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Script Writer For Pokemon English Dub? :
autor: danuta | date: 2008-11-08 | category: AnimeI know this is a pretty nerdy question and all, but I've been curious on it. My question is who exactly writes the episode scr!pts for the Pokemon English Dub, specifically the season PUSA dubbed? Reason I am asking is because of the weird way Jessie James and Meowth's lines have been written throughout Battle Frontier, Diamond & Pearl, and DP Battle Dimension. Whoever writes the scr!pt seems to have a thing for alliteration, for it seems like everything Teams Rocket says now used it. I don't know, I guess it gets kinda of annoying personally, but then again Pokemon IS a children's show. P.S. I KNOW this will get out of hand and people will start trouble, so it would probably be best to lock this after a few responses. Thanks.
Answers:
I've barely been able to listen to Team Rocket since Battle Frontier started. I can't put it into words, but they've become so annoying, and not in the way that makes Team Rocket so loveable. According to the credits for Tears for Fears:scr!pt Adaptation James Carter Cathcartscr!pt Translation Z. Pang Americascr!pt Supervision Katherine Fang John Hershberger Kristina Naudusscr!pt Timing Bill Rogers
autor: Old Death
I never understood how TR could crack wise when they were in life or death situations.
autor: pysssska
Quote- by Lil Brother I've barely been able to listen to Team Rocket since Battle Frontier started. I can't put it into words, but they've become so annoying, and not in the way that makes Team Rocket so loveable. According to the credits for Tears for Fears:scr!pt Adaptation James Carter Cathcartscr!pt Translation Z. Pang Americascr!pt Supervision Katherine Fang John Hershberger Kristina Naudusscr!pt Timing Bill RogersInteresting. So if I'm correct this James Carter Cathcart adapts the scr!pt huh. I do wonder what the job of "scr!pt Timing" is though?
autor: adampa18
I've been annoyed at how often they say "and how." I think only Meowth and James have done it, but it doesn't even always make sense when it's used.
autor: tomeklol20
Now that I think about it I also wonder why they gave James a sort of British background too. I suppose many could of mistaked Eric Stuart's James voice (specifically the earlier seasons) for a British accent, but it really wasn't all that noticable.
autor: kicikici1
Um...guys? The dub scr!pt's given Team Rocket lots of alliteration since day one. And you're just NOW noticing it?
autor: maximus517
>_< actually, maybe it's just that they're putting more into it in PUSA's version, and the change in VAs has made us notice it much more. either that, or aliteration goes over your head when you're a kid. but i HAVE noticed that they rhyme a whole lot more. *shrug* to be honest, i wish i could work on the scr!pt. but then again, i bet every fan does.
autor: tomeklesiu
Alliterations are amazingly awesome, amigos.
autor: pyskunia
Quote- by AnimeDutchess>_< actually, maybe it's just that they're putting more into it in PUSA's versionThey're not.Quote- HAVE noticed that they rhyme a whole lot more. No they don't.
autor: pysko
alright then, my bad. please don't eat me. I just notice it more. ^^;; *backs away slowly*
autor: luc68
Quote- by Dogasu They're not.They are.Quote- don't. Yes, they do. ;P Their lines seem to be more "practiced" as of late. The majority of it doesn't sound like real dialogue at all. Yeah, it's Team Rocket, and we all know how much they love giving performances, but lately just about every single thing they say has some kind of figurative language or poetry-like rhythm in it. It's considerably more frequent than it used to be, anyway. The fact that several people have noticed it without discussing it with each other previously is proof.
autor: FifokSs
Quote- by Dogasu Um...guys? The dub scr!pt's given Team Rocket lots of alliteration since day one. And you're just NOW noticing it?Well I never said they didn't used alliteration since they beginning. I know they did, I've been watching the Kanto episodes on DVD lately just to make a small comparison. I was just saying there was an noticable increase in the use of it after PUSA took over. Of course this really isn't that serious so let's just drop this before it gets crazy.
autor: adampeter
They try so hard its a bit unrealistic, even by Pok-ey-man standards. I noticed the JP version is alot less 'kiddy' than the 4kids/PUSA versions.
autor: pyskunia
Quote- by Lil Brother ;P Their lines seem to be more "practiced" as of late. The majority of it doesn't sound like real dialogue at all. Yeah, it's Team Rocket, and we all know how much they love giving performances, but lately just about every single thing they say has some kind of figurative language or poetry-like rhythm in it. It's considerably more frequent than it used to be, anyway. The fact that several people have noticed it without discussing it with each other previously is proof.So true, and not just TR either. Maybe to a lesser extent a lot of the characters don't seem to be in a real dialogue at all, it's like they are rehearsing for a play or a presentation for a school project. One of the most marking episodes that show this is the Talking a Good Game from BF season. The opening is just like watching a normal episode at 75% speed =/ Towards the end it does get a bit better but it's still pretty marking.
