Fansub Review: [Commie] Gatchaman Crowds (Episode 04)

August 21, 2013 by Dark_Sage

This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

A Herkz edit that’s actually an edit? Wow, Commie’s head editor sure is throwing his all into this show. I bet that means the subs will be good.

Release Information

Visual Quality

Script Quality

Results

Release Information

Episode details.

Release format: MKV (258 MB, 10-bit)

Japanesiness: No honorifics. “Ojou-chan” as “Miss”.

English style: American English.

Encoding details: http://pastebin.com/qRXEFp8A

Speed: Quick (<48 hours)

External links.

Group website: http://commiesubs.com/

IRC channel: #[email protected]

Visual Review

Karaoke.

Opening. The font hit the theme of the OP, but that’s as far as it went. I was hoping for a little bit more from such a vibrant OP.

Rating: Okay.

Ending. Cute base color/font matching, but ultimately forgettable. Why the hell isn’t the highlight colored?

Rating: Okay.

Typesetting.

Commie hardly typeset a thing here

Spoiler for

and when they did, I wished they didn’t.

Spoiler for

I know visuals aren’t Commie’s strong suit, but c’mon, at least put a little effort into it.

Script Review

Karaoke.

Most of the OP is Engrish, but that doesn’t excuse Commie for trying to make it worse (and succeeding).

“immoving” isn’t a word.

And that’s not how you apostrophize.

The ED was relatively fine, though.

Characterization.

Bad Commie. Hajime’s hyper, not retarde’.

And for a change of tone, I liked this better than the other groups’ translations. Cthuko had “I’m gloomy…” while HorribleSubs had “I’m dreamy…” but neither really connected it to her name (which is Utsutsu) and how she’s just playing off it (her line here is “utsutsushimasu”).

I’m not seeing a better way to handle this.

Main Script.

the children. It’s a very specific question with a very specific subset of people involved (namely, the children).

I have so many questions.

What is going on here? How does the first line relate to the last two? Why can’t Commie adequately differentiate between the MESS as a whole and the MESS sitting right there?

Most importantly, why the fuck can’t you fuck up in more interesting ways? I can’t play stale scripts for laughs — you’re going to ruin me. :(

What specificity! What phrasing! You could be a politician with linquistic skills like those. Or maybe a cheap prostitute depending on how you use your tongue.

Way to quote.

You can’t just replace “broken” with “sundered” and expect it to work perfectly. The imagery for “broken wing” and “sundered wing” is completely different.

RIP, Planet Ellipsis

This is simply just terrible writing.

It’s “backwater”, you backwoods backwash.

“It probably found out a trigger that’ll cause humans to destroy each other.” ?

Herkz, I know you’re not my biggest fan, but you don’t need to torture me like this. Even North Korea wouldn’t go this far.

What the fuck does that even mean? It’s pretty obvious Herkz wasn’t born here, so how the fuck did he emigrate to the US if he couldn’t speak English?

Mind explaining how an app can enter into contracts?

The incidents happen using GALAX? This phrasing is infuriating.

“Online forums indicate increased interest in using GALAX to stop these incidents before they happen.”

That’s not how the word “we” works.

Mass assault? It’s it? Commie, you’re making me bluetsutsu.

tl;dr:

This release’s primary problem is the script. The lines have no flow, repetition and redundancy rule, and any intelligent writing has left the building. I can’t place all the blame at Commie’s feet, since the script was fucked before they got to it, but when lines like this are presented to the viewer, completely unedited…

It’s the human heart!
>Heart?
Yes.
The black hearts you foolish humans all possess.
They’re all overflowing and making people kill each other.

…any sympathy I might feel for these guys goes out the window. Though the release is generally understandable, you could pick a few lines at random from this release, give them to an English professor, and be directly responsible for the resulting suicide. This is not an acceptable release, and you shouldn’t watch it.

Results

Watchability: Watchable.

