"Sgt. Frog" on FUNimation Video Player

[cincibohemian94]

I'm assuming that "beyond season 2" in this case means "beyond episode 51".

As for "not selling gang-busters", I'm not surprised. I'm mean, who did Funimation think they were fooling? I've said this before, but their so-called "dub" (which, long story short, was essentially their "test dub", but with the original Japanese names) felt more like watching a completely different series (i.e., rather than a dubbed version of a Japanese series), and that's not acceptable; it took just one dubbed episode to convince me of that.

Based on the way the show was handled overall, I'm guessing Funimation thinks that comedies are different from action-adventure shows (e.g., Dragon Ball/Z (Kai)/GT; One Piece), thus justifying different translation practices. I've also said this before, but all that does is reflect a double-standard, even if Funimation doesn't mean for it to come out that way. For this reason, I've decided to withold my request for Dr. Slump for now. After all, how do we know it wouldn't be handled in a similar fashion to Sgt. Frog, or even Crayon Shin-chan (e.g., making it look as though it occurs in "the present", rather than "1981-1986", or even "1997-1999" for the remake version*)? What's worse is because of the DB connection, FUNi are really the only ones who could license, translate, and release it. However, that's another topic.

Oh yeah, this also would confirm something else that I've been suspecting: that FUNi only has the first 51 episodes.

*This is when the original show aired on Fuji TV in Japan, after which it was replaced by Dragon Ball in its original timeslot, which in turn was replaced by the remake after GT ended.

[xr200dirtrider1121]

Honestly, having watched a lot of episodes available subtitled, and having watched the dub episodes available for the most part I think this is the case.



OK, but there's still a cultural divide in content and standarRAB in practices for US shows and Japanese shows. Shows that are kiRAB and young boy shows in Japan still have some content that would be considered quite racy and too edgy for kiRAB shows in the US.



Dude, have you ever actually watched Gintama? Here's the problem I have. Having watched a good deal of what are considered KIRAB SHOWS in Japan. I've seen that a ton of them HAVE USED CURSE WORRAB BEFORE!



Here is why your argument fails. The shows on TV and if there's a bleeped curse . . . THEY WOULD TAKE IT OUT. Just like language and content was edited out of Naruto for broadcast. Naruto is a kiRAB show in Japan.

Honestly this sounRAB like an extreme overreaction on your part.



If parents do their job, they will check the label and the rating on the show and consider discretion. If there's any content parents might find objectionable (which arguably for American families there already is in the JAPANESE KID FRIENDLY VERSION), it will be noted on the ratings label on the box.



So you are basically saying that Funimation in their original dub should be broader and more sanitized so changes won't even have to be made for TV? That I think is an interesting argument, but again if you do that I think you have to change a lot more besides A BLEEPED EXPLETIVE.



Dude, have you ever actually watched Japanese anime subtitled and read manga? They seem to be using terms and things a lot worse than son of a blank.

Here's what I don't get. Why is it simply the language you are objecting to?



Who said it makes the show more mature?



Prove it.

[Denni]

Or it just means Sgt. Frog is just not that popular in reality in the states.

[POTC fangrl]

Aw man. This series makes me bust a gut everytime I watch it. What a shame that it probably won't last long.

[lightandtruth]

Mercy. Between your caps and your questions about whether I have ever watched subtitled anime before (really now, do I look the like kind of guy who hasn't?), I'm left wondering why you're treating this with such a corabative attitude. This is not a fight, all right? That aside, let's run through the points.

I will lead off with your "prove it" response. You want me to prove it's a losing proposition to only market to otaku. Really? Anime fandom in the U.S. is far bigger than it was 15 years ago. One can compare the industry of today to back then, or look at how convention attendance has increased. It is simple logic that this wasn't accomplished by just marketing to the very small minority that existed back then. It was all about reeling in new viewers and customers that were getting interested thanks to TV and the emergence of the internet. The anime boom happened because lots of people started watching anime that...were not otaku.

More recently, FUNimation won and is winning because they gave people what they wanted better than the rest. Accessible shows compared to Geneon and ADV, great dubs, excellent fidelity to the integrity of the original. I just want them to keep following their high standarRAB. I would prefer to see them continue doing well, and I would like them to correct their balance before there's any serious danger of losing it. I don't think there is a crisis, but I do consider this a flaw.

