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Answerman - Why Are Adapted Dubs Still Being Made?

I sometimes do think that the idea that the Japanese approved all this localizing is too good to be true. That is, there are times where I think an American company will make that story up to justify it getting censored and that the localization was done by an American company.

Ah, yes, everyone will only ever be surrounded by those type of people. Again, you're always reaching for the worst possible scenario.

Of course, I won't be surprised if you come in and say, "What about those kids that are only home schooled, do not have friends, and do not have access to the Internet.

...

Because drama –comedic, tragic; animated, live-action; adapted, raw- attracts us foremost through its characters: real, complicated, challenging personalities whose most urgent qualities shine through all the more for having traversed the cultural divide –who can adapt to a variety of contexts. They soar on their own strength, regardless of milieu, language or iteration, gaining momentum by each hand that touches them, each mind that invites them to take on just a little of itself en route to their destiny as icons. They surpass their origins and resonate across boundaries we didn’t even know existed, guiding the way, if we let them, through our own chaotic inner landscapes. To treat these towering creations as frail, gossamer genii loci subject to dissolve at the slightest departure from native soil is to seriously underestimate their power.

And indeed, if we cannot learn as an audience to confront these personalities and their stories in the spirit of exploration, allow them to engage us in all their seemingly contradictory manifestations, they become little better than tantalizing blank slates on which to project our own undeveloped sense of self; contemplating them, we learn nothing we don’t already know –or believe we know. We find ourselves caught in a cognitive feedback loop, unable to integrate or process aspects of experience not previously defined. Our favorite characters miss the vital chance to become something more than quaint cultural artifacts; we miss the chance to enrich our imaginations. And imagination is more than just convenient means of distraction. It is how we find our way into reality, work up the courage to speak to that person we harbor the secret crush on, or move beyond our first impressions. It is how we foster authentic experiences of our own.

...the bottomless capacity for hyperbole and malicious one-upmanship that characterizes the entitled, reactionary critic.

As far as "Americanization" of anime goes, if it gets kids to buy the merchandise and convinces them to stick with the anime as they grow older and maybe even seek out the source material, then the adaptive writers have done their job well.

Pokémon was already a best selling game months before the anime ever reached the west. And who can say that without all the changes made it wouldn't have been popular? It's not like it was some ultra violent show that was so Japanese that was untranslatable. You have terms like the Kanto region itself and many aesthetics and Pokémon designs that have a very eastern influence and no kid cares.

I'm of 50/50 on this while I do appreciate some dubs that go that extra mile for that level of authenticity at times it can feel somewhat superfluous. Though ultimately it's not as bad as other dubs that decide to just give someone an accent to a character for literally no reason which there are too many examples to name.

Or maybe they had to wait until after they went out of print before Takeuchi could start blocking them. But it's clear that the exclusion of episode 67 on the R set shows Takeuchi had some influence of control over the show at that point.

Similarly, I'd say that if a work is full of punny names, it'd be reasonable to change the names to puns in the language being translated into

Teknoman

I honestly don't remember anything about UPN Kids' dub of Teknoman other than "it happened".

Then why bring it up as a "untouched" dub in the first place?

The Teknoman dub had changes as well, one being music because it was Saban, the other being names and the third was one of the characters being changed to a woman because he was a gay cross-dresser in the original. There was also 2 versions of this dub, the US version on UPN Kids which lasted 26 episodes before getting cancelled and the international version which aired in the UK and Australia & lasted the entire run with 43 episodes (with 6 episodes getting cut, 4 of which were recaps) and it was the latter dub that Media Blasters released, along with subbed Tekkaman Blade, back when they had the DVD license.

I remember seeing a few episodes of this at a con about a decade ago, and the general consensus of the room was that it was "much better than the last time a Tekkaman show came to America"... but like I said, that's about the only thing I manage to recall. I stand corrected.

I just watched the clip you linked to, and good lord, how bad must previous Tekkaman dubs have been in order for people to consider this an improvement?

The Teknoman dub had changes as well, one being music because it was Saban, the other being names and the third was one of the characters being changed to a woman because he was a gay cross-dresser in the original.

Didn't Saban do Digimon? Who's to say Glitter Force will even be that bad? Maybe the characters will still be Japanese and have easier to pronounce nicknames, and the violence would be kept intact... Probably a lot of terrible puns, though.

@ Leafy Sea Dragon
I still can't see Zoicite as male... damn DiC dub lol

Worst possible scenario with the most likely outcome.