Let’s face it. It really sucks when you want to be entertained, and all American television can offer is some lame repackaging of “90210” or yet another reality TV show starring a new generation of narcissists. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some good shows (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, etc.), but they’re few and far between.
Sometimes, nothing will hit the spot like an anime or a J-drama … for me, at least. There is one saving grace to being an otaku in exile – torrents and streaming video. Thanks to these miracles of the Internet age, you generally don’t have to wait very long before the raw, unsubbed shows you want to see are released online, and you only have to wait a day or so before the fansubbing groups release them with hard or soft subtitles.
Tite Kubo’s “Bleach“, which I look forward to watching every week, is actually released with subs within a few hours of the original air date.
Captain Komamura's Bankai
Now, legal issues aside, because I know the production and distribution companies all take issue with fansubbing (despite the fact that their own subtitles and dubbing SUCK beyond measure), torrents and streaming videos have been a real blessing for me and many others. I’ve been able to experience an ever-evolving menagerie of Japanese culture without ever having to leave the comfort of home.
In addition to anime, I’ve been able to plug in to new music (J-Pop, J-Rock, etc.), documentaries, and new television dramas (J-dramas), like “Innocent Love,” all thanks to torrents and streaming video.
Maki Horikita in Innocent Love
The unfortunate thing about being in America is that our culture tends to be pretty isolationist when it comes to entertainment. We tend to think that our movies, music, and television shows are the best in the world. … Actually, I take that back. To think that would require some knowledge of these forms of entertainment from other cultures. Americans are just plain ignorant of them.
As a result, there really is no way to legally experience them without buying every single CD and DVD out there. And frankly, I’m not rich enough to spend that kind of money.
No … unless and until the American media begins integrating anime, J-Pop, and J-dramas into its everyday line-up of television and radio, torrents and streaming media (legal or not) will be the only ways we otakus can feel like we’re plugged into the culture we adore so much.