Wasn't sure where to post this, but I just bought the only fansub tape on Ebay

[coltigore]

Hello all!
So I recently had a hankering to experience a real fansub tape. I can only find clips online and I want to experience a full episode. This was the only one I could find online. I come from a post VHS era, being only 17, but my dad has a way to digitize tapes, which I can do if anyone wants to see it. The tape seems to come from a group called House of Martial Arts, originating from Bronx NY, at least according to one of the pics in the eBay listing.
Here're the images.
https://imgur.com/a/P9xF8Lr

Anyone ever watch a tape from this group? How much of a treat am I in for?

[VegettoEX]

They wouldn't have been an actual fansub group; instead, they were likely an actual physical storefront running off duplicated tapes. Setups like this were fairly prevalent back then, particularly throughout New York (I frequented the shop in the basement of the Elizabeth Center in Chinatown, myself).

If this is "Android Saga" episodes, you're probably looking at Ctenosaur subtitles, which were among the best of the day. Might also be Pearl, which was an actual network that broadcast with simultaneous Chinese and (poor) English subtitles; if it's Pearl, you'll know immediately.

[JulieYBM]

Oh dang, those tapes take me back. I had a neighbor who lived next door that had some connections and those were always so gorgeous looking as it were.

[coltigore]

They wouldn't have been an actual fansub group; instead, they were likely an actual physical storefront running off duplicated tapes. Setups like this were fairly prevalent back then, particularly throughout New York (I frequented the shop in the basement of the Elizabeth Center in Chinatown, myself).

If this is "Android Saga" episodes, you're probably looking at Ctenosaur subtitles, which were among the best of the day. Might also be Pearl, which was an actual network that broadcast with simultaneous Chinese and (poor) English subtitles; if it's Pearl, you'll know immediately.

Oh nice! Thank you for the insight! Just curious, back in the days of fansubbing, did you ever run into tapes subbed by a group called "Anime Labs?" I see them brought up as an infamous example of poor subs.

[coltigore]

Oh dang, those tapes take me back. I had a neighbor who lived next door that had some connections and those were always so gorgeous looking as it were.

How much did they usually cost back in the day? I won the auction for this tape at 9.50 USD. Only one other person bid, I think because it was listed as a trading card, and to even find it I had to search specifically for "dbz fansub." Came out to 15 total with shipping

[VegettoEX]

Oh nice! Thank you for the insight! Just curious, back in the days of fansubbing, did you ever run into tapes subbed by a group called "Anime Labs?" I see them brought up as an infamous example of poor subs.

Yeah, of course. I have a bunch of Anime Labs tapes. We have a bunch of translation comparisons with their scripts over in our rumor guide.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Oh nice! Thank you for the insight! Just curious, back in the days of fansubbing, did you ever run into tapes subbed by a group called "Anime Labs?" I see them brought up as an infamous example of poor subs.

Yeah, of course. I have a bunch of Anime Labs tapes. We have a bunch of translation comparisons with their scripts over in our rumor guide.

Oh boy, i recall seeing uploaded copies of those versions on some website as a kid way back in the early 2000's. Needless to say the video quality of them were horrible and of course the subtitle translations were hilariously bad so it's no wonder people got the mistaken impression that DBZ was an edgy, adult show with butt loads of swears when it absolutely wasn't at all. It's sort of like the infamous "blue subtitle" version of the Ginga Nagareboshi Gin/Silver Fang anime from the group Anime Suux Den floating around where beyond tons of mistranslations of character's names it had a good bit of cursing thrown in by the people who were doing the subs. There has since been a subsequent sub of the series done by another group called anime_fin which appears to have been taken from the official Finnish dubbed version's scripts and translated into English, although those are of higher quality and not quite as heavy on the name translation errors and cursing as the above.

[DrBriefsCat]

Oh dang, those tapes take me back. I had a neighbor who lived next door that had some connections and those were always so gorgeous looking as it were.

How much did they usually cost back in the day? I won the auction for this tape at 9.50 USD. Only one other person bid, I think because it was listed as a trading card, and to even find it I had to search specifically for "dbz fansub." Came out to 15 total with shipping

I remember they could be found for $8 in Manhattan around the year 2000. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $12 today. Not including NYC sales tax.

They wouldn't have been an actual fansub group; instead, they were likely an actual physical storefront running off duplicated tapes. Setups like this were fairly prevalent back then, particularly throughout New York (I frequented the shop in the basement of the Elizabeth Center in Chinatown, myself).

I think that shop now sells model kits.

If this is "Android Saga" episodes, you're probably looking at Ctenosaur subtitles, which were among the best of the day. Might also be Pearl, which was an actual network that broadcast with simultaneous Chinese and (poor) English subtitles; if it's Pearl, you'll know immediately.

Regarding Ctenosaur, I came across a twitter post claiming the translations came from other sources: https://twitter.com/DarylSurat/status/9 ... 3591301120.

[TheBigBoy]

I love the "half-dead in a tin suit" line so much lol

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I love the "half-dead in a tin suit" line so much lol

Vegeta's "Come out, you candy ass faggot" is my favorite.