[Nathan]

My comments were in reference to fan-subbed translations. Sorry if it came of as me insulting professional translators. Studying a language even for a year makes you realize the amount of time and effort professional translation takes.

In most cases with fan-subs, its not a professional translator. It's usually multiple hands, as stated, and in some cases its also between people that don't fully understand the other's language. For example, a Japanese national assisting English-speakers, without a solid grasp on English or the English speakers not having a solid grasp on Japanese, or even a 3rd language being used as the middle ground.
Fansubbers deal with limited resources, and so for the most part they are not direct. I respect the amount of personal time they invest into the project, but its simply not what a professional would have done. Then again, the fansubbers aren't being paid to be accurate, unlike the professional.

If a fansubber is wrong, someone somewhere gets upset. If a professional is wrong, someone somewhere gets upset and doesn't get a contract.