Digimon

[Zeromaru]

I also did this one not too long ago, and thankfully the site saves all your favorites.

Spoiler: Favs

Curious to know the rest of the thread's favorites. I've only watched from Adventures to Tamers, so I'm not super up-to-date and I think it shows in some of my picks. I'd be interested in knowing what more devoted fans trend towards.

I think you've got a fair number of new-ish Digimon here, which is nice to see. I've watched up to Savers, but I still mostly prefer the grittier, more monstrous designs of the earlier seasons. (Citramon still cracks me up, though. The dub pulled some 4Kids-tier censorship and at the same time managed to make a Digimon design a thousand times funnier than the original.)

 

[peepoopeepoo]

These last trailers for Time Strangers put me in a digimon mood and I got one of those DMX and DM20 digimon virtual pets and they are pretty fun, I never had access to these in my country as a kid, pleasantry surprised even if it can be a bit on the simpler side.

I get the appeal of it more, different care = different monster. It's kind odd Bandai Namco couldn't come up with World games that are more accessible with such a concept (Redigitize on the 3DS is pretty fun though).

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Red Panda In-Training.

Also looks like we have another non-goggle-head. Interesting.

EDIT: I just looked up the staff, the guy behind Savers is apparently behind this, too. I... don't know how to feel about this.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Hell yeah.

 

[Valstrax]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4yiQ1WqzaLQHell yeah.

DIGIMON DIGITAL MONSTERS
DIGIMON ARE THE CHAMPIONS

 

[Kari Kamiya]

What the fuck is this crossover?

 

[sneedem&feedem]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4yiQ1WqzaLQHell yeah.

I got recommended these videos and just blasted through them. Was gonna post them here. I don't mean to offend anyone who's nostalgic for the English dub, but it's very gratifying seeing people (one who I think is even a dub actor herself) reaching the natural conclusion that the Digimon dub is bad. I even saw a thread on Twitter where people were shitting on the dub like a couple days ago.

Other than that, they're very fun videos and basically the best iteration of this kind of idea. There's a like a handful of podcasts that have done this dub/sub comparsion as a rewatch of the series but this format is the best. Good editing and good curation as the host walks the newbies through the series. I don't even watch Billiam's regular videos but this is great.

 

[cactus]

I got recommended these videos and just blasted through them. Was gonna post them here. I don't mean to offend anyone who's nostalgic for the English dub, but it's very gratifying seeing people (one who I think is even a dub actor herself) reaching the natural conclusion that the Digimon dub is bad. I even saw a thread on Twitter where people were shitting on the dub like a couple days ago.

From what I gather, this was Bang Zoom's (no idea if they were called that at the time or if they were under Saban or what, I didn't really look into it, I went by ear) first job, because all the voice actors are the LA based ones. It really shows it's their first job, but by the time Tamers came out, you can hear a vast improvement.

 

[2F5L5XG]

I got recommended these videos and just blasted through them. Was gonna post them here. I don't mean to offend anyone who's nostalgic for the English dub, but it's very gratifying seeing people (one who I think is even a dub actor herself) reaching the natural conclusion that the Digimon dub is bad. I even saw a thread on Twitter where people were shitting on the dub like a couple days ago.

A little weird that it was one of those that sort of got swept into the "good dubs from when we were kids" pile with stuff like Yu Yu Hakusho or DBZ.
I watched Digimon: The Movie for the first time since I was a kid a couple of years back after watching the originals and it has to be one of the most insane Frankenstein localizations that I have ever seen. The soundtrack in particular is just bonkers.

 

[Kled]

I rewatched Our War Game, Hurricane Touchdown, and the special with Greymon and Parrotmon about a month ago and it was a very relaxing rewatch. The frankenstein english dub of the movie is still going to have a place in my heart because i actually got to see it in theatres when it came out but the tone of the originals and the dubs are so jarring. I think next I'll watch Diablomon Strikes Back and the Tamers movies. I keep up with the TCG and the new mons moreso than the games.

Also since people were posting them, here's my thing from the digimon picker. I might get outed by this ngl:

 

[Kari Kamiya]

reaching the natural conclusion that the Digimon dub is bad.

The dub script is harsh, but I think it's totally unfair to the voice-actors to get them lumped in with the badness because they're just doing what they could with what they had. Honestly, if this was actually the studio's first dub, it legit could've gone way worse for a '90s dub.

I watched Digimon: The Movie for the first time since I was a kid a couple of years back after watching the originals and it has to be one of the most insane Frankenstein localizations that I have ever seen. The soundtrack in particular is just bonkers.

I unironically like the soundtrack, like by itself, it's a fantastic time-capsule.

I also unironically love the English dub of the movie just for how hysterical it is. It lives rent free in my head, and I also think it's top-notch for the VAs of that particular dub. Even better than 02. Mona Marshall was killing it as Izzy, and you could tell Joshua Seth had made Tai his own.

