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Toon Zone Talkback - "William Winckler Productions" Debuts; Dubs Old School Anime
- Thread starter Riley.
- Start date
Alice Adam
New member
Kind of interested in how the dubs of Fist of the North Star and Captain Harlock will do, or for that matter, how the dubbing will be handled. I hope this does well so I can see some other old school anime dubbed.
UNPOLITICALLY CORRECT
New member
Oh my stars and garters...
Starzingers and Danguard Ace were two of my earliest introductions to anime, along with Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers. I saw them under a "Shogun Warriors" banner as 2-hour movies on Showtime back when cable was really really new and desperate for programming. I knew Starzingers as Spaceketeers, and Danguard Ace was one of the titles that really didn't survive the transition from a series to a movie. If nothing else, I'd be curious to see these just to find out if they were as cool as I thought they were as a kid.
Here's hoping that 1) these things are as cool as I remeraber (although I partially dread finding out), and if so, 2) they can bring over the complete Grandizer (Goldorak in some markets, so I'm led to believe) and Getter Robo G (Starvengers as I knew them), which were two of my favorites at the time. I do wish these guys the best of luck, though, for purely selfish reasons and because I think it's important that anime history gets the same kind of attention and care that American animation history gets in home video releases.
Starzingers and Danguard Ace were two of my earliest introductions to anime, along with Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers. I saw them under a "Shogun Warriors" banner as 2-hour movies on Showtime back when cable was really really new and desperate for programming. I knew Starzingers as Spaceketeers, and Danguard Ace was one of the titles that really didn't survive the transition from a series to a movie. If nothing else, I'd be curious to see these just to find out if they were as cool as I thought they were as a kid.
Here's hoping that 1) these things are as cool as I remeraber (although I partially dread finding out), and if so, 2) they can bring over the complete Grandizer (Goldorak in some markets, so I'm led to believe) and Getter Robo G (Starvengers as I knew them), which were two of my favorites at the time. I do wish these guys the best of luck, though, for purely selfish reasons and because I think it's important that anime history gets the same kind of attention and care that American animation history gets in home video releases.
Camo13ammo
New member
Big congrats to Marc from FanBoyReview for the breakin' of this news.
Can't say I'm too interested in any of their titles, but now Media Blasters has a new small-time Anime company friend. Share the sandbox nicely, boys!
Can't say I'm too interested in any of their titles, but now Media Blasters has a new small-time Anime company friend. Share the sandbox nicely, boys!
Nami Cullen
New member
Well, at a minimum I'm buying Captain Harlock when it comes, no hesitation there. If it does well perhaps they will do the unrelated classic series as well, Endless Orbit SSX, which was apparently a successor to the film Arcadia of My Youth and is therefore the closest thing to coherent continuity that Harlock has ever had.
As far as I'm concerned, Toei is finally getting smart with its properties. I think the key here is that we're lucky to see titles like these coming at all. Selling them as complete series would be more expensive to produce and more expensive to buy, and they could well have been sub-only. And even then, it might have been financially unwise.
In contrast, releasing them as a bunch of abridged movies with English dubbing is less expensive and makes these titles a more attractive buy. And for those that want the whole thing, the complete episodes for some of these titles are already streaming subtitled online. The one very long series on the list, Fist of the North Star, is getting a substantial series of feature films.
So this is really very good, and I'll take a look at these shows when the time comes. And if this eventually leaRAB to Galaxy Express 999 coming into print on DVD, I'll be delighted. The fact that more is coming besides this makes me very hopeful.
This is great news I wouldn't have dared hope for, all in all. Retro fans and anime fans need to sit up and take notice.
I wonder if the distribution deals will really work out. Hey, SyFy, there may be two or three candidates for Ani-Monday here...
As far as I'm concerned, Toei is finally getting smart with its properties. I think the key here is that we're lucky to see titles like these coming at all. Selling them as complete series would be more expensive to produce and more expensive to buy, and they could well have been sub-only. And even then, it might have been financially unwise.
