Pokémon in the Arab world: Difference between revisions

From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Jump to navigationJump to search
m (Text replacement - "List of anime episodes" to "List of animated series episodes")
No edit summary
Line 18: Line 18:
Upon its initial run, the franchise was a huge commercial success in the region, but later became the subject of a major controversy regarding the {{Trading Card Game}} and the {{pkmn|anime}}.
Upon its initial run, the franchise was a huge commercial success in the region, but later became the subject of a major controversy regarding the {{Trading Card Game}} and the {{pkmn|anime}}.


The first season was dubbed in {{wp|Syria}}, while later seasons were dubbed in {{wp|Lebanon}}.
The first two seasons was dubbed in {{wp|Syria}}, while later seasons were dubbed in {{wp|Lebanon}}.


Currently, the anime is available on [[Netflix]], with new episodes of ''[[Pokémon Journeys: The Series]]'' being released.
Currently, the anime is available on [[Netflix]], with new episodes of ''[[Pokémon Journeys: The Series]]'' being released.
Line 64: Line 64:
===The Arabic dub===
===The Arabic dub===
====Production====
====Production====
The Arabic [[dub]] of Pokémon is based on ''[[4Kids Entertainment]]'''s English dub. The [[anime]] was initially dubbed to Arabic in 2000 by Syria-based '''''{{wp|Venus Centre|Venus Center (مركز الزهرة)}}''''', and licensed in the region by '''''Km Productions'''''. Due to the controversy in 2001, however, ''Venus Center'', known for being a very conservative company{{fact}}, no longer wanted to be associated with the [[Pokémon]] franchise, and ceased production after [[S02|Season 02]]. ''Km Productions'' then moved the dubbing to their own studios in Lebanon.
The Arabic [[dub]] of Pokémon is based on ''[[4Kids Entertainment]]'''s English dub. The [[anime]] was initially dubbed to Arabic in 2000 by Syria-based '''''{{wp|Venus Centre|Venus Center (مركز الزهرة)}}''''', and licensed in the region by '''''Km Productions'''''. Due to the controversy in 2001, however, ''Venus Center'', known for being a very conservative company, no longer wanted to be associated with the [[Pokémon]] franchise, and ceased production after [[S02|Season 02]]. ''Km Productions'' then moved the dubbing to their own studios in Lebanon.


'''''Super M Productions''''' took over dubbing the anime starting with [[EP106]]. They dubbed [[S03|Season 03]] and [[S04|Season 04]] between 2001 and 2002. Production on the dub then went on hiatus for nearly 3 years and was resumed in 2005, when they dubbed [[S06|Season 06]], starting with [[EP263]]. [[S05|Season 05 (Master Quest)]] Episodes ([[EP210]] to [[EP262]]) were skipped for unknown reasons.
'''''Super M Productions''''', which is based in {{wp|Beirut}}, took over dubbing the anime starting with [[EP106]]. They dubbed [[S03|Season 03]] and [[S04|Season 04]] between 2001 and 2002. Production on the dub then went on hiatus for nearly 3 years and was resumed in 2005, when they dubbed [[S06|Season 06]], starting with [[EP263]]. [[S05|Season 05 (Master Quest)]] Episodes ([[EP210]] to [[EP262]]) were skipped for unknown reasons.


Production on the dub was eventually canceled around 2006 due to various reasons, mostly due to ''[[4Kids Entertainment]]'' losing the dubbing rights, and the Lebanese company not coming to an agreement with [[The Pokémon Company International|the new rights holders]].<ref>confirmed by Jihan Mulla, one of the voice actors.</ref>
Production on the dub was eventually canceled around 2006 due to various reasons, mostly due to ''[[4Kids Entertainment]]'' losing the dubbing rights, and the Lebanese company not coming to an agreement with [[The Pokémon Company International|the new rights holders]].<ref>confirmed by Jihan Mulla, one of the voice actors.</ref>
Line 203: Line 203:
A prime example of this censorship is [[EP020]], where the plot of the episode was altered by creating new storylines to avoid elements related to the supernatural, ghosts, and other aspects of Japanese mythology, with several scenes being cut completely. Another example is [[EP022]], where one scene was removed because it featured a character holding a card that had a six-pointed star that resembles ''the Star of David''. This resulted in these two episodes being re-dubbed when [[S01]] was added to ''[[Netflix]]'' in 2017.
A prime example of this censorship is [[EP020]], where the plot of the episode was altered by creating new storylines to avoid elements related to the supernatural, ghosts, and other aspects of Japanese mythology, with several scenes being cut completely. Another example is [[EP022]], where one scene was removed because it featured a character holding a card that had a six-pointed star that resembles ''the Star of David''. This resulted in these two episodes being re-dubbed when [[S01]] was added to ''[[Netflix]]'' in 2017.


Due to the conservative nature of Arab culture, forms of affection and romance are deemed inappropriate for programming, particularly in children's programming. Consequently, [[Brock (anime)|Brock]]’s interactions with female characters such as [[Nurse Joy]] and [[Officer Jenny]] are often cut or dubbed into a normal conversation without him displaying any kind of romantic interest. Because ''[[Netflix]]'' only adds the Arabic dub as a secondary audio track to the English episode, these edits are easily noticeable, as there are several scenes where [[Brock (anime)|Brock]]'s mouth is moving but the dialogue is not dubbed, and instead one of the other characters is speaking. This type of censorship can also be seen in other episodes such as [[EP070]], [[EP100]] and [[EP103]].{{fact}}
Due to the conservative nature of Arab culture, forms of affection and romance are deemed inappropriate for programming, particularly in children's programming. Consequently, [[Brock (anime)|Brock]]’s interactions with female characters such as [[Nurse Joy]] and [[Officer Jenny]] are often cut or dubbed into a normal conversation without him displaying any kind of romantic interest. Because ''[[Netflix]]'' only adds the Arabic dub as a secondary audio track to the English episode, these edits are easily noticeable, as there are several scenes where [[Brock (anime)|Brock]]'s mouth is moving but the dialogue is not dubbed, and instead one of the other characters is speaking. This type of censorship can also be seen in other episodes such as [[EP070]], [[EP100]] and [[EP103]].


In contrast to ''Venus Center's'' dub, ''Super M Productions''' dub remained faithful to the English version, with the dialogue being translated almost word for word. The voice actors were even instructed to imitate the performance of the American actors when delivering their lines.{{fact}}
In contrast to ''Venus Center's'' dub, ''Super M Productions''' dub remained faithful to the English version, with the dialogue being translated almost word for word. The voice actors were even instructed to imitate the performance of the American actors when delivering their lines.


====Reception, criticism and eventual cancellation====
====Reception, criticism and eventual cancellation====
{{Fan speculation}}
{{Fan speculation}}
Both the Syrian and the Lebanese dubs received a somewhat lukewarm reception. Some fans expressed disappointment over ''Venus Center's'' dub, claiming it was not the same quality as the studio's other works. This criticism wasn't only directed towards the {{wp|censorship}}, but also towards the mispronunciation of some of the [[Pokémon (species)|Pokémon]] names in the series as well as other foreign words like the names of different cities and towns that were visited in [[List of animated series episodes|each episode]]. Some fans suggest that the studio purposefully "simplified" some of the [[List of Pokémon by National Pokédex number|Pokémon names]] to be easier for {{wp|Arabs|Arab}} children to pronounce. Some examples of this include [[Pikachu]], who was only referred to as ''Pika'' in the first few episodes, [[Goldeen]], which became simply ''Golden'', and [[Squirtle]], who was called ''Square''. Meanwhile, others speculated that it was the actors who had a difficulty in pronouncing foreign words that contain letters that aren't part of the {{wp|Arabic alphabet}} like the '''letter P''' and the '''letter G'''. This can be seen in words like the title itself, which became ''Bokemon'', [[Pallet Town]], which received a completely new name (''village of Shorebak''), Pokémon names such as [[Growlithe]], which was pronounced ''Ghroolithe'', [[Togepi]], pronounced ''Toojebi'', and [[Lapras]], which was pronounced ''Labraas''.{{fact}}
Both the Syrian and the Lebanese dubs received a somewhat lukewarm reception. Some fans expressed disappointment over ''Venus Center's'' dub, claiming it was not the same quality as the studio's other works. This criticism wasn't only directed towards the {{wp|censorship}}, but also towards the mispronunciation of some of the [[Pokémon (species)|Pokémon]] names in the series as well as other foreign words like the names of different cities and towns that were visited in [[List of animated series episodes|each episode]]. Some fans suggest that the studio purposefully "simplified" some of the [[List of Pokémon by National Pokédex number|Pokémon names]] to be easier for {{wp|Arabs|Arab}} children to pronounce. Some examples of this include [[Pikachu]], who was only referred to as ''Pika'' in the first few episodes, [[Goldeen]], which became simply ''Golden'', and [[Squirtle]], who was called ''Square''. Meanwhile, others speculated that it was the actors who had a difficulty in pronouncing foreign words that contain letters that aren't part of the {{wp|Arabic alphabet}} like the '''letter P''' and the '''letter G'''. This can be seen in words like the title itself, which became ''Bokemon'', [[Pallet Town]], which received a completely new name (''village of Shorebak''), Pokémon names such as [[Growlithe]], which was pronounced ''Ghroolithe'', [[Togepi]], pronounced ''Toojebi'', and [[Lapras]], which was pronounced ''Labraas''.


The criticism of the Lebanese dub was pointed towards the casting choices, as the majority of fans felt most of the new actors didn't fit the roles that they were given and didn't capture the essence of the characters as well as the previous cast.{{fact}} It's most likely that this negative reception to the new dub combined with the fact that most of the [[List of original series episodes#Johto League arc|newer episodes airing]] were [[filler episodes]] (and the overall controversy related to the franchise), leading to the series's drastic drop in popularity.
The criticism of the Lebanese dub was pointed towards the casting choices, as the majority of fans felt most of the new actors didn't fit the roles that they were given and didn't capture the essence of the characters as well as the previous cast. It's most likely that this negative reception to the new dub combined with the fact that most of the [[List of original series episodes#Johto League arc|newer episodes airing]] were [[filler episodes]] (and the overall controversy related to the franchise), leading to the series's drastic drop in popularity.


