MLP comes to Japan! (Dubbed episodes FTW)

[Phoenix237 353]

I for one don't know how to react.

I don't know Japanese, yet I feel that this is a good thing.

I don't know.

Maybe this will help convince me to learn some Japanese.

[Ron J 276]

I've contemplated learning Japanese for the sole purpose of feeling superior to another friend of mine who is learning Japanese. Also, for the sake of knowing/understanding an Asian language.

[Clover Heart 978]

Japanese culture wants women to speak and behave in a certain way, women even speak the language differently from men.The mane 6 are all women and their behavior is pretty radical in japan.

 

It's really not as divisive are you're making it out to be. While the language is often used differently (and that's not to say that there aren't more neutral ways of speaking or that one can't break away from this) most of this is conduct within a company, and not societal expectations. Japan has no shortage of tomboys. And this isn't a "moral" thing so much as it is a social expectation. However, if someone doesn't fit into gender roles in Japan, in some ways, it can actually be a lot less detrimental than it is in America.

 

You mean something along like what the user ogatamon has made? She has made a few Japanese dubs herself on specific scenes and has even sang few MLP songs like This Day Aria and Giggle At The Ghostie in Japanese. Check her channel if you haven't already. It's a doozy.

 

 

I hope the dub turns out something like this, but with better acting quality.

 

Or they might also dumb it down for Japanese kids. 

 

Japan isn't inherently better at this kind of thing.The key is to preserve the spirit of the original as much as possible.  If subbed anime fans don't like it when english dubbed shows make little changes, why should we hold Japan to a different standard?

 

I'm worried about them dumbing it down. I was thinking about that this morning. For some reason, lately, this seems to be a trend for Japanese parents. Not to challenge their kids with new things, but instead, to dumb things down for them. That's not to say that we don't do plenty of that in America. That's one of the things I like about MLP. While it's not the most sophisticated show, it doesn't feel dumbed down, and if anything needs explanation, it's done in a subtle way. I hope they can keep that up in the Japanese version.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Clover Heart

[poniesforfun 716]

Personally, I'm most impressed by the casting of Kikuko Inoue as Celestia. She's one of the most prolific and experienced voice actors in Japan, *and* she's particularly known for elegant motherly/big sister type roles. There isn't a better voice out there for Celestia.

 

 

Or they might also dumb it down for Japanese kids. 

 

Japan isn't inherently better at this kind of thing.The key is to preserve the spirit of the original as much as possible.  If subbed anime fans don't like it when english dubbed shows make little changes, why should we hold Japan to a different standard?

 

 

Just wait and see. They will call apple pies dumplings, apple cider called green tea, apple fritters called some pastry you can only get in Japan.

 

Edited March 21, 2013 by poniesforfun

[Freewave 1,145]

There is a slight drawback. I fear that there will be a huge explosion of Japanese hentai doujinshi of a very questionable nature. When I wrote fear, I may have been spelling hope wrong. I haven't decided yet!

 

Quite a few already come from there which is a bit higher than their general r34 output.I think it's inevitable that this will happen. I just hope they can somewhat respect the characters in any depictions. While Japan is very into cute female characters and doing their own amazing fan art they also have some very sexist values still and i worry when they let their freak flag fly it may be even more perverted then the clop Americans are used to..   

 

A lot of of the stuff I've seen on pixiv is actually SFW so keep in mind that none of this will be one-sided, We'll be getting some amazing art from their manga fanbase and also the more homemade fan art. Either way it will be an interesting ride and nice to see how they do their own takes on MLP. Maybe fan music can't be too far behind too.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

No hentai the Japanese could produce would be any weirder or more graphic than what we've already been assailed with, and just like regular clop you don't have to look at it, so it's not a concern for me. The Japanese must meet the ponies at all costs. ^^

[Forlong 1,726]

Well, now can expect an anime named "My Little Pony Z", wherein they fight a neverending battle with Queen Crysalis and Twilight Sparkle is either a robot or an alien.

[hawkflame 3,310]

I'm not sure about Celestia's VA. The only things I recognize her are from Chobits and Ranma, both of which she had overly sweet motherly-type roles, which isn't quite on the mark for Celestia. However, she seems to be a seasoned veteran with a number of very popular titles under her belt, so maybe she'll be fine.

 

Calling Kikuko a seasoned veteran is an understatement.  She was one of the biggest superstars of Japanese voice acting in the 90s and early 2000s,and still gets major roles in recent years.  Yes, she's known for playing sweet, motherly roles, but they're motherly roles with a core of steel, deep down.  That is what Celestia is, at heart. 

