Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 3:49 am
Super Aurora: I know "Death Note" was aimed at teenaged kids. But here's what I mean.
"Death Note" deals a lot with power. How the power to change someone's fate can easily corrupt anyone. Light realized that he could change the world and make it so that it fits his own beliefs. He becomes crazy and downright dangerous. Its a story filled with drama, death, violence and action, with a lot of polish and talent behind it. Its a story that could have easily been told in a live action film (and it did happen). But they turned it into an animated series, despite its concept, story and characters.
When I say to watch "Death Note" after watching "Squidbillies" I mean that anime proves that animation can be more than just crude drawings and random jokes, that fascinating and engrossing stories can be told and still be something that entertains children and adults.
This is a belief that should be practiced more around the world; if you want to make an animated film, even if the story doesn't call for it, do it.
As for Shin-Chan, I watched the Spanish dubbed version with all the jokes, comments and Japan-isms intact and there's still a huge fanbase for it. It didn't matter than Shin-chan said the wrong greeting or that they are celebrating "Children's day". The stories are very universal, fun and anyone can enjoy it.
Plus, Funimation did more than just change some jokes. They changed characters in order to reflect the adult mentality. For example, the Principal was created to be someone that looks like a thug, but is really the exact opposite. In the US dub, he is a literal thug with a very ridiculous past, and gave him a stereotypical Italian voice to match. His voice in the Japanese version was soft and kind, one that reflected his personality.
Kazama is now an American stereotype. True, he was a stereotype of the rich, upper class Japanese kid, but still made him a fool (like when he kept saying that he drinks coffee, even though he drinks hot chocolate) and was pretty innocent. In this new dub they tried to make him more like the South Park kids.
Its changes like these that made me despise the new dub. Shin-chan is risque, daring and full of adult humor, yes, but also preached life as being fun and children being innocent at the end of the day.
"Death Note" deals a lot with power. How the power to change someone's fate can easily corrupt anyone. Light realized that he could change the world and make it so that it fits his own beliefs. He becomes crazy and downright dangerous. Its a story filled with drama, death, violence and action, with a lot of polish and talent behind it. Its a story that could have easily been told in a live action film (and it did happen). But they turned it into an animated series, despite its concept, story and characters.
When I say to watch "Death Note" after watching "Squidbillies" I mean that anime proves that animation can be more than just crude drawings and random jokes, that fascinating and engrossing stories can be told and still be something that entertains children and adults.
This is a belief that should be practiced more around the world; if you want to make an animated film, even if the story doesn't call for it, do it.
As for Shin-Chan, I watched the Spanish dubbed version with all the jokes, comments and Japan-isms intact and there's still a huge fanbase for it. It didn't matter than Shin-chan said the wrong greeting or that they are celebrating "Children's day". The stories are very universal, fun and anyone can enjoy it.
Plus, Funimation did more than just change some jokes. They changed characters in order to reflect the adult mentality. For example, the Principal was created to be someone that looks like a thug, but is really the exact opposite. In the US dub, he is a literal thug with a very ridiculous past, and gave him a stereotypical Italian voice to match. His voice in the Japanese version was soft and kind, one that reflected his personality.
Kazama is now an American stereotype. True, he was a stereotype of the rich, upper class Japanese kid, but still made him a fool (like when he kept saying that he drinks coffee, even though he drinks hot chocolate) and was pretty innocent. In this new dub they tried to make him more like the South Park kids.
Its changes like these that made me despise the new dub. Shin-chan is risque, daring and full of adult humor, yes, but also preached life as being fun and children being innocent at the end of the day.






