Anime [Anime Blog Muyo!] As Usual, 4Kids Misses the Point

Here's the good news: Tokyo Mew Mew has been licensed.

Here's the bad news: 4Kids did it. So get ready for "Hollywood Mew Mew."

That's right, folks. As ANN is reporting, 4Kids has licensed and will, of course, Americanize it to get Tokyo Mew Mew on television.

Most telling is a quote from Al Kahn, the CEO of 4Kids, who says, "By the time we localize the programs kids don't even know they're from Japan any more."

Indeed. And that's precisely the problem.

First off, let me get past the notion that the reason I find that statement deplorable is because anime is superior to everything else: I'm not arguing that (better in some respects, but there's nothing that makes anime inherently superior just by virtue of being from Japan). The reason it's detestable is that 4Kids seems to be under the impression that kids need to be insulated from the show through localization.

You see, here's the dirty little secret that they won't say: "4Kids actually thinks that kids are stupid."

Oh sure, they'll never come out and say it - you'll never see a blurb at the bottom of a 4Kids press release that says, "Headquartered in New York City, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. is a global provider of children's entertainment and merchandise licensing that thinks all kids are idiots." However, subconsciously, they must believe it. Otherwise, why would you localize something so drastically? Since localization implies limiting or confining to a particular area (e.g., the U.S.), kids obviously are unable to understand something so drastic as the idea that a show could possibly be set in Japan.

Please. While I won't pretend to make fallacious arguments like "half the kids probably already saw it in fansub form" or anything like that, the fact remains that a small number of kids likely have already seen the show in its native form. Those that haven't are going to be in for quite a shock when they go to the internet and realize that the show is markedly different from its original form (just like everything else that seems to be targeted to them).

You see, let's not forget that most kids have internet access (and, unlike most adults, know how to use it) and that connectivity allows them to discover this wealth of information about just how much different the show is and what things 4Kids deemed necessary to remove in order to protect the "fragile little minds" of America's youth.

I'm not going to come up here and rehash the tired "4Kids is evil" platform, but it stands to reason that 4Kids is certainly not working tirelessly for the side of "good" either. But, I will say this: the Robotech fans from years past eventually grew up and a great many of them are resentful now. People don't appreciate being talked down to and there's a reason the name "Harmony Gold" carries such a stigma now in a great many circles, even if Robotech remains beloved by others.

Anyways, sermon over. A rather inauspicious 300th post to the blog, eh? ^^;;

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