Dubbing changes you thought were improvements from the original Japanese

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Sep 6, 2014
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#1
Can be from any dub. Dic, Cloverway, Viz, another language (Hey maybe you liked that The South Korean dub covered up those harlot Amazon Quarter girls and protected little kids from that devil Japanese culture)

DiC:
Sailor Moon's transformation music. It fit the animation and tone better than the first series weird action-y style music that suddenly gets all ooooooh Saaailooor Moooon at the end

Having Serena already know about and be Sailor V fangirl before the start of the series. Sorry, it just rings false that Usagi never heard of this Sailor V and then becomes a fangirl shortly before she herself becomes a Senshi. I would think playing the Sailor V video game for the first time after you already got to live it would feel mundane. I like the idea that she was already a big fangirl before the series started it makes her getting to meet her hero that much more meaningful.

The weight loss episode. Everything about it was better in the DiC version.

Making Alan and Ann part of the Negaverse. I know "Waaaaaaaaaah why did DiC need to make all the villains related under one evil organization waaaaah" but honestly just two months after the Senshi defeat an energy sucking organization ANOTHER completely UNRELATED duo of villains ALSO wants energy and even though they're just trying to survive they have they cards that can be turned into monsters. Give me a break (of that kit kat bar) talk about your contrived coincidences. I like the idea that the Negaforce corrupted them and made them think they were part of the Negaverse and needed to steal energy for their tree when it was really for itself. Also I can buy the Negaforce giving them those Cardians instead of them ....just having....them. Yeah that whole "Beryl was right about earth" was a blunder but what can you do?


Cloverway/Pioneer

Even if was obviously by total accident I liked Fish Eye going from a gay man who likes to cross dress and be a trap and made them a pre-op trans woman.

"You'll be in my heart"/Lonely heart/Rini's Rhapsody/whatever it's called way more memorable than the pretty damn boring Watashi Tachi Ni Naritakute



Viz:
I liked "Sweat three times and I can do anything!" better than "Sweat three times and I'm beautiful!"
 

Masquerade

Solaris Luna
Nov 22, 2016
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#2
I don't like Viz changing lines in order to make they less "offensive". People who are buying Sailor Moon are supposed to be aware that a show featuring big-breasted 14-year old girls in short skirts that are often panty-shoted is a product of 90s Japanese society and doesn't have Western values in mind.
However, lines like "it's better to fall in love with a boy" (Stars, when Usagi thinks a love letter is addressed to her) are a bit too much and I believe they should be changed. They had it translated as "we can be good friends" in the Latin-American and Brazilian dub. This is a "improvement" to me.
And CWi made Fisheye a pre-op trans woman? I thought he was a cis woman in the dub.
 
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Sep 6, 2014
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#3
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And CWi made Fisheye a pre-op trans woman? I thought he was a cis woman in the dub.
By accident they did in the Pioneer uncut dub.

Since the uncut english dub used the same audio track as the edited for toonami dub. So thus you have a Fish Eye revealing their obviously biologically male chest despite being referred with female pronouns still.




Even the edited version its still obvious



ETA: Fyi the show doesnt have panty shows. That’s the lower side of their leotards
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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#4
Speaking of Fish Eye, having just watched this dub comparison video, I thought I'd point this out:


Fish Eye: Now here's a cutie! Do you think I could take this one on? Please?
Tiger's Eye: Which one?
Hawk's Eye: Did we miss one? (sees photo) *Mmm* A guy...
Fish Eye: He's just perfect! I've been waiting for a cute guy like him to come along!
Hawk's Eye: Actually, I always thought he might be the one we're looking for...
Tiger's Eye: Same here. But girls are more fun.
1. Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye clearly think Fish Eye is looking at a photo of a girl at first. Thus, they think SHE thinks another girl is a "cutie." And they seem totally unfazed by Fish Eye's possibly being a lesbian (compared to the Japanese where, while they are still accepting of Fish Eye's cross-dressing and sexuality, aren't 100% comfortable with it.)
2. Between Hawk's Eye's little "mmm" sound (listen closely!), what he says about thinking the guy could be the one they're looking for, and Tiger's Eye saying "girls are more fun", I think the CWi dub definitely leaves the door open for interpreting Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye as bi.

