Many Japanese anime shows can be great, especially movies, such as Spirited Away and Akira. Some can be so great that they are referenced in other Japanese pop culture, such as in Final Fantasy VII, during the cutscene in which Sephiroth walked through the flames (a reference to a similar scene with Tetsuo in Akira) Some can be so great that they can inspire some American movies, such as The Matrix. Some, however, are plagued with at least one of these five things. Some of them only apply for American dubs. Others, however, are solely the fault of the idiots who originally created the show.
Pet Peeve Number One: Unneeded Censorship (Sonic X)
America is subject to some of the highest censorship standards in the world. In Japan, anime can get by with smoking, drinking, death reference, cursing, and blood by the bucketful and Japanese kids still love it. In America, however, there is an ongoing belief that kids are wusses. After all, Jonny Quest was taken off the air because of parental watchdog groups calling it too violent, and also commenting on the use of weaponry and on-screen deaths. In order to placate parents who believe that kids shouldn’t watch SpongeBob SquarePants because it says the word “butt” in it, people oftentimes have to heavily censor anime. Sometimes it is necessary, but other times, people take it a wee bit too far.
I’ll take the 4Kids dub of Sonic X, for instance. I’m sure some of it needed to be censored, as is the nature of anime. Still, they made an effort to remove any and all reference of death. For instance, when the show was adapting Sonic Adventure 2, rather than leaving it be, they thought, “Maria shouldn’t die! Then, young Sonic fans who play the much more mature games won’t be able to watch the show! Let’s have her get taken away, instead!” Thus, a scene that came out of an E-rated game was censored like crazy. This is also apparent when the show-specific character Cosmo dies. An otherwise touching scene involving Tails not wanting her to die because of his love for her was censored to within an inch of its existence. Yeah, bad.
Pet Peeve Number Two: Mid-Battle Transformations, a.k.a. “But you haven’t seen my most powerful form!” (Dragon Ball Z)
Unlike the first one, this is the fault of the people who created Dragon Ball Z in the first place. Now, if I were Frieza, I would want to exterminate everyone quickly by immediately transforming into my Final Form. But no, instead Frieza waited until the Saiyans nearly wasted him to transform into his second form. Then, Piccolo had to come and deal out some damage before Frieza decided to transform again…and then again. But he still hadn’t taken the time to reach his 100% Full Power form. Also, if I were Goku, I would immediately go Super Saiyan 3 and annihilate everything, but thankfully I’m NOT Goku…
Pet Peeve Number Three: Stopping to Talk in the Middle of a Fight, a.ka. “You don’t have what it takes to be a Saiyan elite!” (Dragon Ball Z)
Another thing that I used Dragon Ball Z to represent. Anyway, HEY JAPANESE ANIMATORS!!! THERE’S A THING WE AMERICANS CALL FIGHTING!!! HAVE YOU HEARD OF IT?!! Though I wouldn’t be able to understand the answer coming from the person I was asking, the answer is in the TV shows they make.
Another thing that falls into this area is the refusal to fight, able to be detected by people standing there and saying nothing but, “Ah…ah…ah…” as if they were filling their diapers with tiny, hard, constipation turds. It’s terrible all the same.
Pet Peeve Number Four: People Talking to Themselves, a.k.a. “Ah!” (Pokemon)
I’ve seen this in far too many anime shows, but to represent this, I will choose Pokemon. Now, I hate Pokemon. With a passion, in fact. Though there are many...many reasons why I hate it, I noticed this happen a lot when I used to watch it. In lots of anime, people will talk to themselves, and I find it annoying. But Pokemon and a few others took it one step further with “Ah!” This is what happens: during an intense moment, the screen will split to show some of the spectators saying “Ah!” It’s annoying. Very much so.
Final Pet Peeve: Abysmal Dubbing, a.k.a. “Hah, hoo, hah!!!” (Speed Racer)
This is all too common in localized anime. It’s gotten much better since the old days, surely, but it’s still common. For instance, I have a tape of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, that has been around in the U.S. since about the time that Sonic Adventure came out. I like it very much, but get this: Sonic actually says to Metal Sonic, “You may know everything I’m going to do, but that won’t help you because I know everything you’re going to do!! Strange, isn’t it?!!” Not to mention the terrible voices chosen for some of the characters. Tails’s voice is the whiniest it’s ever been, and Sonic sounds like a girl. At least it’s better than Speed Racer.
Actually, I’ve never watched Speed Racer, and thank God I haven’t. However, if I was ever up in the wee hours of the morning, I would watch Astro Boy on Cartoon Network. I noticed how everyone talked so fast, and if I made up a scenario in which someone crapped a turd, it would sound something like this, “You crapped a turd, and I don’t wanna smell it, because it stinks, because you crapped a turd! Hah, hoo, hah!!!” Astro Boy didn’t have the “hah-hoo-hahs,” at least, but from what I know about Speed Racer, it did.
