• Initial D! •

[Jenskot]

The Initial D = Cardcraptors comparison is not accurate (fyi, I simply refuse to call that piece of trash as CCS).

What made Cardcraptors unbearably horrible to fans was not only the changed names, but also the following:
1) horrible voice acting
2) dropped and resequenced episodes
3) nuances removed from the storyline
4) a focus on Lee instead on Sakura
5) combined, the changes made the story different

AFAIK, the Americanized names (and I believe also the music) will be the only things changed on the (1) broadcast version; and (2) english dub DVD version. The subtitled version will remain unedited.

Cultural differences have always been an issue as certain aspects of one culture may not carry over well to another culture, especially if the original language was used (and this holds true in the Phil. - case in point SM Stars) So they will always have to balance the need for originality vs. the need to adapt certain things to the local culture since this will be broadcast over American TV.

As long as I have access to the original language (i.e. the sub content of the DVD), I see no cause for concern. YET.

And to the detractors of American dubbing, please watch more recent dubs. (ex. Bebop, Excel Saga, Karekano) Your opinion might change.


(I DO have an issue with the manga, as there will be no "collector's version" with the original names left in and no way to view a "subtitle track" like in a DVD.)

[bluemist]

Why do these sorts of anime licensing companies bothered about Japanese names so much? They don't like Takumi, they replace it with Tak. I think that's more worse than the original name.

And no matter what more butchering they could think of, they could never remove Japanese culture completely in this anime. Will Americans accept Fujiwara Tofu? Or will they change it to Fujiwara Burger? Will they say Toyota Trueno AE86? Or go the extra mile to create new kinds of car companies? Look, its the 1986 GMW!

Oh, and another thing. I applaud them for having enough money to create new music. There are so many songs in Initial D. If ever they could, that is.

[badoochi]

Changing the names is not really a problem...but changing the music?! The soundtrack is one of the reasons why it's fun to watch Initial D.

[crescent]

oh no! the infamous card captors!

they changed the relationships in card captor. imbes na couple si Yamazaki at Chiharu, ginawang magpinsan.

[Ryousuke]

Even if i'm no big fan of Eurobeat (I am of funk and techno) I don't think there's a genre that fits Initial D better. The music is racing music, not the kind to dance to unless you were dancing Para Para or on an arcade machine; I belched on Gran Turismo's music changes (I liked the Japanese soundtrack, who cares if they used the Cardigans and Rob Zombie?) It interferes with the game pace because MOST CONTEMPORARY MUSIC IN THE UNITED STATES IS TOO SLOW. The beats wouldn't jive with the pulse-pounding race scenes at all.

Though Eurobeat and "car techno" is utterly senseless and great fun, I'd be hard pressed to find a replacement genre, esp. in the United States. Europeans would have a better chance. Again, it's not a question of money - but Initial D is fine as it is. The last movie was great. I'm waiting for the next instalment, and since Tokyopop seems bent on ruining it (Jenskot, they did mess up some parts of the Initial D american release already in the manga - particularly the dialogue!) I wonder why they even go to such lengths when the American audience is already sick of "dumbed down westernized Anime," to quote kids over there. They underestimate their market, methinks, even if sure, the parents might prove clueless about anime.

[Nerfy]

is their english version manga gonna be butchered too???

Good thing i already have the complete jap collection... id rather listen to orig jap audio and read subtitles than listen to butchered english translations...

btw, a little ot, but is there a 4th stage (not extra stage) anime in japan currently being shown? whats the new developments with initial d???

[teppei]

Jenskot: i do own those Bebop, Excel Saga US dvds [and planning to get kare kano when i get some spare money] and it's pretty decent. actually one of the dubbers in bebop is impressive. i've had a chance to meet him in one of the anime conventions [i just forgot the name of the place] and 'heard that he'll be making an appearance too in canadian national anime expo next month. but excel saga? dunno about that... i felt sorry for the english dubber for excel [gheez... she deserves to be paid twice as much for the effort and for tons of words she has to utter per second ^^]. i dunno but why would i settle for an english "decent" dub while i can enjoy the superb jap dub with e-sub?

Nerfy: there is a 4th stage in the works ryt now [aside from the live action version], but we might not see it anytime soon since initial D has been already liscensed [not sure if it includes the 4th stage] and some fansub groups has already placed their dibs on it when it gets released.

[Jenskot]

Teppei:
I'm happy to hear a fellow Filipino fan buying original copies of anime. Here's hoping that our numbers increase, neh?

