Forum - View topic

NEWS: Toei to Release One Piece

Hasn't that comic been posted enough already?

Hasn't that comic been posted enough already?

I've never heard this, certainly not in those words. Can you find where they've stated this?

Now this I don't believe at all. They've always firmly stated that Pokemon was a childrens show that could not support uncut sales. I've never heard them state otherwise and I've never heard of anyone pointing to such a thing when begging for the show uncut.

Why, because they used it in their preview? I'm sorry, but that doesn't mean anything.

Geeze, they just said that a couple months ago, give them time.

Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly why they did that, and I guess that's why Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children didn't come out last year, because S-E and every other company just loves to piss everyone off. Or it could be because FUNimation is doing the release and their schedule is already booked solid as it is, delays happen. Besides, they said they were going to release uncut DVDs, and they released uncut DVDs, but they never said they'd get the entire series out on DVD. Also consider that if the sales have been as poor as people are saying they could be pushing the DVDs back because the interest isn't there and there's no reason to make them a priority (most likely).

Well, guess what, they aren't an anime company. They don't need you or your money, anything they do outside of TV and kid products is pure bonus.

Emerje wrote:

I've never heard this, certainly not in those words. Can you find where they've stated this?

http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=120119

Quote:

Now this I don't believe at all. They've always firmly stated that Pokemon was a childrens show that could not support uncut sales. I've never heard them state otherwise and I've never heard of anyone pointing to such a thing when begging for the show uncut.

http://www.license-europe.com/licenseeurope/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=58683

Quote:

Why, because they used it in their preview? I'm sorry, but that doesn't mean anything.

Sure it does. It means that they have it. I see no point in using such an intolerable theme song over one that's already dubbed.

Quote:

Geeze, they just said that a couple months ago, give them time.

Not just a couple months ago, they said that three years ago too. Where are we in 2005? Three shows uncut - two have been delayed with 2-3 volumes a piece and one got a subtitled release.

Quote:

Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly why they did that, and I guess that's why Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children didn't come out last year, because S-E and every other company just loves to piss everyone off. Or it could be because FUNimation is doing the release and their schedule is already booked solid as it is, delays happen. Besides, they said they were going to release uncut DVDs, and they released uncut DVDs, but they never said they'd get the entire series out on DVD. Also consider that if the sales have been as poor as people are saying they could be pushing the DVDs back because the interest isn't there and there's no reason to make them a priority (most likely).

If you think that they never said they'd get the whole shows out is justification for delaying them for no reason, then you're wrong, and it only gives me more reason to hate them. YGO and Shaman King both sold well. Shaman had nothing to "compete" against, and if I recall, both Al Kahn and another 4Kids rep said that the YGO uncuts were hits (Kahn contradicted himself in that interview many times, but another 4Kids rep said they were hits in a press release on the third Yu-Gi-Oh DVD).

YGO edited is selling poorly as well now, so under that logic 4Kids should cut it. There was no reason to delay the uncut DVDs after they've already been announced, and 4Kids has no priority when it comes to pleasing their fans, which IMO should be first and foremost for a company... especially one with their kind of rep.

Quote:

Well, guess what, they aren't an anime company. They don't need you or your money, anything they do outside of TV and kid products is pure bonus.

Yep, because One Piece is a breakout hit with the kids. Do you know which section it's going to be shelved in when the DVD comes out? Anime. Al Kahn could bullshit on Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh this way, but he can't on the other properties he's acquired. 4Kids is an anime company because they dub anime, and they rarely do anything else. To say that they aren't is complete ignorance, and the way they're running things they have no idea what's going on in the industry they've entered (regardless of whether or not they wanted to).

That says "minimum amount of changes necessary to air One Piece on American TV" which I feel is exactly what we got for the time and network it was placed on. They also said "there are a certain issues that I think for our audience that we need to be concerned about. Those things include depictions or embracing of any idea of smoking, drinking and certain kinds of acts of violence. We want to be sure that we’re not endorsing things that we don’t want kids in this country repeating." Obviously that's exactly what they did. They didn't decieve anyone, they put it right out on the table and that's exactly what we got.

I don't know their reasons for going with the different song, but in no way does using the original song indicate that they plan on using it on the show. Just because they have it doesn't mean they have to use it.

Three years ago they said just Pokemon and Yugioh by the link you provided. Only a few months ago they said everything.

Press releases will call anything a hit if they think it'll help it sell better.

Like I've said, 4Kids is out there for TV and merchandise, that's how they please their fans. FUNimation can please everyone else with the DVD release (whom I think are ultimately responcible for the delays).

