Fanrip Review: [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll (Episode 04)

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This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

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I normally don’t talk about encodes, since the only people who care about that shit are encoders themselves, but goddamn Funimation screwed the pooch on this until Mr. Kibbles vomited his semen-covered intestines up. Oh, and this release is censored too.

Table of Contents

Release Information

Visual Quality

Script Quality

Results

 

Release Information

Episode details.

Release format: MKV (621 MB, 8-bit) <- Yeah, remember the size when you see the effort they put into the visuals.

Japanesiness: No honorifics.

English style: American English.

Encoding details: http://pastebin.com/KsW83Wsc

Speed: Quick (<48 hours)

Translation style: Straight Funimation rip.

Note: The subs are hardsubbed.

Note 2: This release sucks.

 

 

 

Visual Review

Karaoke.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_01.28_[2013.11.06_14.19.41] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_01.52_[2013.11.06_14.20.09]

Opening. Well, at least they tried.

Rating: F. Effort only matters if it produces something of value.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_22.36_[2013.11.06_19.04.53] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_23.09_[2013.11.06_19.05.35]

Ending. Yuck.

Rating: F.

 

 

Typesetting.

N/A. There weren’t any signs in this episode to typeset.

 

 

Other.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_00.06_[2013.11.06_14.17.44] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_00.10_[2013.11.06_14.17.55]

You’re subjected to 15 seconds of company logos off the bat.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_00.44_[2013.11.06_14.18.39]

That font… that banding…

Good thing Funi hardsubs their shit or you might have been able to deal with the first issue at least.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_02.29_[2013.11.06_14.20.59]

Yeah, this is how every goddamn scene in this release looks. How the fuck could a company expect its audience to accept this? I mean, I know Funimation fans aren’t the sharpest, but I don’t think their brains are made of bouncy balls.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_14.05_[2013.11.06_18.19.58]

Well that isn’t annoying at all. Christian America was right; censorship is the way to go.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_15.34_[2013.11.06_18.56.34]

Yep, Funimation’s release even has the fog censored. You know, just in case you wanted to get off to the mere form of a mechanical doll.

 

 

 

Script Review

Main Script.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_02.31_[2013.11.06_17.15.30]

Funi apparently never got the memo that there needs to be a damn good reason for characters to speak in the third-person in English releases.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_03.14_[2013.11.06_17.16.25] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_03.17_[2013.11.06_17.16.31]

“as well”? Nobody else “went missing”.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_05.02_[2013.11.06_17.20.33] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_06.30_[2013.11.06_17.56.06] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_11.28_[2013.11.06_18.13.20]

I know these are supposed to mean something, but I don’t know exactly what.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_05.45_[2013.11.06_17.54.27]

Other than doing nothing, this is the worst way to indicate that multiple people are speaking.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_06.17_[2013.11.06_17.55.04] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_06.18_[2013.11.06_17.55.41] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_06.22_[2013.11.06_17.55.30] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_06.25_[2013.11.06_17.55.51]

This is just an example of a typical conversation in this release. It almost makes even less sense in context.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_08.31_[2013.11.06_17.58.14] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_08.34_[2013.11.06_18.01.18]

Yes, lordly. I’m not gonna doubt your brilliant translation here, Funimation, but please don’t tell the roofers. Shingling is already expensive enough without having to worry about a reinstated poll tax.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_08.51_[2013.11.06_18.03.39]

Activision presents: “Got Your Nose: The Game” for the Nintendo Wii-U.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_09.02_[2013.11.06_18.04.15] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_09.05_[2013.11.06_18.04.22]

I hate to just laze through this with a “This conversation only halfway makes sense and it’d take more effort to fix it than completely scrap everything and translate it anew”, but I’m gonna do that.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_09.14_[2013.11.06_18.04.45]

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boule

I get that your translators all guesslate, Funimation. That surprises no one. But I would hope they’d at least be able to speak the language of what they’re guesslating into. You know, to at least give the illusion that you guys give a shit.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_10.22_[2013.11.06_18.05.58]

“I’ll turn the whole world against me if the whole world turns against me!”

