"Sgt. Frog" on FUNimation Video Player

[firecrouch]

Episodes 1-4, all English-dubbed with just the first two in Japanese with English subtitles.

[macattack]

No dice on getting it on TV, I see.

Well, I'll try to make room so I can watch the episodes later. I hope the dub will be entertaining, believe it or not I enjoyed the more loosely adapted dub so I have high hopes for this one which is supposedly closer to the original material.

I believe Murder Princess just got added as well.

[Animeforever'04]

oh wow! the dub is actually funny and well done so far!

[firecrouch]

No dice on getting it on TV, I see.



Not necessarily. I know FUNimation really wants to get this on T.V. and that they're meeting with different networks this summer (or already have). This may have come out sooner since the series has been delayed for so long anyway.

[GWOtaku]

Wow, going through the first episode. This is great. The script is witty and funny, and the dub seems solid to me. The voices get it just right to make things funny, and the narrator is possibly the best part.

Heh. Quite a few fun exchanges.

"How does an alien make outdated pop culture references?"
"SATELLITE TV!!!"

[Innagadadavida]

Hmmm... The dub is pretty funny and cute. I might have to get the DVDs for this one. I need some more comedies in my collection.

What's up with the intro for the dub? They just used the Japanese version. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just enjoy their English translations.

[Kazuya Prower]

I gotta say, I actually enjoyed the first episode of the dub. Keroro's voice still isn't perfect, but it is a slight improvement. Aki and Fuyuki sound spot on and the dialouge was pretty funny. Now, I'm going to watch episode 2.

[ThePRPD]

I like it! :D

[HellCat]

Joy, UK can't see it :shrug: Still lepers, I see.

[Brad Redfield]

Loved the Fist of the North Star reference in the first episode. :D

The dub seems pretty wacky and entertaining enough and, unlike Shin-chan, the original version is on the DVDs. I'm in.

[Kazuya Prower]

Alright, the dub of the first four episodes have convinced me to buy the DVD when it comes out. They're just too hilarious.:anime:

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Joy, UK can't see it :shrug: Still lepers, I see.

Pretty sure FUNi doesn't own the rights in the UK so uh... what did you expect? No really. I do feel some simpathy towards UKers but it's not the US distributors fault that you can't watch the show.

This dub is made of awesome and win. I know it's taking liberties but I LOVE IT. Ninja Turtles theme reference? EPIC WIN by itself and that's just scratching the surface.

I'm loving Todd Haberkorn's Keroro. It's very Invaider Zim-esque. The subtle tone changes with emotions really bring the character to life. It's exactly how I had hoped Keroro would sound in English. Very nice!

The rest of the cast is solid from what I've heard (Tamama and the human family and minor characters). And if I wasn't sure I was picking up DVDs before I am now.

[garfield15]

"In the year 200....9!" (when the title clearly shows 2004)

And I'm hooked. I've never seen an episode of this show but I can't deny that FUNi knows how to do parody anime like this. I hope they can get them all out (along with the movies)

That ending song is so boss. The only thing that could have made it better is if Vic was singing it.

EDIT: You know, while I'm at it, I might as well see how many episodes this show is. I'm sure it can't be too lon...
(263 episodes. Still ongoing. The manga is still ongoing too)
.....
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?

Man, these better come out in freaking boxsets or something.

[Kevin]

LOL! That was great! The voice acting is solid, and I really like the dialogue too. They need to get this on TV!

[garfield15]

I'm watching perhaps the funniest thing I've ever seen in a dub.

The very beginning of the second episode has Keroro singing the opening in Japanese in a freaking dub! That's insanely hilarious.

Oh and of course "THANK YOU GOOGLE MAPS!"

"I've got so many Gundam toys, I can't even play with them all!"

[HellCat]

Pretty sure FUNi doesn't own the rights in the UK so uh... what did you expect? No really. I do feel some simpathy towards UKers but it's not the US distributors fault that you can't watch the show.


They could at least not inform us of this fact with such a blunt message. The whole site is otherwise fun and attractive but as soon as a non-American tries to go the video page- "I think you took a wrong turn, sonny *click click*"

It's a consistent problem of online streaming. As long as the Americans can see it, they don't really care about the rest of us. At least you can import DVDs.

[garfield15]

Cheer up HC. Here watch the 9th OP of the show. It's by JAM Project and it's got a certain part at about 1:00 that I think you'll li~ke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ3aeMwpuQs

[Mandouga]

Well I saw the sub of the first episode just now (no offense to those who like the dub), and I can honestly say that I don't think I need to see the dub to know that as far as DVDs go, this is the version I prefer. That is, I will only watch a dubbed version if it airs in a mainstream, family-friendly timeslot (which would incur some editing of course, but "those are the breaks" as they say).

However, (and I've said this before) I will have nothing to do with any dub of the show if FUNi decides to pull a "Knights of the Zodiac" on the viewers (i.e., with two separate dubs, one for the "fans" and one for "everyone else").

In any case, I do have one problem with the sub. (Almost) every chance Funimation gets, "de arimasu" is "translated" (which in this case means "re-interpreted") as "Sir! Yes, Sir!". My feelings about this are stated thus (and I'm not trying to be rude or anything):

That's not a proper way to translate it, sir!

It's a common, polite way to end sentences in Japanese, sir!

It's not always in a military context, sir!

It shouldn't even be translated at all, sir!

Well, you get the idea. Also, I'm not really feeling "senior" for "senpai". If they had just said "upperclassman", that would have been sufficient.

In any event, I'm still not sure about this show as a whole (Japanese version or otherwise). It's just the first episode of course, but it kind of gives off the feeling of a "sitcom-style" series, which is something I don't always get into. Even an episodic series can have some direction, and I tend to find that "sitcom-style" series are simply 30 minutes of seemingly random humor that don't really go anywhere (which is why they usually--repeat, USUALLY aren't that good, but that's another story). Still, I'll continue to give the show a try for the time being.

One other thing, so am I to understand that Funimation didn't make a "Shin Chan" style dub of the show? Again, I only intend to watch a dubbed version on TV (as stated above), but I would still like to know. Also, given the comedic style of this show, I get the idea that a dubbed version would be a little hard to swallow (even if they didn't change any of the references); it would feel just like all the other American-made "sitcom-style" shows with most of the "humor" being sarcasm (you see, sarcasm isn't always funny, but I digress); any sarcasm in this particular show (and this is based on the sub) comes off to as actually being a part of the humor overall, and not just merely sarcasm, period. So, personally, I find the subbed version (somewhat) preferable to any dubbed version that could be created (I repeat however, that I am willing to give a dubbed version a try...if it were to air on TV in a non-adult timeslot).

So, here's hoping that the show turns about to be enjoyable in the long run, and that Funimation doesn't pander to one "audience" or the other.

[firecrouch]

They could at least not inform us of this fact with such a blunt message. The whole site is otherwise fun and attractive but as soon as a non-American tries to go the video page- "I think you took a wrong turn, sonny *click click*"

It's a consistent problem of online streaming. As long as the Americans can see it, they don't really care about the rest of us. At least you can import DVDs.

Ugh, you're getting the wrong idea.

Anyway, was anyone getting annoyed with the fake translation notes in the dub? I felt like they were overdoing it. I mean the "Bobobo" dub made fun of the fact there was so much Japanese in the show but "Sgt. Frog" was too distracting. I hope you can can literal an joke translations as options for the dub on DVD.

Also is anyone wondering why Keroro doesn't say "Sir yes sir" in the dub?

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Being completely unfamiliar with the property and having my first taste be a pretty damn clean dub, I'm not all that impressed. It's hard to imagine how this series can sustain the same overlying plot for nearly 300 episodes with what are relatively tiring clashes of personalities. Now, granted I've only seen the first episode and half of the second and third (blame the video player for that), but as it stands I'm not all that inclined to a wait with baited breath each new release or episode upload.

[veemonjosh]

Being completely unfamiliar with the property and having my first taste be a pretty damn clean dub, I'm not all that impressed. It's hard to imagine how this series can sustain the same overlying plot for nearly 300 episodes with what are relatively tiring clashes of personalities. Now, granted I've only seen the first episode and half of the second and third (blame the video player for that), but as it stands I'm not all that inclined to a wait with baited breath each new release or episode upload.

Just to let you know, the series doesn't get really good until at least after the third frog is introduced (though, things don't REALLY get rolling until the fifth frog is introduced in episode 13). These first few episodes are a bit dull compared to how zany and fun the rest of the series is.

The show's main source of humor comes from the interaction and plots of the five frogs together, so it's a bit unfair to judge it by an episode with Keroro solo.

[Majin_Megabyte]

I love the dub of the series so far. I have seen the first 30 episodes of the series, before hand. The entire dub cast fits each character prefectly so far and I don't american pop culture since I kinda saw it coming some of the jokes probably wouldn't make sense over unless the person know japansse pop culture.

I can't wait to see how the dub will handle the Mois first episode and also I can't wait to see more of Chuck Huber doing Kururu, since breif 2-3 seconds on Episode 2, I love him.

[garfield15]

Wow, FUNi is rather Gundam-savvy with their re-written dialogue. They knew that the Gwazine-class was the most powerful battleship in the One Year War. That wasn't even in the original dialogue.

("It'll make my Magellen look like a Salamus." One of those jokes that only the extreme Gundam fans get)

When do more episodes come up!?

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Ugh, you're getting the wrong idea.

Anyway, was anyone getting annoyed with the fake translation notes in the dub? I felt like they were overdoing it. I mean the "Bobobo" dub made fun of the fact there was so much Japanese in the show but "Sgt. Frog" was too distracting. I hope you can can literal an joke translations as options for the dub on DVD.

Also is anyone wondering why Keroro doesn't say "Sir yes sir" in the dub?

Honestly I prefer this over how Bo-Bobo handled random Japanese text. The narrator arguing with the text is hillarious. But I do hope they have alternate angles on the DVD so that they keep the original Japanese version as intact as possible but if they don't... I don't really mind. They had to do something with the text and I prefer this over I dunno... no translation or editing the text out.

[Majin_Megabyte]

Probably ether next Thursday or Friday. Since those are the days mostly put new episodes on their video portal.

[HellCat]

Ugh, you're getting the wrong idea.


No, not really. Bandai/ANN are streaming Kannagi. The UK is region blocked on that but at the very least the message that informs you of this fact tries to add some emotion/humour. The one on sites like FUNimation is cold and formal, basically telling you to bugger off and go do something else.
If you happen to live in a region that isn't getting a streaming feed, it's irritating and inconsistent. The YouTube account of Kadokawa in Japan has been offering English subtitled episodes of Haruhi Suzumiya with no region blocking that I'm aware of. This includes the original show, the new season and the comedy spin offs. If they can pull that off, why is it that other series can't get a similar treatment? Why can't the original rights holders provide the episodes subtitled online or make a company like FUNimation the overall English language streaming subsidary of the titles? If memory serves, FUNimation themselves once even used to authour their DVDs to have multi region coding so surely such a concept is not alien to them. This provides a bigger audience for them who are likely to support later pay for download or DVD releases. Further, it addresses the problem of giving as many people as possible an official stream to support. Cutting off regions by not negotating for them just increases people's motivation to support unofficial means. I'm sure there's various legal situations I'm unaware of, but in general I see no reason why someone providing an English subtitled stream of a show can't likewise provide that to England itself and similar countries. As long as whole countries are left out, the exact problems these streams are supposed to combat will only endure.

[firecrouch]

No, not really. Bandai/ANN are streaming Kannagi. The UK is region blocked on that but at the very least the message that informs you of this fact tries to add some emotion/humour. The one on sites like FUNimation is cold and formal, basically telling you to bugger off and go do something else.
If you happen to live in a region that isn't getting a streaming feed, it's irritating and inconsistent. The YouTube account of Kadokawa in Japan has been offering English subtitled episodes of Haruhi Suzumiya with no region blocking that I'm aware of. This includes the original show, the new season and the comedy spin offs. If they can pull that off, why is it that other series can't get a similar treatment? Why can't the original rights holders provide the episodes subtitled online or make a company like FUNimation the overall English language streaming subsidary of the titles? If memory serves, FUNimation themselves once even used to authour their DVDs to have multi region coding so surely such a concept is not alien to them. This provides a bigger audience for them who are likely to support later pay for download or DVD releases. Further, it addresses the problem of giving as many people as possible an official stream to support. Cutting off regions by not negotating for them just increases people's motivation to support unofficial means. I'm sure there's various legal situations I'm unaware of, but in general I see no reason why someone providing an English subtitled stream of a show can't likewise provide that to England itself and similar countries. As long as whole countries are left out, the exact problems these streams are supposed to combat will only endure.

What do you want them to tell you? It sounds like you get the idea, so what's the problem? FUNimation doesn't have the rights to stream the series in regions they don't have the rights to, it's not like they're doing it on purpose. Just take it up with Kadokawa Shoten, they own "Sgt. Frog".

[HellCat]

What do you want them to tell you? It sounds like you get the idea, so what's the problem? FUNimation doesn't have the rights to stream the series in regions they don't have the rights to, it's not like they're doing it on purpose. Just take it up with Kadokawa Shoten, they own "Sgt. Frog".

It's hardly the key issue, but given how generally friendly FUNimation are I'm suprised how clinical the message is. It's not possible for them to replace it with something that whilst still getting the message across is more sympathetic? The current one makes non-Americans feel like they took a wrong turn and entered a very dark alley.

[veemonjosh]

It's hardly the key issue, but given how generally friendly FUNimation are I'm suprised how clinical the message is. It's not possible for them to replace it with something that whilst still getting the message across is more sympathetic? The current one makes non-Americans feel like they took a wrong turn and entered a very dark alley.

What does the message say exactly? You keep describing it as something terrible, but not what it actually says.

[HellCat]

What does the message say exactly? You keep describing it as something terrible, but not what it actually says.

I'll stress again that this is hardly the heart of the matter but:




This content is not available in your territory.
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If you believe you are currently in a territory to which FUNimation has rights, please e-mail us your current location at Webmaster[@]Funimation.com (webmaster@funimation.com?subject=GeoLocation%20%2886.11.29.95;%29) so we can investigate the discrepancy.
Thank you for your interest!
Return to FUNimation.com (http://www.funimation.com/)



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[Mandouga]

It's hard to imagine how this series can sustain the same overlying plot for nearly 300 episodes with what are relatively tiring clashes of personalities. Now, granted I've only seen the first episode and half of the second and third (blame the video player for that), but as it stands I'm not all that inclined to a wait with baited breath each new release or episode upload.

I was under the impression that both the manga and anime were about Keroro's ongoing "efforts" to conquer Earth (or rather "Pekopon"), but always keeps getting "distracted" for some reason (a la Invader Zim...or so I heard), but I have been looking a little further into this, and if I understand correctly...

Eventually, he and his "platoon" eventually have a new "mission", to protect Earth/Pekopon and their friends

Now, I'm not totally sure about this, but I'm using spoiler tags just in case. Still if this is the case, then that would mean that this show (and by extension, the source material) actually has some direction, which means that there's possible hope for this show in the long run. Wikipedia also mentioned something about human characters having (Keronese) "partners".


The show's main source of humor comes from the interaction and plots of the five frogs together.

(quoted for emphasis)

You mean all the parodies of anime clichés aren't? Again, it was just the first episode, but the (first) impression that I got was that of a show that parodies (with future episodes deconstructing at times) various anime clichés, including the "format" (e.g., the eyecatch is marked "EYECATCH", and all the episode title cards are labled "SUBTITLE DE ARIMASU", both in English, no less--although we see still see the name of the episode). Even the opening and ending theme songs are "parody" theme songs (i.e., the songs themselves are parodies of the anime theme song "cliché"; incidentally, I'm aware that they are "style" parodies, and parodies of specific songs).

So I guess what you're saying is that it takes a while for this show to "come to speed", as it were?

[HellCat]

There are some short term spin offs which shake things up. Musha Kero is a brief arc which sees the Keroro Platoon being sent to a samurai themed planet where they're tasked with finding 5 ancient Keronian super weapons that were hidden on the planet. Whilst there, they all adopt stereotype costumes of the era.