autor: FifokSs
*points to above statements* you know...this makes sense.
autor: iro123
Quote- by Lil BrotherThey are.Quote- do. If you want to let nostalgia cloud the facts, then go right ahead.Quote- of it doesn't sound like real dialogue at all. That applies to the 4Kids dub as well as the PUSA dub.Quote- that several people have noticed it without discussing it with each other previously is proof. That proves nothing. People are just now complaining about the miniscule amount of Japanese music being used in the series when the ratio's been pretty horrible since about Season 3. They're watching the 4Kids dub through rose-colored glasses. Honestly, the only differences in the scr!pt that I've noticed are James' British-isms and the fact that Ash's mom doesn't have that creepy obsession with her son's underwear anymore.
autor: siersciuch99
Quote- by DogasuThat applies to the 4Kids dub as well as the PUSA dub.True. XD But I meant "it doesn't sound like anything anyone would say without having previously thought of saying it". *shrugs* We can all do a nuh-uh/uh-huh all day, but it wouldn't do any good. I personally think Team Rocket's dialogue is more "out there" than it ever was before (not that it wasn't before, it's just more extreme now), but that's just opinion. I take back anything that sounds like I'm egging people on. Unless someone wants to go through several pre-company change and post-company change episodes and counts the number of times TRio uses alliteration and such. o.o ...by the way, I mean "out there" because of words that are being said, not the voices saying them. Just pointing that out since you can never be too safe. <.<;
autor: pysko
I don't really mind the scr!pt writers that much with Team Rocket. The only thing was in Battle Frontier they talked so fast I couldn't even understand them. And also, they seem to like to cram everything they say into a gigantic run-on sentences. Like they've never heard of a period. Though 4Kids Team Rocket seemed a bit more aimed for kids considering their miniscule vocabulary in comparison to PUSA. Though I have to admit, their dialogue is becoming more enjoyable with PUSA.
autor: iro1234
Fun Fact: Cathcart is another pseudonym for Billy Beach, AKA Jimmy Zoppi. Crazy, huh?
autor: pyska
Really now. Inrteresting, especially as with watching some of the episdoes, some of the lines did have a Zopp-ish feel to them, if there is such a thing.
autor: luc26
I don't know about anyone else here, but I kinda like the alliterations. It shows a bit of Team Rocket's fun-loving side, I guess.
autor: Old Shatterhand
Like everyone else who has mentioned it, I too have noticed the difference with Team Rocket having even more alliterations than they did in the 4Kids dub. Personally, I liked their jokes a lot better in the 4Kids dub. The scr!pt also seemed like it was written better back then, not just with Team Rocket, but with Ash and friends too. For example, in the Pokemon USA dub, Ash drops his g's all the time whenever he says words like "training". Sure, in the 4Kids dub, there are lots of times when Ash drops the g on words, but Pokemon USA are overdoing this. That was one of the things I liked about how Ash spoke because he only did that occasionally with the 4Kids dub. So it was special for me back then. But now, Pokemon USA have ruined this by having Ash do that all the time. Also, when Veronica dropped her g's, you could barely notice it because of the way she pronounced those words in the scr!pt. But with Sarah, it's very noticable. This is just something that I've noticed and it bothers me somewhat.
autor: adamperepeczko
I haven't really noticed a difference scr!pt wise. Maybe because I was told by my parents all the time when I was a kid with anything to listen to what is trying to be gotten across to you rather than listening to how they're saying it. With me I have to be always like that in life. My dad sometimes says things and as a result sometimes people get offended thinking he's angry at them when he's not. He's just loud.=/ So due to this I don't even notice differences in how characters are saying things. I just get what was trying to be conveyed like "we're going to capture this" and continue watching like that. I still find team Rocket funny when I go in watching the episode.=P As for alliteration I haven't noticed. In order for me to notice I would have to analyse and compare and that's no fun.=/ I don't like analysing lines to put it simply.
autor: beker74
I agree that people see the 4Kids dub through rose colored glasses. Nostalgia blinds everyone to things. I think PUSA does write Team Rocket's dialog a little different than 4Kids, but it's still bad no matter who dubs the show. The credit "scr!pt Adaptation" really says it all.