 

Frankly, they couldn't have picked a better voice actor for the part.  Anyone who;s followed her career knows that she *is* Celestia.

[Ron J 276]

Oh god, now I can't stop imagining a Japanese voice actor trying to imitate Applejack's southern accent.

Have any of you ever heard someone with a European/Asian accent try to imitate a southern accent? It's hilarious.

[simba86 1,541]

gonna say that MLP will be huge in japan, judging by how much they love anime, it will propbably be a huge hit in japan , and i can't wait to see a japanese dubbed episode!

[hawkflame 3,310]

Oh god, now I can't stop imagining a Japanese voice actor trying to imitate Applejack's southern accent.

Have any of you ever heard someone with a European/Asian accent try to imitate a southern accent? It's hilarious.

Hopefully they'll give her an Osakan/Kansai accent, which is the Japanese equivalent of the US south. They usually do the reverse in English anime dubs.

[Clover Heart 978]

Calling Kikuko a seasoned veteran is an understatement.  She was one of the biggest superstars of Japanese voice acting in the 90s and early 2000s,and still gets major roles in recent years.  Yes, she's known for playing sweet, motherly roles, but they're motherly roles with a core of steel, deep down.  That is what Celestia is, at heart. 

 

Frankly, they couldn't have picked a better voice actor for the part.  Anyone who;s followed her career knows that she *is* Celestia.

I don't have a huge reference of her body of work. The character I best know her as is Kasumi from Ranma, which, no. That would be all wrong for a character like Celestia. I'm not saying that she'll be like that, and I know she has decades of experience, so I think she should be able to fit the role. That's just what I was thinking when I was posting. Celestia... Kasumi...? No. I'm also not a follower of seiyuu, so (・ω・;; )??

Edited March 22, 2013 by Clover Heart

[~Scootaloo 440]

Oh great now we're going to have morons thinking that MLP is anime when in reality it's not. I think it is kind of sad that the Japanese version is going to be butchered audio wise.

 

For those who are not satisfied with subtitles.

Edited March 22, 2013 by ~Scootaloo

[Clover Heart 978]

I come bearing spoilers~!

 

This is a promotional video for MLP: FiM in Japan. (Would that make it MLP: TwM...?) The audio's not that great because it's taken from someone's camera. This includes a short clip from the show, part of the intro and an introduction from Twilight Sparkle.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UcK0rlWOg

 

 

Personally, I think the voices are pretty good. The audio's not that great, so I can't quite say they're spot on, but from what I can tell, they seem to be very close, which pleases me. The opening is meh. It's okay, but it's a lot girlier than I'd hoped for. Then again, it's not like the English opening isn't girly either. I dunno, though, it's just very generic Japanese pop music, which I'm really not a big fan of.

 

This is a sample of Fluttershy's voice. It's a very short sample and doesn't start until about 50 seconds in. This is the line where she says "I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two."

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZDJ5fo6J0U

 

 

I think the voice is close, but without more lines, it's hard to say. Definitely has promise, though. However, I'm unhappy with the translation, which says, "I've never held anything heavier than a bunny." Somehow, to me, it makes her sound unnecessarily weak, but I might just be nitpicking at this point.

 

This is a 3-part video in which the VA's talk about the show. Unfortunately there aren't really any samples, but you can sort of get a feel for the type of voices they'll get. (I'm only posting the first one - the other two are easily found on YouTube.) Also, this particular YouTube user has said that she will subtitle the Japanese episodes, so if you're interested in seeing and following the Japanese version, you might want to check out her channel.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0vyMHOkOXM Sorry, I'm only allowed to post the two vids.

 

 

 

I'm very pleased with the voice of Twilight Sparkle, Miyuki Sawashiro's promotion of the show, stating that it's not just for girls, and that she hopes it can be enjoyed by all kinds of people. Maybe her comment will encourage viewers outside of the target demographic like we have in America and other English-speaking countries.

 

I'm also pleased that the VA's seem to really understand the characters and can relate to them. I think that gives me some confidence in their abilities, and it makes me excited to see it.

 

Only two more days! I can't wait!!

Edited March 30, 2013 by Clover Heart

[~Chaotic Eddie~ 479]

If you'll forgive my use of an overused meme, this is going to be going to be SO AWESOME!!!! /)^3^(\ (failed dashface)

When it comes out I will evaluate the dubbing.

[Queen Sugar Hoof 48]

My Little Anime?!?! FINALLY! YESH! HALLEJUAH! I can't wait, now... Yes, just yes! AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME frick yes...  When I go to Japmane for a family reuinion, afterward I'm gonna watch it!

