Back at university, I’ve made my own contributions to the topics of Anime globalization and localication. I would like to share one of my academic essays with you, which was about the issues of Anime translation. The paper looks at changes made to two particular series in their english dub versions and dicusses why these changes have been made, as well as how this influenced the perception of the series as a whole. Like the paper I presented in my earlier post, it thus examines cultural diffusion, but it does so from an aesthetic and branding perspective, rather than an economic one. I know that the paper offers but a glimpse at the wider issues of dubbing problems, but I nevertheless think, that this work allows for first discussion points on the general subject. I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it back in university.
Introduction
Japanese Cartoons, also known as Anime, have been a part of my life since primary school, but it was not until university that I began seeing the pop culture phenomenon through different eyes. Although being aware of different language versions, I never paid much attention to comparing them until I found a viral video on one of the many Anime websites I visit entitled “4Kids hates rice balls”. Posted by an apparently angry Pokémon fan, the short segment featured a scene from one of the early Pokémon episodes as dubbed by the 4Kids company, showing one of the characters referring to Onigiri – Japanese rice balls – as jelly filled donuts. Quickly there were hundreds of similar clips, pointing out the mistranslation faults in Anime, mostly centred on series that have been licensed by 4Kids, such as Pokémon. It is after seeing all those posts of fan outrage that I began an investigation into what had caused such ‘mistranslations’, as fans called them, to occur.
Although Anime have been present on TV screens since the 80s, in-depth academic study has only started to emerge in the last decade, which is mostly due to Anime’s rise as a part of global popular culture (Frasier, 2007). As Miles (2002, p.219) states “understanding Anime matters, because it has a particularly immediate aura of cool nowadays, both in its homeland and in America” as well as in Europe. Commonly scholars try to analyse the visual aesthetics of Anime shows, looking at their cultural value for both Japan as well as the rest of the world (Allison, 2000, Olson, 2004), or they concern themselves with the fan-culture that surrounds the realm of Anime (Hatcher, 2005). There has however been very little study on general sound in this particular subcategory of popular culture. While academics such as Miles (2002) have examined anime music, they have not necessarily considered dialogue or sound effects, which are as much part of the soundscape as the music. When analysing sound, dialogue and thus language are a topic closely linked to translation. As many anime fans outside of Japan do not speak the ‘native tongue’ of Anime, they rely on the heavily criticized fan subs (Hatcher, 2005) or on the (often disliked) dubs by their national networks.
What many viewers however do not realize when watching dubbed series is the complex process behind the screen that starts long before voice actors begin the action of dubbing. Anime sound translation receives its first transformation through institutional decisions made by the network, influenced by the quality of communication between Japan and the countries that import the series as well as political-economic aspects and company laws and codes.
What is important to consider in the transformation of the original soundtrack to the dubbed version is the actual translation process, which however cannot be entirely separated from the institutional aspect itself. For while a series may be aimed at one particular age group in Japan, it may be for a younger audience in the US, which at times means that certain aspects of the dialogue may have to be aurored for children in order to fit a particular PG rating system. This often leads not only to a particular translation of dialogue, but also a different use of sound effects and music that will be looked at within this research.
The focus on sound rather than picture in this content stems from the importance sound carries within the television medium. Often associated more with casual viewing with many disruptions and distractions, television has to use sound to guide its viewers through the program, calling their attention back during critical moments (Ellis, 1992). Arguably however, children show a slightly different approach to the medium, as explained by Calvert et al (1982). Due to the fact that children are still learning TV comprehensibility at their young age, they are not entirely independent of the medium’s sensory demands and therefore still gaze more at the screen, rather than glance at it. However a study carried out in 1979 by Lorch at al, trying to investigate the link between children’s visual attention to the TV set and TV comprehensibility, showed that children are still capable of understanding shows such as Sesame Street when visual attention is distracted by other things, such as nearby toys. Lorch et al explain this by saying that “not only is much of the information in a TV program carried by the audio track, but the visual information is often highly predictable and redundant.” (Lorch et al, 1979, p.722) Therefore for a younger audience another role that has been attributed to the TV soundtrack comes into play – that of interpreter (Buhler, 2010).
Sound in all its forms (dialogue, music and sound effects) helps children to make sense of what they see on screen, allowing them to ‘read’ the images in one particular way rather than another (Buhler, 2010). This is particularly true for Anime, where the original and the dub (most of the time) both contain the same visual track, but may appear entirely different due to the overlaying sound track. It is within the national institutions’ power to decide whether the translation will be faithful to its Japanese original or whether it will receive a localisation. However, it cannot be ignored that some changes are also bound by the national legal system.
