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| "4Kids Entertainment Logo" Digital image. News-Cision. N.p., n.d. Web.http://news.cision.com/4kids-entertainment |
Anime
began its rise of popularity in America in the 1980s with translated shows such
as Kimba the White Lion, Speed Racer, and
Astro Boy being broadcasted outside
of Japan. Since then it has grown
widespread acceptance not only in the United States, but throughout the world. (Brown)
To introduce more foreign audiences to
anime, networks and licensing companies have translated or “dubbed” anime
episodes and movies into other languages.
When a product is translated into a
different language it loses some of its original context and meaning. This applies all too well to anime dubs. Not only is some of the intended context
disoriented in translation, with anime, most of its native and cultural context
is lost on foreign audiences. This was
taken to extremes when foreign licensing and television companies began to
“localize” dubbed anime to appeal to viewers in other countries. (Brown) Localizing anime doesn’t mean simply
translating Japanese into a different language; it means physically altering
the original whether through censorship or editing plot, music, or content to
fit in better with the new foreign audience.
Localizing anime opens many ethical
debates that include creators’ outraged at the treatment of their products,
audiences of foreign countries being denied the true original, censorship laws
interference, cultural boundaries and taboos, and overly localizing the
original Japanese product. While localization
is necessary to alter anime to fit American television and movie standards, it
sometimes seems to overstep it boundaries.
The purpose of this blog is to demonstrate when localization of anime
becomes over exaggerated and insulting to American audiences. Localization is unfortunate necessary when it
comes to translating a product of Japanese culture into American culture, but
that does not give licensing companies the right to completely undermine the
original context in order to connect better with foreign audiences. Looking at past examples of recent history’s
most famous case for unnecessary localization of anime: the notorious American licensing
company 4Kids Entertainment, we see that while localization is necessary, it
should not over step it bounds. |
| "The top original slide was edited in the American release because it suggested Blackface" Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4Licensing_Corporation |
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| "Over censoring and editing" Digital image. Re-Bloggy. N.p., n.d. Web. http://rebloggy.com/post/pokemon-anime-yugioh-stupid-one-piece-censorship-tokyo-mew-mew-sonic-x-4kids-ent/80386739287 |
4Kids Entertainment, as it was known before declaring bankruptcy in 2011, was an American licensing company that was responsible for dubbing and localizing phenomenally popular anime cartoons made for children such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, along with several other popular mainstream anime cartoons. The company handled all the dubbing and editing involved with making a Japanese cartoon acceptable and understandable to a children based audience. Keeping their audience at the fore focus of their mission, 4Kids not only translated Japanese into English, they heavily altered the original content to make more sense to a young American audience. These alterations, however, were a bit eccentric at times.
A
number of references that are common and acceptable in Japanese cartoons are
given the opposite treatment with American audiences. In Japan, for the cartoons made for children
it was tolerable to have the appearance of guns, some violence, weapons, used
of tobacco, some nudity and sexual innuendo, blood, and death. These references, however, are completely
taboo in children’s cartoons in America.
The only way to make the programs suitable to broadcast was to edit out
the references completely, sometimes ridiculously. Anything that could be considered offensive
at all was edited. Religious symbols
such as the cross were even considered offensive and had to be edited to look
more like a stake. However, 4Kids
appears to have been thorough and excessive in their cleansing.
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| "The 5 is missing from his shirt in the edited version because...?". Digital image. YuGiOhtheAbridgedSeries. N.p., n.d. Web. http://forum.yugiohtheabridgedseries.com/archive/index.php/t-700.html |
Besides
heavily editing out scenes that even barely suggest violence, guns, weapons,
drugs, tobacco, nudity, sexual innuendo, blood, death, and religious symbols,
the storyline, opening/closing titles, characters, and music were altered as
well. When asked why even the music was
rescored, former CEO, Alfred Kahn answered,
Only to make it more
Western. We westernize it so that children in English-speaking countries will
understand it, and to us that is very critical. It's a mixture of the
westernization, the trying to make the music appeal to kids who are in the
United States. (Pennington)
Along with music, sometimes the storyline was altered when the
plot involved more “complex” or violent concepts. For example, in season 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the antagonist’s original
motivation was to murder the protagonist in retaliation of a misunderstanding
that the protagonist murdered the antagonist’s father. Instead 4Kids altered the entire season’s
storyline to that the antagonist simply wanted to take over the world. Some plot points were considered too complicated
and as a result were dumbed down and localized for American children. (Brown)
4Kids Entertainment didn’t
only localized, they Americanized. Some
of the more famous examples of this occurred with cultural food in Pokémon.
In Season 1 Episode 25, the main characters are stopping for a
snack. In the original Japanese version
the characters are eating rice balls, which are a common Japanese snack. In the 4Kids’ version the rice balls aren’t
edited or altered, but instead one of the characters overstates that the rice
balls are actually jelly-filled doughnuts.
In another episode, a rather large rice ball is rolling towards the main
character, but in the 4Kids’ version, the rice ball is an edited-in sub
sandwich.