Financial constraints, with the series being banned on most {{wp|List of Arabic-language television channels|TV stations}}, led the studio to prioritize other more profitable projects. Additionally, Pokémon [[merchandise|toys and merchandise]] were either not selling very well or were outright completely banned in some countries. As such, the series was not renewed, resulting in the Arabic dub discontinuing after [[S07|Season 07]].
Financial constraints, with the series being banned on most {{wp|List of Arabic-language television channels|TV stations}}, led the studio to prioritize other more profitable projects. Additionally, Pokémon [[merchandise|toys and merchandise]] were either not selling very well or were outright completely banned in some countries. As such, the series was not renewed, resulting in the Arabic dub discontinuing after [[S07|Season 07]].
Line 588: Line 588:
| [[File:Misty AG.png|100px]]<br>{{an|Misty}} || '''Majd Zhazha''' ('''مجد ظاظا''') || '''Joumana Zonji''' ('''جمانة الزنجي''')<sub>([[EP106]]-[[EP209]])</sub> ||  || '''Joumana Zonji''' ('''جمانة الزنجي''')
| [[File:Misty AG.png|100px]]<br>{{an|Misty}} || '''Majd Zhazha''' ('''مجد ظاظا''') || '''Joumana Zonji''' ('''جمانة الزنجي''')<sub>([[EP106]]-[[EP209]])</sub> ||  || '''Joumana Zonji''' ('''جمانة الزنجي''')
|-
|-
| [[File:Donuts.png|100px]]<br>{{an|Brock}} || '''{{wp|Rafat Bazoo}}''' ('''رأفت بازو''') || '''Nabil Assaf''' ('''نبيل عساف''') || '''Unknown voice actor''' || '''Hicham Abou Sleiman''' ('''هشام أبو سليمان''')<small>([[M22]])</small><hr>'''Gilles Youssif''' ('''جيل يوسف''')<small>([[JNS02]]-[[JN147]])</small>
| [[File:Donuts.png|100px]]<br>{{an|Brock}} || '''{{wp|Rafat Bazoo}}''' ('''رأفت بازو''')<sub>([[EP005]]-[[EP075]])</sub><hr>'''{{wp|Adel Abo Hassoon}}''' ('''عادل أبو حسون''')<sub>([[EP076]]-[[EP083]])</sub> || '''Nabil Assaf''' ('''نبيل عساف''') || '''Unknown voice actor''' || '''Hicham Abou Sleiman''' ('''هشام أبو سليمان''')<sub>([[M22]])</sub><hr>'''Gilles Youssif''' ('''جيل يوسف''')<sub>([[JNS02]]-[[JN147]])</sub>
|-
|-
| [[File:Tracey debut.png|100px]]<br>[[Tracey Sketchit]] || '''{{wp|Ayman Al-Salek}}''' ('''أيمن السالك''') || '''Tariq Kaakati''' ('''طارق كعكاتي''') ||  ||  
| [[File:Tracey_watching.png|100px]]<br>[[Tracey Sketchit]] || '''{{wp|Ayman Al-Salek}}''' ('''أيمن السالك''') || '''Tariq Kaakati''' ('''طارق كعكاتي''') ||  ||  
|-
|-
| [[File:May and Bulbasaur.png|100px]]<br>{{an|May}} ||  || '''Iman Bitar''' ('''إيمان بيطار''') || '''Unknown voice actress''' ||
| [[File:May and Bulbasaur.png|100px]]<br>{{an|May}} ||  || '''Iman Bitar''' ('''إيمان بيطار''') || '''Unknown voice actress''' ||
Line 767: Line 767:
Starting with [[S03|Season 03]] the anime now aired mainly on '''''{{wp|ART Teenz}}''''', a children's channel and part of the '''''{{wp|Arab Radio and Television Network|ART Network}}''''', and on '''''{{wp|Al Jadeed|New TV (تلفزيون الجديد)}}''''', an independent Lebanese TV channel that targets mostly a Christian Arab audience. With syndicated reruns being aired occasionally on few other channels such as ''ART Ein (إيه آر تي عين)'', ''Al Andalus TV'' (an Arabic-speaking privately-owned satellite channel broadcasting from Spain) and the government-owned channels in {{wp|ERTT|Tunisia}}, {{wp|Public Establishment of Television|Algeria}} and {{wp|2M (TV channel)|Morocco}}, meaning no official ban was issued in those countries.<ref>These 3 francophone countries had previously aired the Pokémon anime in French before it was dubbed into Arabic. It's worth noting that these countries experienced comparatively lower impact from the controversy compared to their fellow Arab nations.</ref>
Starting with [[S03|Season 03]] the anime now aired mainly on '''''{{wp|ART Teenz}}''''', a children's channel and part of the '''''{{wp|Arab Radio and Television Network|ART Network}}''''', and on '''''{{wp|Al Jadeed|New TV (تلفزيون الجديد)}}''''', an independent Lebanese TV channel that targets mostly a Christian Arab audience. With syndicated reruns being aired occasionally on few other channels such as ''ART Ein (إيه آر تي عين)'', ''Al Andalus TV'' (an Arabic-speaking privately-owned satellite channel broadcasting from Spain) and the government-owned channels in {{wp|ERTT|Tunisia}}, {{wp|Public Establishment of Television|Algeria}} and {{wp|2M (TV channel)|Morocco}}, meaning no official ban was issued in those countries.<ref>These 3 francophone countries had previously aired the Pokémon anime in French before it was dubbed into Arabic. It's worth noting that these countries experienced comparatively lower impact from the controversy compared to their fellow Arab nations.</ref>


''{{wp|Al Jadeed|New TV}}'' started airing the series in 2004. Reruns of [[Original series|the first 04 seasons]] would air every morning at 6:30am {{wp|Eastern European Time}}. By December 2005, [[S06|Season 06]] started airing exclusively on the channel,<ref>http://www.mexat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27436&page=66</ref><ref>https://youtu.be/1OM7zWq8xCQ?feature=shared</ref>, albeit with fewer people watching.{{fact}} [[S06|Season 06]] would later air on ''{{wp|ART Teenz}}'' the following Ramadan to a much wider audience reception.{{fact}} Sometime later, [[S07|Season 07]] premiered on ''{{wp|Al Jadeed|New TV}}''. This makes ''New TV'' the only channel to have aired the Arabic dub of [[S07|Season 07]].
''{{wp|Al Jadeed|New TV}}'' started airing the series in 2004. Reruns of [[Original series|the first 04 seasons]] would air every morning at 6:30am {{wp|Eastern European Time}}. By December 2005, [[S06|Season 06]] started airing exclusively on the channel,<ref>http://www.mexat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27436&page=66</ref><ref>https://youtu.be/1OM7zWq8xCQ?feature=shared</ref>, albeit with fewer people watching. [[S06|Season 06]] would later air on ''{{wp|ART Teenz}}'' the following Ramadan to a much wider audience reception. Sometime later, [[S07|Season 07]] premiered on ''{{wp|Al Jadeed|New TV}}''. This makes ''New TV'' the only channel to have aired the Arabic dub of [[S07|Season 07]].


''{{wp|ART Teenz}}'' kept airing reruns of [[S03]] to [[S06]] daily from 2002 to 2007, and by 2006 the channel was airing [[anime|Pokémon]] twice a day with [[S04]] airing at 7:30pm {{wp|Saudi Arabia Standard Time}} and [[S06]] airing at SAST. Its sister channel ''{{wp|Arab Radio and Television Network|ART Ein}}'', a general entertainment channel, aired reruns of [[S01]] to [[S04]]. Both channels were shut down in 2008.{{fact}}
''{{wp|ART Teenz}}'' kept airing reruns of [[S03]] to [[S06]] daily from 2002 to 2007, and by 2006 the channel was airing [[anime|Pokémon]] twice a day with [[S04]] airing at 7:30pm {{wp|Saudi Arabia Standard Time}} and [[S06]] airing at SAST. Its sister channel ''{{wp|Arab Radio and Television Network|ART Ein}}'', a general entertainment channel, aired reruns of [[S01]] to [[S04]]. Both channels were shut down in 2008.


[[File:MBC3_Logo.png|120x120px||thumb|right|''{{wp|MBC 3}}'' logo.]]
[[File:MBC3_Logo.png|120x120px||thumb|right|''{{wp|MBC 3}}'' logo.]]
'''''{{wp|MBC 3}}''''', another prominent children' s channel in the region as well as a part of the ''{{wp|Middle East Broadcasting Center|MBC}}'' network, would sometimes broadcast different [[Pokémon movie]]s ([[M02]] to [[M07]]) in the English dub with Arabic subtitles, with the most recent one being {{DetPikMov}} in 2022.{{fact}} Despite frequently broadcasting the [[Pokémon movie]]s, as well as the other works distributed by ''KM Productions'' (such as the {{wp|Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters|Yu-Gi-Oh!}} series), it's unclear why this channel has never aired the [[anime|Pokémon anime series]].
'''''{{wp|MBC 3}}''''', another prominent children' s channel in the region as well as a part of the ''{{wp|Middle East Broadcasting Center|MBC}}'' network, would sometimes broadcast different [[Pokémon movie]]s ([[M02]] to [[M07]]) in the English dub with Arabic subtitles, with the most recent one being {{DetPikMov}} in 2022. Despite frequently broadcasting the [[Pokémon movie]]s, as well as the other works distributed by ''KM Productions'' (such as the {{wp|Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters|Yu-Gi-Oh!}} series), it's unclear why this channel has never aired the [[anime|Pokémon anime series]].
{| style="background: #2E83D2; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; {{roundy}}; border: 3px solid #81807A"
{| style="background: #2E83D2; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; {{roundy}}; border: 3px solid #81807A"
|-  
|-  
Line 801: Line 801:


[[File:2M logo.png|150x150px|thumb|left|''{{wp|2M (TV channel)|2M}}'' logo.]]
[[File:2M logo.png|150x150px|thumb|left|''{{wp|2M (TV channel)|2M}}'' logo.]]
Moroccan channel ''{{wp|2M (TV channel)|2M}}'' is the most recent TV channel to have officially aired the Arabic dub of the Pokémon anime, when it aired [[S06]] in 2010. This channel also aired the [[Pokémon in France#Pokémon anime|Pokémon anime in French]]. ''2M'' has two separate feeds: one available nationwide via terrestrial television, and one available via satellite under the branding ''2M Monde''. The [[anime|Pokémon anime]] only airs on the terrestrial feed because the network only buys its broadcasting rights for within {{wp|Morocco}}.{{fact}}
Moroccan channel ''{{wp|2M (TV channel)|2M}}'' is the most recent TV channel to have officially aired the Arabic dub of the Pokémon anime, when it aired [[S06]] in 2010. This channel also aired the [[Pokémon in France#Pokémon anime|Pokémon anime in French]]. ''2M'' has two separate feeds: one available nationwide via terrestrial television, and one available via satellite under the branding ''2M Monde''. The [[anime|Pokémon anime]] only airs on the terrestrial feed because the network only buys its broadcasting rights for within {{wp|Morocco}}.