I also appreciate your comments on the American dub thing. Just to clarify, I only get annoyed when people give a generalization that "American dubs suck", when (and I guess you'll agree with me on this) the truth is that the quality of R1 dubs have improved significantly in recent years.

[Nerfy]

Teppei,

Thanks for the info re 4th stage. But i have a question... what do you mean by some fansub groups have licensed it? Are you talking about Tokyopop? My Initial D collection is 10 DVDs... all japanese origs. Does this mean I wont be able to buy them anymore? say it aint so!

Im going to try buying the Tokyopop manga of initial d to see how it is... i dont know how to read japanese, so I dont mind collecting these... I heard that the artwork has been retained and they simply translated it... whether or not the translation is accurate remains to be seen though.

[teppei]

Originally posted by Nerfy
Teppei,

Thanks for the info re 4th stage. But i have a question... what do you mean by some fansub groups have licensed it? Are you talking about Tokyopop? My Initial D collection is 10 DVDs... all japanese origs. Does this mean I wont be able to buy them anymore? say it aint so!

Im going to try buying the Tokyopop manga of initial d to see how it is... i dont know how to read japanese, so I dont mind collecting these... I heard that the artwork has been retained and they simply translated it... whether or not the translation is accurate remains to be seen though.

sorry i got u confused there. what i meant is that:

-since initial D has been liscensed, there's a big possibility that the 4th stage is/will be included in the liscense. so that means we might not see a fansub version of it.

-if it's not liscensed, some fansub groups has already placed their dibs on it when it gets aired.

Jenskot: well yeah. the english dubbing has improved quite a bit, but not tremendously. Most of the ppl that i know that said "american dubs sux0rs" are ppl like me who get to see those animes shown in toonami/adult swim/etc. in north america which is horribly, horribly dubbed [trust me, u don't wanna watch yu yu hakusho's dubbed version that was shown in adult swim]. i don't really mind about what regions dvds are, since i watch my dvds through my pc [then hook it up to my tv] which doesn't care whatever region a dvd is

[teppei]

i wonder what fugly name they would replace hachi roku with

[Nerfy]

sorry to sound a bit dumb, but whats a fansub?

[thehitman]

An anime title whose subtitling was done by fans, hence the term fansub. They get the raw Japanese version of the anime, subtitle them personally, then distribute them freely to fans. The ideal scenario is that the fans will simply provide the media where the anime will be placed, and the fan only pays for shipping and maybe some token amount for the work put in by the fansubber. Ideally, the idea behind fansubbing is that anime fans will be introduced to the anime without spending a fortune on them. This is very helpful for fans because it greatly lessens the chance of spending for something that may turn out to be a lemon.

[MAD_pATUY]

tsk tsk ....

kawawang CCS ...

[tiffac]

Hear me our American brothers... Dub Evil!, Sub Good! or just stick yourselves in translating more Mangas that would be great.

[Bhaalspawn]

kawawang Initial D...goodbye...magiging corny na...like Card Captors...Ano kaya magiging bagong title ng Initial D...baka Initial D pa rin...hehehehehehe...tatawa na naman ako sa english dub pagpunta ko sa states like what i did sa CCS, Bebop, Lodoss War, Pokemon, Digimon, DBZ, etc.

[Enishi]

Originally posted by Bhaalspawn
kawawang Initial D...goodbye...magiging corny na...like Card Captors...Ano kaya magiging bagong title ng Initial D...baka Initial D pa rin...hehehehehehe...tatawa na naman ako sa english dub pagpunta ko sa states like what i did sa CCS, Bebop, Lodoss War, Pokemon, Digimon, DBZ, etc.

INITIAL D'sss (new title)

[Nerfy]

Have you guys checked out the tokyopop website? There is an initial d preview there... I was reading about it... it doesnt seem like they changed the names of the characters... and the manga looks alright.

[badoochi]

Originally posted by Nerfy
Have you guys checked out the tokyopop website? There is an initial d preview there... I was reading about it... it doesnt seem like they changed the names of the characters... and the manga looks alright.

The first few Initial D manga issues that were released by TP used the original Japanese names. However, because of the plan to Americanized the names of the characters, TP will be releasing a new set of Initial D manga with the new names so that the manga and the anime both uses the American names.

[Bhaalspawn]

Yehey may papanoorin na ako kapag nagbakasyon ako sa states