One such company/network, already mentioned at the beginning, which is in charge of translation practices for their licenced Anime shows within the US, is 4Kids Entertainment. Boogar described this network in the following words:
“4Kids Entertainment has been successful in identifying and positioning exciting children’s properties by strategically using each of its subsidiaries to reach the widest possible children’s market through television. Once broadcast, successful properties generate demand for licensed merchandise. Functioning as a vertically integrated company, 4Kids has the ability to develop a full-cycle strategy for each of the properties it acquires.” (Boogar, 2010, p.2)
The networks’ own website, http://www.4kidsentertainment.com, states further:
“The 4Kids Entertainment group of companies enables the Company to produce original content and adapt foreign content, which can then be exploited in the US and the European Union, broadcast the content on 4Kids TV, promote the content on 4Kids.TV and related websites and license merchandising rights worldwide.”
The heavy focus on the link between series licensing and merchandising is particularly notable within those descriptions and will be looked at in detail when analysing the institutional elements which influence dubbing strategies. Especially in connection with music this heavy emphasis on merchandising is essential and sets English dubbed anime apart from their Japanese counterparts.
4Kids entertainment has been chosen for this particular analysis as it is one of the most criticized dubbing networks. But despite the critique, the network still remains one of the most popular US networks for anime dubs, next to Cartoon Network and Funimation and broadcasts some of the longest running Anime series in the West.
Two of those series will be analysed in detail as they contain drastic alterations from their originals, which have consciously been picked up and mocked by fans, by turning the dubbing mistakes into viral videos, as previously suggested by the “4Kids hates rice balls” example from Pokémon, and by creating fan dubs, or so-called Abridged Series, which humorously hint at the shortcomings of the official dub, as LittleKuriboh’s “Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged” is an example of.
Both Pokémon (1997-ongoing) and Yu-Gi-Oh (2000-2004, with sequels running until 2010) form two of 4Kids most famous series, which are also surrounded by a strong and large merchandise market. Pokémon, based on the popular Nintendo Game Pokémon – Pocket Monsters tells the story of the 10 year-old Ash Ketchum, who travels the world in company of his friends, trying to become the greatest Pokémon Master. While on the outside the show appears to be ‘odourless’, that is to say culturally almost blank, there are still elements that point towards the series’ Japanese roots, which have been either ignored or changed in translation.
The other Anime that will be looked at is Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, which in Japan was already the second season to a series, but the so-called ‘Season 0’ never made it to the US as it was deemed too dark for children. The series is mostly centred on the card game merchandise, but while the Japanese original attempted to create a deep story around the protagonist Yugi Mutou and the ancient spirit of a Pharaoh living inside his puzzle necklace, the 4Kids dub is often criticised for ignoring the depth of the show and instead focusing on its promotional value to enhance Yu-gi-oh card sales.
In order to place the analysis of selected scenes from the previously descried series into a particular context, this essay will present an outline of how networks such as 4Kids work on an institutional level when buying Anime licenses and then deciding how to handle translation. This will particularly highlight the poor quality of communication between the Japanese and American industries in regard to scripts as well as the idea of varying target audiences and PG ratings. From a sound track perspective, I will pay less attention to visual changes, but more to the change in sound effects as well as dialogue content. Furthermore, this essay will explore the translation process and how the Japanese original scripts are moulded into something an American audience would understand within their own cultural context. In this sense however not only the cultural and literal translation process will be explored, but also the ‘cultural whitewashing’ many dubbed Anime series are accused of. With this framework in mind, I will present a textual analysis of several scenes highlighting both censorship related changes as well as non-censorship related modifications, such as names and music in order to illustrate how the anime translation process ultimately affects what the audience ultimately watches.
The aim of this research however is not to point out and mock the faults of the Western networks’ dubs, but instead, this essay aims to analyse how the problems anime translation faces are created, how they are tackled and how they ultimately affect the results that viewers experience.
Anime institutions and censorship
Japanese Networks began exporting their animated products to the West in the 80s and soon it created a ‘boom’ that still resonates today as Anime have become a rooted part of Western Popular culture as much as in their home country (Miles, 2002). While the fan culture is mostly fed through illegal fan subs (Hatcher, 2005) and official DVD releases, offering both subbed as well as dubbed versions, television also distributes the shows through channels such as 4Kids entertainment. But how do series even travel from one continent to the next?