[[File:Disney XD Logo.png|120x120px|thumb|right|''{{wp|Disney Channel (European, Middle Eastern, and African TV channel)#Disney XD (closed)|Disney XD MENA}}'' started airing [[Pokémon the Series: XY]] in February 2015]]
[[File:Disney XD Logo.png|120x120px|thumb|right|''{{wp|Disney Channel (European, Middle Eastern, and African TV channel)#Disney XD (closed)|Disney XD MENA}}'' started airing [[Pokémon the Series: XY]] in February 2015]]
Since the late 2000s, none of the Arabic-language TV stations in any country have been airing or rerunning the Arabic dub of the Pokémon anime, most likely due to broadcasting rights expiring and complicated copyrights issues between ''[[ShoPro]]'' and ''KM Productions''.{{fact}} Although the English dub of the anime did air on a few premium channels, such as '''''{{wp|Disney Channel (European, Middle Eastern, and African TV channel)#Disney XD (closed)|Disney XD}}''''' and most recently the UAE based channel '''''{{wp|e-Junior|e-Junior}}''''', this broadcast of the anime series is not well-known, most likely due to either a language barrier  or the relatively low participation of the expensive subscription TV model in the region overall.{{fact}} Regardless, ''Disney XD'''s airing of the anime is not officially recognized for the {{wp|Middle East and North Africa|MENA region}} specifically.
Since the late 2000s, none of the Arabic-language TV stations in any country have been airing or rerunning the Arabic dub of the Pokémon anime, most likely due to broadcasting rights expiring and complicated copyrights issues between ''[[ShoPro]]'' and ''KM Productions''. Although the English dub of the anime did air on a few premium channels, such as '''''{{wp|Disney Channel (European, Middle Eastern, and African TV channel)#Disney XD (closed)|Disney XD}}''''' and most recently the UAE based channel '''''{{wp|e-Junior|e-Junior}}''''', this broadcast of the anime series is not well-known, most likely due to either a language barrier  or the relatively low participation of the expensive subscription TV model in the region overall. Regardless, ''Disney XD'''s airing of the anime is not officially recognized for the {{wp|Middle East and North Africa|MENA region}} specifically.


'''''{{wp|e-Junior|e-Junior}}''''' began airing episodes of the English dub of [[Pokémon Journeys: The Series]] on January 1, 2021. On February 27, to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, an Arabic audio track was added, marking the first time since the dub's cancellation in 2006 that new Pokémon episodes were dubbed into Arabic and aired on television. The channel has a very limited reach howevever, since it's only available through a subscription-based service exclusive to the UAE.{{fact}} In 2024, to celebrate [[Pokémon Day]], [[Pokémon Horizons: The Series]] premiered exclusively on the channel featuring both an English and an Arabic audio track. The channel also occasionally airs reruns of older Pokémon seasons in the English dub, as well as hosting a number of [[Pokémon movies]] on their VOD service ''e Junior On Demand''.
'''''{{wp|e-Junior|e-Junior}}''''' began airing episodes of the English dub of [[Pokémon Journeys: The Series]] on January 1, 2021. On February 27, to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, an Arabic audio track was added, marking the first time since the dub's cancellation in 2006 that new Pokémon episodes were dubbed into Arabic and aired on television. The channel has a very limited reach howevever, since it's only available through a subscription-based service exclusive to the UAE. In 2024, to celebrate [[Pokémon Day]], [[Pokémon Horizons: The Series]] premiered exclusively on the channel featuring both an English and an Arabic audio track. The channel also occasionally airs reruns of older Pokémon seasons in the English dub, as well as hosting a number of [[Pokémon movies]] on their VOD service ''e Junior On Demand''.


In 2021, following the Arabic dubbing and subsequent release of [[Pokémon Journeys: The Series]] on ''[[Netflix]]'', an unauthorized transmission of the series occurred on several Arabic satellite channels, most prominently on several Algerian networks such as '''''{{wp|Echorouk TV}}''''' due to the government's lack of interest in reinforcing broadcasting and copyright regulations.{{fact}} Despite being an illegal broadcast, it garnered considerable viewership, as it was the first instance in more than a decade that the series aired on a prominent free-to-air, pan-region, Arabic-language television network.
In 2021, following the Arabic dubbing and subsequent release of [[Pokémon Journeys: The Series]] on ''[[Netflix]]'', an unauthorized transmission of the series occurred on several Arabic satellite channels, most prominently on several Algerian networks such as '''''{{wp|Echorouk TV}}''''' due to the government's lack of interest in reinforcing broadcasting and copyright regulations. Despite being an illegal broadcast, it garnered considerable viewership, as it was the first instance in more than a decade that the series aired on a prominent free-to-air, pan-region, Arabic-language television network.


{| class="roundy" style="background: #2E83D2; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border: 3px solid #81807A"
{| class="roundy" style="background: #2E83D2; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border: 3px solid #81807A"
Line 872: Line 872:
===[[List of Arabic Pokémon themes|Songs]]===
===[[List of Arabic Pokémon themes|Songs]]===
[[File:Rasha_Rizk.jpeg|200x200px|thumb|''Rasha Rizk'' in 2022]]
[[File:Rasha_Rizk.jpeg|200x200px|thumb|''Rasha Rizk'' in 2022]]
The [[Pokémon Theme|Season 01 opening]] was translated and recorded by '''''{{wp|Rasha Rizk}}''' ('''رشا رزق''')'', with additional vocal support from '''''{{wp|Tarek Alarabi Tourgane}}''' ('''طارق العربي طرقان''')'' and  '''''Bassam Al-Hassouni''' ('''بسام الحسوني''')''. The first version of the theme song, which uses the lyric ('''على خير الصنيع'''), was used for the first 12 episodes ("[[EP001|Pokémon - I Choose You!]]" to "[[EP012|Here Comes the Squirtle Squad]]"), and then replaced by a "more grammatically correct"{{fact}} second version with the lyric ('''سلاحي المنيع''') for the remaining episodes ("[[EP013|Mystery at the Lighthouse]]" to "[[EP105|Charizard Chills]]"). Both versions of the song were performed by ''Rasha Rizk'', which she confirmed herself in a Q&A.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B2bucEEgWbN, there were rumors that the 2nd version of the song was performed by Sonia Bitar.{{fact}}</ref>
The [[Pokémon Theme|Season 01 opening]] was translated and recorded by '''''{{wp|Rasha Rizk}}''' ('''رشا رزق''')'', with additional vocal support from '''''{{wp|Tarek Alarabi Tourgane}}''' ('''طارق العربي طرقان''')'' and  '''''Bassam Al-Hassouni''' ('''بسام الحسوني''')''. The first version of the theme song, which uses the lyric ('''على خير الصنيع'''), was used for the first 12 episodes ("[[EP001|Pokémon - I Choose You!]]" to "[[EP012|Here Comes the Squirtle Squad]]"), and then replaced by a "more grammatically correct" second version with the lyric ('''سلاحي المنيع''') for the remaining episodes ("[[EP013|Mystery at the Lighthouse]]" to "[[EP105|Charizard Chills]]"). Both versions of the song were performed by ''Rasha Rizk'', which she confirmed herself in a Q&A.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B2bucEEgWbN, there were rumors that the 2nd version of the song was performed by Sonia Bitar.</ref>


[[Pikachu's Jukebox]] songs were also translated and recorded by ''Rasha Rizk''.  
[[Pikachu's Jukebox]] songs were also translated and recorded by ''Rasha Rizk''.  
Line 893: Line 893:
[[File:Pokemon_M04_Arabic_DVDcover.jpg|250x250px|thumb|DVD cover for the Arabic release of [[M04]].]]
[[File:Pokemon_M04_Arabic_DVDcover.jpg|250x250px|thumb|DVD cover for the Arabic release of [[M04]].]]
* [[M04]] to [[M07]] were also released on DVD by '''''Miramax International''''' featuring an Arabic and an English audio, although the exact release dates are currently unknown.
* [[M04]] to [[M07]] were also released on DVD by '''''Miramax International''''' featuring an Arabic and an English audio, although the exact release dates are currently unknown.
* Seasons [[S04|04]] to [[S07|07]] didn't receive any form of home media release, and they are currently completely unobtainable. Complicating matters further are legal issues preventing any chance of re-airing or commercial distribution to alternative television networks.{{fact}} ''KM Productions'', facing the inability to profit from these seasons, made the decision to {{wp|Lost television broadcast#Wiping|recycle the tapes and re-purpose them to store other projects}}, thus scrapping the Pokémon episodes and losing them completely.<ref>Confirmed by Mufid Merie, a producer and the manager of KM Productions.{{fact}}</ref> With no recordings of the episodes to be found on the internet since they haven't been re-aired in over a decade, the Arabic [[dub]] of these seasons is now considered by many fans to be a {{wp|lost media}}. It's unclear whether or not ''{{wp|Al Jadeed}}'' (formerly known as ''New TV''), ''{{wp|2M (TV channel)|2M}}'', and the ''{{wp|Arab Radio and Television Network|ART Network}}'' still have copies in their archives, but since both ''Al Jadeed TV'' and ''2M TV'' stopped airing children's programs years ago when ''ART Teenz'' went defunct in 2008, it's most likely that they disposed of their copies as well. Out of 312 episodes dubbed to Arabic, approximately 156 episodes (from [[EP158]] to [[AG092]]) are now potentially completely lost, and only a couple of short videos have made their way to the internet.<ref>https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bujg</ref>  
* Seasons [[S04|04]] to [[S07|07]] didn't receive any form of home media release, and they are currently completely unobtainable. Complicating matters further are legal issues preventing any chance of re-airing or commercial distribution to alternative television networks. ''KM Productions'', facing the inability to profit from these seasons, made the decision to {{wp|Lost television broadcast#Wiping|recycle the tapes and re-purpose them to store other projects}}, thus scrapping the Pokémon episodes and losing them completely.<ref>Confirmed by Mufid Merie, a producer and the manager of KM Productions.</ref> With no recordings of the episodes to be found on the internet since they haven't been re-aired in over a decade, the Arabic [[dub]] of these seasons is now considered by many fans to be a {{wp|lost media}}. It's unclear whether or not ''{{wp|Al Jadeed}}'' (formerly known as ''New TV''), ''{{wp|2M (TV channel)|2M}}'', and the ''{{wp|Arab Radio and Television Network|ART Network}}'' still have copies in their archives, but since both ''Al Jadeed TV'' and ''2M TV'' stopped airing children's programs years ago when ''ART Teenz'' went defunct in 2008, it's most likely that they disposed of their copies as well. Out of 312 episodes dubbed to Arabic, approximately 156 episodes (from [[EP158]] to [[AG092]]) are now potentially completely lost, and only a couple of short videos have made their way to the internet.<ref>https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bujg</ref>  
** [[S02|Season 02]] also seems to have never been officially released on home media, and it was for many years considered lost as well. However, in 2011 fan-recorded episodes were illicitly uploaded to the internet, and presently these unauthorized recordings constitute the sole means by which the Arabic dub of [[S02|Season 02]] can be viewed.{{fact}}
** [[S02|Season 02]] also seems to have never been officially released on home media, and it was for many years considered lost as well. However, in 2011 fan-recorded episodes were illicitly uploaded to the internet, and presently these unauthorized recordings constitute the sole means by which the Arabic dub of [[S02|Season 02]] can be viewed.
** Due to low DVD sales, the ''[[Miramax]]'' dubbed movies have also become difficult to obtain.
** Due to low DVD sales, the ''[[Miramax]]'' dubbed movies have also become difficult to obtain.
====Digital====
====Digital====
Line 985: Line 985:
After the Pokémon anime started airing in the Arabic language, it became one of the most popular anime series in the Arab world. Therefore, the demand for Pokémon-related merchandise among Arab children was high. Thus, several video game retailers began to sell a wide variety of Pokémon merchandise. Additionally, many restaurants offered promotional toys with their meals, such as [[2000 Burger King promotional Pokémon toys|Burger King in 2000]]. Due to the controversy in 2001, however, a lot of the merchandise was withdrawn from main retail shops. After the controversy subsided, many game stores started selling Pokémon goods again without incident.
After the Pokémon anime started airing in the Arabic language, it became one of the most popular anime series in the Arab world. Therefore, the demand for Pokémon-related merchandise among Arab children was high. Thus, several video game retailers began to sell a wide variety of Pokémon merchandise. Additionally, many restaurants offered promotional toys with their meals, such as [[2000 Burger King promotional Pokémon toys|Burger King in 2000]]. Due to the controversy in 2001, however, a lot of the merchandise was withdrawn from main retail shops. After the controversy subsided, many game stores started selling Pokémon goods again without incident.


