This Viral Yu-Gi-Oh Clip Perfectly Sums Up the Anime's Dub

English dubs often get a bad reputation among anime fans because in the earlier days, series were [...]

By Nick Valdez

English dubs often get a bad reputation among anime fans because in the earlier days, series were often changed dramatically from their original Japanese counterparts. This is especially true for the English dubs produced by 4Kids, but their series also have some of the most divisive responses to the changes. A great example of this has been Yu-Gi-Oh! as it changed many character names, designs, and often even added little extra bits of goofy flair that made it quite the over the top experience. But it was even wilder with the sequel series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

While fans often go viral for pointing out the bombastic changes the English dub made to the original Yu-Gi-Oh series, @Toasty_Nerd has gotten a lot of attention on Twitter for pointing out one of the reasons why GX is probably the more ridiculous and fun English dub to watch. Check it out:

This clip sees Aster Phoenix (Edo Phoenix in the original version) tease that he's planning to challenge Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki) to a duel, but plays around with that fact. Instead saying that he's hunting for "Schmaden Schmuki," this is a hilarious example of the many kinds of liberties that 4Kids made with GX's English dub. Unlike the original series that kept many of the original ideas in tact, GX kind of went in a completely different direction.

New names for many of the characters, new visuals for the life point counters, new looks for the onsters, duelists with wild accents reminiscent of celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, complete loss of death and darker themes, and each giving characters wacky catchphrases such as "Chazz it up!" 4Kids would soon lose the GX license after three seasons, and thus the fourth season was never given an official English dub. Maybe these wild changes eventually lead to this, but now fans are far more forgiving of the cheese.

Yu-Gi-Oh! was originally created by Kazuki Takahashi for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and ran from September 1996 to March 2004. The series follows Yugi Mutou, a young boy who solves an ancient puzzle and is possessed by the spirit of the Egyptian pharoah. Being skilled at deadly games, the Pharoah goes on to create and solve problems for Yugi based on deadly games of chance. Two anime adaptations were created for the series, but the one most fans will recognize is Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of