Are there official English subs of the Pokemon episodes?

[LinkSeasonMaster]

If this has been already answered somewhere else, either here on another thread or on a different website, I apologize. But from what I can tell, that has not necessarily been the case, and if I'm right about that, I also have a feeling that I'm not the only who's at least curious about this.

Over the years, I've noticed something rather odd. While I've found some episodes of the anime with English subtitles, the only ones I've found happened to be the ones that were banned either in America, such as "The Legend of Dratini" (aka the Safari Zone episode), or banned altogether, such "Electric Soldier Porygon." But it only really clicked with me a few weeks ago, when as part of a class, we watched the first episode of several anime, including "Pokemon! I Choose You!"and while the professor had the first few episodes on DVD, to his frustration and my confusion, there did not appear to be an option for changing the language. Growing up, the only episodes and movies of the series I myself owned (and still own, actually) were on VHS tapes, and to my knowledge, changing the language of the audio on those isn't an option. But with DVDs in general, I can't recall ever not seeing an option for changing the language option from English audio to Japanese audio with or without English subtitles until that screening in class. Was that a fluke, and most retail copies of the series provide that feature? Or do official subtitles for episodes of the TV show (and possibly even the movies) just not exist? And if that really is the case, then why?

 

[Dogasu]

Unfortunately, official subs for any of the Pocket Monsters TV episodes, movies, specials, or anything else simply do not exist. Why not? A variety of reasons, really.

4Kids didn't think there was a market for the Japanese version during their tenure with the series. Alfred Kahn, CEO and chairman of 4Kids, has been quoted saying things like "The market for [uncuts] just isn't as large as the one for the cut version" and "I think the term anime is misleading; I think kids don’t know from whence we cometh. By the time we localize the programs kids don’t even know they’re from Japan any more."

Too many people see Pokemon as "not a real anime series" and therefore don't care enough about checking out the Japanese version. I mean it can't be *that* different, right?

Putting the Japanese version and the dub on the same disc would basically require you to have two completely separate video tracks because of all the cuts and paint edits and because things like the openings and eyecatches are completely different.

Fans are used to getting 26 episodes on a three-disc set for less than $30. There's no way an uncut release will be anywhere near that cheap.

Some of the content in the early episodes would be seen as "too risque" for release in America. There's stuff like the Miniryuu episode, of course, but there's also things like Machisu saying "Goddamn!" and Tarsan asking Kasumi if he can suckle on her teet. There will never, ever be a Pokemon DVD released in the U.S. with a "TV-PG" rating on it.

It's unfortunate but this is the world that we live in.

 

[LinkSeasonMaster]

Thank you for that explanation. It certainly explains why I can't seem to find any official subtitles, and it also means that I myself and hopefully anyone else who's curious won't have to worry about pursuing an option that doesn't even exist.

But what about fan-made subs? I know they exist for episodes such as the two I mentioned earlier, for that's how I saw them, and I'm under the impression they also exist in some form for some episodes and movies (if any of the Pokemon reviews performed here are any indication: Animenia). But is there any simple way to track them down or know which episodes, specials, and movies have English subs and can be viewed online, such as a specific phrase to type into a search engine or a specific website that keeps track of what I'm asking about? The closest I think I've come is that I remember reading somewhere that there is a site where at least a significant number of episodes are available in a raw, unsubbed format, but at the time, I didn't have the foresight to make a note of the site in question or even where I read that comment. That was a mistake on my part. But if you or really anyone know the answers I'm looking for and/or can point me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[Lord_Mewtwo]

Thank you for that explanation. It certainly explains why I can't seem to find any official subtitles, and it also means that I myself and hopefully anyone else who's curious won't have to worry about pursuing an option that doesn't even exist.

But what about fan-made subs? I know they exist for episodes such as the two I mentioned earlier, for that's how I saw them, and I'm under the impression they also exist in some form for some episodes and movies (if any of the Pokemon reviews performed here are any indication: Animenia). But is there any simple way to track them down or know which episodes, specials, and movies have English subs and can be viewed online, such as a specific phrase to type into a search engine or a specific website that keeps track of what I'm asking about? The closest I think I've come is that I remember reading somewhere that there is a site where at least a significant number of episodes are available in a raw, unsubbed format, but at the time, I didn't have the foresight to make a note of the site in question or even where I read that comment. That was a mistake on my part. But if you or really anyone know the answers I'm looking for and/or can point me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Talking about fansubs is frowned upon here unfortunately, but it seems with this series it is going to be the only way for people to see the original version because TPCi wants to hide the original version from the hardcore fans.

 

[Neo Blaze]

Asking for fansubs is not only frowned upon on BMGf, it is not allowed:

6. Don't ask for or provide illegal pokémon content (Copyright Violation, 4 points, 2 months)
-This also includes advertising or asking about fan-made games, illegal manga scans, or fansubs.

Because of this and because your initial question has been covered, I am hereby closing this thread.