Here’s another piece of news from my e-mail backlog. There’s a new DDL-related group on Yahoo! Groups called Anime-Sharing [A-S], and it seems to be one of the more active ones this year.

Last year, one of the more active ones I paid attention to was Anime Hosterz – which seems to somewhat be in idle mode this year.

FYI, these groups primarily focus on sharing anime uploaded to free file hosts such as Megaupload, though uploading is not a prerequisite to gain access. Nevertheless, if you have good upload speeds, it’s always nice to contribute back to the group – just like in any anime forum really.

Also note that Anime-Sharing has a wiki, through which anime links posted to the group are listed. This is unlike Anime Hosterz which primarily utilises Yahoo! Groups’ in-built link listing system.

1) Anime-Sharing [A-S]

• Megaupload (Free File Host) Speed: Unknown
• Free File Host Content: 90+ completed (e.g. Aishiteruze Baby, Chrno Crusade, Shakuga no Shana, etc.) and 15+ ongoing anime series (e.g. Air Gear, Saiunkoku Monogatari, Naruto, etc.), as well as 5+ movies (e.g. Blood, Full Metal Alchemist, etc.) and 5+ OVAs (e.g. Prince of Tennis National Championship, Hoi Hoi San, etc.). Also has some manga, drama and anime/JPop music.
• Update Frequency: Frequent
• Video Format: .avi (HQ)
• Note: You’ll need to register for a Yahoo! account to gain access to the individual anime sharing groups. Application for membership into the various groups after getting a Yahoo! account is normally approved automatically (after a CAPTCHA of course). The site only uses free file hosts, i.e. they do not have their own media server.

Update: A-S isn’t new considering that posting activity started in April 2005. My mistake here.

Two anime direct download sites/forums, Shareparadise (coverage here) and HSB Site (review here), are currently testing a script that generates premium Megaupload links for any normal Megaupload link you input into it.

This means that you’ll get the full advantages of a Megaupload Premium account (which you normally have to pay for) for free if you’re a member of one of these two sites (and are from a few select countries, see below). Yes, that’s resume support, multiple download connections, no downloader limits and faster speeds.

Currently, they are making this available to members from a few countries, i.e. United States, United Kingdom and Australia, and are also having some limited tests with Malaysians (not completely sure here, so feel free to correct me). So, if you’re interested, join one of these anime direct download sites/forums, and refer to the appropriate threads.

P.S.: HSB Site seems to be down, so I’ve only linked to the Shareparadise thread on this. If and when HSB Site comes up, I’ll make an update. Moreover, it’s likely you have to be an active member be given access to this script. Last but not least, the two sites are not hacking Megaupload, but are actually paying for accounts.

Update: Apparently, the programme has been expanded to include the Netherlands as well.

Disclaimer: I was alerted to this test by Shareparadise’s admin and given a chance to test the script out a few weeks back, but there was no specific request to feature the script or sites in question.

Can someone point to me any real differences between AnimePremium and AnimePrivate (both pay-for-use anime direct download sites)?

Invitations to both have appeared by email from the same person, i.e. the owner of AnimeUpload – which both sites are affilated to. Both are hosting mostly the same anime (read their download lists from top to bottom, and you’ll see what I mean). Both seem to be using the same underlying content management system (check the path names). And both seem to have the same template style. Heck, both charge the same monthly fees.

I would go so far to say that both might be hosting anime on the same servers, and are merely two fronts for the same service. If this is true, then it’s darn “weird” that AnimePrivate has discounted long-term pricing plans (6-months and above) which AnimePremium does not. And I’m barely even scratching the surface here.

Or am I just damn paranoid (because nameservers and contact information on WHOIS seem to be widely different)?

Here’s some stuff that kept me awake yesterday and today:

1. Kamisama Kazoku: Ep. 1
   Looks interesting enough. When I first read the summary, it felt just a bit like Ueki no Housoku (main char’s a Heavenly Being, a bum of sorts, has a female sidekick that cares a lot, and there’s a Tenko), but it’s actually more of a Shuffle lookalike – though much crazier. Pity I’ll most likely have to BT through this for now.
2. Yuribou Celebrates Its First Month
   Got introduced to this blog through a post at Wakaranai. Yuri, yuri, and more yuri. Always good in my book.
3. Anime Aggregators: Why They Exist (a.k.a. Aggregation Aggravation)
   James over at Anime My Ass summarises the anime aggregator issue – highlighting the bitterness some anime bloggers are feeling over being rejected entry from Blogsuki. and arguing that such aggregators actually exist to build a community (rather than build your traffic stats).

