Introduction:

 

Nowadays, Japanese anime is seen in many countries.

When traveling to Sao Paulo, Bangkok, Seoul or almost anywhere, I see Japanese anime and manga fans, which always surprises me as a Japanese man.

Of course there are some different aspects that contribute to the global popularity of anime and manga, but some researchers point out that one of the  biggest contributors is "Fan subbing culture(*1)".

 

The work "Subbing the Subbing" sheds light on the “fan subber”, studying the current internet-led culture diffusion, as well as deviations from the original story, utilizing the keyword of translation. 

 

The work is about the export of "Cool Japan(*2)" and how its seeds growth in other countries.

 

 

- Subbing the Subbing

"Subbing The Subbing" is a video interview with a Thai fan subber.

During the interview, she shows her translation process of the anime “The Story of Perrine(*3)”. As the leading role in the anime is also a translator, the video mentions the translation by the Thai fan subber as a parallel with the character Perrine in the animation. The video questions multiple translational (im)possibilities and the propagation of a story.

 

 - Subbing The Subbing The Subbing

"Subbing The Subbing The Subbing" is the video interview with a Japanese subtitle translator who translates “Subbing The Subbing” from Thai into Japanese.

 

 

 

*1 Fan subbing is a version of a foreign film or TV program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original.

It is often mentioned that Fan subbing helped to spread Japanese Anime widely over other countries, but at the same time its illegality is argued.

 

*2 Cool Japan (クールジャパン Kūru Japan), along with "Gross National Cool" is a concept coined in 2002 as an expression of Japan's emergent status as a cultural superpower. Gaining broad exposure in the media and academia, the brand of "Cool Japan" has been adopted by the government of Japan as well as trade bodies seeking to exploit the commercial capital of the country's culture industry. It has been described as a form of soft power, "the ability to indirectly influence behaviour or interests through cultural or ideological means 

 

*3 The Story of Perrine is a Japanese anime series. It is based on the French novel En Famille by Hector Malot.

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