Sailor Moon (English adaptations)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The anime/manga metaseries Sailor Moon has been adapted into many different languages, including English. The anime's English version is said to be the seed of the franchise's ensuing popularity outside of Japan, and has also served as a profound introduction of anime to mainstream entertainment around the world. The entire manga series has also been translated and released in English-speaking countries.
All English adapted anime episodes and the three movies were helmed by executive producer Janice Sonski. Lisa Lumby-Richards is the only writer to be credited throughout all four seasons, and the only script writer listed in the credits for the three Sailor Moon movies and the last seventeen episodes of Sailor Moon R.
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[edit] Anime
[edit] Broadcasting history
[edit] North America
[edit] Beginning
The English adaptation of Sailor Moon hit the airwaves on August 28, 1995, with the show airing on YTV in Canada, and entered syndication in the United States two weeks later. While the show had moderate success on YTV, in the US the show struggled in early morning timeslots despite picking up a loyal following of fans. The show left syndication in 1996 after 65 episodes had been broadcast, leaving fans with no real conclusion or resolutions to the major Sailor Moon R storyline. A year later, in 1997, the show resurfaced on USA Network where it aired for several months before leaving the airwaves again.
Although the series aired at various times in America, in Canada it was fairly consistently given an early-afternoon timeslot (YTV scheduled the program for noon), and this consistency may explain how Sailor Moon was initially far more of a ratings success in Canada than in the States. In addition, the dialogue in the English-dubbed Sailor Moon was recorded in Toronto.
DiC originally dubbed a total of 65 episodes for distribution in 1995, a number that took them approximately two-thirds of the way through Sailor Moon R and ended on something of a cliffhanger. Two years later, in Canada, funding was acquired to dub the remaining seventeen Sailor Moon R episodes into English and the episodes aired in Canada to wrap up lingering plotlines. Ironically, the last episode of Sailor Moon R was a clip show episode, which featured previews for Sailor Moon Super, the show's third season. The shows were brought over to America a year later, initially billed as "The Lost Episodes."
DiC subsequently fell into breach of its contract to dub Sailor Moon, allowing Cloverway Inc., the North American branch of Toei Animation, the Japanese studio that produced the original version of the anime, to pick up the distribution rights to Sailor Moon S and SuperS.
[edit] Cartoon Network
On June 1, 1998, Cartoon Network acquired the rights to the original 65 English-dubbed Sailor Moon episodes and began airing them as part of its anime-themed Toonami block. The decision proved extremely profitable for Cartoon Network, as ratings for the show helped boost viewership for the Toonami programming block and generated revenue for them to acquire more shows such as Dragon Ball Z to add to the block. Cartoon Network later acquired the rights to the remaining Sailor Moon R episodes, and subsequently aired English-dubbed versions of Sailor Moon Super and Sailor Moon SuperS. The Super and SuperS episodes also aired in Canada on YTV, in 2000.
Cloverway's production of the North American versions of S and SuperS was strikingly different from DiC's dubs of Sailor Moon and R in that it was much closer to the original version. All of the original animation and music was kept (except for the opening theme, which was the same as DiC's version (with different animation), and the closing theme, which omitted the vocal track). The "Sailor Says" segments were eliminated, and much less overt censorship was in evidence, as the rules for children's television in America having been relaxed in the intervening years due to the advent of a TV ratings system. However, many Sailor Moon fans disliked Cloverway's "Americanization" of the two series by the addition of slang words (such as "phat") with no corollary in the Japanese series. They also vehemently objected to the treatment of the characters of Sailor Uranus (Amara/Haruka Tenoh) and Sailor Neptune (Michelle/Michiru Kaioh) during Sailor Moon S. Though it was never stated in the show, in the original Japanese series it was strongly implied that they were lesbians, a fact that series creator Naoko Takeuchi has confirmed; in Cloverway's adaptation they became "cousins" instead, an attempt to explain their relationship away as something else (homosexuality being an extremely taboo subject in American children's entertainment).[1] Nonetheless, it is generally agreed among the fan community that Cloverway's efforts represented a major improvement over DiC's dubbing of the first two series.
The S and SuperS dubs were first aired in 2000 on Cartoon Network as part of their Toonami programming block, and on YTV. The movies were also dubbed by Cloverway (but with many DiC voice actors returning for their previous roles) and aired on Cartoon Network and YTV. The broadcast syndication licence for Sailor Moon in North America recently expired, and Cartoon Network lost the rights to it in May 2003. The series is no longer shown on television in any English-speaking country.
