TheWertle
I'm going to address this to all the people complaining about the dub. And just as a warning, this is a long post. If you don't have the patience to read it, you probably don't have the patience to listen to it either. Im going to assume the major reasons you disapprove of it is
1) You think you won't be able to get free (illegal) fansubs anymore
2) You think they will do a bad job dubbing the voices
3) You think they will cut out all the blood and nudity, change names, genders, or storylines, or just edit it poorly overall
4) You think it needs to be put on Adult Swim and not Toonami
so lets break this down
Quote:
1) You think you won't be able to get free (illegal) fansubs anymore
Do any of you know the reason that fansubs exist? I'll give you a hint, its not so all of america can get free anime and never have to support the people working so hard to put it out. Fansubs exist to in order to make a series known in order to increase its popularity across the globe in hopes that some day a company will pick it up, license it, and distribute it among the masses. Once a series is licensed, that doesnt mean the death of a good fansub, it means they did their job. They helped spread an anime enough that it caught the corporate eye. But don't worry, when the real fansub groups who know their place stop subbing a licensed series, tons of fans just like you decide to keep it going because you want your free illegal anime. And don't get me wrong, I download plenty of fansubs. However, my intent is to one day actually own these series.
Many of you may say, "well its not illegal to download fansubs until its licensed, so now they made it illegal for us". Unfortunately, thats wrong. Fansubs are always illegal, they are simply tolerated before a series is licensed because its basically like free promotion. It gets the word out and japanese companies hope that due to the increased popularity, more people like you will come forward and support them.
Quote:
2) You think they will do a bad job dubbing the voices
How many of you understand japanese? Fluently? What evidence do you have that one japanese voice actor is better than some other english voice actor? Is it because they are better actors, or is it simply that japanese sounds so cool? The truth is, without understanding the nuances and subtleties of a language, there is no real way to determine its quality. Granted, its understandable that after having watched 130+ episodes, you've gotten used to each character's japanese voice. Naturallly, an english voice wont sound exactly the same. That's because the intanation and vernacular of english are not japanese, they're english. If an english voice actor said a line with the exact same intanation as a japanese actor, I think it would sound very weird. Try it. Next time you watch a subtitled anime, read a subtitle the exact same way the japanese character did, changing the pitch and tone of your voice at the exact same time as the japanese voice. Does it sound funny and unnatural? Probably. Just because an english voice is going to sound different, that doesn't make it wrong.
Quote:
3) You think they will cut out all the blood and nudity, change names, genders, or storylines, or just edit it poorly overall
This is one of the complaints that bugs me the most. First of all, how much nudity do you see in Naruto? After 130+ episodes, I'd say about... none. The Sexy no Jutsu is covered by clouds in the manga, the anime, and even edited more in one of the japanese video games. And even then how often does it appear in the series? Maybe in 4 episodes...less perhaps... And besides, Viz has specifically stated that Sexy no Jutsu will be left untouched, as well as the perverted characters like Jiraiya. Ok then, what about blood? Because there is blood in all sorts of scenes its all going to be taken out of the series right? No, Viz has released a statement saying that at most they will be taking out only excessive blood. That means all blood right? No again, by excessive, they refer to blood that serves no point to the storyline. There's a lot of blood in Naruto's hand stabbing scene but guess what, that blood serves a purpose and symbolizes something meaningful. Thus it will not be removed, as again is stated specifically by Viz. But they're going to take the blood out of all the fight scenes because it just sits there right? Wrong again. The only blood that Viz intends to remove is spurting or gushing blood that is not critical to plot. But wait, thats the only part of the series you guys like right? the gushing spurting blood. Guess what guys, it will all be there on the uncut, dual language for that matter, DVDs that have already been confirmed for release. Viz has already expressed their intent to keep the story and characters as true to the original as is humanly possible. That doesnt mean their going to throw edits left and right to fit every standard the FCC could hope for. That means they are going to try to cut every corner imaginable to get around FCC limitations. For instance, the projected time slot for Naruto to be aired is 10:00 PM saturday evenings. FCC regulations say that after 10:00, cable channels can air shows with a TV-PG rating.
Here is what is allowed under a TV-PG rating according to MPAA
Quote:
TVPG Parental Guidance Suggested.
This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance and/or the program contains one or more of the following: moderate violence (V), some sexual situations (S), infrequent coarse language (L), or some suggestive dialogue (D).