autor: bekir123456
So, are you saying it's a bad thing that people see the 4Kids dub in a different light than the Pokemon USA dub? But, is nostalgia really a bad thing?
autor: BEKHAM
Quote- by PokemonTrainerLisa So, are you saying it's a bad thing that people see the 4Kids dub in a different light than the Pokemon USA dub? But, is nostalgia really a bad thing? To my knowledge it's no sin to like how things use to be, but you can't let that cloud your mind either. People are saying that the Rockets didn't sound so silly before? Sorry, but I hugely disagree here. The weird mottos didn't really start till Jouto, and thankfully, I have those on tape. Comparing them to the recent DP episodes? They honestly sound about the same to me...but then again I hate the dub. I have no love for 4kids to get in the way of my mind. Loving 4kids is totally ok, but you can't let your love get in the way. I mean, haven't you admitted it's hard for you to enjoy the series anymore? That's very sad to me...I originally watched Transformers with the 80's series and loved it. When Beast Wars came along? Very hard to adjust, but ya know what? I thank Jesus Christ I did because that series was AWESOME. Same with Animated. Designs and voices changed, but I am SO grateful God let me get past that and enjoy it...it was worth it. Heck, even if the movie isn't a Transformers movie IMO, I'm still happy I can enjoy it at least as a good action/comedy movie... Getting past nostalgia can be a good thing. Makes life more enjoyable and also helps your maturity (heck, some adults can't even admit things nowadays are just as good if not better). And trust me, this is coming from somebody who constantly yearns for junk from the 80's, so I know how hard it is. XD
autor: oldaw
*skimmed thread* Team Rocket's lines seem the same to me... the only difference, I think, is how James is British-y now. It also feels to me like James has a more human background, but I think that has to do with his voice. The show seems the same to me, it's just the acting that's a little different.
autor: kiciasz84
Quote- by Dogasu and the fact that Ash's mom doesn't have that creepy obsession with her son's underwear anymore.Didn't she mention that like, three times? First and second episodes and then one other time? That's hardly an obsession.
autor: fifka16
Quote- by Dogasu People are just now complaining about the miniscule amount of Japanese music being used in the series when the ratio's been pretty horrible since about Season 3. They're watching the 4Kids dub through rose-colored glasses.That's because the 4kids dub music was actually good. Now with PUSA's boring music without any pace/rhythm at all... no way! In addition to this, PUSA also lowers the volume on the few japanese tracks that are left, so you can't even hear them properly >_<
autor: iro100
The 4Kids cast didn't, in my observations, get nearly as much praise before the cast change as they did after. People liked them OK, but I don't remember anyone gushing for pages and pages about how perfect they were in their roles when they were the only ones involved with the show. But really, I think that that's just a case of "you don't know what you got until it's gone." So people have this new-found appreciation for the 4Kids dub. But how do they express this? Well, people can sing the praises of the old cast and petition to have them back, but after a while that kind of gets old. So what is a fan to do? Why, you simply look at "the new guys" and complain like there's no tomorrow! After all, complaining is easier than praising, isn't it? Of course, the first thing people complained about are the voices since that's the most obvious thing to talk about. But why stop there? Why only talk about how bad the voices are when you can pick apart other aspects of the show in an effort to demonstrate how much worse off it is? How about the music PUSA uses? The volume they play the music at? The scr!pt? The out-of-character dialogue? The lousy ADR? The opening theme? The way characters pronounce certain things? The sound quality of the voices? PUSA's interactions with the fans? Before long, your argument goes from "the voices sound funny" to "this is an unprofessional production that is but a shell of its former self." Of course, admitting that 4Kids had every single one of these problems would make these comparisons lose a lot of their impact. So, these faults are either ignored completely or are simply explained away with a simple (yet pretty much unprovable) "Well, PUSA does it MORE." In short, these problems have existed for a long, long time now. The only reason some people are noticing them now is because they've suddenly started paying attention to them. And the only reason they've started paying attention to them is because they're looking for ammo to use in their never-ending quest to prove that the show was better off when 4Kids was in charge. Quite frankly, I don't feel like the show is any better or worse than it was before. Like I said on my site..."same shit, different company."