The dubbing in all cases was performed at Optimum Studios in Toronto, Ontario, with Canadian voices in most of the character roles. The show was originally distributed for broadcast syndication by Seagull Entertainment, and later by Buena Vista Television (who had obtained an interest in DiC after Disney purchased ABC) and the Program Exchange. As indicated by the Optimum Productions website, the writing staff is employed by Optimum; as such, some writers are common to both the DiC and the Cloverway produced versions of the show. The company boasts "trained adapters" who utilize "hip" colloquialized dialogue of the target country.
[edit] Australia
In Australia, the first 65 syndicated episodes of Sailor Moon were first seen afternoons on the ABC's children's block in late 1995. The following year, they were transferred to the Seven Network's Agro's Cartoon Connection. They were replayed there several times, until early 1999, when Seven would finally air the newer 17 episodes. All 82 English episodes would be played on Seven once more; late 1999 - early 2000 on their morning program, The Big Breakfast. In early 2002, the series was again transferred, this time to Network Ten's Cheez TV. Cheez TV only played the first 65 episodes (twice), and due to classification restrictions, were forced to skip two episodes, Match Point For Sailor Moon and A Friend In Wolf's Clothing.
Sailor Moon also played on Australian cable network Fox Kids from September 2001; Fox Kids was the first Australian outlet to play the entirety of the English-dubbed series, with Sailor Moon Super starting in April 2002 and Sailor Moon SuperS starting in August 2002. In December 2002, Fox Kids aired a marathon of all 159 episodes over two weeks.
[edit] Home video
During 1996 and 1997, a total of six VHS tapes, each containing two key (if nonconsecutive in most cases) episodes of the series, were released by Buena Vista Home Video. These tapes were originally available exclusively through Toys 'R' Us stores, but later saw wider distribution in other chains. In 1998, a VHS boxset containing all thirteen episodes of the "Doom Tree" storyline (the first part of R) was released, also through Buena Vista.
Pioneer Entertainment (now Geneon Entertainment) had the rights to release Sailor Moon S, SuperS and the movies on Region-1 DVD and VHS, both in the dubbed and uncut versions. In 2000, ADV released the English dubs of Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R in a 20 volume VHS series. This release was later taken to DVD in 2002, released over fourteen Region-1 DVDs. These were also released on Region 4 (Australia) by Madman Entertainment and Region 2 (UK) by MVM Films. ADV also released a subtitled version of the entire Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R series in two separate DVD boxsets -- uncut, except for the removal of next episode previews and one episode (67) from the Sailor Moon R set, and using different versions of some openings than were in the original. ADV's license to distribute Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R in either form expired at the end of March 2004. Geneon's license expired in 2005.
The plot of episode 67 involves Chibiusa finding and befriending a dinosaur, but not any fighting against the main villains of the series. Its absence is notable due to it being Sailor Moon R's requisite "summer holiday" episode, of which one was featured in each of the five Sailor Moon series. Some printings of the ADV box set include a full description of episode 67 in their liner notes, perhaps suggesting that the decision to remove it was done relatively late in the production process.
So far, no American company is known to have the rights to release the Ami-chan no Hatsukoi theatrical short (shown prior to the SuperS movie), the SuperS TV special, or the Sailor Stars series. Due to this, the difficulty of circulating fansub tapes in the past, and the series' long run, many fans have not actually seen the entire series in full.
Toei has also stated that it does not ever intend to license its recent live-action series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, or the musicals, outside of Japan. Viewers outside the country, including those in North America, generally rely on alternate means to obtain these.
[edit] Alterations
Scenes cut from the English-language "Day of Destiny" episode: The death of Sailor Venus, and Sailor Moon being choked by Prince Endymion.
A bathing scene in the original series and the English dub. In the second image, the water level has been raised.
The North American version of the Sailor Moon anime was translated and distributed in 1995 by DiC Entertainment, initially airing on YTV in Canada and various television stations in the United States. Although the basic storyline remained the same, many alterations were made - the target age group was several years younger in America, and so censorship was often applied due to differences between Japanese and American views about what is and is not appropriate material for younger viewers.
Many Sailor Moon fans familiar with the original Japanese version express great disdain for the English adaptation. Alterations ranged from mild to severe; plot points were vastly altered, and in some cases dropped altogether. Some of these changes include:
- General renaming. Besides individual characters, the Sailor Senshi team became the "Sailor Scouts" instead of the more accurate translation "Sailor Soldiers." In later episodes the second term was used more often. Almost all of the original attacks were renamed despite already being in English.
