One Piece article in Animation Insider (good news and bad news)

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Nor will it stop Luffy from sailing to America’s Saturday morning, which producer John Kalish thinks will make a suitable home for a pirate king. "I think it would have been a shame if One Piece didn’t get sort of programmed at a time where the widest amount of people as possible can see it," said Kalish. ... 4kids hopes that by putting Luffy and crew on Saturday mornings, it will give them a chance to replicate the success of their American Saturday morning forbears Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Although the series will need to be edited for American broadcast, One Piece-loving otaku don’t need to walk the plank: Kalish says 4kids will be making the minimum amount of changes necessary to air One Piece on American TV. "I think the biggest challenge is really honoring the original series, " says Kalish. "There’s no reason for us to change the names just for the change’s sake. That being said, there are a certain issues that I think for our audience that we need to be concerned about. Those things include depictions or embracing of any idea of smoking, drinking and certain kinds of acts of violence. We want to be sure that we’re not endorsing things that we don’t want kids in this country repeating."

Thus Sanji, Luffy’s crewmate who’s never seen without a cigarette in the original Japanese version will now be toting a sucker for American broadcast. "I think ultimately, it comes down to the core issue of who these characters are," said Kalish. "Is it the smoking that’s important, or is it sort of the attitude behind it? As long as we can preserve the identity of the character in a way that’s still true to the core idea of who he is, smoking becomes not the issue as much as who he is, as far as personality is concerned."

As far as the Standards and Practices-the Federal Communication Commission rules which say what can and cannot be shown on American TV-goes, the U.S. release of One Piece cannot include smoking, drinking, excessive violence or explicit death, all of which appears in the original One Piece.

Fans can rest assured that Toei Animation, who created the anime series in Japan, is taking an active role in overseeing the American production of One Piece. "Nothing major will happen without all the key players on this show from Japan getting involved," assured Kalish. "They even have approval on all the character voices, although we’ve really been on the same page with every choice so far. Any adjustments we need to make we’re doing in concert with our colleagues in Japan so that we don’t, not to use a nautical pun, so that we don’t miss the boat when it comes to maintaining the spirit of this show.I'm a little worried by some of this but also slightly relieved in some ways. I'm glad they say they'll make the minimal amount of changes... but then why didn't they do it with Shaman King? And the fact that Toei approved of those voice actors (well Luffy's anyway) is a sad thought... I guess they're just as bad at US marketing as ever (remembers the days of Cloverway). We knew the Sanji stuff but the explantion was nice.

I'm looking forward to seeing how One Piece turns out overall but I also REALLY want an uncut DVD release in the near future (sometime in 2005 I suppose).

[Youko Recca]

After this I hope to hear no more butcher comments, from myself also. Isn't this like the first time we've heard someone at 4Kids say they would want to keep a great anime intact. I look foward to seeing it.

[Pepperidge]

While I don't consider Toei ever getting involved in ANYTHING to necessarily be a good sign, I'm glad to hear that they're at least trying to reassure fans that the series will be handled OK. I don't think they've ever actually done that before.

I'm still worried about the music, though.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Well I think we'll get some of the original music but as it stands for them to edit One Piece accordingly they'd probably have music trouble so they might just replace it to make it easier to dub the edited footage. Isn't that what they usually do? And silent scenes wont be silent. That's just the way it always is.

I don't think they will butcher One Piece. I think it may actually be a Toonami quality dub footagely but the voices... hmm... I really hate Luffy's but the rest seem okay.

[RedBoot]

"I think it would have been a shame if One Piece didn’t get sort of programmed at a time where the widest amount of people as possible can see it,"Yeah, except for me and all the other people in the 4th largest city in Texas who don't get the Foxbox for some stupid reason. Not that 4kids is to blame for that, but it still pisses me off.

Anyway, this all sounds good to me. Anyone who expected Sanji to keep his cig on Saturday morning TV is a moron, so no complaining about that. At any rate, this looks like it will turn out great, which makes me all the more angry that I won't be able to see it. :(

[Youko Recca]

Yeah, except for me and all the other people in the 4th largest city in Texas who don't get the Foxbox for some stupid reason. Not that 4kids is to blame for that, but it still pisses me off.

