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I'm aware that I'm unique in the way I view this movie. I was already 16 years old when Pokémon The First Movie came out. I saw the movie in Japanese before the English dub was even released. The last time I saw the 4Kids dub of Mewtwo Strikes Back! was in 2015, back when I was doing the "Mewtwo Mondays" thing for my site. Out of the roughly 30 times I've seen the first movie, only maybe 5 of those were in English.
But, I'm also very aware that the "circumstances" line is very popular among Western fans who aren't me. I even say as much in the comparison. The line's still a rewrite, though. A popular and well-loved rewrite, yes, but a rewrite nonetheless.
The dubs annoyingly change the order of things around so it makes it harder to discuss, but for the sake of this conversation I'll compare the "circumstances" line from the two dubs to Mewtwo's parting lines from the original since that's the line the dub is basically replacing.
Japanese: "We were created. We are alive. And we will continue to be alive. Somewhere in this world..."
English: "I see now that the circumstancesof one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
Takeshi Shudo's script tells us that Originals and Copies are both living beings and therefore have a right to co-exist in the same world, point blank period. The original version doesn't dip its toes into any conversation about what you do with that gift of life, it just states that you're alive and therefore you deserve to live.
Haigney's and Grossfeld's script, on the other hand, turns the focus away from individuals' rights to life to focus more on the legacy left behind due to the actions taken during said life. Do good things, you're a good person; do bad things, you're a bad person. The circumstances of your birth aren't an excuse.
The dub line doesn't contradict anything else from the movie, I suppose, but that doesn't mean the Japanese and the English lines are interchangeable, either.
What was so bad about the original line?
Fans have been speculating about how this movie is TPCI's chance to provide a more faithful script literally since before the movie even came out in Japan. It's all fans have been talking about for literally a year at this point. It isn't a crazy idea I just came up with all on my own.
But also, it's the year 2020. We should be holding TPCI to the same standards that every other anime dubbing company is held to. As I said in the comparison, an accurate script is the bare minimum we should be accepting.
If we're sticking to just shows that had their Japanese theme songs replaced with brand new English-language songs, and then when those shows were redubbed / re-released years later the dubbers opted not to re-use the older localized song but instead decided to record an English cover of the original Japanese song, then:
Dragon Ball GT
One Piece
Saint Seiya
If we're talking about shows that restored the original Japanese language theme song, in Japanese, then:
Card Captor Sakura
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Shaman King
There's plenty of precedent out there.
But, I'm also very aware that the "circumstances" line is very popular among Western fans who aren't me. I even say as much in the comparison. The line's still a rewrite, though. A popular and well-loved rewrite, yes, but a rewrite nonetheless.
Silktree said:You mention Mewtwo's circumstances line not being needed 20+ years later, but what was so special about the original line?
The dubs annoyingly change the order of things around so it makes it harder to discuss, but for the sake of this conversation I'll compare the "circumstances" line from the two dubs to Mewtwo's parting lines from the original since that's the line the dub is basically replacing.
Japanese: "We were created. We are alive. And we will continue to be alive. Somewhere in this world..."
English: "I see now that the circumstancesof one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
Takeshi Shudo's script tells us that Originals and Copies are both living beings and therefore have a right to co-exist in the same world, point blank period. The original version doesn't dip its toes into any conversation about what you do with that gift of life, it just states that you're alive and therefore you deserve to live.
Haigney's and Grossfeld's script, on the other hand, turns the focus away from individuals' rights to life to focus more on the legacy left behind due to the actions taken during said life. Do good things, you're a good person; do bad things, you're a bad person. The circumstances of your birth aren't an excuse.
The dub line doesn't contradict anything else from the movie, I suppose, but that doesn't mean the Japanese and the English lines are interchangeable, either.
What was so bad about the original line?
No one ever said that this dub was meant for people who prefer the Japanese version (that wouldn't make much sense) and just need official subtitles.
Fans have been speculating about how this movie is TPCI's chance to provide a more faithful script literally since before the movie even came out in Japan. It's all fans have been talking about for literally a year at this point. It isn't a crazy idea I just came up with all on my own.
But also, it's the year 2020. We should be holding TPCI to the same standards that every other anime dubbing company is held to. As I said in the comparison, an accurate script is the bare minimum we should be accepting.
As for the songs, can anyone point out examples of other localized songs that did that kind of thing (Japanese turned into English)?
If we're sticking to just shows that had their Japanese theme songs replaced with brand new English-language songs, and then when those shows were redubbed / re-released years later the dubbers opted not to re-use the older localized song but instead decided to record an English cover of the original Japanese song, then:
Dragon Ball GT
One Piece
Saint Seiya
If we're talking about shows that restored the original Japanese language theme song, in Japanese, then:
Card Captor Sakura
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Shaman King
There's plenty of precedent out there.
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