[veemonjosh]

You mean all the parodies of anime clichés aren't? Again, it was just the first episode, but the (first) impression that I got was that of a show that parodies (with future episodes deconstructing at times) various anime clichés, including the "format" (e.g., the eyecatch is marked "EYECATCH", and all the episode title cards are labled "SUBTITLE DE ARIMASU", both in English, no less--although we see still see the name of the episode). Even the opening and ending theme songs are "parody" theme songs (i.e., the songs themselves are parodies of the anime theme song "cliché"; incidentally, I'm aware that they are "style" parodies, and parodies of specific songs).

So I guess what you're saying is that it takes a while for this show to "come to speed", as it were?

Actually, yeah, I misworded it. I should've said "the main source of character interaction" comes from the five frogs together, which is true.

And yes, the show doesn't come to speed until around the time Kururu shows up (but it does have its moments once Giroro is introduced). Dororo is just the ninja icing on the cake.

[Mandouga]

Incidentally, I'm curious. Regarding the character "Dororo", does anyone know if the Tezuka family (especially Makoto) had anything to say about this? You see, "Dororo" is also the name of a samurai manga that Osamu Tezuka wrote back in the 1960s.

[Super Sonic]

Love the voices, particularly Natsumi's and Kerero's (they're the only ones in the sneak peek Youtube video whose voices could've used improvement). I'm watching episode 1 and so far it's hilarious. I especially loved the gag at the beginning with the narrator saying the story begins in 2009 when the screen clearly shows "2004". :D

With the jokes and the dub cast being this great, I'll definitely purchase the DVD when it comes out. So glad FUNi let us submit constuctive criticism in response to what may have ended up being their original dub had we not say anything in those Youtube comments.

[Dudley]

Wow. This show is hilarious. Who would've guessed?

"What's a misson?"

And Age of Aquarius reference FTW!

[garfield15]

I couldn't believe the full Dark Knight reference. Complete with a Christian Bale thing no less.

[Tash]

Ugh, you're getting the wrong idea.

Anyway, was anyone getting annoyed with the fake translation notes in the dub? I felt like they were overdoing it. I mean the "Bobobo" dub made fun of the fact there was so much Japanese in the show but "Sgt. Frog" was too distracting. I hope you can can literal an joke translations as options for the dub on DVD.
It's a parody of what bad fansubbers tend to do.

[firecrouch]

It's a parody of what bad fansubbers tend to do.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad idea. I'm just hoping that FUNimation gives viewers to turn off the joke or have actual translations for the English dub.

And HellCat if you're that upset about being region-blocked why don't you post something in the FUNimation Rep thread.

[Taekmkm]

Just finished episode 3. Loved both the obvious and subtle Gundam references. (reference to Char's camera destruction)

I love sarcastic narrators. "Oh good...more frog puns."

[Andrew T. Hingson]

The references are so hillarious. This is a freak'n abridged series humor wise. I love it. I know I should be wanting a more true to the original dub but I guess you could say as long as it amuses me I don't care if the dub is exactly true to the original. But hopefully the subbed version is more proper.

[GWOtaku]

So I did a little cleaning up this morning and super late last night. Just in case it might come up again, I want a moratorium on region coding talk. This should be mostly about Sgt. Frog, the dub, and so on.

Made it through the third, looking forward to watching the fourth...if it actually picks up from the beginning that's rather good news, since I've been quite entertained so far.

[HellCat]

The thing I never got with the first episode is why it makes the 'origin' story the second half. It does mean you get to the norm of the series more quickly, but I think the opening story (how Keroro was rumbled) actually grabs your attention pretty well. It also helps to establish that pre-Earth Keroro was an actually compotent soldier, he just got unlucky.

[firecrouch]

The references are so hillarious. This is a freak'n abridged series humor wise. I love it. I know I should be wanting a more true to the original dub but I guess you could say as long as it amuses me I don't care if the dub is exactly true to the original. But hopefully the subbed version is more proper.

It's true enough to the original. Why don't you watch the Japanese version?

[GWOtaku]

The thing I never got with the first episode is why it makes the 'origin' story the second half. It does mean you get to the norm of the series more quickly, but I think the opening story (how Keroro was rumbled) actually grabs your attention pretty well. It also helps to establish that pre-Earth Keroro was an actually compotent soldier, he just got unlucky.

They went for self-aware humor, which works so far as it goes. After all, the title for the second half is "The episode that should have come first!" And as another example elsewhere, when they're setting up Sarge in his basement Fuyuki asks why he'd never been told about it before. So Aki cheerfully remarks that "it's only the first episode, dear!"

[Conekiller]

That was so funny! I'm glad Funi went back and heeded fans' concerns and changed the names back and kept the Gundam references.

Clever re-writing helps punch up the humor alot. I loved Tamama's unconvincing "Don't do Drugs" and practically anything Momoka said/thought

[Andrew T. Hingson]

It's true enough to the original. Why don't you watch the Japanese version?

I haven't bothered to watch FUNimation's subbed episodes of Gunsou yet but I did watch quite a few episodes subbed several years ago. Just got to be too much to keep up on so I stopped watching with hopes a dub wouldn't take long to come along. Well... so much for that but it's finally here.

Oh I also have I think six books of the manga... maybe more.

I guess "true to the original" wasn't the best way to put that since you're basically switching Japanese pop-culture for English pop-culture and oddly enough fake Gundam references for actual Gundam references (what are the legalities of that anyway?). So it's still true to the original just different. Though I believe there's been several lines that took an otherwise humorless scene and attempted to make it funny. Usually with great results but I can't help but cringe at some of the slang... OMG really? Sheesh. Still I'm loving this dub and I hope it can get a TV deal either way I'm buying the DVDs for sure.

[garfield15]

I must be the only one freaking out at the realization that this show is over 200-onging episodes long (with movies)

I so hope they put more episodes on Crunchyroll the video player.

[Mandouga]

what are the legalities of that anyway?

As far as the manga goes, Sgt. Frog is serialized in Monthly Shonen Ace, which is published by Kadokawa Shoten. Gundam has been a prominent feature in Kadokawa's magazines for years (there's even a magazine called "Gundam Ace"). The anime meanwhile, is made by Sunrise, who also makes all of the Gundam anime. I also imagine that because Sunrise is a division of Bandai (specifically, Bandai Co. Ltd., the corporate office), this gave Bandai the merchandising rights, etc to Sgt. Frog. Because of all this, making the Gundam references is okay. As for Funimation's release, I'm guessing they had to get permission to use the Gundam references in both translations (i.e., dub and sub), since Bandai Entertainment holds the U.S. rights to most of the Gundam franchise.

However, don't quote me on any of this, as it's all just an educated guess.

[firecrouch]

As far as the manga goes, Sgt. Frog is serialized in Monthly Shonen Ace, which is published by Kadokawa Shoten. Gundam has been a prominent feature in Kadokawa's magazines for years (there's even a magazine called "Gundam Ace"). The anime meanwhile, is made by Sunrise, who also makes all of the Gundam anime. I also imagine that because Sunrise is a division of Bandai (specifically, Bandai Co. Ltd., the corporate office), this gave Bandai the merchandising rights, etc to Sgt. Frog. Because of all this, making the Gundam references is okay. As for Funimation's release, I'm guessing they had to get permission to use the Gundam references in both translations (i.e., dub and sub), since Bandai Entertainment holds the U.S. rights to most of the Gundam franchise.

However, don't quote me on any of this, as it's all just an educated guess.

Either way the series is licensed from the original "Gundam" license-holders (Bandai, Sunrise, Kadokawa), so they get permission no matter.

And yeah, this dub is pretty good, but I still feel FUNimation needs to learn ti how calm down with amount of jokes/Americanization they put in. No surprise this show is written by the same person who did Shin-Chan".

[Taekmkm]

Why? The americanization is mostly filler spots, when the core jokes are still in place.

[firecrouch]

Why? The americanization is mostly filler spots, when the core jokes are still in place.

I'm having a similar problem with this that I had with "Shin-Chan", in that there's too many jokes. Good comedy requires that there be plenty of straight-man lines as well, but with this it's just joke-joke-joke-joke, it just gets annoying after a while.

[Taekmkm]

The narrator is the straight man, along with the subtitles pointing out flaws of Kero's plans.

[Innagadadavida]

I'm having a similar problem with this that I had with "Shin-Chan", in that there's too many jokes. Good comedy requires that there be plenty of straight-man lines as well, but with this it's just joke-joke-joke-joke, it just gets annoying after a while.

Not really. Maybe you prefer comedy with straight-man lines, but there is no set standard for "good comedy." Rapid fire jokes are commonly used in all forms of comedy.

[MetroSparkster]

Tamama so adorable... for a dangerously gassy, easily irritated, laser-spewing, alien tadpole.

Haven't laughed this much since Bobobo and Shin Chan.

Though after 5 years of license juggling, I hope Funi is able to dub the 200+ episodes from Japan...

[GingaDaiuchuu]

No surprise this show is written by the same person who did Shin-Chan".


I'm having a similar problem with this that I had with "Shin-Chan", in that there's too many jokes.


Haven't laughed this much since Bobobo and Shin Chan.

Please, FUNimation, can you either fix your video player or put this on your YouTube?

[bleachj0j]

I don't care if they change the script for the dub it's for the best most likely, but I don't find it very funny. There were s few jokes I chuckled at but this wasn't funny to me. Maybe it was too many jokes

[Mandouga]

That reminds me, from what everyone has been describing, it sounds kind of like a gag dub (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GagDub) to me; a "translation" that doesn't really translate the show, but instead inserts American created jokes at the show's expense (just like when FUNi "translated" Crayon Shin-chan, only not as prominent in this show), despite whichever Japanese references (such as the ones relating to Gundam) are kept. One talked about example on here is the introduction of the setting as "200...9", when it clearly shows "2004".

For this reason, I think I'm going to stick with the subtitled version. I want an actual translation of the show, and not what is essentially a 30-minute, American-created "parody" of the show.

Or am I mistaken? Is this a gag dub or is it simply a "Woolseyism" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Woolseyism) translation? A combination of both perhaps?

[HellCat]

From the sounds of it, the dub is basically taking general liberties. Not to the expense of something like Shin-Chan but more like Samurai Pizza Cats. The original series is kind of wobbly in this regard- the show doesn't take itself too seriously but there is a general setting and anything really fourth wall breaking is delivered by the narrator. The characters don't acknowledge being characters otherwise there's really no consequences to Keroro's schemes.

[garfield15]

That reminds me, from what everyone has been describing, it sounds kind of like a gag dub (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GagDub) to me; a "translation" that doesn't really translate the show, but instead inserts American created jokes at the show's expense (just like when FUNi "translated" Crayon Shin-chan, only not as prominent in this show), despite whichever Japanese references (such as the ones relating to Gundam) are kept. One talked about example on here is the introduction of the setting as "200...9", when it clearly shows "2004".

For this reason, I think I'm going to stick with the subtitled version. I want an actual translation of the show, and not what is essentially a 30-minute, American-created "parody" of the show.

Or am I mistaken? Is this a gag dub or is it simply a "Woolseyism" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Woolseyism) translation? A combination of both perhaps?
I'm just wondering, why don't you just watch the dub for a little bit to see?

[GWOtaku]

That reminds me, from what everyone has been describing, it sounds kind of like a gag dub (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GagDub) to me; a "translation" that doesn't really translate the show, but instead inserts American created jokes at the show's expense

That "at the show's expense" part is what I would disagree with. My impression was that they were supplementing the original writing and humor with clever dialogue, as opposed to turning the show into something completely different. And I don't want to overplay the self-aware angle either; it's there, but it's not so much parodying itself as it is reveling in its own silliness.

I'm feeling a bit ambitious today, so I might do a really detailed dub/sub comparison when I get home. We'll see.

[garfield15]

I'm feeling a bit ambitious today, so I might do a really detailed dub/sub comparison when I get home. We'll see.
Ooooooohh. A full analysis from GW. Do it do it do it!

[HellCat]

I think they'd have to do a REALLY bad job to top some of the other interpretations of Keroro. That test dub we saw was pretty lousy but I think the worst I've seen is an edutainment manga that tries to use the cast to teach kids Japanese history. Everyone is really out of character and the artist can't even stay on model (Tamama is drawn with a triangle grin when everyone else draws him consistently with an oval one). Dare I also mention Keroro Quest, where they just rip off the design and format of SD Gundam Gaiden? Though that's always the worst thing Bandai/Sunrise do- oversaturate the Gundam references to the point of being annoying and one note.

[veemonjosh]

That reminds me, from what everyone has been describing, it sounds kind of like a gag dub (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GagDub) to me; a "translation" that doesn't really translate the show, but instead inserts American created jokes at the show's expense (just like when FUNi "translated" Crayon Shin-chan, only not as prominent in this show), despite whichever Japanese references (such as the ones relating to Gundam) are kept. One talked about example on here is the introduction of the setting as "200...9", when it clearly shows "2004".

For this reason, I think I'm going to stick with the subtitled version. I want an actual translation of the show, and not what is essentially a 30-minute, American-created "parody" of the show.

Or am I mistaken? Is this a gag dub or is it simply a "Woolseyism" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Woolseyism) translation? A combination of both perhaps?

You could just watch the first episode and see for yourself.

It's not a gag dub, it's a dub that simply alters certain jokes because some of the original jokes wouldn't make much sense translated, this is as accurate as one can get to dubbing this series without coming off as ANNOYINGLY accurate (ala Super Milk Chan). All the important lines are kept, all the correct emotion is there, so I don't see any real problem with it.

Also, the "200...9" bit was more a joke poking fun at how long it took this show to get dubbed, not anything "at the show's expense".

[Tash]

That reminds me, from what everyone has been describing, it sounds kind of like a gag dub (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GagDub) to me; a "translation" that doesn't really translate the show, but instead inserts American created jokes at the show's expense (just like when FUNi "translated" Crayon Shin-chan, only not as prominent in this show), despite whichever Japanese references (such as the ones relating to Gundam) are kept. One talked about example on here is the introduction of the setting as "200...9", when it clearly shows "2004".

For this reason, I think I'm going to stick with the subtitled version. I want an actual translation of the show, and not what is essentially a 30-minute, American-created "parody" of the show.

Or am I mistaken? Is this a gag dub or is it simply a "Woolseyism" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Woolseyism) translation? A combination of both perhaps?
It's hard to create an "American-created parody of this show", when the entire show is already a tongue-in-cheek parody of itself (the original manga was meant to feel like a bad Doujin the whole way through, hence the constant uneeded anime refrences, cliche characters, and the fact that Keroro never changes his facial expression). The English version just plays up the humor more.

[veemonjosh]

It's hard to create an "American-created parody of this show", when the entire show is already a tongue-in-cheek parody of itself (the original manga was meant to feel like a bad Doujin the whole way through, hence the constant uneeded anime refrences, cliche characters, and the fact that Keroro never changes his facial expression). The English version just plays up the humor more.

Oh, that reminds me of a gag in episode 13 that makes jokes about how long it took the manga to introduce Dororo compared to how soon the anime got to that point.

So yeah, you make a good point that the anime is already a playful parody of the manga, and the manga is a parody of manga as a whole. Thus, Funimation is staying quite faithful with these little differences here and there.

[Mandouga]

The issue about whether or not it's our place to "improve" someone else's artistic vision aside, there is something else.

Actually, one of the main reasons why I'm avoiding the dub (and please don't take this personally), is that, I don't want to take the chance that FUNi might have inserted some "naughty language" into their ("uncut") dub. This is why I prefer to watch the dubbed version on TV in a family-friendly timeslot. That way, there's assurance that there won't be any of said "naughty langauge".

Again, don't take this personally. Also, before anyone gives me the "if you don't like it, don't watch it" explanation, try to understand that this show (at least by Japanese standards) is meant to be family friendly (don't know about the original manga), and thus I would prefer that it be translated to reflect that (i.e., without "naughty language" or any other form of "grown-up talk"). However, I don't wish to debate the issue since this isn't the thread for it. Suffice it to say, I would like to watch the dub as well as the sub, but only if the dub is shown on TV. That way, I can be certain that any and all "naughty language" will be averted. However, because Funimation's video portal (as well as their upcoming DVD of the show) technically doesn't make any such considerations, I personally can't take that chance with the dubbed version.

