Are abridged anime series BETTER than the source material?

thejboy88

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So, I was watching a fan-made abridged anime the other day (I won't name names as many will probably guess what it is), and I couldn't help but think how much more entertaining it was for me than the original show itself. A show that I had grown up with and loved was now being supplanted in my mind by a fan-parody designed to basically make fun of it. And yet, that was the truth of it.

In fact, many a time, I've gone off STARTING with an abridged show, only to then be inspired to see the stuff it was based on, and finding that it felt inferior by comparison.

So, here's the question. Are abridged shows better than the stuff that inspired on?
 

Scarim Coral

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I would say it's different stroke since abridge series are made to be comedy and some of the anime they abridge on aren't comedy like Attack on Titan?

In saying so however most of the abridges (the well known ones) are the ones I had never watched before like Yu Yu Hakusho (never came to the UK), Jojo's Bizzare Adventure OVA and Berserk etc (ok granted I did watched the movie version before HBi2K did the movie abridge).

For Dragonball Z case, I only remember the general outline of the plot and for Yugioh case, the series itself was relatively bad.
 

spartenX

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I've never watched the original, but I here people say that SAO abridged is better than the ASO anime. even if it's not better than the original though, the whole thing is still pretty amazing.
 

DoPo

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Jan 30, 2012
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thejboy88 said:
Are abridged shows better than the stuff that inspired on?
No.

Yes.

Maybe.

It depends.

All of the above.
 

sonofliber

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Mar 8, 2010
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2 examples of yes:

DBA

and

Hellsing abridge

seriously the last one could easily be taken a actual series
 

sageoftruth

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Depends on things like the original material and the quality of the abridged parody.

Regarding the original, if it is a comedy, then it all comes down to which is funnier. However, if the original is a drama, then it may come down to what you're hoping to get out of it. If it's action, then you'll also have to consider whether the action scenes were better presented in long drawn out segments or shorter ones.

Personally, I think the best cases of the abridged version being better than the original are when the original just can't be taken seriously, but clearly tries to be taken seriously, unless you're a fan of watching animes crash and burn. I thought that made DBZ and Yugioh excellent material for an abridged series. "Card games are serious business yo".

An interesting case is 50% Off, the parody of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. I thought the parody was very funny, and probably far funnier than the original, but if you're there for the fanservice, you'll probably get to look at pecs and calves a lot longer if you watch the original. Therefore, I think that's an example where it's all about preference.

Also note, not all abridged parodies are as funny or well-made as TFS, Octopimp, etc. I dug through loads of trash on Youtube trying to find a new creator of abridged parodies that I liked. Even if the original anime is complete trash, the abridged parody can end up being just like the original, only with worse voice acting, worse sound effects, worse lip-syncing, terrible jokes and its only saving grace being that you don't have to watch as much of it.

So, the question can't really be answered with a simple yes or no.
 

CrazyGirl17

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Depends on whether the original was crap, or you're burned out on the original. Some of my personal favorite abridged series are Sword Art Online Abridged, Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, Dragonball Z Abridged, Vision of Escaflowne Abridged, and Final Fantasy 7 Machinabridged.
 

happyninja42

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Team Fourstar's abridged DBZ is my only exposure to the series, and I have no plans on watching the actual series. I saw one episode worth of runtime, last half of one episode, first half of the next episode, and 2 of the characters spent the entire time, floating in the air, grunting and flexing as they screamed themselves to a higher power level. I figure, if they can't get shit done in 30 minutes, I don't have the patience to watch their drivel.

Team Fourstar thankfully points out this stupid bit of narrative assfuckery, and edits it out, and also rips it a new one at the same time. So yes, an abridged can be better than the original, because DBZ is utter shit, but the Abridged is comedy gold.

You don't even have to be familiar with the material to appreciate the humor either.

Can't speak for other abridgers out there, except littlekuriboh, who is also good, if sporadic with his material. TFS at least have a schedule they keep to.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

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Probably? But only because Animes are 80% dreadful, 10% boring, 8% over the top, and 2% interesting/watchable/good.

So the less time we have to spend with Ed or Victoria or Hero or Mimiru or ANYONE from Pokemon or that one really annoying big titted squeaky lady with stupid colored hair from your favorite anime, the better.
 