Visual grade: D+

Script grade: D-

Overall grade: D

Cthuko’s clearly the group to go with for Gatchaman. Avoid this aberration.

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45 thoughts on “Fansub Review: [Commie] Gatchaman Crowds (Episode 04)”

Xythar

August 21, 2013 at 9:09 pm

>yfw you see the actual OP lyrics
http://kasi-time.com/item-68173.html

By the way, you put “Vivid” once when you meant “Cthuko”.
Reply
- Dark_Sage
  
  August 21, 2013 at 9:12 pm
  
  Oh fuck.
  
  Also, do not show that to Cthuko. I need the OP at least somewhat understandable.
  Reply
  - Xythar
    
    August 21, 2013 at 9:15 pm
    
    It’s Jormungand OP1 all over again.
    Reply
- FalseDawn
  
  August 22, 2013 at 6:59 am
  
  It reminds me a bit of Jabberwocky…
  Reply
Sai

August 21, 2013 at 9:22 pm

You are very much correct, the script, typesetting, the precision in Cthuko’s subs and their presentation is hard to match.
Reply
Solaristics

August 21, 2013 at 9:24 pm

Oh my. Who edited this for Commie?
Reply
- Solaristics
  
  August 21, 2013 at 9:25 pm
  
  Cancel that. After looking at all the screenshots, it’s obviously herkz.
  Reply
temp_late

August 21, 2013 at 10:18 pm

I don’t really like bandwagoning on the Commie bash train, and I don’t feel like commenting on the above review and grade without having seen their release, but here’s some useful perspective below.

Notes on CR script quality for a bunch of recent shows:
http://notredrevie.ws/2013/08/19/crunchyrolls-translations-from-an-editors-point-of-view/

herkz (2013-08-19): “Gatchaman Crowds – Although they don’t do anything special for how the main character speaks (which is definitely not normal), how they handle the rest is very good. There was a dip in quality for episode 2/3, but it’s been very solid otherwise.”
Reply
- Dark_Sage
  
  August 21, 2013 at 10:36 pm
  
  So, what was the point behind linking that? Just to show us that Herkz *thought* he was doing a good job? That doesn’t excuse the result.
  Reply
  - temp_late
    
    August 21, 2013 at 11:38 pm
    
    Oh, I wasn’t contradicting you at all for this review. The results speak for themselves.
    
    You’re roughly on the mark… I thought it was interesting that anybody thought the CR scripts were good if they were the base of what we see above. It kind of explains why they weren’t changed? If somebody’s doing more than just a trivial edit, how on earth aren’t they changing some of those copies and hearts lines?
    
    I guess the tl;dr section says it all. There was probably no need to elaborate.
    Reply
- Solaristics
  
  August 21, 2013 at 10:43 pm
  
  Doesn’t really say much for the shows he’s edited this season.
  Reply
- Hairy
  
  August 21, 2013 at 10:51 pm
  
  I fail to see how that proves anything contrary to what D_S said in his review.
  
  It shows that Herkz may be a poor judge of script quality and unable to bring poor CR scripts up to a decent standard.
  Reply
  - anon
    
    August 21, 2013 at 11:00 pm
    
    His Yuyushiki script was good, though admittedly I didn’t see the HS release to know what he had to work with.
    Reply
    - Hairy
      
      August 21, 2013 at 11:22 pm
      
      He made very few changes to the Yuyushiki script. Just the usual removal of honorifics and some added contractions.
      Reply
      - Xythar
        
        August 22, 2013 at 1:24 am
        
        herkz somehow manages to get all the good CR scripts while I get the nonsensical monstrosities that take like 3-4 hours to edit every week (the notable exception being TWGOK)
        
        It just isn’t fair.
        Reply
        
        Dark_Sage
        
        August 22, 2013 at 1:51 am
        
        Have you ever considered he just doesn’t know what a good script is?
        Reply
        
        Solaristics
        
        August 22, 2013 at 1:59 am
        
        3-4 for all of them together or each? If it’s all of them, damn I’m a slow ass editor ( ¬‿¬).
        Reply
        
        archdeco
        
        August 22, 2013 at 5:03 am
        
        Obviously each of them.
        Reply
Jark

August 21, 2013 at 11:00 pm

So it was Herkz who was responsible for Makina’s bizarre speech patterns in Grisaia.