Yes, brilliant translation, Funimation! With staff of this caliber it’s a wonder your former corporate owners dropped you as soon as they could.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_11.05_[2013.11.06_18.10.38] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_11.08_[2013.11.06_18.10.44]

What witty banter!

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_11.18_[2013.11.06_18.11.11]

No, no, no. It’s these little inaccuracies that piss me off the most.

This line would be acceptable if he was complimenting Raishin on a sweater his mother knitted, but here he’s telling him “When you see your mother in hell, tell her I left the money in her casket.”

Try “Give my regards to your mother!” to get the right message across. And yes, the “give” is absolutely necessary.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_12.20_[2013.11.06_18.17.46] [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_12.22_[2013.11.06_18.17.51]

These lines make sense… if you watched a different release first. I almost wish I watched this before FFF’s so I could pick out all the shit that really makes no sense without a background of what’s going on… but oh well.

[HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll - 04 [720p].mkv_snapshot_16.48_[2013.11.06_18.57.56]

And more awesome third-person speak.

 

 

 

Results

Watchability: Unwatchable.

Visual grade: F-

Script grade: C-

Overall grade: F

I think this may be the first “actual” review I’ve posted where the visuals managed to sink a release to F-tier status. I can’t stress enough how unacceptable this is — every single second of this release is unpleasant.

Funimation has absolutely no business trying their hand at simulcasts. Avoid this and get one of the fansub releases (Commie/FFF/Hiryuu).

If Funi keeps at this shit, looks like fansubbing may yet be saved.

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18 thoughts on “Fanrip Review: [HorribleSubs] Unbreakable Machine-Doll (Episode 04)”

  1. General rules:
    1. Always avoid funi rips
    2. Go with the CR rip if there aren’t any fansub editors on a show that know how to improve a script.

    CR usually has a good track record on visual quality. Their scripts are often good as well. There are certainly some bad translators at CR though. Like the typos in Hajime no Ippo episode 5 were incredibly distracting. Should have waited for Frozen.

    This line would be acceptable if he was completing Raishin on a sweater

    There’s a typo in there.

    Reply

  2. I know many characters do it, where they keep speaking others’ names and their names and it’s just replaced.

    In the case of Yaya specifically, I think it makes sense – in that it is a bit affected.

    Reply

    • Yes, many anime characters use it. The question comes in whether to reflect that and how often to do so. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if the script makes you want to stab yourself in the head with a screwdriver, then you probably shouldn’t write it like that.

      Third-person in Japanese and third-person in English are not functionally equivalent, so you can’t just throw your hands up in the air and be like “Ain’t my fault; this is how Japan wants it!”

      Reply

      • I can see a lot of people not liking third person Yaya, but she does act like an annoying kid 100% of the time. The danger is that in English, third person use is more commonly out-of-this-world arrogant rather than childish, though the latter is not unheard of (see: Elmo) and is clearly the situation here.

        It’s really annoying, but the character is really annoying, granted maybe not in that same manner.

        Some dumb unofficial sources (wikia page etc.) refer to Yaya speaking in third person as a character trait / tic. I wouldn’t go by those though.

        Reply

        • It IS a character trait, but as D_S says, “a Japanese- speaker talking in third person” and “an English-speaker talking in third person” are very different things. Having her talk in third person in the subtitles doesn’t carry the character trait across, it replaces it with an infinitely more annoying trait.

          Reply

  3. Yeah, this is one of the few shows where I’m just giving up on the HS release altogether. I’m just hoping you do a translation party so I can decide whose release I should watch without downloading everything myself.

    Reply

      • I’m sorry for the late reply.

        I’m very sorry if I spammed and thank you very much for allowing it.

        I actually recommended the site because I thought the site would be helpful for people interested with the series to understand more about the series.

        I’m curious, can I ask why you allowed it?

        Reply

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