Chromefox
(?)Community Member
Tipsy Heckler
Offline
- Posted: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 00:03:28 +0000
Okay, I have seen far too many people complaining about how much they hate dubbers for slaughtering their animes. Don't get me wrong; I don't like it much either. Howver, people often refuse to look at things from a logical point of view. People never want to see the side of those who do the dubs. They're all just brainless, heartless gits right? Wrong. There are some things that everyone needs to understand about dubs and why they are edited so much for television. I am going to attempt to get you folks to see things from the company's standpoint. Not change your opinions (by all means keep them) but just get you to walk in someone elses shoes before you run around yelling that you'd like to cut off their eyelids and make them sneeze.
Now, before I get into this there are a few things that people just don't get that need to be cleared up. And before you shove the otaku-rod down my throat, let me just say that this isn't directed at everyone. I recognise that there are people out there with heads on their shoulders.
First off, before I start I want you all to take deep breaths and calm down. Yes, put down those "WBKids shud die!!11", "4kids can kiss mah a$$" pickets. They aren't needed nor will ever be. Why? Because you're mad at the wrong people. WBkids and 4kids entertainment do not produce or edit the animes they show on their stations. It goes farther back than that, to big production companies like FUNimation and ADVfilms. So relax and take a breather before you start protesting a new company.
Now, don't send off those hate e-mails just yet. These production companies are not out to get you. For those of you who sit at your computers all day and say "They did this to get me" "They hate me" "What do they have against me?" get a grip. The world is not centered around you, and neither are these companies. To think that they'd hunt you down from a list of fans and single you out saying "Let's ruin this anime to get back at HIM" makes me think you might be a little loopy. Please see your psychiatrist before continuing.
Production companies do not hate you. All the editing and dubbing done by stations goes back to laws and priorities they must abide by. Companies hate editing animes as much as you hate them doing it. They also do what they can to keep it true to it's origninal form. The following are interviews taken with CEOs to some of the companies you know of today.
NOTE: I did not take these. I take no credit for the interview, nor the site they came from. The site I obtained my information from can be found here: DvD Vision Japan
Why would they intentionally ruin an anime? Usually production companies are fans themselves and dislike editing the animes that we come to know. Furthermore, companies usually release both edited and uncut versions of their animes, just for the purifists.
Now, let's take a look at (and hopefully understand) the five main reasons why companies edit animes.
MONEY:
Yes, this is a big one. Contrary to popular belief though, companies are not bloodthirsty, greedy hounds who would slay their mothers for a buck. Obviously, these people need to make a living too. They hope to rake in some more money by expanding the range of age of viewers. This means that some content needs to be edited for them to air it publicly. Dubbers are people too. Give them some credit. If a show burns out, they get burned too, so they need to do this every once in a while.
LOCALIZATION:
I know this is hard for an otaku to fathom, but there are people who don't spend hours every day researching the Japanese culture or customs. These are everyday normal viewers. In order to make it so this viewerbase understands an anime, cultural references must either be edited, explained or removed. Names must be altered or changed completely for those of us who don't fluently speak Japanese. Titles in anime need to be altered for the same reason (more on direct translations later). On top of all of this, some companies feel that they'd reach a larger audience by editing such things as settings and cultural references (Tokyo Mew Mew, I'm talking to you.). So give a little slack.
AUDIENCE:
We have sort of been through this before, so forgive me if I repeat myself. Companies also edit animes to expands the viewer range and attract more people. This can also tie in with the laws (more on this later as well). To expand the audience, and the ammount of people who get to experience anime they must air it on television. To air it on television they must edit explicit/unacceptable content.
COMPLICATION:
This has more to do with the names, translations etc. Cultural references must be edited. Names must be edited.
Titles: an anime such as "Houshin Engi" or "Weiss Kreuz" will have a different name in the US such as "Soul Hunter" or "Knight Hunters". These are not direct translations of the titles, and people often dislike such changes. Why do they get changed by such a margin? There are a couple reasons. For instance, "Houshin Engi" roughly translates into "The capturing and sealing of evil souls" which frankly is too much of a mouthful and has too little of a ring to remain a title. "Weiss Kruez" directly translates into "White cross" which could be misleading in a religious direction. If titles are inappropriate/misleading/just bad, they must be changed.
Voice Actors: This is a big one that people hate. You must however know this: It is nearly impossible to directly match two completely different voices. Also, comapnies have a more limited choice of voice actors for animes. they cannot go through every person in America to find a close match. So they take either what's closest, or whatever they can get.
Script/Dialogue: Some times you'll notice (perhaps when watching subbed English etc.) That the scripts between the dubs and subs don't match. There is a reason for this. The companies need to match the scripts to the movement of the animated character's mouth. This is hard to do when the languages are so utterly different. It's pretty amazing that they can even convey the same point, let alone the exact phrasing. So give them some slack. I'd like to see you try and do what they do.
