New Voice Actors Discussion (READ FIRST POST BEFORE POSTING)

[Trainer Lisa]

On the subject of music, I don't know why Pokemon USA would have to pay for the Japanese music, AltoMan. But anyway, that's what WPM said in one of his posts one time.

Apparently, he happened to over hear one of the PUSA reps talking about that, having to pay for the music and everything. He also said that, from the way that person spoke, it seems like they have to pay for everything when it comes to Pokemon in the U.S. So it isn't just the music, I guess......



Personally, I don't think money had anything to do with the VA swith. It was something else, I just know it was. Most likely, it was something that they purposely kept secret from the fans (to avoid publicity, any kind of negative views, or something).


I mean, it's obvious to me that Pokemon USA must have TONS of money. Even before they obtained the anime license, they still had the Pokemon games, the TCG, and all the rights to the merchandise as well. That's a lot of stuff, which probably gave them thousands of dollars every year.

So with all the money they've been generating from Pokemon's properties (other than the anime), how could they not have had enough money to afford getting the original VAs to do Mastermind/season 9? It just makes no sense to me, no matter how many times I think about it.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Just because they have tons of money doesn't mean they're not cheap.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

Yeah, I guess that could be true, Blackjack. ^^o

To be honest, I'm optimistic though, so I always try to find the best aspects of people. So I'd love to think that Pokemon USA weren't cheap.


I mean, I sure hope they're not cheap. That would give them a bad reputation as a company, if they decided to be cheap about something.

But hey, you could be right. Maybe that's why they had the VA switch, because they had the money to get the original VAs, but they just decided to be cheapskates instead.

 

[The Big Al]

It also depends on the budget allocated to the anime. Face it, the dub makes no money at all but costs a ton. They might have been cautious, especially considering the Hell SOVA raised. Hopefuly the success of battle frontier will mean more money for D/P which could mean more original music and other improvements.

And I don't see why PUSA should WASTE money trying to drag VA's from another company. Especially from a control freak like Kahn. Your company has a voice cast, you use them. They're like players on a sports team or engineers in a manufacturing company. I don't understand why people insist that PUSA SHOULD have gone after the original VA's.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Face it, the dub makes no money at all but costs a ton.

Interesting economic theory. I never thought a top-rated show that advertisers love could "make no money".

Dude, Pokémon is a cash cow, and that includes the dub.

 

[The Big Al]

I mean it doesn't make money directly. You can't sell it like a game (until it comes out on DVD of course). They need the advertisers and the advertisers want ratings. After the summer of Hell SOVA gave them, they might have been worried about ratings which would piss off advertisers which would mean less money. Now that BF is a hit they may be more confident in investing in the anime.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I certainly didn't see a change in advertising. Heck, they got rid of the eyecatches probably to put in MORE commercials.

 

[The Big Al]

Or more show. Don't forget 4Kids shaved seconds off here and there for their pretty trainers choices. And I wonder if it's more to do with PUSA or CN, considering where the commerical breaks are.

 

[The Power of Pika]

The cartoon doesn't make that much of a profit especially when Al Kahn blamed it for the drop in revenue and 60% drop in profit at the end of 2005 along with other cartoons. The article stated that Al kahn was furious about it.

It was in the 4kids financial result that came out just before the switch over. So if 4kids weren't making much of a profit then unless PUSA gained more fans than 4kids and somehow did better in other financial areas of the Pokemon cartoon (advertising ect.) then I doubt PUSA is getting much of a profit either.

I've posted the article link a few times so I haven't posted it again unless people want to see it.=P

 

[Trainer Rachel]

Al Kahn

needs to shut-up.

 

[The Power of Pika]

I agree trainer Rachel. I don't like Al Kahn either. The companies fine. Though sometimes I would like to see someone take Al kahn's place. I normally think that when I'm really annoyed at what he said in an article.=P



Okay I've noticed people are confused about the music and said that they don't pay for japanese music. I'm not sure about the music from the games but most Japanese music had to have royalty fees payed to the creators as well as pay for it to get outside the country. Lots of money involved when it comes to music in cartoons. It's actually the most expensive part of the cartoon.

