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NEWS: 4Kids to Rebrand TheCW4Kids Block on Saturdays

MagusGuardian wrote:

Pandadice wrote: aw dang it.. the one western licensing company I didn't want to see getting more active.. same here, I guess dragon ball z kai will be the first on the "new" chopping block

Sad but true. Doesn't matter what they name it, this doesn't change the fact that they will likely ruin Dragon Ball Z Kai. Really wish that 4kids would leave the great shows alone and just only butcher kid theme shows.

No matter how one look's at it, Dragon Ball Z isn't a kids show. There is death, violence, swearing and all sorts of theme's that are fitted for kids. While Dragon Ball Z Kai/Dragon Ball Z isn't that violent, the series isn't and will never ever be G rated.

But I don't mean to start an argument , I just want to point out simple facts that should be known.

4Kids needs to return to its roots as a licensing and merchandising company [that] specializes in bringing wonderful Japanese programming and merchandising to the rest of the world.

They should stick to magical girl shows

Although it's still a bit early, so far it looks like the fall lineup is going to be Magical DoReMi reruns, followed by Sonic X repeats, followed by YuGiOh repeats, followed by DB Kai, a re-edit of an older show. I don't mind the shows being aimed at children, but do they have to rely so heavily on reruns? That's no way to attract any viewers and it's not going to help the anime industry if all you support are old properties.

"very important Japanese property." Kahn also said that his company updating TheCW4Kids block with a number of "substantial Japanese hits.

...are they trying to be Toonami?! Nobody's falling for this garbage, and at least Toonami was a decent pun. Toonzai just sounds stupid. Trying waaay too hard there. If you want to stop failing when it comes to sales, try not chopping up your shows into itty bitty pieces!

zanarkand princess wrote:

They should stick to magical girl shows

No, leave my magical girls alone! Mahou shoujo always gets butchered stateside. Cardcaptors and DiC's Sailor Moon are among the most heavily edited TV dubs, and the 4Kids trainwreck that used to be Tokyo MewMew is up there, too.

What you guys (by which I mean most "fans" who participate in forums) seem to keep forgetting is that 4Kids has been VERY successful in marketing these shows -- kids shows -- to kids.

And in order to market successfully and sustainably to children, you have to jump through hurdles and make choices that they wouldn't if these shows were airing on CN at midnight. Certain cultural differences, especially regarding comic nudity, on-screen deaths, showing smoking, etc. simply aren't going to get past the censors no matter how much we (or, to be truthful, the 4Kids bosses) would prefer. In the end, the shows are reaching kids and selling toys, and that is the entire point -- not to satisfy a bunch of otaku.

Kids -- the primary target audience, the people who beg their parents to drop money on toys and collectible cards and DVDs, the people the show was actually _made_ for -- still eat this stuff up. And they don't care much about how painstakingly accurate the dubs are, or about what was cut or changed -- they won't until they're teenagers or college kids and think everything needs to be either utterly pure or utterly crap. In truth, ALL art, all entertainment, lies in the huge gray and muddy middle, and owes more to compromises and tough choices than it does to unbending principle. And frankly, the purists never realize their endless bitching is RIGHTFULLY ignored in favor of more pragmatic approaches that still accomplish the end goals.

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Then Perhaps they should try to bring over actual kid shows, of which there are many. Or in any case- ones that are child friendly. Stuff like Pokemon. They cut out a few innuendos here or there, and change riceballs into sandwiches, but they don't need much changing. (I think? I never looked into Pokemons edits)
They should focus on that stuff rather than more mature shows that are by NO means meant for kids, but for a more teenage audience. Yknow, like, Yugioh or One piece. Those are NOT meant for the demographic 4Kids tries to sell them to. Yugioh specifically is pretty heavy on death. Pretty much every "shadow realm" banishment was a death scene. Lets not forget Marik stabbing his father with a dagger hidden in that rod of his.

In any case, i saw that and thought. Huh? whats... DBZ doing on a 4kids channel..? I actually had to check to make sure that Kai was still Funi before scratching my head a bit. "huuuuh?"

^ Not sure if the FCC really has a say here since it's (paid) cable. But i's just as you said though, with all the parental groups and whatnot breathing down their necks.

The problem is that what is '4Kids' in Japan translates into what's '4Adults' in the US, since many popular shows aimed and younger folks also have a very large demographic. Meaning, junior high (aka middle school in Japan) to adults. Even capping out the age group, they're still going to edit the cultural differences. However limiting the imported shows to literally kindergarten, pre-school-friendly age group--which is the only way for 4kids to air unedited--would mostly defeat their purpose since the viewers they're targeting here don't actually want that.

I think if they really wanted to show the unedited versions like other channels, they can spin off another channel or programming block (perhaps a parental discretion label or something)