In most cases, one person alone can't change much. That is why people gather others and work together. When people come together and work towards one goal, what was impossible for one person suddenly becomes possible. Fortunately, the desire to oppose and combat piracy has become a growing desire among many anime fans in recent months.
I mentioned the Sustain the Industry movement on YouTube in a previous post. Since my post, the movement on YouTube has grown in size, as more and more people band together to "sustain the industry." Robert's Anime Corner Store, an online retailer of anime and related products, has issued a challenge to fans, saying that whoever buys the most from their store and makes a Sustain the Industry video about it will be given a $25 gift certificate. I also previously mentioned that I am working with Sustain the Industry to launch the KeepAnimeAlive website later this month.
As I said, it takes teamwork to really accomplish something, and fans worldwide are realizing that. Recently, some German anime fans have started the Anime Copyright Alliance:
Fans in Germany have established an initiative called the Anime Copyright Allianz (Anime Copyright Alliance, ACA) whose stated goals are to promote respect for the copyrights of anime titles in Germany and to educate fans on relevant copyright law. The alliance's members include fan-run websites and clubs as well as the Viz Media Europe-owned Anime-Virtual/Kaze labels and the Japanese company Animax, which runs anime television channels in Germany and other European countries. Two fansub websites are also on the list of ACA members.
The group's official website focuses primarily on the removal of anime titles that have been licensed for release in Germany, and encourages users to report licensed series that have been uploaded for illicit download. However, the ACA says it will not pursue legal action against uploaders, but only report illegal uploads to the sites that host them, such as YouTube and RapidShare.
The German news site Gulli reported today that one of the group's members, AnimeFansubs.org, has been subject to denial-of-service attacks, and as of this writing only a cached copy of the website could be accessed. According to Gulli, other members' sites have not been heavily targeted.
Original article at Anime News NetworkFans are stepping up their game, working together to accomplish things that one fan could not alone. While they currently focus only on series that have been licensed in Germany, it is still a big step. They are one of the first fan run groups to actively fight against illegal uploads.
In everything from Evangelion, to Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (the Japanese series that would later become Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), we are shown the importance of teamwork. If we are to make any progress in the fight against piracy, it is important for fans to work together. Sustain the Industry has had a huge impact in the anime fandom in the few months since it started. These teams of people that come together to work towards the common goal of helping the anime industry can do much more than just one individual working alone.
I urge any fan who is serious about supporting the anime industry to go out there and joint a team dedicated to supporting the anime industry, or even start your own. Whether it be in your local community, or your internet community, gather people together and work together to support the industry. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you are just one person, and nothing you do will change anything. Sustain the Industry started when theRAofEdwardElric posted a simple video on YouTube asking fans to join her in her quest to sustain the industry, and now the movement is bigger than imagined it would ever become.
While it's true that a single rock thrown won't stop a landslide, it can also start one.
Be that rock, and don't be a parasite.
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