Anti-EP: The Hypocrisy and Hidden Agendas
by Sam "enjoying retirement" Spencer IV

Originally Posted: 24 September 2000

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I came across it as I did my weekly sweep of DBZ sites (for some reason I was compelled to go to Gotenks Archives) and I saw the banner. I thought that someone truly going after full episodes was a long time coming. Then I read their petition. . .

(WARNING: Sean Kendle style breakapart of something posted on the Internet below! Proceed at your own risk!)

Full Episodes of Dragon Ball Z on the web have been a plague on the Dragon Ball Z web community for over a year now. This petition has been made to shut down as many full episode sites as possible or at least have the full episodes removed without having to shut down entire sites. Here are the reasons why that Full Episodes of Dragon Ball Z on the web should be gone....

>>I concur so far.

1. Full Episodes are illegal and violate many copyright laws.

>>Should Mp3's of Ever Animé CD's (an illegal production) exist on the net? They violate copyright laws and have relevance to DBZ. Do you also want to get rid of fansubs? Shouldn't you get rid of those illegal things, too? Oh, wait. You're just mad that the EP sites hurt your fansub sales!

2. Many people think Full Episodes are a way for fans of the series to view the original and uncensored episodes without paying for them. However, this is wrong.

>>Um, they DO get to watch the original series uncensored! Again, it isn't as wrong as Mp3's, yet you seem to be supported by the BIGGEST DBZ MP3 SITE PERIOD (http://vegex.sreanime.net).

This is resorting to illegal activities over something the people who encoded the episodes have no right to in the first place.

>>Totally agree here. But then you get into Mp3's again, if you use the words "illegal" and "rights".

3. Full Episodes hurt FUNimation's video and DVD sales. Although many people don't like the watch the butchering of Dragon Ball Z done by the US Dub, that gives people no reason to illegally download full episodes. In time, FUNimation will release Uncut/Bilingual Dad's.

>>>What's wrong with that? Hurting FUNi's sales is OK! ^_~ But seriously, folks. DBZ WILL be out on DVD. It WILL take a long time to get all of it subbed, and it may NEVER hit the first 67 episodes. But it WILL be on DVD. And FUNi gets better all the time.

"Oh, but I don't own a DVD player!!"

DVD has been CHOSEN as the next video format. Deal with it

4. Full Episodes are usually one of the main causes why sites get shut down due to bandwidth and space problems.

>>Don't you want these sites shut down in the first place? I have never heard of a non-EP site being shut down being shut down because of an EP site's bandwidth issues.

5. Full Episodes are not made with any true heart or love to the series. Many Full Episode encoders claim that this is their reason. Full Episodes are made for the intention of illegally distributing a product that the Full Episode encoders do not own, no matter what other reasons they may claim.

>>This is vague. I do know webmasters who have put up the EP's ONLY because they want to show people REAL DBZ. It's not their "intention" to do something illegal just for the hell of it. Just because someone is doing something illegal for a cause doesn't mean they don't love the cause. Lets see. . .blacks illegally held white seats on buses to promote desegregation. . .are you saying Rosa Parks didn't love the idea of equality just because she did something illegal? Now I will admit that many of these webmasters are out for a buck. They should fry. But don't dis the true Otaku.

6. Full Episodes ruin the value of DBZ on the web. Sites used to be places that people would enjoy looking at, but now by resorting to illegal actions by downloading full episodes, Dragon Ball Z's web reputation is only known now for illegally downloading full episodes.

>>The reputation isn't TOTAL. . .but this is a good point. Sam agrees.

To all of the sites that have full episodes: please take them down immediately. You are ruining the value of Dragon Ball Z on the web,

>>Ye

you are breaking many copyright infringements,

>>Um. . .correct English, please. No hablo espanol. But I agree what he tries to say

you are looking for some time in jail, and most importantly... you are destroying Akira Toriyama's work over a show that you "claim" to love.

>>Ooooh. Destroying? No. They are exposing others to it. It's sure much better than what FUNi does to DB. Tell them to stop dubbing. Oh, wait. You just want to get rid of EP sites because they get more hits than you!

There is no love in illegally distributing Akira Toriyama's work.

>>Just like there's no love in staying in your seat on the bus when a white man is trying to keep the brother-man down.

So if you are a fan of Dragon Ball Z and hate to see all of the top50 sites with nothing but full episodes, if you hate to see Akira Toriyama's work defaced, if you hate to see your favorite show being defaced, if you truly love the series and want to experience it in it's full glory whether it's in Japanese, Amercian,

>>No glory in US DBZ whatsoever. Well, it's debatable, but I'd rather watch a 12.2 MB Real Player file than the dub.

or any other language... Then please make a decision whether you want to sign the petition or not.

>>Hmmmm. Hard choice. Oh, yeah. NO!


(Please note that I do not accuse the leaders of the petition of Fansub support or hit-envy. I just know that these are the reasons of many of the petition's signers.)

Now, that petition has messed up morals. It's supported by (and supports) sites that are just as illegal as the EP sites themselves (VegEX and Mp3's). It seems hypocritical that they should be pro-MP3 and Anti-EP for these moral/legality reasons, since it all boils down to the same thing: Piracy. Now, I am Anti-EP but Pro-MP3. Why? I don't know. I don't state a bad reason, to me it's just like a choice between Coke or Pepsi (Coke's so much better). I also think you should support FUNi (Buy DVD's, but not the VHS. And, please, try to import all your apparel.). That will lead to more hits, and is the path of least resiance (unlike going after sites that get more hits than you and trying to shut them down).

Now where do I base the whole Anti-EP = more hits for "sites with heart" as VegettoEX puts it? I might as well put the whole quote in here:

"You may have noticed some of us big sites joining up with this Top 50 thingie. Why have we? We all figured it was time to show all the bootleggers with the full episodes that in the full scheme of things, they're nothing. It's the sites with heart and true love for the series that people truly enjoy"

Well, that's great. Now here is reality: FULL EP SITES ARE GETTING MANY MORE HITS THAN YOU, AND YOU AREN'T GAINING GROUND! And I assure you that mike knows this. So does the whole Namek Solar System of sites (You know, Namek's the sun and the SRE anime sites revolve around it). It doesn't take Kenneth Starr to tell that something is being covered up.

I do not hate. VegettoEX, Meri, MrE, or Castor. But I don't like seeing people being won over by morals that are askew [unless it's a View Askew Production (www.viewaskew.com)]. I don't like crusades that aren't pure at heart, and that have hidden agendas. Note that none of the major sites have truly admitted to this, but pretty much every site on the DB Top 50 below 30 does

(GENERALTSO's REQ'D AD: Except for GeneralTso. He has an awesome site, accessible http://tsonet.cjb.net . He is Anti-anti-EP, though he does have the banner on his page.).

So please, folks, if you believe in all of the morals in the Anti-EP petition, great. Now go crusade against fansubs and Mp3's.

Contact: ssj4sam@aol.com