Lance Heiskell of FUNimation is so busy not fitting in, that he's resorted to trying to throw some pint-sized weight around by politely threatening fansubbers.

If anyone viewed our previous topic [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], then you already know who Lance Heiskell is. You also know that he claims d-rights from Japan has given him power of attorney to go around and request removal of anime by sending notices to fansub groups that sub such anime as:

Monochrome Factor
Nabari no Ou
Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn
Bamboo Blade
El Cazador de la Bruja

Well, the wonderful fansub group, that does a tremendous job on every product they touch, has been sent a cute little letter from this Lance Heiskell. Due to that, Yuurisan-subs will no longer be posting any more subs of Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! or Nabari no Ou.

While another fansub group may pick up Kateikyoushi, it is a serious doubt they, or any industry money-monger, can put out the quality Yuurisan has. So, take this as a fair warning that you may not be seeing any updates of this series here, or anywhere, for some time, if at all.

[UPDATED - Aug. 19, 2008]
The following is the precise notice sent to Yuurisan-subs, and apparently released to the whole of the anime world yesterday (Aug. 18, 2008), complete with typos. Included with this statement to Yuurisan-subs was also an affidavit from Lance Heiskell.

"We can confirm that FUNimation Entertainment has obtained has obtained an agreement authorizing FUNimation to act on behalf of d-rights and Enoki Films, Ltd. to prevent infringement on specific titles.

The authorization agreement for d-rights is for 5 series in total:

Monochrome Factor
Nabari no Ou
Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn!
Bamboo Blade
El Cazador de la Bruja

We also have an authorization agreement for Enoki Films Ltd for Slayers Revolution.

Though these series have not been licensed to a local distributor in North America, it is important to note that the rights owned by Japanese producers are still applicable, and enforceable, worldwide.

Industry watchers and anime fans have long known our stance on the unauthorized distribution of anime, especially prior to localization. The practices of illegal downloads and 'fansubbing' are very harmful to our Japanese partners and as part of the longstanding relationship between FUNimation and d-rights and Enoki Films, we have been asked to monitor and take action against unauthorized distribution of these titles. Because we believe that this will benefit the industry, we have agreed to do so."

That is such wonderful news. The previous sentence reeks of sarcasm...Just the fact that Funimation is based in Texas makes me want to kick an old person. Way to make us Texans look bad, Lance.

Lol. I don't think kicking an old person would do any good.

I just saw an ad for Karin pop up on our forum page, and it looked cute. I've heard it was good and funny, but never got around to watching it. Then... I saw on the far right of the banner ad.. Funimation. I was very disappointed. I wonder if people boycotted Funimation and just bought dvd's from other companies, if it would do anything positive.

I think it's just me finding it hard to remain neutral when I love watching good subbed anime, and yet understanding.. sort of.. the industries plight in this whole ordeal. I just wish things in life weren't all about money for the middle man.

This is really depressing news. Money will always matter in the american anime world. *sigh*

*TsuBasa* wrote:This is really depressing news. Money will always matter in the american anime world. *sigh*

Shouldn't it be "in America"? the land of the dollar sign and the home of capitalism.

What? Dropping Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn?! This is outrageous. A scandal!

I better see Hibari still or else. D:

I had my friend download the future arc of Kateikyoushi.. It has [SHS-FoSu] in the avi file. Although some has [Yuurisan-Subs] on them, some of them also have the one I mentioned earlier. Of course, SHS-FoSu is good, but nothing can beat Yuurisan, in my opinion.

Oh well.. better than nothing, right?

Shinsen-subs is a pretty good group, too, but since GetFresh of Shinsen was at the panel discussion, I'm sure they too, will receive a notice from Lance regarding Kateikyoushi.

I mean, honestly, (there's a pun coming on), there are ways around this. Any group can continue to sub the anime and put a totally different name on it. The name on the sub doesn't have a website anywhere to be found, and the groups can alternate who uploads it to an offshore server. The only issue with that is, the group that actually did the subbing won't get the recognition for subbing it from the fans... or the industry.

TsuBasa has already mentioned how a group did that with Death Note after receiving a cease and desist order, so I don't see it being the last time a fansub group thwarts the industry.

What do you mean your friend downloaded the future arc? I know Yuurisan was subbing the eps within the day they were released in Japan. Did Shinsen and Formula somehow get a hold of the eps that haven't hit the air yet in Japan? That would be cool. I downloaded the first 65 eps in a batch file and they were all done by Shinsen and Formula, but haven't seen any eps later than 95, which we have posted and subbed by Yuurisan.