As of the 2010s, various distributors import certain official Pokémon merchandise from either Europe or North America, such as [[Poké Doll (plush)|Poké Dolls]] and other kinds of toys from {{wp|Toys "R" Us}} outlets.{{fact}} Many high-end bookstore chains, especially those that rely heavily on imported materials, may sell an assorted variety of books and magazines. For example, a {{wp|Books Kinokuniya|Kinokuniya}} outlet situated in {{wp|The Dubai Mall}}<ref>https://uae.kinokuniya.com/</ref> (the sole Kinokuniya outlet in the entire region), retails children's magazines, video game guides, game books, film novelizations, as well as most of the [[Pokémon manga]] series, available in both English and Japanese, with the latter being distributed exclusively via this store.
As of the 2010s, various distributors import certain official Pokémon merchandise from either Europe or North America, such as [[Poké Doll (plush)|Poké Dolls]] and other kinds of toys from {{wp|Toys "R" Us}} outlets. Many high-end bookstore chains, especially those that rely heavily on imported materials, may sell an assorted variety of books and magazines. For example, a {{wp|Books Kinokuniya|Kinokuniya}} outlet situated in {{wp|The Dubai Mall}}<ref>https://uae.kinokuniya.com/</ref> (the sole Kinokuniya outlet in the entire region), retails children's magazines, video game guides, game books, film novelizations, as well as most of the [[Pokémon manga]] series, available in both English and Japanese, with the latter being distributed exclusively via this store.


In early 2013, [http://www.active-gulf.com/ Active Gulf], Nintendo's officially licensed distributor in the Middle East, have collaborated with their retail partners to locally sell authentic packs for the [[Pokémon Battle Disc Game]].<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/NintendoMiddleEast/photos/a.257069684360761.61017.160105550723842/466399456761115/ Active Gulf posting on their official Facebook page about the availability of the Pokémon Battle Disc Game]</ref>
In early 2013, [http://www.active-gulf.com/ Active Gulf], Nintendo's officially licensed distributor in the Middle East, have collaborated with their retail partners to locally sell authentic packs for the [[Pokémon Battle Disc Game]].<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/NintendoMiddleEast/photos/a.257069684360761.61017.160105550723842/466399456761115/ Active Gulf posting on their official Facebook page about the availability of the Pokémon Battle Disc Game]</ref>


Many smaller toy and variety stores found in the {{wp|grey market}} may often sell unlicensed and counterfeit products, with many of them imported from China. It is also possible to find pirated trading card packs, but in much smaller volumes than when initially released, prior to the 2001 controversy.{{fact}}
Many smaller toy and variety stores found in the {{wp|grey market}} may often sell unlicensed and counterfeit products, with many of them imported from China. It is also possible to find pirated trading card packs, but in much smaller volumes than when initially released, prior to the 2001 controversy.


==Events==
==Events==
Line 1,003: Line 1,003:
The plot of the play is about Team Rocket impersonating Ash to poison nature and water, with Conan having to investigate this.
The plot of the play is about Team Rocket impersonating Ash to poison nature and water, with Conan having to investigate this.


A 56 min cut of the play was released on VHS by ''IVC: International Video Co.'' in Kuwait and was also broadcast on the {{wp|Kuwait Television}}.{{fact}}
A 56 min cut of the play was released on VHS by ''IVC: International Video Co.'' in Kuwait and was also broadcast on the {{wp|Kuwait Television}}.


===''Pokémon Live!''===
===''Pokémon Live!''===
Despite ending its run in the United States in January 2001, ''[[Pokémon Live!]]'' was invited to perform on an open stage in {{wp|Al Mamzar|Al Mamzar Park}}, Dubai, U.A.E. for the whole month of March that same year, coinciding with the annual {{wp|Dubai Shopping Festival}}.<ref>[http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/young-and-old-enjoy-pokemon-1.411320 Young and old enjoy Pokemon - ''Gulfnews'']</ref> While the musical was mostly identical to its performance elsewhere, the female actors had a slight change to their wardrobe which covered their exposed abdomens and thighs, likely to abide with Dubai's public dress code. Since the musical featured the same cast from its American run, it was performed solely in English. The musical, albeit received very positively by its audience, ended its run just days before the 2001 controversies began in the region overall.{{fact}}
Despite ending its run in the United States in January 2001, ''[[Pokémon Live!]]'' was invited to perform on an open stage in {{wp|Al Mamzar|Al Mamzar Park}}, Dubai, U.A.E. for the whole month of March that same year, coinciding with the annual {{wp|Dubai Shopping Festival}}.<ref>[http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/young-and-old-enjoy-pokemon-1.411320 Young and old enjoy Pokemon - ''Gulfnews'']</ref> While the musical was mostly identical to its performance elsewhere, the female actors had a slight change to their wardrobe which covered their exposed abdomens and thighs, likely to abide with Dubai's public dress code. Since the musical featured the same cast from its American run, it was performed solely in English. The musical, albeit received very positively by its audience, ended its run just days before the 2001 controversies began in the region overall.
 
===''Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions''===
===''Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions''===
{{bulbanews|Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions to be performed in United Arab Emirates}}
{{bulbanews|Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions to be performed in United Arab Emirates}}
On March 31, 2017, [[Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions]] was performed at the {{wp|Corniche (Abu Dhabi)|Corniche}} in {{wp|Abu Dhabi}}, United Arab Emirates as part of the Mother of the Nation Festival.{{fact}} It is the first Symphonic Evolutions concert to be performed in the Arab world.
On March 31, 2017, [[Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions]] was performed at the {{wp|Corniche (Abu Dhabi)|Corniche}} in {{wp|Abu Dhabi}}, United Arab Emirates as part of the Mother of the Nation Festival. It is the first Symphonic Evolutions concert to be performed in the Arab world.
{{-}}
{{-}}



Revision as of 19:53, 2 September 2024

Pokémon in the Arab world
Pokémon logo Arabic Netflix.png
The Arab world Flag.png
Flag of the Arab League
Language Arabic
Continent Arab world
Original anime airdates
EP001 2000
AG001 December 24, 2005
DP001 Never aired
BW001 Never aired
XY001 Never aired
SM001 Never aired
JN001 February 27, 2021
July 1, 2021
HZ001 February 27, 2024

The Pokémon franchise reached the Arab world in 2000, with the first broadcast of بوكيمون، لقد اخترتك انت! in Arabic on the television channel MBC. To date, none of the Pokémon video games have received official Arabic translations or releases from Nintendo in the region. Nevertheless, copies of the games imported from the United States and Europe were distributed in various places, particularly within the GCC countries, as early as 1998.

Upon its initial run, the franchise was a huge commercial success in the region, but later became the subject of a major controversy regarding the TCG and the anime.

The first two seasons was dubbed in Syria, while later seasons were dubbed in Lebanon.

Currently, the anime is available on Netflix, with new episodes of Pokémon Journeys: The Series being released.

Localization

Old logo

The word Pokémon is written as بوكيمون and pluralized as بوكيمونات. Pokémon are always referred to as either male or female, since Arabic has no neutral grammatical gender.

While almost all characters, Pokémon, and locations have kept their English names in the Arabic version, some objects in the franchise received Arabic names. The Poké Ball, for example, has been dubbed as كرة البوكي (Kurt Al-Poké), the Poké Flute received the name مزمار البوكي (Mizmar Al-Poké) and so on. Team Rocket was changed to: عصابة الرداء الأبيض 'isabat Ar-Redda Al-Abiadh. Additionally, the name of Pallet Town has been translated as قرية شورباك Qaryat Shoreback.

Controversy

Promoting "unislamic" values

A flyer warning against the Pokémon franchise, depicting Pokémon names and their supposed translation from Hebrew. These types of flyers were handed out by several fundamentalist Muslim groups in schools and mosques.

Similar to the Pokémania phenomenon experienced in America, the introduction of the Pokémon franchise to the Arab world in 2000 resulted in an unprecedented surge in popularity, almost reaching the status of a cultural phenomenon. Quickly, stores were inundated with a variety of Pokémon products, and the anime series rapidly found its way onto television stations in every country across the region.

Amidst this heightened interest in the Pokémon series, some parents and schoolteachers started to express concerns regarding children’s over-attachment to the series while others began to criticize the franchise's commercial nature, claiming that it mostly encouraged children into spending their money on toys, trading cards, and various other related products. The franchise was then accused of promoting "unislamic values" such as violence, but most importantly gambling,[1] as well as anti-creationism ideology―such asthe theory of evolution and survival of the fittest―with some accusing the series of trying to promote Atheism among Muslim youth. Rumors started spreading that the Pokémon names in the series were in fact Hebrew words meant to insult Islam and that the franchise was a part of a Zionist conspiracy. Several media outlets started reporting these stories, further escalating the controversy. Soon after, Pokémon products, especially TCG products, started to get banned in schools, while several TV stations took the anime off air as the franchise was blacklisted.

The controversy gained major public attention to the point that the Japanese embassy in Saudi Arabia and Nintendo had to issue a statement explaining the Japanese origins of the franchise and denying any relation to any political or religious ideology.[2][3]

Claims of Zionist Jewish plot

Some outspoken, fundamentalist Muslims claimed that Pokémon is a Jewish conspiracy intended to get Muslim children to renounce their faith.[4][5][6][7] They claimed that the word "Pokémon" means "I am Jewish", generally unaware of the franchise's Japanese origin. The claims of anti-creationism were also commonly brought up.[8][9][10]

In 2001, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, issued a fatwā banning the Pokémon franchise. The fatwā claimed that the franchise promoted Zionism by displaying a six-pointed star that resembled the Star of David as well as other religious symbols such as crosses they associated with Christianity and triangles they associated with Freemasonry in the TCG. It also claimed the games encouraged gambling due to the inclusion of gambling elements, which is in violation of Muslim doctrine.[11][12]

High Muslim authorities in Qatar and Egypt then joined the ban. As this happened during the second Intifada, a Jordanian newspaper printed a caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sitting in a tank and laughing at an Arab man chasing a Pokémon. This is meant to convey that Arabs are distracted from their conflict with the Israelis by popular franchises, with Pokémon as an example of such "distractions."[13][14]

The initial banning quickly wiped away Pokémon merchandise, especially the card game, from markets in Saudi Arabia. Despite this, Pokémon video games quickly returned to the market, but with less demand from local consumers. Some Pokémon merchandise, such as the Expedition Base Set, reappeared in certain stores a few years later, but newer sets were never brought. Games from Generation III on were completely unaffected by the ban.

A fatwā was also issued in the U.A.E. emirate of Dubai, however no bans officially occurred.[15] Although the U.A.E. takes its Islamic identity seriously like most Arab states, actions based solely on fatwā would violate its federal constitution. Regardless of this, the licensed local distributor ceased importing Pokémon cards into the U.A.E. until the early 2010s, when the TCG experienced a resurgence among local players. In 2016, the U.A.E. became the first Arab country to be officially sanctioned by The Pokémon Company International to hold official Play! Pokémon events.

Pokémon video games

Before the earliest Pokémon games, Nintendo products did not have much presence in Arab countries, as most faced various political and economical challenges that made such products unattractive markets at the time. Throughout the 1980s, most demographics considered 8-bit home computer products a preferable choice for gaming before their gradual decline. However, by the early 1990s, as particular economies in the GCC countries thrived, various independent distributors based in those countries pushed to introduce gaming consoles after they became popular and competitive commodities in Western markets, including Nintendo's products. Although the video game market grew in the GCC countries, for many years there was little effort for standardization among distributors and retailers, causing a discrepancy as both PAL and NTSC hardware and software were sold off the same shelves. Consequently, by the time Pokémon Red and Blue launched the first time in 1998, units available were imported from both Europe and North America. To this day, Nintendo-published products, including Pokémon video games, remain the only gaming products to be imported from both regions into the GCC, despite other publishers focused on importing units solely from Europe.

Nintendo (and by extension Nintendo of America) have long considered the GCC markets as part of the greater Asia, thus officially opting to localise NTSC-U North American (NA) products for these markets de jure by the late 1990s, albeit both PAL and NTSC[16] Nintendo products de facto continued to co-exist. Itochu Corporation's Dubai branch was originally assigned to officially distribute Nintendo's NA products within the GCC markets,[17] before ending its collaboration in 2000. By the early 2000s, Active Boeki, distributor for Southeast Asian countries, gradually took over NA distribution duties. It took a while to release Pokémon games due to the 2001 fatwā issued against it. However, no official bans against the games were made in any country. Working alongside the local resellers, in 2010 Active Boeki founded Dubai-based affiliate Active Gulf to represent them alongside Nintendo and The Pokémon Company within the GCC markets. Although the NA Wii and Nintendo DS hardware did have localized packaging made for the U.A.E., the NA Nintendo 3DS became the first Nintendo console officially released under Active Gulf, and it launched in all GCC countries on the same day as the United States in March 2011. The NA launch of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were the first Pokémon games authorized by The Pokémon Company to be distributed specifically by Active Boeki for the GCC and Southeast Asian markets.

In August 2016, the GCAM introduced the official video game age rating system for Saudi Arabia; Pokémon Sun and Moon were the first Pokémon games released under Saudi Arabia's official age rating, although Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were the first to feature the age rating hard-printed on the case cover. In January 2018, the NMC introduced the official video game age rating system for the United Arab Emirates; Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! were the first Pokémon games released under the U.A.E.'s official age rating. In 2021, most of the NMC's functions were taken over by the Media Regulatory Office. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl became the first games to be rated by the MRO.

In the 1990s, Nintendo Co., Ltd. were involved with distribution in Africa,[18] although it did not specifically focus on Arabic-speaking countries in North Africa. In 2002, Nintendo of Europe took on executive control to supply Nintendo's PAL products for various low-key distributors within the GCC and other Arab countries in the Levant region and Egypt. In the case of the latter two, the markets remain mixed for gaming in general, including Nintendo and Pokémon, due to on-going political and economical challenges. Regardless, NOE continues to import its products into all these countries to this day.

In 2024, Nintendo of Europe took over sales in Saudi Arabia from NCL/NOA, with distribution now being handled by AIC Trading.[19]

Pokémon anime

The Arabic dub

Production

The Arabic dub of Pokémon is based on 4Kids Entertainment's English dub. The anime was initially dubbed to Arabic in 2000 by Syria-based Venus Center (مركز الزهرة), and licensed in the region by Km Productions. Due to the controversy in 2001, however, Venus Center, known for being a very conservative company, no longer wanted to be associated with the Pokémon franchise, and ceased production after Season 02. Km Productions then moved the dubbing to their own studios in Lebanon.

Super M Productions, which is based in Beirut, took over dubbing the anime starting with EP106. They dubbed Season 03 and Season 04 between 2001 and 2002. Production on the dub then went on hiatus for nearly 3 years and was resumed in 2005, when they dubbed Season 06, starting with EP263. Season 05 (Master Quest) Episodes (EP210 to EP262) were skipped for unknown reasons.

Production on the dub was eventually canceled around 2006 due to various reasons, mostly due to 4Kids Entertainment losing the dubbing rights, and the Lebanese company not coming to an agreement with the new rights holders.[20]

Sometime later the four Pokémon movies that were distributed by Miramax (Celebi: The Voice of the Forest, Heroes: Latios & Latias, Jirachi: Wish Maker, and Destiny Deoxys) were also dubbed into Arabic, but featured an entirely different cast of voice actors from the series and were released straight-to-DVD.[21][22]

In 2019 after acquiring the distribution rights of the anime in the region, Netflix revived the Arabic dub of Pokémon, and it released Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, the first new Pokémon-related media dubbed into Arabic in over a decade. Netflix later released seasons 23 to 25, Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, The Arceus Chronicles, and Pokémon Concierge.

The new dub was produced in Lebanon by Image Production House Studios (partners of Iyuno-SDI Group),[23][24][25] and featured some old voice actors from the Super M production reprising their roles, to preserve continuity.

Dubbed seasons
# Season Dubbing Studio Distribution Dubbed episodes
Season 01 Pokémon: Indigo Leage Venus logo.png SUPERM KMPRODUCTIONS.jpg 52
Season 02 Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands 52
Season 03 Super M Productions SUPERM KMPRODUCTIONS.jpg 11 (part of S03)
Pokémon: The Johto Journeys 41
Season 04 Pokémon: Johto League Champions 52
Season 05 Pokémon: Master Quest The first 52 episodes were not dubbed
Season 06 Super M Productions SUPERM KMPRODUCTIONS.jpg The last 12 episodes only (part of S06)
Pokémon: Advanced 40
Season 07 Pokémon: Advanced Challenge 52
Seasons 08 to 22 were not dubbed
Season 23 Pokémon Journeys: The Series IPH logo.png Netflix logo.png 48
Season 24 Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series 42
Season 25 Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series 54
Pokémon Horizons: The Series Pokémon Horizons: The Series 45
Dubbed Movies
Movie Dubbing Studio Distribution
Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest Unknown Miramax international.png
Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias Unknown
Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker Unknown
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys Unknown
Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution IPH logo.png Netflix logo.png
Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
Specials
Movie Dubbing Studio Distribution
Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles IPH logo.png Netflix logo.png
Pokémon Concierge

Edits

Venus Center's censorship

Much like 4Kids Entertainment's tendency to edit some parts of the anime to make it more appropriate for an American audience, Venus Center also adopts a similar approach by modifying their works to cater to an Arab audience. This typically involves the removal or alteration of scenes featuring any display of affection or partial nudity, as well as scenes depicting any non Islamic religious symbolism like the Christian cross.

Misty holding a Christian cross in EP020, one of the many scenes that were removed in the original broadcast of the episode.

A prime example of this censorship is EP020, where the plot of the episode was altered by creating new storylines to avoid elements related to the supernatural, ghosts, and other aspects of Japanese mythology, with several scenes being cut completely. Another example is EP022, where one scene was removed because it featured a character holding a card that had a six-pointed star that resembles the Star of David. This resulted in these two episodes being re-dubbed when S01 was added to Netflix in 2017.

Due to the conservative nature of Arab culture, forms of affection and romance are deemed inappropriate for programming, particularly in children's programming. Consequently, Brock’s interactions with female characters such as Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny are often cut or dubbed into a normal conversation without him displaying any kind of romantic interest. Because Netflix only adds the Arabic dub as a secondary audio track to the English episode, these edits are easily noticeable, as there are several scenes where Brock's mouth is moving but the dialogue is not dubbed, and instead one of the other characters is speaking. This type of censorship can also be seen in other episodes such as EP070, EP100 and EP103.

