...Anime are Japanese-language cartoons, it is a very large cultural export of the nation, and is enjoyed by many Chinese-Canadians. Unlike North American ones, they are very professionally created within studios and enjoy very high viewership and fanbase. A common problem for English-speaking people is that Anime is in Japanese, dedicated groups translate Anime into the English language for all to enjoy. The question of ethics arises from the fact that while Anime Series do not have copyright protection outside of Japan, the more popular ones are 'licensed' to companies in North America such as Viz Media and Bandai for dubbing (i.e. voice overs), thereby gaining a 'license' to distribute the Japanese-copyrighted work.
The rationale for fan-subbing groups are that their work is purely voluntary (for free) and most of them (except for a few more audacious ones) drop projects once they are licensed for fear of possible legal implications (no one has yet bothered to send a cease-or-desist e-mail) and their desire is true to support the original authors and studios who created them in Japan (they are willing to post notifications to purge all traces of their hard work on their websites and IRC channels). Fansubs are however preferred, as it is universally accepted that they contain more accurate translations (passing through multiple rounds of quality checks) and do not adulter the original content, so to fit the English-translation into the animation. What they do is not too different than recording television shows onto V.C.R. tapes and then redistributing translations of them to another people of another country - free of charge, it is in my opinion very different than the downloading of movies, as Anime is never (or exceedingly rarely) released into D.V.D. format for sale. According to Wikipedia (which is contrary to popular belief very very reliable), the North American companies handling the translations are actually in support of these groups, and have never been in conflict with them. Would their actions, and our acceptance of them be considered sinful?
A. I see where you see the gray area in this. But first, I think that you could get a more black and white answer about downloading in a previous post that deals with downloading. Click HERE. This post deals with licensed music or movies that are available for purchase yet people are essentially stealing from the companies that own the rights.
Basically, it's like any other digital copy out there. If a company owns the rights to the specific Anime series and also has the English subtitled version for it...and you go out and download an unofficial fansub of that series, than you are technically stealing from the company. Those fansubbers have not received permission from the Japanese creators to translate and distribute those shows/movies.
On the other hand, if no such license exists, than there technically is nothing wrong with downloading the fan sub. This then becomes a matter of the heart and your personal conviction. The actual law says that it's okay, but the spirit of the law (Biblically, your conscience, your conviction), may say otherwise. This decision is for you to make with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In any case, if you like the series and appreciate the art of Anime or Manga, than you should support the creators by purchasing their products.
This answer was answered in consultation with Liane T., who is an Agape counselor. In my correspondence with her, she brings forth this noteworthy challenge: "Whether or not that it's sinful [downloading], I'll leave it up to you. I think God would find some of the content more offensive than the actual act of acquiring it."
[answered by Pastor KJT, with the help of LT who enjoys Japanese culture very much]
