Which anime fansub groups should I use?

A quick search for an anime title in your favourite anime download site will generally return with bundles of results from various fansub groups. One major dilemma is to decide which group should I choose?

Does it even matter which fansub group to use in the first place? I'm a very picky person, so yes. It bugs me so much when I find typos, grammatical errors and even translation errors in fansubbed anime. So for me, it is important that I choose the "best" available subs.

Because we don't speak 'cow'

What factors should one consider when looking for the 'best' available subs? For example,

• the quality of the translations - how accurate are they, do they troll the audience, have the scripts been proofread;
• the quality of the anime file - did they tamper with the colours, what type of encoding is used, the size of the anime file;
• the typesetting and presentation - do the fonts look nice, are the text aligned, is the timing correct;
• karaoke - do they bother translating the OP and EDs, do they adjust the translations once the music is officially released with lyrics.

To decide which fansub group to use, I usually do a quick check in anime forums for the highly recommended groups. Another method is to physically compare screenshots of the same anime that are subbed by different fansub groups. The following site has been created to help anime fans do exactly that. 

However, at the end of the day, all we want to do is just sit back, relax and enjoy our dose of animation. Don't forget, we need to be thankful to all fansub groups. After all, they are offering their time and sweat to us for free. So make sure you drop a 'thank you' on their websites for their hard work!

Louis Vuitton Designs Hatsune Miku's Costume for Opera

For THE END opera that will be held on December 1 and 2 at the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media in Yamaguchi City, director Toshiki Okada and digital music artist Keiichirō Shibuya decided to collaborate with French fashion brand Louis Vuitton. Louis Vuitton artistic director Marc Jacobs is designing the outfits that Vocaloid idol character Hatsune Miku will wear onstage.

No humans will appear onstage during the opera, even to play the instruments. Instead, Vocaloids will take their place, taking over every aria and recitative. The "actors'" onstage images are designed by artist YKBX (also known as Masaki Yokobe), who is known for his video "amazarashi." Shohei Shigematsu, an architect and a partner of OMA New York, is designing the stage.

The clothes Hatsune Miku will wear are clothes based off of Mark Jacobs' spring/summer 2013 collection that were altered in order to fit the virtual singer's body type and unique style. As this is the very first time that outfits from Louis Vuitton will lack the label's signature monogram symbol, the outfits will instead be using a pattern similar to theLouis Vuitton's familiar diamond pattern. The purses have been altered from the standardLouis Vuitton bag into cubical and square shapes to accentuate to the geometric themes.

Tickets were available for pre-order for 3,000 yen (about US$37), but were sold out as of November 14.

Louis Vuitton also collaborated with modern artist Takashi Murakami on his Superflat Monogram and Superflat First Love anime.

Source: Natalie via 0takomu, ANN