So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually was?

[Dogasu]

As we all know, the Dent fishing episode was skipped after the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan back in March. The episode was eventually re-edited and aired at a later date.

So...why didn't OLM do the same thing to the Dojotchi vs. Namazun episode they skipped back during Advanced Generation? Surely they could have found somewhere in the next 30 or so episodes before the end of the Houen League to insert it, right? The animation had already switched to digital coloring by that point as well, so it wouldn't have been that hard to go into the computer and edit whatever was in there that could have given away the fact that the episode was aired out of order.

Any theories?

 

[MizuTaipu]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Maybe since earthquakes were such a central theme to the episode that it would have been difficult to edit anything?

 

[Magmaster12]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Maybe because this was a few months before they went off to Kanto. By the time it would have been time the show was already in Kanto and it would have confused the viewers to much.

Although I'm probably wrong since it probably would have been easy for them to cover up the team changes made during the transition.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Fun fact: This ep debuted Barboach in the anime and because it was skipped that Pokemon never got any proper showcase in the anime. And yes I know we saw it swimming in the background in some eps after.

Fun fact 2: This ep looked like a dull filler from the preview.

Fun fact 3: Because this was skipped, May got one less episode of airtime in the anime.

 

[Iteru]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Let's stick to theories as the OP asks for.

 

[Eitarou]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Well, most likely it was just a filler with no real plot relevance...so they just decided it wasn't worth the time to re-edit it.

 

[Ampharos King]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

The original episode title of "AG101" was "Shaking Island Battle! Dojoach (Barboach) VS Namazun (Whiscash)!!!"

This episode was intended to air on November 4th, 2004. The Chutetsu earthquakes were said to take place nearly a week and a half before on October 23, 2004. Most of the media coverage in lieu of the earthquakes took place a few days afterward.

The video and audio preview that had surfaced prior to this episode's ban didn't give us any true hints on the intended plotline. It simply featured Ash and co. encountering the COTD; the COTD's Barboach splashing mud on Max; and a few small scenes of a group of Whiscash swimming near the island and using Water Pulse. In that 30-second preview, we got a small glimpse of what was to be expected during that episode, but there was nothing directly related to the incident.

There is a small synopsis from Bulbapedia that was based on a rough translation from an unidentified source:

"Ash Ketchum finishes the Mossdeep City Gym and his next goal is the final Gym at Sootopolis City. Ash and friends journey toward Jojo Island on the way and are caught in an earthquake caused by a Whiscash. They then meet a Pokémon Trainer named Chōta and start a Whiscash extermination there."

Based on that alone, we can assume that Ash and co. were caught up in an earthquake at some point during this episode. At the very least, a few people were affected by an earthquake. This seems to be the main premise of the episode: Ash and co. working together with another trainer to stop what is supposedly the main source of the earthquake.

It is also important to note that, prior to the Chutetsu incident and this episode's subsequent international ban, Ground-type moves such as Earthquake and Fissure were often used by pokemon in the anime. The most recent example of either case was in, ironically, another episode centered around Whiscash. That Whiscash episode aired around five months earlier (May 6, 2004). At that time, there were no serious environmental disasters in Japan. Nowadays, most attacks related to earthquakes or mud slides would never see the light of day in the anime.

Let's assume that the Whiscash were indeed causing the earthquakes to purposely inflict harm on innocent people and pokemon. How can this episode be changed around to alleviate any possible harm that could come from one or more of the characters if they were caught up in the earthquake? This episode's plotline was started on the premise that at least a few characters were physically and emotionally affected by the island's series of earthquakes.

The nation of Japan is very close in proximity to the region of deep trenches and underwater active volcanoes known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire." In fact, nearly 10% of all active volcanoes in the world are located in Japan. The nation of Japan is located in a zone of crustal instability, and as such, is prone to tectonic shifts between the Pacific and Asian plates. This can lead to earthquakes and, in some cases, tsunamis since Japan is an archipelago.

The setting of the Barboach vs Whiscash episode is on an island that "should" be prone to earthquakes. The title of the episode in of itself is called "Shaking Island Battle." Perhaps this episode's events are far too relatable to Japan's consistent struggle in the face of seismic activity to air conventionally for a television audience? I would want to go with the theory that there is far too much in this episode to edit it in a way that could be suitable to this audience.

 

[Joshawott]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Well, most likely it was just a filler with no real plot relevance...so they just decided it wasn't worth the time to re-edit it.

But wasn't the fishing episode pretty much a filler as well?

I pretty much agree with what Ampharos King has said; it seems that earthquakes were a major plot point in that episode. Whereas with the Fishing Competition episode, it could have been delayed due to the emphasis on water (due to the tsunami) or perhaps there were scenes that were edited out that were more controversial?

I'd have guessed that it might have been to explain Bianca's sudden appearance with the group in BW26, but that wasn't explained at all.

 

[JennaJayfeather]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

I think the AG episode was banned due to the fact it has to do directly with earthquakes, while the fishing one was just at the tail end of the Castelia plot. I'm just going to leave it simple like this ^.^

 

[Rex Kamex]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

... Maybe they got tired of making episodes that would never get aired so they decided to edit the Cilan one...?

Or maybe the controversy of the Barboach episode was too central to the plot to be worth getting rid of so it just got banned.... which has already been suggested...

The original episode title of "AG101" was "Shaking Island Battle! Dojoach (Barboach) VS Namazun (Whiscash)!!!"

This episode was intended to air on November 4th, 2004. The Chutetsu earthquakes were said to take place nearly a week and a half before on October 23, 2004. Most of the media coverage in lieu of the earthquakes took place a few days afterward.