I reiterate: I don't mean any offense whatsoever, but until this show is seen on TV (and without a separate dub for "mainstream" viewers), I'm sticking with the subbed version (where certain terminology may be subjective, which is also another issue for another thread).

[GWOtaku]

If your definition of "naughty language" is what I think it is, you don't have to worry about that. I would show the dub to a ten year old, no questions asked. It seems rather TV friendly as-is.

[Silver Soul]

The issue about whether or not it's our place to "improve" someone else's artistic vision aside, there is something else.

Actually, one of the main reasons why I'm avoiding the dub (and please don't take this personally), is that, I don't want to take the chance that FUNi might have inserted some "naughty language" into their ("uncut") dub. This is why I prefer to watch the dubbed version on TV in a family-friendly timeslot. That way, there's assurance that there won't be any of said "naughty langauge".

Again, don't take this personally. Also, before anyone gives me the "if you don't like it, don't watch it" explanation, try to understand that this show (at least by Japanese standards) is meant to be family friendly (don't know about the original manga), and thus I would prefer that it be translated to reflect that (i.e., without "naughty language" or any other form of "grown-up talk"). However, I don't wish to debate the issue since this isn't the thread for it. Suffice it to say, I would like to watch the dub as well as the sub, but only if the dub is shown on TV. That way, I can be certain that any and all "naughty language" will be averted. However, because Funimation's video portal (as well as their upcoming DVD of the show) technically doesn't make any such considerations, I personally can't take that chance with the dubbed version.

I reiterate: I don't mean any offense whatsoever, but until this show is seen on TV (and without a separate dub for "mainstream" viewers), I'm sticking with the subbed version (where certain terminology may be subjective, which is also another issue for another thread).
Okay first, dude you need to chill it's no big deal and second from watching the first four episodes and doesn't seem that FUNi added anything raunchy or over the top to the script and most of the time it's rather clever to see them use certain liberties at their dispense. This won't be following the Shin-Chan antics (and remember that Shin-chan was made to air for Adult Swim) and third from watching 200+ episodes of this series it's not as cut and dry family-friendly all the time like say Doraemon, the premise of the show is still kid -friendly but from time to time they usual get away with a risque joke from time to time and fourth please understand the marketing aspects of this distribution, in order to attract new viewers and satisfy old Funi's got to make it so that it appeals to consumers so that's it's not completely boring or dumbing you down just to keep some fans satisfied (needless to say they're still some who hated the kid-friendly anime as opposed to the teens and up manga) so why do you think they're trying to expose it and get it on television. It already seems you've made your decision but please stop making Funi out to be the badguy in this situation when they're just doing their job, they want this series to sell well given the episode count and hardwork they've put into it.

[creativerealms]

The issue about whether or not it's our place to "improve" someone else's artistic vision aside, there is something else.

Actually, one of the main reasons why I'm avoiding the dub (and please don't take this personally), is that, I don't want to take the chance that FUNi might have inserted some "naughty language" into their ("uncut") dub. This is why I prefer to watch the dubbed version on TV in a family-friendly timeslot. That way, there's assurance that there won't be any of said "naughty langauge".

Again, don't take this personally. Also, before anyone gives me the "if you don't like it, don't watch it" explanation, try to understand that this show (at least by Japanese standards) is meant to be family friendly (don't know about the original manga), and thus I would prefer that it be translated to reflect that (i.e., without "naughty language" or any other form of "grown-up talk"). However, I don't wish to debate the issue since this isn't the thread for it. Suffice it to say, I would like to watch the dub as well as the sub, but only if the dub is shown on TV. That way, I can be certain that any and all "naughty language" will be averted. However, because Funimation's video portal (as well as their upcoming DVD of the show) technically doesn't make any such considerations, I personally can't take that chance with the dubbed version.

I reiterate: I don't mean any offense whatsoever, but until this show is seen on TV (and without a separate dub for "mainstream" viewers), I'm sticking with the subbed version (where certain terminology may be subjective, which is also another issue for another thread).

It sounds like you have not seen the dub yet you keep insulting/bad mouthing it. You seem to be jumping to conclusions based on I don't know. Why not watch an episode and actually know if your complaints are valid. you seem to be pre judging right now and that's bad.

[Silver Soul]

If your definition of "naughty language" is what I think it is, you don't have to worry about that. I would show the dub to a ten year old, no questions asked. It seems rather TV friendly as-is.
Well there's one mention of crap here and there and Natsumi's friend seems a bit too friendly as well, also believe it or not here in America, fart is considered a naughty word.

[veemonjosh]

Actually, one of the main reasons why I'm avoiding the dub (and please don't take this personally), is that, I don't want to take the chance that FUNi might have inserted some "naughty language" into their ("uncut") dub. This is why I prefer to watch the dubbed version on TV in a family-friendly timeslot. That way, there's assurance that there won't be any of said "naughty langauge".

..."Naughty language"? You mean cursing, right?

The closest thing to cursing I recall from the first two episodes was Keroro saying "crap" once, and it came and went so fast that I barely noticed, nor cared, about it. Besides, crap isn't really a swear.

But still, it doesn't have anything that you wouldn't hear in any other kids show.


also believe it or not here in America, fart is considered a naughty word.

Not...really anymore.

[Silver Soul]

Not...really anymore.
It depends, usually in a lot a children shows they omit fart to passing gas or tooting and in general anime on tv do the same, while recent shows like Chowder usually just say it to enhance the humor.

[GWOtaku]

It sounds like you have not seen the dub yet you keep insulting/bad mouthing it. You seem to be jumping to conclusions based on I don't know. Why not watch an episode and actually know if your complaints are valid. you seem to be pre judging right now and that's bad.

No, he voiced concerns about the dub, which I attempted to answer. He did not say that it was terrible. There's nothing invalid about this. Disagreeing is fine, but I don't want to see people jumping on every shred of dissent. Keep calm and carry on, eh?

____________

As for the farting thing, that's a part of an episode rather than anything to do with the dub itself. So if it were edited for TV, it would be no matter what kind of dub there was.

I don't think "crap" is really an issue either, but in any event that's a really minor, solitary edit if it were necessary. There's a MASSIVE difference between this and the uncut dub for One Piece, which threw in all kinds of language that flat out doesn't need to be there.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Not so sure OMG and even the fully spoken out version of what that abreviates to is going to fly and I'm pretty sure I heard both. But that's easy enough to edit and doesn't need to be there anyway. Infact.... I hope OMG just plain goes away because that's one of those terms I just plain dislike hearing... mostly because it usually comes from annoying people in real life as well as on TV.

[Tash]

I think more people would be offended by the "Frog-tard" than the craps or OMGs.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

This is obviously not going to air on TV so I say just let the writers go with the feel they want. I don't remember a single questionable word used throughout the entirety of the stuff I saw (which albeit wasn't much considering FUNimation's player is a piece of frog...er...never mind, I was going to make a pun) and the day this airs on a major network at a good timeslot is the day I eat crow.

[GWOtaku]

Okay. What this post will do is offer a side-by-side of comparison of the sub and dub for a couple of scenes, ideally making it as easy as possible to see the differences. I'm not taking note of visual jokes or much background stuff, since that would really make this a pain.

Also note that "unintelligble* basically means "GWO did not have the patience to listen several times to get it all perfect"

I transcribed the entire first ten minutes of the sub, but doing it for the dub is more work. I think this is probably enough to offer an idea, it'll do for now.


Opening Scene

Subbed

Narrator: 2004 AD. The planet earth is suddenly attacked by a mysterious alien force. Swarms of UFO’s darken the skies. The invaders are cold and ruthless, unmatched in cruelty. People try desperately to escape. The difference in technological power is overwhelming. Police and self-defense forces are helpless and are routed instantly. New rulers will reign over the Earth…at least they were supposed to. *Keroro’s silhouette becomes shocked* Were supposed to! Were supposed to! *the camera zooms out, Keroro cries out*

*credits*

Keroro: Gero gero gero gero! Foolish Pekoponians! Now I will show you my power! I am the one they fear throughout space. *Keroro brandishes his vacuum* Sgt. Keroro! Sir, yes sir!

*Title screen*

Dubbed

Narrator: Planet Earth. Two thousand...eh...nine. The human race found itself under attack by a mysterious alien swarm. UFO's darkened the skies and set it ablaze with a fearsome and blinding light. These beings were cruel and relentless. Trillions fled in terror, but there was nowhere to run. Human technology was no match for the invaders' weapons. Police and military were quickly overwhelmed. Within hours of first contact, mankind was brought to its knees, forced to surrender to eons of slavery! Wait...none of that happened.*Keroro’s silhouette becomes shocked* You just made me lie to the audience?! What kind of show is this! *the camera zooms out, Keroro's laughter can be heard*

*credits*

Keroro: Kero Kero Kero Kero! Foolish Pekoponians! You have no idea what's in store for your pathetically long-legged race. Bow down to the superior stubbiness. Desperately sing praises to your new king! *Keroro brandishes his vacuum* All hail Sgt. Keroro!

*Title Screen*


Scene 1

Subbed

Keroro: The ultimate weapon in Pekopon! The low-energy, eco-safe vacuum cleaner. With my trusty sucker in hand, there is nothing in this universe that I cannot handle!

Narrator: The Legend of the Strongest Cleaning Frog in the Universe!

*keroro vacuums Natsumi’s skirt. Natsumi screams, dropping her groceries and bag*

Keroro: Oh, Lady Natsumi! Welcome home.
Natsumi: The switch! Turn off the switch!
Keroro: Huh? The switch? But…
Natsumi: Hurry it up, you stupid frog!
Keroro: Wha?! How can you call me a “stupid frog”?!
Natsumi: Forget it! I’ll turn off the switch!
*Natsumi kicks at the switch but misses*
Natsumi: Darn it!
Keroro: I’m not finished cleaning yet! *Keroro and Natsumi struggle*
Keroro: Geroro! I never imagined that Sucker here would have such fighting power!

Fuyuki: Oh no! The Sergeant’s in danger!
Narrator: Let me explain. This is Fuyuki Hinata. He intends to use the Instant Transport function of the Kero Ball which was entrusted to him by Sgt. Keroro in order to save him!

*Fuyuki enters the house*
Fuyuki: Instant transport!
*Fuyuki activates the ball, shocking Keroro*
Fuyuki: Sorry, I did it wrong again. This one’s the Instant Transport and this one’s the Electronic Shock and…no, that’s wrong. Aw gee…
Keroro: Master Fuyuki, please be careful. That Kero Ball is capable of blowing up all of Pekopon.
Fuyuki: Oh….
Keroro: Now that you understand, give it back to me.
Natsumi: I can’t allow you to keep something so dangerous! We’ll continue to hang onto it. Changing the subject, you haven’t finished cleaning the bathroom yet! Slacking off will mean no dinner.
Keroro: Gero! What’s for dinner!
Natsumi: Beef stew.
Keroro: Yes! Your beef stew is the best! I will make that bathroom sparkle! Sir, yes sir!

Dubbed

Keroro: The ferocity! The power! You've taken my greatest weapon, Earth creatures, but now I have yours! Soon your planet will be conquered!--and free of unsightly dust.

Narrator: Talking frog alien riding a hoover. That kind of show. Got it.

Caption text: By the way, I'm Mr. Caption...way cooler than narrator.

*keroro vacuums Natsumi’s skirt. Natsumi screams, dropping her groceries and bag*

Keroro: Surrender your world and make me pie!
Natsumi: I don't have time for your dumb games!
Keroro: Wait. No, I am serious here. You fear me!
Natsumi: You can't conquer us, okay?
Keroro: What?! But I have to! It's my only reason for my existence!
Natsumi: Well you won't exist much longer if you don't turn that off!

*Natsumi kicks at the switch but misses*
Seriously, I don't have to deal with this! (note: approximate transcription)
*Natsumi and Keroro struggle*

Keroro (thinking): What's wrong with her? Why won't she accept defeat and slavery with grace?!
Fuyuki: Oh no, sounds like the Sarge is in trouble!
Narrator: Okay, I've been flipping through the script, so I'll try to explain. Apparently this kid is named Fuyuki and he's got this Kero Ball--sorry, I came into this project really late.

*Fuyuki enters the house*
Fuyuki: I'll save you!

*Fuyuki activates the ball, shocking Keroro*

Fuyuki: Uh-oh.
Narrator: Ouchie.

Caption text: If he's dead, can we eat him? (I call a frog leg)
Fuyuki: Sorry, I'm still learning this thing. I meant to hit Instant Transport, but I guess it's this button here instead. I think I hit Instant Death Shock. Sorry.

Keroro: Hey, pretty boy, you're going to have to be more careful with that. The Kero Ball can destroy your planet with the simple press of a button. It's the one next to Dance Party. So, in the interest of public safety, I thinking you should just go ahead and give it back to me.
Natsumi: Why would we give you weapons when you just tried to enslave me with the vacuum?! If it were my call, you'd be sold to Ripley's by now. Have you even scrubbed the bathtub yet like I told you to? Because lazy frogs do not get dinner!

Keroro: Dinner?! Are we gonna get to eat more cow?

Natsumi: Yup, it's beef stew!

Keroro: Woohoohoo! Cow flesh, cow flesh, cow flesh, victory wiggle! I'll make your bathtub reek of bleach and pride, sir!

[garfield15]

You just made me lie to the audience?! What kind of show is this!

Heh heh, that part was awesome.

[soundmonkey44]

I watched the 1st ep in englsish....I MUST BUY THIS! seriously loved the dub & in a funny way this show kind of reminds me of zim...only japanizy.

(Yes, Yes I did have to much caffine today...Why do you ask?:sweat:)

[Taekmkm]

Reading the sub's dialogue, the dub version is definitely more my ballpark. I love sarcasm, and the annoyed reactions are more justified because Kero would be THAT annoying to manage.

[NewcomerDC]

So I'm getting the feeling that the subs are 'meh' while the dubs are' Heck yes'? Hmm, funny how my opinion on the dubs is still that maybe the Americanized jokes can be toned down a notch, like one of the other posters had said in this thread, since some of them didn't make me laugh when I first watched the show at Otakon.

[Mr. Anime]

Heh...I suppose it's a good thing I haven't seen the original Japanese. 'Cause I thought all the episodes were an absolute delight and way too fun to watch.
All the voice actors gave really out-there and entertaining performances that made me fall in love with the characters, and I was laughing throughout every episode.
I suppose it's understandable to get irritated if the kanji isn't properly translated, but I still thought it was enormously entertaining, and I've heard that most of the show's reception has been positive. So go FUNi! Give us more!

[Andrew T. Hingson]

This is obviously not going to air on TV so I say just let the writers go with the feel they want. I don't remember a single questionable word used throughout the entirety of the stuff I saw (which albeit wasn't much considering FUNimation's player is a piece of frog...er...never mind, I was going to make a pun) and the day this airs on a major network at a good timeslot is the day I eat crow.

So little faith? Do you forget that even Nickelodeon was interested in this show when ADV showed them a sedated version? CN might just bite or for that matter Nicktoons. There's no telling where this could end up on US television if FUNimation pitches it properly. I'd say it's more than amusing enough to be successful if it's given a shot and I think it has a better chance at getting a shot than most any other anime currently being pitched to television networks in the US except maybe Battle Spirits which I'm not interested in but it looks like it could be another Bakugan.

[garfield15]

Exactly. And I don't know about you guys but I'd really like to see something from FUNimation on the airwaves again. It's relatively obvious that Keroro is a sleeper hit (or at least I hope it is with the right marketing) so we should keep an open mind.

(I must stress that now that I've actually finished the four episodes that I am very impressed with FUNi's extra knowledge of Gundam stuff considering they've never actually done one)

[NewcomerDC]

This show won't be another Bakugan because, unlike the show, it doesn't have annoying characters, a silly story that's a little bit of this and that from other monster-fighting shows, and it's a slice of life comedy only with aliens. Forget about this show coming on TV since it could end up on Funimation On-Demand. I doubt any of the networks will treat Sgt. Frog with a lot of respect. I mean we all know that it'll be edited a little bit on anything that has 'Nick' or 'Disney' in its name. Plus Adult Swim, as I have read in the Adult Swim Forum, sometimes toy with the occasional anime viewer so I wouldn't want the show to be with the boys and girls from Williams Street. I'll just say to bring on Funimation Channel and all will be well with the show and its life in the U.S.