In contrast, releasing them as a bunch of abridged movies with English dubbing is less expensive and makes these titles a more attractive buy. And for those that want the whole thing, the complete episodes for some of these titles are already streaming subtitled online. The one very long series on the list, Fist of the North Star, is getting a substantial series of feature films.
So this is really very good, and I'll take a look at these shows when the time comes. And if this eventually leaRAB to Galaxy Express 999 coming into print on DVD, I'll be delighted. The fact that more is coming besides this makes me very hopeful.
This is great news I wouldn't have dared hope for, all in all. Retro fans and anime fans need to sit up and take notice.
I wonder if the distribution deals will really work out. Hey, SyFy, there may be two or three candidates for Ani-Monday here...
As much as I don't like abridged compilations, I can understand the issue here due to the fact that most of the properties won't appeal to anyone except the hardcore anime fans. As for the company, William Winckler productions has been around since the 80's and were responsible for the half-complete dub of the original Tekkaman series so they're not newbies to the industry.
The news had already broke on ANN a few days ago but the word is that the actors who work for WWP aren't really the type who would go all the way to make a dub as wonderful sounding as any other. If anything, to them, the anime dubs will just be another paycheque.
So I hate to say this, but if we're getting compilations with subpar dubbing and with titles only appealing mostly to hardcore fans, Toei would be lucky if they can break even with this move.
Original ANN article for those who forgot.
The news had already broke on ANN a few days ago but the word is that the actors who work for WWP aren't really the type who would go all the way to make a dub as wonderful sounding as any other. If anything, to them, the anime dubs will just be another paycheque.
So I hate to say this, but if we're getting compilations with subpar dubbing and with titles only appealing mostly to hardcore fans, Toei would be lucky if they can break even with this move.
Original ANN article for those who forgot.
Paul Mikulskis
New member
Fist of the North Star? Captain Harlock? Tekkaman? RELASED IN AMERICA!?
Man, they chould charge, like, $10 an episode if they wanted to, I'm there, no hesitation.
Man, they chould charge, like, $10 an episode if they wanted to, I'm there, no hesitation.
adiabaticfire
New member
Dude, no one forgot, that's one of the references in the Toon Zone article. It also referenced the blog that broke the story in the first place.
As for financial success, we'll see. But this is at least definitely the best way to give these titles a R1 release in my view.
I had no idea these guys had been around for that long. What goes around, I guess.
As for financial success, we'll see. But this is at least definitely the best way to give these titles a R1 release in my view.
I had no idea these guys had been around for that long. What goes around, I guess.
Evil Kitten
New member
Yeah, this is a niche, but people shouldn't be writing epitaphs before they've even started. Their plans seem sensible and modest, and to my mind there's little comparison between this and the bad marketing that went on a few years back in certain quarters (license something obscure, release it in costly singles no matter what it is, expect people to buy it blind). I've also noticed that here and there on the internet there are guesses or direct assumptions that the dubbing will be subpar, which is incredibly presumptuous for anyone to say considering that no one has heard so much as one line of any of their work yet.
I don't think Adult Swim touches any this stuff at all as it is right now. Ani-Monday would be the ideal. It's no stranger to that kind of programming.
I don't think Adult Swim touches any this stuff at all as it is right now. Ani-Monday would be the ideal. It's no stranger to that kind of programming.
Wow, this literally came out of nowhere. I figured WWP, like many of the obscure companies behind obscure 1980's-1990's anime dubs, had long gone the way of the dodo.
Yes, they are most known for the little-known, incomplete English dub of the original 1975 "Tekkaman" series back in 1984, of which 13 out of 26 episodes were dubbed. You can thank WWP for the SPACE LANCE! meme. I wonder if they'll be re-releasing that dub, or dare I say, finish it up after 25 years on the shelf.
