July 28, 2010
Go for the six batches on the underside!
They may get an A for saving the world, but their Zettai Ryouiki only ranks a C.
So, I’m back from my trip to a family reunion in the Portland, OR area, where I learned at least one important fact: northwestern Oregon loves Papyrus. And as promised before, the last two batches are now available, thanks to Ichigo69 and beeyacht. The first contains only the final arc of the series, featuring the trimphant return of Michiru and Kaoru, their and Pretty Cure’s series of battles with previously defeated minion, and the four’s final confrontations with Gohyaan and Akudaikaan. And the second batch is of course the entire series, aside from the movie. From the third link, you can get a .rar archive of the scripts for all 49 episodes and the movie. I recommend giving them a read-through, as I included extra information about translation and editing decisions that wasn’t displayed in the actual releases. Additional lulz can also be had, particularly in the final episode’s script.
All in all, it’s been a fun adventure 1-manning the second half of this series and re-releasing the first. I knew from working on Sugar Sugar Rune that subbing Magical Girl anime that aired several years ago wouldn’t bring me fame and acclaim across the fansubbing world. But I figure that even if only ~1300 people DL these releases, it’s still completely worth it to be a hero to those 1300 people and Pretty Cure fandom in general. So hopefully I can continue delivering quality subs for this franchise in the future. But first, I’m going to focus on my re-releasing operation and continue watching through Yes! Pretty Cure 5 before I do any more Pretty Cure subbing work.
I may post some entries in this blog about general anime and fansubbing issues, and I’ll of course be checking back for more comments. Also, if you enjoyed my releases beyond merely “Yes it’s finally subbed!”, feel free to comment on AniDB and MAL. Even though there’s no competing releases to compare with, I still like seeing reviews on subbing quality.
July 22, 2010
49 – Final Episode: All the lights in the sky are Splash Stars
On January 28th, 2007, episode 49 of Pretty Cure Splash Star aired on Japanese TV. And now, a week short of 3 and a half years later, I’m proud to present it in English and thus complete the subbing of this series. It’s the final phase of the final battle between Pretty Cure / Michiru&Kaoru and Gohyaan, where they learn the true intentions of their enemy. Can they survive and triumph over impossible odds? Well, given the type of show this is, they probably can. But what of the Kiryuus, who were told that if the power of destruction vanished, they’d vanish with it? You know, this all reminds me of a certain Gainax anime that started airing two months after Splash Star ended…
At any rate, break out the tissue boxes for an ending that surpasses the ends of both prior seasons, imo. Whenever my motivation to sub this show faltered, I could always watch a few scenes from 49 to renew my determination. The only thing I regret on the subbing front is not doing subs for the extended ED 1 that plays as an insert song. But the only parts you really hear are the lyrics from the TV version, and insert karaoke is considered distracting in many circles.
I will be away from my home and Internet connection for the next 5 days, so you might not see a 41-49 batch until Tuesday. Then again, you might see one before that, so keep an eye on the comments and the usual torrent sites. Also, there will hopefully be a complete 01-49 batch on bakabt. More thoughts in a later post.
July 21, 2010
48 – This planet will be destroyed… in FIVE MINUTES!
He's already sent them flying halfway across the city.
So, here we are at the penultimate episode, wherein Pretty Cure, Kaoru, and Michiru battle the true final foe of the series, the man behind the man, the one pulling all the strings from behind the curtains. Yes (spoilers!) it’s Gohyaan, the polite yet threatening second-in-command, and he is pissed off enough to get serious enough to destroy the whole world and Pretty Cure & friends with it. You may think I’m amazingly fast to get this episode out so soon. You may be right, but episodes like 48 are a translator’s and timer’s dream. Thanks to the long stretches of fighting with no actual dialogue, this is the shortest script in the series by far, clocking in at a mere 6 lines per minute where most have 15 lines per minute or more.
And these fights are definitely worth the wait, as they’re awesome enough to prove why Pretty Cure is truly Dragon Ball Z for girls. It’s the best-animated, highest-action episode of the series, although astute viewers will note sequences taken straight from the OP animation. But that’s not to say that 48 doesn’t deliver on the drama/emotional front, because it definitely does. Of course, 49 (which is already translated) goes even better on the latter. Barring unforeseen delays, I should have 49 released sometime during 7-21-10 (GMT-5).
