Pokémon on Hungama TV (India)

[Adil]

It may not be interested for most of you, but oh well...

Starting last year, Hungama (a part of UTV/Disney network in India) got the rights to dub the anime from the beginning with a brand new in-house dubbing cast. Prior to them, Turner was holding on to the syndication rights.

Anyway, Hungama aired the first Pokemon movie a few days ago. The interesting bit about it is that they aired the kanzenban version of the movie (well, technically uncut I guess... It didn't include OP/ED themes though). Both of the Hindi dubs for the anime use 4Kids version of the regular anime episodes and the script writing closer to the English version. The previous dub did record some of the movies, but those were also the same as the 4Kids ones.

However, for the first time, the Hindi script was faithful to the Japanese one. With the exception of the main cast, the (movie-only) characters retained their Japanese names (I, Voyager etc.). The overall dialogue was more or less a faithful translation of the Japanese. A part of me was hoping for Hindi Mezase, but that didn't happen.

So, yeah... I found it interesting that they got to dub directly from the Japanese material of the movie.

Spoiler

Edit: For whatever reason, in one of the scenes, Misty's Psyduck had its English voice but most of the other Pokemon had their Japanese voices in one of the scenes. They had their English voices for the rest of the movie.

 

[Moe]

Perhaps it could be as simple as side stepping whatever the complication is with the dub rights to the first three movies that has prevented the normal distributors (Viz, Beyond, etc.) obtaining those rights and putting out a release?

 

[Adil]

Perhaps it could be as simple as side stepping whatever the complication is with the dub rights to the first three movies that has prevented the normal distributors (Viz, Beyond, etc.) obtaining those rights and putting out a release?

Hmm... I have no clue.
I kinda hope that it isn't the case... Just so that there is hope of them treating the rest of the movies in a similar way (bonus points for theme songs).

 

[lavandula]

If I remembered correctly... didn't Pokemon have a controversy in India before?

 

[Adil]

If I remembered correctly... didn't Pokemon have a controversy in India before?

Controversy? Doesn't ring a bell with me. It has been going smoothly for as far as I can remember.
The only major event that comes to mind was the cast change in 2014, but I don't think there was any controversy over it.

 

[UPratik_12]

Well, i watched the movie, there were many things that should be considered, like the girl who owned Blastoise said "Mere pass mera Blastoise hai, ek Kamex" (I have a Blastoise, a Kamex). Well most of the time in the movie they used japanese voice for all the pokémon and sometimes it was english. So yeah, it was awesome but still a bit mixed up.

 

[Adil]

Well, i watched the movie, there were many things that should be considered, like the girl who owned Blastoise said "Mere pass mera Blastoise hai, ek Kamex" (I have a Blastoise, a Kamex).

Was rewatching the movie earlier and noticed that. Not sure if they forgot to remove the Japanese name from the script or it was due to some other reason.

Well most of the time in the movie they used japanese voice for all the pokémon and sometimes it was english. So yeah, it was awesome but still a bit mixed up.

I heard the Japanese voices for Pokemon at least twice throughout the movie... During the ending scene, when Ash "dies", and somewhere near the end of the first half. They also mispronounced New Island as 'New Iceland'.

Also, don't they use 'Tez Dhaar Waale Patte' (or a slight variation of it) for Razor Leaf? In the movie, it was translated as Leaf Cutter (a direct translation of the Japanese name for the move). On a related note, Nachiket's Ash has started to grow on me.

 

[ii kanji]

Haha wow this is great! Is there any way of watching this outside of India?

What is the rest of the Hungama Hindi dub like? What season are they showing at the moment?

 

[Paree]

Haha wow this is great! Is there any way of watching this outside of India?

What is the rest of the Hungama Hindi dub like? What season are they showing at the moment?

Pokemon in India Stopped with end of DP.Hungama Started to air the original series in Hindi in may last year.They are currently airing Master Quest.They aired "Extreme Pokemon" Yesterday.

 

[ii kanji]

Pokemon in India Stopped with end of DP.Hungama Started to air the original series in Hindi in may last year.They are currently airing Master Quest.They aired "Extreme Pokemon" Yesterday.

Wow how pointless is that... Why are they redubbing what's already been dubbed? Do you know if they still air a Tamil (and any other languages) dub?

