One Piece simulcast leaked, then yanked
Well, this is depressing. It seems some people were either so impatient or hate Funimation so much, that they decided to screw things up for everyone. A yet-as-unknown individual broke into Funimation’s server and downloaded what was to be the first simulcast episode of One Piece, episode 403. They then proceeded to post it online at least 24 hours before the episode was supposed to air.
In reaction to this, all One Piece episode streaming has been curtailed on Funimation’s website. The videos page on Funimation’s website now carries the following text:
As anime fans know, FUNimation Entertainment planned under the authorization of Toei Animation, Fuji Television, Shueisha for the first ever online simulcast of the series ‘One Piece’ tonight at 9:00 pm CDT., just one hour after its premiere on Japan’s Fuji Television. Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours we have determined that the FUNimation servers were compromised, even though we employ strict security standards. An unknown individual accessed and posted episode 403 online and as a direct result of this illegal act, all U.S. and Canadian fans will be deprived of access to this great anime series for the immediate future. We will use the full extent of our efforts to locate and prosecute the perpetrators and will provide updates in this most serious matter.
According to Anime News Network, One Piece has been pulled from Hulu and Joost as well. I have confirmed this myself.
Hulu has completely removed their One Piece page, and all One Piece episodes. The Google cache of the page is shown below.
Here’s what it says in the “Availability Notes” on that page:
Each Saturday, Hulu will add — direct from Japan — subtitled episodes of One Piece, one episode per week on a seven-day delay from its original Japanese airdate. We will also post 2 library episodes each week.
Update 5/30/09: The content provider has requested that we pull episode 391 from Hulu at this time. At this time, we don’t know when current episodes will be made available.
joost still has their One Piece page up, however, the Google cache of One Piece’s series page shows that the series description has been changed from:
Monkey D. Luffy refuses to let anyone or anything stand in the way of his quest to become king of all pirates. With a course charted for the treacherous waters of the Grand Line, this is one captain who’ll never drop anchor until he’s claimed the greatest
to: “All new episodes are coming soon- be sure to check back or subscribe to this channel to be notified when they arrive.” In addition, as noted on the ANN article, below that it states, “Sorry, this channel is not available in your country.”
It is likely that Toei has pulled the license from all three services in direct response to the leaking of that intended simulcast episode. This is terrible news for US anime fans. Just as Toei was finally convinced to try a simulcast, this happens. This will probably hurt relations between all US licensors and Toei. This is especially upsetting to me given the rumors that talks were underway to revive and re-release Sailor Moon with an all new dub.
I hope the jerk(s) responsible are happy with what they’ve done to the rest of us. -.- I’m going to speak to them directly now. If this was done due to hate of “Failimation” as some people on IRC were calling them, this is not how you should express it!
If you don’t like Funimation’s dubs, watch subbed. If you don’t like their translations, give them feedback about it. And by that I mean useful constructive feedback. Feedback like, “you suck!” or “I don’t like how you translated ______,” without details and suggestions on how you’d like it done differently doesn’t really help them make a better product, and is likely to get you ignored.
Instead, explain what you think is wrong with the translation, explain what you think should be the translation instead, and why. The translators may have had good reasons why they chose to translate something the way that they did. Or they may not have been aware of some cultural nuance that you are aware of that might have moved their translation in the same direction as yours.
If this is because you were too impatient to wait a whole day for the actual broadcast… you have some serious problems. Learn a little patience, please. You’re not going to die if you have to wait an extra day, or heck, even an extra week, before watching the next episode. Your impatience has ruined it for everyone else!
I really hope that Funimation and the other licensees will be able to work this out with Toei and the other parties in Japan so that this won’t permanently close off this avenue to us with Toei anime. I’m not holding my breath, however.
One Piece‘s Newest Episode Leaked Before Japan’s Debut and Funimation Cancels One Piece Simulcast [Anime News Network]
Tags: Anime, funimation, one piece, toei
