Did 4Kids Dislike Brock?

D

Daniel J

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
166
Reaction score
2
There's a rumor thats been around for a
While that hasn't been confirmed to be true or false, so ill let you decide. When Pokemon came to America and became phenominal 4Kids supposedly told the Japanese producers to get rid of Brock because he looked to Japanese.
Such as his dark skin, no eyes. Think about it Pokemon premiered in 1997 in Japan, and than premiered 1998 in America (UPN). So it was two years for us, than all of a sudden Brock leaves because he wanted to stay on an island with an older woman (Ivey) and three other girls. Than suddendly January 22, 2000 we get a new trainer (Tracey) who is whiter than Ash and Misty, has regular eyes, has less spikey hair. So could it be that America got to see the dub and tell the japanese writers immediantly get rid of Brock, I think so. But because America and Japan disliked Tracey its no wonder why he left early. For all we know he was suppose to meet Proffesor Oak, but Oak could've said Tracey your to young, continue traveling with Ash and Misty, than he would've been around during Johto. But Brock came back out of nowhere? Only to stay to this day (suspicious). So 4Kids didn't like Brock, only to get him back permanetly (?) Karma or
Fans pleaze?
 
I've heard that Brock tested lowest in a popularity poll, which is why they replaced him with Tracey, only to have Tracey score even lower. I'm not sure what country the poll was conducted in, though.
 
Maybe they had a plan to switch trainers out and only have Ash and Misty be the only permanents. Because it was at the end/beginning of seasons it wasn't like he was doing so bad that he was switched out immediately for ratings' sake. (Not like you can really do that.) And then everyone was like, "Bring Brock back," so they did. ((??))

Japan does a lot of character ratings like that. In anime, manga, everything.
 
Encyclopedia Pokemonica (I think that's how it's spelled) was a Japanese fansite that had an English version. It was apparently shut down due to some copyright issues. The webmaster there posted a Japanese newspaper article and said that what it was saying was basically what you said Daniel-- 4Kids wanted Brock replaced becuase he was too Japanese. While we can't confirm 100% that this really was what the article was saying (that it was translated correctly), it's quite possible.
 
The story I recall reading went like this :

When they were considering importing pokémon to the States, 4Kids showed it to a focus group (ie, kids) to get an inkling for their thoughts on the show. Fairly standard practice. One of the thing that emerged was that Brock just wasn't very popular among that focus group.

4Kids, thus, suggested that they would be much happier if Brock was replaced by someone easier for Americans to identify with.

(Note to the economically uneducated : when a major business partner tell you they'd be "much happier if", you make very sure the "if" happens. That's how one makes monies, and monies makes all businesses - yes, including anime-makers - go around.)

The animator's only choice in the matter would have been "Hmmm, do I write Brock off, or pick up the ads section of the newspaper and start looking for a new job?"
 
naah he looks more hispanic imo... not only that, but he has many brothers and sisters? I'm pretty sure he passes the criteria for being a beaner :)
 
Please note: The thread is from 20 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom