Absolute Anime

Hi everyone

I'm new to your Forum and so far have really enjoyed what I've seen. Tons of info and fan discussions, it really is a nice place!

My Subject line says it all. Now, before I continue I'd like to underscore that I'm referring to the original Japanese version of the show, not the English-dubbed version aired in the US by 4Kids. I've been searching and searching the internet for this show, and aside from the clips/fan tributes that have been posted on YouTube, and a single eBay auction, I've had no luck tracking down this series.

Now there are tons of places carrying the English version on DVD, but what I'm looking for is the Japanese version (well, I'd need English subtitles of course, but you know what I mean). There were a total of 78 episodes spanning 3 seasons. I have no idea how exactly the seasons were split up to be distributed on DVD (the eBay auction I won was for two volume sets, simply labeled "Part I" and "Part II") but am interested in obtaining all of them.

Does anyone know of where I might be able to purchase this series on DVD? Heck, if I had to have it shipped over from Japan that would be fine...I'd be glad to pay the costs! Like I said before, I've looked all over the web but can't seem to find anywhere that sells it. Though I'll readily admit I'm kind of a novice to anime and wouldn't know where to look beyond your standard Google search... (I tried some of the sites listed in the stickied threads but had no luck.)

So if anyone out there knows of a dealer/website that has this series (or can order it), please let me know! I hate to come through the doors asking for favors first thing but I really, really want to get this show in its original form. Or if you're a fan of the series - US or Japanese version - and just want to shoot the breeze a little, I'm up for that too.

Thanks in advance!
~Hourglass

p.s. - I did try using the Search feature here on this Forum, but had no luck.

Well, as far as I know English DVD releases have language options. Just select Japanese and English subtitles. With the exception of a few phrases that didnt translate properly or some misunderstood humor, there is no difference between the English version and Japanese version

And you say "you'll even ship them from Japan" but here is the problem with that.....you said you needed subtitles and Japanese DVD's DO NOT have English subtitles. I mean seriously why would we put our DVDs with English subtitles when less than 1% of our population knows enough English to understand it.

I fail to see why Amerikans are so obsessed with the Japanese versions......I has seen many English versions and they dont change much.

Aoi Sakuraba wrote:Well, as far as I know English DVD releases have language options. Just select Japanese and English subtitles. With the exception of a few phrases that didnt translate properly or some misunderstood humor, there is no difference between the English version and Japanese version

And you say "you'll even ship them from Japan" but here is the problem with that.....you said you needed subtitles and Japanese DVD's DO NOT have English subtitles. I mean seriously why would we put our DVDs with English subtitles when less than 1% of our population knows enough English to understand it.

I fail to see why Amerikans are so obsessed with the Japanese versions......I has seen many English versions and they dont change much.

Hi Aoi Sakuraba, thank you for the Reply.
My eBay auction DVD sets arrived today, and to my surprise they were actually complete sets, Season 1 and Season 2! Now if I can only find a complete Season 3 somewhere..

You make a very good point about the English subtitles; watching the Japanese DVD's today, they DO have English subtitles but the translation is kind of bad...the main character "Sonic" for example is named "Sonic Rat" in the subtitles. However it was still worth it to me to see the true, uncut versions of the episodes.

Notice I did say "uncut". Here in America, the episodes were dubbed in English and released by 4Kids (a company with a rather poor reputation among anime fans here); their version of the episodes is extremely censored...no bad language, some of the things like explosions and fight scenes are cut completely out, and such.
But perhaps the biggest single event change was the last 2 episodes (77 and 78), where one of the main characters (Cosmo) was killed. The original Japanese version made me very sad when I watched it, but sad because it was so good. It was tragic, but it also very moving emotionally and it was beautifully done. The version aired here in America on the other hand, was severely edited and most of the dialog was changed entirely.

Why is this a big deal? Well, here in America we have some pretty dedicated anime fans. We love our shows here and when a company takes liberties with the story/language/dialog, fans tend to get quite angry. It may sound silly, but we almost take it personally. Sonic X, while not as mainstream as many other series', has a solid fan base and a lot of us consider the 4Kids version to be a very weak, poorly-done copy of the Japanese original.
To put it another way, if someone says "yes I've seen Sonic X", the response they usually get is "the English version isn't worth watching...watch the Japanese one instead!"
And so I'm doing exactly that.

I hope that helps answer your final statement on why some Americans are obsessed with the Japanese versions of shows. You're right in saying that many shows are basically the same in both countries...Sonic X, however, was one that suffered pretty badly when it was dubbed to English and aired here. It didn't completely ruin the show, but it took away many parts of the series that were very enjoyable.

Sorry to have made such a long post. But I hope it helps explain why I'm looking for this so hard. And again, thank you for taking time to Reply.

Hourglass wrote: You make a very good point about the English subtitles; watching the Japanese DVD's today, they DO have English subtitles but the translation is kind of bad...the main character "Sonic" for example is named "Sonic Rat" in the subtitles. However it was still worth it to me to see the true, uncut versions of the episodes.

Maybe I am no understanding something but......if you already have the original Japanese DVD's then what was the point of this thread? Or did you mean you had the English DVD's and they have "Japanese with English subtitles" in the language options?

Because, while I haven't seen sonic I have never seen a DVD here (Japan) that had English subtitles. I mean I guess they could have done it on sonic, I just think it's kinda odd.

Sorry if I wasn't very clear with what I said.

There are 3 seasons total for Sonic X. I was able to find season 1 and 2 on eBay. I have not been able to find season 3 anywhere, though...that's why I was asking on here if anyone knew of a place that had it for sale.

And yes, the DVDs I have are Japanese with the option of English subtitles. I'll have to look but I think they also have one or two other languages in the subtitle options, as well.

shhh
I'm looking at the sexy cases of Sonic X *drools*
Sonic = pwnsome, no matter what.

The only reason I prefer the original Sonic X is the emotion through the voice actors. I think that the Japanese version moreso grasped the way sonic is.

Thats a news flash for me, as none of my DVD's have english options (not that i need them lol)

Maybe it's a new thing or maybe unique to sonic(i dunno i have never watched sonic, and never played the games either)

Aoi Sakuraba wrote:Thats a news flash for me, as none of my DVD's have english options (not that i need them lol)

Maybe it's a new thing or maybe unique to sonic(i dunno i have never watched sonic, and never played the games either)

...........................................................
Blasphemy

Yes I am blasphemous......to sonic fans I must me like the anti-christ. lol

Aoi Sakuraba wrote:Yes I am blasphemous......to sonic fans I must me like the anti-christ. lol

lol no, not at all. Sonic isn't for everyone, whether it's games or animation.

Hourglass wrote:

Aoi Sakuraba wrote:Yes I am blasphemous......to sonic fans I must me like the anti-christ. lol

lol no, not at all. Sonic isn't for everyone, whether it's games or animation.

lol i know, i was being sarcastic lol

Anime available in North America has to be liscensed by its Japanese originator to a distribution company like ADV, Funimation, etc. They oversee the English translation, subbing (fan subs are often better), and dubbing. English dubs used to be a horror but over the last five years or so, have gotten actually quite good.

Anime Western Television Networks schedule in times aimed at children are often heavily edited to meet western sensibilities. For instance, you'll not be seeing many hot spring episodes on Saturday morning.

DVD's produced for sale in North America are not cut. They are dubbed but offer the original Japanese soundtrack with subtitles.

Some of what is sold on E-Bay are actually bootleg copies. While you are getting a bargain, the quality may be lacking and the Japanese originators aren't getting their due percentage of the sale.