[garfield15]

I'll just say to bring on Funimation Channel and all will be well with the show and its life in the U.S.
Except I wouldn't be able to watch it....

[Jacob T. Paschal]

So little faith? Do you forget that even Nickelodeon was interested in this show when ADV showed them a sedated version? CN might just bite or for that matter Nicktoons. There's no telling where this could end up on US television if FUNimation pitches it properly. I'd say it's more than amusing enough to be successful if it's given a shot and I think it has a better chance at getting a shot than most any other anime currently being pitched to television networks in the US except maybe Battle Spirits which I'm not interested in but it looks like it could be another Bakugan.

CN's not going to air it, because as I understand, this is the same CN people do nothing but whine and moan about having it out for Anime, being stupidheads, and airing live action rather than cartoons. As I understand, this isn't the glory days of Anime reaching US telesion. We aren't hearing about these sorts of TV deals every other week because [popular, with actual fanbases] Anime has largely stopped being merchandise fodder aimed towards little kids in America. The dub isn't even likely to appeal to kids, what with Gundam references little Jimmy Public won't understand, gay jokes etc. And even then, how likely will parents be to buy fifty-sixty dollar episoe boxsets to even justify a TV release when titles like One Piece and Case Closed are still being release in America without 'proper mainstream presentations'?

Admittedly, I've become disgusted with the hopes fans have of trying to get mainstream TV deals. I'm a cranky old man who just wants people to shut up and enjoy what they have rather than approving of watered down, and Americanized interpretations of shows being released fully uncut and in cheap form, legally, and but a few clicks away.

But what do I know?

[NewcomerDC]

Except I wouldn't be able to watch it....
That's why I would like Funi to put their money where their mouth is and put it on every single cable provider and stop being so stingy.

[Marvin Tikvah]

Admittedly, I've become disgusted with the hopes fans have of trying to get mainstream TV deals. I'm a cranky old man who just wants people to shut up and enjoy what they have rather than approving of watered down, and Americanized interpretations of shows being released fully uncut and in cheap form, legally, and but a few clicks away.

But what do I know?

Yeah, because these companies are certainly making so much money from these low priced DVD sets aimed at a niche audience as opposed to giving it wide exposure and making more returns that allow them to swipe up some more anime to sell back to you right?

I gotta ask, when you got into anime, were you first exposed to uncut, subtitled shows or were you watching localized, syndicated dubs?

[GWOtaku]

CN's not going to air it, because as I understand, this is the same CN people do nothing but whine and moan about having it out for Anime, being stupidheads, and airing live action rather than cartoons. As I understand, this isn't the glory days of Anime reaching US television.

So what? Putting aside the assumption that the current era will last forever (which it won't--change is a constant), why are you assuming that Cartoon Network is the only channel to pitch anime to?


We aren't hearing about these sorts of TV deals every other week because [popular, with actual fanbases] Anime has largely stopped being merchandise fodder aimed towards little kids in America. Largely stopped? It wasn't "largely" in the first place. There was Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh for toyetic franchises, and DBZ after it got lucky and hit it big. That's three big ones--not the majority of what's been on TV in the last ten years by a long shot.


The dub isn't even likely to appeal to kids, what with Gundam references little Jimmy Public won't understand, gay jokes etc. Why on Earth would you need to understand Gundam to find it funny? It's silly and funny regardless. The humor that makes the show work is universal in my book. And come on, gay jokes? There was one subtle reference that a kid might not even get, and that could easily be edited out anyway.



Admittedly, I've become disgusted with the hopes fans have of trying to get mainstream TV deals. I'm a cranky old man who just wants people to shut up and enjoy what they have rather than approving of watered down, and Americanized interpretations of shows being released fully uncut and in cheap form, legally, and but a few clicks away.

But what do I know?Who here is asking for that? No one. Any edits necessary for TV would be downright minimal. Nobody's asking for a hack dub just to get it on TV. You want people to be happy with DVD's. Fine--but what's with this attitude that the effort shouldn't even be made for TV deals? You seem to believe that the bubble is burst and so now it should...stay burst, I guess. Well, no. That's not how the industry got to where it is today in the first place. I'm not advocating unrealistic hope. I'm just arguing against apathy. On the part of the industury, that is, at the very least. Because what you and I think, quite frankly, doesn't matter. When shows like this get dubs like what we have here, it's a fool's errand to not pitch it aggressively.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Yeah, because these companies are certainly making so much money from these low priced DVD sets aimed at a niche audience as opposed to giving it wide exposure and making more returns that allow them to swipe up some more anime to sell back to you right?

I certainly don't see titles being outright dropped, at least by FUNimation. It remains to be seen if a lack of television deals is an outright alarming element for FUNimation. Are they dissapointed they can't find find TV homes for shows like One Piece or Sgt. Frog? Sure, but I still see them picking up titles that they sure as heck aren't likely to find audiences for on mainstream TV left and right. They've adapted, 4Kids reaches for the largest denomination by watering down, Americanizing, and ignoring the original show's fans so they don't have to spend money on two seperate versions of what they deem the same product. FUNimation--now with the Dragon Box coming out--is completely the opposite of 4Kids. They explicitly go after the Otaku niche with arguably only two 'mainstream' titles in Afro Samurai and Dragon Ball.


I gotta ask, when you got into anime, were you first exposed to uncut, subtitled shows or were you watching localized, syndicated dubs?

The latter, but where does that say I have to support terrible dubs like the one's that got me into Anime in the first place, espicially in the supposed day and age where One Piece can say crap on TV and Naruto can be 90% uncut?


Admittedly, I wouldn't frown upon proper visions of an Anime hitting TV (like, for example, this dub of Sgt. Frog as it appears to be relatively accurate). If I actually liked the show and wanted to give a TV watching of it my precious time of day, sure I'd watch it and participate in the Toon Zone talkbacks (were it not on an ungodly hour of the day).

What grinds my gears is the incessant complaining and crying wolf about Property Q's lifespan in the US due to a lack of a TV deal, when insofar Property Q doesn't seem to be doing so bad for itself and it's licensee has thrown it up for free streaming.


But what do I know, I'm pretty sure this entire debate is vaguely even connected to the subject of Sgt. Frog, other than it being of Property Q's ilk.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

So what? Putting aside the assumption that the current era will last forever (which it won't--change is a constant), why are you assuming that Cartoon Network is the only channel to pitch anime to?


You are completely right on all accounts. The climate will very well change, maybe even back to something we all love and remember, but I'm addressing the current climate in all my possible utterly blind, tired ignorance.


Largely stopped? It wasn't "largely" in the first place. There was Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh for toyetic franchises, and DBZ after it got lucky and hit it big. That's three big ones--not the majority of what's been on TV in the last ten years by a long shot.

Maybe I wasn't clear, but I wasn't exclusively addressing the big guns of those days.


Why on Earth would you need to understand Gundam to find it funny? It's silly and funny regardless. The humor that makes the show work is universal in my book. And come on, gay jokes? There was one subtle reference that a kid might not even get, and that could easily be edited out anyway.

Completely possible. Obviously something throughout my life is affecting my judgement.


Who here is asking for that? No one. Any edits necessary for TV would be downright minimal. Nobody's asking for a hack dub just to get it on TV. You want people to be happy with DVD's. Fine--but what's with this attitude that the effort shouldn't even be made for TV deals? You seem to believe that the bubble is burst and so now it should...stay burst, I guess. Well, no. That's not how the industry got to where it is today in the first place. I'm not advocating unrealistic hope. I'm just arguing against apathy. On the part of the industury, that is, at the very least. Because what you and I think, quite frankly, doesn't matter. When shows like this get dubs like what we have here, it's a fool's errand to not pitch it aggressively.

Like I believe (but I could be wrong) I have previously said, I'm cool if Anime reaches TV, but the world is hardly going to end if things remain as they seem now. I've clearly gone off my rocker, because as you've made clear I'm being blinded from any sort of logic from a long lasting anger I've not a clue as to where it originates.

To be humorously poetic, I'm to blind to tell right from left, so all I can do is stand still and although the course of nature that is life to flow through me and past (only without the Sage mode).

[Daxdiv]

The latter, but where does that say I have to support terrible dubs like the one's that got me into Anime in the first place, espicially in the supposed day and age where One Piece can say crap on TV and Naruto can be 90% uncut?

It was to illustrate a point. IE That anime fans have to start from somewhere, and most of them start from Show "X" airing on a certain network, with edits in place. Not something someone discovered on the net or went to Best Buy/FYE and decided to look at the Anime section for no reason. Like take me for example, I actually watched shows like Samurai Pizza Cats, Dragon Ball/Z, Pokemon, and Sailor Moon on syndicated TV before I got cable and Cartoon Network.

Then after that and watching more anime, I became a fan and bought whatever DVD for shows that I liked, mostly YYH, the uncut version since I did that when FUNi still put out Edited and Uncut DVDs. You could just ignore the TV dub if it's water down and have a DVD dub that's spectacular, no one is forcing you to watch it on TV.

Here's a chart on how licensing anime works from my understanding:
More fans=More Money= More licensed anime or episodes depending on the order.

To get more fans, you need to make it more mainstream. After all, while DVD releases are nice, a TV deal is something that guarantees a new generation of fans.

[GWOtaku]

Okay, I'm tired of this already. Everyone move on.

Strike that. TV talk is related and not necessarily played out. Though that said:


I've clearly gone off my rocker, because as you've made clear I'm being blinded from any sort of logic from a long lasting anger I've not a clue as to where it originates.I said nothing of the kind, so it'd be nice to have any further TV talk go forward without talk like this.

[Shift]

Keroro: Kero kero kero kero! Foolish Pekoponians! You have no idea what's in store for your pathetically long-legged race. Bow down to our superior stubbiness.

Keroro: Woohoohoo! Cow flesh, cow flesh, cow flesh, victory wiggle

Fixed the unintelligibles for ya, and he actually uses "Kero" for his laugh in the dub instead of "Gero".


After all, while DVD releases are nice, a TV deal is something that guarantees a new generation of fans.
I don't think a TV deal has ever been a guarantee of popularity and/or success.

[garfield15]

So how about that Christopher Sabat? Giroro's perfect for him huh?

(Just think! He has to do another 200+ episode series using that voice!)

[GWOtaku]

Fixed the unintelligibles for ya, and he actually uses "Kero" for his laugh in the dub instead of "Gero".

Ah, that wasn't just me then, I guess it was Kero. Duly noted. Thanks for filling that stuff in.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

So how about that Christopher Sabat? Giroro's perfect for him huh?

(Just think! He has to do another 200+ episode series using that voice!)

Other than One Piece? Yeah, pretty much.


Ah, that wasn't just me then, I guess it was Kero. Duly noted. Thanks for filling that stuff in.

It'll be fixed for the DVD, we swear![/lame joke] :p

[Kazuya Prower]

So how about that Christopher Sabat? Giroro's perfect for him huh?

(Just think! He has to do another 200+ episode series using that voice!)

I agree, and Brina Palencia's Tamama is perfect as well. Though, now I'm curious how Dororo will sound.

[Mandouga]

After reading the sub/dub comparisons, I think I'm pretty convinced that I'll stick with the subbed version. Also:


Heh heh, that part was awesome.

With all due respect, I disagree. The original Japanese version didn't do that, so what gives FUNi the right to put in something that isn't there? All I'm seeing (and hearing) is an English language "narrator" making sarcasm (i.e., "riffing") at the show's expense. FWIW, the dialogue between Keroro, Fuyuki, and Natsumi is definitely an approximate translation. However, I noticed that the Ripley's Believe it or Not reference was added just for the dub. I understand replacing references, but this changes the rules; no one said anything about adding "references" that weren't in the dialogue to begin with. Also with the narrator and the dub-added Mr. Caption bit, I'm inclined to think that this is some kind of a "riff dub" in which the characters' dialogue is actually translated, but with the English producers (in this case FUNi) adding elements that don't exist in the Japanese version which make sarcasm and other jokes at the show's expense (namely the aformentioned "narrator" as well as the "Mr. Caption" bit). OTOH, if the "you made me lie to the audience" bit was meant to be a stab at the way dubs are sometimes made, I'll understand that context, but it really still doesn't excuse it. FUNi didn't create this show, they're just translating it. IMPO, FUNi almost (but not completely) ruined this show by trying to shoehorn the "interactive narrator" bit into their dub (unlike the Japanese version where it only pops up occasionally, and when necessary).

In short, it looks like Funimation was trying to make the dub a cross between a straightforward translation and a gag dub, and personally, I'm not really pleased with the results. There's no two ways about it. A translation is either faithful to the original, or it isn't, and clearly Funimation was trying to have it both ways. I know that a lot of you like this dub, but with all due respect, isn't that a double standard? Aren't we looking for both subtitled and dubbed anime to be faithful to the original versions?

OTOH, all of this is really just my opinion in the end, so what do I know?...

Oh yeah, and before anyone mentions Bo-bobo (which FUNi didn't do), that one was a special case (it's a long story, and is not appropriate for this thread).

[Taekmkm]

Do you dislike the Ghibli dubs, too since that's pretty much what FUNI is doing? Translating the source material to a different audience.

There's a difference between getting the important core of the show and making it relatable to the American audience and plain changing things entirely.

This is not Robotech where Protoculture is a power source.

[HellCat]

In fairness, I can see the argument. It's been said before that for any other title than a comedy show there would be all hell over changes such as this. The script as presented doesn't sound like it's that far removed from the test dub they uploaded. They're changing things and making them more random and wacky then they were originally. It's funny that Invader Zim is being mentioned because that does seem to be what they want to turn the show into. We've even got random chanting about meat products.

[Mandouga]

Well anyway, I bit the bullet, and saw the first dubbed episode...

...and my position remains unchanged. In fact, I've seen enough actually.

The narrator wasn't even narrating the show. He was making jokes at the show's expense, just like I said he would be. I also didn't appreciate the pee reference that was made; I don't believe the Japanese version did that.

In any case, I think I see what's going on. With the "not-narrating", and fake text translations (although not all of them are fake, I'll give you that), I think FUNi was trying to emulate the way Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo was dubbed (anyone who has seen that dub will know what I'm talking about). In other words, FUNi was basically trying to be something they're not.

Again, Everything I said before about the dub still stands. I'm going to stick with the sub, like I said I would. Once again, I've seen enough, dub-wise.


Do you dislike the Ghibli dubs, too since that's pretty much what FUNI is doing? Translating the source material to a different audience.

There's a difference between getting the important core of the show and making it relatable to the American audience and plain changing things entirely.

This is not Robotech where Protoculture is a power source.

In any case, Studio Ghibli is something completely different entirely. That really isn't a fair comparison. The Ghibli movies are a horse of a completely different color (besides which, none of them are "gag dubs" with mostly "gag subs" like the way Funimation "dubbed" this show).

[GWOtaku]

In fairness, I can see the argument. It's been said before that for any other title than a comedy show there would be all hell over changes such as this. The script as presented doesn't sound like it's that far removed from the test dub they uploaded. They're changing things and making them more random and wacky then they were originally. It's funny that Invader Zim is being mentioned because that does seem to be what they want to turn the show into. We've even got random chanting about meat products.

Actually, it seems relatively normal to me. Good dubs don't strictly translate a sub, it's liable to come off lifeless that way. Credible dialogue tends to be a bit different from a raw, translated script. Now that it comes to it, I can't think of a show I own where the subs are exactly what the dub script is. I mean, I'll take "surrender your world and make me pie!" over "Lady Natsumi, welcome home!" And all things being equal, I'd rather see them use some imagination, since that's what also gives us a dub like what we have in Romeo X Juliet--we wouldn't have it if they had strict "faithfulness" to the subbed script. It's a tough line to walk, and maybe it's not always successfully walked in this show. But I'd rather see them try walking it, I think.

Also, AFAIK, a big complaint about the test dub was basically that it changed certain fundamental points and/or issues of an episode. That hasn't really happened with the new dub.

