Note from the Chief: It's always amazing to me what people will do just to get attention. Small people--having no better way to spend their time than make feeble attempts to raise other's ire--rave and rant with limited vocabulary, thinking that just because they know a few four letter words the rest of us will be perfidiously scandalized. My friends, these underdeveloped one deserve no emotion but pity, for they limited in mind, limited in vocabulary, unable to participate in civil discussion . . . and all that remains for them is erasure.

Just ignore them, they'll go away soon enough. ; -)

Just WHAT is the deal with these people?!?!?!?!?

Did the chief really post those messages, or was it someone else? He usually posts as "chief" with a lower case "c" so that looks a little suspicious. Also why post it so many times under boards where no one posted before?

This is a good question. On the other hand, it really does sound like him, and we have had multiple attacks on multiple boards before. Seems a little odd, though, that he would be posting at 8:38 am Central, when he in all likelihood should be working!

I'm not sure it's the Chief. Phil usually puts his address in.

Actually, I always thought he didn't. Let's see…

Here's something odd, under ClassicTrek-->Season Three-->Turnabout Intruder, there is a post that is exactly like the ones that mysterously appeared on 30 Sept, although it was slightly modified. I think we've been hit by a troublemaker again, although why someone would waste their time like that is beyond me. (Joel—sorry about this posting. I know it has nothing to do with the topic.)

Why the original is better. Let's set up a comparison:

This post shall compare the attack names DiC made up to the names of the attacks in the original version. This originally appeared on my web page at http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/Bunsen_Moone/dubattacks.html.

Moon

"Moon Tiara Magic" vs. "Moon Tiara Action": This one really isn't that bad. But I think it's more accurate to say action, even though the tiara is magical. It doesn't cast any magic on its own, though.

"Moon Healing Activation" vs. "Moon Healing Escalation": Escalation. Definitely. Activation sounds pretty stupˇd. Also the Japanese music for this sequence is far better than the NA. And Escalation just sounds cool!

"Cosmic Moon Power" vs. "Moon Healing Escalation": There is no such thing as Cosmic Moon Power. The phrase for using the ginzuishou with the Moon Stick is always Moon Healing Escalation. I don't know why they bothered to change it. I guess they thought that Escalation didn't sound forceful enough. Although trying to heal the enemies is preferable to destroying them, so DiC is actually promoting violence! Those hypocrites! (This is a JOKE, people.)

"Moon Sceptre Elimination" vs. "Moon Princess Halation": It's not even the Moon Sceptre in the first place. It's the Cutie Moon Rod. And second, halation just sounds way cooler. Elimination sounds like something a five-year-old made up.

Mercury

"Mercury Bubbles Blast" vs. "Shabon Spray": I don't know why they changed this one either. Shabon literally means bubbles, so the attack could have been translated as "Bubble Spray." Adding Mercury makes it redundant, since we know who's using the attack, and adding Blast to make it sound more forceful is stupˇd because this is not an offensive attack. It's meant to buy time and confuse the enemies.

"Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze" vs. "Shabon Spray Freezing": Everything I said above applies here as well, plus just how do you get ice bubbles anyway?

"Mercury Icestorm Blast" vs. "Shine Aqua Illusion": Um, ew? Shine Aqua Illusion sounds much cooler and more mystical. It fits the animation for the attack much better. Later, DiC did use Shine Aqua Illusion, so maybe one point for them there, but the voice actress for Mercury pronounced Aqua wrong! So minus about fifty points there. Anyway, the dub version is still bad.

Mars

"Mars Fire Ignite" vs. "Fire Soul": The fire has already ignited. If it hadn't, she wouldn't be able to throw around such huge gouts of flame all the time. Fire Soul is also a rather good description of Sailormars. Plus the Japanese voice actress has an awesome way of saying the attack. "Fiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... SOUL!"

"Mars Fireballs Charge" vs. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryo Taisan!": Oh, where to begin? First of all, this is not a Mars attack. It has to do with Rei's spiritual powers as a Shinto priestess. Second, it does not involve fireballs in any way. It uses a prayer strip. Third, even if it were a Mars attack, and even if it did involve fireballs, the fireballs would not be charging. Get a clue, DiC!

