A conversation during a dinner at AnimeNEXT alerted me to a possibility that I hadn’t considered before: ignorance of piracy. One of our fellows observed a girl buying Twin Spica vols. 7-8 but telling her mother and vendor that she didn’t need the others because she could read them online. When relaying this story, the teller felt the girl genuinely didn’t know that Twin Spica isn’t distributed online. Similarly, a co-worker recommend an anime to me, when I said I’d check it out she directed me to a site that was streaming it illegally. She literally had no idea the show was actually available for free on Funimation’s own site.

As a blogger and an intimate member of the anime community who has good access to people in the industry as well, I take for granted the notion of knowing when something is a fan-sub/scanlation or a pirated version of an already licensed English release. Actually, just knowing something is licensed or is streaming in the U.S. is even something I take for granted, even though I still miss announcements. I also like to think I know what sites are providing content for free, in English, and are legally doing so.

But many do not.

And as far as I can tell this stems directly from the advent of streaming content be it anime or manga. When you download something off bittorrent or seek something out via IRC, you know exactly what you are getting. But if one looks up “free anime” on Google you will find many a site that looks similar to Hulu or Crunchyroll or whathaveyou but isn’t legal; the same for looking up manga. However, how does one go about knowing that? Why just this morning, a site called Animulu started following me on Twitter saying they provide legal streaming anime, but I’d never heard of them. There isn’t some sign on these front pages saying “WE ARE SUPER ILLEGALLY GIVING YOU THESE ANIMES AND MAKING A PROFIT.”

How do you personally know the difference? How do we educate fans about it?

Narutaki and I found this series when we were doing our overview of Crunchyroll. We decided to check it out on a whim and were impressed how well it was done for something that was otherwise completely off our radar. It is fascinating series for a number of reasons. It is a sci-fi series in a time when sci-fi series seem so rare. It is also an ONA not based on an established property. I am hardly the most informed anime fan but I usually have a decent idea of what is out there. So when any modern title comes out that I do know about it is always intriguing.

I stumbled across Time of Eve and I don’t even recall how beyond the fact that it was on Crunchyroll while I was testing the site out. Though I am always interested in short series to check out in between other longer shows. Time of Eve fit into this doubly so because the episodes came out rather infrequently and minus the final episode run only 15 minutes long. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking this show doesn’t do anything, it uses its minutes very wisely.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

In a deliberately unspecified time in the near future robotics has advanced to the point where androids are nearly indistinguishable from humans. They are so hard to tell apart that androids have halos over their heads to identify them. One day Rikuo notices that the android his family owns, Sammy, keeps disappearing from time to time. After some investigation he discovers that she has been going to a cafe named the Time of Eve. In this cafe no halos can been seen in hopes of promoting everyone treating each other as equals no matter who they are. Rikuo and his friend Masaki soon start coming to the cafe and slowly learn more about complexities of the dynamics between humans and robots.

Rikuo and Masaki are at a well picked age as I see it, they are entering a phase of understanding and questioning. Both are at a point where the ideas and rules set down for them have been established but they are now able to analyze said ideas. Eventhough Rikuo is the more reserved and Masaki is the more outspoken, they are opposites when it comes to the Time of Eve. Where Rikuo is curious, Masaki is reluctant but both boys gradually start to see things, or admit things, they have felt all along. This plays out with many of the patrons of the cafe. You could see these patrons as a bit contrived, they each show a different aspect and all vary in age but the show never gives that feeling. Sammy, Rikuo’s house robot, is not the only one who really brings about change in Rikuo. Though we see Rikuo quite a bit more, Masaki’s story has a lot more of a dire quality and intensity. At first I thought Masaki’s story was done better, but upon reflection I realized that both boys stories stew well together and are just different rather than one being better than the other. However, it is through Masaki’s story that the full implications of what Time of Eve could be, were it to continue, really become apparent.

Rikuo seems a bit on the shyer side then the more outgoing Masaki. They both have definite issues with robots but coming to the cafe helps them deal with those issues weather they realize it or not. Sammy has a fascinating duality. When we see her at home she acts exactly as you would expect a primitive robot to behave. But at the Time of Eve she is like a normal woman with a full range of emotions. She expresses feelings of happiness and sadness and have wants and desires. As the series progresses we see even outside of the cafe Sammy has these emotions they are just greatly muted when she has known to be an android. Nagi the young lady that runs the Time of Eve, a coffee house, is a very good bartender. She is gentle and takes the time to listen to everyone who comes to the cafe while pushing everyone to some sort of happiness. Part of the series is trying to figure out who is a robot and who is a human of the staff and patrons of the Time of Eve. Sometimes it is obvious and other times it is the crux of the episode. Each of them has their own intriguing story and insight into how humans and robots interact.