In contrast to Venus Center's dub, Super M Productions' dub remained faithful to the English version, with the dialogue being translated almost word for word. The voice actors were even instructed to imitate the performance of the American actors when delivering their lines.

Reception, criticism and eventual cancellation

175Togepi.png This article contains fan speculation.
There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article.

Both the Syrian and the Lebanese dubs received a somewhat lukewarm reception. Some fans expressed disappointment over Venus Center's dub, claiming it was not the same quality as the studio's other works. This criticism wasn't only directed towards the censorship, but also towards the mispronunciation of some of the Pokémon names in the series as well as other foreign words like the names of different cities and towns that were visited in each episode. Some fans suggest that the studio purposefully "simplified" some of the Pokémon names to be easier for Arab children to pronounce. Some examples of this include Pikachu, who was only referred to as Pika in the first few episodes, Goldeen, which became simply Golden, and Squirtle, who was called Square. Meanwhile, others speculated that it was the actors who had a difficulty in pronouncing foreign words that contain letters that aren't part of the Arabic alphabet like the letter P and the letter G. This can be seen in words like the title itself, which became Bokemon, Pallet Town, which received a completely new name (village of Shorebak), Pokémon names such as Growlithe, which was pronounced Ghroolithe, Togepi, pronounced Toojebi, and Lapras, which was pronounced Labraas.

The criticism of the Lebanese dub was pointed towards the casting choices, as the majority of fans felt most of the new actors didn't fit the roles that they were given and didn't capture the essence of the characters as well as the previous cast. It's most likely that this negative reception to the new dub combined with the fact that most of the newer episodes airing were filler episodes (and the overall controversy related to the franchise), leading to the series's drastic drop in popularity.

Financial constraints, with the series being banned on most TV stations, led the studio to prioritize other more profitable projects. Additionally, Pokémon toys and merchandise were either not selling very well or were outright completely banned in some countries. As such, the series was not renewed, resulting in the Arabic dub discontinuing after Season 07.

Cast and crew

Venus Center

Super M Productions

By the time the production of the dub of season 06 started in 2005, several cast members had either left the company or were already committed to other projects, therefore several characters such as Ash, Misty and Meowth received new voice actors.

Netflix

Several cast members from Super M Productions returned to their roles: Joumana Zonji as Misty, Abdo Hakim as James, Hassan Hamdan as Meowth, Jihan Malla as Nurse Joy and Iman Bitar as Officer Jenny.

Crew

Cast members

Characters Venus Center
Flag of Syria.png
(EP001-EP105)
Super M Productions
Lebanon Flag.png
(EP106-EP209, EP263-AG092)
Miramax
Flag of Egypt.png
(M04-M07)
Netflix
Lebanon Flag.png
(EP020;EP022 redub
M22-M23, JN001-Present)
Narrator anime.png
The Narrator
Marwan Farhat (مروان فرحات) Jihad Al Attrash (جهاد الأطرش)(EP106-EP209)
Fadi Rifai (فادي الرفاعي)(EP263-AG092)
Pierre Dagher (بيير داغر) Raymond Francis (ريمون فرنسيس)
Ash showcasing his Key Stone.png
Ash Ketchum
Buthaina Shaya (بثينة شيا) Mona Majzoub (منى مجذوب)(EP106-EP209)
Unknown voice actress(EP263-AG092)
Unknown voice actor Rana Al Rifai (رنا الرفاعي)
Misty AG.png
Misty
Majd Zhazha (مجد ظاظا) Joumana Zonji (جمانة الزنجي)(EP106-EP209) Joumana Zonji (جمانة الزنجي)
Donuts.png
Brock
Rafat Bazoo (رأفت بازو)(EP005-EP075)
Adel Abo Hassoon (عادل أبو حسون)(EP076-EP083)
Nabil Assaf (نبيل عساف) Unknown voice actor Hicham Abou Sleiman (هشام أبو سليمان)(M22)
Gilles Youssif (جيل يوسف)(JNS02-JN147)
Tracey watching.png
Tracey Sketchit
Ayman Al-Salek (أيمن السالك) Tariq Kaakati (طارق كعكاتي)
May and Bulbasaur.png
May
Iman Bitar (إيمان بيطار) Unknown voice actress
Max farewell.png
Max
Abdo Hakim (عبدو حكيم) Unknown voice actor
Dawn Xtransceiver.png
Dawn
Iman Bitar (إيمان بيطار)
Goh and Grookey.png
Goh
Lama Maraachli (لمى مرعشلي)
Chloe Rotom Phone.png
Chloe
Ghadir Bazzi (غدير بزي)
Jessie and Wurmple.png
Jessie
Fatima Saad (فاطمة سعد) Claudia Marchalian (كلوديا مرشليان)(EP106-EP157) Unknown voice actress Asmahan Bitar (أسمهان بيطار)
EP010 James error.png
James
Zeyad Errafae'ie (زياد الرفاعي) Abdo Hakim (عبدو حكيم) Unknown voice actor Abdo Hakim (عبدو حكيم)
Meowth Team Rocket.png
Meowth
Adel Abo Hassoon (عادل أبو حسون) Hasan Hamdan (حسن حمدان)(EP106-EP209) Unknown voice actor Hasan Hamdan (حسن حمدان)
Nurse Joy JN.png
Nurse Joy
Amal Saad Alden (امال سعد الدين)
Laura Abou Assaad (لورا أبو أسعد)(EP097-EP102)
Jihan Malla (جيهان ملا) Jihan Malla (جيهان ملا)
Officer Jenny JN.png
Officer Jenny
Fadwa Souleimane (فدوى سليمان) Iman Bitar (إيمان بيطار) Unknown voice actress Iman Bitar (إيمان بيطار)
Professor Oak JN anime.png
Professor Oak*
Marwan Farhat (مروان فرحات) Ismail Nanoua (إسماعيل نعنوع) Saad Hamdan (سعد حمدان)
Gary Oak OS.png
Gary Oak
Amal Saad Alden (امال سعد الدين) Wissam Sabbagh (وسام صباغ) Fadi Abboud (فادي عبود)
Delia JN anime.png
Delia Ketchum
Anjy Al-Yousif (أنجي اليوسف) Iman Bitar (إيمان بيطار) Souhair Naser El Deen (سهير ناصر الدين)
Giovanni anime.png
Giovanni
Rafat Bazoo (رأفت بازو) Ismail Nanoua (إسماعيل نعنوع) Ibrahim Madi (إبراهيم ماضي)
Professor Cerise anime.png
Professor Cerise
Fadi Rifai (فادي الرفاعي)
Chrysa.png
Chrysa
Leila Shammas (ليلى شماس)
Ren.png
Ren
Ghassan Haddad (غسان حداد)
Leon Charizard pose anime.png
Leon
Hassan Hamdan (حسان حمدان)
Liko.png
Liko
Jana Mghames (جنى مغامس)
Roy.png
Roy
TBA
Dot.png
Dot
TBA
Friede.png
Friede
TBA
Murdock.png
Murdock
TBA
Mollie Horizons.png
Mollie
TBA
Orla.png
Orla
TBA
Ludlow.png
Ludlow
TBA
Amethio HZ001.png
Amethio
TBA

History of the broadcast

Season Original broadcaster Time slot Debut episode Final episode Episodes Reruns/Syndication
Pokémon: Indigo League Mbc logo.jpg Daily at 12pm GMT EP001.png
!بوكيمون، لقد اخترتك انت
2000
EP057.png
مركز تدريب البوكيمونات
2000
52 Qatar TV
Television Algérienne
2M
ART Teenz
ART Ein
Several other TV stations
Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands Mbc logo.jpg Daily at 12pm GMT EP052.png
نجمة مهرجان التسوق
2000/2001
EP105.png
تجمد تشاريزارد
2000/2001
52 Several TV stations
Pokémon: The Johto Journeys ARTeenz logo.jpg Daily at 5pm KSA time/ 2pm GMT EP106.png
حرب البوكيمون المائية
2001
EP157.png
البحث عن الشهرة
2001/2002
52 Several TV stations
Pokémon: Johto League Champions ARTeenz logo.jpg Daily at 5pm KSA time/ 2pm GMT EP158.png
فرصة ذهبية
January 1, 2003
EP209.png
البوكيمون ماتشوك
2003
52 New TV
Al Andalus TV
2M
ART Ein
Pokémon: Master Quest None None Unaired Unaired None None
Pokémon: Advanced Newtv logo.jpg
ARTeenz logo.jpg
Daily at 6:30am Lebanon time*
Daily at 10pm KSA time/ 7pm GMT*
EP263.png
الانون المجهول
December 10, 2005*
September 24, 2006*
AG040.png
AG040
2006
52 New TV (2006)
ART Teenz (2006-2007)
2M* (2010)
Pokémon: Advanced Challenge Newtv logo.jpg Daily at 6:30am Lebanon time AG041.png
AG041
AG092.png
AG092
52 None
رحلة البوكيمون: المسلسل EJunior logo.png
Netflix logo.png
Thursday to Saturday 4:35pm UAE time (e-Junior) JN001.png
!دخول بيكاتشو
February 27, 2021*
July 1, 2021*
JN048.png
!النجاة بأعجوبة
July 1, 2021*
48 An unauthorized broadcast on several satellite channels
رحلة سيد البوكيمون: المسلسل Netflix logo.png JN049.png
!أن نتدرب أو لا نتدرب
September 2, 2022
JN090.png
‏مواجهة عند بوابات وورب!‏
September 2, 2022
42
رحلة البوكيمون القصوى: المسلسل Netflix logo.png JN091.png
!القطار الشبح
November 24, 2023
JN136.png
!إنها بداية شيء مهم
November 24, 2023
42
بوكيمون: أن تكون سيد بوكيمون Netflix logo.png JN137.png
!مناطق المغامرات القديمة
November 24, 2023
JNS05.png
!السماء الزرقاء البعيدة
November 24, 2023
12
آفاق البوكيمون: المسلسل EJunior logo.png
Netflix logo.png
Fridays 4:35pm UAE time (e-Junior) HZ001.png
HZ001
February 27, 2024*
TBA 45

The anime initially aired exclusively on MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Center), an independent, free-to-air, pan-Arab channel broadcasting via satellite.[33] Due to its immense popularity, it spread rapidly to other channels, mainly local government-owned stations in different countries such as Egypt, Syria, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco, and others. As it is customary for Arab Television channels to air new and exclusive programming during Ramadan, many of these stations like Qatar TV started broadcasting the series from November 27, 2000 (the first day of Ramadan that year) right after S01 had concluded its run on MBC.