This isn't coming from Al Khan, this is coming from me. 4Kids is not an anime company. Saying that they rarely do anything that isn't anime is pure ignorance. Winx Club, Ninja Turtles, Cramp Twins, Martin Mystery, Cubix, Funky Cops, Alien Racers, Cabage Patch Kids, and Crash Dummies (among other new shows coming in the fall) are all non anime properties of theirs. They're strategy is to get animation from where ever they can get it, whether it's Europe, Japan, or right here in the USA, and make it work for them. Yes, they do have a lot of anime, but Japan produces a lot of animation so it makes sence that they'd be able to get more anime than anything. Yes, they are aware of the popularity of anime, but it's not their focus.

Emerje

No, we didn't get the "minimum amount" of changes. We got horrible mistranslations, music changes, pointless censorship (ARE POTS AND PANS OFFENSIVE?), and overall gutting the feel of the show. You can not argue this point otherwise. And characters die on other 4Kids TV shows like Ninja Turtles and Shaman King, so saying that Bellemere and Kuina's deaths had to be censored is bullshit.

What kind of a dumbass dubs an anime theme song, then decides to scrap it for something new? It only wastes more resources, but 4Kids are experts at that.

Three years ago they only had those two shows. If they had the lineup they do today he probably WOULD have said "everything".

Why do you think Shaman King volume 3 never got released while Yu-Gi-Oh volume 3 did?

Because kids know 4Kids as a name. Right -_- It's only recently that they're trying to cram it down people's throats.

But FUNi's fault? That's a good one, really. FUNi is still releasing edited Yu-Gi-Oh and 4Kids Ninja Turtles. Besides that, the only thing that FUNi does is distribute the discs. And didn't Al Kahn say that the delay was a 4Kids issue?

They're an anime company. They make their own shit but they are first and foremost an anime company because the only thing that might have higher priority than dubbing is TMNT, which is the only self-created hit of theirs. Regardless of their intentions, they've been sucked into the anime industry because dubbing anime is where their priorities lie.

Who says they scrapped it for something new? They could have done their openning first and then gone back and redone the original. I guess you'd rather they hadn't dubbed the original openning at all, would have saved resources right? And you're assuming that that's the last we've heard of it, there are still opportunities to use it again elsewhere (video games, DVDs, Soundtracks, etc). You're being too pessimistic, atleast they used the song rather than let it go altogether.

But he didn't so don't put words in his mouth.

Because it did slightly better, it's only one more volume than Shaman King.

Kids don't care about uncut releases, the just care about getting cartoons on TV. It's not the kids who are complaining about uncut shows, it's people like you who are trying to make 4Kids out to be a company they're not.

Has 4Kids even addressed the delays at all? You're great at digging up dirt on them, I'm sure you've got it bookmared somewhere.

They're not an anime company, saying otherwise is BS. If France made more popular shows they'd do more shows from there. Just because a company has anime doesn't make them an anime company. I suppose Disney is an anime company too because they're releasing the Miyazaki movies, or Nelvana is an anime company because they've got a few as well? Anime is popular right now, it's the in thing, it's easy to market and there's a lot of it, that's the only reason why they have so much of it. The truth is they have as many non anime shows as they do anime shows. Why? Because they are an animation company, NOT an anime company.

Emerje

They did dub the original OP, and they only showed it once, and the only way you can see it is on a site with terrible video quality and a ton of shit interfering with the audio. If they were honest about it and showed the rap opening in the first place, yes, I would probably be less pissed.

Quote:

Because it did slightly better, it's only one more volume than Shaman King.

I recall Al Kahn saying that the edited version is doing poorly now, and I'm willing to bet anything that the uncut versions sold better in their initial release.

Thing is, kids don't care about One Piece. The only success it could possibly have is with the pre-existing fanbase who got hooked via US Shounen Jump or fansubs.

Quote:

Has 4Kids even addressed the delays at all? You're great at digging up dirt on them, I'm sure you've got it bookmared somewhere.

animenewsnetwork.com/columns/sunday.php?id=35

But hey, France cartoons aren't popular, Japan cartoons are and that's what they do, so they're an anime company. Over half of their library is anime. Disney is not an anime company because their priorities lie in making their own films, same for Nelvana. 4Kids however focuses on making anime dubs, so I consider them an anime company.

From the ANN interview on why the went with the rap: "Yeah, well.. we liked it, we thought it was good. And we thought it was going to be something that'd have a lot of popularity. There wasn't anything more to it than that." Maybe they were going to use the dub openning, maybe not, I'm still going to stand by my original point that using a song in a promo does not mean they have to use it in a show.

