Back in November, when the "it's cool to hate them, but it's sometimes reasonable" fansub group Dattebayo planned to drop Naruto out of respect for the idea of paid online streaming(Which I, and many others disagreed with), I knew that it'd be hard to obtain a decent fansub of Naruto ever again. It's not exactly a show that brings out the greatest fansubs since no one ever really cared about it aside from DB, and I could just tell it was in trouble, so I decided to recruit a team of newbie know-nothings like myself and created Taka for the sake of other fans who were just like me; worried about their favorite show being stripped from them.
I refused to let that happen, because I personally knew how sitting back and enjoying your favorite show can mean a lot. I didn't want anyone to lose the feeling of coming home from a long day of work, or waking before a hard day, and being able to relax and watch their favorite show. I knew that happiness well, and it's the little things in life like that which keeps us going.
Days went by, and my struggle to create a group seemed to be turning out well. I had many people sign up, though sadly, many bailed, and Taka almost got shutdown due to it.
Taka finally had everything it needed a week later, and we planned to release for the first time. We knew we needed practice before DB dropped at episode 91, so we played around a lot, learned, and threw ourselves into the fansub world where we all knew nothing, hoping we could at least produce something as good as DB, who was our biggest inspiration.
We were inexperienced at this, and we really had no idea how to do many things. It was almost like dressing a newborn baby in a suit and tie and getting it to work as a stock broker. It was a fucking mess.
It took many episodes before we got into a rhythm and became consistent and knowledgeable enough to fansub properly, though we'd still make newbie mistakes. We tried harder and harder each time, until we just suddenly became the great group you all tell us we are today.
This one year has really allowed us to grow, and we've all met amazing people thanks to Taka. Each week, the fans keep growing, and we keep taking pleasure in how much you all enjoy our work.
The staff keeps growing, and we keep finding more and new dedicated people to help. Our IRC channel has also created many friendships, and receiving emails from people and reading all the praise is simply beautiful to us. Taka even helped inspire other groups.
Though we still have a hard time taking the judgment of the stupid people out there, and we may do things that you may believe are upsetting, never doubt that we care and love our fans, and that the main reason we break our asses and overwork ourselves is for you. Hell, we have sleepless nights, work with illnesses, and even work right after surgeries. We pull through for you. Well, and for ourselves too. We're all a bunch of Narutards, and we want good subs just as much as you guys do!
Finally, Taka can look back after one year and see the amazing progress it's made. We finally reached the status we wanted to as a group; one of dedication and respect, knowledgeable and loved.
I'd like to personally thank all of the staff, whether we are close or not, because without all of you, this group would not be here right now. The hard work we've done together has really been great, and working each week with all of you is just as nice, though admittedly, sometimes hectic. No matter the issues, and no matter the clashes, we all band together for the better good to release a great product for the fans, and I respect each of you a lot for it. For making this group come to fruition, we all deserve thanks, as do all the other fansub groups who have helped us and allowed us to grow.
Because of Taka, I've been able to make it through the most difficult times of my life thanks to the people I have met and the experiences I've had, and I could only hope the rest of the staff has benefited from the group in such a way too. I also hope that you, the fans, have benefited from our hard work, and I really hope we manage to make your days enjoyable with it.
To think that it's already been one year is shocking. It really feels as if it was just yesterday that we started, releasing humiliating fansubs and struggling to survive.
Everyone, thank you for your continuing support, and we promise that we'll continue to improve. Let's hope for another year, and wish us all a Happy Birthday!
