Dorama Fansubbing
On this page: Over Time | Majo no Joken | Love Generation | Sleeping Forest | Style guide | Technical notes
Terms and conditions
The main reason I started to add English subtitles was to have some fun with my computer and at learning Japanese.
So, if you didn't watch a show because it didn't have the subtitles, and if you want to see the result of my work, we can trade. I compiled a list of shows that I already have on tape. If you have a show that is not on the list, you can drop me a line. I am only interested in dorama with English subtitles (sorry, no anime, Chinese or unsubbed shows :).All shows have no commercials, and each episode is usually 45 minutes long, taped in NTSC SP mode (master copy). The subtitled copy (golden copy) was created by taping the output of the non-linear video editing software from my PC on another set of tapes, again in NTSC SP mode.
These shows are not for rent or sale. They cannot be shown in public or broadcast.
If you don't have any show to trade, I can also make copies of my tapes, provided you can cover the tape and shipping costs. Visit my terms page for details on the recording formats and costs.
Let me know if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, since I'd prefer to exchange the tapes in person rather than shipping them. I live in Sunnyvale and work in Menlo Park.
The following are the fansubbed dramas I did so far.Project 1: Fuji-TV's Over Time
Completed: July 22, 1999Over Time is 12 episodes, episodes 1 to 11 are 45 minutes long. The last episode is 56 minutes (I couldn't tape the first segment, approx. 10 minutes. It has a reprise from episode 11 cliffhanger, a scene which is not essential, and the opening credits. You'll not notice it is missing. I guarantee it :-).
It was taped from the International Channel on 4 T160 tapes. The subtitled copy is on 4 more T160 tapes.
The first 5 episodes have some scenes without subtitles (maybe 50% of the dialogue is subtitled), but nevertheless the story can be easily followed. In episodes 6 through 12, the number of sentences with subtitles increases substantially, giving at times a 99% coverage.All the dialogue was derived from the synopsis pages found on the web, so if you have been following the show reading the synopsis, you'll know which scenes will have subtitles and which will not.
At this moment I have recognized some spelling/typing errors (maybe 20 errors in all 12 episodes) which I may fix in the future.
Also, the individuals who have seen it (who I thank for their patience), have reported some unusual choice of words.The translation was done from Chinese (no, not by me :-).
Project 2 : TBS' Majo no Joken
Completed: November 16, 1999Majo is 11 episodes, episodes 1 is 61 minutes long, while episodes 2 to 11 are 46 minutes.
The master copy is a TBS boxset I bought. This means that it doesn't have any of the broadcast problems that occurred during KTSF's broadcast.
The video quality is very good. The sound is more dynamic than a TV broadcast. The transitions between cuts are very smooth. No scenes have been edited (sometimes it happens with KTSF).The main differences with Over Time are:
99% of the dialogue is subtitled.
the subtitles are very detailed, even more than the subs coming from JN Productions or Nippon Golden Network. You get subtitles for book titles, writing on boards or envelops, room labels, names of minor characters, the theme song etc.
The translation is quite accurate. It was translated from Japanese into English with the help of Chinese subtitles (again, not by me :-)
No synchronization problems among the video track, sound track and subtitles. Each subtitle is perfectly timed.
Again there are some spelling/typos problems, which are mostly unnoticeable due to the amount of subs. Most episodes were reviewed by a native English speaker, so the wording is more natural than in Over Time.Here's what a viewer said after wathching the show:
The translation and subtitling were superb. We didn't notice any translation problems (though since our Japanese is advanced beginner level, that doesn't mean much). We only noticed one spelling mistake ("omelet"), and no timing errors. The translation was so complete and the subtitling was so well done that I thought this was easily a professional-level job. Also, it was very nice to see a show with such good video quality. Great work!Project 3 : FUJI's Love Generation
Completed February 28, 2000LoveGen is 11 episodes: episodes 1 and 10 are 61 minutes long, episodes episodes 2 to 9 are 46 minutes, and episode 11 is 74 minutes long!
Again, the source has been an official FUJI TV boxset I bought, so the quality is very high.
The dialogue for following episodes is available:
Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (final).
Project 4 : FUJI's Sleeping Forest
Completed June 30, 2000Sleeping forest is 12 episodes. Episodes 2 to 11 are 47 minutes each. Episode 1 is 60 minutes, and episode 12 is 72 minutes.Again, the source has been an official FUJI TV boxset I bought, so the quality is very high.
This is by far the best drama I have subtitled, and is one of the best dramas I've ever seen!
The dialogue for following episodes is available:
Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (final).
Project 5 : FUJI's Ring
Technical notes
The subtitling was done using Pinnacle's DC10plus video board and Digital Studio with TitleDeko non-linear editing software.Subtitles are: 36pt Arial font, yellow foreground, 7pt black outline, except for the opening/closing credits, which use a smaller font.
My PC: Pentium 500Mhz, 64Mbyte RAM, 13Gbyte IDE hard disk.
My VCRs: SHARP VC-S100U Super-VHS and a Sony SLV-620HF Hi-Fi
Each episode took approximately 14 hours to subtitle (plus the translation time which I'm told was approximately 4 hours per episode)!
If you are interested in fansubs, check the Anime Fan and Fansubber Resource Network.
Go to : KTSF Japanese TV schedule | My Dorama Collection | Previous KTSF showsThis page maintained by : Giampiero Caprino (gcaprino@katamail.com)
Established : November 16, 1999