From the show description, it seemed inevitable the robot laws would come into play which is not a bad thing, but to be fair they aren’t always the crux of each story. All of the narratives try, and succeed, to convey the limitless emotions that robots can achieve no matter how primitive their original designs may be. Each story explores this in a different way, even in a classic way at points. One instance that stood out, one that has been told before, but felt very solid was when the passion of music was discussed and the lifelessness of mere technical skill. As an overall fan of robots, I like the romantic ideals seen in the Time of Eve, that eventhough humans created these beings they are able to emerge on their own. This is perfectly juxtaposed with the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discrimination and the desire by some that robots do no have a life of their own and a refusal to see them beyond anything but a tool.

As a science fiction fan this series was extremely interesting to me. It is one of the most in depth examinations of the relationships between pure robots and humans I have seen not only in an anime but in any series in a while. The amount of detail and thought they give to the implications of Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics is remarkable. But other issues of the balance between humanity and its interactions with technology are equally compelling. There is a good deal of parallel that can also be made between the treatment of any minority as well. However, these issues and topics are not forced down your throat. They place a thought provoking topic on the table and let the viewer pick it up and examine it in their own way. There is a solid balance between the episodes entertaining and captivating without sacrificing either.

I was very pleased with the production of Time of Eve. Nothing about this being an ONA seems cheap which I think is an easy enough thing to assume. But this work has the feeling of a loved project and an experiment. There aren’t a bunch of action scenes to contend with or anything, but still the animation is well executed. The 15-minute time intervals could also have something to do with this, but truly you never take note of the short run time because so much is looked at within its structure.

The animation is quite striking for an original concept animation distributed online. But this could be helped by the fact that there was no strict release schedule so seem to be able to take their time and do things right. Time of Eve is also an excellent example how how far the blending of 3D and 2D animation has come. The characters are mostly 2D on top of 3D backgrounds but everything flows together seamlessly and complements each other. The music is very quirky. Despite being slightly unconventional it does it’s job when it comes up which is all you can ask of a soundtrack.

This all makes me wonder how well Time of Eve has done. How did they get the funding in the first place? Although you can buy DVDs and image albums in Japan I wonder how much have they been able to be monetize this. This does not seem to be a low budget production so they need to generate revenue somehow. Will DVDs and CDs be enough? Do they have other revenue streams?  If anyone has information about this I would be interested to learn more. If this is profitable it might be a way to do other short but high quality quirky productions as well. With money for animation becoming scarcer and the OAV market dying off, the ONA might be the place for innovation. At only 6 episodes which are streaming for free online this is an intriguing series you should not overlook. That would not compute.

Time of Eve delves into its analysis of the relationship between man and machine with a clear vision but leaves the final, sometimes moral, conclusions to its viewers. It truly has the power to make you think in a way that keeps you returning for that next episode. And this is even more so thanks to the final episode’s bringing to light of a few matters. If as, Hisui questions, this is a way to pave a new market, I hope there is more Time of Eve in the future.

So one of the biggest and most infamous fan-sub sites went too legit to quit. It did not happen overnight but it has become one of the forefront sites to see legitimate streaming anime near simultaneously with Japan. They have a mixture of new shows and old although they tend to put the emphasis on promoting the newer ones. They even have some live action shows. Does this mean that Crunchyroll’s detractors have forgiven them for the mistakes of the past? Heck no. The Internet neither forgives nor forgets. Does that mean that sane people should forgive them and patronize their site? We paid the price and took a look to let you know!

We grabbed the first time offered Anime Membership for Crunchyroll. This essentially means that we could watch certain shows, streaming, just a few hours after their Japanese release. We also had access to many older titles in their entirety. Without the membership people would have to wait about a week to view said episodes. Many things were added and taken away through the experiment and things certainly changed over the course of the three month period as Crunchyroll became more accustomed to their new program.