This process is critically described by Drax (2004), who writes that Japanese Anime networks tend to send only very rough translations along with the visual material, often excluding explanations of particularly Japanese elements. Due to this, the US networks need to decide whether to research the cultural details or whether to paraphrase or to find functional or fictional equivalents. Furthermore, when selling licenses, Japanese networks usually also give creative rights to the US networks, allowing them to translate either literally or change the concept altogether. Especially 4Kids profits from this freedom, as it allows the network to use the series as promotion material for the surrounding merchandise, which they also have creative licences for.
However, these institutional changes are not limited to profit reasons, but also to television laws and ethics of what is suitable for children, not only in terms of graphics, but also in terms of sound track. As the network’s name suggest, 4Kids Entertainment is aimed particularly at children, while Anime in Japan are often targeted at a much wider age range. Therefore Anime dubs often have to receive a sound and visual remake or censorship in order to achieve a specific PG rating to be broadcasted at all under the network’s brand name.
PG laws within television however differ drastically from those implemented in the cinema industry. While the age and content ratings within cinema may actually prevent certain groups from accessing the film content, television as a medium is open to everyone in a home setting as long as they are familiar with the technology. While this may be related to a wider discussion of parental monitoring of children’s television viewing behaviour, the point that is important within this context is that the responsibility to broadcast age appropriate content lies within the network and especially institutions such as 4Kids go to great lengths in order to upkeep a certain image and reputation as a popular children’s TV network. Within a competition of flow with other available channels for children (Altman, 1986), such as Nickelodeon, the network has to please the parents in terms of appropriate content as well as the children in terms of entertainment for their channel to remain on screen.
Ultimately, when it comes to importing Anime, it is a decision of either having the show, but with changes, or not having the show at all, which is an issue on which both fans as well as producers might not necessarily agree on. However, “the common defence that fan efforts to protect favourite aspects of fictional texts infringe upon the producer’s creative freedom (Jenkins), for example, does not apply.” (Furman, 2010) There is a difference between creating new material and trying to apply existing material to a target audience. As Furman (2010) continues
“4Kids’ translation (both in the linguistic and adaptive sense) was an attempt to get the widest possible audience through strict adherence to a standard of “kid friendly content,” directly implied in the company’s name.”
To link this back to television as a medium, its purpose is to broadcast, rather than to narrowcast. While censorship may upset a wide range of fans, who hoped for an authentic translation of their Anime of choice, this ignores the bigger picture of the entire possible audience targeted by the channel.
Censorship of both the visual and audio track by the networks is therefore necessary in order to uphold the company’s reputation, broadcast to the widest audience possible, while at the same time upholding a social/moral standard of what is deemed suitable for children, as inspired by cinematic PG ratings.
Within this framework of legal limitations and social expectations, Yu-Gi-Oh received more censorship than any other series licenced by 4Kids not only in terms of visuals, where guns and blood have been edited out, but also in terms of the audio track. Especially scenes referencing death or violence have been altered to make them appear more children friendly as the following example highlights.
In Episode 52 of the series, Seto Kaiba, the protagonist’s arch-rival, meets with a mysterious woman called Ishizu who promises him cards more powerful than Exodia, which until this point had been the most powerful card in the game. While this of course is part of a bigger marketing strategy for cards being sold outside of the series’ fictional universe, it is the conversation about those cards that is of interest here. Ishizu tells Kaiba about those so called Egyptian God Cards, trying to warn him how dangerous they are. Within the translated version Ishizu tells Kaiba that Pegasus, the creator of the card game, had never used the cards before, because he could not control their power and that they threated to “overwhelm and destroy him.” While this certainly does hint at possible violence, the Japanese original is much more forward about it, stating downright that “any mishap can kill the opponent” when using those cards wrong and that they effectively are “the ultimate weapon.” Even though the change is minor, it still highlights the attempt to avoid any possible referencing to violence or death.
However, 4Kids had to face much bigger changes that required both audio as well as visual editing. In episode 90 of the Japanese version, the villain Marik enters the room of his comatose servant in order to get rid of him once and for all by trying to stab him with the dagger end of his magical item, saying that he will be a sacrifice to the darkness. He also states that he is going to send him to hell, where Odion will meet Marik’s father. But seeing as killing is a taboo subject within the dubbed version, 4Kids invented the so called ‘Shadow Realm’ for this series, where all characters go when they are potentially being killed. Therefore the dubbed version makes no mention of sacrifices or hell whatsoever, but instead Marik says that “it’s time to take a trip to the Shadow Realm”, while holding up the magical item, which had its sharp dagger end edited out. In this way the network removes any acts of physical violence that could be blamed for children’s aggressive behaviour and instead suggesting a more magical approach, which arguably lessens the extent of the violence.