[HellCat]

The thing is the dub script is changing certain nuances of the show. I'm well aware a literal translation would be terrible but what of the people who were into Keroro before this licensing and liked the show and dialogue as it originally was? Why should they have to settle for a dub which is clearly taking liberties and altering the presentation when for other shows like One Piece we see the company bending over backwards about how respectful it'll be to the source material? Further, I'm personally just not a fan of making comedy dubs uber wacky. Alot of studios do this, licensing a comedy show and then amping up the comedy to a needless 11. If they want to do that, why even license a pre-existing show? Why not just create a brand new one to do the kind of humour you want? Humour is very hard to translate across cultures, but that doesn't mean it should just be allowed to be edited more than any other genre we see. I like Keroro how it was originally made.

[GWOtaku]

I suppose we disagree on the degree of the change. I actually find this better than the One Piece dub since the One Piece dub added language that seems to be there simply because it is an "uncut" dub, as if it's meant only for the older devoted fanbase that either doesn't care or embraces it. But One Piece was actually made targeting people half my age. In contrast, they seemed to dub this with everyone in mind. Not that the One Piece dub is bad, I'm just saying that what they've seen fit to add to it was far more unnecessary than anything that's been put into Sgt. Frog.

[Tash]

The thing is the dub script is changing certain nuances of the show. I'm well aware a literal translation would be terrible but what of the people who were into Keroro before this licensing and liked the show and dialogue as it originally was? Why should they have to settle for a dub which is clearly taking liberties and altering the presentation when for other shows like One Piece we see the company bending over backwards about how respectful it'll be to the source material? Further, I'm personally just not a fan of making comedy dubs uber wacky. Alot of studios do this, licensing a comedy show and then amping up the comedy to a needless 11. If they want to do that, why even license a pre-existing show? Why not just create a brand new one to do the kind of humour you want? Humour is very hard to translate across cultures, but that doesn't mean it should just be allowed to be edited more than any other genre we see. I like Keroro how it was originally made.
If the changes offend you that much, the Japanese language track is there for a reason.

[GWOtaku]

If the changes offend you that much, the Japanese language track is there for a reason.

Well, yes, but some people prefer dubs, and people that prefer dubs expect a certain amount of fidelity to the source material.

[HellCat]

I suppose we disagree on the degree of the change. I actually find this better than the One Piece dub since the One Piece dub added language that seems to be there simply because it is an "uncut" dub, as if it's meant only for the older devoted fanbase that either doesn't care or embraces it. But One Piece was actually made targeting people half my age. In contrast, they seemed to dub this with everyone in mind.

Well, obviously keep in mind I'm going off of second hand information here. There have been plenty of times in history where a looser dub has made a show work well (The Magic Roundabout, Duel Masters, Samurai Pizza Cats and Robots in Disguise for example) but in general I'm not a fan of it for earlier stated reasons. I'll add in that Tokyopop did similar with the manga- they add in their own bad jokes and slang and it takes away from the series in my mind. I tend to think that if a comedy show is funny, the original material will work just fine translated. I know firsthand I personally find that to be true of Keroro.

[garfield15]

Well, honestly if you were into watching Keroro before it was liscensed then you can always just change the language setting.


I know that a lot of you like this dub, but with all due respect, isn't that a double standard? Aren't we looking for both subtitled and dubbed anime to be faithful to the original versions?
Yes. And this dub is faithful to the original version. Is it taking liberties? Yes a lot of liberties but is it keeping the same jokes while at the same time adding their own? Yes it is. It's not completely wall-to-wall comedy as it is funny when the show is funny and it's slow when the show needs to be slow.

A good example of something similar to Sgt. Frog is Ghost Stories. (The difference is that Sgt. Frog was always good in it's original format and the original Ghost Stories sucked) ADV took the anime and pretty much rewrote all the dialogue near-completely comedy. When fans heard of this, they were outraged beyond words. But as it turned out, the dub was actually much more well received and sold quite well for ADV. It even won an award for "Best Dub of (insert year it came out that I can't remember here)." Now technically this is a completely different situation as, like I said, Ghost Stories in its original language was horrible as opposed to Sgt. Frog but this proves that when done well, there's nothing wrong with taking liberties if it's done well, which it has been done here.

Of course, whether or not something has been done "well" is in the eyes of the beholder. I see that most of us here seem to like it so that should say something to FUNi if they read this thread. And again, if people who were fans of the original Japanese want to watch it's original, they can do so. (It's not like Shin-chan or Bobobo where you could not change the language back)

I'm still not sure why they translated "de arimasu" as "Sir, yes sir" but hey, whatever. It's not the first time something like that has happened.

[HellCat]

Telling people who are concerned about the dub 'Just watch the sub' is the equivalent of saying "Stop harshing my groove, narc". It's not a real answer. If people have criticism or concerns about the dub, they're worth discussing. Again, what's the point of a dub really if it's not a genuine translation?

[garfield15]

Telling people who are concerned about the dub 'Just watch the sub' is the equivalent of saying "Stop harshing my groove, narc". It's not a real answer. If people have criticism or concerns about the dub, they're worth discussing. Again, what's the point of a dub really if it's not a genuine translation?
But it is a genuine translation, they just added some of their own jokes and rewrote others (and not all, in fact some of the Japanese ones, they added upon like I mentioned earlier with the Gundam reference) to fit localization so it makes sense.

(GW, I need assistance!)

[HellCat]

But it is a genuine translation, they just added some of their own jokes and rewrote others (and not all, in fact some of the Japanese ones, they added upon like I mentioned earlier with the Gundam reference) to fit localization so it makes sense.

(GW, I need assistance!)

But it's not a genuine translation then. Yes, it's keeping very close, but it's also taking liberties which change the presentation and characterisation.

[Taekmkm]

Because it's a genre of comedy, and FUNImation is first and foremost a business. The changes for the dub are purely for a different audience than Japan.

From what I'm seeing, it's less critique of the dub itself but just a challenge of "humor is subjective."

NONE of the core plot or jokes are changed. Kero is still a ravaging maniac when the humidity is upped, Natsumi is still annoyed by him, etc.

[garfield15]

But it's not a genuine translation then. Yes, it's keeping very close, but it's also taking liberties which change the presentation and characterisation.
No it doesn't, the characters are still exactly the same.

And how can there be a different presentation than the current one of Frog aliens taking over the world and getting into hilarious antics?

[GWOtaku]

Just to step in for a minute here, for all I care we can discuss the merits of the dub and the show until doomsday. That's what the thread is for. But "if you don't like it, don't watch it" (and its variations) is actually rather off-topic since we're basically talking about whether the dub should be liked.

I haven't much to add--for now--aside from much of what Taekmkm just said regarding the show's primary humor.

[garfield15]

Well I didn't mean it like "Don't like it, don't watch it" but I guess it did sound like that. I'll just stop since my points are just not coming out right at all.

[HellCat]

No it doesn't, the characters are still exactly the same.

And how can there be a different presentation than the current one of Frog aliens taking over the world and getting into hilarious antics?

My point is that if you add in new dialogue and such you're changing the away the original creators intended these characters to be seen. It's basically a very artsy fartsy point for me to raise on but one I think is at least partially valid. Keroro getting excited over beef stew is one thing but him singing a silly song about it is a dub inclusion. Yes, a very tiny point to focus on but it wasn't originally present.

[GWOtaku]

Well I didn't mean it like "Don't like it, don't watch it" but I guess it did sound like that. I'll just stop since my points are just not coming out right at all.

It's fine, carry on, it's not like I was singling you out. Just trying to keep things from getting sidetracked.

[garfield15]

My point is that if you add in new dialogue and such you're changing the away the original creators intended these characters to be seen. It's basically a very artsy fartsy point for me to raise on but one I think is at least partially valid. Keroro getting excited over beef stew is one thing but him singing a silly song about it is a dub inclusion. Yes, a very tiny point to focus on but it wasn't originally present.
But he's still excited over beef stew. How does that change the characterization?

EDIT: Uh yeah, OT real quick
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/CyberDragoon/KeroroSig.jpg

Why is Dororo Pink?

[HellCat]

But he's still excited over beef stew. How does that change the characterization?

You know that 'harumph harumph harumph' dialogue that Mel Brooks tends to insert into crowd scenes? Have that going in your head whilst reading my posts and they might make more sense.

My point is it wasn't there originally. Again, artsy fartsy point.

[garfield15]

You know that 'harumph harumph harumph' dialogue that Mel Brooks tends to insert into crowd scenes? Have that going in your head whilst reading my posts and they might make more sense.
I'll replace it with "RABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLE" instead (South Park joke just in case)


My point is it wasn't there originally. Again, artsy fartsy point.
Oh, I get it. It's like me and how I hate how the Digimon dubs insert jokes at inappropriate (read:every waking minute of airtime) times.

[HellCat]

I'll replace it with "RABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLE" instead (South Park joke just in case)


It'd certainly compliment "THEY TOOK MAH BEWBS!!!!"

;)

[Tash]

My point is that if you add in new dialogue and such you're changing the away the original creators intended these characters to be seen.
Japan doesn't care about that, either. That's why the anime completely changed the point of the "spying on Keroro" story to make Keroro into a more innocent character. Dororo's character was made a lot whinier in the anime, too.

Just write it up to adaption decay.

[NewcomerDC]

EDIT: Uh yeah, OT real quick
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/CyberDragoon/KeroroSig.jpg

Why is Dororo Pink?
Because Keroro had to take the leader role so Giroro lost out the red suit so Dororo lost out on getting a blue suit. To me, this is one of the many faults of the show's animators.

[veemonjosh]

Why is Dororo Pink?

Honestly, I think Tamama would've been a better pink. :p

[firecrouch]

This is like "Dragonball Z" all over again.

[G1Ravage]

I'm loving the dub.

Pvt. Tamama is my new favorite character, voiced to cute perfection by Brina Palencia. ^-^

[Ryusuke]

The dub is inaccurate, but it made me laugh. I like this dub. :)

[Silver Soul]

Seriously those who are bashing this dub for Funi taking it's own liberties with the original to make sure it actually SELLS watch Super Milk Chan dubbed, it's a perfect example on what happens when you stick too close to the original script your pretty much ailenating both the original fans and newcomers (which is why it not only bombed on Adult Swim but DVD sales were poor despite ADV adding a second dub) if I wanted to watch something sub I'll watch it but what's the point if the dub follows suit and the jokes don't go through unless you're Japanese.

[HellCat]

Seriously those who are bashing this dub for Funi taking it's own liberties with the original to make sure it actually SELLS watch Super Milk Chan dubbed, it's a perfect example on what happens when you stick too close to the original script your pretty much ailenating both the original fans and newcomers (which is why it not only bombed on Adult Swim but DVD sales were poor despite ADV adding a second dub) if I wanted to watch something sub I'll watch it but what's the point if the dub follows suit and the jokes don't go through unless you're Japanese.

Keroro is never that heavily steeped in Japanese culture. I'd say Lucky Star was worse- that show had frequent tangents about day to day life in Japan which were probably hilarious to the original audience but lost on those watching the dub. Keroro has clear moments based in Japanese culture, but never heavily enough that it requires heavy rewrites to work in other countries.

[MugiwaraMikey]

I really liked the dub. A bit Shin Chan-ish, but hey, it wasn't as bad and it seemed to work. I was a bit disappointed that the songs weren't dubbed, though. That's going to become a problem later on when the characters are seen singing in some of the openings and endings (like opening 8).


So little faith? Do you forget that even Nickelodeon was interested in this show when ADV showed them a sedated version? CN might just bite or for that matter Nicktoons. There's no telling where this could end up on US television if FUNimation pitches it properly. I'd say it's more than amusing enough to be successful if it's given a shot and I think it has a better chance at getting a shot than most any other anime currently being pitched to television networks in the US except maybe Battle Spirits which I'm not interested in but it looks like it could be another Bakugan.

Actually, Syfy would be the perfect place for this show. It's about aliens, has some sci-fi stuff and it has Gundam references in it.

[Silver Soul]

Keroro is never that heavily steeped in Japanese culture. I'd say Lucky Star was worse- that show had frequent tangents about day to day life in Japan which were probably hilarious to the original audience but lost on those watching the dub. Keroro has clear moments based in Japanese culture, but never heavily enough that it requires heavy rewrites to work in other countries.
References aside, the series is full with puns and wordplay that will go over the head of anyone who's not indepth or have a firm knowledge of it. While the majority if the comedy is indeed situation or stems from the characters general personalities (kururu :p) there's still alot to it that requires rewrites that Funi had in mind in order for it to work. I'm not exactly sure what some of you wanted since watching the first four episodes you can see that Funi has nailed the feel of the series without alienating (no pun intended) it's core fanbase like Shin-chan did with name-changes, change of characters, or story redubs that completely change the feel of the show, hell if they've got out of their way to not Americanize it by not changing anything and keeping all the Gundam/Macross references what's the harm to actually making it funny for casual viewers alike? Seems kind of silly really.

I really liked the dub. A bit Shin Chan-ish, but hey, it wasn't as bad and it seemed to work. I was a bit disappointed that the songs weren't dubbed, though. That's going to become a problem later on when the characters are seen singing in some of the openings and endings (like opening 8).
Believe it or not they'll be more backlash if the songs were dubbed, remember Ouran High :sweat::sweat::sweat:




Actually, Syfy would be the perfect place for this show. It's about aliens, has some sci-fi stuff and it has Gundam references in it.
Except the fact that there's hardly any action in it until later on and Syfy has only aired 00 and Macross Plus, not a whole lot to work with and then there's the "kiddy" feel to it.

[MugiwaraMikey]

Believe it or not they'll be more backlash if the songs were dubbed, remember Ouran High :sweat::sweat::sweat:


What's wrong with the dubbed Ouran songs...?



Except the fact that there's hardly any action in it until later on and Syfy has only aired 00 and Macross Plus, not a whole lot to work with and then there's the "kiddy" feel to it.

Uhmmm... Rave Master?

[garfield15]

What's wrong with the dubbed Ouran songs...?
Me being FUNi's #1 fan :p I can say without a doubt that the Ouran songs were not their best work...Actually, I'm gonna be blunt I (and a lot of others) thought the opening sucked.

Which is a rare miss because I usually prefer their dubbed openings...actually come to think of it, "Sakura Kiss" was the only one I didn't like.


Uhmmm... Rave Master?
Yeah, if Syfy can show edited Rave Master, they can show anything.

[Silver Soul]

What's wrong with the dubbed Ouran songs...?
It'll be wise to not talk about them, but personally I loved them ;)




Uhmmm... Rave Master?
Rave Master was a very random endeavor and it doesn't change the core audience the lineup attracts, be that as it may there's still plenty of action in it compared to keroro so I guess that gives it a spot.

[garfield15]

^^OT, but Silver Soul, is it bad that I just realized what your name means? :sweat:

[Silver Soul]

^^OT, but Silver Soul, is it bad that I just realized what your name means? :sweat:
Oi Oi, it took ya that long to figure out? ;)

[HG Revolution]

This feels EXACTLY like the type of thing CN would go nuts for 5 years ago. Today, though...

I do hope this gets on a mainstream TV network, though. This is pretty much the only show around which still has a chance at being the type of ratings/merchandising hit that Naruto was. I can imagine it building bigger, because frantic comedy is more accessible than an big ongoing storyline and as far as I know it doesn't have any jump the shark moments that would kill momentum as Naruto's fillers did. This could even be the biggest anime since Pokemon if marketted correctly. Nick or an afternoon/primetime SyFy would be my top choices, but I'd even settle for Disney XD over the FUNi Channel and obscurity.

[Raidon Makoto]

If this is going anywhere, it'll be either Nicktoons Network or Syfy. :/

I liked these four episodes. Don't know if I'd shell out $30 for 13 of them, but I'll keep watching Sgt. Frog on FUNi Video/TV if its put on there.

[JTurner954]

This was so terrible. Just when I thought I was going to hear some consistency, it screws up. After four minutes of watching, I had to shut it off and promise never to watch it again.


But enough about the Funimation player (seriously, the player is full of bugs and refuse to use it until it plays better like Youtube), of the 4 minutes I saw the show seemed okay. I'm not liking the opening theme but the narrator was a hoot (better than the Bobobo narrator? Only time will tell). I was shocked to hear it was the same writer who worked on Shin Chan as there are moments where I laughed outloud AND the material matched what was onscreen. It blew my mind. I liked the test dub so if they kept the same consistency with voices (as long as I can clearly hear what they're saying and mouth movements match, I will have no issues with the dub) they'll win me over.