Edited March 30, 2013 by Queen Sugar Hoof

[Koori 156]

3 days to go until it premieres in Japan. It'll be quite a while though before we can watch it (that is if you want to watch Japanese dub with English subs).

[GrooveBroove 680]

My question is just how well will this do in Japan?

Has there been any talk yet about how it's being received over there (I know the first episode just aired today). Would be interesting to see it do well over there, considering it's almost anime itself in a way.

[Kamil 315]

It started airing already? Cool, I'll probably use this as an excuse to watch the whole series over again. In fact, I may watch without subtitles since I know what happens and could use practice. On the other hand, I probably don't know enough Japanese to benefit from that unless I actually know what they're saying, and I've only seen each episode once so I probably don't.

 

I'll probably be able to find it raw already though, so I guess I'll try that first.

[hawkflame 3,310]

Gotta say those voices sounded spot on, especially Pinkie Pie and Twilight. 

 

And personally, I have a feeling that Fluttershy will be *very* popular in the Japanese fanbase.  She is the western animation definition of "moe"

[Koori 156]

The first episode sounded great, but I do have one minor problem with it. One I actually feared would happen and that would be scene cuts. They skipped some scenes in this episode like Twilight looking at the book and then the moon. Instead the scene cuts from her being on bed straight to the City Hall.

 

I can understand this thing since both intro and outro are now about a minute long instead of 30 seconds plus they had something extra in the end so they had to cut some scenes to make room for this, but it still annoyed me greatly.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Koori

[OtakuBrony 349]

Howdy folks!

 

Havent seen ep 1 from what I hear Hasbro has blocked it from You Tube here in the USA.

Same with other MLP eps in other countries even though some clips made it to YT.

(Songs & MLP Quotes)

 

The Opening & end songs did made it here & its quite catchy

I liked it.

 

Glad Japan has the series. More fans the merrier.

 

See ya!

[Giegue 8]

If Hasbro will be blocking this version outside of Japan, we can always try to find it on Nico Nico Douga. Only thing would be that:

1: It will be raw (not subbed).

2: You need to make an account to view videos, which can be hard for non-Japanese speakers.

This would still allow us to watch it, unless Hasbro blocks it from NND too D: .

On another note, Big Macintosh, Fluttershy, and Cherilee, are popular on 2Chan (the JP site that inspired 4Chan).

Edited April 2, 2013 by Giegue

[Clover Heart 978]

Wah! I just saw the first ep in Japanese. It was awesoooome   The only voice I didn't particularly care for was Applejack's. It sounds a bit too girly for me. But it's not so bad, so I can live with it. And maybe also Celestia's voice. This is assuming that they took the first part to be Celestia's voice, like in the American version, but it's possible that they just did it in the style of a voice-over. If it is Celestia's voice, I was hoping for a bit more regalness. But again, not bad, so I don't mind so much. All the others, though, were spot-on. I especially liked Fluttershy's voice.

 

As for the translation, there were some parts where liberties were taken. Most of them, I'm okay with, for language restraints or cultural purposes. I feel like the dialogue is a bit more simple than that of it's American counterpart, but it doesn't feel dumbed down, which I'm very pleased with. Overall, I'm very happy with the final product, and I intend to continue to watch and support the series so that it can grow, over here.

 

Also, this was my first time watching MLP on an actual TV, so it was a very exciting experience for me. So colorful and vibrant and big! 

 

On another note, Big Macintosh, Fluttershy, and Cherilee, are popular on 2Chan (the JP site that inspired 4Chan).

 

I believe I remember hearing this as well. The reasons being, I believe, that Big Mac is hard-working, Fluttershy is shy, reserved and cute and Cheerilee is a teacher, which a lot of people respect.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Clover Heart

[Cinnamon bun 26]

It was awesome to rewatcht the first episode in Japanese! By order of how appropriate the VA are to the portrayal of their ponies, I'd say : Fluttershy, she is extremely moe, indeed. Then Pinkie, Twilight, AJ, Rainbow and Rarity tied for least relate-able. There must be a cultural thing that I don't get with the portrayal of Rarity, the "over the top" part is kinda missing for me, but maybe it is "over the top" nobility for Japanese audience. She does speak very formally. As for Rainbow, I find that the boyish part is too bluntly played, again, cultural differences in perception and behavior are probably the reason.

Tonikaku^^ (~anyway) I'm definitely watching this. Give the RAW a try if you are into learning Japanese! it's pretty understandable.

 

Ja ne, minna ponii!