Then in 2001, due to the controversy and boycotts that followed, many TV stations dropped the series to avoid backlash. Both MBC and Spacetoon terminated their contracts with KM productions, and the rights were picked up by a Saudi Private network, The Arab Radio and Television Network (شبكة راديو وتلفزيون العرب).

Starting with Season 03 the anime now aired mainly on ART Teenz, a children's channel and part of the ART Network, and on New TV (تلفزيون الجديد), an independent Lebanese TV channel that targets mostly a Christian Arab audience. With syndicated reruns being aired occasionally on few other channels such as ART Ein (إيه آر تي عين), Al Andalus TV (an Arabic-speaking privately-owned satellite channel broadcasting from Spain) and the government-owned channels in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, meaning no official ban was issued in those countries.[34]

New TV started airing the series in 2004. Reruns of the first 04 seasons would air every morning at 6:30am Eastern European Time. By December 2005, Season 06 started airing exclusively on the channel,[35][36], albeit with fewer people watching. Season 06 would later air on ART Teenz the following Ramadan to a much wider audience reception. Sometime later, Season 07 premiered on New TV. This makes New TV the only channel to have aired the Arabic dub of Season 07.

ART Teenz kept airing reruns of S03 to S06 daily from 2002 to 2007, and by 2006 the channel was airing Pokémon twice a day with S04 airing at 7:30pm Saudi Arabia Standard Time and S06 airing at SAST. Its sister channel ART Ein, a general entertainment channel, aired reruns of S01 to S04. Both channels were shut down in 2008.

MBC 3 logo.

MBC 3, another prominent children' s channel in the region as well as a part of the MBC network, would sometimes broadcast different Pokémon movies (M02 to M07) in the English dub with Arabic subtitles, with the most recent one being POKÉMON Detective Pikachu in 2022. Despite frequently broadcasting the Pokémon movies, as well as the other works distributed by KM Productions (such as the Yu-Gi-Oh! series), it's unclear why this channel has never aired the Pokémon anime series.

Movie Broadcast date
Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One December 3, 2009
Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei August 22, 2006
Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest February 23, 2007
Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias February 13, 2008
Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker May 14, 2010
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys June 30, 2010
POKÉMON Detective Pikachu July 16, 2022
2M logo.

Moroccan channel 2M is the most recent TV channel to have officially aired the Arabic dub of the Pokémon anime, when it aired S06 in 2010. This channel also aired the Pokémon anime in French. 2M has two separate feeds: one available nationwide via terrestrial television, and one available via satellite under the branding 2M Monde. The Pokémon anime only airs on the terrestrial feed because the network only buys its broadcasting rights for within Morocco.

Disney XD MENA started airing Pokémon the Series: XY in February 2015

Since the late 2000s, none of the Arabic-language TV stations in any country have been airing or rerunning the Arabic dub of the Pokémon anime, most likely due to broadcasting rights expiring and complicated copyrights issues between ShoPro and KM Productions. Although the English dub of the anime did air on a few premium channels, such as Disney XD and most recently the UAE based channel e-Junior, this broadcast of the anime series is not well-known, most likely due to either a language barrier or the relatively low participation of the expensive subscription TV model in the region overall. Regardless, Disney XD's airing of the anime is not officially recognized for the MENA region specifically.

e-Junior began airing episodes of the English dub of Pokémon Journeys: The Series on January 1, 2021. On February 27, to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, an Arabic audio track was added, marking the first time since the dub's cancellation in 2006 that new Pokémon episodes were dubbed into Arabic and aired on television. The channel has a very limited reach howevever, since it's only available through a subscription-based service exclusive to the UAE. In 2024, to celebrate Pokémon Day, Pokémon Horizons: The Series premiered exclusively on the channel featuring both an English and an Arabic audio track. The channel also occasionally airs reruns of older Pokémon seasons in the English dub, as well as hosting a number of Pokémon movies on their VOD service e Junior On Demand.

In 2021, following the Arabic dubbing and subsequent release of Pokémon Journeys: The Series on Netflix, an unauthorized transmission of the series occurred on several Arabic satellite channels, most prominently on several Algerian networks such as Echorouk TV due to the government's lack of interest in reinforcing broadcasting and copyright regulations. Despite being an illegal broadcast, it garnered considerable viewership, as it was the first instance in more than a decade that the series aired on a prominent free-to-air, pan-region, Arabic-language television network.

Country Channels aired
Pan region via satellite Local stations
Algeria MBC (S01 to S02 first run)
ART Teenz (S03 to S04 first run, S01 to S02, S06 syndicated reruns)
New TV (S06 to S07 first run, S01 to S04 syndicated reruns)
Television Algérienne (S01 to S03)
Echorouk TV (S23 unofficial)
Bahrain Spacetoon as a seven-hour block on Bahrain TV (S01)
Egypt Egyptian Second Channel (S01 to S02)
Iraq Al Iraqiya (S01)
Shabab TV
Jordan Al-Urdunniyya (S01 to S03)
Kuwait Kuwait Television (S01 to S02)
Lebanon INN (S01)
New TV (S01 to S07)
MTV Lebanon
Hala London (S23-S25)
Libya
Morocco, Western Sahara 2M* (S01 to S06 Arabic dub, S01 to S10 French dub)
Oman Oman TV (S01 to S02)
Qatar Qatar Television (S01 to S02)
Saudi Arabia MBC (S01 to S02)
ART Teenz (S01 to S06)
ART Ein (S01 to S04)
Sudan
Syria Channel 1 (Syrian TV channel) (S01 to S02)
Tunisia Tunis 7 (S01 to S03)
United Arab Emirates Emarat TV
Channel 33
Dubai TV (S01 to S02)
Ajman TV
e-Junior (S23; Pokémon Horizons: The Series Dual audio: Arabic and English, S24 to S25 English dub only)
Yemen Yemen TV (S01 to S02)

Songs

Rasha Rizk in 2022

The Season 01 opening was translated and recorded by Rasha Rizk (رشا رزق), with additional vocal support from Tarek Alarabi Tourgane (طارق العربي طرقان) and Bassam Al-Hassouni (بسام الحسوني). The first version of the theme song, which uses the lyric (على خير الصنيع), was used for the first 12 episodes ("Pokémon - I Choose You!" to "Here Comes the Squirtle Squad"), and then replaced by a "more grammatically correct" second version with the lyric (سلاحي المنيع) for the remaining episodes ("Mystery at the Lighthouse" to "Charizard Chills"). Both versions of the song were performed by Rasha Rizk, which she confirmed herself in a Q&A.[37]

Pikachu's Jukebox songs were also translated and recorded by Rasha Rizk.

When the dub was moved to Lebanon, new versions of the Pikachu's Jukebox songs were recorded for the remaining episodes of the Orange Islands arc by the new cast of voice actors, except for the song 2.B.A. Master, which was replaced by Pokémon Karaokémon in the episodes "The Stun Spore Detour" and "The Rivalry Revival". Pokémon Karaokémon songs were also recorded.

An Arabic version of Pokémon Johto was also recorded and used for the initial broadcast of Season 03, but it was replaced by the Season 01 theme during reruns and on the DVD release, likely due to the original theme song being more popular. This combination of the Pokémon Theme and the footage of Pokémon Johto was reused for all the subsequent seasons dubbed by Super M Productions.

The opening themes for seasons 04 to 07 were never dubbed. Instead, they used the Season 01 theme song along with footage from Pokémon Johto. The opening footage for those seasons was replaced due to them being 45 seconds instead of 01 min, making them incompatible with the season 01 theme song.

Trivia

  • In an interview with Rasha Rizk and Tarek Alarabi Tourgane in 2020, she revealed that the process of writing the Arabic version of the Pokémon Theme was very difficult, as 4Kids Entertainment specifically requested for the song to be translated verbatim, which was challenging due to major differences between English and Arabic. She also mentioned that 4Kids Entertainment wanted a young male vocalist to perform the song similar to Jason Paige. As several Venus Center employees recorded different demos for the song, the studio eventually decided to just use Rasha Rizk's version.[38]

Home media and digital release

See also: List of Arabic Pokémon home video releases

Physical Media

Season 03 VHS covers as released by Flash Video Film in Egypt.
  • Season 01 was released on VHS in different countries in the region, by various local home media distributors such as: MEGASTAR in Saudi Arabia, IVC: International Video Co. (شركة الفديو الدولي) in Kuwait, Flash Video Film in Egypt and Video Master in Bahrain.
  • Flash Video Film later released Season 03 on VHS.
  • UAE-based distributor Al Wadi released Season 01 and Season 03 on DVD, this release follows the television definition and contains all 52 episodes from EP106 to EP157.
  • Arabic-Subtitled versions of M01 and M02 were released on VHS by the Egypt-based E.H.E and the Dubai-based HOBO Collection.
DVD cover for the Arabic release of M04.
  • M04 to M07 were also released on DVD by Miramax International featuring an Arabic and an English audio, although the exact release dates are currently unknown.
  • Seasons 04 to 07 didn't receive any form of home media release, and they are currently completely unobtainable. Complicating matters further are legal issues preventing any chance of re-airing or commercial distribution to alternative television networks. KM Productions, facing the inability to profit from these seasons, made the decision to recycle the tapes and re-purpose them to store other projects, thus scrapping the Pokémon episodes and losing them completely.[39] With no recordings of the episodes to be found on the internet since they haven't been re-aired in over a decade, the Arabic dub of these seasons is now considered by many fans to be a lost media. It's unclear whether or not Al Jadeed (formerly known as New TV), 2M, and the ART Network still have copies in their archives, but since both Al Jadeed TV and 2M TV stopped airing children's programs years ago when ART Teenz went defunct in 2008, it's most likely that they disposed of their copies as well. Out of 312 episodes dubbed to Arabic, approximately 156 episodes (from EP158 to AG092) are now potentially completely lost, and only a couple of short videos have made their way to the internet.[40]
    • Season 02 also seems to have never been officially released on home media, and it was for many years considered lost as well. However, in 2011 fan-recorded episodes were illicitly uploaded to the internet, and presently these unauthorized recordings constitute the sole means by which the Arabic dub of Season 02 can be viewed.
    • Due to low DVD sales, the Miramax dubbed movies have also become difficult to obtain.

