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6/20/2009 8:06:40 AM permalink

 It's an argument that will always come up from time to time. From my own personal standpoint- I prefer to have my anime in an english format. I know there are some die hard fans that may not agree with this, however I have two reasons why I feel that English dubbed anime is the only way that anime can survive tthrough the current sownward spiral that it is in.

Reason 1- Have  you ever seen any type of anime on cable tv that has aired only with a Japanese dialog track?

 The Answer of course is no. The reason is quite simple. Ratings and likeability. When the average person (not a die hard anime fan mind you) sits down in fromt of the tv set he or she doesn't want to spend their time reading the screen to a dialogue they don't understaand. They want to be entertained with as little stress as possible.

Do you actually think that a show like Cowboy Beepop or DeathNote would have been such a success in America if they had only been shown with it's origional dialogue and with english subtitles? I kinda of doubt it. At best it would have become a cult hit in a few nitch groups if it had been done this way.

Reason 2- This actually ties in to reason 1. Anime can't become a crossover success without having an english dialogue track.

Can you name any anime that was released in the US with a Japanese only track that has become a massive success. Even if you could the list would be short. Not only that but you wouldn't be able to use all the fingers on your first hand when you count them.

However it won't be too far into the future when anime becomes a mainstream prospect. With Hollywood so desperate for ideas to create new franchises it will only take one anime hit from a major studio to make it happen.

The same could be said for the television industry.

I'm not talking about shows like Pokemon or Yu-gi-oh. I'm talking about a crossover that people of all age ranges will come to like. (An expample?)

Does anyone remember a show called AVATAR: the last airbender from Nickelodeon?


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Date Joined: August 14, 2008