"Fireballs Charge Mars Firebird Strike" vs. "Fire Soul Bird": Again, no contest. Most obviously, the DiC version uses five words while the original only uses three. Also "Fire Soul Bird" sounds cooler and it makes it seem like a natural outgrowth of her first attack, which it is.

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround" vs. "Burning Mandala": Ugh. The fire is not celestial. It surrounds nothing except Rei. Burning Mandala is a far more accurate description of what the attack is. A mandala is a circular design. The attack involves rings of fire that form a circle around Mars and then blast an enemy. Therefore it is literally a burning mandala.

Jupiter

"Jupiter Thunder Crash" vs. "Supreme Thunder": The thunder does not crash. The planets' names are not used in any of the Senshi's attacks (except Moon) until the SuperS season. Therefore all the names are dumb.

"Jupiter Thunder Dragon" vs. "Supreme Thunder Dragon": These names are so similar, you wonder why they didn't just keep the original. And Susan Roman's super-manly voice doesn't help.

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap" vs. "Sparkling Wide Pressure": This one is purely subjective since the names are so very different, but the Japanese one sounds much cooler to me. And it isn't a thunderclap, it's a ball of electricity. It doesn't zap anything either, it usually explodes on contact (except for one awesome sequence where Jupiter slams it into the ground so it rips up the pavement in a straight line.)

Venus

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash" vs. "Crescent Beam": Ick. This just makes no sense. They kept the Crescent Beam part. Why then did they have to add Venus and Smash? It just makes it redundant and retarded.

"Venus Meteor Shower" vs. "Crescent Beam Shower": This attack does not involve meteors in any way, shape or form. It involves a bunch of crescent beams that hit an enemy all at once and all at the same time. Therefore the DiC attack is inaccurate as well as retarded.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle" vs. "Love-Me Chain": Uh, no? This one has problems similar to Mars Celestial Fire Surround. The chain encircles nothing but Venus. Therefore adding Encircle is stupˇd. Also, why couldn't they have just said Venus Love-Me Chain? The animation sequence is far too good for the name the idiots at DiC gave this attack.

Am I the only one here? Is this thing on? Hello, hello...

Matthew,

No, you aren't the only one here, but I think you're probably preaching to the choir on this one. Most fans I've talked to agree, the original is far superior -- and since almost all of the episodes are or were available fansubbed (except a large chunk of R), it can really be enjoyed without censorship, changed names and lines, etc.

Keep up the good work.

Now, if only someone would fansub Pokemon ...

Take it and run.

You'd be surprised... the moderator of this board is a great fan of the dub. Besides, I was bored, and I felt like doing something.

Now if we could jsut persuade him to put up boards for S, SuperS, and Stars...

About the voices... what about the differences in the cat's voices? What about the voices of the negaverse villians?

Han Keiko vs. Jill Frappier for Luna: totally dependent on which character approach you like best. Older caretaker for Frappier, cat not much younger than Usagi for Han-san. They're both fairly good voice actresses, it's just that their approaches to the character are completely different.

Ron Rubin vs. whatever his name is for Artemis: I hate to say it, but Ron Rubin's Artemis sounds like a pimp. Then again, the original Artemis didn't have too much personality either, so maybe we'll call this one a draw.

??? vs. Han Keiko for Beryl: Yes, Beryl and Luna have the same Japanese voice. I prefer the cool and collected Japanese Beryl to the insane NA one.

Never heard the Dark Kingdom generals in Japanese, no comment.

Never heard Ail/Ann and the Black Moon Family in Japanese, no comment.

Professor Tomoe's new dub voice is actually pretty good. Not quite as insane as the original, and he doesn't say "Kaolinite-kun" in that really deep menacing voice, but the NA guy isn't half bad.

Kaolinite's dub voice is the same as Zoisite the general and Esmeraude of the Black Moon. With the same delivery.