And, as a third point unrelated to the clip, in addition to CWi!Fish Eye essentially being readable as a transwoman, given that CWi!Zirconia is male yet still an extension of Queen Nehellenia, one might also interpret CWi!Nehellenia as being potentially trans.
 
Likes: Nadia
Apr 6, 2015
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#5
I mean you guys can spin it anyway you want but let’s be honest here. CWi had no clue what the hell they were doing with fisheye and zirconia and quite frankly probably didn’t care as long as it passed broadcast rules and they could make money off the show.
 
Sep 6, 2014
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#6
I mean you guys can spin it anyway you want but let’s be honest here. CWi had no clue what the hell they were doing with fisheye and zirconia and quite frankly probably didn’t care as long as it passed broadcast rules and they could make money off the show.
I want you to reread my post and pay extra close attention to the part where I said “Even if it was obviously by total accident”



Neither Memento or I are under any delusion that this was intentional by the dubbers.
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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#7
Obviously the dub writers weren't deliberately going "Hey, let's make Fish Eye a transwoman!" or "Let's imply that Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye are bisexual!" or anything like that. But the result of what they put out does (accidentally) allow for those interpretations. Authorial intent doesn't matter when it comes to reader/viewer interpretation.

Anyway...

I've always loved Chibiusa's name in the French dub (Camille). I've always thought it suited her quite nicely, especially thinking of her in her Usagi SL Serenity princess form.
 

MariaTenebre

Systema Solare
Jul 22, 2009
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#8
Personally I liked the use of the song My Only Love in the scene where the Moon Princess's identity is revealed over Maboroshi no Ginzuishou. It is such a beautiful tune and fits the scene so much better and makes it that much more beautiful.

However LifeGaveMeLemons I always found the whole Negaverse thing weird in the English dub as in the original the Dark Kingdom were from the Earth and lived underground at the D point not in some alternate dimension. The Sailor Senshi even had to go to D point like in the original but if the enemy was from another dimension would they really have an entrance on Earth. Plus it dosen't make much sense for Al and En to be from the Negaverse or to know Beryl as they were not anywhere near this Solar System.

That being said I always felt that the term Negaverse would actually have been a great name for the alternate dimension the Death Busters came from as unlike pretty much all of the other villainous groups the Death Busters were from an alternate dimension. The specific Galaxy they were from was the Tau Galaxy but I don't think the dimension was ever named.

I also agree on Usagi knowing about Sailor V from the start I think this makes much more sense. I mean she certainly did in the manga, Crystal and PGSM so I don't know why the 90s anime changed. Plus I don't know you think she would have heard about Sailor V since she was all over the media and referenced in news papers and the like.

Also in the Viz dub I liked the change of name of the Black Crystal in season 1 to the Dark Crystal. It is a great way to separate it from the Black Crystal of season 2 used by the Black Moon Clan and it fits with the naming theme of the Dark Kingdom.
 
Sep 6, 2014
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#9
However LifeGaveMeLemons I always found the whole Negaverse thing weird in the English dub as in the original the Dark Kingdom were from the Earth and lived underground at the D point not in some alternate dimension. The Sailor Senshi even had to go to D point like in the original but if the enemy was from another dimension would they really have an entrance on Earth.
Entirely possible that an entry point to the Negaverse dimension was on earth though. When Sailor Venus gets pulled under ground the Doom and Gloom Girl says "Sailor Venus welcome to the Negaverse!"

Plus it dosen't make much sense for Al and En to be from the Negaverse or to know Beryl as they were not anywhere near this Solar System.
Well as it turns out Alan and Ann werent from the Negaverse anyways but from the tree of life (just like the original) entirely possible the Negaverse is a vast dimension spanning across several galaxies and the Negaforce affected the children of the tree including Alan and Ann. Alan and Ann forgot their own origins and could have just assumed they came from the Negaverse
.
Also in the Viz dub I liked the change of name of the Black Crystal in season 1 to the Dark Crystal. It is a great way to separate it from the Black Crystal of season 2 used by the Black Moon Clan and it fits with the naming theme of the Dark Kingdom.
The Dic dub also changed it to the dark crystal.