The Frankensteining was weird, but I'm gonna be real with you: The 02 movies fucking sucked as the originals. I don't care that it was capturing Americana (according to the Japs) at that time, you can still see that in the dub. I don't care Wallace had perfect English, I don't care the context made more sense. The pacing was borked, the soundtrack seemed ill-placed at times, Takeru and Hikari's reaction to Mimi vanishing before their eyes was fucking bizarre (I actually cannot tell you if everyone except Daisuke had their personalities intact), and the OG children were never shown to have left the void at the end.

The dub of Hurricane Touchdown is absolute imho and I'm perfectly happy to be in the minority. Everyone who took issue with my explanation were all Digimon purists anyway and they're literally insane, so I don't bother with them.

 

[sneedem&feedem]

From what I gather, this was Bang Zoom's (no idea if they were called that at the time or if they were under Saban or what, I didn't really look into it, I went by ear) first job, because all the voice actors are the LA based ones. It really shows it's their first job, but by the time Tamers came out, you can hear a vast improvement.

AFAIK the first three series plus 3 movies (duct taped as one) were dubbed in house at Saban. No other dubbing group is credited like on Frontier and beyond. Frontier was done by now defunct 'Sensation Animation Inc' which I believe was a Disney subsidy.

Movies 3-7 plus Data Squad and beyond are all done by Studiopolis.

You could argue that the Saban stuff are proto-Studiopolis dubs since the vast majority was written/directed by Jeff Nimoy AKA the dub voice of Tentomon (along with various others on staff). Who is a good director as evidenced by the movie dubs he did outside of Saban which are pretty good and faithful to the originals. And the Naruto dub is also directed by him which is also a very good dub. (Some argue too faithful so much so that they had to down Naruto's "believe it" which was a very good localization of his "dattebayo" speech quirk in Japanese). Nimoy works on basically anything related to Adventure as he came back for Tri and Kizuna. Studiopolis is also the default studio for Digimon now.

A little weird that it was one of those that sort of got swept into the "good dubs from when we were kids" pile with stuff like Yu Yu Hakusho or DBZ.
I watched Digimon: The Movie for the first time since I was a kid a couple of years back after watching the originals and it has to be one of the most insane Frankenstein localizations that I have ever seen. The soundtrack in particular is just bonkers.

The aforementioned Jeff Nimoy has acknowledged in as professional manner as possible the low quality of the Movie dub. At least according to him, he basically got overruled by executives. His plan was simply to duct tape movies 1 and 2 which on paper seems like much better idea. Movie 3 would've been a TV movie or a DVD exclusive.

https://digipedia.db-destiny.net/cast_crew/nimoy2.htm

The dub script is harsh, but I think it's totally unfair to the voice-actors to get them lumped in with the badness because they're just doing what they could with what they had. Honestly, if this was actually the studio's first dub, it legit could've gone way worse for a '90s dub.

Whenever I criticize dubs the problem is rarely if ever the voice actors and almost always the script and director. The Digimon Saban dub has some quality actors in it, many of whom continue to work to this day and are even on mainstream western animation earning a real paycheck. But good actors cannot save bad direction and a bad script. Even the often mocked 4kids dubs have good actors but it's always the scripts and direction that make them look bad. Check out the uncut dub of Yugioh or 2k3 TMNT dub and see that they can do quality work if they put in the effort.

I unironically like the soundtrack, like by itself, it's a fantastic time-capsule.

I think they're a fine collection of songs but they're more suited to a Tony Hawk game for kids like that Disney Skateboarding game than a Digimon movie.

The Frankensteining was weird, but I'm gonna be real with you: The 02 movies fucking sucked as the originals. I don't care that it was capturing Americana (according to the Japs) at that time, you can still see that in the dub. I don't care Wallace had perfect English, I don't care the context made more sense. The pacing was borked, the soundtrack seemed ill-placed at times, Takeru and Hikari's reaction to Mimi vanishing before their eyes was fucking bizarre (I actually cannot tell you if everyone except Daisuke had their personalities intact), and the OG children were never shown to have left the void at the end.

The dub of Hurricane Touchdown is absolute imho and I'm perfectly happy to be in the minority. Everyone who took issue with my explanation were all Digimon purists anyway and they're literally insane, so I don't bother with them.

It's fairly popular opinion that Hurricane Touchdown is disliked even in Japanese. It meanders a lot with lots of wasted time. However, the main problem with the Digimon movie is that Hurricane Touchdown drags down the pilot film and Our War Game which are arguably some of the best bits of Digimon ever. Had they had gone with Nimoy's original plan, it would be more fondly remembered beyond muh nostalgia. Billiam has a free extra on his Patreon where they cover the pilot film and one of the co-host has a visceral reaction to hearing the dub and I can't blame her.

 

[cactus]

You could argue that the Saban stuff are proto-Studiopolis dubs since the vast majority was written/directed by Jeff Nimoy AKA the dub voice of Tentomon (along with various others on staff). Who is a good director as evidenced by the movie dubs he did outside of Saban which are pretty good and faithful to the originals. And the Naruto dub is also directed by him which is also a very good dub. (Some argue too faithful so much so that they had to down Naruto's "believe it" which was a very good localization of his "dattebayo" speech quirk in Japanese). Nimoy works on basically anything related to Adventure as he came back for Tri and Kizuna. Studiopolis is also the default studio for Digimon now.

