I tried making "Reception" balanced and cleaned some things. "Reception" seemed VERY opinionated and sometimes unneeded as it was covered on previous areas of this. I still feel it's almost unneeded to some degree, as there is "Criticism".
← Older revision
Revision as of 09:00, May 7, 2014
Line 93:
Line 93:
==Reception==
==Reception==
−
The full list of fan complaints is long, but it is important to remember that this particular dub is subject to much dislike and at times it can be difficult to pick noted facts from the fan based propaganda from anti-4Kids anime fans. In fact, fan disappointment remains the biggest factor to date in how the series was received. When FUNimation took over, while anime magazines did note the take over, the fan disappointment at 4Kids was over things that articles would note the most and the actual magazines themselves did not seem to express their own editorial based opinions. <!-- Will enter these soon -->
+
The full list of fan complaints is long, but it is important to remember that this particular dub is subject to much dislike and at times it can be difficult to pick noted facts from the popular opinion from the fanbase.
−
The first immediate complaint is animation censorship, which in actual fact is often a common complaint at anime dubbing in general. Particularly, the most common complaint aside from the fact the series was censored to begin with, is the removal of many child-sensitive issues such as alcohol and guns. An Anime News Network interview with Mark Kirk, a 4Kids representative, states that ''One Piece'' was acquired in a package with other anime such as ''Shaman King'' and ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', but 4Kids had not screen tested ''One Piece'' prior to its acquisition. Therefore, 4Kids pretty much had to do what they could do with the series until they could legally drop the license. In note of the company itself, 4Kids entertainment is aimed at children from the age of 8 to mid teens while One Piece is aimed at teenagers and older in Japan. This meant the show had to comply with rules set for TV of not only the intended age limited, but also the intended time of day the show was aired in and the TV networks own rules and 4Kids own standards of the age group it was aiming for. The problem was because of the age difference and the time of day it aired during, One Piece did not comply with the rules set before it.<ref name="animenote">[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2005-04-24/alfred-r-kahn an article that notes anime may appear in two styles].</ref> Therefore, some of their edits were justified and FUNimation's rep later confirmed some of the need for TV censorship when they themselves aired One Piece on TV. As a note in the matter when FUNimation later acquired the show, they were able to air it at a later time, allowing FUNimation to avoid some of the problems 4Kids had to comply with. In the process, they confirmed that cigarettes had to be removed for One Piece to comply with the shows ability to be shown on a TV network at a teenage audience.
+
The first immediate complaint is animation censorship, which is a common complaint at anime dubbing in general. Particularly, the most common complaint aside from the fact the series was censored to begin with, is the removal of many child-sensitive issues such as alcohol and guns. An Anime News Network interview with Mark Kirk, a 4Kids representative, states that ''One Piece'' was acquired in a package with other anime such as ''Shaman King'' and ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', but 4Kids had not screen tested ''One Piece'' prior to its acquisition. Therefore, 4Kids had to do what they could do with the series until they could legally drop the license.
−
Despite the fan propaganda, the early episodes were often well translated, sometimes better than other English translations but fell subject to common mistakes such as translation the [[Fishmen]] to [[Mermen]]. However, speech was added in scenes which in the original dub had total silence in them. This however was common practice in 4Kids dubbing and appeared in other shows dubbed by 4Kids; but not something that would appear in 4Kids own animations.
+
In note of the company itself, 4Kids Entertainment is aimed at children from the age of 8 to mid-teens while One Piece is aimed at teenagers and older in Japan. This meant the show had to comply with rules set for TV of not only the intended age limited, but also the intended time of day the show was aired in and the TV networks own rules and 4Kids own standards of the age group it was aiming for. The problem was because of the age difference and the time of day it aired during, One Piece did not comply with the rules set before it.<ref name="animenote">[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2005-04-24/alfred-r-kahn an article that notes anime may appear in two styles].</ref> Therefore, some of their edits were justified.