Anyway, this all sounds good to me. Anyone who expected Sanji to keep his cig on Saturday morning TV is a moron, so no complaining about that. At any rate, this looks like it will turn out great, which makes me all the more angry that I won't be able to see it. :(
All the more reason to root for a CN showing I can see now. I'm usually a little against that(constant borrowing of 4Kids/KidsWB shows) but I just realised there are people in your position. Yeah that doesn't sound too great.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

One Piece seems like a shoe-in for Miguzi or CN prime time in Fall of 2005. 4kids will want this one on daily given how long it is and how big a property it is. Prime time slots have always served Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! well afterall.

[RedBoot]

All the more reason to root for a CN showing I can see now. I'm usually a little against that(constant borrowing of 4Kids/KidsWB shows) but I just realised there are people in your position. Yeah that doesn't sound too great.
Yeah. The weird thing is that we used to get it here. But right after the "Fallen Angel" episode of TMNT aired, it stopped. Now they just air four hours of various Jack Hanna animal shows, which I'm sure is just rolling in the ratings.

Since TMNT is on CN now I can catch up with it, but Sonic and Shaman King are still out of my reach, though at least the SK uncut DVDs are coming.

I really gotta find out if there's a station person I can yell at about this. I don't want to miss my pirate action come September...

[Grenzer]

I'm a little worried by some of this but also slightly relieved in some ways. I'm glad they say they'll make the minimal amount of changes... but then why didn't they do it with Shaman King? And the fact that Toei approved of those voice actors (well Luffy's anyway) is a sad thought...


Alright, I have two things to say on this.

1) Hooray for minimal editing to the story and character names! This is a good direction 4Kids is going in. Has John Kalish done any other work for 4Kids before One Piece? He has an unusually enlightened attitude for an employee of that company. I going to assume that this probably means the original soundtrack is going to be heard in the dub to, through I'm still worried they might have replaced it.

2) Sensei, would you please stop with your whining about Luffy's voice? I don't wish to offend you, but you don't know how that is going to turn out. When I first watched the Japanese version, it took me a while to get used to hearing a woman voice Luffy, but I quickly came to enjoy Mayumi Tanaka's take on the character. Simply put, the fact that Toei helped chose Luffy's English VA meant that he was almost certainly going to be voiced by a woman, because most shonen heroes are voiced by women. Goku, Kenshin, Naruto, Yoh, Edward Elric and numerous other examples of main characters in shonen series all had female voice in the japanese version of the anime, through they were often replaced by male actors in the dubs. Sometimes one version's take on the character was better then the other, other times they were about the same in quality, but they were always very different from each other. Now we have a rare opportunity to see a shonen series where the English dub of the main character is very similar to their Japanese counterpart, and I for one am very pleased with this turn of events.
I'll admit I'm biased when it comes to dubs; in my opinion the closer the English voice actors sound like their Seiyuu counterparts the better (or they better do a darn good job with their acting as compensation), but I have a feeling that the dub for One Piece may be one of the most pleasant surprises of 2004. So until September 4th, I think it is best not to discuss things like the quality of the voices, at least until we have a more suitable example to base our opinions on then a short TV promo. You can argue with me on these points if you want to, but I just felt that this needed to be addressed; because I'm hearing this from a lot of people and I don't think it's very fair to either Toei, 4Kids, or the woman voicing Luffy in the dub.

[Go-chin]

So it's a challenge to honor the original series?

Oh, right. 4Kids. :shrug:



the U.S. release of One Piece cannot include smoking, drinking, excessive violence or explicit death, all of which appears in the original One Piece.
Well, there goes the Arlong arc.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Grenzer, I'm well aware of how Luffy's Japanese counterpart sounds. I like that voice. It required no "getting use to" this one on the other hand I REALLY don't like. I believe the voice will get less annoying to me eventually but I'll never really like it... only tollerate it for the sake of watching this great show.

I don't think they sound similar at all. I don't know why some of you are saying that. Honestly that's one of the worst 4kids voice overs I've ever heard... and that saying something.

[Jowy Blight]

Well, there goes the Arlong arc.
Yeah, but we all knew that it was destined for Hack-job city.

As for the English dub, I really don't care. I know we'll never see a 100% faithful uncut English verison, so what was the point of 4kids even trying to give hope?

The only thing I hope for is that we get some uncut subs released to DVD.