This becomes even clearer when looking at one of the most heavily edited scenes by 4Kids from episode 95 of Yu-gi-oh, which has not only been shortened, but also re-edited in terms of the sequence of scenes, cutaways and of course audio track. In this scene a very young Marik witnesses his father punishing Odion for a mistake he and his sister had committed. Angered by this act, his dark side takes hold of him and he kills his father. The original Japanese version is full of physical violence as well as rather foul language, hinting at the abusive childhood Marik had to live through. Not only does Marik witness his father whipping Odion, he is also being threatened to be the next. Giving in to his anger, Marik takes the millennium rod, the previously mentioned item with the dagger end, and violently stabs his father to death. Those visuals are accompanied by evil laughter, threatening dialogue, screams of pain and background music, which changes from fast paced to eerie and dark. In contrast to this, the dubbed version does not contain the whipping, nor does it contain the actual stabbing. Instead the visual scenes have been replaced with random cutaway shots of the location. In case of the soundtrack, Marik’s father doesn’t say that Marik will be whipped just like Odion, but instead tells his children that they are responsible for him banishing Odion forever. Furthermore, while the original explicitly states and shows Odion being punished, the dub only says that Marik’s father “had already weakened him with the Millennium Rod”, even though the character is nowhere near the item at Marik’s arrival. The dialogue itself, while still dark and threatening, does not contain such explicit insults such as “Go to hell” as found in the original. Instead Marik once again says: “time to send you to the shadow realm”, which is accompanied by his father’s scream of pain, while the visuals cut to a picture of the moon. The heavily edited scene reflects almost all possible institutional aspects that cause anime translation to happen in a specific way. The amount of violence had to be toned down or left out completely in order to pass the series as suitable for children according to laws and PG ratings. Furthermore, still keeping the audience in mind, death is removed from the series to please even the youngest of audience members and their parents, thus targeting the widest viewing public possible. This approach is arguably linked to the assumption that children, unlike adults, are still a more passive audience, taking everything television presents to them as face value. While this is only one possible theory relying heavily on technological determinism, which is often criticised, television still seems to operate as if this were the truth, at least for their youngest audience members. While such heavy editing of murder and child abuse is certainly legitimised considering that 4Kids is aimed at children, the heavy editing of this scene distorted the motivations of the character, which had an impact on his future behaviour and choices, leading to a number of non-censorship edits on 4Kids’ part in order to make sense of the character. This goes on to show how one heavy censorship edit can further on lead to more necessary changes within the translation for fans to be able to understand and follow the plot.
But not only violence falls under the censorship when translating anime, but also any relation to explicit sexuality is changed to suit a younger audience. In episode 53, Tea has a dance battle with a character named Johnny Steps. Before the challenge begins however, Japanese Johnny tells Tea that if she loses, she will have to spend the night with him. He then adds that this is why she is probably dancing anyway. This explicit hinting at sex is not as surprising in the Japanese version as Japanese Anime and Dramas often deal with the issue of high school sex, especially in relation to love hotels. Moreover, the legal age for sex in Japan is 14, thus much lower than in Western society. The dubbed version however replaced this entire suggestion with boastful bragging on Johnny’s part. This can be seen as both a censorship of inappropriate dialogue as well as adhering to the US laws regarding minors having sex with older people, seeing as the characters in the Anime are presented to be around fourteen or fifteen years old.
However, at times this censorship can also go too far as to even change harmless references to romance as an example from the same episode shows. In one scene, Yugi is getting ready to go out and meet Tea and in the Japanese version he struggles with what to wear, causing the spirit of the puzzle to inquire about the occasion for dressing up. When Yugi answers that he is going to meet Tea later, the spirit asks if it’s a date and cheers his friend on. For an unknown reason this idea of dating has been deemed as inappropriate by 4Kids and is instead replaced by a talk regarding the spirit’s mysterious identity.
While 4Kids is indeed forced to carry out certain edits because of the institutional laws and codes it has to follow, some censorship edits still appear exaggerated. However, ultimately they are still inspired by the need to reach the widest audience possible without offending anyone or breaking the accepted social and moral standards of the US, seeing as television as a medium is forced to adhere to a specified set of rules regarding what is appropriate to be aired culturally and ethically.