 

[Paree]

Because they couldn't get the rights to broadcast old Dubs since it belongs to Cartoon Network India.

 

[Adil]

Wow how pointless is that... Why are they redubbing what's already been dubbed?

I don't know if they actually tried to get the previously dubbed content but according to one of the Hungama officials, Disney India implemented a policy a few years ago that required their acquired shows to be dubbed by their in-house team and that was (one of) the reason(s) why they chose to re-dub Pokemon from the beginning. The recording studio is still the same (Dream Theatre) though.

From the situation, I am assuming that Turner's license for the first series expired and Hungama didn't want to let the opportunity go, since Pokemon has always been ratings juggernaut over there. Judging from their pace, it's been roughly 11 months and they're already airing the 5th season, they won't have much trouble getting AG as well. Not to mention, the Japanese authorities are aware of its performance on the new network.

Do you know if they still air a Tamil (and any other languages) dub?

Besides Hindi, I think the Hungama airings are available in Tamil and Telegu as well.

 

[UPratik_12]

Besides Hindi, I think the Hungama airings are available in Tamil and Telegu as well.

Yes they do, but for earlier episodes i don't think (1-2 and some of 3rd seasons maybe) they have dubbed in Tamil and Telegu

 

[ii kanji]

Thanks everyone, this is very interesting... 5 seasons in 11 months?! Blimey they've got a speedy turnover.

Not to mention, the Japanese authorities are aware of its performance on the new network.

What are those links about/saying?

 

[Adil]

Not to mention, the Japanese authorities are aware of its performance on the new network.

What are those links about/saying?

Here: Pokemon anime going strong in India - Bulbanews

Not the same, but there's also this article further discussing Pokemon's success on Hungama: ‘Pokemon’ resonates with Hungama’s audiences: Vijay Subramaniam

 

[ii kanji]

Thanks for those! Interesting reads, my favourite bit being about the numbers of people watching of whom over half appear not to be children I'm just imagining sari'd up Mamis sitting around in the break between morning and evening serials and watching Pokemon trololol!!!

When Subramaniam talks about keeping the language down with the kids, is that something noticeable in the dialogue?

 

[Adil]

I'm just imagining sari'd up Mamis sitting around in the break between morning and evening serials and watching Pokemon trololol!!!

That image... As if there is not enough content for the "sari'd up Mamis" already xP

When Subramaniam talks about keeping the language down with the kids, is that something noticeable in the dialogue?

Hmm... Im not sure.
Well, as opposed to the previous dub, the new one (mostly) keeps the English names for the moves. No other particular change in the dialogue comes to mind. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that they don't translate every single thing to Hindi, which was the case back in the CN dub days.

To a limitation, using some English terms in our daily lives is a fairly common thing in the Indian subcontinent, whether it's Urdu, Hindi or Sindhi. So, maybe Subramaniam was hinting at that.

 

[lavandula]

Hmmm... my memory must have been wrong then.
I thought it was the Indian parents who moaned about how Pokemon is making their kids focus less on school work, and that Pokemon toys are too expensive.

 

[ii kanji]

Well, as opposed to the previous dub, the new one (mostly) keeps the English names for the moves. No other particular change in the dialogue comes to mind. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that they don't translate every single thing to Hindi, which was the case back in the CN dub days.

To a limitation, using some English terms in our daily lives is a fairly common thing in the Indian subcontinent, whether it's Urdu, Hindi or Sindhi. So, maybe Subramaniam was hinting at that.

Yeah that makes sense, and really it makes sense for them to do that! I only know enough Hindi to understand SRK's dialogues, but I know that when it comes to the Tamil which is actually spoken by people, you might as well call it Tanglish!

Hmmm... my memory must have been wrong then.
I thought it was the Indian parents who moaned about how Pokemon is making their kids focus less on school work, and that Pokemon toys are too expensive.

Why should you be wrong? Not that I ever heard of this specifically, but this is exactly the sort of thing that Indian parents are always moaning about isn't it?

 

[lavandula]

Hmmm... my memory must have been wrong then.
I thought it was the Indian parents who moaned about how Pokemon is making their kids focus less on school work, and that Pokemon toys are too expensive.

Why should you be wrong? Not that I ever heard of this specifically, but this is exactly the sort of thing that Indian parents are always moaning about isn't it?

Haha, they really do.