And speaking of episodes being down...

Tale of Saiunkoku DVD Volume 1 will be released on August 4, 2006 in Japan. Volume 1 will contain Episodes 1 to 3. If you purchase the Limited Edition DVD, you'll also receive a CD, as well as exclusive seiyuu interviews.

As per We Suck policy, Episodes 1 to 3 will be removed from our tracker when the DVD comes out. So if you love the series, please do buy the DVDs (they are coded Region 2, so be sure that your DVD player can play Region 2 DVDs). Since the R2 DVDs do not come with English subtitles out of the box (as is the case with most Japanese R2 DVDs), we will produce English subtitle scripts in DVDSubber format, so that you may enjoy the anime at its highest quality while still able to understand the words.

For those that are unfamiliar with DVDSubber:
DVDSubber is a Windows-based DVD player software that overlays subtitles on DVDs that don't originally have them. This is the standard software used by We Suck to produce English-language scripts for use with DVDs. To run DVDSubber, ensure that your operating system is Windows XP or better.

And thus ends my marketing speak. I can never get it down to an art like lavalyn does...;_;

P.S. Since Torgen didn't mention it... on July 23, 2003, We Suck Fansubs produced its first-ever encode, of Popotan Episode 1 (now licensed by Geneon). So...happy belated birthday to us, I guess? XD (Note that I was not a group member back then, just a groupie...)

In response to a few unexpected comments over the policy statement, we have made some rather significant changes to the document.

The changes here revolve around the release of script files after a license announcement. Prior to this change, we summarily ceased distributing new script files after such an announcement. Now, we evaluate the cost differential between purchasing the remaining Japanese DVDs versus obtaining the (usually cheaper) North American licensed DVDs. While this does not in any way guarantee that we will release script files after licensing, it does provide viewers that have purchased a significant number of Region 2 discs to continue purchasing them, with a relative assurance that we will continue to supply scripts. Please review the Policy Statement carefully regarding this issue.

Remember that we are still bound by the licensor's cease and desist notices regardless of other factors.

Comments over this change are welcome from all sectors in the anime community.

I'm bowing to pressure to explain what I meant when I said these episodes are encoded with "Honour System" DRM.

It just means there isn't any. But play nice, and stop distributing when we ask you to. This stop request generally occurs when the appropriate series is announced for distribution in an English language form, or when the DVD containing said episodes are released anywhere. You can find our official policy which may give you further insight as to why we would want to restrict distribution afterward. But we know we can't, because digital information wants to be free.

It's a joke, laugh.

We have prepared a revised and more detailed Policy Statement prepared so you can know what to expect. While further revisions are possible, there will be no changes that change the fundamental character of this group, that of releasing scripts when DVDs become available. We reiterate our goal to be the most ethical of all the fansubbers in the world.

Have a nice day.

Since we plan to set up a PayPal account for donations, I figured we should post our policies now.

1. We Suck Fansubs translates and distributes subtitled television animation series for which no North American interest holds the North American distribution rights. We do not and will not, now or at any time, under our own name or any other, translate for the purposes of distribution television series for which a North American interest holds the North American distribution rights.


2. We Suck Fansubs' official means of distribution is via our BitTorrent page, located at http://a.scarywater.net/suck. Any file created by We Suck Fansubs may be distributed freely as long as that file is available for download from that page. Once a file is removed from that page (which will be announced on this page), we expressly forbid distribution of that file. Furthermore, we expressly forbid any unauthorized commercial use of our translations, or of any file which was at any time available on that page.


3. We Suck Fansubs will not extract audio or video data from any commercially available medium for the purposes of distribution. This includes, but is not limited to, DVD rips. We will not knowingly use audio or video data thus extracted for the purposes of distribution, and if we find that a file we released contains such data, we will cease distribution of that file immediately.


4. We Suck Fansubs will purchase at least one copy of the Region 2 DVD containing any episode of animation for which we produced a translation, provided that the animation is not licensed for North American distribution by a North American interest at the time the DVD is released. Upon receipt of this DVD, we will release our timed scripts from the episodes that DVD contains in the format of DVDSubber, a freeware program which allows subtitles to be dynamically added to a DVD as it plays. This release will also include english translations of the episode summaries from the official website of the television program, for the episodes whose translation that file contains. When this file is released, we will make the TV ripped version of that episode unavailable from our BitTorrent page. As the translations are our work, we intend for them to remain available even after their associated television series become licensed. This is to ensure that a person who purchased the Region 2 DVD with the intent of using our translations to watch it, still has those translations available to them when that DVD arrives, even if the show becomes licensed by the time that DVD arrives. We may make additional distribution arrangements should the policy of a site we are using to host our scripts disallow their distribution after the licensing of our show; however, such arrangements have no bearing on the distribution of the video files, which must cease immediately upon announcement of licensing.

Hopefully that covers all the bases. Basically, once we have PayPal up, don't donate unless you agree with how we're going to do things. On the other hand, if you would buy the R2 for a show we're subbing, but are worried about it not having subtitles, drop a few dollars into our account to support our purchase of the DVD so we can give you the subtitles you want.
Oh, and if you're selling VCDs of our stuff on eBay, I hate you.