By: Tellu
Note the article is to be featured at the
Witches4 as well
to retract some of my old articles I've written.
Somebody older and wiser than myself told me a few things the other day
that
made me look at the 'dub' of Sailormoon. And when that person was
finished
talking to me, I essentially felt like I was an idiot who had been
getting
worked up and wasted a lot of brain cells over the past years on the
issue.
No matter what older viewers of Sailormoon think, feel, or want to
happen -
The North American dub is not a dub for one thing. It's an adaptation
of
the original story. You can compare it to a Disney movie. They adapt
the
original story into something for children.
And no matter what you want to say. (Most likely, 'Sailormoon wasn't
intended for children.') That doesn't matter. When it was sold to
North
America for their adaptation of it - it was sold as a children's show.
It
wasn't shown as something for teenagers or adults. It was sold as a
children's show. And being this, it has to fit into a certain rating.
And
the production companies felt that their adaptation of it had to meet a
certain level, one for children.
And this, mes amis, means changing names so that young children
remember
them more. This means, changing possible things in story lines that
children might be upset by or might be confused by. Words like 'Heart
Stealer' are much easier and simple for a small child to understand
than
'Daimon.' Many children don't know what a 'Daimon' is. But they do
know
what a heart is. And they do know what stealer means. Yes, after some
explaining and memorization children learn all sorts of things. But I
can
guarantee that a child will remember the name Lita before they remember
the
name Makoto for the fact that it's more of an English name. That is
what
DiC was trying to do.
When an older audience sees the original and then looks at the
adaptation,
they disapprove and don't like it. But that's just fine. The North
American version wasn't supposed to be fore us older people. It was
meant
for children. And if parents want their children to see the original
version, then they have the right to go find subtitles like the rest of
us.
But not all parents want their child to watch a show with lesbians and
homosexuality, not to mention other things. It really isn't the
televisions
place to teach their children about it, nor is it televisions place to
hide
it. That is a judgment call. And yes, it is in our culture not to
always
open our children to such things on television (to no disrespect to
anybody).
The dub is not a translation. This is VERY easy for anybody out there
to
see. It is an adaptation. It is a version of the story created for
children. Would you take away and destroy something for children?
What
about Transformers or GI Joe? Would you dare torment those shows? I'm
sure
Jem, Rainbow Brite, and My Little Pony weren't a walk in the park
either for
some parents to watch. None of us really remember those shows being
hokey
when we were small. But I bet if we went and put those tapes in, we'll
find
lingo and dialogue that wrinkles our own noses to hear.
So think about it. Even if you don't like the change of story. This
show
isn't aimed at teenagers or adults. It's not supposed to be a
translation.
It's supposed to be a show for children to love.
To eliminate my dislike with the adaptation, I just don't watch it. I
don't
tape it. I don't look at it. My webpage writes all in terms of the
Japanese versions of Sailormoon.
Personally, I like the name Amara. And since Haruka and Michiru don't
make
out on a couch, I don't have a problem with them being cousins anymore.
Children like the characters, and what they like is what is most
important.
None of them are going to cry and complain about Amara and Michelle
being
cousins. Instead, they are going to run around pretending to be Sailor
Neptune and Sailor Uranus fighting the bad guys.
And that is my point of view. Thank you to that certain someone who
made me
realize that it really is a waste of time spending so much time being
annoyed with an adaptation. Life has many more grander things to look
at.
Comments on this article can be sent to: Tellu.