I wasn’t sure if it was him or DxS.
Reply
- Xythar
  
  August 21, 2013 at 11:51 pm
  
  Or it could have been the translator? Just kinda throwing that out there.
  Reply
  - Jark
    
    August 22, 2013 at 12:38 am
    
    I kinda assumed the specific ways her speech was localized would’ve been handled by the editor.
    But the translator doing it himself isn’t unreasonable, I guess.
    Reply
Ryuk

August 21, 2013 at 11:03 pm

Blood Lad’s next in line!
Reply
- Dark_Sage
  
  August 21, 2013 at 11:11 pm
  
  That it is. And the anime ain’t a bad adaptation either.
  Reply
Justaway

August 22, 2013 at 3:40 am

Is there still someone who’s watching commie’s subs when you have faster, better quality releases which was made not “For autists. By autists™”?
Reply
- Chaos-kun
  
  August 22, 2013 at 5:49 am
  
  if there’s no group that working on this show, then i will watch their released (Commie). unfortunately, we have Cthuko on the line.
  Reply
  - Justaway
    
    August 22, 2013 at 7:16 am
    
    Cthuko only have 4 episodes, while HS have 6. If Cthuko join ongoing, than I can watch with them. But waiting for week or more… No, thanks, I’ll better grab HS. Maybe D_S will review them too.
    Reply
- rwn
  
  August 22, 2013 at 7:17 am
  
  Most autists hate commie fyi, just look at /a/.
  Reply
  - Justaway
    
    August 22, 2013 at 7:57 am
    
    Idk what your “/a/” means, but it looks like you have butthurt, Sir. Even if you’re ~~autist~~ commie’s fanboy, it doesn’t mean you have to create account only for spit your rage on normal people. Restrain yourself, boy.
    Reply
    - rwn
      
      August 22, 2013 at 8:42 am
      
      oh wow what
      Reply
    - atom4ik
      
      August 22, 2013 at 8:43 am
      
      Lol, but I like Commie’s translations and I’m not Commie’s fanboy :D
      So, it’s your own decision to watch with subs what you like, but there is no reason to blame and hate another fansub groups if you don’t want to watch anime with their subs.
      Reply
      - Chaos-kun
        
        August 22, 2013 at 12:03 pm
        
        I was amazed with what you say.
        Reply
      - Justaway
        
        August 22, 2013 at 3:43 pm
        
        You know pretty well that I dont watch with commie x)
        Reply
      - hurrkz
        
        August 22, 2013 at 5:46 pm
        
        C’mon, herkz, no point to post under a different name just to praise your work.
        We all know that you wank to your edits, but that still doesn’t make them any better.
        Reply
        
        Dark_Sage
        
        August 22, 2013 at 6:16 pm
        
        Since when is having a measured opinion an indication of conspiracy? You hate herkz? Fine. But don’t start going off on those who you have the slightest disagreement with and accuse them of being people you don’t like.
        
        Look, to a point posts like yours and Justaway’s are entertaining. I know many of my readers get a kick out of the comments section here. But since it’s starting to get a little bit much, I do wholeheartedly suggest you stop before you post and think to yourself “Does this comment make me sound like Kristen?”
        