As far as inconsistencies with the subtitles go ... so what. Many people will go in watching this show for the same reason I did: To be entertained. If I'm worried inaccuracy is going to keep me from sleeping at night, I'll merely switch over to the subtitles on Funimation's DVD to read what was changed. Based on the 4 minutes, I was entertained. But if they keep following the same jokes over and over again (aka not shoving the world domination plot in my face and "pulling a Shin Chan"), it will follow the common "starts out good but quickly sucks" trend in anime as of late. Don't let this happen, Funimation.

In the meantime, Funimation needs to (in no particular order):

1. Fix their player and/or move the available Sgt. Frog episodes to Youtube/Hulu.
2. License Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.

[TheVileOne]

I think the intent with the dub is that they Americanized the Japanese TV and movie references and what not.

Funi in their reversions I've noticed do tend to play it very loose sometimes, like more than they have to.

The Kenichi dub for instance had one really odd instance where Kenichi is saying to Miu, "I think he meant 'Monsters of Rock!'" when trying to console Miu. I think they just worked a little too hard there to come up with that when it should've been something much simpler.

Nothing is weirder though than the com-o-dee dub that was made for Tenchi Muyo GXP. Seriously, what the heck happened there?

[garfield15]

I'm gonna go on a vicious limb here and say that, given how they've done Shin-chan and this.....

I think that (and this would be if they released the DVD's with subtitles as well) FUNi could do Gintama. Again, it's crazy but if they ever licensed it, they'd be the ones for the job.

[TheVileOne]

Gintama would be a challenge, but I see no reason why Funimation couldn't do it.

As long as we get all the original Japanese, I think its cool.

Shin-Chan I just generally think the dub was unfunny and poorly done. All the Americanizations quite often fall flat and are generally awful.

[garfield15]

]
Shin-Chan I just generally think the dub was unfunny and poorly done. All the Americanizations quite often fall flat and are generally awful.
I'll be honest, I only put Shin-chan in that example because they've got the same FUNi comedy style (except Keroro's is actually a lot of fun to watch). Shin-chan I did giggle a few times but not as much as I did with four episodes of subbed/dubbed Keroro.

[TheVileOne]

Oh yeah, let me be clear, I think they did a great job with Frog since I think the voices and dub seems to fit a lot better. There was a much better flow to the dub for Frog than it was for Shinchan.

And I was OK with how they played the references and changes for Frog, but all the Gundam stuff is still in there.

To me it was just annoying in Shinchan, when they had this little Republican kid making all these stupid Republican jokes, "Like I left my precious sticker next to my leaflets for the Impeach Hillary Campaign!" BLURGH! Dumb, forced jokes. Like comedy writers who write BAD comedy.

For Gintama, I think they would have to find some kind of comfortable balance. Like all the word play jokes, all the Japanese culture references to television and what not, people aren't going to get any of those. So those would all have to be changed.

[Silver Soul]

Gintama eh? Hmmmm.....that's so crazy it just might work! :D
But seriously Gintama would be a hassle to deal with especially with the references, the word play, puns (hell one whole character is based on word play) and the over the top voice-acting needed for the characters themselves. It's times like this I wish ADV was still alive since they would have licensed it, got the same crazy voice cast from Excel Saga and Abenobashi and to top it off add their vid-notes feature so viewers can get the cultural references on-screen, ah good times :)

I've read the Viz manga version and it's not bad but given Viz's habit of trying to Americanize the wording some jokes don't make much sense, I would hate Funi to go down that path, but to be perfectly honest I wouldn't mind A Shin-chan-esque dub since it fits the style of the show itself (given they're a few tearjerkers here and there) that wouldn't fit with Sgt. Frog.

[Quincy Archer]

Gintama seems easy to translate now Sayyonara Zetsubo Sensei I want Funi to get that show

[garfield15]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCU5QdM5ZgM

Man I forgot how over-the-top FUNi's trailers are.

[Daxdiv]

After watching all 4 episodes on Funimation's video player, I got to say, that the dub was pretty enjoyable, I plan to buy this when it comes out.

So far my favorite character is Corporal Giroro, even if he is crazy in the head, and has Chris Sabat voicing him.

[garfield15]

Well it's Thursday and....*sigh* nothing.

:(

[Andrew T. Hingson]

I was under the impression that the episodes went up on last Friday though I may have just overlooked it.

[Classic Speedy]

Finally got around to watching the first half of episode 1 (didn't have time to watch the rest before bed). It's hard to believe that we finally have a dub, but the voices seem to work. It's not exactly having me howling yet, but admittedly I haven't watched very much yet. The light tone definitely seems up my alley, though.

And I LOVE the opening theme. How many anime themes can you say take on the form of a military march? Awesome.

[garfield15]

Well they added episodes 3 and 4 with subtitles this time so I guess that's something. I hope that new episodes can come up at some point.

[Super Sonic]

Wait, did FUNi promise to upload more dubbed episodes at a later date or something? If so, when?

[GWOtaku]

For anyone interested, at the TZ blog I've posted (http://blog.toonzone.net/blogs/56/sgt.-frogs-dub-a-success/) some refined opinions on the dub and the show. I also take some brief notes on what the test dub was like, mostly counting our blessings that Funi ended up changing quite a few things. At the time I thought it was all right, but the final product is much better.

[HellCat]

Aha! I was just at YouTube where the featured videos were Ghostbusters tributes (including the full movie...wow). One of these was Ghost Hunters, a FUNimation title. So I click on it and...no problem!

So obviously wider distribution rights on titles are possible. So why not pursue them?

[NewcomerDC]

So when are we getting news about more uploaded episodes of both the Japanese and English versions of Sgt. Frog?

[GWOtaku]

Hard to say...they'll probably add more in time, though it wouldn't surprise me at all if they let the DVD's come out first.


Aha! I was just at YouTube where the featured videos were Ghostbusters tributes (including the full movie...wow). One of these was Ghost Hunters, a FUNimation title. So I click on it and...no problem!

So obviously wider distribution rights on titles are possible. So why not pursue them?

And apparently Anime Network Online (http://www.animenetwork.co.uk/) did it about a week ago, so I find myself more optimistic than before that it could end up happening.

[HellCat]

On the blog post- have you ever considered joining TZ News? You're a very talented writer.

[Cartoon X]

Aargh, I can't wait to return to America so I can finally see this!

[TheVileOne]

That video player link doesn't work for me. Anyone know why?

[garfield15]

Episodes 5 and 6 are up with subs!

(Too bad I'm so into the dub, I feel like watching that one instead)

[Cartoon X]

I finnaly got to watch it....
Well, for one thing Momoka and Keroro's voices are a little unfitting. Keroro sounds like a robot, and Momoka's other side dosn't sound any different from her regular personality. Also, the jokes are piled on two fast, you can't really soak in the humor. Another thing is the Tamama impact is not mentioned by name, I hope it is still called that. I actually prefer the subs if you ask me. I am just too used to their original voices.

And is it me, or does Funi relly on too little actors. Really, it's hard to watch a show when you keep thinking of another one at the same time.

[firecrouch]

FUNimation just has a problem with loose translations even when they intend to do a typical straight dub. What I don't get is they used the original names and terms that were specifically asked for by fans but if something wasn't specifically asked FUNimation just loosely ttranslates or doesn't use it all. FUNimation should get the point by now that fans want it to be as close to the original as possible, we shouldn't have to give specific examples. It's troubling because now we don't even get Keroro's famous "Sir yes Sir" catchphrase; most of the other dubs of the series have their own variation on de arimasu, why can't FUnimation?

[GWOtaku]

I'm not sure. In theory I agree, but then I remember Naruto's "Believe it!" catchphrase and think twice. When you get right down to it no one talks like that, attaching a catchphrase to the end of every other sentence. It's not relatable. Though since Keroro is a quirky frog and the protagonist of a comedy series, one could admittedly respond by basically arguing "who cares?"

[Kazuya Prower]

Subs of Episodes 7 and 8 are now up!

[NewcomerDC]

I know this might be too soon but when do we think we can expect Funi to pick up the Sgt. Frog films?

[GWOtaku]

I know this might be too soon but when do we think we can expect Funi to pick up the Sgt. Frog films?

The answer is probably the same as it is with One Piece...if the DVD's sell and they know that there's enough demand, they'll go the extra mile and eventually grab movies.

[NewcomerDC]

The answer is probably the same as it is with One Piece...if the DVD's sell and they know that there's enough demand, they'll go the extra mile and eventually grab movies.
Case Closed was able to get four other films licensed by Funi but when they will be released to the public over here in the states: nobody knows. And with One Piece, Movie 8 was pretty bad so seeing the rest of the films is unlikely. Sgt. Frog films being distributed over here, however, depends on, like you said, if everyone loves the dub as much as what we've read in past posts so far in this thread.

[Shift]

Case Closed was able to get four other films licensed by Funi but when they will be released to the public over here in the states: nobody knows. And with One Piece, Movie 8 was pretty bad so seeing the rest of the films is unlikely.
I do believe it was said by one Funi person, "If it's One Piece, we want it." I wouldn't worry just yet.

[Kazuya Prower]

Episodes 9 and 10 are now up!

[MugiwaraMikey]

Don't know if this is the right place to post these, but thanks to RightStuf, I got the DVD early and ripped two scenes to show off the voices of Kululu and Dororo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35yJ7Eh3hUQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyJP_65xaLA

[Daxdiv]

Pretty nice voices for Kululu and Dororo. I thought they fit the characters well. I can't wait to get this DVD.

[HellCat]

First impression is that these are passable but not great. As people are commenting on the video, Dororo sounds too rough. In the original he has a lighter voice which fits with his backstory of being a shy, kind hearted loner. I love Dororo, so I really want to see him done right. If I was trying to sum up the heart of the character, I'd say he's the nice, soft spoken guy who is validated in adulthood.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Will it be like Voltron or the Beatles? LOL wut?

I'll have to get use to Chuck voicing Kululu but it works but I'm liking Dororo so far.

[firecrouch]

Will it be like Voltron or the Beatles? LOL wut?



Yeah that was a dumb joke. FUNimation needs to stop writing in so many pop-culture references and calling them "funny". They had that problem in the test dub and I guess no one complained about it, I didn't feel the need to since the YouTube comments pretty much said, "don't make this another Shin-Chan". To me it was one of those "mondo cool" or "30$ haircut" scenes from the "DBZ" dub.

[Tommypezmaster]

On the blog post- have you ever considered joining TZ News? You're a very talented writer.

They finally got an English dub?

[Super Sonic]

They finally got an English dub?

Um...what does that have to do with HellCat's quote??

If you're referring to Sgt. Frog having a dub, then, well....yeah, it does have one.

[Kazuya Prower]

They finally got an English dub?

Yes they do. They have episodes 1-4 dubbed and episodes 1-12 subbed up on their video player site:

http://www4.funimation.com/video/?page=show&b=223

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Yeah that was a dumb joke. FUNimation needs to stop writing in so many pop-culture references and calling them "funny". They had that problem in the test dub and I guess no one complained about it, I didn't feel the need to since the YouTube comments pretty much said, "don't make this another Shin-Chan". To me it was one of those "mondo cool" or "30$ haircut" scenes from the "DBZ" dub.

On the contrary I thought it was hillarious. I love this dub. I liked the humor style of Shin Chan but I prefer when it's not quite THAT crude. So SGT Frog's dub humor is right up my alley.

Yes not all of it's funny it's sort of hit or miss but generally I've been enjoying the jokes in this dub.

[MugiwaraMikey]

Also some extra info:

Most of the test dub dialogue was retained for the final version of the same episode... Keroro still says "pwn," and all that other stuff...

Things that did get changed (or fixed) are that Mr. Furbottom was fixed to Miss Furbottom, bean dip was changed to ear wax (yeah, strange), and some very little dialouge... such as "whoa, plot twist" getting changed to "what the FROG?"

[HellCat]

So basically the test dub wasn't really changed at all?

Great...

[Mandouga]

All the more reason to stick with the subtitled version, IMHO. I mean it, one way or the other, Funimation's dub feels like watching a completely different show. That may have been acceptable 20 years ago, but not anymore. I was expecting the dub to be the same show seen in Japan, except dubbed in English (changes to certain pop culture references notwithstanding). Instead we have a dub that doesn't know whether it wants to be a "gag dub" or a "woolseyism" (as TV Tropes would describe it); although if anything, it felt like it was trying to be both (the dub has a "gag narrator", whereas the original Japanese version has an actual "narrator" that occasionally "interacts" and makes jokes; these are two different things).

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, episode 12 was the one they used for the test dub. I really think that this (the test version) was how FUNi wanted to translate the show from the beginning (i.e., with "Planet Wuss", etc), and thus was actually hoping the fans would accept it as is (they still asked for their opinion). For that reason, I think the dub they are doing may in fact be against their "better judgement" (i.e., FUNi didn't really want to give us the dub we have now, but wanted to make it more like the "test" version, but that of course, is just conjecture on my part).

In any case, I've said this before, but if this show ever does come to TV, I really hope FUNi doesn't create separate dub just for "mainstream" consumption. Sgt. Frog is a major mainstream franchise in Japan, and if FUNi were to do that, it would hurt the show's NA franchise potential in the long run (i.e., because people will eventually find out about the changes).

Incidentally, MugiwaraMikey, only the subtitled versions have been uploaded, and the DVD doesn't come out until the 22nd. Do you have an advance copy? If not, how were you able to compare the two versions?

[rubberchicken]

In any case, I've said this before, but if this show ever does come to TV, I really hope FUNi doesn't create separate dub just for "mainstream" consumption. Sgt. Frog is a major mainstream franchise in Japan, and if FUNi were to do that, it would hurt the show's NA franchise potential in the long run (i.e., because people will eventually find out about the changes).

Or it'll go like Phoenix Wright and become a hit even though people know all the jokes are different from the original.

"Mainstream" American audiences are unlikely to pitch a fit that the show isn't identical to the Japanese version, if they even notice. It's the geek crowd (i.e. not mainstream) that gets mad over changes.

[Mandouga]

I respectfully disagree. Gyakuten Saiban/Phoenix Wright, other than being a video game series, is a completely different circumstance. I also disagree that mainstream audiences won't care about the "changes" (such as they kind of are, but still). However, this isn't place to debate such things. Furthermore, since a TV broadcast isn't going to happen in the near future (at least at the current outlook), there's no sense in arguing on what may or may not be. Suffice it to say, I personally feel that FUNi pulling a Saint Seiya/Knights of the Zodiac with this show won't really solve anything in the long run, it will just contribute to the problem.

Going back to the videos on the Funimation site, I personally didn't find the reality show parody to be all that funny. Giroro, not knowing about the fakes tries to blow up the real hosts because he was "attacked" by "them". I don't know if this happened in the manga or not, but it kind of felt like some kind of personal commentary on reality shows (which I imagine they have over there), which again I didn't think was funny.

Anyway, Zeroro/Dororo finally shows up in the next episode. With this, the platoon will now be fully reunited. At any rate, it should be interesting to see...

[MugiwaraMikey]

Incidentally, MugiwaraMikey, only the subtitled versions have been uploaded, and the DVD doesn't come out until the 22nd. Do you have an advance copy? If not, how were you able to compare the two versions?

I got a copy of the DVD early, yeah. I could always upload more clips if you guys want me to. Just name off a scene and the episode it's from.

[Majin_Megabyte]

I just want to know how the dub handle the entire Moris introduction episode, with the year thing.

[Ickis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCU5QdM5ZgM

Man I forgot how over-the-top FUNi's trailers are. Just watch their Bio-Broly trailer, thats over the top compared to how Bio-Broly really was.

[MugiwaraMikey]

I just want to know how the dub handle the entire Moris introduction episode, with the year thing.

It went like this.


Narrator: And it was written; according to the prediction of the prophet Nostradamus... well, he was more of an almanac writer with a case of galp (not sure what he said he had a case of, but it sounded like that) but nonetheless... he wrote, "in the seventh month of 1999, the great lord of terror would descend from the sky and resurrect King Angol Mois."

Keroro: It would've been totally freaky that had happened, huh?

Fuyuki: Mhmmm. Yeah, but according to this calendar, it's a little late. *he looks at a calendar that says May 5, 2004* And it's even later than that if you look at a current calendar!

