Wandering thoughts in a Beautiful World.

*Sigh* it’s not like i hate ‘em on principle, because i do have respect for the companies producing anime. What really ticks me off is their lack of good quality, blatant lying and constant denials and finger-pointing for their own problems.

1. Quality: In a niche market for people looking for high quality merchandise and releases from Japan, the customers are a very discerning lot, where even a slight defect would result in a replacement or compensation. If Odex truely were turning out good quality products, would such customers turn away from them? Here we have two versions of the same animation, Initial D. (Note: i’ve put the Fansubbed version above, and the Odex version below.) Credits to Norad from PlayPark Forums for the images.

Fansubbed:

Odex:

You can clearly see the differences in Quality between the two.  If Fansubs can do it, why can’t a company be better?

 2. Blatant Lying : This is another thing which irks me about Odex.  In trying to justify that they are in the right, they decided to put up a FaQ that was either twisting the truth or were complete fabrications. If you want to read the real thing, it’s over at Odex’s Website.

Here’s some examples taken from the FaQ:

FaQ:Students face the risk of having their Internet connectivity disconnected or being expelled from school.

Truth: Unless MoE has suddenly transferred such powers to Odex, it is highly unlikely you will be expelled. the same goes for your internet connection being disconnected. Unless the ISP’s turn over powers like these, Odex cannot lay claim to your education/internet connection.

FaQ:If you respond to the notice and agree to its terms, and stop downloading, you will not be sued.

Truth: Whether the copyright holders decide to sue you or not, is up to them, not Odex, to decide. So either way, if you pay up, the copyright holder can still sue you for copyright infringement.

FaQ: In any translation work, there are slightly different ways to say the same thing and our goal is to provide the most accurate translations possible.

Truth: *See above reference in point 1* Quality? *chokes* 

FaQ:Odex Products have poor video quality and that fansubs are better. We believe we have the most advanced video transfer equipment available in Singapore.

Truth: Same as Above, and if they had such “advanced video transfer equipment available in Singapore”, why can’t they release their products in DvD format instead of VcDs? Granted, DvDs cost a fraction more then VcDs do, so why bother with VcDs when the public in surveys done are asking for DvDs?

That pretty much sums up the lying, now for the finger-pointing.

3. Finger Pointing: Odex claims that the innacurate translations are actually to “accomodate the racial and religious harmony in singapore” and that they are simply following the Board of Film Censor’s guidelines. However, in a one-eighty degree, the Board of film censors came back with a scathing reply to Odex’s claims, saying that the content must be accurate. In this case, it’s Odex vs a government institution. Guess who would be more credible? As far as i know, Odex hasn’t replied to the Board’s Rebuttal, so it can be safely said they are sticking their heads in the sand and hoping to wait out the rising flood of angry fans, to make a comeback. Yeah, like the community would forget Odex Director Stephen Sing’s infamous slur:

I say: “waste them all” This is an ultimate insult to the anime community at large, and alienated their customer base at the same time. Such a company deserves a undignified death.

So who’s with me?