        If it does, you may wish to hold off until it doesn’t. Because it doesn’t particularly reflect well on the point you’re trying to make, and it gives off a bad impression to newer readers who may think comments like that are to be imitated rather than laughed at.
        Reply
    - rarely_upset
      
      August 22, 2013 at 9:19 am
      
      I am amused.
      Reply
    - corocoro
      
      August 22, 2013 at 10:20 am
      
      I am amused.
      Reply
    - stushi
      
      August 22, 2013 at 2:28 pm
      
      I am amuesum.
      Reply
BamBam

August 22, 2013 at 8:04 am

“Bad Commie. Hajime’s hyper, not retarde’.”

Yeah… No…
Reply
- Dark_Sage
  
  August 22, 2013 at 12:04 pm
  
  I was jus’ writin’ all quirky ‘nd stuff.
  Reply
figo

August 22, 2013 at 5:34 pm

A herkz edit that is shitty?

I, for one, am surprised.
Reply
hurrkz

August 22, 2013 at 5:40 pm

> at least put a little effort into it.

Commie and putting EFFORT into their subs? Seriously? XD
You’d better ask a carp to do a breakdance on the table, because that’s much more likely to happen.

> Most of the OP is Engrish, but that doesn’t excuse Commie for trying to make it worse (and succeeding).

Business as usual for Commie. Nothing to see here, move on.

> Bad Commie. Hajime’s hyper, not retarde’.

Don’t act all surprised here – retarded speech like that is a staple in Commie’s subs! It’s one of their trademarks!

> Most importantly, why the fuck can’t you fuck up in more interesting ways? I can’t play stale scripts for laughs — you’re going to ruin me. :(

Fucking up in more interesting ways would take EFFORT – and as we saw already, effort and Commie goes together like oil and water, it absolutely doesn’t mix.

Overall, just another typical, terrible D-Tier release from Commie. /me yawns

The only time Commie doesn’t produce terrible subs is if they “simply just” rip good streaming subs and then don’t MESS them up with their “backwaters” English, i.e. touch them as little as possible. However, in those cases where they do little more than “simply just” slapping their name on it, there’s still no reason to go with them instead of the streaming subs they ripped.
One instance where Commie did just that is their “Illya” release:

Horriblesubs: http://www.crymore.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/HorribleSubs-Fate-Kaleid-Liner-PRISMA-ILYA-01-720p.mkv_snapshot_04.52_2013.08.20_15.44.28.jpg
Commie: http://www.crymore.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Commie-Fate-%E2%81%84-Kaleid-Liner-Prisma-Illya-01-A393058E.mkv_snapshot_04.51_2013.08.20_00.40.29.jpg

The ‘Don’t “welcome home” me!’ line (next pic) is identical as well.
But hey, look! They changed the outline colour from black (Horriblesubs) to some ugly brown! Now that’s real EFFORT! XD
Reply
- oss
  
  August 22, 2013 at 8:05 pm
  
  When Commie try, we get Eotens.
  
  I like them better when they don’t try.
  Reply
anon

August 22, 2013 at 8:31 pm

Is this Shimapan? Again?

Holy shit, give it up already.
Reply
Xythar

August 22, 2013 at 8:37 pm

Maybe. It doesn’t really seem like his style though and I’m not sure if Shimapan knows who herkz is.
Reply
- anon
  
  August 22, 2013 at 9:07 pm
  
  I’m not sure either, but 1.) calling Commie a D-tier group 2.) complaining about “backwater” (can’t use the word redneck again!) English 3.) not being great at English himself 4.) having an insane sense of self-satisfaction are all throwing up flags for me.
  
  And I suspect he’s got enough brain cells to read this review and comments and hop on the anti-herkz bandwagon.
  
  But I hope I’m wrong, for his sake.
  Reply

Fansub Review: [Commie] Gatchaman Crowds (Episode 04)

Table of Contents

Release Information

Episode details.

External links.

Visual Review

Karaoke.

Typesetting.

Script Review

Karaoke.

Characterization.

Main Script.

tl;dr:

Results

45 thoughts on “Fansub Review: [Commie] Gatchaman Crowds (Episode 04)”

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