[Arxane]

I'm a little worried by some of this but also slightly relieved in some ways. I'm glad they say they'll make the minimal amount of changes... but then why didn't they do it with Shaman King?
Here's my theory:

Shaman King was kind of an eye-opener for 4Kids. Previously, their two biggest shows were Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, series that heavily incorporated a commercialized product (i.e., trading cards). 4Kids, seeing the huge success of a Shounen Jump property, decides that maybe SJ shows will be profitable, despite not having such a highly integrated product.

So they choose Shaman King and do exactly to it what they did with Yu-Gi-Oh!. Surprise, surprise, the show doesn't do as well as they hoped. Not only does Shaman King place more emphasis on the story than any possible merchandising, but the show also has a sizeable following who didn't appreciate the numerous edits.

4Kids realizes that maybe they need to change their strategy. Since there don't seem to be any highlly commercialized shows out there anymore, they're gonna have to continue with SJ properties...but this time do it differently. This time, with One Piece, according to them, they're not going to change names and also edit as little as possible; this way, they can appeal to the already sizeable fanbase who are willing to give them a chance.

Of course, we're gonna have to wait and see the final result before we can jump to any (further) conclusions.

[Icer]

Steps in the right directions, but the show will still be a shell of it's original self as long as they continue to place it on Saturday Morning.

Oh well, I could care less. I just want the uncut DVDs.

[RedBoot]

I have a weird fear that 4kids will stick to their "No changing names" policy until episode 232 when Random Pirate #34 will have his name changed to Random Pirate #33, and all the OP fanboys who had been waiting with bated breath will begin to complain in an internet fury not seen since the last time Mario beat Crono in a GameFAQs poll.

Aah, that'll never happen...OP fanboys won't wait 232 episodes to complain about something.

[Karl Olson]

So, I guess the guess the reasonable team at 4kids worked on OP, while they culled the most out-of-touch people available to work on TMM. Ah well, both will probably get uncuts. I just wish 4kids would make their policy for One Piece their policy on every anime.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Face it Karl. Shoujo's never get good treatment on US television and sadly they probably never will.

[Karl Olson]

Face it Karl. Shoujo's never get good treatment on US television and sadly they probably never will.

Give it 10-20 years when this otaku generation are the execs and programmers in the media firms, and it'll happen, not unlike what happened with CN and Toonami. Sean and Jason are fanboys with power, and they effected some of the serious changes in the American Otakudom ever. They grew on Starblazers and Robotech, which evolved to a greater interest in the source work and medium, and they brought that interest to CN and their programming of Toonami, and in 5 years they radically altered the face and demographic of the American Otakdom just by airing some good animes in a format which they'd been scene before in the US; content edits only.

The current generation of TV fans is also even more likely to assimilate into fans with an interest in the uncut work because availablity of information is ridiciously easier with the avent of the internet. 12-year-old girls were aquiring Gravitation scanlations and fansubs back in 2002-3 (they recognized my cosplay first at SakuraCon2003,) which means even if they were first wave off the modern anime boom, they went from TV fans to very hardcore fans in under 4 years, and at an age previously under heard of.

Given that 10 to 20 fold increase of fans with an interest in the uncut medium (lets take con attendence as a resonable berometer of that growth,) with an increase in the shoujo fanbase probably closer 100 fold (shoujo manga when from a niche to the corner stone of the market in less than 5 years,) the odds are in much better favor of someone aquiring a position to affect change than when Sean and Jason joined CN.

It might not happen soon, but the groundwork is being layed everyday as more people gain an interest in it, and as get old enough and aquire the right education to work in television in content management and aquisitions.

[Dogasu]

I don't think they will butcher One Piece. I think it may actually be a Toonami quality dub footagely but the voices... hmm... I really hate Luffy's but the rest seem okay.Think of it this way. There was a Pokémon Advanced preview during the last part of Master Quest, and in the preview May (Haruka in the Japanese version) had a pretty bad voice. She sounded almost exactly like Ash's mom (also voiced by the same woman), and many fans complained that a character who gets as much screentime as her will have such a bad voice.

Months later, the series properly debuts, and guess what? May's part in the first two episodes was redubbed. Apparently, 4Kids let her voice actress (Veronica Taylor) go back and redub those two episodes after she'd gotten the feel of her character.

So maybe that'll happen with One Piece. Maybe what we heard in the preview was just thrown together, and the scenes in question will be redubbed before they're aired on TV.