Hero of Lime

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I just watched the TFS DBZ series for the first time like two weeks ago. I loved it more than I could ever love the original show. It told the story in a clear way, no filler, it's pretty nice. Haven't watched others, but I understand why they are so popular.
 

Grumpy Ginger

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Purely depends on the original's quality. Have to agree with others Team Four Star created something which is in many ways superior to the original. My other favorite one is Berserk abridged however I still think the original is better but that's because of the strength of the original story at best I think it could only ever be on par. Which is funny in Team four Star's case because if you watch any of their lets plays with DBZ game they are massive fans and wold probably be a little offended if you said their work was better than the original manga or anime.
 

springheeljack

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May 6, 2010
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Well I think Yugioh Abridged is certainly more better then its original source material
speaking of which
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVvuEEvsdTI
 

JamesStone

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Jun 9, 2010
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Abridged have a gigantic advantage over the original dubs, at least for us Westerns, and that is it's not bound by translations.


What kills most anime for me is how the characters can't seem to just SHUT THE FUCK UP and love to go on and on AND ON about themselves, and their plans. The dialogue almost always ends up being the stupidest kind of cheese.

Abridged series are more than glad to take the piss out of this, and they can go to places most Japanese authors don't want/can't.

The go-to example is Hellsing Ultimate Abridged. I honestly can't stand the original series, but the Abridged makes me laugh AND actually give a shit about the story, plus it makes Alucard, potentially the biggest waste of a good character in anime someone I can actually enjoy watching, even if I don't like him.

So yeah, biased as shit here, but some Abridged end up being better because they cut out the unnecessary bullshit and leave only the best parts of the show, while adding a bit of Western flair to it.
 

Gorrath

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Team Four Star does amazing work. I am not at all a fan of BDZ but I can't get enough of BDA. The grasp they have on the characters is fantastic and they really do leverage their personalities for the humor. While I enjoyed Hellsing far more than BDZ, I give rave reviews to TFS' effort there too.
 

Soviet Heavy

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Team Four Star is great, but their early episodes are rather cringe worthy in comparison to their new stuff.

Also, if you enjoy batshit insane, you could watch Purple Eyes WTF's abridged version of Code Geass, Code MENT.
 

Verrik

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Welp, I love me some Team Four Star, like every abridged series they've made so far. Another abridged series that I really like, and which I wholeheartedly believe is better than the original series is Sword Art Online Abridged made by Something Witty Entertainment on YouTube. Seriously, if anyone hasn't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.
 

Dreiko_v1legacy

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I take my anime seriously so to me abridged stuff is tantamount to sacrilige. They come too close to an experiece I'm sure a lot of us share where you watch something wih a big group and within it some people refuse to pay attention and at least try to understand what is happening or why and all they do is make insulting unserious comments about whatever flashes on the screeen. It irritates me as I believe it ought to be treated with more respect than that.
 

Saltyk

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Sep 12, 2010
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Well, I love TeamFourStar. Just everything they do is gold. I even enjoy the Let's Plays and such when I decide to watch them. Those guys are geniuses and deserve everything they get. I seriously love that they are getting official recognition from Funimation. Kaiser voiced a character in Resurrection F. Taka gave his Nappa voice the Xenoverse. Chris Sabat even tweeted his support for the team when they were recently taken off Youtube.

That being said, I love Dragon Ball. It's a great series. I was literally just watching Goku fight Buu a few hours ago and enjoyed it. Goku's transformation into a Super Saiyan 3 is just beautiful. Hell, all the major Super Saiyan transformations are great. Trunks appearing to confront Freeza never fails to make me smile. And Goku fighting Vegeta is one of my favorite fights in the series.

In the end, saying one is better than the other is impossible. I love them both for different reasons. They both have different feels. You might as well say that Space Balls is better than Star Wars.

And TFS are huge fans of Dragon Ball, too.
 

monkeymangler

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Depends on what they are doing?

Hellsing Abridged tells the same story, but in a faster and funnier way.

YGO Abridged makes fun of the ridiculous world the series takes place in. It works.

DBZ Abridged makes fun of it as a loving homage to it. It works.

A lot of the others... not as much because what they do doesn't work.