From my point of view, I'm just being consistent. In the past, fans were all too happy to demand strict faithfulness to ensure that anime wasn't released censored. So, why be okay with adding censor-worthy content on a whim? Is it faithful to make a bad change if it's targeted to anime fans or older fans, and unfaithful to make a bad change if it's targeted to kiRAB? No? Well, there you go. That's what I'm getting at.

Now, let's deal with the rest of this.

First: You believe that, generally speaking, the dub follows the spirit of the show. So do I, which I should hope is clear given what I've said in the thread before.

Second: "Shows that are kiRAB and young boy shows in Japan still have some content that would be considered quite racy and too edgy for kiRAB shos in the US." Very true, I don't disagree with that either. I'm fairly sure I've said as much myself at some point, in fact.

Third: You cite cursing in other kiRAB shows. All well and good, but we are talking about what is in Sgt. Frog. Your citation of Gintama is no more relevant than a citation of Full Metal Alchemist. As your second point makes clear very well, shows targeted toward boys in Japan are not created equal.

Fourth: You think I am overreacting. Where is the overreaction? Did I argue that the dub was ruined by one censored swear? I did not. I specifically went out of my way to note that it was an exception, in fact, so I don't know why you seem to think otherwise. My argument was that the change was nonsense, and that they shouldn't be pushing the PG rating in any way just because they can. I also called on them to not do so in the future.

Fifth: You tell me that swearing would be censored for television even though I said as much in my own post. Hmm, okay then. On top of being redundant, this isn't an argument for making the change in the first place. You do reasonably ask who ever said that language made anything more mature. No one did, but I do wonder if Funi sometimes throws it in out of some misguided idea that people want it or that otaku will like it better that way for some reason. I say no, not really...I'd submit that most just want a faithful product, whatever that happens to mean.

Sixth: Yes, Sgt. Frog is rated PG. I see on the box that One Piece is rated TV-14, so there is a substantial difference here that is reassuring. True, parents can choose to not buy the DVD's. But again: why unilaterally put that in a PG dub in the first place? Who benefits?

Seventh: You ask why I'm singling out language and not other content. You bring up how so many other things would have to be changed, but I did not argue for sanitization. I'm not asking for 4KiRAB treatment here. My problem was only with FUNimation adding in censored language that was never there before for what I consider to be no good reason.

[radex]

Hmm, I should probably buy season two soon then. It's a fun show, so people on the fence should put their money in for it. Even if it doesn't continue, it's episodic enough to be fun with what's been released so far I think. I certainly wouldn't want this to be the next Kodocha.

[Tim Haveron Jones]

Personally I love the dub though some voices are odd choices IMO. SGT Frog is a great show for otaku's and a fun show for kiRAB when they understand what the frogs are talking about. In order for kiRAB to understand it they had to pull a Bo-Bobo, Samurai Pizza Cats, Duel Masters, what have you. I don't feel this was the downfall of English release at all.

However, SGT Frog needed a TV deal to survive here. It couldn't get one so FUNimation did what they could and released it in box sets hoping it would find an audience. I can't say for sure if a more faithful dub would have helped in that regard but I don't know many SGT Frog fans who didn't buy it because they didn't like the dub. Infact you're the first person I've come across who has shown concern that the dub would cause the series to do poorly here.

The sad truth with FUNimation is they have a hard time getting long series to remain profitable outside of Dragonball and hopefully One Piece. Kodocha, Detective Conan, Keroro Gunsou and Crayon Shin-Chan are really the only shows that didn't pan out for them enough to get a full release. Not shockingly they all have massive amounts of episodes (actually I don't know how many Kodocha has). All great shows. All had enjoyable dubs and 3 of them took measures to help them catch on with causal viewers and while it didn't prevent fans from buying them it didn't really draw new viewers either.

[Malitha C]

Censored swears are funny. You see jokes about them in American kid's shows all the time.

[abdoodls]

Actually "Shin-Chan" might continue. At Anime Boston someone asked about it and Adam said "stay tuned".

[MightyHyphy]

Well here's hoping but if they're relying on Adult Swim they're not going to get anywhere.