In the Name of The Pharaoh – Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Episodes – Raw and Subbed

Practicing What I Preach

The availability of free, legal streams of television shows and movies has skyrocketed in the last two to three years. Free online anime content, too, has been a part of this boom. Numerous anime series and movies have taken root in well-established video websites like YouTube and Hulu, and many anime licensees have set up their own video websites as well. Legal anime streams have been gaining wider recognition and adoption within the fandom as the technology improves and the outlets increase, and the culture has continued to welcome the instant gratification that comes with video on demand.

Among anime licensing companies, 4Kids Entertainment, who owns the rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! series outside of Asia, was one of the first to embrace video streaming, having set up their operations in 2005. Since then, 4Kids’ online library has grown to include every single title to which they own streaming rights. All of their shows can be watched at any time on 4Kids.TV (Toonzai), 4KidsTV.com, and YouTube, as well as on their recently unveiled anime video portal Toonzaki. There are few, if any, other entertainment production or distribution companies that can say they’ve done the same with all of their own properties.

I’ve been following 4Kids’ foray into the business of streaming uncut anime since the day they started in March 2009. Since then, I’ve continued to chronicle their online endeavors and encourage others to follow and support them. What began as a love for the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime had evolved and instilled in me a desire to follow and aid in its growth and the growth of its owners in these ever-changing times. Indeed, so many of my most notable posts have been devoted to historic events and firsts in 4Kids’ undertakings, from the arrival of their first subtitled test episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, to the unexpected demise of their Duel Monsters subtitling project, to the advent of their subtitled Sonic X streams, to the birth of Toonzaki and their uncut Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s streams. Smaller updates, like their regular uploads of Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs to YouTube, are no less significant in my eyes. All the while, my messages have been offhandedly mixed in with posts about fansubs and raws and whatnot. I have essentially been maintaining this website — a repository of links to illegally uploaded videos — while recognizing and claiming to support the growth of legal online anime.

No more. For nearly four years, 4Kids and the other owners of Yu-Gi-Oh! have turned a blind eye to this website. And even if they never contact me and demand that I remove the video links, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that my words don’t match my actions. I support 4Kids. I support the progress that they’ve made thus far with their subtitling initiatives. And I support their ongoing, good-faith efforts in expanding these subtitling initiatives. So, I have decided that In the Name of The Pharaoh will no longer be offering any links to any illegal downloads or streams. As of today, all such links have been removed and will not be returning.

The world of free and legal online video content, anime or otherwise, still has a long way to go before it can satisfy everyone. The limitations of region-restricted video streaming on an otherwise borderless Internet are all too common. Video expiration policies, as well as various shortcomings with streaming technology, are, to a lesser extent, also notable. These are all things that can be resolved. But innovation is never easy and it certainly does not come quickly. Fortunately, we the consumers can play a big part in getting the wheels to turn. For the culture and business of free streaming videos to grow, there need only be, at the very core, three things: support, education, and outspokenness.

How do we use these tools? Acknowledge that progress has been and continues to be made. Learn and help others learn about the ways of watching content on the web legally. Use and encourage the use of these options. Educate yourself about the inner workings of these businesses and why and how they can succeed and fail. Critique their shortcomings and offer up new ideas. In time, further innovation will take place, and when it does, lather, rinse, and repeat.

It is only through continued support, education, and outspokenness that legal options for watching the world’s video content on the Internet can emerge, expand, and thrive.

Please, don’t ask me where you can find unofficial downloads/streams and don’t offer up any such links. Don’t ask me about raws. Don’t ask me about fansubs. Remarks about these topics are no longer welcome. (And if you feel the need to voice your opinions, note that all comments are automatically passed through spam filters, which I can’t turn off, and are moderated before being displayed. As such, keep in mind what I’ve written in this post and try to keep your words noninflammatory and spam-free.)

And please, do support websites that offer free, legal ways to watch anime online. Do watch anime on television. Do purchase the licensed products that are released in your region. If the products you’re interested in aren’t available, consider saving your money and importing them. I hear Japan has everything. As someone who claims to be a fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series, I embarrassingly confess that I don’t own nearly as many Yu-Gi-Oh! items as perhaps I should. In the coming months and years, I hope to begin to atone for this.

I’m sure that many of you may not appreciate my decision. But at the very least, I hope that you understand it. I feel like I’ve addressed the issues in a broad enough manner while still highlighting some points that you can use to build your own perspectives and arguments. I am proud to be taking this step and am doing so without any reservations. This is a new chapter for In the Name of The Pharaoh.

Update (December 4, 2010): I think this post has reached many eyes during the four weeks that it’s sat atop this website. I’m unstickying this post now, but don’t let that discourage you from writing or emailing me any productive questions or comments.