autor: old-boy
I find it interesting how you think the show is neither better nor worse under Pokemon USA, and you don't really lean towards any particular side. So I guess being neutral is good for you! ^^ As for me, I just have a completely different opinion than you when it comes to the Pokemon dub. But to each their own. XD I suppose my point of view comes from the fact that I grew up watching the Pokemon dub and I never expected, nor wanted the show to change in any way. Now that it has changed, I don't quite see Pokemon as being the same way it was before. And now that I think about it, that's probably why we always disagree with each other, Dogasu, lol. Well that, and I don't watch the Japanese version, which is very frowned upon around here since just about everyone watches the raws. ^^;
autor: pyska
Quote- by DogasuBut why stop there? Why only talk about how bad the voices are when you can pick apart other aspects of the show in an effort to demonstrate how much worse off it is? How about the music PUSA uses? The volume they play the music at? The scr!pt? The out-of-character dialogue? The lousy ADR? The opening theme? The way characters pronounce certain things? The sound quality of the voices? PUSA's interactions with the fans? Before long, your argument goes from "the voices sound funny" to "this is an unprofessional production that is but a shell of its former self."Not every little flaw that people point out is because of a hidden agenda to prove the 4Kids dub superior to PUSA's. o.o I find problems with the ninth and tenth openings, a lot of Team Rocket's dialogue, and the fact that they don't keep the original bgm, but I like both dubs the same and am incredibly far away from being a 4Kids supporter. And yes, 4Kids didn't keep the bgm and not all of their openings were that great. I hated that then just as much as I do now.
autor: danuta tomaszewska
I actually don't see what the problem with Team Rocket, they always sounded alienated all the time, way back even into the 4 Kids dub. I find it funny when people starts to notice them now. Which dawns me, when does pronunciation MATTERS!!! I swear, why this is starting to matter??? I mean come on, no one pronounces exactly the same. I really want to grab a microphone and collect like 10 or more sound clips to prove my point. I'm dawned that Pikachu is pronounced wrong that are bringing out from some people. Ask me, I don't pronounce Pikachu like anyone else. Just like with tomato. some say toMAto or tomaito. Yeah Pokemon USA have their flaws much as 4 Kids. People obviously noticing because a vast majority watched the 4 Kids version before. Most of the scr!pt writing of how going about in the dub didn't bother me much in both 4Kids and PUSA, the BGM bothered me a bit since PUSA got the dub, but same with 4 Kids after I was exposed to the Japanese version since 03. So I don't know. The voices as well, I'm used it now, some of the voices are better, but their are voices I still miss from 4 Kids, but I'm not complaining. But seriously I want to grab a microphone and ask 10 people who lives in different cities or countries to pronounce things. I'm from Chicago, and there is not a right way pronouncing the city name.
autor: iro111
this thread needs to be renamed to "the Dub discussion thread" >_<
autor: Old Shatterhand
Yeah, I agree! XD
autor: MAXIMUS3006
Quote- by Naix this thread needs to be renamed to "the Dub discussion thread" >_autor: oldaw
I too never noticed any difference between the 4Kids dub and PUSA dub, they both seem the same to me, both use puns, both change the background music, etc, there are only few things I've noticed (besides the voice cast and music) that makes them different from each other. I usually forget Pokemon was ever dubbed by 4Kids because of how similar the PUSA dub is to it. While I have nothing against them, I wonder why PUSA literally just repeated the 4Kids dub, they could have dub it in a new way, even make it closer to the original (Japanese) version, heck that might have caused less of this stupid needless complaining about the cast change - I'm sick and tired of it, I've been so for a long time - that still seems to be going on. The only people I assume would complain are 'dub-only watchers' who know nothing about the original version of Pokemon.
autor: Danuta Kokot
Quote- by Amazed4587 Which dawns me, when does pronunciation MATTERS!!! I swear, why this is starting to matter??? I mean come on, no one pronounces exactly the same. I really want to grab a microphone and collect like 10 or more sound clips to prove my point. I'm dawned that Pikachu is pronounced wrong that are bringing out from some people. Ask me, I don't pronounce Pikachu like anyone else. Just like with tomato. some say toMAto or tomaito.I study Japanese and I can explain this. You see the Japanese language is made up of sounds. The two main forms of text (Hiragana and Katakana) each letter is a different sound.
http://www.learn-japanese.info/hiragana.gif http://www.learn-japanese.info/katakana.gif Many words from Pokemon are the same in Japanese. You used Pikachu as an example, in Katakana it is spelt = Pi = Ka = Chi+yu = Chu = U In Japanese the pronounciation of a word can change its meaning.
autor: danuta-k1I think the real issue is how they dub and not the voice of the actors (maybe that a little bit too but you can't really do anything when voice actors are changed). The real noticeable change is the pace the lines are talked. Many of the episodes of BF season and some from Hoenn seem like the characters are talking at 75% speed so the whole line fits the character talking animation. To put it in a better perspective, it's as if the lines are being talked for a presentation and not for a movie / TV show.
