Anime Tokyo Mew Mew Liscensed

Yes it is ture but here's the bad news it was from 4Kids but wait it gets worse it will be called Hollywood Mew Mew and all references to Japan will be eliminated. So there you have Tokyo sorry Hollywood Mew Mew

 

I just read the reason for these changes is that they are localizing the show so that kids don't know they are watching anime which according to them is only for adults. There you have the true evil 4Kids

 

they might as well redo the whole anime... Seeing how it was done by Japanese animators. Heck why not call it a cartoon, edit out the anime eyes and replace them with American style comic eyes.

Why does 4Kids do that??? I mean I know we all hate them but you'd think eventually one of us would figure out why they do these monstrocities. Yet no one really knows. I'd like to get my hands on one of the CEOs, and the people responsible for making decisions like that.

 

As I've said before, I can't belive they're doing this to TOKYO Mew Mew!
I mean, heaven forbid it has a trace of Japanese in it. This is sort of like that they did with Cardcaptor Sakura; they thought by cutting the first seven episodes (which didn't contain Syaoran,) and changing the name to "Cardcaptors," they could make it appeal more to boys. (It would be such a crime to have a girl as the main character! )
The Mews are too good for Hollywood!
Save the Mew Mews

 

I'm confused. I know just about all of you are smart enough to watch everything subtitled anyway (albeit unlicensed, but I can't stop you from doing that). So I guess I don't see why you really care. A lot of people are saying they will not watch "Hollywood Mew Mew". Don't get me wrong, I won't either (but that's mostly because I wouldn't watch it either way).
You have to understand that the American audience is very, very different from the Japanese one. The corporations realize that regardless of what hard-core fans think they will make more money by "bastardizing" the franchise. The marginal increase may be small, but it's an increase. If it will up profit, they will do it.
Besides, the fans like you who are complaining about this probably wouldn't have watched the show on Fox Box either way. You probably would not buy American merchandise, and would still insist on getting Japanese stuff. And you definitely would not buy the inevitable DVD releases, because you probably already have as much as you want fansubbed.
So until you join the masses that actually watch this stuff faithfully (and legally) you have no real right to complain. The companies involved have acquired the licenses legally, and they have the rights to distribute it however they choose in their market. Maybe if 4kids and Fox were trying to hit the few, the proud, the otaku, and only that narrow market, they would not change things. But for a broader audience, they will do what they do.

And for the record, yes, I'm a capitalist. You can ***** at me about that too.

 

Dubs are harmful to the overall fandom when they're done poorly. Dubs which have been localized substantially, to the point of altering names, locations, or even plot points, are significantly worse. They create a rift between the "real" fans of the original show, and the fans of the mangled version - and that creates a lot of tension, resentment, and scorn. It's unnecessary. But really, how many of us haven't gotten into a heated discussion/argument with someone who was trying to claim the crappy dub version of an anime we liked as the real deal?

And then there's distancing... Something hits it big like Inuyasha and Yu-Gi-Oh! did, and suddenly respectable otakus avoid those shows because they're popular with fans who don't know so much as one word of Japanese.

Basically, I oppose badly-localized dubs because they divide fandoms. Oh, and because they SUCK.

And this means we have to accept it quietly?

Only because Fox has never once had a respectable dub that I'm aware of. (Don't make me bring my Escaflowne obsession in here to prove my point.)

Besides, if networks were interested in airing high-quality dubs, I think many more hardcore fans would watch them. I've been watching Tech TV's Last Exile dub - because the voiceacting is good and I don't feel the experience I'm getting has been negatively impacted to a great extent by the dubbing process. Having enjoyed the dub thus far, I'm even more convinced to buy the official subs.

I resent that. I have only one full fansub - Star Ocean, which has yet to be liscensed in the US and most likely never will be (and I can't watch it thanks to my crappy computer, but that's beside the point). I do buy the officially released DVDs, thank you. Even when I first discover a series through a few fansubbed episodes or a scanlated manga, if I like the series I want to own the official stuff. And I know there are other fans like me, who take pride in having what's official.

So do us all a favor and don't generalize so much. ;P

 

I won't generalize when you realize that animation is a buisness.
Appealing to hard-core fans like yourself would perhaps increase the audience by maybe like 10% at best, but would greatly increase the risk of losing the casual viewer. Given the choice between revenues from 10% or from like 50%, which do you think a company is going to choose?

By the way, what's wrong with not knowing a word of Japanese? You think you can't be a fan if you can't speak the language?

Anyway, since, as expected, I'm just getting *****ed at, I'll take my business elsewhere.

 

I don't think anyone is arguing that it's not. However, just because it's a business doesn't mean that fans can't be upset when their favorite shows are being butchered. It's true that 4Kids has the right to mangle the anime it brings to the US - but we, as consumers and fans, also have the right to find fault when the result isn't something we like or would buy.

A lot of the problem is that when 4Kids gets its hands on something, you can be pretty certain that a liscensed uncut sub is NOT going to be released. I really wouldn't mind much that they want to show edited dubs if they would simply provide an untainted version for the fans who want it.

When did I say there was something wrong with it?

I think you mistook my counters of your points as more aggressive than they were meant to be. You said you were confused - I was just trying to shed a little light on my own stance on these matters.

 

I love tokyo mew mew too!

Its not fair stupid little kids!!!

 

Look, I'm still gonna watch it. (unless it's only on FoxBox. - - I stopped watching that channel a long time ago. I ceased watching cartoons on saturday mornigns anyways with exception to Yu-Gi-Oh on KidsWB, but that's on at 11:00 my time, plenty enough tiem for sleep if YTV gets it, then YIPPEE!!!) I've been wanting to see this show for a while now so i'm glad it's being dubbed.

What i don't like is this westernization business. What 4Kids is doing to Tokyo Mew Mew is a slap in the face to the creators, the fans, and the Japanese culture. The fact they won't release the uncut versions of their anime either is very disappointing (they'd make a lot of money if they did).
And the comment they made on anime, that's just mean and narrowminded. People of every age watch anime, not just adults.

But I'll still watch it. I'll be disappointed but I'll still watch it.

 

Definitely. It shows a certain disrespect for the culture, by removing all traces of it - and for English-speaking audiences as well, as if they think people are so shallow that they'll only appreciate something that feels totally familiar. Is it really necessary to localize a show beyond recognition in order to get an audience? No. Inuyasha and Rurouni Kenshin have proved beyond a doubt that an anime can hold a very large audience without losing the Japanese flavor of the setting.

It's all well and good to localize a bit - replacing jokes that don't work in English, such as puns that require understanding of the Japanese language, etc. But come on... "Hollywood Mew Mew"? Yes, let's keep American children ignorant of other cultures. e_e;

I thought it was just silly. "Anime" isn't a word with clear boundaries - it's just Japanese animation. It encompasses so many genres, styles, and tastes... Basically, what 4Kids is doing is just trying to remove all traces of foreign influence from the anime it airs, including it's qualification as anime.