4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American company which was responsible for the production of the English-language version of the Pokémon anime from 1998 until 2005 (effectively seasons 1 through 8). They also handle English production for a number of other anime series as well as creating original series. Among anime fans the company is infamous for its heavy editing of series such as One Piece; Pokémon is actually among its most faithful adaptations.
Starting in 2006, with the TV special The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon and continuing through season 9 and beyond, Pokémon USA is handling the English-language version of the Pokémon anime. Beginning in May 2008, 4Kids took control of the Kids' WB! block. The block is now known as The CW 4Kids. 4Kids announced that in order to retain control of TheCW4Kids, 4KidsTV will move online instead of being on FOX affiliates.
Typical edits
There are a variety of types of edits, which can be broken down into these categories:
- Cultural changes - Scenes relating to Japanese culture were often edited to be more accessible to American audiences. One example of this is the renaming of onigiri, which has been called a variety of things, from sandwiches to popcorn balls.
- Dialogue edit - Sometimes a character's lines are edited so as to change the meaning. For example, in The Legend of Thunder!, dub Attila is Hun's new partner, whereas they had known each other for years in the original.
- Puns - Occasionally, a pun is made in the original that is lost in translation. More commonly, however, puns are put in where they were not before, such as in EP014 where Meowth PUN-ishes Jessie and James.
- Music edit - In the Indigo League and Orange Islands seasons (and some of the movies), 4Kids kept all the original Japanese music in the dub and added their own pieces to fill moments of silence. Then, from the Johto League season to the Battle Frontier season (including Pokémon Chronicles), 4Kids replaced most of the Japanese music with their own music.
- Paint edit - Usually this is when Japanese text is removed, but it can be used for other things such as physically turning an onigiri into a sandwich in AG092.
- Cut - Sometimes a scene is removed completely. This is sometimes done for time constraints. Often, however, it is done as censorship, such as in James' breast scene in EP018 or in the case of 'excessive' violence.
- Scene Switch - Occasionally, scenes are moved around, For example, several attacks are performed out of order in AG095.
- Motto - Team Rocket's motto usually changes slightly in each episode in the dub, yet in most cases it is exactly the same in the original.
- Opening/Ending - 4Kids create their own openings, using their own music. While the original has its own unique ending, the dub just has a shorter version of the opening along the left side of the screen.
- Who's That Pokémon? - Often, the Pokémon, layout, and presentation are different in the original. Although this feature stopped in Japan at the end of the Johto saga, it continued through Pokémon: Advanced in the dub. For Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, this was replaced by Trainer's Choice.
- Pikachu's Jukebox/Pokémon Karaokemon - The music videos which were shown in the early seasons of the dub were not present in the original.
External links
- Official Site
- Dogasu's Backpack provides comparisons for each episode.
- Anime News Network article announcing the moving of dub production from 4Kids to Pokémon USA.
- Wikipedia article
