Japanese Episode Spoilers.

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Linkpre

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*This question is specifically for American members*

I noticed that on a lot of Pokemon forums (and concerning Japanese animation in general) that people usually try to watch whatever episode of the show that has come out in Japan as soon as possible (usually illegally). My question is why?

I mean, I know there isn't only one answer, but still, I don't think waiting out for Cartoon Network to air the the dub version
is that hard to do.

Personally, back when Battle Frontier was starting and Youtube was getting popular, I admit that I watched a few episodes of the show in Japanese. It was mainly because I had seen the Japanese Pokemon theme songs on Youtube. I soon realized I wasn't really helping the show and stopped that.

Now, the most I do is maybe look at a few pictures right before the show airs in America. I usually try to stay away from sites like these so I won't get spoiled. It actually make the show alittle more enjoyable for me.
 
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Reasons I can think of:
-To watch the show in its orignal format without any edits.
-To not be out of the loop and to know everything there is to know.
-It would be stupid to speculate about things that may happen when they already have happened in the Japanese version.

I used to watch both, but I now only watch the dub since I think it makes watching it in English more enjoyable. *shrugs*
 
The whole concept of "spoilers" in this case is really a matter of perspective. What you consider spoilers aren't spoilers to people who live in Japan, since they're just watching it on TV. Spoilers to them would be information on upcoming episodes that haven't even aired over there yet.

And while the Pokemon dub is, I'm told, one of the least-edited dubs overall of most anime, changes do happen, and it's nice to watch it in its intended form. And as a bonus, you get exposure to a new language. So it's even educational! :)
 
I prefer the original version. It's as simple as that. I still watch the dub every week, but I just like the original version better for a wide variety of reasons.
 
The funny thing is with other shows I tend to avoid spoilers until I watch it.

But with Pokemon I want to know everything that happens in an upcoming episode as soon as its revealed or shown.

Besides, since Pokemon follows the same formula the only massive spoilers are captures, evolutions, or wins/losses at Gyms and Contests.
 
I'm too used to the Japanese version and all the benefits that come with it to watch the dub anymore, even the episodes without Shinji, so it's not like I just stopped watching the dub because of him.

1. The endings
2. The episode preview at the end
3. Lack of advertisements due to watching it over the internet. When they come, it takes only a mouse click if I dont want to see them. However Japanese commercials are far more interesting than American commercials.
4. The eyecatches
5. The openings - they're usually of a far better quality than the dub
6. The lack of edits
7. The background music
8. The much-needed silent parts

Besides, I hate adjusting to using English names over Japanese names. The only dub/English names I like of gen 4 are Dawn and Empoleon.
 
I don't mind hearing about Japanese spoilers from time to time. For me, hearing about them isn't the same as actually seeing the original version. Besides, I rarely watch the original(only watch if TR has a real good part in the episode/and or seeing Yanmega lol).

Besides, 5 months is quite a long wait, don't you think?
 
How is this specifically for Americans? It's not like there's only two countries in the world, you realize.

Some episodes I just can't wait for--like Team Galactic (plus Japanese Saturn's voice is LOLworthy).
 
I currently live in Japan right now, so I have no reason to "wait for the dub." Especially a dub that I couldn't really care any less about.

Lethal Carnivine said:
Besides, 5 months is quite a long wait, don't you think?
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Five months is nothing.
 
I watch the japanese version for it's audio, which is to say, the more atmospheric background music, as well as the more animalistic and natural sounding pokémon voices, which I prefer to the stark contrast of 10 second jingles and the likes of screams consisting of 'STARAVIA STARAVIA!' that the dub tends to provide. The latter irks me in particular, since the pokémon creatures are the reason I watch this cartoon in the first place.

There are also all the other benefits that have been mentioned, such as being able to watch the full animation for openings and endings, the Oak lectures and actually witnessing all the events going down instead of having to find out everything via a forum. I'm not a fan of the dub and haven't watched in years to find out what's going on, and the airings of the show are so sporadic anyway that I never know what I'm jumping in to.

The show is easy enough to understand regardless, and the only things I really miss out on are one or two pieces of interesting dialogue, which someone with greater knowledge of the language will usually kindly explain anyway. Besides that, I've been watching it so long that simple sentences and words are easy enough to identify once I hear them.
 
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Well, obviously, I agree with Linkpre here. I mean, I can easily relate to what he's saying.

I tend to avoid most spoilers as well, since I prefer to watch the dub. And it's not necessary for me to know what happens, before it actually happens in the dub. So yeah, being out of the loop doesn't bother me one bit.

Because, for the most part, all I really need to know are the Japanese episode titles, and I'm good. =)


On the other hand, if every single episode of the Japanese version came in subtitled form, I wouldn't mind watching it. It just bothers me to watch a show in a language that I can't understand, cause I wanna know everything that Ash (Satoshi) is saying. XD

Why? Well, I'm an Ash fangirl, so of course I'd wanna know everything that he says in each episode. XD
 
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Personally, I just don't feel like waiting for the dub. It's not like the Japanese in Pokemon is so terribly complicated. If it's available now, I'll get it now, as it was intended to be seen.

Especially since the dub kind of sucks.
 
People tend to get their Pokemon anime spoilers these days from foreign magazines.
 
I couldn't really care less if its in Japanese or in English. I watch the dub, but I have no problem watching the original version either, since the Pokemon dub isn't a show that really fucks up the plot to such a degree that I hate it with a passion burning as bright as the sun.
 
I haven't watched the dub since early Johto, and now only watch the anime in its original language, mostly for the reasons Grave-E and the like have mentioned.

One additional thing that bugs me about the dub is how different Pokémon of a particular species (ex.: Ash's and May's Squirtle, both voiced by Eric Stuart) all have the exact same voice, whereas in the original they tend to have different voices (ex.: Haruka's Zenigame, IIRC, has a higher, more childlike voice than Satoshi's), which helps set them apart as individual characters with different personalities.

I also like being able to read the credits (though obviously you have to know how to read Japanese) and seeing all the people in charge of the animation and such in each episode, which has helped me with the [bp=Category:Anime staff by episode]Anime staff by episode[/bp] pages on Bulbapedia.
 
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