Judging from that, I'd say about everything can be left in. Naruto only has moderate violence, its not a blood and guts anime like say Kite or something, so stop saying that Naruto is for mature audiences. There are sexual situations and suggestive dialogue, but they are pretty sparse and infrequent, not like the entirity of an episode or anything, so that fits the bill too. And language, the cursing that all you guys love so much from fansubs is just that, from the fansubs. Japanese is not a dirty language like English. There is no real japanese equivalent to "********" or "s**t" really. You might be able to translate it that way, but overall, every japanese word is a japanese word from a japanese idea. Curse words only have the power that a culture gives it. The reason "s**t" is considered to be a worse word than "crap" is simply because American society deems it so. They mean the exact same thing and are used the exact same way, in all contexts. You have all just been socialized to think that s**t is a cooler word.
Quote:
4) You think it needs to be put on Adult Swim and not Toonami
Most everyone who wants Naruto to be put on Adult Swim wants that because they believe Naruto is a mature show for mature audiences. In reality it is not. Not in japan, not here. I am willing to bet that the majority of Naruto's fans are in the 12-17 age range. Do any of those fall under the category adult? No. Are there fans 18 and up? Of course. Are there fans younger than 12? Of course. Do they make up the majority of the target audience? No. Toonami has of late been moving towards a more teen oriented program. With the addition of Uncut DBZ to their saturday line up, it is clear what kind of intentions they have for Anime. If Toonami can show DBZ uncut, why do you think they'll butcher Naruto when its put right next to uncut DBZ? Is it because you think Naruto is much more gory and bloody, or perverted even, than DBZ? Because its not. DBZ has blood, DBZ has guts, DBZ has perversion. Stop worrying so much. Sorry to compare you're beloved series to one of such a calibur as DBZ, but unfortunately, Naruto isn't really that much different. Does that mean Naruto is a bad show? Of course not.
I challenge anyone who disagrees with what I've said to prove me wrong. Please. I want you all to think critically and figure either why it is that Naruto will be bad or why it is that you can't find a substantial reason to think it will be bad anymore. Just like everyone else, I have flaws, I might be mistaken about something. So go out and do some research to prove me wrong. That does not mean respond by saying "OMGWTF u r teh los0r " or "naruto is going to suck cuz I know it is" or "noooooo they're going to butcher it". That will only prove to me your ignorance. Give me substantial evidence to change my mind and maybe i will.
1) You think you won't be able to get free (illegal) fansubs anymore
2) You think they will do a bad job dubbing the voices
3) You think they will cut out all the blood and nudity, change names, genders, or storylines, or just edit it poorly overall
4) You think it needs to be put on Adult Swim and not Toonami
so lets break this down
Quote:
1) You think you won't be able to get free (illegal) fansubs anymore
Do any of you know the reason that fansubs exist? I'll give you a hint, its not so all of america can get free anime and never have to support the people working so hard to put it out. Fansubs exist to in order to make a series known in order to increase its popularity across the globe in hopes that some day a company will pick it up, license it, and distribute it among the masses. Once a series is licensed, that doesnt mean the death of a good fansub, it means they did their job. They helped spread an anime enough that it caught the corporate eye. But don't worry, when the real fansub groups who know their place stop subbing a licensed series, tons of fans just like you decide to keep it going because you want your free illegal anime. And don't get me wrong, I download plenty of fansubs. However, my intent is to one day actually own these series.
Many of you may say, "well its not illegal to download fansubs until its licensed, so now they made it illegal for us". Unfortunately, thats wrong. Fansubs are always illegal, they are simply tolerated before a series is licensed because its basically like free promotion. It gets the word out and japanese companies hope that due to the increased popularity, more people like you will come forward and support them.
Quote:
2) You think they will do a bad job dubbing the voices
How many of you understand japanese? Fluently? What evidence do you have that one japanese voice actor is better than some other english voice actor? Is it because they are better actors, or is it simply that japanese sounds so cool? The truth is, without understanding the nuances and subtleties of a language, there is no real way to determine its quality. Granted, its understandable that after having watched 130+ episodes, you've gotten used to each character's japanese voice. Naturallly, an english voice wont sound exactly the same. That's because the intanation and vernacular of english are not japanese, they're english. If an english voice actor said a line with the exact same intanation as a japanese actor, I think it would sound very weird. Try it. Next time you watch a subtitled anime, read a subtitle the exact same way the japanese character did, changing the pitch and tone of your voice at the exact same time as the japanese voice. Does it sound funny and unnatural? Probably. Just because an english voice is going to sound different, that doesn't make it wrong.
