Interview with a Jdrama Fansubber!

Eric Paroissien is a fansubber of several Japanese Dramas, including Rich Man Poor Woman, Ghost Mama Sousasen, and Great Teacher Onizuka. You can support Eric by visiting his site at http://paroissien.com and following him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/EricParoissien. 

Skye n' Rain: As a huge fan of Rich Man, Poor Woman, I'm glad that you've given us this chance to know you better. Thank you!

Eric Paroissien: Thank you, Rich Man, Poor Woman is an excellent drama, explaining the subbing process in this perspective is a great opportunity for a translator.

Skye: How’d you first get into Asian dramas?

Eric: Asae, my daughter (12), always watches them, she had many requests about finding on the net the song of such drama, such actor, finding information, downloading or translating, singing along with her, etc.; this is how gradually the genre caught my interest, before that I was an occasional viewer.

Skye: How did you get into fansubbing? 

Eric: Originally a technical translator, I worked 10 years in Tokyo for Nintendo (Super Mario), Sony, Yamaha, etc., mostly between English and French and occasionally from Japanese, back in Paris I worked in the tourist industry, translating guide books, helping Japanese business people, etc. Subbing was a decision at the beginning of the year 2012 to turn a hobby into a full-time occupation, to dedicate most of my working hours to my passion for Japanese dramas and movies.

Oguri Shun in Rich Man Poor Woman

Skye: What was the first Asian drama/movie you worked on?

Eric: At the end of 2011, I trained my tools and my skills on Gokusen and 1 Litre of Tears the series (big favorites of Asae) and I was lucky to find very soon a Swiss company offering post-production services for film festivals around the world; first, they asked me to translate 3 Japanese movies, the Wataridori (Akira Kobayashi) movie series of the 1960's, Tatsumi (2011)) and since then they've come back regularly to request my services. 

Skye: What is the process of fansubbing for you?

Eric: The regular viewer, brushes lightly on an episode, she or he wants to spend 40 minutes of entertainment, but the subber digs into the matter at great depth; a series like Rich Man, Poor Woman is tight packed with tons of information within its text, rhythm of image, tone of voice, camera position, angle, color filter, changes in action speed, timing of cues, of music, etc. For example, something a subber knows right away about Rich Man, Poor Woman, that many may have missed: their timing and resource economy is so sharp, you know they have on each episode to make the painful choice of editing only 40 min of excellent material, maybe out of 2 hours of takes each time.

Skye: Why do you fansub?

Eric: To convey Japan. Each movie/episode is a big chunk of Japanese culture, maybe the viewer comes only for entertainment, but she receives much more, a particular snapshot of this civilization is conveyed, and the subber must have a style as pure as possible that withdraws behind the message, an invisible vase to carry and hold splendid flowers.

Nakama Yukie in Ghost Mama Sousasen

Skye: How long do you spend (fansubbing) on an average episode? 

Eric: I spend less and less time for a better and better quality job; if I do nothing else (which is rare), an episode of Ghost Mama Sousasen can be done in 4 hours, 95% message conveyed, many mistakes, you double this time, you reach 98%, etc.

Rich Man, Poor Woman has an intricacy in both emotions conveying and technical aspect, that takes me at least 20 hours if I want to do it right... and then I come back and always find better ways to express the situation, it's endless. I have to say stop at some point.

Skye: What's your favorite thing about fansubbing?

Eric: It's a video game, I don't play video games but I've tried most games, subbing is an addictive universe where you never know where your next challenge, your next love or hate, your next thrill, will come from. What the actors have done, the cameraman, the technical staff, the writer of the script, the director have done, you must retrace step by step.

In Rich Man, Poor Woman's case, each detail is perfectly articulated like a Swiss watch, you don't want to miss a feather fallen behind a desk at Next Innovation, every little thing is meaningful.

Skye: Can you describe a moment in your subbing career that made you happy to be a fansubber?

Eric: When I first saw that in Thailand, in Malaysia, in the States... they were stealing my subs, posting them on their site, translating them in languages I have never read... dude, that's viral culture propagation!

Great Teacher Onizuka 2012

Skye: Is there anything that you dislike about fansubbing?

Eric: I can't sub when I sleep. With my new voice recognition system, I can sub when I wash the dishes now.

Skye: This will be a tough question (at least it is for me) but what 5 dramas do you really really love, and feel that all drama fans should watch?

Eric: Of course, Gokusen and 1 Litre of Tears, of course, Great Teacher Onizuka and Rich Man, Poor Woman... Please try to watch Iryu Sousa, like natto, it's an acquired taste. It's very finely chiseled, the camera moves are excellent, the actors are perfect, clever stories.

Skye: I feel kind of self-indulgent for asking this, but what do you think of MyDramaList.com (feel free to not answer this if you don't want to)?

Eric: MyDramaList.com is well designed, easy of access, you see right away when a place is well taken care of; I need it on a daily basis and 3 or 4 other places for constant reference; the way I chose sharply my 2 or 3 keywords for a Google search, I have MyDramaList.com in the very first hits. Keep up the good job!

Skye: Well, thank you so much for answering our questions. Can’t wait for the next episode of Rich Man, Poor Woman! Anything you’d like to say to our users (and your fans)?

Eric: Rich Man, Poor Woman is built on very strong pillars, namely a gang of actors that most fans would enjoy watching in their natural habitat, even without any story, just see them laugh, just see them cry, I cry as I translate too, often I have to pause, I can't write anymore.

Editor's note: This interviewee's replies are almost exactly his own, only minor stylistic changes were made.