Month 1 – January

Well, Crunchyroll’s website design hasn’t gotten any better. I often have to use their search function to find shows, when they should be easily accessible in the index portion. This also brought up another issue of not knowing all the shows and perks allotted to the paying members of the site. About halfway through the month members were able to watch older shows ahead of non-paying members. For example, where most have to wait a week between episodes of Captain Harlock, we were able to access the entire show. But we found this out quite by accident, one day it was just there and we were able to deduce the reasoning behind it. They could really use a members area on the site where all this information is updated and available. There is no mention of how long titles are going to be streaming. Some of their previous series that streamed are now only available for download. However, as a paying member it would be appropriate for us to be able to watch those shows streaming. As far as the quality goes, I have had good luck. Most video go up to 480P but I mainly watch in just high quality for ease. And the speed of the streams is very quick. I watched various titles and had little if any problems with anything.

They did very little overall site redesign when they first introduced the membership program and made their commitment to go legitimate. The only major change I could see was that however they stream their shows now trips the firewall at work so I have to watch anything on Crunchyroll at home. It’s sort of obvious that each animation companies has their own rules about how you can watch, download, and purchase their titles on Crunchyroll. Some shows are immediately available for everyone while other are available to members then slowly unlocked for non-members. Also the options and price to buy episodes to download varies from series to series although they are usually $1.99 each. I wish they would give members a discount on downloads especially for really long series like Fist of the North Star. I would also like to see the ability to buy “box sets.” Essentially a discount if you buy all the episodes at once. Once again it seems the only viable way of buying something like Fist of the North Star. As it stands, it would cost $302.48 to buy all 152 episodes of it! I would have watched more shows in January but I was in the middle of watching Patlabor and Turn A Gundam neither of which are short. I sampled a little and then decided to wait to finish what I was watching to throw myself fully into Crunchyroll for February.

What was watched between the two of us in one month: Time of Eve 1-3, Fairy Musketeers 1-6, Captain Harlock 1-6, Natsume Yuujinchou 1-14, Tower of Druaga 1-4
at the special price (about $7.00 for the month):
$0.22 per episode
at the normal price (about $13.00 for the month):
$0.41 per episode

Month 2 – February

I definitely like the new site design. It makes things easier to find but it is still not immediately obvious what shows are available to watch. Simultaneous release shows are usually prominently displayed though. The problem is when they throw a full or older series up. They only publicize it when it first goes up. If you don’t log in when they are talking about it, it’s easy to not know. I did notice an odd problem showing up for me. Sometimes when I pause a show the episode will stop streaming and I will either have to move the progress bar or reload the episode to start watching it again. I started February with throwing myself in Captain Harlock. The sub seems pretty well done and I don’t remember seeing anything that seemed terribly off. It was fun to be able to view a classic whenever I wanted to. I found it odd that they would put on 40 of 42 episodes of Harlock up. Similarly, there are only two of six episodes of the Sakura Taisen New York, NY OVA. It just doesn’t make sense. Also they made mention that they were going to put up the first three episodes of Air Master but when the time came they never put it up. I really wanted to watch Air Master!

Thank the lord the website has finally gotten an update! I wouldn’t say it is perfect, but it is atleast an improvement over that cluttered space they had for so long. However, since the site update, I have been having strange problems with the player. Most of the time the subs falling off to the right. I have tried it with the different resolutions but they are always off center. This isn’t a problem unless the line is long, even then I can usually figure out what it says. But that doesn’t make it okay. Equally strange is the missing progress bar as well as the play/pause buttons. So when I watch a show I better damn well not have to get up for any reason! I am using Firefox on my MAC, Hisui hasn’t had a problem on her PC. I sent a video problem message hopefully this will not continue through March.

What was watched between the two of us in one month: Tower of Druaga 5-8, Captain Harlock 7-40, Sakura Taisen New York NY OVA 1, Eyeshield 21 1, Gintama 1-2, Fairy Musketeers 7-11.
at the special price (about $7.00 for the month):
$0.15 per episode
at the normal price (about $13.00 for the month):
$0.28 per episode

Month 3 – March

Continuing the trend from last month, I still had video problems. When watching in plain ole High Quality I am still experiencing the same subs off to the right problem. When watching higher than that the problem is fixed, however the subs are slightly cut off along the bottom. That problem was preferable. I am stilling not seeing a play bar or buttons. And I just got the latest Firefox so have no idea what the problem is. Nothing has really changed for me from last month on the site. No major site updates or making changes or bettering it.

Well the miracles of miracles occurred and Crunchyroll started work at work again which is always nice to have something to watch during lunch. I still can’t watch Tower of Duraga at work  because for some reason they won’t load the subtitle stream but all the other programs work fine. I decided after I finished Fairy Musketeers I would move onto the monster that is Fist of the North Star. They also added six new shows which were a good mix of fresh from Japan and some older shows but nothing like the classics like Harlock. I was a little sadness that the episodes of Air Master never went up when whatever deal they had seem to fall through.