- Omission of the Japanese version's original music. The melody of the original theme song, "Moonlight Densetsu" ("Moonlight Legend"), was retained for the dub's theme song, but with very different lyrics and redone instrumentation, animation, and special effects. After Cloverway took over from DiC (episode #90 onwards) the original background music is retained.
- Scripts were rewritten to suggest that all enemies came from the so-called "Negaverse," rather than having distinct alliances and histories. This practice was soon downplayed by DiC themselves, and dropped altogether once Cloverway took over.
- Some elements of the plot or dialogue were reworked, often resulting in continuity problems from one episode or one scene to the next.
- Complete omission of six episodes by the dubbers, for varying reasons not always but usually stemming from content concerns. These included the use of fortunetelling and tarot cards in Episode 2 and Usagi's transformation into an older, "punkish" version of herself to get into a piano bar in Episode 6.
- Removal of much of the adolescent sexuality, and of homosexual relationships. These relationships were "solved" in three separate cases, twice by giving effeminate men a female voice actor and using feminine pronouns, and once by making the characters Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune (who were obviously female) "cousins." Body lines were removed (around the breasts, for example) for near-nudity scenes such as transformation sequences and bathing scenes.
- Removal of even small amounts of violence involving humans (such as when Sailor Mars slaps Sailor Moon), and removal or alteration of small details like people sticking their tongues out. These scenes were believed to have a potentially negative influence on children's behavior.
- Removal or altering of some (though not all) specifically Japanese cultural references which might not have made sense to English-speaking audiences - for example, changing dumplings to doughnuts, removing references to mock exams and other characteristics of the Japanese school system, and changing the cram school that Ami Mizuno attends to a computer school (though the dub script did refer to it as a "cram" school once). At the same time, the English dub left most of the Japanese text on signs, in publications, etc. untouched and untranslated, with a few exceptions (such as the sign over Serena's junior high school).
- An end-of-show "morals" segment, "Sailor Says", which was added on to each episode to satisfy the contemporary requirement of educational content on American children's TV shows. Again, this no longer occurred after Cloverway began handling the dub. On several occasions, the "Sailor Says" segments - which were played out as voiceovers over vaguely-related clips from the episode they were tacked on to - contained footage that had been cut from the dubbed version of that episode, including some of the more controversial footage.
Perhaps most infamously remembered among fans was the treatment of the episode "Day of Destiny," which concluded the first series. The original version of this episode was actually two separate episodes, the first of which included the deaths of all the Sailor Soldiers except for Sailor Moon herself; as the storyline progressed, Sailors Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Mars sacrificed themselves to protect their friend and leader. The second episode involved the deaths of Tuxedo Mask and ultimately Sailor Moon herself. Though each character was resurrected in the conclusion, it was still deemed necessary to remove all references to death in the American episode: instead of being killed, it was suggested that the girls were captured and held hostage in the Negaverse. Enough editing was required, in fact, that the two episodes were merged into one. Bootleg copies of the original two-parter were popular among tape traders in North America during the height of the series' popularity in that region.
The North American version was the first experience with Sailor Moon (if not anime in general) for many anglophones, and the differences between the two versions led to much confusion. However, many fans worldwide would never have known about the series had it not reached North America, and so many regard the North American version as a mixed blessing.[2][3][4]
[edit] Name changes
Before Sailor Moon's American debut, DiC distributed a promotional tape to syndicators and stations to sell the series. This tape is notable in that it features completely different names for the five main characters; Usagi was called "Victoria," Ami "Blue," Rei "Dana," Makoto "Sarah," and Minako "Carrie." Tuxedo Mask was temporarily "The Masked Tuxedo."[5] However, when the series aired the names were closer to their original form, either in sound or meaning:
- Usagi Tsukino - Serena (named for Princess Serenity)
- Ami Mizuno - Amy
- Rei Hino - Raye
- Makoto Kino - Lita
- Minako Aino - Mina
- Haruka Tenoh - Amara
- Michiru Kaioh - Michelle
- Setsuna Meioh - Trista
- Mamoru Chiba - Darien
The only Sailor Senshi who retains her original name is Hotaru Tomoe, though the final 'e' in her family name is not pronounced.