Anime localisation and non-censorship
While institutional codes and laws lead to direct censorship of the show, other elements within Anime translation lead to what I will call non-censorship alterations. Those changes are mostly culturally based, affecting names and music, but do not necessarily limit or alter the plot or concept of the Anime as much as censorship does. These modifications are mostly linked to the idea of localisation of Anime, where an inherently Japanese concept is translated into something a young Western audience can understand with no pre-existing knowledge of Japanese culture, language and society. However, localisation is not something that is linked to Anime alone, but is very much part of the TV medium itself. As Rodman (2010, p.26) writes, “television broadcasts pictures and sounds that are familiar to the culture of the viewer”, which is true for both Japan as well as the US. Since the image is rarely ever manipulated within Anime adaptations, it is mostly the sound track that receives the extensive changes, which in combination to the images create controlled meanings that “are shaped into a singular, more preferred meaning that performs the work of the dominant ideology” (Rodman, 2010, p.26), which usually belongs to the native country of the network. Arguably, this localisation becomes particularly important when aimed at children as it allows them to watch something familiar on screen that fits into their social and cultural environment, making it easier for them to interpret. As the previously mentioned study by Lorch et al (1979) already suggested, children’s TV comprehensibility relies heavily on the understanding of the audio soundtrack and that attention lessens if the level of understanding is low. Therefore, making the audio track as easy to understand as possible allows for a much higher level of attention by the audience.
However, a criticism which is often linked to this idea of Anime dub localisation is the “cultural white washing that 4Kids employs.” (Furman, 2010) Nonetheless, this completely ignores the Japanese perspective of the argument, as, while Anime might be fundamentally Japanese, they mix both Asian as well as Western cultures in their representations, which is commonly referred to as becoming ‘culturally odourless’. According to Koichi Iwabuchi
“it is no accident that Japan has become a major exporter of culturally odourless products. Japanese media industries seem to think that the suppression of Japanese cultural odour is imperative if they are to make inroads into international markets” (Furman, 2010).
This statement illustrates that while US networks might indeed practice some cultural white washing, it is by no means an example of direct cultural imperialism in the form of Americanization, but rather a taking over of an already partly culturally odourless form and fitting it into an existing cultural context.
“However, it is not the general removal of ‘Japanese-ness’” Furman (2010) argues that is the reason for a lot of fan criticism of dubs, “but rather the incoherency that results from the way 4Kids erases it “.
Because while the audio track receives a localisation, for example through American accents and names, the visual track still contains undeniably Japanese elements, such as clothes and buildings, creating a confusion as to which cultural sphere the plot is happening in. Furthermore, in many Anime Japanese street signs, book covers or other objects containing Japanese as well as English inscriptions are simply erased, leaving the characters walking through a world full of empty signs. While it can be argued that the worlds of Anime are fictional and thus an explicit cultural background is unimportant, the strange mixture of Japanese and English still may appear out of place to an attentive audience.
This odd mixture becomes especially clear in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh, where many of the original Japanese names, such as Jonouchi, Honda and Anzu have been replaced by more American names like Joey, Tristan and Tea, while the main characters Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba still retained their original names. This becomes even stranger considering that Yugi and his friends constantly call Seto Kaiba by his last name only, while referring to everyone else by their first names. This is common use in Japan, where it is a sign of respect and politeness to refer to people outside of your family and friends by their last names, often combined with the use of the matching suffix, such as ‘-san’ or ‘-sama’. Seeing as Yugi and his friends are not close to Seto, they politely refer to him by his last name, just as he refers to them by their last names when speaking directly to them in the original version. Within a Western setting however this is much less common, making it appear a little strange for everyone to refer to the character by his last name only. The keeping of some of the names, such as Yugi, however may be explained by 4Kids’ intention to use it as an indicator of this particular character’s status in the show. Seeing as Yugi’s name can be found within the title of the show it becomes explicit that he must be the main character. This in turn facilitates children’s comprehensibility of the series, thus relating back to Lorch et al’s study.
Names in general are a major non-censorship alteration worth looking at as they form a part of the politics of naming. In many instances, names already give a hint about the characters of the show and create connotations about them as illustrated with the Yugi example. Especially in Japan the meaning of names is of particular importance. Using Yugi once again, an even closer link to the title of the show can be made. Yugi in Japanese means ‘game’, while Oh can be translated as ‘king’, thus the title Yu-gi-oh translates into ‘King of Games’, a title often used for Yugi during the show both in the original as well as in the dub. While such links may go unnoticed by an American audience, it does not necessarily limit their understanding of the plot, while still making it obvious that Yugi is the main protagonist.
