Japanese hardsub to SRT: get anime and J-drama subtitles as a file
Fansub and broadcast copies of anime and J-dramas often have the dialogue printed into the image, in Japanese, in English, or both. Upload the episode and the dialogue lines come back as a timed SRT and VTT, written exactly as shown. A video of up to 5 minutes is free in full. A longer episode or film costs $5, paid once, for up to 3 hours.
- Kanji, kana and English read as printed, with the subtitle's own line breaks
- Dialogue only: typeset signs and karaoke effects may be skipped
- Horizontal subtitles at the bottom or top; vertical text is not read reliably
- Cues timed from the video to within about half a second
- One episode or film per job, up to 3 hours for $5
What fansub videos throw at a reader
A fansub episode is busy. Besides the dialogue, there are typeset signs that translate a shop name or a letter in the scene, karaoke lyrics with syllables lighting up during the opening and ending, translator notes at the top, and episode titles. Only the dialogue band is the subject here.
The reader is told to keep subtitles and ignore signs and text that is part of the scene, so typesetting is mostly left out. Karaoke lines with moving colors and effects are hard to read cleanly and may be skipped, read partly, or read as a line of lyrics. If you need the song text, take it from another source.
Vertical text and the reading band
The tool reads one horizontal strip of the frame, about a third of its height, at the bottom or at the top. Japanese written vertically, such as narration set down the right edge or a vertical caption on a variety show, runs across that band instead of along it. Parts of it may be picked up and parts missed, so it is not read reliably. Horizontal dialogue at the bottom, the usual layout for anime and J-drama subtitles, reads best.
Japanese, English, or both on screen
- Japanese hardsubs on a raw broadcast are kept in Japanese, kanji and kana as printed
- English fansub lines are kept in English; this page preselects Japanese as a hint, set it to auto if the video only shows English
- A Japanese line above an English line stays together in one cue
- Small furigana above kanji may not appear in the file; the main line is what counts
- Switch to Translated before uploading to get the dialogue in another language, with the original SRT included
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Extract Hardcoded Subtitles page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT pull the subtitles out of my anime episode?
It reads the text in one screenshot nicely, Japanese included. A 24-minute episode has hundreds of lines, and still frames carry no timing, so a chat gives you loose text at best. This tool goes through the video and writes a timed subtitle file.
How much does a season cost?
Each video is one job. A clip up to 5 minutes is free in full; a longer episode is $5, one payment, up to 3 hours. For a whole season, Unlimited at $19 a week lets you run job after job, each up to 6 hours.
Will it capture signs and song lyrics?
Signs and other typesetting are ignored on purpose. Karaoke lyrics with effects may be skipped or read partly. Plain lyrics printed like a subtitle are read as lines.
Does it read vertical Japanese?
Not reliably. Only a horizontal band at the bottom or top is read, so vertical text is cut across and often incomplete.
Can I upload an MKV from a fansub release?
Yes, MKV is accepted, as are MP4, WEBM, AVI and other common formats. Check first whether the subtitles can be turned off in your player: many MKV releases carry soft tracks, which you can save directly with a media tool instead.
Is my upload private?
Only you can open the job. Frames go to an AI model provider only to be read and are never used to train models. Without an account, the job is deleted after 7 days, and you can delete it yourself any time.