Seriously though, what's up with that voice cast??? They've even got Fred friggin' Ladd, the father of dubbed anime, in there. This might definitely be reminiscent of the "dark days" of poorly-dubbed and scripted anime of the 1980's-early 1990's. Hope I'm proven wrong.
They picked the absolute wrong time for this as well, with even the biggest anime dubbing companies feeling the financial pinch.
Yes, they are most known for the little-known, incomplete English dub of the original 1975 "Tekkaman" series back in 1984, of which 13 out of 26 episodes were dubbed. You can thank WWP for the SPACE LANCE! meme. I wonder if they'll be re-releasing that dub, or dare I say, finish it up after 25 years on the shelf.
Seriously though, what's up with that voice cast??? They've even got Fred friggin' Ladd, the father of dubbed anime, in there. This might definitely be reminiscent of the "dark days" of poorly-dubbed and scripted anime of the 1980's-early 1990's. Hope I'm proven wrong.
They picked the absolute wrong time for this as well, with even the biggest anime dubbing companies feeling the financial pinch.
Christropher Brando
New member
A lot of good a dubbed Dr. Slump will do if it's produced like a dub from the eighties (or just plains sucks).
Fist of the north star?!?? YEAH.
I'm not to worry about that anime. There is a cult fanbase in the U.S. that loves that show.
Though, personally, I think this new dub company should start out slow and work it way up. I really don't want to see this company fail and see unfinished anime series.
I'm not to worry about that anime. There is a cult fanbase in the U.S. that loves that show.
Though, personally, I think this new dub company should start out slow and work it way up. I really don't want to see this company fail and see unfinished anime series.
You would think Slam Dunk would've made it then.
And most of these people are probably half my age too! They do not know what bad dubbing is... Until they watch this!
http://vimeo.com/1025466
Hardly care to watch the SyFylus channel these days.
We would think so.
Hopefully the hero's voice doesn't sound anymore borabastic than it was in that dub!
We all hope too, but I'm not buying the magic 8-ball's response!
At least it adRAB to the damage already done. It's not like I didn't see it coming.
At least you're one happy camper, and I wouldn't mind linking to the English pilot to Dr. Slump either, but I think the forum's got a beef about that. That dub was made by Harmony Gold and I felt they did a decent job rewriting a lot of lines to work as puns for it despite editing out a lot of scenes due to Japanese signage abound.
Shows like Dr. Slump would've worked well on Nickelodeon if cable TV was the best place for any of it in the 80's, course then there was a lot of shows I could name that would've worked on cable anyway.
And most of these people are probably half my age too! They do not know what bad dubbing is... Until they watch this!
http://vimeo.com/1025466
Hardly care to watch the SyFylus channel these days.
We would think so.
Hopefully the hero's voice doesn't sound anymore borabastic than it was in that dub!
We all hope too, but I'm not buying the magic 8-ball's response!
At least it adRAB to the damage already done. It's not like I didn't see it coming.
At least you're one happy camper, and I wouldn't mind linking to the English pilot to Dr. Slump either, but I think the forum's got a beef about that. That dub was made by Harmony Gold and I felt they did a decent job rewriting a lot of lines to work as puns for it despite editing out a lot of scenes due to Japanese signage abound.
Shows like Dr. Slump would've worked well on Nickelodeon if cable TV was the best place for any of it in the 80's, course then there was a lot of shows I could name that would've worked on cable anyway.
SlippersInHandcuffss
New member
The word on the street is that these dubs are not just planned, they're FINISHED.
All 23 movie's worth.
The issue here is whether any company will actually release them in some format. WWP is just the dubber, Toei probably still controls the license.
All 23 movie's worth.
The issue here is whether any company will actually release them in some format. WWP is just the dubber, Toei probably still controls the license.