What was watched between the two of us in one month: Tower of Druaga 9-12, Fairy Musketeers 12-39, Sakura Taisen New York NY OVA 2, Eyeshield 21 2, Fist of the North Star 43-68
at the special price (about $7.00 for the month):
$0.12 per episode
at the normal price (about $13.00 for the month):
$0.22 per episode

Conclusions

If you want to watch certain new shows as they appear on Japanese television, this has a lot to offer. Shows being the important word here because you need to be watching more than one to justify the price. For older shows it hardly seems worth it. When they are first added you can only watch an episode or two at a time, but just wait and you can watch it all for free. Since they are old, time really isn’t a factor. The quality is definitely high enough and the variety of shows is great. At this point I will continue to use the Crunchyroll site but not subscribe. I will probably revisit the subscription when things change or are updated. Including the ability to download the shows you watched for a discounted fee would be good. Of course if Crunchyroll were to go subscription only I think it would be worth it.

How much you need to buy a subscription comes down to two important factors. How impatient are you and how much free time you have to watch anime online. It’s like a gym membership. Some people are going to work out several times a week and get the most out of their money. Other people are going to show up a few times but hardly ever go again then regret their purchase. And others will never buy a gym membership as long as they live. I got quite a bit out of the membership but I wonder if it was worth the money. If you watch it large blocks or have to watch it the second it comes out but need to be legitimate then it would be worth it. You will get whatever you want as quick as possible. I have enough shows that I legitimately own unwatched that I can juggle enough to wait. So like Narutaki I think that I will continue to use Crunchyroll but there has yet to be a series I so badly need that I would have to pay for a membership. As long as they stay legitimate and keep adding a variety of shows I will pay attention. Streaming video is the best method for good B and C-list titles that would not have commercial viability otherwise. A mixture of new shows and old shows keeps them alive and relevant. Only time will tell how much Crunchyroll will be able to win over their shady past in the eyes of fans.

From what we can tell here is what you can watch on Crunchyroll:
Angelic Layer – BASToF Syndrome – Best Student Council – BLASSREITER – Captain Harlock – Chance Pop Session – Chi’s Sweet Home – Chrono Crusade – D4 Princess – Dear Boys – Digimon Adventure 02 – Eagle Talon – Egg Man – Electric Soldier DOKAN Kun – Eyeshield 21 – Fairy Musketeers – Fist of the North Star – Gad Guard – Galaxy Express 999 – Gankutsuou – Gatchaman – Gintama – Girls High – Gravion – Hayate no Gotoku !! – Japanese Anime Classic Collection – Kaede New Town – Kaleido Star – Kaleido Star: New Wings Extra Stage – Kaasan- Mom’s Life – Kid Kosmo – Kigurumikku – Kite Liberator – Kotetsushin Jeeg – La Corda d’Oro – Primo Passo – La Corda d’Oro – Secondo Passo – Lady Death – Last Exile – Linebarrels of Iron – Magical Angel Creamy Mami – Magical Play – Martian Successor Nadesico: Prince of Darkness – Mighty Max – Mizu no Kotoba – Najica Blitz Tactics – Naruto – Naruto Shippuden – Natsu no Arashi! – Natsume Yujincho – Neko Rahmen – Neo Angelique Abyss – Neo Angelique Abyss (Second Age) – Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte Z – Pale Cocoon – Parasite Dolls – Peace Maker Kurogane – Peeping Life – Pitekanto – Ramen Fighter Miki – REBORN! – Ristorante Paradiso – Rizelmine – Saiyuki – Saki – Sakura Taisen: Le Nouveau Paris OVA – Sakura Taisen: New York NY OVA – Shangri-La – Shugo Chara – Slam Dunk – Speed Racer – Steel Angel Kurumi Zero – Strike Witches – Sumiko – The Tower of DRUAGA (the Aegis of URUK) – The Tower of DRUAGA (the Sword of URUK) – Time of Eve – Ultimate Girls – Vandread – Vandread The Second Stage – Web Ghosts PiPoPa – Yatler Matler Space Tyrants – Yonna in the Solitary Fortress – Yume Tsukai – Zaion: I Wish You Were Here

Top 5 Shows to watch on Crunchyroll
5. Gatchaman
4. Captain Harlock
3. Time of Eve
2. Tower of Duraga
1. Natsume Yuujinchou