[shogunthethird]

I'm relieved there's going to be minimal edits, but I'm preturbed about the potential to maul the Arlong arc (my favorite arc) but I'm moreso relieved that OP is getting such a huge commercial push, given the precedent that all other Shonen jump properties with stateside anime tie-ins are available in edited and uncut formats to my knowledge and the inevetable release of One Piece on DVD are both good signs that OP may get the YGO and SK treatment and have uncut/redubbed DVDs released which is what me, conekiller and just about every other OP fan out there was pushing for in the first place

[Yash]

Hey everyone, let's believe stuff that's not gonna happen :rolleyes:

[Andrew T. Hingson]

4kids has never lied about how they are treating a property. Not to my knowledge. They say when they make changes with the better known properties. They said their would be name changes for Shaman King. I guess they didn't say anything about Sonic X really... or most of their less known programing.

[Yash]

4kids has never lied about how they are treating a property. Not to my knowledge. They say when they make changes with the better known properties. They said their would be name changes for Shaman King. I guess they didn't say anything about Sonic X really... or most of their less known programing.Regardless... they never said they'd change music or hack up the storylines, now did they?

[Beat]

Announce an uncut release, and I probably won't be as worried...

[Mysteryinfoman]

This gives me a bit of hope, let's see how it turn's out.

[Tash]

Announce an uncut release, and I probably won't be as worried...remember: If you want an uncut release, support the dub. Yu-gi-oh and Shaman King did NOT get uncut releases because they "bombed and were forced to sell to Funi". Heck, Yu-gi-oh is the number one rated saturday morning program.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Regardless... they never said they'd change music or hack up the storylines, now did they?
But we all knew they would. This time they said what was going to change. Why would they lie about that? It would just piss more people off and they are already well aware that they have to be careful with One Piece if they want to get the most market potential out of it.

[Karl Olson]

remember: If you want an uncut release, support the dub. Yu-gi-oh and Shaman King did NOT get uncut releases because they "bombed and were forced to sell to Funi". Heck, Yu-gi-oh is the number one rated saturday morning program.

Yeah, but Ultraman Tiga did get it's uncut because it flopped.

[Killtacular]

Grenzer, I'm well aware of how Luffy's Japanese counterpart sounds. I like that voice. It required no "getting use to" this one on the other hand I REALLY don't like. I believe the voice will get less annoying to me eventually but I'll never really like it... only tollerate it for the sake of watching this great show.
Don't you think you're making very very early conclusions, considering the OP preview barely had any Luffy dialogue AT ALL?

I'm just glad they're not using any of the TMNTs to voice Luffy. The TMNT VAs are to 4Kids as Brad Swaille and Matt Hill are to Ocean. Bleugh.

[Yash]

Don't you think you're making very very early conclusions, considering the OP preview barely had any Luffy dialogue AT ALL?"Wohoho~! POW!!!"

"I'm gonna be king of the pirates! Wahaha!"

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go! We're on our way to find One Piece!!!"

[Bakasama]

I think the point Matt's trying to make is that Luffy's voice actor hasn't shown yet if she can do a calm, serious, or angry Luffy.

[Mog]

I think the point Matt's trying to make is that Luffy's voice actor hasn't shown yet if she can do a calm, serious, or angry Luffy.
You took the words out of my mouth. Luffy isn't just some over-excited kid. He has some pretty serious dialogue, especially in the Arlong arc and the current manga arc.

[Yash]

I think the point Matt's trying to make is that Luffy's voice actor hasn't shown yet if she can do a calm, serious, or angry Luffy.
I just felt like doing that.

[Icer]

Don't you think you're making very very early conclusions, considering the OP preview barely had any Luffy dialogue AT ALL?

I'm just glad they're not using any of the TMNTs to voice Luffy. The TMNT VAs are to 4Kids as Brad Swaille and Matt Hill are to Ocean. Bleugh.
Yeah who wants good VA's, that would have been a real shame:rolleyes:

[LightShadow1890]

Well,it's a good thing 4Kids won't do any major changes...especially with Toei on their heels.

I think this is the first time Toei is pulled in to help the censoring. Or any company that publishes and creates an anime (like GONZO). With all the censoring in anime these days, pulling Toei in for One Peice censoring is a sunlight in the cloud of darkness....in my eyes. I am soo not living for the cheesy dialoug YGO has here.