−
While these issues are left to fan debate, the fact many episodes were skipped (see "Changes") is by far the biggest and most apparent complaint of all. In addition with this, it was pointed out there were inconsistencies with edits that were done to a number of animated scenes. An example would be Robin who was subject to breast line removals, but in some scenes she would have an undergarment, then the edits would switch back to only the lines removed. In some cases, scenes that were meant to be edited were done ham-handed and in one case the removal of a cross using the blue sky color overlapped actual animation taking place within the scene. In other cases, the edits also left in frames containing blood which should have been removed to comply with TV standards. However, the scenes where this appeared in were only present for a mere few seconds and most went unnoticed. As well as removal of scenes, new scenes were created by reusing old frames from the show, usually used to disguise the removed scenes and edits made to the show. The success rate of this varied as story writers were left to create improvised storyline around the edits and new replacement scenes.
+
In some cases, scenes that were meant to be edited were not done well enough, such as the removal of a cross using the blue sky color overlapped actual animation taking place within the scene. In other cases, the edits also left in frames containing blood which should have been removed to comply with TV standards. As well as removal of scenes, new scenes were created by reusing old frames from the show, usually used to disguise the removed scenes and edits made to the show. The success rate of this varied as story writers were left to create improvised storyline around the edits and new replacement scenes.
−
A strong opinion on the dub was that the show seemed to sound "flat" or monotone. 4Kids did not air the shows with their original music scores, as noted by the anime fan propaganda it is arguable on how successful the replacement music was used alongside the series. The removal of music scores and the addition of new introductions were not exclusive to 4Kids and other companies such as [[Wikipedia:Nelvana|Nelvana]] also used these practices. The music scores used within the show were not as numerous as the original and there was a lack of variety. In addition it was noted that some scores were reused from other shows 4Kids had dubbed. The [[One Piece Rap]], the 4Kids dub introduction however remains the most controversial music usage of all and often divides One Piece fan feelings.
+
For sound, a frequent complaint was that the show seemed to sound "flat" or monotone, as 4Kids did not air the shows with their original music scores. The removal of music scores and the addition of new openings, however, is a common practice for anime dubbing companies.
−
Amongst this, general complaint is also poor voice acting. Fans have strong opinions on voices throughout the series because they felt emotions were not conveyed well in the 4Kids dub, though this is more the fault of the voice director rather than the voice actors themselves, as many of the voice actors have been well received for other voice performances in their careers. This is particularly aimed at [[Nefertari Vivi|Vivi]], whose voice actress (Karen Neill) was criticized for her lack of emotional emphasis in the role of her character despite the character having to be involved in some heavily emotional scenes. In addition, criticism was also thrown at Luffy's voice actress (Erica Schroeder) because a strong opinion at the time was that the acting sounded like the directors were forcing his character to constantly sound happy no matter what the situation was by shouting down the microphone. Many of the cast, such as Jason Griffith had had previous voice acting experience, but due to a history of common complaints about their voice acting in previous roles did not hit well with the anti-4Kids fans within the fandom. In the later episodes, stereotyping became a common complaint with new voices being chosen for their stereotype rather than characterization, the most notable example being [[Miss Father's Day]] and due to her frog outfit was given a French accent. This was a play on the fact [[wikipedia:Frog legs|Frog legs]] is one of many delicacies in France, but was also pointed out that this association could be interpreted as a [[wikipedia: Racist slur#F|racist slur]]. Another one is [[Sanji]] as his voice actor gave him a thick Brooklyn accent , which caused major controversy among fans.
+
Another general complaint is voice acting. Fans have strong opinions on voices throughout the series because they felt emotions were not conveyed well in the 4Kids dub, though this is more the fault of the voice director rather than the voice actors themselves, as many of the voice actors have been well received for other voice performances in their careers. This is particularly aimed at [[Nefertari Vivi|Vivi]], whose voice actress (Karen Neill) was criticized for her lack of emotional emphasis in the role of her character despite the character having to be involved in some heavily emotional scenes. Criticism was also thrown at Luffy's voice actress (Erica Schroeder) because a strong opinion at the time was that the acting sounded like the directors were forcing his character to constantly sound happy no matter what the situation was. Many of the cast, such as Jason Griffith, had previous voice acting experience, but due to a history of common complaints about their voice acting in previous roles did not hit well within the fandom.
+
+
In the later episodes, stereotyping became a common complaint with new voices being chosen for their stereotype rather than characterization, the most notable example being [[Miss Father's Day]] and due to her frog outfit was given a French accent. This was a play on the fact [[wikipedia:Frog legs|Frog legs]] is one of many delicacies in France, but was also pointed out that this association could be interpreted as a [[wikipedia: Racist slur#F|racist slur]].
==References==
==References==