Witch Eudial sounds too high-pitched and cute. She's also not as quirky as her Japanese counterpart, but this is due to the script people, not her voice actress. I'm sure the VA could pull it off if it were written.

Now that half the cast has changed voices on me, I dunno if I should do this again or not.

Lesee... "Serena's" new dub voice is horrible. The director is really pushing to make it sound like her original VA never left, when it's clear to everyone that the new one simply doesn't have the right voice for it. She'd be okay if she were allowed to develop her own style for the character.

"Amy's" new dub voice has the same problems as "Serena's."

"Mina's" new dub voice is Emilie Barlow, the woman that dubbed "Raye" in the last 17 episodes that were produced. She now sounds more like "Raye" than she did when she was doing her voice. Hmm.

"Amara's" VA has no emotion. Sounds like Scully on Valium. I want to reach through the TV and throttle her sometimes.

"Michelle's" VA is okay. Same person that dubbed Tsukino Ikuko, Usagi's mom. Problem is, I don't know if she's capable of pulling off the viciousness that the Outer Senshi later acquire. Time will tell, although their performances to date have not been encouraging.

Most others are the same as the previous run of dubs or irrelevant, as they only appear for one episode. It still remains to be seen what will happen to Meiou Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, and Tomoe Hotaru, Sailor Saturn, as they won't appear until next week.

I am not fluent in Japanese. I have only seen the dub. I will only see the dub, because I am not fluent in Japanese.

Lets go over the voices (Thanks to Matthew Patterson (Mpatterson) for his post that gave me the voice persons' names):


Tsukino Usagi/Serena: The NA voice actress, Terri Hawkes, sounds a great deal like a valley girl you'd find in a mall in Southern California somewhere. Mitsuishi Kotono probably does a good job, but speaks in Japanese.
Winner: Terri Hawkes by default.

Mizuno Ami/Amy Anderson: The NA voice actress sounds, oddly enough, like an old British lady. If it was meant to convey a sense of the character's intelligence, it reinforces a geek stereotype. Hisakawa Aya, has a soft, sweet voice that, again, matches Ami's character perfectly. Unfortunately she speaks in Japanese.
Winner: The NA voice by default.

Hino Rei/Raye Hino: Her first NA voice actress sounded harsh and abrasive. Her second one sounded a great deal like Ann the alien... because it WAS the voice of Ann the alien. The Japanese seiyuu, Tomizawa Michie, is able to be harsh and abrasive in the scenes where Rei and Usagi argue, yet sweet and friendly at other times. Unfortunately it is in Japanese.
Winner: Ann the alien (over the first NA voice. Tomizawa Michie was eliminated because I am not fluent in Japanese.)

OK, you got the idea. Apparently the DiC dub is worse than I can imagine, but I am coming at it differently. Even with subtitles I can't ask my six year old daughter to read the cartoon or learn Japanese.

I know I'm missing a lot. (I figured out about Darrian's old homosexual flame and that Uranus and Neptune are not cousins.) The solution is to dub it better. The original will always come in second to any dub because I can not speak Japanese.

Okay, again, that's what subtitles are for. There is no excuse other than laziness or severe visual impairment for not wanting to read subtitles. It takes almost zero effort. For little kids who can't read well yet, subs are probaly not the best choice. In that case, I wouldn't subject them to the thing at all. There's much better stuff on TV.

Mini-update: I love Chibi-Usa's new dub voice. Seriously. She's great. Keep her.

I just hope that ADV gets the rights to release Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R subtitled, like they really want to do. The S, Super S, and Movie discs are all bilingual, so I can get those subtitled there, but I do want to start at the beginning.

And hopefully someone will license Sailor Stars, but I hear that the Japanese rights holder is weary of licensing it for foreign distribution. Seems they think some of the new characters introduced won't go over well with American audiences. (Being vague to avoid spoilers.)

And, of course, there is all that talk I hear about a new season, Sailor Moon X, being produced... (And no, this isn't a bad joke about some "adult" version of Sailor Moon. Speculation is that they went with "X" in honor of it being 10 years since Sailor Moon was first broadcast in Japan.)