have a meltdown? This is like something pulled at random from adultfanfiction.net — I have no clue what the fuck I’m reading, nor am I interested in reading anymore.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_18.13_[2013.02.19_00.56.11]

Your English is terrible. Please stop. This is what you’re saying:

Because of that, your:

  • parents was destroyed
  • friends was destroyed
  • entire world was destroyed

Consider suicide as a method of atonement.

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_18.43_[2013.02.19_00.59.17]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_18.45_[2013.02.19_00.59.51]

“regenerate” makes no sense to use here. The world you’re looking for is “restore”. “regeneration” would just bring the world itself back to healthy status. But Crow-chan is promising that Mounds Bar’s family will be resurrected. The idea is that everything will go back to how it was before the Manifestation Engine exploded. Even the lowest-tier editor could catch this TL mistake.

For chrissake Commie, you’re gonna make me convert to Buddhism just so I can rest easily at night knowing you’re going to be reincarnated into vomit.

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures of Mounds Bar

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_06.46_[2013.02.19_00.11.36]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_08.20_[2013.02.19_00.16.28]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_09.53_[2013.02.19_00.22.16]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_10.02_[2013.02.19_00.22.47]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_19.53_[2013.02.19_01.03.26]

[Commie] Vividred Operation - 05 [7C7486BB].mkv_snapshot_21.09_[2013.02.19_01.05.25]

At this point, no, I don’t care if that’s a penis.

 

 

Results

Watchability: If you want to watch the show early, just grab a raw. Seriously, the show will be more enjoyable.

Visual grade: C

Script grade: D

Overall grade: D

The script is a failure from a writing standpoint, but it’s understandable, so I couldn’t brand it with an F. I really feel sorry for Commie’s fans, though. If they’ve considered the subs good enough up to this point, they’re probably trying to make an earnest attempt to learn the English language, and these subs can’t be helping.

Stick with JK for now.
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80 thoughts on “Fansub Review: [Commie] Vividred Operation (Episode 05)”

  2. >I’m really getting tired of playing English teacher this season.

    But you’re probably the best English teacher I ever had. All my teachers preferred to either tell us how fabulous Great Britain is or to bully pupils who can’t pronounce the ‘th’ right (some people just can’t; there’s a reason why Germans always have this fucking accent in movies). I built up my entire knowledge of the English language with anime and games, and you took a major role in refining my sense for it over the past of years. Thanks for that.

    > This isn’t Disney’s Magic Grammar Kingdom.

    Be assured, they’ll take this from us eventually, as they did with Star Wars.

    > At this point, no, I don’t care if that’s a penis.

    I smell a plot twist.

    Reply

    • Glad to know I’m not just spinning my wheels then. (It actually does mean a lot.)

      I guess I’m just a little bit frustrated because groups are noticeably underperforming this season. Typos are at an all-time low, but the insidiously incorrect English is getting under my skin.

      Reply

      • Well, I’ve come to the point where I can correct my current teacher and whenever she isn’t sure about something she instantly looks at me. So yeah, you really helped me sharpening my attention to this tiny grammar and phrasing errors.

        Reply

      • Well,if a teacher neglects his duty, which is TEACHING, to torture you with bad puns and eat breakfast with the class to show off his Britain-Flag teacup, his Britain-Flag teapot, his Britain-Flag umbrella and his Britain-Flag apron, you get kinda fed up with it over the years, especially if you notice how your clasmates are having problems with the language because they tend to watch/play their stuff in German. It may sound nice to eat instead of learning but in the end, you’ll just have less knowledge and more calories.

        Reply

  5. Huh, I normally don’t put too much consideration into picking a fansubbing group for a show but this time I’ll avoid Commie. At least they provided me with the laugh of the day: “…Happy vroom-vroom.”

    Rofl.

    Reply

  6. It’s kinda weird not having the best of Commie staff here praising you for showing us the greatness of their superior editing. Am I the only one feeling like this?

    Reply

  10. Wait…

    You can’t use “any moment” by itself? I guess I usually hear it as “They’ll be here any moment now” but it doesn’t seem wrong as is…

    Reply

      • Come to think of it, I probably was thinking of “any minute”. Nonetheless, when you include the “-now” that forces it to only return results that do not include “now” anywhere in the rest of the text.

        A search for “They should arrive any minute.” with the period returns 40k results, while “They should arrive any minute now” returns 10k. Replacing “minute” with “moment” returns comparable numbers.

        Grain of salt as always, but both phrasings appear to be in use.

        Reply

    • Soon, any minute now, erelong, in due time, in a moment.

      Any moment sounds kind of dumb, in my opinion. But I’m pretty stupid, so don’t mind me.

      Reply

      • Ah, don’t sell yourself short. These reviews are essentially just me going “Hm, does this sound good?” followed by “No it doesn’t, but is it worth bitching about?”

        So if something sounds “off” or “dumb” to you, there’s probably some value to it.

        Reply

        • The way I see it “moment” has two common use definitions that could apply to this sentence.

          The first one being “a brief (possibly significant) point in time.” Example: “It was at that moment… etc.”

          While the other is “a short amount of time from the present that has yet to be determined.”

          Going off the first one, it doesn’t make sense, and going off the second one the phrasing used in that sentence is redundant.

          But that’s just me. I would’ve said something like, “They should be arriving there momentarily.” Something along those lines, I don’t remember what the original sentence said.

          Forgive me if there are errors, I’m on my phone. Haha

          Reply

    • Coolio.