Hey, maybe they should go with what MXC does with their dubbing, they go along with the mouth movements. Well, NOT ALL OF THEM. Just when they open their mouth and definately close it.

Well, I hope I see One Peice....on Miguzi. They really need another show...with having TS reruns, and TT might die down at that time....(CN would probably get Season 2 of CL since it's a big hit on Miguzi...well, in the winter of 2005 or beginning of 2006, in my acculations), Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and this one should definately take their places. Oh, I hope Naruto goes on American TV. (Hey, US got Pokemon when they were still popular...so...Naurto could have a....slim....chance) I saw one comic on SJ (along with OP), and it looked really cool (Okay....stupid....but I see a nice anime when I see one. And that comic was totally funny :anime: ). I hope I can suscribe to Shounen Jump. I'd love to read the comics there (I haven't looked at Hikaru No Go yet, and YGO, YYH, and DBZ I watched).Dmnit...I wanna see Naruto soo bad....and i can't download or buy DVD's....NOOOOO!!!

Thanks for the news Hyper Sensei....and don't judge too early...

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Yeah who wants good VA's, that would have been a real shame:rolleyes:Exactly! Say what you want Matt but Sinterniklass would have been a great Luffy!

Light Shadow. I'm sure it's only a matter of time till One Piece shows up on CN but probably in prime time first unless Pokemon and YGO are still dominating those slots (which is highly a possibility for quite some time).

One Piece could be on Miguzi late in 2005. But it all depends on how well it does.

I'll pre-judge if I want to. I heard the VA's. I thought some were okay and I hated Luffy's. That's all there is to it. In fact I thought Zoro was excellent and I was delightfully suprised he wasn't played by Eric Stuart.

[LordByronius]

;_;

That is the face I made when I realized that I covered the Shaman King/YuGiOh uncut DVDs while another freelancer in the same issue got to interview 4Kids about One Piece.

Actually the PR guy and I did have a fairly long conversation about One Piece, but I really can't say anything about it at this point so...

[Killtacular]

Exactly! Say what you want Matt but Sinterniklass would have been a great Luffy!
Not in a million years. Sinterniklass not only sounds nothing like a teenager, but he CAN'T ACT. HE CAN'T. I don't know how you see this amazing talent that resides within him, because it doesn't exist. Why else would they get him to play one of the young Venture boys? I'm not sure you know the answer why so I'll give you the answer: Because he's A CORNBALL ACTOR.

If he played Luffy, Luffy would sound NOTHING like the Japanese Luffy, and there is no way Sinterniklass could pull off any of the lines Luffy says. I can already imagine him yelling out "AAAAAAAAAH! THAAAAT WAAAAS A GOOOOOD NAAAAAAP!!!" Ugh. Please god no. I hope I never imagine that again. Luffy sounding so wrong. So incorrect. Blah.


Yeah who wants good VA's, that would have been a real shame
If I wanted good VAs I wouldn't even look in New York to begin with.

[Duke]

I'm a little worried by some of this but also slightly relieved in some ways. I'm glad they say they'll make the minimal amount of changes... but then why didn't they do it with Shaman King? And the fact that Toei approved of those voice actors (well Luffy's anyway) is a sad thought... I guess they're just as bad at US marketing as ever (remembers the days of Cloverway). We knew the Sanji stuff but the explantion was nice.Personally, I find it worriesome that Toei is getting involved too. I mean, they've been idiots ever since Dragonball came around...

And the only music I really expect them to change is music around the commercial breaks, like they do with Pokémon.


I think this is the first time Toei is pulled in to help the censoring. Or any company that publishes and creates an anime (like GONZO).
Nope. Sunrise had its say with MSG and G Gundam (why do you think they changed the names, changed "Sieg" into "Hail," and cut out 1 episode of MSG?), and Toei is recalling pretty much anything having to do with the Sailor Moon anime.


If I wanted good VAs I wouldn't even look in New York to begin with.
Oh come on, you can't tell me Veronica Taylor wasn't perfect as Amelia in Slayers.

[Artemis]

Announce an uncut release, and I probably won't be as worried...That's how I feel, and I have a feeling it might just happen. If Yu-Gi-Oh and Shaman King get uncut releases, why not One Piece?

[JetMaster5]

Well, whatever anyone says, everyone should know by now that company is very aware of the massive amounts of concerns from the already-established OP fans.