[Classic Speedy]

Eh... second dubbed episode seemed a lot more forced in its humor. A little too self-referential and "joke every line" style. And it was probably like this in the original, but the manic line screams I'm not a fan of. Sigh.

[Majin_Megabyte]

It went like this.


Narrator: And it was written; according to the prediction of the prophet Nostradamus... well, he was more of an almanac writer with a case of galp (not sure what he said he had a case of, but it sounded like that) but nonetheless... he wrote, "in the seventh month of 1999, the great lord of terror would descend from the sky and resurrect King Angol Mois."


Keroro: It would've been totally freaky that had happened, huh?


Fuyuki: Mhmmm. Yeah, but according to this calendar, it's a little late. *he looks at a calendar that says May 5, 2004* And it's even later than that if you look at a current calendar!


Very nicely done. I thought they probably go with that route. I'm going to wait awhile before I get the Sgt. Frog dvds. Since I have feeling amazon going to lower the price on it even more after it been out for a while.

[firecrouch]

Also some extra info:

Most of the test dub dialogue was retained for the final version of the same episode... Keroro still says "pwn," and all that other stuff...

Things that did get changed (or fixed) are that Mr. Furbottom was fixed to Miss Furbottom, bean dip was changed to ear wax (yeah, strange), and some very little dialouge... such as "whoa, plot twist" getting changed to "what the FROG?"

They probably saw a comment on YouTube criticizing the bean dip joke (I did), and misinterpreted what they meant, which I interpreted as don't write in a joke that doesn't need to be there.

[Daxdiv]

Well, who's at fault there, Funimation or the guy who wrote the comment?:p

[MugiwaraMikey]

Another update... Keroro drops the f-bomb in the dub.

"Stupid f***ing Kululu!"

[garfield15]

Ah FUNi. Proving that the fansubs are correct when it comes to random cursing in anime. :D (yes, I know he probably didn't really say that)

[ChibiGoku]

Another update... Keroro drops the f-bomb in the dub.

"Stupid f***ing Kululu!"

Curious, what episode?

[MugiwaraMikey]

Curious, what episode?

It was in episode 10. The one with the cavity aliens. Keroro tried using the secret contraption that Kululu made for him, but it just appeared as a joke. So Keroro got mad and... yeah.

[GWOtaku]

Meh, yeah, just checked on my own disc. It's worth noting that it's bleeped out, but I don't think it should've been done. Rather out of step with the rest of the dub.

[firecrouch]

Yeah I thought this was a PG-rated kids' show. Obviously straight-to-DVD anime isn't something you can easily market to children, but who is FUNimation targeting here?

[HellCat]

I am of the increasing fear that the further they go with this, the more we'll get another Shin Chan :shrug:

[Mandouga]

Same here. There is no Japanese equivalent of the "censored swear" joke that was shoehorned into the dub. I don't need to see it (the dub) to know that it's both uncalled for, as well as just not funny. They very nearly "crossed the line" here, IMHO.

I'm beginning to wonder if FUNi really listened to us at all (or was EVER going to listen to us to begin with). That is to say, I wonder if the "test dub" was a trick question, whereby they were really going to dub it that way anyway, except with the "correct" names (incidentally, "Miss Furbottom" doesn't have any name in the Japanese version other than "Neko", or "Cat").

In any case, I said that the dub felt like watching a completely different series, and now I know that this is the case. Also, because it is a "PG-rated kids' show", as firecrouch pointed out, it therefore has no place for this type of (forced) "fanservice"*.

*refers to more than just female underwear shots, but that's another topic.

However, we're talking about the show's streaming on their video player, and let me just say that IMO, only uploading the subtitled versions was the "correct" answer. If they had uploaded only the dubbed versions, I wouldn't be able to watch this. Either way however, I don't really like the "disparity" that FUNi has created with the two versions (even though it's the subtitled versions, the links to the episodes use the dub episode names). I really thought we were beyond that now, but again, that's for another topic.

[HellCat]

I think the further they go with it, the less valid arguments for making dub changes are. We've already discussed the obvious cultural issues but it seems FUNimation are basically doing whatever they want with the dub translation, an act for which any other title would see all hell raised.

[Classic Speedy]

Well, even with the dub changes, at least FUNi is giving us the subtitled version on the DVD, which they weren't able to do for Shin-chan. I'm not saying you can't criticize the dub, but the DVDs will be a sight better in that department and you'll have the opportunity to choose, at least.

[HellCat]

Well, even with the dub changes, at least FUNi is giving us the subtitled version on the DVD, which they weren't able to do for Shin-chan. I'm not saying you can't criticize the dub, but the DVDs will be a sight better in that department and you'll have the opportunity to choose, at least.

I understand and appreciate what you're saying but in effect I could say the exact same thing for anyone who has or will complain about any other dub. However, somehow I'd expect those people to respond 'But that's completely different!'

[garfield15]

I understand and appreciate what you're saying but in effect I could say the exact same thing for anyone who has or will complain about any other dub. However, somehow I'd expect those people to respond 'But that's completely different!'
True but to be fair, most of the dubs we complain about don't have the option of switching to Japanese.

Hell, I'd have bought Bakugan if it meant I could toggle the language.

[Kazuya Prower]

They now have episodes 13 and 14 (subtitled) up.

[Mandouga]

Unfortunately, I can't access these or any other videos (or videos of other series) on there. I managed to get through episode 13 before the problem started, but now I can't access this episode, episode 14 or anything else (not even the One Piece videos on the show's official website). The server must have crashed or something (either that or the Funimation video player is at fault). Really, NOTHING is accessible; only the red "ERROR" message appears no matter what I do. I tried using a different browser (PS3 browser): same result.

At the very least, theat's my experience anyway.

(Sorry, I tried using the color option for text. I haven't figured out how to fix it.)

[garfield15]

In other news, my discs came today!

Hurray for early shipping!

[Yuna53]

Unfortunately, I can't access these or any other videos (or videos of other series) on there. I managed to get through episode 13 before the problem started, but now I can't access this episode, episode 14 or anything else (not even the One Piece videos on the show's official website). The server must have crashed or something (either that or the Funimation video player is at fault). Really, NOTHING is accessible; only the red "ERROR" message appears no matter what I do. I tried using a different browser (PS3 browser): same result.



I have had the same problems too. Occasionally they go away, but when it happens it gets really annoying doesn't it? Hopefully that gets changed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
For someone like me, Sgt. frog coming to America is like a dream come true! :D Even though I kinda hate the "CRAZY RAGE BREATH!" in place of "TAMAMA IMPACT", I am somewhat a dub/sub neutral for this. I like both of them. Grr...IT ISN'T FAIR!! I have to wait till the 22nd to get mine in. (Already have mine on preorder from Amazon.com) Everyday until then I have to make do with the episodes on the video player. But I am totally exited about it! I feel like I am blabbing about random stuff kind of like Momoka :sweat:

[garfield15]

Shoulda gone with RightStuf. They frequently ship out sets early...like mine :D

And welcome to TZ forums. The cake here is not a lie....except for the times when it is of course.

[Yuna53]

Shoulda gone with RightStuf. They frequently ship out sets early...like mine :D

And welcome to TZ forums. The cake here is not a lie....except for the times when it is of course.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind when I get Season 1 part 2. :) Are the prices cheap there, or are they normal?

[Daxdiv]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind when I get Season 1 part 2. :) Are the prices cheap there, or are they normal?

RightStuf is normally cheaper, since it is basically the company store. Also, they normally have company sales from time to time. So if you pre-order SGT Frog Volume two around the time there's a sale on Funimation products, you can get it even cheaper than normal.

Currently SGT. Frog Volume one is 23.99 on RightStuf, and volume 2 is 29.99 on the site.

[garfield15]

Wow, I love how Christopher Sabat is in freaking everything. :D

Episode 4 was hilarious. Especially with Keroro's flashback to his childhood and getting spanked by his father.

And I like Tamama Impact better too.

Also, FUNi. Good job keeping that really fast song (can't remember the name) playing on the DVD menu. I really like that song.

[ThePRPD]

And welcome to TZ forums. The cake here is not a lie....except for the times when it is of course.

The cake is always a lie.

[garfield15]

"Oh Bandai? Why do you make me feel this way when I love you so much?"

And I'm like "Dude, can they say that?" :D

EDIT: Dang, this dub has a Robotech reference!

[Kaiser0120]

The cake is always a lie.

OLD MEME IS OOOLLLDDD

Anyways, hope I can pick this set up soon. Need some more cash, first.

[garfield15]

In episode 7 when Angol Mois does her Armageddon thing, I could have sworn that Christopher Sabat changes to his Vegeta voice when he says "You have failed me yet again Keroro!" Did anyone else catch that?

EDIT: HOLY CRAP! NOBUYUKI HIYAMA!?
"SPARK! DAI-HENSHIN!"

[TheVileOne]

Ok question. If you are getting episodes both dubbed and subtitled, what are you really upset about?

[garfield15]

Ok question. If you are getting episodes both dubbed and subtitled, what are you really upset about?
I'm not upset. Who's upset?

Or were you talking about the other posters?

[TheVileOne]

Yes I was.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Ok question. If you are getting episodes both dubbed and subtitled, what are you really upset about?

Some are displeased by the dub represents the property, as I understand.

[TheVileOne]

OK but that's an English dub that's optional to watch.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

OK but that's an English dub that's optional to watch.

Some would argue--hell, just look at me and Dragon Ball--that as the 'mainstream' version in the West and thus the one that will most likely represent the property, it is still disgraceful.

[garfield15]

Some would argue--hell, just look at me and Dragon Ball--that as the 'mainstream' version in the West and thus the one that will most likely represent the property, it is still disgraceful.
Well what determines "disgraceful?" I mean, I for one think both versions are really good. Isn't this really just an eye of the beholder argument. I mean, it's not like 4Piece or a Viz DVD like Zatch Bell or Blue Dragon where the changes offered no solace in the case of the original content. We can change the language whenever we want when we dislike the dub. Is it just too different for the tastes of all or what?

[TheVileOne]

Some would argue--hell, just look at me and Dragon Ball--that as the 'mainstream' version in the West and thus the one that will most likely represent the property, it is still disgraceful.

Why is it disgraceful though? Some obvious changes in the dialogue and gags are clearly different I get it.

But in one episode, Fuyuki's classmate that really likes him, changed a joke from the Japanese version where she can't pronounce Fuyuki's first name. She struggles and stutters in doing so. This is because in Japanese culture, there's a connotation where referring to someone by their first (or rather last name) in Japanese implies that they are very close or on a more intimate footing.

In the English language you aren't expected to add honorifics to someone's name if you are classmates, call them senpai, san, mr. or what have you. You just call them by your first name. If you call even a casual friend Mr. So and So, it's an awkward way to speak to them.

So in the dub instead of the girl struggling to say Fuyuki's name, she is longing to kiss Fuyuki and they changed the joke to her (is it Natsumi?) trying to practice kissing Fuyuki.

So that's just an example.

Some other examples are that they throw in some dialogue and references to popular American movies that aren't in the Japanese version.

But the Gundam references are still there.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I'm just suggesting how some might feel. After all, was not there an uproar about some supposed 'f-bomb' being dropped?

[TheVileOne]

Where is this supposed f-bomb?

[garfield15]

I'm just suggesting how some might feel. After all, was not there an uproar about some supposed 'f-bomb' being dropped?
I have yet to get that far but wasn't it bleeped so I was assuming it could have meant anything.

I mean, yeah, it could have been an f-bomb but it may have not've.

EDIT: Also I want to make a point that a heck of a lot more dialogue in the dub is the same than what is changed.

EDIT2: I love the "Resonance X 3" Which by the way, is soooo much better dubbed. Mainly because I can hear Giroro's voice (Thank you Sabat)
"Gerogerogerotamatamatamatamagirogirogirogiro...."

-Episode 8 changed it back to "Tamama Impact!" Okay! All complaints I had about this dub are gone now!

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/796/vlcsnap1702512.png

Why? Just...just why?

[GWOtaku]

The censored curse is in episode 10, the second half I think. I'll post a short video if necessary.

Anyway, if you want an answer, you're getting a big one. I've been meaning to say this, so I'll get it out there now.


Ok question. If you are getting episodes both dubbed and subtitled, what are you really upset about?

This is not a challenging question in the slightest.

1. Yes, we have subtitles to see the show as it was originally seen. That is not at issue here. This is the bare minimum standard expected of the industry at this point.
2. It is nevertheless true that a good dub should follow the spirit of the show. By this I do not mean a purist translation, but rather one that understands what the show is trying to do.
3. The jokes targeted at anime fans notwithstanding, Sgt. Frog is a kid's show. That is its target demographic. If you're over 10, you're probably outside of it or very close to being so.
4. If we accept 3, which is indisputably true, it's overwhelmingly obvious that even a censored curse is off bounds. If it were on TV it would NEVER be there in any form. Keroro would be going "what?!" like he is in the original.

Now before you say "but this is a direct to DVD release!", don't. Because if, theoretically speaking, Sgt. Frog WERE on TV or somehow got on television in the future, guess what happens. A kid enjoys a show. His parents buy it for him. The parents think they're buying 100% children's entertainment. And they'd be wrong because some fool scriptwriter(s) thought it'd be a good idea to add in an unnecessary curse meant for the teenage and adult customers--because we otaku just love our superfluous swearing, supposedly, according to the fractured logic at work here.

Then all of the sudden you have a popular hit show with a DVD release that parents wouldn't be inclined to show their kids. Good job guys! Truly brilliant marketing at work. Here ends my sarcasm.

Would it not be better to just dub it the way it should be done, in a way that can enjoyed by anyone?

5. Even though this is thankfully an isolated case for the dub, this is not a new issue. Before I have criticized the One Piece dub for the exact same thing, and unlike Sgt. Frog One Piece WAS on television at one point and for all we know it might be again. It is also far more common there. The DVD's have Zoro getting called a "son of a _______" in the Arlong arc because, for God knows what reason, they feel the need to amp up its "uncut" cred. It comes up time and again.

It's as simple as this. I love dubs. Most people here love dubs, Toon Zone is not Purist Zone. Dubs are generally the best way to watch an anime from my perspective, so long as the quality is at a level I would call "acceptable." Dubs are also how new fans get drawn in, for the most part. I did not become an anime fan on subtitled anime. Maybe some people do, but many don't. The point of dubbing an anime is to make it more appealing and accessible to an English speaking audience. That change is an example of an "addition" that does the opposite.

It is unnecessary. It is--yes--stupid. The fact that it exists means that assumptions are being made that this is what anime fans like to see and will laugh at. Maybe a few idiots think that this stuff makes a show more mature somehow, but it doesn't.

The fact that it exists means that there is also an attitude on FUNimation's part that they just need to cater to otaku and what they want--what Funi thinks they want, anyway--rather than the general audience, to the detriment of the show. Well, excuse me--if Japan needs to cut down on the number of shows that only cater to the hardcore otaku in that country, then FUNimation shouldn't be making any change, large or small, that only the current generation of anime fans would possibly appreciate or tolerate. Is that how they became #1 in the industry? Here's a hint: the answer is not "yes."

Let's be clear. FUNimation turns out a truckload of good dubs, and many magnificent dubs. I find a lot to like in this dub, and have defended it, though I have yet to go through most of my first set yet. But that doesn't make it impossible for mistakes to be made, nor does it make them immune from criticism since they're the best. This kind of thing is quite uncommon at the moment. I'm hoping that this is left as a single exception.

But I am noticing what are, I fear, signs of a growing trend here. It is not one for the better. I don't know why or when anyone at Funi thought it was a good idea, but it isn't. It isn't the model that's followed by their very best work. They need to change course before this becomes any more common than the occasional gaffe. And saying so does not make one an anti-dub fanatic.

And for my money fans need to stand up and ask them to do just that, period. Toward the start of the decade, a faithful adaptation was as simple as a correct translation of the original Japanese. Standards have evolved, and so should the expectations of fans.

[garfield15]

How the heck was episode 9 going to get on TV? It was one big fanservice episode with Aki and her breasts.

[GWOtaku]

How the heck was episode 9 going to get on TV? It was one big fanservice episode with Aki and her breasts.