Digital

In 2019 Netflix acquired the distribution rights for the franchise in the region and released:

Arabic Title Artwork Release date
بوكيمون: ميوتو يضرب مجددًا - التطور M22 arabic.jpg February 27, 2020
رحلة البوكيمون: المسلسل Pokemon Journeys Arabic.jpeg July 1, 2021
بوكيمون الفيلم: أسرار الأدغال M23 arabic.jpg October 8, 2021
رحلة سيد البوكيمون: المسلسل S24 arabic.jpg September 2, 2022
بوكيمون: سجلات آركياس The Arceus Chronicles arabic.jpg September 23, 2022
رحلة البوكيمون القصوى: المسلسل S25 Arabic.jpeg November 24, 2023
بوكيمون: أن تكون سيد بوكيمون To Be a Pokémon Master Arabic.jpeg
المدبرة والبوكيمون Pokémon Concierge Arabic.jpg December 28, 2023
آفاق البوكيمون: المسلسل Pokemon Horizons Arabic.jpeg Currently in production.

The first season, titled دوري إنديغو (Indigo League), is also currently available on Netflix, retaining the original Arabic dubbing done by Venus Center, except for the episodes "The Ghost of Maiden's Peak" and "Abra and the Psychic Showdown", which were re-dubbed since they were heavily censored in the original Syrian dub.

Pokémon movies

Throughout the years, the first few Pokémon movies were released in some capacity in several Arab countries, usually on special events or around holidays like Eid Al-Fitr. All of the movies that were distributed in American theaters by Warner Bros, were also released in theaters in certain Arab countries by Warner Bros. Pictures Middle East agent Shooting Stars LLC (also known as Joseph Chacra & Sons in Lebanon).

Movies availability

Network/service Area serviced Movies
Netflix logo.png
Netflix
All Arab countries except Syria Currently:
بوكيمون: ميوتو يضرب مجددًا - التطور(February 27, 2020 - Present)
بوكيمون الفيلم: أسرار الأدغال(October 8, 2021 - Present)
Formerly:
!فيلم بوكيمون: إخترتك أنت (January 1, 2019 - April 1, 2022)
!فيلم بوكيمون: معاً أقوى (January 1, 2020 - April 1, 2022)
EJunior logo.png
e-Junior on Demand
UAE
  • M01 (November 27, 2022 - Present)
  • M08 (September 2, 2023 - Present)
  • M10 (February 15, 2020 - Present)
  • M11 (April 7, 2021 - Present)
  • M12 (May 26, 2020 - Present)
  • M14 (February 19, 2019 - Present)
  • M16 (November 11, 2018 - Present)
  • M18 (February 10, 2020 - Present)
  • M20 (November 10, 2022 - Present)
  • M21 (November 17, 2022 - Present)
BeIN movies logo.png
beIN
Worldwide primarily Qatar

Pokémon merchandise

After the Pokémon anime started airing in the Arabic language, it became one of the most popular anime series in the Arab world. Therefore, the demand for Pokémon-related merchandise among Arab children was high. Thus, several video game retailers began to sell a wide variety of Pokémon merchandise. Additionally, many restaurants offered promotional toys with their meals, such as Burger King in 2000. Due to the controversy in 2001, however, a lot of the merchandise was withdrawn from main retail shops. After the controversy subsided, many game stores started selling Pokémon goods again without incident.

As of the 2010s, various distributors import certain official Pokémon merchandise from either Europe or North America, such as Poké Dolls and other kinds of toys from Toys "R" Us outlets. Many high-end bookstore chains, especially those that rely heavily on imported materials, may sell an assorted variety of books and magazines. For example, a Kinokuniya outlet situated in The Dubai Mall[42] (the sole Kinokuniya outlet in the entire region), retails children's magazines, video game guides, game books, film novelizations, as well as most of the Pokémon manga series, available in both English and Japanese, with the latter being distributed exclusively via this store.

In early 2013, Active Gulf, Nintendo's officially licensed distributor in the Middle East, have collaborated with their retail partners to locally sell authentic packs for the Pokémon Battle Disc Game.[43]

Many smaller toy and variety stores found in the grey market may often sell unlicensed and counterfeit products, with many of them imported from China. It is also possible to find pirated trading card packs, but in much smaller volumes than when initially released, prior to the 2001 controversy.

Events

Conan in The Land of Pokémon

A poster promoting the play

Conan in The Land of Pokémon was a, unoffical, Kuwaiti musical stage-play. It was a crossover of Pokémon and Detective Conan, created by Spacetoon, likely to expand both franchises. The play features stage actors portraying characters from both series and lip syncing to a voice over done by the Arabic dub voice actors. The voice over was recorded in Venus Center studios in Syria. The play was produced by Al Salam theater and opened in Kuwait on December 23, 2000 playing for the 2 days of Eid Al-Fitr.

  • Written by: Alaa Aljaber
  • Directed by: Jaber Muhammedi
  • Artistic supervision: Abdel Aziz El Moslem
  • The cast of actors features: Hourya Arafat, Soliman Al Marzooq, Mohammad Al Shoaiby, Ahmed Bassem, Fahd Bassem, Mahmoud Boushahri, Mahmoud Boushahri, Dana Abdullah, Yasser Abdel Karim.[44]

The plot of the play is about Team Rocket impersonating Ash to poison nature and water, with Conan having to investigate this.

A 56 min cut of the play was released on VHS by IVC: International Video Co. in Kuwait and was also broadcast on the Kuwait Television.

Pokémon Live!

Despite ending its run in the United States in January 2001, Pokémon Live! was invited to perform on an open stage in Al Mamzar Park, Dubai, U.A.E. for the whole month of March that same year, coinciding with the annual Dubai Shopping Festival.[45] While the musical was mostly identical to its performance elsewhere, the female actors had a slight change to their wardrobe which covered their exposed abdomens and thighs, likely to abide with Dubai's public dress code. Since the musical featured the same cast from its American run, it was performed solely in English. The musical, albeit received very positively by its audience, ended its run just days before the 2001 controversies began in the region overall.

Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions

On March 31, 2017, Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions was performed at the Corniche in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates as part of the Mother of the Nation Festival. It is the first Symphonic Evolutions concert to be performed in the Arab world.

Related articles

References

  1. https://gulfnews.com/uae/saudis-ban-pokemon-as-gambling-un-islamic-1.412082
  2. https://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?issueno=8070&article=33242#.ZCFtNHbMKvE
  3. https://www.news24.com/news24/saudi-arabia-bans-pokemon-20010326
  4. 10 Egyptian Conspiracy Theories
  5. Arabs See Jewish Conspiracy in Pokemon - latimes
  6. ADL denounces claim by Muslim leaders that Pokemon game is “Jewish Conspiracy" - Press Release (archived copy)
  7. Saddam Hussein tried to ban POKEMON in Iraq for an utterly bizarre reason - Mirror Online
  8. Saudi Arabia issues fatwa against POKÉMON for being ‘un-Islamic’ and ‘blasphemous' | World | News | Express.co.uk
  9. Dubai Family Consultant Dr. Khalifa Al-Makhrazi: Pokemon Go Is Prohibited, Spreads Darwinism | MEMRI
  10. Fatwas of the Permanent Committee
  11. The Escapist - Archive - Saudi Bans Pokemon (archived copy)
  12. BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Saudi Arabia bans Pokemon (archived copy)
  13. BBC News | Middle East | Qatari religious leader bans Pokemon
  14. Peterson, Mark Allen. 'Anthropology & Mass Communication: Media and Myth in the New Millennium'. 2003. Print.
  15. Dubai scholars declare Pokemon unislamic - Gulfnews
  16. Technically, today both PAL and NTSC signals are no longer used in most countries after being effectively superseded by newer DVB-T and ATSC signals respectively. However, the terms "PAL" and "NTSC" continues to be used for legacy reasons in reference to regional origins of specific game units since various older platforms are region-locked, and despite Nintendo eventually opting for fully region-free hardware starting in 2017.
  17. International Distributors: Middle East - NOA official website (1998 archive); Wayback Machine
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/19980205070953/http://www.nintendo.com/corp/companies/japan.html
  19. https://nintendosoup.com/nintendo-of-europe-takes-over-saudi-arabia-new-distributor-installed/
  20. confirmed by Jihan Mulla, one of the voice actors.
  21. https://store.yahoo.com/yhst-55466754130796/pokeman.html
  22. Not much is known about the production of this dub. M05 was dubbed in Egyptian Arabic (presumably in Egypt), while M07 was dubbed in Modern Standard Arabic (presumably in Lebanon).
  23. https://www.tiktok.com/@abdohakimofficiall/video/6921632625392209154?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=6921632625392209154
  24. https://www.tiktok.com/@ranaalrifai/video/7114369026536606977?lang=en
  25. https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAf-YgssEM/?hl=en
  26. https://youtu.be/ybPTcWH-Caw?feature=shared
  27. https://youtu.be/Alon0moiAls?feature=shared
  28. http://www.mexat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27436&page=63
  29. http://www.mexat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151439&page=9
  30. https://www.instagram.com/p/CLy6InCJRoz/?igsh=MTNwb2U5czIjMjZsNQ==
  31. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4vetpsp4mK/
  32. https://www.instagram.com/p/C30SX2FJKaT/
  33. https://youtu.be/3NQWlq1p7Mo?feature=shared
  34. These 3 francophone countries had previously aired the Pokémon anime in French before it was dubbed into Arabic. It's worth noting that these countries experienced comparatively lower impact from the controversy compared to their fellow Arab nations.
  35. http://www.mexat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27436&page=66
  36. https://youtu.be/1OM7zWq8xCQ?feature=shared
  37. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2bucEEgWbN, there were rumors that the 2nd version of the song was performed by Sonia Bitar.
  38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apcn0zTRd0g
  39. Confirmed by Mufid Merie, a producer and the manager of KM Productions.
  40. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bujg
  41. https://uae.voxcinemas.com/movies/pokemon-detective-pikachu
  42. https://uae.kinokuniya.com/
  43. Active Gulf posting on their official Facebook page about the availability of the Pokémon Battle Disc Game
  44. https://elcinema.com/en/work/2011639/cast
  45. Young and old enjoy Pokemon - Gulfnews


The Pokémon franchise around the world
Africa: South Africa
The Americas: BrazilCanadaLatin AmericaUnited States
Asia: Greater ChinaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeSouth AsiaSouth KoreaThailandVietnam
Europe: AlbaniaBelgiumBulgariaCroatiaCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreece
HungaryIcelandIrelandItalyLatviaLithuaniaNetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPoland
PortugalRomaniaRussiaSerbiaSlovakiaSpainSwedenUkraineUnited Kingdom
Middle East: Arab worldIsraelTurkey
Oceania: AustraliaNew Zealand


Project Globe logo.png This article is part of Project Globe, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon franchise around the world.