So, there you have it. My five Japanese anime pet peeves. I’m not saying all anime stinks, because I like some anime (mostly movies). Still, I am always disappointed to see any of these five things in anime.
I don't know if all of the quotes I put in the section titles were accurate, but they are just there to reflect upon the ultimate stupidity in these frequently-occurring anime mistakes.
Pet Peeve Number One: Unneeded Censorship (Sonic X)
America is subject to some of the highest censorship standards in the world. In Japan, anime can get by with smoking, drinking, death reference, cursing, and blood by the bucketful and Japanese kids still love it. In America, however, there is an ongoing belief that kids are wusses. After all, Jonny Quest was taken off the air because of parental watchdog groups calling it too violent, and also commenting on the use of weaponry and on-screen deaths. In order to placate parents who believe that kids shouldn’t watch SpongeBob SquarePants because it says the word “butt” in it, people oftentimes have to heavily censor anime. Sometimes it is necessary, but other times, people take it a wee bit too far.
I’ll take the 4Kids dub of Sonic X, for instance. I’m sure some of it needed to be censored, as is the nature of anime. Still, they made an effort to remove any and all reference of death. For instance, when the show was adapting Sonic Adventure 2, rather than leaving it be, they thought, “Maria shouldn’t die! Then, young Sonic fans who play the much more mature games won’t be able to watch the show! Let’s have her get taken away, instead!” Thus, a scene that came out of an E-rated game was censored like crazy. This is also apparent when the show-specific character Cosmo dies. An otherwise touching scene involving Tails not wanting her to die because of his love for her was censored to within an inch of its existence. Yeah, bad.
Pet Peeve Number Two: Mid-Battle Transformations, a.k.a. “But you haven’t seen my most powerful form!” (Dragon Ball Z)
Unlike the first one, this is the fault of the people who created Dragon Ball Z in the first place. Now, if I were Frieza, I would want to exterminate everyone quickly by immediately transforming into my Final Form. But no, instead Frieza waited until the Saiyans nearly wasted him to transform into his second form. Then, Piccolo had to come and deal out some damage before Frieza decided to transform again…and then again. But he still hadn’t taken the time to reach his 100% Full Power form. Also, if I were Goku, I would immediately go Super Saiyan 3 and annihilate everything, but thankfully I’m NOT Goku…
Pet Peeve Number Three: Stopping to Talk in the Middle of a Fight, a.ka. “You don’t have what it takes to be a Saiyan elite!” (Dragon Ball Z)
Another thing that I used Dragon Ball Z to represent. Anyway, HEY JAPANESE ANIMATORS!!! THERE’S A THING WE AMERICANS CALL FIGHTING!!! HAVE YOU HEARD OF IT?!! Though I wouldn’t be able to understand the answer coming from the person I was asking, the answer is in the TV shows they make.
Another thing that falls into this area is the refusal to fight, able to be detected by people standing there and saying nothing but, “Ah…ah…ah…” as if they were filling their diapers with tiny, hard, constipation turds. It’s terrible all the same.
Pet Peeve Number Four: People Talking to Themselves, a.k.a. “Ah!” (Pokemon)
I’ve seen this in far too many anime shows, but to represent this, I will choose Pokemon. Now, I hate Pokemon. With a passion, in fact. Though there are many...many reasons why I hate it, I noticed this happen a lot when I used to watch it. In lots of anime, people will talk to themselves, and I find it annoying. But Pokemon and a few others took it one step further with “Ah!” This is what happens: during an intense moment, the screen will split to show some of the spectators saying “Ah!” It’s annoying. Very much so.
Final Pet Peeve: Abysmal Dubbing, a.k.a. “Hah, hoo, hah!!!” (Speed Racer)
This is all too common in localized anime. It’s gotten much better since the old days, surely, but it’s still common. For instance, I have a tape of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, that has been around in the U.S. since about the time that Sonic Adventure came out. I like it very much, but get this: Sonic actually says to Metal Sonic, “You may know everything I’m going to do, but that won’t help you because I know everything you’re going to do!! Strange, isn’t it?!!” Not to mention the terrible voices chosen for some of the characters. Tails’s voice is the whiniest it’s ever been, and Sonic sounds like a girl. At least it’s better than Speed Racer.
Actually, I’ve never watched Speed Racer, and thank God I haven’t. However, if I was ever up in the wee hours of the morning, I would watch Astro Boy on Cartoon Network. I noticed how everyone talked so fast, and if I made up a scenario in which someone crapped a turd, it would sound something like this, “You crapped a turd, and I don’t wanna smell it, because it stinks, because you crapped a turd! Hah, hoo, hah!!!” Astro Boy didn’t have the “hah-hoo-hahs,” at least, but from what I know about Speed Racer, it did.
So, there you have it. My five Japanese anime pet peeves. I’m not saying all anime stinks, because I like some anime (mostly movies). Still, I am always disappointed to see any of these five things in anime.
I don't know if all of the quotes I put in the section titles were accurate, but they are just there to reflect upon the ultimate stupidity in these frequently-occurring anime mistakes.
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