I mean they also called it the black crystal and the star crystal too though....
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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#10
I agree with Maria that "Negaverse" would have worked well as a dub name for the Death Busters' home world/dimension/galaxy/whatever.

Between all the mentions throughout the dub of "sending/blasting" enemies "back to the Negaverse" (which ostensibly was a euphemism for killing them) and the Scouts' being said to be in the Negaverse in the first season's finale (even when I was six or seven and watching that episode for the first time, I always understood it as meaning they died), I think of the Negaverse as being essentially Hell or the Underworld (even if it's described as a parallel dimension), so I think it having a base/entrance on Earth makes sense.

I do think "Negaverse" is kind of a weird choice for an alternative name to "Dark Kingdom" though. (Not sure why they changed it.) One of the dub tie-in books called the Negaverse an "Empire of Negative Energy," and I can't help but wonder if "Negative Empire" or "Nega-Empire" or even "Nega Kingdom" might not have been a better choice.

Still, I appreciate that they tried to tie all the villains together from the start, unlike Naoko who decided at the last second to make them all spawns of Chaos.
 

Sailor Moon~

Luna Crescens
Apr 24, 2017
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#11
I liked DiC's background music and the VAs along with the script writing. The dub declined once Cloverway took over imo
 

Kerochan no Miko

Knight Radiant
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Feb 29, 2004
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#13
I think "Wicked Lady" is waaay better than "Black Lady", which Viz left intact.
I don't recall Chibiusa switching skin colors in her evil form. xD
I always hated "Wicked Lady", personally, because it just sounds...weird. If they wanted to change her name they could have found so many better adjectives than "wicked" to use.

(I also thought changing it was kind of unnecessary, since it had to do with her working for the Black Moon and nothing to do with skin color, but, not that big a deal.)
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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#14
It's still awkward that this Japanese female character is being called "Black Lady" regardless of what the "Black" refers to. Besides, it was the Nega-Moon in the dub, not Black Moon, so "Black Lady" would have been completely illogical and "Nega Lady" would sound terrible. I think "Wicked Lady" sounds glamorous and perfectly suits the character.
 

Kerochan no Miko

Knight Radiant
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Feb 29, 2004
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#15
Right, there are potential issues with calling her "Black Lady" in an English dub, which is why I wasn't terribly upset about it. "Wicked Lady", though, sounds to me like a made-up monster parents use to scare their children. Like, "eat your vegetables or the Wicked Lady will get you!"
 

Masquerade

Solaris Luna
Nov 22, 2016
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#16
Right, there are potential issues with calling her "Black Lady" in an English dub, which is why I wasn't terribly upset about it. "Wicked Lady", though, sounds to me like a made-up monster parents use to scare their children. Like, "eat your vegetables or the Wicked Lady will get you!"
I agree Wicked Lady sounds childish, but it's better than Black Lady. It could have been Negamoon Lady.
 

Masquerade

Solaris Luna
Nov 22, 2016
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#17
It's still awkward that this Japanese female character is being called "Black Lady" regardless of what the "Black" refers to.
I think Viz panders to the otaku community too much, at least in this dub. There's a lot of Engrish glibberish they could get rid of. "Jupiter Coconut Cyclone" is absolutely laughable, and they stuck with it.
 
Sep 6, 2014
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#18
Not gonna like when I first heard Jupiter had an attack called Coconut Cyclone in the manga I assumed it involved Jupiter spinning around why coconuts flew out of her.


Negamoon and Nega Lady both sound awkward. Black Lady or Dark Lady would have unneeded implications. Wicked lady never bothered me. Dont know what else would have worked Evil Lady? Or they could have called her Lady Rini
 

Kerochan no Miko

Knight Radiant
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Feb 29, 2004
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#20
"Star Gentle Creator" was one of the few things I liked in the Mixx manga, because yeah, that was...ridiculous. Especially the way Narumi Tsunoda practically yodeled YOOOOOOOOOO-terus in the anime.