The Lemures Files
  Guest Article: May 1st, 1999

Get Off My Case!

By: Rebo Valence

All right, I'm a purist. A PURIST! And I'm proud of it! Mayhap thou hath never heard the term before? Where HAVE you been, dangit, KINMOKUSEI?! Okay, fine, here we go...

Purist: A fan of Sailormoon that despises the DiC dub of the show and only likes the original version.

Dubbie: A fan of Sailormoon that likes the DiC dub and does not want to see the original.

What do you call someone who likes both versions? That is IRRELEVANT! Okay? Now, on to my story.

I am a purist and I love being one. However, there are MANY misconceptions about being a purist that drive me up the wall, and I'm here today to clear some of those up.

First of all, being a purist does NOT mean that you hate dubbies. I have actually heard puristism (Is there really a word for that?^_^) being called a form of racism. This belief is not true. Well, okay, there are many who do hate dubbies, but the point is, I don't and there are also many that don't too. To paraphrase the Bible, "Love the dubbie, hate the dub." Well, okay, I don't have to LOVE dubbies^_^ But being a purist means you hate THE DUB!

What I do hate is close-mindedness. I will debate for hours on end on why the DiC dub is inferior to the original, but I will not force you to believe my way. I will try to convince you, of course, but it is always your choice. What I don't like is the attitude of "I don't wanna try to the original!" Summaries are not enough. You need to try it. That is the true test-If you can watch episodes from the first season fansubbed and still enjoy the DiC dub too, then you have at shown that you are open-minded and I will commend you for it. Now, off that tangent...

Next, purists are actually being accused of not wanting anyone to see Sailormoon. That's crazy. Of COURSE I want others to see Sailormoon, otherwise I'll have nobody to talk to about it! The thing is, however, is that DiC does not provide a Sailormoon that is even close to the Sailormoon it's supposed to be. One misconception that I will clear up right now is that anime is NOT all for adults. Come on, does even the ORIGINAL Sailormoon look like an adult show to you? Sailormoon was originally aimed at kids in upper elementary school ages, but it found an appeal with people of all ages. DiC took this show and dumbed it down to pre-schoolers. However, it even fails at that, since the plot of the show is just too mature for that age group. What purists want is a real show. I, as a purist, support dubs of the show in other countries that try to preserve the original show. The more the merrier! I also would prefer that Sailormoon someday see a subtitled release, though the chances of that are, of course, very small. ^_^

Finally, just because I hate the DiC dub and do not support the dubbing of new episodes does NOT mean that I am stopping new episodes from being dubbed. That is the most ludicrous belief I have ever encountered. Everytime I shot down those SailormoonS chains last summer, I would receive angry e-mails from people who believed that because I do not WANT DiC to dub more episodes, that I am RESPONSIBLE for the fact that there will be no more dub episodes. Come on. Do I look like an influential corporate entity to you? I hope not. I have absolutely no power over DiC. The decision not to dub new episodes has been THEIR decision, and neither I, nor any other purists, have any influence. I would be an idiot to believe that I did. So don't blame me for not having more dub episodes!

Purists are not whiney, mean individuals. Well, some of us may be, but let's face it, there are also mean, whiney dubbies too, and there are mean, whiney individuals all over the world. Purists love Sailormoon too, just in our own way, and we want our beliefs to be respected just as those of anyone else. Just keep an open-mind, and we will too. Thank you.


Comments on this article can be sent to: By Rebo Valence.

Comments made on this page are opinions of the author. They are not necessarily shared by Tripod and the Amazoness Quartet.


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