autor: adampcy
Quote- by Gaiash I study Japanese and I can explain this. You see the Japanese language is made up of sounds. The two main forms of text (Hiragana and Katakana) each letter is a different sound.
http://www.learn-japanese.info/hiragana.gif http://www.learn-japanese.info/katakana.gif Many words from Pokemon are the same in Japanese. You used Pikachu as an example, in Katakana it is spelt = Pi = Ka = Chi+yu = Chu = U In Japanese the pronounciation of a word can change its meaning.I think you kinda missed what I meant. I know in Japan they pronounced Pikachu differently. The way they pronounce it reminds how they say it in Spanish since the pronunciation is similar. At first I was going to say that in my example, but then it was gettin too broad and I was afraid it wouldn't be exactly referencing what I meant. Though I'm not exactly familiar with the language, never knew about it how Katakana works so thanks for the lesson, but I do recall they go by when pronouncing exactly how is written. I have a friend who speaks Japanese fluently. Spanish is my native language I speak and goes about the same rules when it comes with pronouncing words exactly how its written. But I was referring more to the English dub because the one I hear most about how Sarah pronounces Pikachu wrong which dawned me. And you know English, people often have their own way pronouncing things.
autor: Quote- by Dogasu The 4Kids cast didn't, in my observations, get nearly as much praise before the cast change as they did after. People liked them OK, but I don't remember anyone gushing for pages and pages about how perfect they were in their roles when they were the only ones involved with the show. But really, I think that that's just a case of "you don't know what you got until it's gone." So people have this new-found appreciation for the 4Kids dub. But how do they express this? Well, people can sing the praises of the old cast and petition to have them back, but after a while that kind of gets old. So what is a fan to do? Why, you simply look at "the new guys" and complain like there's no tomorrow! After all, complaining is easier than praising, isn't it? Of course, the first thing people complained about are the voices since that's the most obvious thing to talk about. But why stop there? Why only talk about how bad the voices are when you can pick apart other aspects of the show in an effort to demonstrate how much worse off it is? How about the music PUSA uses? The volume they play the music at? The scr!pt? The out-of-character dialogue? The lousy ADR? The opening theme? The way characters pronounce certain things? The sound quality of the voices? PUSA's interactions with the fans? Before long, your argument goes from "the voices sound funny" to "this is an unprofessional production that is but a shell of its former self." Of course, admitting that 4Kids had every single one of these problems would make these comparisons lose a lot of their impact. So, these faults are either ignored completely or are simply explained away with a simple (yet pretty much unprovable) "Well, PUSA does it MORE." In short, these problems have existed for a long, long time now. The only reason some people are noticing them now is because they've suddenly started paying attention to them. And the only reason they've started paying attention to them is because they're looking for ammo to use in their never-ending quest to prove that the show was better off when 4Kids was in charge. Quite frankly, I don't feel like the show is any better or worse than it was before. Like I said on my site..."same shit, different company."Amen to that
autor: MAXIMUS3006
Quote- by Amazed4587 And you know English, people often have their own way pronouncing things.But the thing is, most people in the US pronounce Pikachu the same way that Veronica Taylor did and without any emphasis on the word. I mean, Pikachu isn't exactly like Pokemon, like how there's a dozen ways to say it.Quote- by Don heck that might have caused less of this stupid needless complaining about the cast change - I'm sick and tired of it, I've been so for a long time - that still seems to be going on. The only people I assume would complain are 'dub-only watchers' who know nothing about the original version of Pokemon.1) If Pokemon USA didn't want people complaing about the VAs, then they shouldn't have changed VAs in the first place (I really do believe they had a choice in the matter to actually approach the original cast, everything I know about the switch points to that as being possible). 2) Had the VA switch not taken place, I bet there would've been only a few people complaining about the voice acting, if any. And even then, it wouldn't be a big issue like it is now (for some fans). 3) Personally, I think the main reason people complain about the voice acting is because the quality of it has decreased in the Pokemon USA dub. My opinion is that 4Kids set the bar really high for voice acting standards. Which is why most fans want/expect the new cast to be just as good as the original cast was. Afterall, why wouldn't people want the show to have great quality voice acting? And so far, the new cast has done a pretty good job of trying to reach that same quality in D/P. But they're not quite there yet, because one VA is holding them back - and that's Sarah Natochenny.
autor: fifloki
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