      Three of my main issues:

      “We will be clueless as to the wind’s direction many times”//”but wouldn’t it be boring if it all went according to plan?”
      The first part bugs me. “We may not know where the wind is blowing” brings it to a more solid English base. You’re down with the poetry, so I figured you’d throw in something like “but aren’t the winds of change the most interesting ones?” though you may be throwing caution to the wind with that last bit. {“the most interesting ones” is pretty shit writing, I must admit. But I’m sure you could come up with a valid finisher for that part.}

      “It might seem commonplace, but our days of tears and laughter”//”are full of feelings that don’t show up on maps”
      For the last line, I don’t really like where it’s headed. “don’t show up on maps” is weird and seems like an extremely literal cipher translation. You could have gotten the exact same point across, but with added meaning, by switching the line “are full of uncharted feelings”. Maybe you avoided it because of that added meaning, though. I’d have liked to see “are full of feelings that you can’t pin down.” personally. I guess the imagery of people placing pins on maps to mark places they’ve been or are going has stuck with me along with the idiom’s normal usage.

      “The tears we shed yesterday will let us be proud of what we accomplished”//”and through it our dream we suffered so much for”//”will be ours for the taking”
      I get the sense the first line and the last two should not be connected here. So I’d finish the first line out stronger. “what we accomplished” -> “our accomplishments”
      And then the second line needs to be grammatically correct, because right now, I can’t tell what “through it” refers to exactly. Right now it reads almost as if “what we accomplished” is the “it”, but it seems like “the tears we shed yesterday” should be the subject. And there’s no reason to repeat shit, so I’m just gonna editorialize.
      “And through the pain, our long-sought dream”//”will be ours for the taking”

      Reply

    • I see where you’re coming from with all three points, but only the second truly bugs me. “Don’t show up on maps” is painfully literal, and I know it.

      Your suggestion for the first is definitely inaccurate, and I think “wind’s direction” isn’t completely horrible. I normally use “whereto the wind blows{ us}” for lines like that, but I was trying to see if something else would work for once. It didn’t.

      I think the last one would be easier to read with some comma usage. In fact, it would be even easier to understand if I had split the lines to begin with.

      This season had a lot of songs and many were done under immense time pressure. I’m unhappy myself with the way many of them turned out.

      Reply

    • Though, frankly, I do believe you’re exaggerating a little. Compared to the nonsense that I routinely see in other releases, my careless work is practically Shakespeare.

      Reply

  12. Okay, this time you don’t have a choice. It has to be “But”. Reason being… Fuck, look it up. I’m really getting tired of playing Dark_Sage Teaches English.
    “But it was my little sister, Momo, who made it.”

    Assuming that I haven’t completely misread the context from those screenshots, that still doesn’t sound right.

    “But that’s only because my little sister, Momo, made it today.”

    Or assuming that we know who Momo is: “But that’s only because Momo made (cooked? prepared? did?) it today.”

    Reply

  13. >Your use of “border” indicates the line
    >is between two things. That’s… what it
    >fucking means. That’s the goddamn definition
    >of the word. So why do you have “between”
    >there?!

    Okay, I’m stumped. How’s the line improved by taking out the word “between”?

    Reply

    • Taking “between” out wouldn’t really help. I should’ve offered a rephrase option there. Regardless, the actual fix would fall under the nitpicky end of things now that I think about it, so I’m shelving that from the review.

      Reply

  14. Typos are at an all time low this season? Maybe I’ve just been spending too much time on this site so I’m starting to notice them more but it seems to me that even the groups that are usually solid in this regard are fucking it up these days. Apparently even running your script through a goddamn spell check program is too much to ask now, let alone actually… you know… READING it to make sure nothing is wrong. Has the prevalence of using Crunchyroll rips just turned fansubbers into lazy shits or what? Fansubs have always been mostly amateur hour but it seems way worse lately.

    Reply

    • Perhaps I was just speaking to my desires rather than the facts. I haven’t actually done a thorough analysis of how this season’s scripts compare to previous ones in the typo department.

      I do know that my average score this season is a C-, whereas most other seasons have had an average of a C+. But that doesn’t say much as to what the cause of that difference is.

      Reply

  15. The line about the Manifestor’s energy becoming critical is wrong in more than one way. The Manifestor doesn’t seem to be a nuclear reactor, but if you’re going to use the terminology, you’d better get it right. A reactor’s state is referred to as critical when the fission chain reaction is self-sustaining and the reactor’s power output is constant. There’s no reason for it to melt down while in its normal operating state.

    Reply

    • I don’t see any notable value in covering up the Japanese text there. I don’t see any reason to keep it either, but seems to me like the tiebreaker for these things should tend toward the side of non-concealment.

      Not like I counted it against them.

      Edit: And since you apparently fall on the side of typesetting > karaoke no matter what, when rating the visuals, how much of a weight do you expect me to place on those three signs compared to the 3 minutes of the show the karaoke comprises? Does just having “Medical Plaz” typeset launch the visuals into A-tier? I’m dying to know the answer.

      Reply

    • Blocking out the Japanese text is just saying “I’m too retarded to attempt to even get the font right for this, I’m just gonna put a black screen over that shit and use a font thats nowhere near it and hope that: A; the Timer knows what the fuck they’re doing and B; the viewer doesn’t turn off subtitles”

      Retarded not to block out the Japanese Text? Bah! If I’m a crazy for keeping it in, then I hope you enjoy your lovely lonely life in sanesville

      Reply

        • The whole point of blending in with the video is to make it look like the English was there in the first place, by removing Japanese you aren’t blending in with the video at all.

          Reply

          • Oh. I guess I just seemed to have interpreted it differently, since the first thing that came to my mind was paint edits.

            Thank you for the clarification.

            Reply

  17. Thank you. I love you.
    I’m always doing my best to avoid Commie’s subs, but sadly sometimes it doesn’t work. Maybe watching raw is for the best.

    Reply

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