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| "There are Jelly Donuts NOT Rice Balls". Digital image. We Heart It. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://weheartit.com/entry/15238475/via/C8Lyn>. |
Other noticeable tactics used by 4Kids to Americanize Japanese
anime was to rid the anime of as much Japanese as possible. This was done by making the settings of some
of the anime originally located in Japan in either the United States or some
fictional place. Any Japanese
calligraphy was edited to look like scribbles or blurs. Characters’ speech patterns and accents were
over compensating American, for example a character in Yu-Gi-Oh! was given a Brooklyn accent. Along with the speech patterns, characters
were given American names. All Japanese cultural
references were altered as much as possible, if not removed completely, to be
more American. (Brown)
Perhaps one of the most arguably, culturally insulting things 4Kids has
done was on a 4th of July Saturday morning cartoon special in 2006
where the characters in shows licensed under 4Kids sang the American National
Anthem.
While 4Kids is partly credited for introducing popular anime to
American, it’s over Americanization and censoring have been criticized, mostly
by fans of older ages, that their interference is ruining the integrity of the
original content and causing dissatisfaction with American and Japanese
audiences. Not only were the fans upset,
the original studios hated the treatment of their products in America. This was displayed through “fan-subs” and
revoking license.
“Fan subbing” is a term used when an anime that has not been
licensed is translated and dubbed over by foreign fans. While this is technically illegal and
vulnerable for lawsuits, anime companies usually allow this to slide because it
promotes their product. However, there
is an unspoken gentleman’s agreement that the fan subbing discontinues once
that anime has been licensed. Amusingly,
anime studios allow fan subbing to continue if the anime has been already
licensed and dubbed by 4Kids. This can
be seen as studios’ discontent with 4Kids and sympathizing for fans.
Anime studios’ frustration at the dilution and Americanization
of their products became professionally evident when one studio revoked 4Kids’
license of the show One Piece. 4Kids obtained the license to One Piece in 2004, but was later revoked
by the show’s studio, Toei Animation, in 2007.
4Kids Entertainment’s treatment of One
Piece is one of the darker examples of over censorship and
Americanization. The show was picked up
by 4Kids to be used in their weekly routine line-up of Saturday morning
cartoons. Claiming to have never
reviewed the show beforehand, the company quickly discovered that despite the
show’s bright, comical, and colorful animation, the subject matter delved into
heavier matter that would not be suitable for a young children’s cartoon.
Instead of dropping, 4Kids continued on and
overly dubbed, edited, and Americanized the show to the point where it became
so hated by fans of the original and the original studio.
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| "This character's signature cigarette was edited to look like a sucker in One Piece" Digital image. Re-Bloggy. N.p., n.d. Web.http://rebloggy.com/post/pokemon-anime-yugioh-stupid-one-piece-censorship-tokyo-mew-mew-sonic-x-4kids-ent/80386739287 |
It's kind of ironic to think that a show
as celebrated as One Piece would be getting such a shabby treatment here
in America though. The anime has essentially been stripped of its parts by
4Kids and what we're left with is a simplified and arguably less enjoyable
rendition. Bits of the original artwork have been altered to make it more
generic and kid-friendly, the opening theme has been replaced by a crappy rap
song, dialogue has been altered, and whole scenes have been removed. Unless you
have seen the original Japanese version you may not be able to point out all of
these examples, but you still get the feeling that something is missing. Fans
deserve better treatment to say the least and if an unedited version isn't
released it will be a shame. (Douglass)
As a result of
4Kids excessive dubbing and editing, many fans have grown angry and critical of
how much altercations were made to the original Japanese content. Some of the criticisms evaluate on how the
company dumbs down the characters and story, excessively Americanizes, and
makes unnecessary edits to content that really isn’t that offensive. It ruins the integrity of the original
Japanese product and insults the intelligence of foreign audiences.
While localization is necessary to bring anime to other countries, it
can easily overextend its altercations and dilute the value and enjoyment of
the original. Fortunately, anime’s
treatment and handling has been much more respectfully handled after the
display of 4Kids Entertainment. Walt
Disney Company has entered into agreement with Studio Ghibli to never cut or
edit their films and translate them as closely as possible to the original
Japanese meaning. Anime studios have
even begun to handle their own dubbing, in order to preserve the originality of
their products. Though 4Kids
Entertainment can be credited for bringing in anime that has greatly influenced
the country even to this day, they must still be criticized for their over use
of localization. Localization is a
necessary evil to allow anime to be introduced to a younger and more easily
influenced audience, however, there is greater value in persevering the
integrity as much as possible of the original content to ensure its longevity
and nostalgia.
Works Cited
Brown, Steven T. Cinema Anime: Critical Engagements with Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Print.
Douglass, Todd, Jr. "One Piece Vol 2." DVD Talk. Internet Brands Entertainment, 28 Feb. 2006. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. <http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/21195/one-piece-vol-2/>.
Pennington, Steven. "Alfred R. Kahn." AnimeNewsNetwork. AnimeNewsNetwork, 24 Apr. 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.animenewsnetwork.com%2Finterview%2F2005-04-24%2Falfred-r-kahn>.