I know it was the LA group of dubbers, makes sense they'd go back and forth from Studiopolis and Bang Zoom and vice versa. The Cowboy Bebop dub I think also came out the same year as Tamers, so that right there is just shows how the work done on Digimon helped them develop their talents. I'm glad Jeff Nimoy has been able to stay attached to the shows since it helps it stay consistent.

That sucks that the execs overruled Nimoy on Hurricane Touchdown, because Diaboramon Strikes Back would have been a better choice to actually attach if the execs wanted a third part of the Digimon Movie (I don't even think it was out yet in Japan at the time though or it had just barely come out).

 

[Kari Kamiya]

because Diaboramon Strikes Back would have been a better choice to actually attach if the execs wanted a third part of the Digimon Movie (I don't even think it was out yet in Japan at the time though or it had just barely come out).

If they had waited another year, they could've done that. Diaboromon Strikes Back came out March 2001.

 

[cactus]

If they had waited another year, they could've done that. Diaboromon Strikes Back came out March 2001.

Those execs wanted to strike while the iron was hot I guess.

 

[sneedem&feedem]

Those execs wanted to strike while the iron was hot I guess.

They saw the millions that the Pokemon movies were doing at the box office and saw money being left on the table. I think they probably beefed it.

According to Wikipedia, the first Pokemon movie did $50 million and Digimon made $19 million. Wikipedia also says that the Digimon movie was successful which I frankly don't buy since there's no citation. The movie got pushed hard at the time so advertising budget was at least a couple million. The production budget is apparently $5 million which given that is also the budget of the first Pokemon movie, that solely has to be the production budget from Japan animating them. Unlike the Pokemon movie, Saban/Fox had to license 3 separate movies and likely cut Toei into the profits and they also had to license a whole bunch of pop songs so I don't think the dubbing budget was as small as the Pokemon movie. Also consider the fact that no further Digimon movies got pushed to theaters then I think it was actually a box office bomb. Let's be conservative and say the actual total budget is double what wikipedia says given all these factors and it's actually $10 million then it's really bad to make a net profit of $9 million. Even Jeff Nimoy in that interview I linked complained that it was marketed badly which is a weird thing to say if it was highly successful.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Also consider the fact that no further Digimon movies got pushed to theaters then I think it was actually a box office bomb.

Only because Digimon movies are barely 40 minutes long, at most, they're typically part of roadshows alongside other 40-minute movies from Toei. Our War Game was a double-feature with the first One Piece movie, for instance.

 

[sneedem&feedem]

Only because Digimon movies are barely 40 minutes long, at most, they're typically part of roadshows alongside other 40-minute movies from Toei. Our War Game was a double-feature with the first One Piece movie, for instance.

Had they been as successful as wanted, Fox would've just commissioned Toei for their own movie. You're telling me Yugioh could get its own American funded movie but not Digimon with the backing of Fox? They clearly saw it wasn't worth it. And by then it would've been Tamers airing which just wasn't as popular.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Had they been as successful as wanted, Fox would've just commissioned Toei for their own movie. You're telling me Yugioh could get its own American funded movie but not Digimon with the backing of Fox?

It's possible, but I dunno how the negotiations for that work, and if Fox would've even been all for it. 4KIDS was willing to shill the money for stuff like that (they personally commissioned 26 more episodes of Ultimate Muscle), and Jason DeMarco somehow managed to talk Toonami/[adult swim] into being executive producers to sequels literally no one asked for, as well as producing shitty originals no one will remember, and I have no idea how they're even making money at this point. Outside of that, honestly haven't heard of other licensing companies paying studios for more entries to popular IPs. John O'Donnell personally commissioning M.D. Geist 2 was the exception to the rule just because he's a crazy son-of-a-bitch.

 

[Non-breath oblige]

From what I gather, this was Bang Zoom's (no idea if they were called that at the time or if they were under Saban or what, I didn't really look into it, I went by ear) first job, because all the voice actors are the LA based ones. It really shows it's their first job, but by the time Tamers came out, you can hear a vast improvement.

AFAIK the first three series plus 3 movies (duct taped as one) were dubbed in house at Saban. No other dubbing group is credited like on Frontier and beyond. Frontier was done by now defunct 'Sensation Animation Inc' which I believe was a Disney subsidy.

It was in house Saban/Fox Kids according to Jeff Nimoy

https://web.archive.org/web/20230209063332/https://thestoop.tv/2020/07/27/jeff-nimoys-digimon-audition/

Sensation Animation was created by Disney literally just for the purpose of dubbing the rest of Digimon after they acquired Saban/Fox Kids before they let Studiopolis handle it afterwards.

https://www.avid.wiki/Sensation_Animation