In Pokémon for example names fulfil a very different purpose. In this particular case, they help the audience to make sense of the strange creatures they see on screen, linking to Buhler’s (2010) idea that the sound track helps to make sense of what the visuals are unable to convey by themselves. While the Anime undeniably takes place in an entirely fictional world, the Pokémon creatures all resemble, at least partly, animals and objects that even a young audience would be familiar with. And it is on this familiarity that the names play both in the Japanese as well as in the English version. Picking Pikachu for example, the name has a very different meaning for the Japanese audience as they instantly recognize the components of the name. ‘Pika’ means ‘sparkly’ or ‘shiny’ and ‘chu’ is the noise that mice are said to make in Japanese culture. Hence ‘Pikachu’ means ‘sparkly mouse’, which is shown by the Pokémon being an electric type with an appearance resembling a mouse. However, English translations of the Pokémon names have applied a similar approach, hiding the names of the associated animal within. For example ‘Ekans’, the snake Pokémon, is simply the word ‘snake’ written backwards. Other examples include Seel, a Pokémon resembling a seal or Arcanine, which is a dog as suggested by the word canine. These are but examples of a kind of translation that Hanada (2009) describes as using functional equivalents. In this particular translation technique the words are not directly translated literally, but according to the function they carry out, which in the case of Pokémon is the interpretation of the creatures.
Using functional equivalents to create meaning of the visuals is but one of its purposes. The other is the attempt to overcome cultural differences within anime translation. Although Anime contain many Western elements, they are also very close to their Japanese heritage, which is displayed through various foods and objects, which of course are all familiar to a Japanese audience, but might appear foreign and exotic to someone who has no prior knowledge of Asian culture. Especially food is a topic where functional translation is indispensable when translating Anime for children. While most Westerners are familiar with sushi, foods such as ramen, okonomiyaki or onigiri are much less popular. Therefore they are commonly just translated as the closest Western example possible. Ramen for example is often translated as noodle soup and okonomiyaki are treated as pancakes. The case of onigiri translation within Pokémon however has sparked a large fan outrage and confusion as outlined in the introduction, not only because of the obvious mistranslation, but also because of 4Kids’ inability to remain coherent in their choice of translation. Within one of the early Pokémon episodes, Brock, the cook of the group, is preparing onigiri, Japanese rice balls, but calls them “jelly filled donuts”. While this in itself might be a translation choice that might go unnoticed by an audience unfamiliar with the Asian cuisine, the same food is referred to as “popcorn balls” only several episodes later. This change of translation also continues as yet another few episodes later the same dish is eventually referred to correctly as rice balls, most likely because the process of making them is part of the visual track. What this particular example shows is not only that fans are very aware of the translation techniques happening, but that networks such as 4Kids do not necessarily pay enough attention to their functional equivalent translations, which, if treated correctly, would have been able to pass unnoticed. What this tells us however is that functional equivalents are an indispensable part of Anime in order to make them accessible not necessarily only to children, but also to viewers with little or no experience of Asian culture, linking back to television’s need to make its shows as locally, but at the same time as broadly accessible as possible.
The particular translation of names and cultural specific objects however is not the only aspect that is part of the non-censorship spectrum of Anime translation. Going back to Yu-gi-oh, a range of dialogues show other reasons for possible translation, which do not necessarily alter the overall understanding of the plot, but which nevertheless deviate greatly from the original.
One particular example for this is the depth of character development present within the show, both for the main as well as for the side characters. While character development for main characters might appear more important, gathering more information about side characters can be equally significant. Rather than distinguishing between good and bad only, in-depth background stories create multi-dimensional and more rounded characters, which is something 4Kids has denied several of the characters appearing in only one episode. An example for this is Johnny Steps from episode 53, who challenges Tea to a dance duel, where he cheats before duelling Yugi in a card game, which he abandons once he starts losing. As he tries to run away he is confronted by Tea, who gives him a lecture on how disappointed she is by his behaviour. However, in the English version Tea’s talk is very much friendship centred, like many of the other dubbed dialogues replacing character development in Yu-gi-oh. Within the Japanese version, the audience gets to learn much more about Johnny Steps’ background story and his involvement in dancing and his dreams. There should be no particular cultural or institutional reason for 4Kids to alter this particular scene as it contains neither inappropriate content nor is it culturally exclusive. This shows that while 4Kids might be forced to change particular scenes for reasons explored earlier on, they still hold and use creative freedoms that go beyond set out rules, thus changing the audience’s perception and understanding of the same visuals presented to Japanese viewers.