   Eeeks. Let’s just say I didn’t expect to see the same sort of inclusion/exclusion crap I have to wade through when I blog elsewhere. I’d say the overall aim of anime aggregators like Blogsuki are clear, and the rules for entry are even clearer. Heck, I know I no longer meet the requirements for entry to aggregators like Blogsuki since I blog so much on anime DDL sites that I barely even blog on anime itself these days (darn, a good reminder!). That’s why I didn’t even apply for entry when I met the 6 month-in-existence requirement (it’s been upped to a year I’m told).

   IMHO, it’s important to understand the purpose of things, which in this case, is the purpose of anime aggregators, as well as the purpose of your anime blog. Of course, this doesn’t mean I don’t understand the meaning of elitism or preferentialism (this word doesn’t exist, does it?), but neither is innately (or rather, completely) wrong even if some aggregators do practice either of these.

P.S.: Sorry for the rant. The paragraphs just started coming… Oh yes, I sounded like quite the arse in the last few paragraphs. I apologise if you were offended.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a little with the post title since these sites weren’t really dead in the first place – just temporarily down. But anyway, exaggeration or not, these sites are back up, alive and kicking:

1. JaguarPowered (reviewed here) was down a while back, but it’s returned.
2. Shareparadise.net (featured here and here) was experiencing some problems a few weeks back, but it’s okay now.
3. AnimeFairGround.com (reviewed here) was shut down recently, but it has returned in the form of AnimeGround’s “free anime series per month” section (featured here).

It’s a pity I can’t report the same for Anime-Treasures.com though.

Yep, Anime Field is officialy back to normal now that my 5-day trip is over. So, to mark its return, here’s a small update on the world of anime direct download sites:

• Anime-Treasures.com (reviewed here) Down Again.
• Lordneon.co.uk (reviewed here) Down Permanently?
• AnimeFairGround.com (reviewed here) Redirecting to Job Site. Dead?

Zzz… It seems Malaysians (my fellow countrymen) and Singaporeans (my A-Levels brethren) are abusing anime direct download servers yet again, and Mr. PC has threatened to ban IPs at a national level if this continues. Nooo…

If you ask me, I’d say that there really isn’t any reason to use so many connections to download anime. If you want to download multiple episodes, why not just download from different sites? Even if you wanted to use multiple connections for a single episode, you could still use multiple sites, as I have explained here (of course, I’m still not sure how ethical this is, as seen by the comments section on that post).

I also suggest looking at IRC as a viable avenue of downloading anime. If you want to max out your connection, just use direct download sites and IRCs concurrently. There is just no need to max it out on DDL sites alone.

So… that ends a Public Service Announcement by Anime Field. Hopefully, Mr. PC’s warning will jolt any abusers out of their evul ways.

Anime direct download sites come and go. Some might last for years, though most last for mere months. This shouldn’t be a surprise given the nature of their business model (i.e. donations, ads, etc.).

So, let’s see what has happened within the last few weeks. In no particular order:

1. JaguarPowered (reviewed earlier) is temporarily down, presumably due to bandwidth concerns due to DMCA enforcement by its host.
2. Teamskn.net (a.k.a. Nyao.be) has switched to a forum post-for-download system.
3. Avluis.com (reviewed earlier) is dead. Reason is unknown.
4. Shareparadise.net has been suspended, presumably due to DMCA enforcement or resource overuse (e.g. bandwidth or CPU usage). Up again, at http://www.shareparadise.org/community.

So, did I miss anything?

Edit: Jaguar – admin of JaguarPowered – just commented that he has temporarily closed down JaguarPowered due to DMCA enforcement by his host.

Another Edit: Shareparadise.net is up again, but at a different domain for now, i.e. http://www.shareparadise.org/community.