Concerns I have re: Shout Factory's Kakuranger

[Black Fang]

Actually, Ohranger is pretty shitty from episodes 9-43 with some exceptions sprinkled throughout. The ranger cast is quite bland and they aren't developed even in the slightest.

I'm glad you put it that way, but the cast itself is fun even if the characters are bland. (Same as with Zyuranger.) They, the action scenes and the music allow me to still enjoy watching it. Heck, why not do a recut of Ohranger with just episodes 1-9, 43-48, and those few good episodes in the middle? That would be closer to the shows original premise and improve the quality.

 

[Dr Kain]

I think they should consider jumping around and hit Megaranger next, since Sentai fans generally like that show and since it became what PR fans consider to be the best season of PR. (Forget Kakuranger, Carranger would be a hard sell. I love that show, but it's always just been a cult hit. A lot of people still don't get the show's very Japanese humor or its agenda, and it was edited into one of the most hated PR seasons.)

While I would rather they stayed going in order for the 90s so I can get Carranger next year, I wouldn't mind them doing to Timeranger or Gekiranger next. :laugh:

Also, this isn't like the 4Kids situation because Shout and Saban and Toei want these sets to succeed but they're limited to a very small and niche audience purely because the big box stores won't carry their product. .

To be fair, big box stores don't really carry anything that isn't the latest and greatest looking movie. If you want a Film Noir, you have to go to B&N or online to get it because it isn't relevant enough for those stores. Hell, Jaws, which is considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made, wasn't even carried by every big store when it came out to BD, yet those stores had no problem stocking 6000 copies of Twilight.

Also, Trade Smart does sell Zyu and Dai in store.

 

[TransformingNinja]

Im just happy they are releasing any Sentai in the US, period.

You can contact them on their instagram account.

If they release Bioman I seriously hope they include the English dub from the Philippines, I even offered to provide them with the audio.

 

[KingBaxte]

So this is gonna be my first post eh?

Does anyone remember those old Ultraman Leo Rips? Only ten episodes, dubbed in Cantonese? video quality like spaghetti trying to have sex? Think they're still on youtube. I know anyone who liked Ultraman watched them since they were the only thing available on leo at the time. (granted it's been a long time since I checked.)

They are releasing KAKURANGER on DVD. If you came to me three years ago and told me they were going to release DVDs of Zyu, Dai, and Kaku, I'd punch you in the dick for getting me so mad. Crunchyroll has Ultraman shows on it's site and people aren't screaming "GAY!!!" in the comment section, Ultraseven is on DVD and there was a big budget Godzilla movie. I feel like I'm in upside-down crazy town. So what do we do when the seas seem to part and the sky comes falling down and Satan needs a sweater to get to work 'cause there are Japanese Power Ranger shows on american dvd racks? We bitch.

Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned about translations being accurate or not but I don't give a sht if Jiraiya says "puck luck duck" as long as I watch Kakuranger on my T.V., on a DVD that wasn't made from my media maker nor in Malaysian sweatshops.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

So this is gonna be my first post eh?

~Snip~

Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned about translations being accurate or not but I don't give a sht if Jiraiya says "puck luck duck" as long as I watch Kakuranger on my T.V., on a DVD that wasn't made from my media maker nor in Malaysian sweatshops.

Hello, KingBaxte! Welcome to the forum, and thanks for the gesture.

I understand that you want us all to take a step back and appreciate what we have. Trust me, of all the fan communities I've been to, I think the one here at this message board is THE most grateful for what Shout Factory is doing. The only time I've seen a few people who were ungrateful for an official release of Super Sentai is when I last visited the TV-Nihon message board, around the time of Zyu's release. I bring it up because there are indeed spoiled fans who consider themselves self-entitled because of fansubs, and these are the kind of people that need a reality check. However, that is definitely not the case here. Especially in this topic.

We're all gathered together in this specific topic only because we want to help Shout become better translators and give Super Sentai the best official translation that it deserves. Outside of that, even if that never happens or their translation quality gets a little worse, we'll still take it over nothing. We'll still buy copies of the DVD sets and encourage others to buy, or watch the official streaming videos with AdBlock turned off. We'll still count our lucky stars this miracle has happened and hope more great miracles like this occur in the future.

 

[Dr Kain]

Now here is another thing I was wondering. Does Shout! actually do the translations themselves or are they given the subtitle scripts?

 

[Edmond Dantes]

I second Dr. Kain's question.

Another thing that bugs me... Shout used to have a forum, as I said earlier. I remember it existing as recently as the time of their Takara Transformers releases, and they even discussed with fans that they might just license the script from a fansubber. For some reason tho, they didn't do that (all reports I've heard are that they just recycled the scripts--not to mention the source video--from the Metrodome UK releases, so if you already had those then Shouts was kinda pointless... not to mention disappointing as I was hoping for a version of Headmasters that ISN'T missing footage).

I wonder why they don't consider doing this for the sentai? maybe they can't due to their contract or legal issues or something, but it would presumably make their job a lot easier if they could just contact GUIS, pay them a fee and slap their subs on the discs (maybe with minor editing in case they were required to keep the toy names the same as the original or something).

My main concern in all of this is I don't wanna be showing this show to friends and then having to sit there and explain things that were lost in translation. Far too many official subs force me into that position these days. Then you start wondering what'll happen when a net-celeb like Linkara sees this (keep in mind he'll potentially introduce a whole new audience to these things) and then he's confused at things that would've made sense with a better translation/if he had been watching GUIS...

But like SamuraiEchidna said, I'll support these releases even if the subs are sub-standard, simply in the hope that they'll eventually do every Sentai... or at least, that they'll eventually cover the post-Zyu seasons that don't have fansubs yet, and maybe they'll go back and do a better sub of Battle Fever J (I wish Egos-Empire hadn't dropped that one, as I hate the JN Productions subs).

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Now here is another thing I was wondering. Does Shout! actually do the translations themselves or are they given the subtitle scripts?

This is actually a very good question.

The Power Rangers production team has always had to watch and examine the Sentai to make the best use of the footage. It's possible that, during the planning and production phase, the shows were all ready given a basic translation. If this is true, Shout Factory may just be using that for their subtitles. It would be way too easy to change or add a few things, like changing the word Squadron back into Sentai, or putting honorifics back in.

 

[Dr Kain]

I could do without honorifics. I can hear them spoken, I don't need to read them to.

I also don't think their subs are sub-standard at all.

As for the fansubbers stuff, while that would be cool, I think they can't do that legally. Fansubbers are technically illegal, and seeing as how Toei is run by a bunch of jerk monkeys, I doubt they would allow it. From my understanding, if they haven't already provided the subtitle script, they have to be handed the licensor's script and approve them before they can be programmed onto the discs. Toei also has to be informed of who did the translation, what their background is, and approve that too. That's why that one lazy company didn't bother subbing the Japanese version of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, they were going to be required to do all of this and didn't feel the show was worth the cost of doing so.

 

[Edmond Dantes]

Well, I managed to send a message via Shout's "contact" page on their website, and I got a reply saying that my message was forwarded to Brian Ward. So all that can be done HAS been done.

Let's not be bad at the heat, now.

I didn't really mean to imply that Shout's subs were "sub-standard" earlier, but I just think translators should try to do their best, not just be "simply good enough." I mean the latter CAN work--look at Final Fantasy VII--but you gotta admit that game would've been twice as popular if its original translation had been as good as the recent fan-translation.