A possible explanation for this might be the target audience that is kept in mind for the show, thinking that children might be more interested in the card game aspect of the series rather than the characters. The focus on a young audience also leads to further changes within the dialogue that stand outside of cultural or institutional aspects, such as the conversation between Yami Yugi and Raphael in episode 156 shows. Within the Japanese version the two duellists are holding a potentially philosophical conversation about subjective justice and deciding what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. It is this uncertainty of which side is actually ‘good’ that lies in the focus of this season. However, such a potentially dual nature seemed unfit for children to handle, so that the dialogue has been changed to a more clear distinction between who is the ‘hero’ and who the ‘villain’ as they exchange a series of threats before their card game. It is only an assumption that 4Kids might have deemed several conversations too ‘heavy’ or difficult to understand for the youngest audience members, causing them to translate those dialogues into something much easier to comprehend. Seeing that this particular change happened in several instances throughout the series however and that 4Kids is very keen on keeping the Anime as children friendly as possible, it gives credibility to this particular idea of a ‘dumbing down’ of the series for comprehensibility purposes. Although there are some cases like this where the reasons for a particular translation are blurry, in most cases the influences can easily be identified as belonging either to an institutional or a cultural aspect, linked back either to the company or the viewers.
Anime Music as Merchandise
Since a lot has already been written on Anime music by other academics (e.g. Miles 2002) this topic will only be touched upon briefly. However, seeing as music is nevertheless a part of the sound track that has undergone a clear translation process it is necessary to be included.
Japan has a very different approach to their Anime music than Western networks do. While Japanese companies hire pop and rock artists from the charts to sing their openings and endings and make their voice actors record so called ‘character songs’, Western networks tend to hire less known musicians to compose and record their openings. Those songs also never make it to the charts as individual singles as it tends to happen with their Japanese counterparts.
However, this does not mean that Western Anime music does not become part of the merchandise circle around their particular series. Both Yu-Gi-Oh as well as Pokémon have both received one, or in the case of Pokémon, even several albums to be sold on the market. Those albums, again unlike their Japanese counterparts, do not necessarily feature the musical scores heard in the background of the series, but rather contain songs inspired by the show along with the opening and ending credits. Taking the album Yu-gi-oh – Music to Duel By as an example, it contains the American opening song as its first track, followed by songs about the card games or the characters. Especially Kaiba’s song “I’m back” and Pegasus’ song “Face up, Face down” include snippets of dialogue from the actual show, linking them all back to the Anime series they were inspired by. Pokémon tried to include more of its album music in the show in a series of varying ending songs, but ultimately within the series itself the songs never fully featured.
This varying use of music within Anime might ultimately be linked to a very different approach to the music industry and the ideas of artists or idols between Japan and the US. Within Japan, an idol or artist usually spans through all aspects of pop culture, which includes Anime, thus making it normal for a musician like KIMERU to sing an opening to Yu-gi-oh to broaden his fan base and popularity. In the West, Anime music is perceived more as either part of the wider merchandise circle through ‘inspired’ albums, or simply as part of the show. As described by Buhler (2010, p.3), music is seen as “very much involved with speech, as in a song performance or, less obviously, in dialogue underscoring” thus being an integral part of the audio track rather than an independent element in itself. While it cannot be denied that background music serves the same function within Japanese Anime, it has to be acknowledged that in Japan the scores are released as separate albums and singles coming directly from the series, rather than as music inspired by the Anime.
As previously mentioned, a lot of academic work has been done on Anime music, leaving me with only the addition that the variable use of anime music is very much part of the translation process happening when Anime move from one language to the next.
Conclusion
Ever since Anime’s appearance on Western television screens, networks have been faced with the challenge of translating them within a context that a Western audience would understand. Especially considering children as a target audience, companies such as 4Kids had to pay particular attention not only to cultural elements, but also to age-appropriate content. Influenced heavily by laws and codes, particular anime scenes have to be edited or even cut out in order to become suitable for a specific PG-rating. Moreover, company images are important within the wider competition of channel flow, causing 4Kids to create a particular brand for themselves that can stand out against its competitors.
Furthermore, cultural elements make particular translations indispensable in order to make things understandable to an audience who has no prior knowledge whatsoever about Japanese culture. Therefore, while at times wrong, functional equivalents are necessary to make the exotic familiar for children’s eyes and ears, as television audio works as an interpreter of what is seen on screen.