 

[AtoMan]

Or more show. Don't forget 4Kids shaved seconds off here and there for their pretty trainers choices. And I wonder if it's more to do with PUSA or CN, considering where the commerical breaks are.

Nope, that doesn't have anything to do with Trainers' Choice block. Its length is equal to Who's That Pokemon and other eyecatchers in japanese version.

 

[FabuVinny]

Flint has had a different voice in all three appearances and I prefer the 4Kids ones. Lola came out alright but after hearing Caroline I'm a little worried about Delia.

While those are minor voices, Professor Oak isn't since he's going to be in 7 episodes before the end of the season. Have we heard him since Mastermind?

 

[Cybersai]

He hasn't been in an ep since, but Oak sounded very good in Mastermind.

What's the problem, again?

 

[Lil Brother]

Oak sounded very good in Mastermind in the second half. In the first hald he's... eh...

 

[Trainer Lisa]

Oh god, don't even get me started on the Mastermind voices.

I despise Mastermind, both the original and the redub (which was better than the original, but not by much, in my opinion).

And I don't see why PUSA should WASTE money trying to drag VA's from another company. Especially from a control freak like Kahn.

First of all, the VAs don't technically work for 4Kids, since they're freelance anyway.

However, since most of their voice acting jobs happen to be at 4Kids, I guess that means they have to put up with with Kahn all the time. Or at least, the people above them do (yikes, that sounds scary).

I don't understand why people insist that PUSA SHOULD have gone after the original VA's.

Well, you see, some people happen to really enjoy Pokemon, and loved hearing the original voices in the show. And we enjoyed watching Pokemon, despite the show having those awful edits and time cuts (which, I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but those flaws or problems with the dub DID NOT effect my enjoyment of it in anyway).

Anyway, all I'm saying is, those of us who fall into the group of "fans of the original VAs" probably were bothered much less by those problems. That's why you never heard any complaints from me or anyone else with similar views, back when the dub was still with 4Kids.



I know that most people see the editing and all that stuff as bad things, and they believe it ruins the dub. But actually, I have the ability to see past these things, and focus on the other aspects of the show which truly shine.

Personally, when it came to the 4Kids dub, I saw no flaws in it whatsoever, and I really got the most enjoyment out of watching Pokemon. It was the perfect show for me, because I liked every single aspect of it. I would get so incredibly happy from watching new episodes. Overall, that was a magical feeling for me, and I would give anything to have that feeling again.

 

[Kazamatsuri]

Hey all. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy as hell moving and I just got internet service up and running at my new apartment. Although, after reading through the last dozen plus pages, I'm almost glad I missed out on the debate over the last two weeks. There's a lot to respond to, but this in particular paves the way for what I want to say.

That's my main problem with the voice right there.

That's what you think.


But on the contrary, WPM, I think we've accomplished quite a bit so far (with the Toys R Us thing, and all that other stuff we did). Sure, we may not have achieved our goal yet. But we are very close, in my opinon.

On the contrary. The closest you ever were to accomplishing your goal was when the campaign first started out from March to early May. Granted it wasn't the greatest organization in the world, but it did have a solid foundation.

Many who no longer support the campaign now contributed to it back then, not because the original VAs were the definition of greatness like no other, but simply because they were experienced in their roles and gave solid (not great performances. And people were simply concerned that any replacement VAs wouldn't live up to standard.

The campaign had four basic proposals for accomplishing their goals. They were, writing letters to PUSA, signing a petition, spreading the word, and folding cranes. Three out of four were as effective as they ever could be. The fourth (folding cranes) was just wishful thinking. Some gave out draft templates for the letter writing campaign so it could be as effective as possible and the petition received 40 to 50 signatures a day on average for the first couple of months.