Quote:
3) You think they will cut out all the blood and nudity, change names, genders, or storylines, or just edit it poorly overall
This is one of the complaints that bugs me the most. First of all, how much nudity do you see in Naruto? After 130+ episodes, I'd say about... none. The Sexy no Jutsu is covered by clouds in the manga, the anime, and even edited more in one of the japanese video games. And even then how often does it appear in the series? Maybe in 4 episodes...less perhaps... And besides, Viz has specifically stated that Sexy no Jutsu will be left untouched, as well as the perverted characters like Jiraiya. Ok then, what about blood? Because there is blood in all sorts of scenes its all going to be taken out of the series right? No, Viz has released a statement saying that at most they will be taking out only excessive blood. That means all blood right? No again, by excessive, they refer to blood that serves no point to the storyline. There's a lot of blood in Naruto's hand stabbing scene but guess what, that blood serves a purpose and symbolizes something meaningful. Thus it will not be removed, as again is stated specifically by Viz. But they're going to take the blood out of all the fight scenes because it just sits there right? Wrong again. The only blood that Viz intends to remove is spurting or gushing blood that is not critical to plot. But wait, thats the only part of the series you guys like right? the gushing spurting blood. Guess what guys, it will all be there on the uncut, dual language for that matter, DVDs that have already been confirmed for release. Viz has already expressed their intent to keep the story and characters as true to the original as is humanly possible. That doesnt mean their going to throw edits left and right to fit every standard the FCC could hope for. That means they are going to try to cut every corner imaginable to get around FCC limitations. For instance, the projected time slot for Naruto to be aired is 10:00 PM saturday evenings. FCC regulations say that after 10:00, cable channels can air shows with a TV-PG rating.
Here is what is allowed under a TV-PG rating according to MPAA
Quote:
TVPG Parental Guidance Suggested.
This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance and/or the program contains one or more of the following: moderate violence (V), some sexual situations (S), infrequent coarse language (L), or some suggestive dialogue (D).
Judging from that, I'd say about everything can be left in. Naruto only has moderate violence, its not a blood and guts anime like say Kite or something, so stop saying that Naruto is for mature audiences. There are sexual situations and suggestive dialogue, but they are pretty sparse and infrequent, not like the entirity of an episode or anything, so that fits the bill too. And language, the cursing that all you guys love so much from fansubs is just that, from the fansubs. Japanese is not a dirty language like English. There is no real japanese equivalent to "********" or "s**t" really. You might be able to translate it that way, but overall, every japanese word is a japanese word from a japanese idea. Curse words only have the power that a culture gives it. The reason "s**t" is considered to be a worse word than "crap" is simply because American society deems it so. They mean the exact same thing and are used the exact same way, in all contexts. You have all just been socialized to think that s**t is a cooler word.
Quote:
4) You think it needs to be put on Adult Swim and not Toonami
Most everyone who wants Naruto to be put on Adult Swim wants that because they believe Naruto is a mature show for mature audiences. In reality it is not. Not in japan, not here. I am willing to bet that the majority of Naruto's fans are in the 12-17 age range. Do any of those fall under the category adult? No. Are there fans 18 and up? Of course. Are there fans younger than 12? Of course. Do they make up the majority of the target audience? No. Toonami has of late been moving towards a more teen oriented program. With the addition of Uncut DBZ to their saturday line up, it is clear what kind of intentions they have for Anime. If Toonami can show DBZ uncut, why do you think they'll butcher Naruto when its put right next to uncut DBZ? Is it because you think Naruto is much more gory and bloody, or perverted even, than DBZ? Because its not. DBZ has blood, DBZ has guts, DBZ has perversion. Stop worrying so much. Sorry to compare you're beloved series to one of such a calibur as DBZ, but unfortunately, Naruto isn't really that much different. Does that mean Naruto is a bad show? Of course not.
I challenge anyone who disagrees with what I've said to prove me wrong. Please. I want you all to think critically and figure either why it is that Naruto will be bad or why it is that you can't find a substantial reason to think it will be bad anymore. Just like everyone else, I have flaws, I might be mistaken about something. So go out and do some research to prove me wrong. That does not mean respond by saying "OMGWTF u r teh los0r " or "naruto is going to suck cuz I know it is" or "noooooo they're going to butcher it". That will only prove to me your ignorance. Give me substantial evidence to change my mind and maybe i will.
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