Give it 10-20 years when this otaku generation are the execs and programmers in the media firms, and it'll happen, not unlike what happened with CN and Toonami.
Oh I'd say it's much less than that. Give it 5 years. As you said, with the internet, the popularity soared through massive amounts. Much more than what was impossible during the '80's.

[Karl Olson]

Oh I'd say it's much less than that. Give it 5 years. As you said, with the internet, the popularity soared through massive amounts. Much more than what was impossible during the '80's.

Well, I figured I'd be generous. Besides 10 years from now the nature of the broadcast medium will probably be radically different. But that's a debate for another thread.

[Cheesecake]

I've heard that "minimal edits" line before *Coughcardcaptorsoutlawstarcough*

But at least there keeping the fans happy by claiming there gonna try and keep the show close to the original. I think Captain Morgans character id doomed though, somehow i dont think he'll be telling hsi men to shoot themselves in the head anymore.

[Conekiller]

Hyper Sensei, regarding Luffy's Voice: Think back to the old episodes of Pokemon. remember what Ash sounded like? it was the same actress who has odne Ash this whole time but sounds completely different,off and just plain bad. But over time the actress has settled into the role and we now have the Ash we know since ep 20 or so.

Now, the Same could be said about Luffy. His actress (it is an actress, right) is just a little rough around the edges right now (or back when they recorded the lines for the preview) and has or will have time to fall into the role.

[Yash]

Hyper Sensei, regarding Luffy's Voice: Think back to the old episodes of Pokemon. remember what Ash sounded like? it was the same actress who has odne Ash this whole time but sounds completely different,off and just plain bad. But over time the actress has settled into the role and we now have the Ash we know since ep 20 or so.
Ash sounded like a boy back then, as opposed to now.

[Icer]

If he played Luffy, Luffy would sound NOTHING like the Japanese Luffy, and there is no way Sinterniklass could pull off any of the lines Luffy says. I can already imagine him yelling out "AAAAAAAAAH! THAAAAT WAAAAS A GOOOOOD NAAAAAAP!!!" Ugh. Please god no. I hope I never imagine that again. Luffy sounding so wrong. So incorrect. Blah.
Better than what we have currently heard from Luffy

[Duke]

Hyper Sensei, regarding Luffy's Voice: Think back to the old episodes of Pokemon. remember what Ash sounded like? it was the same actress who has odne Ash this whole time but sounds completely different,off and just plain bad. But over time the actress has settled into the role and we now have the Ash we know since ep 20 or so.
I liked how Ash sounded really early on. He sounded scruffy (he also look scruffy back then too) and it fitted him. I would have preferred a more gradual change in his voice to match him growing up physically.

I believe Ash was the first young boy Veronica Taylor ever did.

[Killtacular]

Better than what we have currently heard from Luffy
No it's not.

[Cheesecake]

Ash went from sounding like a rough boy, to a...girl..basically. Same with Jasmes, he went form sounding like a tough pegasus to a camp homers simpson.

[Duke]

Ash went from sounding like a rough boy, to a...girl..basically. Same with Jasmes, he went form sounding like a tough pegasus to a camp homers simpson.
James had two different actors. Ted Lewis was James for the first half-dozen episodes or so, then switched with Eric Stuart.

I liked Stuart's James better, because it's more goofy. James ain't evil, or cool, he's goofy. Though recently he's become TOO goofy...

[Anime Freak]

Oh come on, you can't tell me Veronica Taylor wasn't perfect as Amelia in Slayers.

Actually I agree with you here, Amelia and Lina's dub voices were the best in the whole Slayers TV series,the rest kinda sucked and were horrible. Too bad ADV couldn't have used Lina's VA for the Slayers Specials they did or it would've been perfect. But still, Slayers wasn't done by 4kids though, so the dub doesn't suck quite as much.

[Icer]

No it's not.I disagree

[Tash]

Look at Knuckles from Sonic X. He had a great voice from the 1 line in the first episode... then he talked more, and people stopped liking it... So maybe it'll be like that, only reversed.