When the special first aired on April 29th, people's worst fears were realized. Initial reaction to the new VAs was in the gutter.

Still, the most SOVA could muster at the time it was most effective was a redub of the special. I'll concede that it may have been the driving force that resulted in PUSA making that decision, but don't get too indulgent.

IMO, things really started going downhill for the movement May 1st. The original VAs may have singlehandedly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for SOVA when they maligned PUSA and the cast and crew that had worked on the special in every way possible while simultaneously being the driving force behind the campaign to subdue negotiations between PUSA and CartoonNetwork in an effort to cut Pokemon off from any network. Needless to say, that effort was a dismal failure. I don't know about anyone else, but I new at that point, SOVA could not possibly succeed.

Since May, the organization has gone steadily downhill with one misstep after another and has stood at rock bottom for the better part of five months now. Occasionally, they've been able to take a step up to the first ledge (like the Mew event) only to fall right back where they were before.

Aside from us fans, whether or not the the original VAs return is between them and PUSA and I don't see any indication whatsoever of that happening. I'd detail the reasons, but I think it's pretty self-explanatory.

Seriously, if SOVA is to succeed at this point, it can't afford to screw around any longer. The folks in the organization have to execute a series of ideas that are Bold, Concrete, Doable, and Consensus Oriented or BCDC. If they can't do that by now, the campaign has no chance to succeed. I'll be more specific.

Bold

These ideas must have big aims and significance strides towards accomplishing your goal if pulled off successfully.

Concrete

These ideas must have a detailed step-by-step plan of execution with contingency plans if something doesn't work out right.

Doable

These ideas must be something that most if not all members of the organization actually do (nothing that costs too much money or takes up too much time).

Consensus oriented

It must be something that almost all SOVA members can agree on to some extent[/U]

Since the original Mastermind special aired. None of their ideas have met all four criteria. Event the Mew event lacked one of those qualities (Concrete). But who knows? Maybe Gadfly can help you out with that.

Additionally, SOVA must be proactive and cannot make a single mistake from here on out. At this late point in the game, it has a zero margain for error. And all that is just to get two feet off the ground.

I think that about sums everything up.

 

[Barb]

I know that most people see the editing and all that stuff as bad things, and they believe it ruins the dub. But actually, I have the ability to see past these things, and focus on the other aspects of the show which truly shine.

I'm truly happy for you, princess. [/sarcasm]

Personally, when it came to the 4Kids dub, I saw no flaws in it whatsoever, and I really got the most enjoyment out of watching Pokemon. It was the perfect show for me, because I liked every single aspect of it. I would get so incredibly happy from watching new episodes. Overall, that was a magical feeling for me, and I would give anything to have that feeling again.

Lisa, that's all well and good, but you didn't answer Al's complaint. Why should PUSA have hired the original VAs? Would it have been cost-effective for them to do so?

 

[Geodude]

I know that most people see the editing and all that stuff as bad things, and they believe it ruins the dub. But actually, I have the ability to see past these things, and focus on the other aspects of the show which truly shine.

Then lay off the naive, way beyond pointless whining once and for all and start doing the same with the PUSA dub.

Why not? You just admitted you can.

By the way, from now on, all voice actor discussions are restricted to the SOVA thread. This thread has gotten way out of hand.

 

[Archaic]

For the record, the decision to close this thread was not a decision on the fly by Geodude, but a decision reached by consensus by the entire mod staff. This has gone way too far. The old VA's have already made their current position clear, and in writing. While we would have been perfectly perfectly willing to let legitimate discussion (that's discussion, not flaming) of the merits of the new VA's vs. the old VA's continue, this thread, and pretty much every thread on the subject up until now, has been hijacked with what are now pointless and ultimately useless discussions on trying to bring the old VA's back. I certainly don't like having to come down hard on an issue like this, but enough is enough.