I think you are overrating that to a truly massive degree.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I wouldn't really count on any FUNi license ever being aimed at young demographics ever again, despite the original Japanese demo, to be honest.

[garfield15]

I think you are overrating that to a truly massive degree.
Okay, true. The first half was Kululu's introduction but you gotta admit, the second half was all about Aki's (as the Japanese so eloquently put it in subs) "Dynamito bodii!" :D

We had a freakin' full magical girl transformation parody (except Aki was just naked instead of "sparkly" naked) and Momoka feeling her saying "They're bigger than mine" (which was hilarious by the way) I just don't see how that one could have gotten on American television.

[GWOtaku]

I wouldn't really count on any FUNi license ever being aimed at young demographics ever again, despite the original Japanese demo, to be honest.

I'll take that bet. What if they ever relicense and dub Cardcaptor Sakura, for example? But in any case I'm interested in in the argument for what should be done, rather than trying to predict the future. Indeed, things change all the time, and that's certainly no exception in this industry.

Well, for most of their licenses they do solid jobs that don't aim too high or too low, which I support completely. That said, if you're going to grab a show like Sgt. Frog, do as the Romans do. If they can go out of their way for Romeo x Juliet, among others, and actually raise the quality by the virtue of their efforts, then I don't see why what I'm proposing is so much to ask.


Okay, true. The first half was Kululu's introduction but you gotta admit, the second half was all about Aki's (as the Japanese so eloquently put it in subs) "Dynamito bodii!" :D

We had a freakin' full magical girl transformation parody (except Aki was just naked instead of "sparkly" naked) and Momoka feeling her saying "They're bigger than mine" (which was hilarious by the way) I just don't see how that one could have gotten on American television.

Well, I'm pretty new to this, so I won't try to parse and defend all of the content in the show. I will say, however, that the transformation scene can be edited out of TV with nothing lost, and that it's still pretty darn tame all things considered. In any case though, I think it remains true that artificial attempts at a more "adult" dub are better off abandoned, left to rust away to nothing in a dark corner somewhere.

[TheVileOne]

You guys are asking how such and such episodes would make it on TV with references to breasts and what part.

How did Avatar get on TV with all its fan service? Wolverine and The X-men? What about shows like Naruto? A show like Naruto made edits where need be. Also even in Naruto, SEXY JUTSU WAS LEFT IN. Basically these sort of things are not unheard of. Either it would be left in IN SOME FORM, or it would be worked around or edited out.

Remember the Naruto/Sasuke kiss? They took it out, but then a shot of it was shown in a flashback in a later episode!

[TheVileOne]

2. It is nevertheless true that a good dub should follow the spirit of the show. By this I do not mean a purist translation, but rather one that understands what the show is trying to do.

Honestly, having watched a lot of episodes available subtitled, and having watched the dub episodes available for the most part I think this is the case.


3. The jokes targeted at anime fans notwithstanding, Sgt. Frog is a kid's show. That is its target demographic. If you're over 10, you're probably outside of it or very close to being so.

OK, but there's still a cultural divide in content and standards in practices for US shows and Japanese shows. Shows that are kids and young boy shows in Japan still have some content that would be considered quite racy and too edgy for kids shows in the US.


4. If we accept 3, which is indisputably true, it's overwhelmingly obvious that even a censored curse is off bounds. If it were on TV it would NEVER be there in any form. Keroro would be going "what?!" like he is in the original.

Dude, have you ever actually watched Gintama? Here's the problem I have. Having watched a good deal of what are considered KIDS SHOWS in Japan. I've seen that a ton of them HAVE USED CURSE WORDS BEFORE!


Now before you say "but this is a direct to DVD release!", don't. Because if, theoretically speaking, Sgt. Frog WERE on TV or somehow got on television in the future, guess what happens. A kid enjoys a show. His parents buy it for him. The parents think they're buying 100% children's entertainment. And they'd be wrong because some fool scriptwriter(s) thought it'd be a good idea to add in an unnecessary curse meant for the teenage and adult customers--because we otaku just love our superfluous swearing, supposedly, according to the fractured logic at work here.

Here is why your argument fails. The shows on TV and if there's a bleeped curse . . . THEY WOULD TAKE IT OUT. Just like language and content was edited out of Naruto for broadcast. Naruto is a kids show in Japan.

Honestly this sounds like an extreme overreaction on your part.


Then all of the sudden you have a popular hit show with a DVD release that parents wouldn't be inclined to show their kids. Good job guys! Truly brilliant marketing at work. Here ends my sarcasm.

If parents do their job, they will check the label and the rating on the show and consider discretion. If there's any content parents might find objectionable (which arguably for American families there already is in the JAPANESE KID FRIENDLY VERSION), it will be noted on the ratings label on the box.


Would it not be better to just dub it the way it should be done, in a way that can enjoyed by anyone?

So you are basically saying that Funimation in their original dub should be broader and more sanitized so changes won't even have to be made for TV? That I think is an interesting argument, but again if you do that I think you have to change a lot more besides A BLEEPED EXPLETIVE.


5. Even though this is thankfully an isolated case for the dub, this is not a new issue. Before I have criticized the One Piece dub for the exact same thing, and unlike Sgt. Frog One Piece WAS on television at one point and for all we know it might be again. It is also far more common there. The DVD's have Zoro getting called a "son of a _______" in the Arlong arc because, for God knows what reason, they feel the need to amp up its "uncut" cred. It comes up time and again.

Dude, have you ever actually watched Japanese anime subtitled and read manga? They seem to be using terms and things a lot worse than son of a blank.

Here's what I don't get. Why is it simply the language you are objecting to?


It is unnecessary. It is--yes--stupid. The fact that it exists means that assumptions are being made that this is what anime fans like to see and will laugh at. Maybe a few idiots think that this stuff makes a show more mature somehow, but it doesn't.

Who said it makes the show more mature?


The fact that it exists means that there is also an attitude on FUNimation's part that they just need to cater to otaku and what they want--what Funi thinks they want, anyway--rather than the general audience, to the detriment of the show. Well, excuse me--if Japan needs to cut down on the number of shows that only cater to the hardcore otaku in that country, then FUNimation shouldn't be making any change, large or small, that only the current generation of anime fans would possibly appreciate or tolerate. Is that how they became #1 in the industry? Here's a hint: the answer is not "yes."

Prove it.

[GWOtaku]

Mercy. Between your caps and your questions about whether I have ever watched subtitled anime before (really now, do I look the like kind of guy who hasn't?), I'm left wondering why you're treating this with such a combative attitude. This is not a fight, all right? That aside, let's run through the points.

I will lead off with your "prove it" response. You want me to prove it's a losing proposition to only market to otaku. Really? Anime fandom in the U.S. is far bigger than it was 15 years ago. One can compare the industry of today to back then, or look at how convention attendance has increased. It is simple logic that this wasn't accomplished by just marketing to the very small minority that existed back then. It was all about reeling in new viewers and customers that were getting interested thanks to TV and the emergence of the internet. The anime boom happened because lots of people started watching anime that...were not otaku.

More recently, FUNimation won and is winning because they gave people what they wanted better than the rest. Accessible shows compared to Geneon and ADV, great dubs, excellent fidelity to the integrity of the original. I just want them to keep following their high standards. I would prefer to see them continue doing well, and I would like them to correct their balance before there's any serious danger of losing it. I don't think there is a crisis, but I do consider this a flaw.

From my point of view, I'm just being consistent. In the past, fans were all too happy to demand strict faithfulness to ensure that anime wasn't released censored. So, why be okay with adding censor-worthy content on a whim? Is it faithful to make a bad change if it's targeted to anime fans or older fans, and unfaithful to make a bad change if it's targeted to kids? No? Well, there you go. That's what I'm getting at.

Now, let's deal with the rest of this.

First: You believe that, generally speaking, the dub follows the spirit of the show. So do I, which I should hope is clear given what I've said in the thread before.

Second: "Shows that are kids and young boy shows in Japan still have some content that would be considered quite racy and too edgy for kids shos in the US." Very true, I don't disagree with that either. I'm fairly sure I've said as much myself at some point, in fact.

Third: You cite cursing in other kids shows. All well and good, but we are talking about what is in Sgt. Frog. Your citation of Gintama is no more relevant than a citation of Full Metal Alchemist. As your second point makes clear very well, shows targeted toward boys in Japan are not created equal.

Fourth: You think I am overreacting. Where is the overreaction? Did I argue that the dub was ruined by one censored swear? I did not. I specifically went out of my way to note that it was an exception, in fact, so I don't know why you seem to think otherwise. My argument was that the change was nonsense, and that they shouldn't be pushing the PG rating in any way just because they can. I also called on them to not do so in the future.

Fifth: You tell me that swearing would be censored for television even though I said as much in my own post. Hmm, okay then. On top of being redundant, this isn't an argument for making the change in the first place. You do reasonably ask who ever said that language made anything more mature. No one did, but I do wonder if Funi sometimes throws it in out of some misguided idea that people want it or that otaku will like it better that way for some reason. I say no, not really...I'd submit that most just want a faithful product, whatever that happens to mean.

Sixth: Yes, Sgt. Frog is rated PG. I see on the box that One Piece is rated TV-14, so there is a substantial difference here that is reassuring. True, parents can choose to not buy the DVD's. But again: why unilaterally put that in a PG dub in the first place? Who benefits?

Seventh: You ask why I'm singling out language and not other content. You bring up how so many other things would have to be changed, but I did not argue for sanitization. I'm not asking for 4Kids treatment here. My problem was only with FUNimation adding in censored language that was never there before for what I consider to be no good reason.

[Tash]

Censored swears are funny. You see jokes about them in American kid's shows all the time.

[HellCat]

I'd point out that aside from the original manga, Keroro is treated as a very kid friendly franchise in Japan. Magazines like Keroro Land and such are aimed at a very young age group and the TV show removes or changes alot of the more questionable content. Example- in the manga, we learn that Angol took her human form from a girl she saw cutting off another for her own benefit, fitting with her father's request to be a planet destroyer who thinks only of herself. The show changes that to her instead picking the girl because she saved the other girl from a group of thugs and she wanted to be as brave as her.

[garfield15]

Well, I'm pretty new to this, so I won't try to parse and defend all of the content in the show. I will say, however, that the transformation scene can be edited out of TV with nothing lost, and that it's still pretty darn tame all things considered. In any case though, I think it remains true that artificial attempts at a more "adult" dub are better off abandoned, left to rust away to nothing in a dark corner somewhere.
But isn't something that's "artificial" or "disgraceful" a matter of opinion. Okay, truth. It's not like I want to see every license of FUNi's down the line contain changed dialog or raging curses but the spirit of the show and property is still the same. And there aren't even any curses in the dub either. Also, the discs do have a PG rating on them. Look, all I'm trying to say is that the dub is only as "adult" as one believes and I don't think that it's "adult" at all. If anything, it's more like if FUNi did Spongebob.

I don't know. Maybe I just don't see it. I mean, I could understand the 4Piece issue, I can understand the Robotech issue and even though it's not as big to me, I can respect the "getting the original DB/Z" issue as well. But considering that I have the original language on my discs and I find the dub highly entertaining without it seeming too adult, this is just something I can't understand why it's a big deal.

[HellCat]

Next time some group starts complaining that a US company screwed up with a new dub, I am so going to bring my sour grapes.

[garfield15]

Next time some group starts complaining that a US company screwed up with a new dub, I am so going to bring my sour grapes.Are uncut DVD's out of the equation or is this just whenever?

[HellCat]

Are uncut DVD's out of the equation or is this just whenever?

It's sour grapes, so I'd like to be as inconsistent and anal as possible.

[ChibiGoku]

Are uncut DVD's out of the equation or is this just whenever?

If I'm right, he might be referring to the original Mobile Suit Gundam series.

EDIT:

It's sour grapes, so I'd like to be as inconsistent and anal as possible.

Well, if you're going to bring yours in, I may as well bring mine in.

[GWOtaku]

But isn't something that's "artificial" or "disgraceful" a matter of opinion.

I certainly think you could call the change "artificial" (my word) since it was 100% made up out of nowhere. That aside, sure. You can argue that it's "not a big deal" since it's an isolated case that doesn't indicte the entire dub. And you'd be correct. Still, I don't want to see it ever be a big deal, and I think flaws should be pointed out when noticed. And sure, the dub certainly isn't "adult" as a result, which is exactly why the change feels distinctly out of place. And see, here's the thing. I'm an older fan. I have every intention of owning my collection 10 to 15 years from now and beyond. From that perspective I'm also annoyed that if I ever wanted to loan this out and/or show it to a much younger audience, I would have to account for that episode. And that's just absurd! Especially since this doesn't mirror original intent in any way.

It's not unreasonable to worry about future jokes of this variety either. As I've said this is not a disaster or a crisis. But a question was asked about why anyone should care about this when we have subs, which I think looks at things totally backwards. Dubbing has improved to a truly impressive degree over the years, and a sufficiently high standard should be held to keep it that way where possible. Subs aren't a reason to be indifferent about whether a dub is the best that it can be.

[TheVileOne]

First: You believe that, generally speaking, the dub follows the spirit of the show. So do I, which I should hope is clear given what I've said in the thread before.

Second: "Shows that are kids and young boy shows in Japan still have some content that would be considered quite racy and too edgy for kids shos in the US." Very true, I don't disagree with that either. I'm fairly sure I've said as much myself at some point, in fact.

Third: You cite cursing in other kids shows. All well and good, but we are talking about what is in Sgt. Frog. Your citation of Gintama is no more relevant than a citation of Full Metal Alchemist. As your second point makes clear very well, shows targeted toward boys in Japan are not created equal.

Fourth: You think I am overreacting. Where is the overreaction? Did I argue that the dub was ruined by one censored swear? I did not. I specifically went out of my way to note that it was an exception, in fact, so I don't know why you seem to think otherwise. My argument was that the change was nonsense, and that they shouldn't be pushing the PG rating in any way just because they can. I also called on them to not do so in the future.

Fifth: You tell me that swearing would be censored for television even though I said as much in my own post. Hmm, okay then. On top of being redundant, this isn't an argument for making the change in the first place. You do reasonably ask who ever said that language made anything more mature. No one did, but I do wonder if Funi sometimes throws it in out of some misguided idea that people want it or that otaku will like it better that way for some reason. I say no, not really...I'd submit that most just want a faithful product, whatever that happens to mean.

Sixth: Yes, Sgt. Frog is rated PG. I see on the box that One Piece is rated TV-14, so there is a substantial difference here that is reassuring. True, parents can choose to not buy the DVD's. But again: why unilaterally put that in a PG dub in the first place? Who benefits?

Seventh: You ask why I'm singling out language and not other content. You bring up how so many other things would have to be changed, but I did not argue for sanitization. I'm not asking for 4Kids treatment here. My problem was only with FUNimation adding in censored language that was never there before for what I consider to be no good reason.

I was saying to prove that Funimation is only marketing to otaku with a dub. I don't want to do a bunch of block quotes.

But your main point seems to be that Funimation has committed a heinous crime by inserting a bleeped expletive in the dub. I think you are overreacting. You seem to think this will ruin the show with kids and parents when it's sold on DVD and no kids will watch it now.

The point about mentioning other shows is that numerous other anime that are marketed and watched by kids in Japan have curse and edgy, racy content. These are changed or edited for TV. Or now on DVD they are left in subtitled or whatever. The dub might have some similar language and the content unedited. It seems like a waste of energy to get worked up about this one thing if you aren't going to say be scandalized by the content that already exists these shows already that's questionable for most general kid viewing audiences in the US.

[GWOtaku]

But your main point seems to be that Funimation has committed a heinous crime by inserting a bleeped expletive in the dub. I think you are overreacting. You seem to think this will ruin the show with kids and parents when it's sold on DVD and no kids will watch it now.


Not only did I not say it was ruined, I have said the opposite multiple times in my responses. You are attacking an argument that doesn't exist. My argument is one for faithfulness, not censorship. It keeps being said that this is a small thing, and around we go in circles. I keep asking why they bothered making a change like that at all, and whether anyone should really be supporting any more like it. No one has a good answer for this that's in favor of it.

[Taekmkm]

If I recall, the swearing in One Piece was asked by the forum fans on their site.