[edit] "Saban Moon"
When Sailor Moon was up for bid by Toei to be produced in North America, Toon Makers Inc attempted to obtain the rights to the franchise so that their company could make an original Power Rangers-style version of Sailor Moon, half live-action and half American-style cartoon. A two-minute music video and trailer for this proposal was produced by Toon Makers, but rejected by Toei because the series would have had a higher production cost than just dubbing the original version. Today, the short film clip, commonly known as "Saban Moon" in fan circles (due to its misconception of being a Saban production) and available for viewing on the Internet, is often pointed to by defenders of the dubbed episodes as a "worst-case scenario." The full pilot has never surfaced to this date.
All of the five Inner Senshi can be seen in the 'Saban Moon' clip. Even after the interview with Rocky Solotoff,[6] founder and CEO of Toon Makers Inc., exact details are sketchy. Of note, the show tried to be as 'politically correct' as possible and placed one of the Senshi in a wheelchair, with another cast as an African-American. Only a fluffy white cat is seen in the pilot - according to Rocky Solotoff, this was simply a matter of choice, and both a white and a black cat were planned.
[edit] Future development
It has been confirmed that Sailor Stars, the final season of Sailor Moon, will not be dubbed, because Toei is not putting it up for license.[citation needed]
[edit] Manga
Although the original manga came before the TV series, it was not translated into English until two years after the anime. The English version was released in 1997 by manga publisher Mixx (now renamed Tokyopop). The manga was initially syndicated in MixxZine but was later pulled out of that magazine and moved into a secondary magazine called "SMILE."[7]
The U.S. Sailor Moon monthly comic ran for 35 issues, and aside from finishing up the Dark Kingdom storyline, it featured the manga versions of Sailor Moon R and Super. The US manga volumes were released as three series: "Sailor Moon", which collects the first three arcs (the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs), Sailor Moon SuperS, which collects the Dream arc, and Sailor Moon Stars, which collects the Stars arc. As of May 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga has lapsed, and the English-language manga is out of print.[8]
For the most part the names chosen for the English manga matched up with those chosen the English television dub. Some modifications were made—for instance, Darien is given a surname, Shields, and Serena is usually called by the nickname "Bunny" (a literal translation of her original name, Usagi). All of the Outer Senshi, who were introduced in the English manga before their appearance in the Cloverway dub, retain their original names. The manga was also flipped left to right, which was standard at the time of publication. The US manga, while omitting some of the bonus artwork included in the original manga, featured new bonus artwork commissioned exclusively for the US manga series. Inserts, dust jackets, and introductory pages were cut for budget. There were a few minor tweaks at the beginning, where many of the girls talked in stereotypical teenager talk. This was later changed when the editor changed. Also, in the instance of a poem by Yeats having been used in the text, they translated it back from the Japanese rather than using the original English.[9] Other changes of note are the covers, which do not exactly match the original, and the sizes of the manga are slightly different. (The original is 4.5" x 6.75", but the Mixx manga is 4.5" x 7.75".) As Sailor Moon was Mixx's first title, the quality of its translation in the beginning is considered poor, though it improves somewhat towards the end of its publication run.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Sebert, Paul. "Kissing cousins may bring controversy Cartoon Network juggles controversial topics contained in the “Sailor Moon S” series", The Daily Athenaeum Interactive, 2000-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
- ^ Brad. Sailor Moon Anime Guide. MoonKitty.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
- ^ Elizabeth Ann Carroll. DUB DEFENSE!. The Oracle :: BSSM Online Encyclopaedia. SoulHunter.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
- ^ Robert Wheeler (April 3, 2002). Disliking Vs. Hating. Editorials. Sailor Moon Uncensored. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
- ^ Tyler L.; Zogg. Toonami Digital Arsenal. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
- ^ Arnold, Adam "OMEGA" (June 2001). Sailor Moon à la Saban: Debunked - An Interview with Rocky Solotoff (Q&A). Animefringe.
- ^ Mixx Controversies: Analysis. Features. Anime News Network (August 14, 1998). Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
- ^ Tokyopop Out of Print. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
- ^ Arromdee, Ken (2001-04-01). Appendix: Why does everyone hate SOS/Mixx? (Frequently Asked Questions). Ken Arromdee's Sailor Moon FAQ. grep Sailormoon *. Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
[edit] External links
- Optimum productions - Official website of the English dubbing company.
- Sailor Moon Uncensored - Details on the differences between the Japanese and English versions of the show.
- The Tour - A guide to the dubbed version of Sailor Moon, including character info and voice acting info
- Toonami Digital Arsenal - A page with many Sailor Moon downloads, including the Toon Makers trailer clip and the DiC promotional video.
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