[Hordesman]

That's how I feel, and I have a feeling it might just happen. If Yu-Gi-Oh and Shaman King get uncut releases, why not One Piece?
I'm sure it will. I mean, 4Kids wants our money, right? Yes, I'm looking forward to domestic One Piece mass-market merchandise... but why stop there? I want replay points for my OP uncut subbed DVDs. Don't you want my money, 4Kids? :)

Oh, btw, anyone see the theatrical trailer? I went to the Manchurian Canadiate last night and what pops up before previews? One Piece US trailer! (I clapped for it)

[Andrew T. Hingson]

From the looks of the most recent list of upcoming releases in Nintendo power it seems not only is the Nintendo DS One Piece game coming to the US (which I thought was a high possibility) but one of the GBA games and even one of the GCN games will be coming as well. I can't wait!!!

[Dogasu]

From the looks of the most recent list of upcoming releases in Nintendo power it seems not only is the Nintendo DS One Piece game coming to the US (which I thought was a high possibility) but one of the GBA games and even one of the GCN games will be coming as well. I can't wait!!!
I hope they bring Grand Battle 3 over for the GameCube. I've played Grand Battle 2 (on the PSOne) and it's pretty much Super Smash Brothers with One Piece characters, so I would love to be able to play the updated version on my GameCube.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Veronica Taylor's best voice work IMO is her Yukino in "His and Her Circumstances." Excellent emotional range and eccentricity befitting the character.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

I didn't know an NY studio did Kare Kano. Interesting...

[Ultra8]

Hmmm. Interesting info. Though the cig for a sucker kinda sounds cliche, but then again the only other thing that people put in there mouths other than those 2 are grass stalks.

[Mysteryinfoman]

With all this info, does anyone know the airdate, I'm guessing the 18th of September. Saw the clip on Fox website cause missed the Tv preview and I think it sounds okay. Luffy voice sounds annoying to me but i cna get use to it.

[Hordesman]

With all this info, does anyone know the airdate, I'm guessing the 18th of September. Saw the clip on Fox website cause missed the Tv preview and I think it sounds okay. Luffy voice sounds annoying to me but i cna get use to it.
It can premiere on the 4th if you vote here: http://foxbox.tv/promotions/youpickit/

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Whoa! F-Zero is winning with Mew Mew behind it and One Piece trailing in third. VOTE ONE PIECE. Its not great but it'll be better than the other two.

[Duke]

...I kinda fail to see what the frantic-ness of it is about. I mean, they're showing a sneak peek to a show that will premiere the VERY NEXT WEEK.

[Hordesman]

...I kinda fail to see what the frantic-ness of it is about. I mean, they're showing a sneak peek to a show that will premiere the VERY NEXT WEEK.
It'll show just how committed the existing fanbase is.

[Pepperidge]

The sooner we get exposed, the better. Then we can stop speculating and give legitimate complaints. :)

[Duke]

It'll show just how committed the existing fanbase is.
............

That really sounds kinda dumb. It won't matter much if the show doesn't get any ratings anyway.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

...I kinda fail to see what the frantic-ness of it is about. I mean, they're showing a sneak peek to a show that will premiere the VERY NEXT WEEK.
Two weeks actually. If it's a preview on the 4th and the new Fox Box season premieres on the 18th.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

F-ZERO won? (according to the poll right now)

How the shell did that happen?

How much do you wanna bet they planned to air that one all along and rigged the polls?

[Duke]

Two weeks actually. If it's a preview on the 4th and the new Fox Box season premieres on the 18th.

I thought Fox was premiering these things on the 11th, or is that just KWB...


F-ZERO won? (according to the poll right now)

How the shell did that happen?

How much do you wanna bet they planned to air that one all along and rigged the polls?

Video game names > manga names

More people know about F-Zero than One Piece, especially the kiddies watching.

[Keiichi]

Wow TMM and Fzero blew One Piece out of the water. Its not really surpising Fzero won when you think about it. The first game debuted back in the SNES and has appeard on all Major nintendo systems so its sure to have quite the following. However what is surpising is TMM beating out OP.

[Rae78]

...I kinda fail to see what the frantic-ness of it is about. I mean, they're showing a sneak peek to a show that will premiere the VERY NEXT WEEK.
My thoughts exactly.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Just KWB is premiering stuff on the 11th. The Fox Box premieres on the 18th.

The strange thing was F-Zero was way in last place at the begining and it suddenly shot up first to over take One Piece then Mew Mew. It was suprising it happened so fast.

Like I said... I think it's rigged but it doesn't really matter.