Thus it can be said that much of Anime translation is bound not only to institutional and cultural elements, but also to television itself as a medium and the social expectations surrounding it in terms of audio track. In Chion’s words (1994, p.165),
“Television is fundamentally a kind of radio, ‘illustrated’ by images. Television sound already has its established place, which is fundamental and mandatory (silent television is inconceivable, unlike cinema.”
To conclude, the translation of Anime sound pays an important role to make Anime comprehensible to its target audience, but at the same time it poses challenges to the networks regarding the quality of authenticity they can offer. Networks such as 4Kids pay particular attention not only to what series they pick, but also how they ultimately deal with them once they acquired the necessary licences.
One interesting fact to conclude on however is that 4Kids entertainment lost its licenses to both previously explored shows. Pokémon was given to the newly created Pokémon Company within the US, which decided it was best to handle their own products, rather than have a third party taking care of it. Yu-gi-oh on the other hand was taken away after several court cases that revealed that 4Kids had been generating secret profit through the sales of Yu-gi-oh merchandise that had not been reported back to Japan. As one of the final acts 4Kids released a DVD series of Yu-gi-oh with a revised dub that was more faithful to the original Japanese, which could also be found on the DVD along with subtitles. While 4Kids’ failure to keep the Anime shows cannot be blamed on their criticized dubs, the fan outrage they created did lead to the fans looking forward to seeing other companies take over the role of dubbing.
The future of Anime translation in a time where Anime culture and the wide age range of fans it enjoys seems to expand constantly remains unknown. While networks will always be bound by censorship laws, their approach to cultural elements may or may not change as the institutions embrace the growing Anime market and increasing awareness of Japanese culture globally.
Bibliography
– 4Kids Entertainment on http://www.4kidsentertainment.com/ (last accessed 17/10/2011)
– Allison (2000) “A challenge to Hollywood? Japanese Character Goods hit the US” in Japanese Studies 20 (1), p.67-88
– Altman (1986) “Television/Sound” in Modleski (ed.). Studies in Entertainment: Critical Approaches to Mass Culture, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP
– Boogar (2010) “Media Broadcast: Television Production Listing” in Technology, Media & Communications, Menio Park (CA): BoogarLists
– Bryce et al (2010) “Manga and Anime: Fluidity and Hybridity in Global Imagery” in the Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, Article 1 in 2010, published on ejcjs on 29th January 2010
– Buhler (2010) Hearing the Movies: Music and Sound in Film History, New York: Oxford UP
– Calvert et al (1982) “The Relation between Selective Attention to Television Forms and Children’s Comprehension of Content” in Child Development, Vol.53, No.3, June 1982
– Chion (1994) Audiovision: Sound on Screen, NY: Columbia UP
– Drax (2004) “Anime Man” in Patten, Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 years of essays and reviews, Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press
– Ellis (1992) Visible Fictions: Cinema, Television, Video, London: Routledge
– Frasier (2007) “A clash of cultures: Cultural Differences within American and Japanese Animation” presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Arlington in Partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Communication, Arlington: University of Texas
– Furman (2010) “Duelling with Censorship: Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series’ Pastiche of Dubbing” on http://angelingo.usc.edu/index.php/humanities/dueling-with-censorship-yu-gi-oh-the-abridged-series%E2%80%99-pastiche-of-dubbing (last accessed 17/10/2011), University of Southern California Writing Program (USC)
– Hanada (2009) “The Cultural Transfer in Anime Translation” in Translation Journal, Vol.13, No.2, April 2009, on translationjournal.net (last accessed 03/10/2011)
– Hatcher (2005) “Of Otaku and Fan subs: A critical look at Anime online in light of current issues in copyright law” in Script-ed, Vol.2, No.4, 2005
– Johnson-Woods (2010) Manga: An anthology of global and cultural perspectives, New York: Continuum
– Lorch et al (1979) “The Relationship of Visual Attention to Children’s Comprehension of Television” in Child Development, Vol.50, No.3, September 1979
– Miles (2002) “Robots, Romance and Ronin” in Goldmark & Taylor, The Cartoon Music Book, Chicago: A Cappella Books
– Olson (2004) 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, London: Routledge
– Rodman (2010) Tuning In: American Narrative Television Music, NY: OUP
Series
– Pokémon, 1997-ongoing, Masamitsu Hidaka (1997-2006) & Norihiko Sudo (2006-2011), TV Tokyo, licensed by 4Kids Entertainment
– Yu-gi-oh, 2000-2004, Kunihasa Sugishima, TV Tokyo, licensed by 4Kids Entertainment
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