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Shin Chan vs Shin Chan: A CMX/Comics One comparison


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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15304
PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:59 pm Reply with quote
The good: 1) Unflipped on the DC version. 2) Smaller size than the Comics One version 3)Names mostly reflective of the Japanese version. 4) Cultural references seem ok. 5) Intent of the story the same. 5) Cheaper price.

The annoying: 1) Adult Swim/FUNimation logo 2)Stupid "mature warning" sticker on the cover 3)The fact that it went from 13Up in the CO version to "Mature" in the DC version in the first place. 5)The rest of the series is $9.95.

The bad: 1) Cheaper paper 2)One name modification to reflect the dub. [I.E. Misae=Mitzy. Though CO eventually did the same thing in their edition...] 3)Some slang, American pop culture, and cursing.[Though CO once again used slang in some of their editions.]

Final Verdict: A decent adaptation which tries to present the content in a way which should appease purists and newcomers alike. I just hope they include the Japanese pop culture references in future volumes.
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The Xenos



Joined: 29 Mar 2004
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Location: Boston
PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:38 pm Reply with quote
Usually I am a purist about cultural references. I used to be more of a purist I guess. With comedy manga like this, I wonder if preserving the humor of the joke and translating that is more important than making some Japanese pop culture reference only a minority of the audience would get. The manga's original intent isn't to educate people about Japanese, it was to make them laugh using culture they know. Isn't that humor of the author the more important thing to translate?
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:46 pm Reply with quote
Correction. They all look like they're going to be $7.99. And yeah, I agree that it wasn't meant to be "educational", but that's part of what makes the series appealing. You're looking at it from a Japanese setting, not an American one.
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Professor Genius



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:19 pm Reply with quote
I've been eagerly awaiting a new release of Shin-chan manga so I'm generally pleased with the new product. At least it's not being watered down.

Anyways, about the localization aspect of the product. I generally feel that cultural references are an okay thing, but if it's something intended to be humorous then the last thing I want to do is have to look at some liner notes in the back of the book to get some vague idea of what's so funny about it.

As for Gatsu apparent issues with the dub...I think your impression of the show stems from viewing earlier episodes of the series. The writers toned it down quite a bit and if recent statements they've made regarding their meeting the Japanese series writers are true, they'll be trying to make Shin's naughtiness stem from his innocence more like the original Japanese version.

Again, you have to think about the fact that if Funimation didn't localize the series the way they did, there'd probably be no market for it at all. Case Closed was also a series intended for children, but there's a lot of things other countries find acceptable that the average American parents won't.

Whether you're a purist or a new Shin-chan fan, we'll all get our ho-ho's because the dvd will have subs and the outrageously funny Funi version. We can all ass dance under the same sunny sky together! Smile
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:54 pm Reply with quote
I thought the localization of the manga was handled fairly well this time. The last thing you want when reading a fast-paced comedy title is to have to flip to the cultural notes at the end every couple of pages, which more or less ruins the joke and detracts from the experience. And lets face it: the casual fan who may have seen it on AS is going to be the audience that keeps this from getting canceled, not the hardcore otaku crowd which seems to have an aversion to anything that doesn't fit into the stereotypical "manga style."

The paper quality does suck though. At least its pretty cheap.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:24 pm Reply with quote
Most of the cultural jokes only take a sentence or less for them to explain.
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Hon'ya-chan



Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Posts: 973
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:29 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:
Most of the cultural jokes only take a sentence or less for them to explain.


And ADV handled that aspect well with the Azumanga Daioh manga, providing translation notes, not to mention Del Rey with their Manga releases. If they can do it, why can't CMX?

Wait, somethings making me remember the irony of that statement....
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:41 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:
Most of the cultural jokes only take a sentence or less for them to explain.


That still means you have to flip to the back of the book and read that one sentence, which effectively kills the humor and slows down the pacing. I could see keeping some things in but I don't see what's wrong with replacing some 90's Japanese swimsuit model's name with Jessica Alba.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:00 am Reply with quote
Kagemusha: They used Britney Spears and Pam Anderson in the original version. And yeah, I agree with that one, but when it's a star like Ken Takakura, that's where I draw the line. [I hope they keep him in the CMX one...]
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Hon'ya-chan



Joined: 31 Jul 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:46 am Reply with quote
Kagemusha wrote:
I could see keeping some things in but I don't see what's wrong with replacing some 90's Japanese swimsuit model's name with Jessica Alba.


She hasn't shown her tits yet. And she ruined the Nancy character from Sin City by not showing them. Thats whats wrong.
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:35 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:
Kagemusha: They used Britney Spears and Pam Anderson in the original version. And yeah, I agree with that one, but when it's a star like Ken Takakura, that's where I draw the line. [I hope they keep him in the CMX one...]


Yeah, I remember. But given Ms. Spears' current "state" I don't think they could have gotten away with keeping that translation...
And I'd want them to keep a reference to a screen legend in there as well, but considering most American anime fans probably don't know who Beat Takashi or Toshiro Mifune are I doubt they'd recognize Takakura's name, which probably means CMX will replace it with De Niro or something.
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Celes



Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 223
Location: Madison, WI
PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:54 pm Reply with quote
Hon'ya-chan wrote:
Kagemusha wrote:
I could see keeping some things in but I don't see what's wrong with replacing some 90's Japanese swimsuit model's name with Jessica Alba.


She hasn't shown her tits yet. And she ruined the Nancy character from Sin City by not showing them. Thats whats wrong.


I know, what the hell is up with these stupid Hollywood movies/adaptions where strippes don't take off their clothes?!

*Ahem*, on-topic, I got my Shin-Chan manga in the mail a few days ago and I love it. I'm glad it's pretty much in tandem with the TV series, just because I'm one of the fans of the show that will probably prefer the dub over the sub (but I won't know until I see both, obviously). I can't compare it to the older version though- I heard it was censored and I didn't want to pay too high of a price for it because it was out of print and I knew a new version was coming out.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15304
PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:02 pm Reply with quote
Celes: The old version was uncut, but they occasionally inserted American pop culture references into the mix. And they started changing the names to the British anime versions; those aren't very different, but they sound less Japanese. And other than that, the old version was flipped.
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Celes



Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 223
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:28 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:
Celes: The old version was uncut, but they occasionally inserted American pop culture references into the mix. And they started changing the names to the British anime versions; those aren't very different, but they sound less Japanese. And other than that, the old version was flipped.


Oh, misconception cleared up! Thanks GATSU!
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15304
PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:57 pm Reply with quote
Damn, they were too lazy to use the Engrish in the English class in volume 2. And there's a ton of cultural stuff they gloss over. It isn't essential to the story, but it's just more laziness on their part. Plus, the Gundam name pun wasn't used. Evil or Very Mad

Dammit, they took out the Ken Takakura joke! Even Viz doesn't tone down cultural references as awfully as this.
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