PureFireBlaze
New member
This is certainly an interesting turn of affairs for these classic Toei series, although understandably a lot of anime fans on other forums don't like the idea that these are only compilations and not the original unedited series. I can only fathom that from the outset, Toei never intended to sell these to the mainstream English-language anime audience, but rather targeted to more of a kidvid market, or perhaps even to older science-fiction fans who will not only recognize these older series, but also be fully aware of the voice talent Winckler has employed, most of whom have notable science-fiction/fantasy credits.
Even though these productions will be edited and almost-certainly dub-only, I'll check these out whenever they get released. I can see the reasoning behind Toei's strategy on these shows, since most of them attained reasonably high degrees of popularity in many other countries where the series were shown on TV back in the 80s and 90s, but were never truly successfully sold in English.
I guess it's nice to see that Toei still have faith in such older series, but honestly the time to have marketed these to their optimum potential in the U.S. passed a decade or two ago at least. So while this will make for a fascinating experiment, I'm guessing we probably won't be seeing any further dubbed compilations in addition to the titles already completed last year.
The only real question now is when will the compilations be released, and in what format? William Winckler Productions has mentioned DVRAB, and I really hope this happens rather than an exclusively digital (and region-locked, since this is Toei) route. With Toei remaining silent on this, and the company infamously having their own very idiosyncratic ways of doing business, I'm guessing any release of these will be a long way off.
Toei's complete silence on the issue has actually got me thinking. The thought occurs that Winckler may actually have 'leaked' new on these 2008-produced dubs simply in order to spur Toei into doing something with them in a reasonable amount of time rather than leaving them on the shelf. In any case, it'll be interesting to see how and to whom Toei does intend to sell these, presuming they want to recoup the production costs to dub all these highlight movies.
I don't think Toei can offer Grendizer or any of the Go Nagai-based series for U.S. distribution since every time they've mentioned potential releases of their classic shows in the U.S., they've skipped all of those titles, including fellow Force Five title Getta Robo G and even Mazinger Z.
I'm guessing Go Nagai maintains some sort of additional control/copyright over these series, and Toei doesn't want to pay extra to Nagai's Dynamic Productions to get these cleared for a U.S. release. Gaiking seems to be the exception simply due to the original series going out without Nagai's name on it, even though he has retroactively claimed authorship of the original idea.
Even though these productions will be edited and almost-certainly dub-only, I'll check these out whenever they get released. I can see the reasoning behind Toei's strategy on these shows, since most of them attained reasonably high degrees of popularity in many other countries where the series were shown on TV back in the 80s and 90s, but were never truly successfully sold in English.
I guess it's nice to see that Toei still have faith in such older series, but honestly the time to have marketed these to their optimum potential in the U.S. passed a decade or two ago at least. So while this will make for a fascinating experiment, I'm guessing we probably won't be seeing any further dubbed compilations in addition to the titles already completed last year.
The only real question now is when will the compilations be released, and in what format? William Winckler Productions has mentioned DVRAB, and I really hope this happens rather than an exclusively digital (and region-locked, since this is Toei) route. With Toei remaining silent on this, and the company infamously having their own very idiosyncratic ways of doing business, I'm guessing any release of these will be a long way off.
Toei's complete silence on the issue has actually got me thinking. The thought occurs that Winckler may actually have 'leaked' new on these 2008-produced dubs simply in order to spur Toei into doing something with them in a reasonable amount of time rather than leaving them on the shelf. In any case, it'll be interesting to see how and to whom Toei does intend to sell these, presuming they want to recoup the production costs to dub all these highlight movies.
I don't think Toei can offer Grendizer or any of the Go Nagai-based series for U.S. distribution since every time they've mentioned potential releases of their classic shows in the U.S., they've skipped all of those titles, including fellow Force Five title Getta Robo G and even Mazinger Z.
I'm guessing Go Nagai maintains some sort of additional control/copyright over these series, and Toei doesn't want to pay extra to Nagai's Dynamic Productions to get these cleared for a U.S. release. Gaiking seems to be the exception simply due to the original series going out without Nagai's name on it, even though he has retroactively claimed authorship of the original idea.