The video and audio preview that had surfaced prior to this episode's ban didn't give us any true hints on the intended plotline.[/QUOTE]

There's shaking within a few seconds of that preview...

Let's assume that the Whiscash were indeed causing the earthquakes to purposely inflict harm on innocent people and pokemon. How can this episode be changed around to alleviate any possible harm that could come from one or more of the characters if they were caught up in the earthquake? This episode's plotline was started on the premise that at least a few characters were physically and emotionally affected by the island's series of earthquakes.

The setting of the Barboach vs Whiscash episode is on an island that "should" be prone to earthquakes. The title of the episode in of itself is called "Shaking Island Battle." Perhaps this episode's events are far too relatable to Japan's consistent struggle in the face of seismic activity to air conventionally for a television audience? I would want to go with the theory that there is far too much in this episode to edit it in a way that could be suitable to this audience.

Maybe I'm interpreting what you're saying wrong, but it sounds to me like that's saying that episode never could have been safe to air since it has earthquakes in it. But the fact that they made the episode suggests the episode wouldn't have been a huge problem to air had their not been such an earthquake shortly before it aired.

 

[GreatLiver]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

There's definitely a difference between an episode focused on earthquakes following an earthquake, and an episode involving water following a tsunami. I don't know if people in Japan think of it as an island really any more than people in like Australia would consider that an island, but the title being shaking island may have had something to do with it. That they could have easily changed, as evident from the BW episode, but it would have been hard for them to do away with the earthquakes all together. I know a number of people were thinking that the fishing ep may have had a giant wave in it or something, which they may have edited out, but they wouldn't have been able to edit out earthquakes from an episode about two pokemon that make earthquakes.

 

[Adamant]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

People need to stop misusing the word "banned".

But yeah, as others have been saying, this is an episode directly focusing on earthquakes, presumably destructive ones, which makes it a lot more controversial to air than an episode featuring huge amounts of water right after an earthquake. By the time it could be seen as okay to air this thing, it was presumably seen as being to old and irrelevant, and just got ignored.

Given that it's an episode centered around earthquakes, it would also be completely impossible to edit into something more acceptable, too. I guess we'll have to see how much the Rocket VS Plasma episodes get edited when they eventually air.

 

[Dogasu]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Maybe because this was a few months before they went off to Kanto. By the time it would have been time the show was already in Kanto and it would have confused the viewers to much.

Not really. They still had 30 episodes to go, so there were still a number of places the episode could have been re-inserted. And it's not like there was that much going on between AG 100 and the end of Houen that would have made the episode stick out so much.

Or, they could have turned the shaking island into a different shaking island located somewhere in the Kanto region.

Maybe I'm interpreting what you're saying wrong, but it sounds to me like that's saying that episode never could have been safe to air since it has earthquakes in it. But the fact that they made the episode suggests the episode wouldn't have been a huge problem to air had their not been such an earthquake shortly before it aired.

That's the way I interpreted it as well.

Yes, Japan is prone to earthquakes, but that doesn't mean they don't still make TV shows and movies about these disasters. Same with the U.S. and, say, hurricanes and tornadoes.

There's definitely a difference between an episode focused on earthquakes following an earthquake, and an episode involving water following a tsunami.

At the same time, the death toll of the tsunami is something like 40 times what the death toll of the Chuetsu earthquake was, and there's still something like 90,000 people who continue to live in shelters. If the show was going to bounce back after a natural disaster, I would have assumed it'd be after the one that *didn't* break a shit ton of world records for death and destruction.

 

[Kojiro]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

There were probably too many earthquakes in this episode so they couldn't edit this. In BW26 there was probably only one or two high waves that looked like Tsunami and it wasn't significant so they dropped it.

 

[Pidgeot]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

As other people said, I think the only reason BW026 was aired at a later date was from a few tidal waves which could be interpreted as tsunamis. And as AG101 is much more disaster centric than BW026, that's probably why AG101 wasn't re-edited and then aired later. BW023 and BW024 probably will never air either, seeing as they can't really edit that two parter seeing as it features a lot of destruction, and as the recent earthquake was much, much worse than the 2004 one.

 

[Adamant]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

So how many times do people need to be told that it was explicitly stated BW23 and 24 will be aired at a later date?

 

[Cybersai]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

While the episode did seem like a filler, I wonder if they didn't air it because something more important might have happened but not too important.

We might have missed out on an extra Grovyle battle, or some random fact from the R/S games might have been brought up, or something along those lines. Shoal Cave, maybe?

Its probably just a dull filler, but the fact that it exists make me curious to see it. Kind of like how everyone wanted to see the Cilan fishing episode even if it was "just another episode."

 

[Dogasu]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

We don't know whether or not the episode was any "good" or not. Didn't we all learn from the whole DP 164 thing that episode previews are lousy indicators of the quality of the actual episode?

 

[Cybersai]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Well the COTD in the ep was very ugly looking. And it looked like another ep where Max tried to bond with a Pokemon, particularly when he's holding the Barboach.

I suppose the action scenes with the Wishcash using earthquake could have been very exciting though. Overall though it seemed like one of the weaker type of fillers in Hoenn, especially those dull ones about all those water pokemon they shoved between Mossdeep City at the time...like the ones about Huntail/Gorebyss, Relicanth, etc. Easily the weakest part of Hoenn.

 

[Rex Kamex]

Re: So why wasn't AG 101 re-edited & aired like the Dent fishing episode eventually w

Ash was overconfident in battling in the next episode, the one that aired where he fought Drake. For all we know, Ash's overconfident-ness could've started in the Barboach episode.

Although even if it were, any overconfidence in the Barboach episode wasn't enough to keep it from being banned.