delaying with style

I've been wondering about karekano ever since Right Stuf announced that they had the licenses (and fansubs became almost impossible to find.) They've had the license for over two years now, and they still haven't released even one volume. I managed to finish watching the series, but I can't help feeling a bit impatient.

I was really happy when i found the producer's journal. Not just because karekano is a great series that i've been waiting to see released, or because I've always wanted to read about the dubbing process. . . Actually, I just like it because it makes me feel that work is being done. After all this time, I think I'm entitled to a bit of skepticism. I like to see frequent updates that say 'Progress is being made. We will release this soon. Really."

Extend this a bit. . . I like this because it reminds me of an open source development style. With open source, the program's maintainer is a component of a community effort. People often work 'in a fishbowl,' with a publicly available source tree, public bug database, and frequent small releases. I don't just think of this journal as a bit of entertainment. It draws on the same ideas as free software. It's about keeping the fans informed. We have something to contribute. We're otaku. We share in his little joys, every small triumph. We commiserate at his setbacks.

Ultimately, it's the fans who decide whether a series succeeds or fails. Right stuf is in business to make money, no matter what friendly face it puts on its activities. From that standpoint, this was a smart business decision, quite apart from the general principle of 'keep the buyers informed.' It increases the series' exposure and makes people more interested. Everyone should do something analogous.

The only suggestion I really have is that the entire journal should be available on the site, rather than only the last few entries. It bothers me that when I check back, what I've read earlier is gone and can't be referred to. Apart from that, It's excellent, informative, and in a very relaxing style.

I think this is my favorite bit thus far. . .

Approaching the project, I felt that if I was almost as good as the Japanese I would be happy as that was all that I could reasonably expect (particularly with this show). Today .... for the first time ... I think I may have actually gotten to the point where at least ONE scene in KKnJ is indeed ... as good ... as the Japanese. It's all I can hope for.

. . .I can dream, can't I?

. . .And we can all dream with you, ne?

—chris