These and other complications contribute to the editing of animes. Those who do the editing are not all to blame.
LAWS:
Obviously, laws between the hemisphere's are radically different. What is socially acceptable in Japan is frowned upon here. In order to release an anime, any content that is deemed inappropriate for/by the country must be removed. Other such laws affect the editing of animes as well.
So, you see, dubbers are not the horrendous, malicious beasts out to get you that you may have thought they were. Hopefully, this has shown a bit of light to those who are all too eager to lash out at the companies.
So, did I miss anything? Have an opinion? I'd like to hear it. And if there is a single soul out there who bothered to read this whole thing, I thank you for that alone. Just take this into consideration before you act out against those who bring anime to the US. Also, be thankful for what you do have. My brain hurts after this one. Thanks for lending your minds and your ears.
Now, before I get into this there are a few things that people just don't get that need to be cleared up. And before you shove the otaku-rod down my throat, let me just say that this isn't directed at everyone. I recognise that there are people out there with heads on their shoulders.
First off, before I start I want you all to take deep breaths and calm down. Yes, put down those "WBKids shud die!!11", "4kids can kiss mah a$$" pickets. They aren't needed nor will ever be. Why? Because you're mad at the wrong people. WBkids and 4kids entertainment do not produce or edit the animes they show on their stations. It goes farther back than that, to big production companies like FUNimation and ADVfilms. So relax and take a breather before you start protesting a new company.
Now, don't send off those hate e-mails just yet. These production companies are not out to get you. For those of you who sit at your computers all day and say "They did this to get me" "They hate me" "What do they have against me?" get a grip. The world is not centered around you, and neither are these companies. To think that they'd hunt you down from a list of fans and single you out saying "Let's ruin this anime to get back at HIM" makes me think you might be a little loopy. Please see your psychiatrist before continuing.
Production companies do not hate you. All the editing and dubbing done by stations goes back to laws and priorities they must abide by. Companies hate editing animes as much as you hate them doing it. They also do what they can to keep it true to it's origninal form. The following are interviews taken with CEOs to some of the companies you know of today.
NOTE: I did not take these. I take no credit for the interview, nor the site they came from. The site I obtained my information from can be found here: DvD Vision Japan
Interview with Shawne Kleckner (Rightstuf International)
DVJ: In some instances, significant changes are made in character backgrounds and dialogue. Why?
SK: The culture of Japan and some language, as well as references, are not really easy to translate or easy for Americans to understand, especially if they are not familiar with the cultural differences.
DVJ: Once you decide, how important is it to keep the story and script translations true to the original Japanese?
SK: We generally keep things as close as possible.
SK: The culture of Japan and some language, as well as references, are not really easy to translate or easy for Americans to understand, especially if they are not familiar with the cultural differences.
DVJ: Once you decide, how important is it to keep the story and script translations true to the original Japanese?
SK: We generally keep things as close as possible.
Interview with Scott Mauriellio (Anime Crash)
DVJ: How important is it to keep the story and script translations true to the original Japanese?
SM: With roots in retail, we know that this is no room for negotiation with otaku customers when it comes to preserving as much of the original aspects of any title. Geisters was unique in that many times in scripts and character designs, the letters "R" and "L" would be used as if they were interchangeable along with the letters "C" and "K" (you would imagine the problems that caused when talking about "glass", or "grass" wink . Geisters also came from 2 different production houses using different character name sets, which complicated things far beyond the norm in that particular case.
Most of the times where there are noticeable differences in any of our titles will be for the sake of continuity and flow of an episode.
SM: With roots in retail, we know that this is no room for negotiation with otaku customers when it comes to preserving as much of the original aspects of any title. Geisters was unique in that many times in scripts and character designs, the letters "R" and "L" would be used as if they were interchangeable along with the letters "C" and "K" (you would imagine the problems that caused when talking about "glass", or "grass" wink . Geisters also came from 2 different production houses using different character name sets, which complicated things far beyond the norm in that particular case.
Most of the times where there are noticeable differences in any of our titles will be for the sake of continuity and flow of an episode.
Interview with John Parker (Tokyopop)
DVJ: How important is it to keep the story and script translation as close to the original?
JP: A lot of people that live in America and are fans may not be able to speak Japanese. Probably, the vast majority does not. There is a big disparity between languages and meaning. We really don’t call it translation; we refer to it as interpreting, because some words can’t be directly translated. It’s very important to us that we keep the story and the message as the creator has written (it) and the dialogue consistent with that. We endeavor to do the best we possibly can. Once again, we don’t always get it perfect, but we don’t intentionally distort the facts and we interpret the message and the dialogue in a way that colloquializes it, that makes it consistent in the English language.
