When it comes to the world of anime, there are all kinds of dubs and translations. Some are so straightforward that practically no changes are made to the source material at all. Some localize things to avoid confusing international audiences, who might not get the cultural references in the original. Others make changes to appease local censors, occasionally skipping certain parts of the storyline entirely.
But then there is the gag dub, which pokes fun at the series and tries to get a good laugh from the audience. It has all the fun of an online abridged series, except it's usually just as long as the original, lasting the full episodes. Sometimes this is because the original was a comedy and they wanted the dub to match it in spirit, but sometimes it's because they wanted to add a little something extra to the original plot. And there are even dubs where the dubbers generally had no idea what to do.
10 Ghost Stories: The Dubbers Were Told To Do Anything To Get It To Sell
This anime, where a group of kids fought ghosts haunting their town with the help of a possessed cat, was redubbed to be more comedic, with added jokes and pop-cultural references, making it one of the most famous examples of gag dubs in the Western anime fandom.
The story goes that the original series did so poorly in Japan that the dubbers were given free rein to do whatever they thought would make the series profitable.
9 Doraemon: The Comedic Dub Was Made In England And Was Not Popular
This anime about a robot cat is infamous for its troubles breaking into the English market despite being one of the most iconic and long-running anime franchises of all time. However, the 1979 anime actually did get an obscure British English dub that added new jokes that were not in the original, usually pointing out how absurd situations were.
The version of the series that eventually reached the North American market was more or less a straight dub that had been slightly localized, such as money being painted over to look more Western (which was actually done at the behest of the series' Japanese holders.)
8 Crayon Shin-Chan: There Are Four Different Dubs For This Anime
There are four separate English dubs for this series, including a Funimation dub developed for Adult Swim that added more adult-oriented humor. According to rumors, this actually sparked controversy with TV Asahi, particularly surrounding a joke made about tampons.
The first known dub heavily edited the series to be more child-friendly but was still unable to reach a television deal in North America, although it did air in Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
7 Super Milk-Chan: The Dubbers Made Two Dubs To Be Safe
At least two concurrent English dubs were made for this series: a straight dub and a gag dub. The gag dub even featured added live-action sequences in which the voice actors played caricatures of themselves.
Supposedly, this was done because the dubbers were unsure what Adult Swim wanted while working on the series. Reportedly, even some elements of the gag dub later appeared in the straight dub.
6 Duel Masters: New Scenes Were Even Added In
This series's English dub was so over the top that the dubbers even added in new scenes for the sake of a joke.
Casual viewers who came across the series on Cartoon Network could be forgiven for thinking the series was a parody of a trading card anime, which had become popular at the time, rather than a genuine example. For the second, the series was originally developed with Magic: The Gathering in mind.
5 Samurai Pizza Cats: Even The Japanese Creators Thought It Was Funny
There are many theories as to why this series came out the way it did, but many believe that the dubbers either did not get transcripts or that they were poorly translated. Although the official explanation is that the Japanese showrunners wanted anything to be done so that the series would appeal to Western audiences.
One surprising change implemented onto the dub is that the cats were not even samurai in the original series, but were instead ninjas. Despite this, the dub was sol well-liked even the Japanese showrunners were said to prefer it.
4 Sgt. Frog: This Dub Had A Gag Narrator & Gag Subtitles
For the most part, much of the plot from the original anime was more-or-less kept for the English version, but more jokes were added.
For example, Keroro was given an exaggerated love of mecha anime, namedropping Robotech and Exo Suard. Both a sarcastic narrator and sarcastic subtitles were sometimes added, too.
3 Urusei Yatsura: This Gag Dub Came From The BBC
As mentioned, North Americans don't have all the fun when it comes to anime dubs. Produced by the BBC, the series was given the name, "Lum the Invader Girl," which added extra jokes and adult humor. For example, an agent searching for Ataru in the first episode address him as the "oversexed son of a foot doctor." A line not from the original anime.
While it's not uncommon for British English dubs to have the British actors use American accents, this series gives characters British accents, with Ataru, in particular, having a thick regional accent.
2 Tokyo Pig: This Was Likely Done To Explain Japanese Culture To Western Viewers
Although this series (about a boy and his reality-warping pig) is already a surreal comedy, the English dub added a lot of jokes. This was likely done to compensate for the younger viewers not getting certain jokes or the show's style of humor (as well as taking time to explain cultural references.)
Added to that, characters' names were usually localized. That said, the series was still unquestionably set in Japan, since Tokyo is outright mentioned in the name of the show. For reference's sake, the name of the original anime more or less translates to Fair, Then Partly Piggy.
1 My Favorite Fairy Tales: Even The VHS Covers Made Jokes
This anime anthology series adapted classic fairy tales for children, making its English dub a good tool for ESL programs. However, children in the English-speaking world already speak English, so at least one North American release had to get creative.
Footage of the series has popped up online from Fox Kids, where it appears to have been given the gag dub treatment. For example, Cinderella is a tabloid reporter who is being held prisoner by the Spice Girls. Her fairy godmother also makes a joke about being mistaken for Bob Saget. Even the VHS covers of the series's English dub tried to make the series more comedic: Sleeping Beauty is yawning on her cover.
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