From the ANN interview on the cut version: "For Yu-Gi-Oh! and Shaman King? Yeah, they've been extraordinarily successful... Obviously Yu-Gi-Oh! has been extraordinarily successful here." Gee, sounds extraordinary. Now let's compare that to his responce on how well the uncut version is doing: "...those things do, you know, reasonably well. The market for them just isn't as large as the one for the cut version." Yeah, sounds the uncut versions are a hot seller. He also goes on to say that the reason for the delays is because they're staggering the cut and uncut releases, so if the uncut versions were selling so well don't you think it'd be the cut versions getting the delays?

That's not what the ratings for the same cut on Toonami are saying. But really, why couldn't kids like One Piece, little kids watch it in Japan, why not here?

Yeah, and remember what I wrote in my first reply? "Also consider that if the sales have been as poor as people are saying they could be pushing the DVDs back because the interest isn't there and there's no reason to make them a priority (most likely)." After reading the interview again, gee, turns out I was right, they weren't a piority, turns out the cut versions are.

Just barely over half of their animation is anime, we're talking like 55% anime to 45% non anime here. Not only are they not an anime company because they don't work with just anime, but they're not an anime company because they don't intend for their shows to be viewed in the same you would view anime from other companies. Notice that Al Khan rarely says localize, but rather westernize which should tell you right there that they don't particularly care where their shows come from as long as they can make it sell. I'll say it again, they are NOT an anime company, they are an animation company and you haven't said anything to prove the contrary. Simply licensing anime does not make anime a company's focus, it certainly isn't 4Kids focus, never has been, and if they don't get good uncut sales never will be.

Emerje

This gives off the impression that 4K!DS had both OPs ready from the start and that they were deciding one or the other. If they had the rap OP from the beginning, that's what they would have shown. I remember it being classified as "One Piece dub's theme song".

Al Kahn contradicted himself a lot in that interview, so I wouldn't take it as hard evidence. He also said that the reason they pulled the uncuts was because they "compete" with the edited versions, which is obvious bullshit because Shaman King never had an edited release to begin with.

Kahn's saying that profits for the edited tapes dropped as well, so clearly there's more to it then "Oh we don't want the two to conflict".

There are ratings reports that have come in, they don't mention One Piece. They mention Justice League and Teen Titans. If One Piece is the big hit that Kahn is making it out to be, then I think THAT would be mentioned instead.

Kids don't like One Piece (dub) here because it... drumroll...

Of course they aren't a priority, I never said they were. I've heard the exact opposite. The only thing I've read that supports that the DVDs bombed was Al Kahn's interview, and Al Kahn is a dumbass who has no real idea of what's going on in his company and the industry he works in. I mean, Kirby aiming for the 8-14 audience? LOL.

In this case westernize means localize, so that was completely irrelevant.

With 4Kids starting to go to cons, I'm willing to bet that in the next five years they'll take a FUNimation-like turn around... pipe dream, but meh. Licensing anime doesn't make anime their focus, but if their focus is licensing anime then yes, their focus is anime. And that's what their focus is. Licensing anime.

They are not known for Monster Jam, The Cramp Twins, Winx Club, and other shit, they are known for butchering their ANIME. Winx Club got a raw deal too, but you don't see anyone bitching about that.

I get it, so when the interview doesn't agree with you it's worthless, but when it does agree with you it's worth bringing up.

This was according to a 4Kids confrence call back in May. They stated that One Piece was the number one show on Toonami with the 6-11 demographic. Kids DO like One Piece.

No, that's why YOU don't like One Piece, unless you actually are part of the kids demographic.

And there you go again about the same interview that you yourself pointed out. Smooth.

Not true, normal localization referes to making a show watchable, domesticating it. Westernization in the 4Kids sense of the word litterally means to make the show appear to be from the west. To paraphrase another Al Khan interview, "when we're done, kids wont know it's from Japan anymore."

If they make the turn around, then I'd be willing to call them an an anime company, but their current focus is not anime, it's animation.

The other shows are only less known because anime is the in thing right now, if it wasn't nobody would be thinking twice about it and it certainly isn't stopping 4Kids from continuing to license non anime programs. And how is Winx Club getting a raw deal? It gets an hour long block on 4Kids TV and twice a day five days a week on Cartoon Network. If anything Winx Club is making out better than anything else from 4Kids right now.

Emerje

Quit talking about shit you apparently don't know anything about.

Yashouzoid wrote:

Quit talking about shit you apparently don't know anything about.

Wow, I must have really hit a nerve for you to be getting so defensive over something as trivial as One Piece and Winx Club edits. "Bullshit this and bullshit that", yeah, you've lost all credability if you think swearing is getting your point across any better. Let me know when you're ready to have an adult conversation, I'm done.

Emerje