Plans for the future…
A Palantir is a dangerous artifact, you know.
Some obvious exclusions are obvious. The 2004 original series and Max Heart have been subbed in mostly-DVD-quality by Arienai and related groups. If you’re interested in softsubs for the first series and feel like transcribing some scripts, get in touch with this guy. HeartCatch Pretty Cure has like five groups subbing it on a weekly basis, so there’s certainly no need for me to do anything with it.
If I did YPC5 25-49, I’d be trying to maintain consistency with the Arienai/Eggplant releases, and using the l33t-raws 396p .avi raws. If I had better raws, like DVD-quality, I’d consider doing re-releases of the first 24 eps, but that’s not an option at this point.
If I did YPC5 GoGo or FPC, I’d probably be working with CureCom (if they’ll have me lol), and not under the [PCSS] banner. But really, the file tags and personal glory don’t matter to me as much as giving this franchise the great subbing it deserves.
(Note: pic is not related to any subbing decisions)
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EDIT: Announcement coming on Sunday 8-15 or Monday 8-16.
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July 20, 2010
47 – You DARE bring LIGHT to my LAIR?! YOU MUST DIE!
Beam tug-of-war: It never gets old.
At any rate, the battle with Akudaikaan continues, though not without some rather surprising developments. I have to confess, I did not see the plot twist in episode 47 coming when I originally watched the raws a year ago. After all, I don’t watch Magical Girl anime looking for unpredictable and original plots. I watch them to see girls kicking butt in the battle of good and evil, along with the power of friendship, the power of love, tragic sacrifices, “never give up” attitudes, and of course the school/romance side stories. Actually, I guess Max Heart did something similar, though that was more of an “Oh by the way I’m the Dark King now lol” thing.
46 – The Last Hurrah
You all sound like chapters from a self-help book!
July 19, 2010
Batch #2: Twin Destinies
Well, this was released a couple of days ago, but I realized I hadn’t made an actual post about it. So here it is, batch torrent #2/5, spanning episodes 14-23. These episodes chronicle the rocky beginning and tragic end of Pretty Cure’s friendship with Michiru and Kaoru Kiryuu, as well as their battles with earth-elemental minion Dorodoron.
July 17, 2010
22 & 23 – U Gonna Get Befriended
Michiru, Kaoru... this might hurt a little bit...
And with these two episodes, several things come to an end. I was hoping for a few more episodes with Michiru and Kaoru as enemies, since they were much more interesting and competent than Karehaan, Moerumba, and Dorodoron. But alas, it was not meant to be. Having seen the second half of the show takes a little bit away from the drama of these episodes. But the first time seeing them was another story. Also, episodes 22 and 23 complete the re-releases of the MFTGX TV-rips. So from now on, it’ll be all-new material around here as I tackle the translation and release of the final four episodes.
22 Torrent [CRC=3BF745F8] || 22 DDL
23 Torrent [CRC=4C8EBBC6] || 23 DDL
A batch torrent for 14-23 will follow this post, once seeding pools for 22 and 23 have been established.
July 13, 2010
45 – Minions die if they are killed…
Um, wrong transformation there, Saki.
This triangular-numbered episode of Splash Star is the obligatory late-season Christmas/romance episode, as we saw with Nagisa and Fujimura in both of the previous seasons. Remember, little sister’s friends are a player’s dream. But all is not fun, games, and cakes. The remaining Dark Fall minions, Kintolesky and Ms. Shitataare take the field against Pretty Cure, desperate to find the princess and punish Michiru and Kaoru for their treachery. Who will survive?
July 8, 2010
21 – All the lights in the sky are Uzainaa
Meteo takes forever to cast; Nuke is more efficient for half the cost.
Also, note how Kenta’s da man, being the only guy invited to the stargazing party other than Mai’s father and brother. And thanks to Junko Takeuchi voicing Kenta as well, I can’t listen to Rin Natsuki in Yes Pretty Cure 5 without thinking she’s a trap. Or without thinking she should use Rasengan instead of Pretty Cure Rouge Fire.
Pretty Cure Splash Subs 