Kristien Brada-Thompson: I also wanted to add that several fans have told us, several retailers and others that TOKYOPOP is actually one of the companies that make the least amount of conscious changes to something. Our 100% Authentic Manga line that we put out, putting the books in the original format has enabled us to keep it even closer to the original than many of our competitors.
JP: A lot of people that live in America and are fans may not be able to speak Japanese. Probably, the vast majority does not. There is a big disparity between languages and meaning. We really don’t call it translation; we refer to it as interpreting, because some words can’t be directly translated. It’s very important to us that we keep the story and the message as the creator has written (it) and the dialogue consistent with that. We endeavor to do the best we possibly can. Once again, we don’t always get it perfect, but we don’t intentionally distort the facts and we interpret the message and the dialogue in a way that colloquializes it, that makes it consistent in the English language.
Kristien Brada-Thompson: I also wanted to add that several fans have told us, several retailers and others that TOKYOPOP is actually one of the companies that make the least amount of conscious changes to something. Our 100% Authentic Manga line that we put out, putting the books in the original format has enabled us to keep it even closer to the original than many of our competitors.
Why would they intentionally ruin an anime? Usually production companies are fans themselves and dislike editing the animes that we come to know. Furthermore, companies usually release both edited and uncut versions of their animes, just for the purifists.
Now, let's take a look at (and hopefully understand) the five main reasons why companies edit animes.
MONEY:
Yes, this is a big one. Contrary to popular belief though, companies are not bloodthirsty, greedy hounds who would slay their mothers for a buck. Obviously, these people need to make a living too. They hope to rake in some more money by expanding the range of age of viewers. This means that some content needs to be edited for them to air it publicly. Dubbers are people too. Give them some credit. If a show burns out, they get burned too, so they need to do this every once in a while.
LOCALIZATION:
I know this is hard for an otaku to fathom, but there are people who don't spend hours every day researching the Japanese culture or customs. These are everyday normal viewers. In order to make it so this viewerbase understands an anime, cultural references must either be edited, explained or removed. Names must be altered or changed completely for those of us who don't fluently speak Japanese. Titles in anime need to be altered for the same reason (more on direct translations later). On top of all of this, some companies feel that they'd reach a larger audience by editing such things as settings and cultural references (Tokyo Mew Mew, I'm talking to you.). So give a little slack.
AUDIENCE:
We have sort of been through this before, so forgive me if I repeat myself. Companies also edit animes to expands the viewer range and attract more people. This can also tie in with the laws (more on this later as well). To expand the audience, and the ammount of people who get to experience anime they must air it on television. To air it on television they must edit explicit/unacceptable content.
COMPLICATION:
This has more to do with the names, translations etc. Cultural references must be edited. Names must be edited.
Titles: an anime such as "Houshin Engi" or "Weiss Kreuz" will have a different name in the US such as "Soul Hunter" or "Knight Hunters". These are not direct translations of the titles, and people often dislike such changes. Why do they get changed by such a margin? There are a couple reasons. For instance, "Houshin Engi" roughly translates into "The capturing and sealing of evil souls" which frankly is too much of a mouthful and has too little of a ring to remain a title. "Weiss Kruez" directly translates into "White cross" which could be misleading in a religious direction. If titles are inappropriate/misleading/just bad, they must be changed.
Voice Actors: This is a big one that people hate. You must however know this: It is nearly impossible to directly match two completely different voices. Also, comapnies have a more limited choice of voice actors for animes. they cannot go through every person in America to find a close match. So they take either what's closest, or whatever they can get.
Script/Dialogue: Some times you'll notice (perhaps when watching subbed English etc.) That the scripts between the dubs and subs don't match. There is a reason for this. The companies need to match the scripts to the movement of the animated character's mouth. This is hard to do when the languages are so utterly different. It's pretty amazing that they can even convey the same point, let alone the exact phrasing. So give them some slack. I'd like to see you try and do what they do.
These and other complications contribute to the editing of animes. Those who do the editing are not all to blame.
LAWS:
Obviously, laws between the hemisphere's are radically different. What is socially acceptable in Japan is frowned upon here. In order to release an anime, any content that is deemed inappropriate for/by the country must be removed. Other such laws affect the editing of animes as well.
So, you see, dubbers are not the horrendous, malicious beasts out to get you that you may have thought they were. Hopefully, this has shown a bit of light to those who are all too eager to lash out at the companies.
So, did I miss anything? Have an opinion? I'd like to hear it. And if there is a single soul out there who bothered to read this whole thing, I thank you for that alone. Just take this into consideration before you act out against those who bring anime to the US. Also, be thankful for what you do have. My brain hurts after this one. Thanks for lending your minds and your ears.
