Episodes 25 and 26 are out, and the Arc 3 batch torrent, which encompasses the Super Chef preliminaries and finals, is out. The batch torrent contains definitive versions of Episodes 9 through 14.
While I've held back on updating this page, three episodes have been released. Episodes 22, 23, and 24 are now out. Stay tuned for more 'definitive' versions, out soon!
Definitive versions based on the xVid raws are now available for Episodes 1 through 5.
Episode 21 has been released. We will also be re-releasing, in the near future, batch torrents of previous episodes, which will be considered the definitive version for English/Mandarin/Cantonese audio and English/Chinese subs.
Chinese audio and subtitles may be discontinued after Episode 26, since we think the majority watch this in Japanese/English anyway. Cantonese audio will definitely be discontinued after Episode 36 at any rate - this is when AnimeKeep shifted to Mandarin, and we simply don't have alternate sources.
We're currently following a lead to finally procure a copy of the Japanese DVDs. If we get our hands on this, we'll also be releasing a high-quality version, with Japanese audio and English subtitles only.
Didn't update this page at that time, but Episode 19 was released two weeks ago.
We have reached Episode 20, the last of the "Mao journeys around China" episodes, where we bid farewell to the first OP. Today's release includes a creditless version of the ending, plus a special karaoke edition of the complete song found in the DVD. We're too lazy to include a full English translation of the full ED, but it's designed to be sung anyway! We're also releasing a lossless rip of the single!
With this release, we'll be entering a short hiatus to recharge, retool, and convert all previous releases to the new format. We literally cringe when comparing the first release with the current release - typesetting effects were rudimentary, timing often bleed through scenes, we had inconsistent styling, you name it. Much to learn we still have...
See you in 30 days!
It's not quite release time yet, but we've been hard at work trying to understand the features of the Matroska file format that may prove useful. You may notice that last week's release had "Editions" - you can see it if you right-click on the Haali-splitter icon when playing the movie. With one click, you could switch between edition 1 (Japanese with English subs) to edition 2 (Mandarin dub with Simplified Chinese subs) or 3 (Cantonese dub with Traditional Chinese subs).
We're now releasing episodes that use a feature called "ordered chapters." This allows us to seamlessly link one file to the other, without any action needed on your part, if all the required files are in the same directory. The biggest benefit is, we can now have a single OP file, and chop off the OP from every episode. This saves space and bandwidth, and we only have to time the opening karaoke once :) Chopping off the OP from Cooking Master Boy episodes save about 23 MB per file - that's around a 12% reduction in size!
Episode 18 has been converted to the new format, and we are hence releasing a v2 of this file. Other than ordered chapters, nothing else has been changed. There is no need for you to re-download the 200+ MB file. Follow these instructions to convert v1 of Episode 18 to v2:
And that's it! We'll be releasing Episode 19 this Saturday. If you encounter any problems using the patcher, or if you have any pressing questions or comments, please register in the forums and give us a holler!
Episode 18 has just been released. It is the last episode to feature the first opening (Sora). To mark the occasion, we have included a bonus copy of the creditless Opening in the torrent. We have also released a lossless CD rip of the Single. Enjoy!
We've settled into a pattern of bi-weekly releases - I suppose this pace is more sustainable than weekly ones. Episode 16 has been released two weeks ago, and this week, Episode 17 concludes the two-parter story. Stay tuned for our next release, which features the last time the first Opening is used. We'll have something special planned!
I figure this is one element the site lacks. Anyhow, Episode 15 has been released, and we are nearing the cut-off point for the first "season"-arc, which basically tells Mao's story before the introduction of Shell and Leon. I am currently the only active transcriber/editor on CMBT, and I am planning to take a break before going on to the second part of the anime.
The arcs are basically separated by a change in OP and ED songs. The OP changes a couple of episodes before the ED changeover, so the ED change is where I'll be temporarily stopping work. I need to take care of a few things. On the agenda during the planned hiatus is a change in karaoke effects, as well as a good sing-along English translation of the second arc song set.
Another thing on my to-do list is to convert the site from static HTML to something that is editable. I'm not sure whether I want it in the form of a blog (Wordpress), a forum (a la sites that operate with vBulletin), or using content management software (Joomla, perhaps?) I don't really have much experience in any of these, so I'm a bit reluctant to experiment with the actual site.
I'm not abandoning the project at all, but have every intention to finish it... eventually. It'd be nice to have somebody to transcribe and stuff, but since we're dealing with a very specialized genre (not to mention I don't have any ambitions beyond Cooking Master Boy), I fully understand the reluctance. Oh well.