The fall of 4Kids

[Dreiko]

Speaking of Digimon, I do not like the original US intro, which lasted for three seasons/series.

Don't get me wrong, I can see why people would like it, but compared to Japanese, and especially Korean intros, it feels lackluster.

I mean here's what US got for three seasons. Until 3 min mark, they used the same digimon intro:

And here's what the Koreans got:

Also Japan:


Like, both Korean and Japanese intros went all in with coming with new intros for each season. They even had their own ED/outros, and many of my Korean friends remember fondly of these. I especially like Korean version of Tamers. I don't know why it took US three seasons to come up with a new intro.

I guess that's something I can give 4kids credits for; Pokemon, Yugioh, Shaman King all had kick-ass intros. Especially for Pokemon as they actually had new intros for each season.

If you like them digisongz, you will enjoy this cover:



But yeah the EN versions don't reach 1% of the sheer, goosebump-inducing hype and excitement levels.

 

[Cicada 5]

Speaking of Digimon, I do not like the original US intro, which lasted for three seasons/series.

Don't get me wrong, I can see why people would like it, but compared to Japanese, and especially Korean intros, it feels lackluster.

I mean here's what US got for three seasons. Until 3 min mark, they used the same digimon intro:


And here's what the Koreans got:


Also Japan:


Like, both Korean and Japanese intros went all in with coming up with new intros for each season. They even had their own ED/outros, and many of my Korean friends remember them fondly of these. I especially like the Korean version of Tamers. I don't know why it took US three seasons to come up with a new intro.

I guess that's something I can give 4kids credits for; Pokemon, Yugioh, Shaman King all had kick-ass intros. Especially for Pokemon as they actually had new intros for each season.

I like the original US Digimon intro. It might have gotten repetitive by the third series but it was a nice remix nonetheless. Besides, their soundtracks, especially 02 and the movie, were quite memorable.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jop7y6_Z538

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg9ksIrSyOY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNoK4M0pDBM

 

[BrawlMan]

Speaking of Digimon, I do not like the original US intro, which lasted for three seasons/series.

Don't get me wrong, I can see why people would like it, but compared to Japanese, and especially Korean intros, it feels lackluster.

I mean here's what US got for three seasons. Until 3 min mark, they used the same digimon intro:

​

I don't hate it, but I can see how it would be less impressive to those in Japan or Korea. That said Frontier, has the best US intro. Reminds me of a cross between it and something you would hear in Sonic CD.

 

[CastletonSnob]

Let's be totally fair, the majority of English dubs in the 90s and 2000s weren't THAT much better than 4Kids'.

 

[BrawlMan]

Let's be totally fair, the majority of English dubs in the 90s and 2000s weren't THAT much better than 4Kids'.

Depends on who you're talking about. FUNimation usually put in a great output. Sunrise and Geneon; mostly good. They've had a few spotty dubs here and there. ADV? Their output varied in quality. It's part of the reason why they actually went out of business. Manga Entertainment? Had a rough start, but managed to turn it around starting with Ghost in the Shell. DiC? Yeah, whatever dubs they did do, have aged like crap, but are at least entertaining. I mainly referring to Sailor Moon. Cloverway? Has a better job for Sailor Moon by comparison, but still had a few spotty places. They both been replaced by Viz now. Media Blasters? Nearly all of their dubs suck. Yet they're one of the few dubbing companies that still survived...somehow....

The rest all pretty much died within the late 90s or by the mid to late 2000s.

 

[CastletonSnob]

I recently learned that Ash and his mom were voiced by the same person, and King Dedede and Escargoon from Kirby: Right Back At Ya! were voiced by the same person.

Say what you want about the quality of 4Kids' dubs, their voice actors had range.

 

[BrawlMan]

Youtube host Saberspark looks at the rise and fall of children's entertainment company 4kids.

I'm going to give a correction on one of Saber's statements. Tenchi Muyo was never edited down to be more like an action film and it's romance cast as a subplot. Now Toonami did advertise it as if it was going to be a straight-up action , but that obviously wasn't the case for the original OVA series. Tenchi Universe does have action, but it really doesn't get actionized till the second half of that specific continuity. Now both shows did receive censorship in the form of either editing language, or censoring either annuity and covering up risky looking costumes. I'm more so referring to universe when it comes to the risky looking costumes or bathing suits. Funny enough, alcohol references were kept in just fine with nothing changed. For further irony, Tenchi in Tokyo did not receive any censorship at all when airing on Toonami. Granted, there really wasn't much they could censor, in that series is a lot lighter with little to not much sexual humor. There's actually no nudity in that show. This particular show still got dark around the second half point.

 

[dwain2345]

I think 4kids became a cautionary tale of what happens when you insult the audience

 

[LegoDnD]

Close, but that was likely never 4Kids' intent. They were sandwiched between strict censorship and scriptwriters with bad humor.

 

[dwain2345]

Close, but that was likely never 4Kids' intent. They were sandwiched between strict censorship and scriptwriters with bad humor.

I think that sums up the hatred of 4kids’ business model. People don’t like to be fooled with unfunny dialogue in their beloved shows!