MovieChat Forums > Tokyo Mew Mew (2002) Discussion > why did they have to change the names?!

why did they have to change the names?!


arg, that ALWAYS bugs me so much. they have renamed it mew mew power and changed all the names. so what, it cant take place in japan? wtf to that. zoey? its ichigo! it seems anime being dubbed lately are retaining their original names and character names, but no, not this one. one i was excited for


i hope the dubb doesnt suck, but im pessimistic

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I'm not sure about the title change. Tokyo Mew Mew's not that difficult to pronounce, and most people are familiar with Tokyo.

I think I might know why the names are changed. They're attempting to target this show to younger children and fear the kids won't like unfamiliar names. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of children wouldn't want to be bothered. I don't understand that line of thinking, but I can see it happening just the same.

The company who dubbed it wanted to appeal to anime fans and possible future anime fans at the same time, so they compromised things. Of course, this is just a guess. And just by knowing and talking to people, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned it off because it had "funny" names. Again, I don't understand this line of thinking, nor encourage it, but I know it happens. The company wanted to market it to mainstream audiences, and changing everything was just easier.

I remember I spoke to one person who was only a year or two younger than me. I was asking the names for the original Japanese cast of a dubbed TV anime. He told me I wouldn't find any because it was voiced by Americans. He had no idea it was a dubbed anime, though it was a bit on the obvious side. So these are the people the company is working with.

Or, at least, that's what I'm guessing. There might be another line of reasoning.

I wouldn't worry too much. If the dub is terrible (I've only seen an ad for it and that was enough to know I wouldn't care for it) they might do what they did for CardCaptor Sakura. I first saw that one dubbed, and hated it. I decided I was anti-CCS (not realizing the original was better). I didn't understand why there were so many fans until I saw it in it's original Japanese format. I'm now in love with the show.

The nice thing was that CCS was finally released with subtitles and completely uncut. If Tokyo Mew Mew fans are lucky, the same might happen for them. I hope it does, because I know how it feels.

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they did the same thing with Sailor mOON
Usagi=Serena
Sydney
~Screw u guys, I'm going home!~

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[deleted]

And besides, they've kept Japanese-sounding names in other anime as well. In Shaman King they've kept the name "Yoh Asakura", and in Yu-Gi-Oh! they've kept the name "Yugi Moto".

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But in Sailor moon, they still kept their Japanese last names and 3 girls nothing changed in their names(rei and Ami are just how you say their names in english and sailor saturn didnt get changed.)

All i can say is, Adult Swim should have gotten Tokyo Mew Mew so nothing could get changed

someone told me to get a life, but i dont know where to download one..HEY! can I download yours?!

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They changed the title because the idea of children's dubs is to make kids believe that the show has nothing to do with Japan. It was going to be called Hollywood Mew Mew but people got mad because it was too similar to the original title Tokyo Mew Mew.

They changed the character names for the simple reason that some kids can't pronounce them. My sister loves Tokyo Mew Mew but I'll be dogged if she can say Ichigo or Shirogane. They could have changed them to there english translations but then sthat might not be realistic. How many american girls do you know named Strawberry, Lettuce, or Pomegranate?

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adult swim is not into this genre of anime. They want super action packed (Ghost in the Shell) and suspenceful (Death Note) or just straight up crude humor(Shin-Chan). Though I agree they should put some of these types of shows(I would love to see Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars on here) on there but its never going to happen

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Simply put yes they westernized it to appeal to western audiences to make it sell better. The thing about this is, much of the time the Japanese producers are well aware of this in all anime that is drastically altered

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Anime is Forever

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Not only did they change the names AND the title.
They changed the words!
ICHIGO was late because she over slept, and barely walked 700 meters before she realized she forgot something.
ZOEY was late because she was watching a reality show?
LETTUCE wants to do things for the mean girls because she hopes one day they will spill out their worries and ask her for advice.
BRIDGET want to do things for the 3 beckys because she'll be with the popular kids.

Why do they change the words so much!?

"You'll be my seeing-eye-gay"-Whillemina
"I love Zuko more than I fear you"-Mai

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so you don't like the japanese version?

Oh it is brung!

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because like most ppl say cuz animation is mostly targeting kids n kids wont know how to say there names n if they translated kids would be confused on why they named there kid lettuce :S

but i only was 1 episode of mew mew power an i couldnt stand cuz the emotion was awful n mark's voice sounds like a 30 somethin year old when he should have a voice of a 14-15 year old

True Love Only In Animation...Seiya's Mine LOL...(Sailor Stars)

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Marks voice is HORRIBLE! I really don't understand where they got it from.

I agree with anime-luver about how little kids can't pronounce the names,but the dub... well, lets say I prefer Tokyo Mew Mew

Will you stop being a retard and climb?

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i know! He sounds like an old man! and they made Zakuro
into a big snob. She's a lot worse than what she was in
the Japanese Version.

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exactly! and zoey's voice is just plain annoying. its hard 4 me 2 take her seriously w/ such a high pitched annoying voice. and mark's voice does sound wierd. he doesnt sound like he would be a popular kid. freaky...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away but if the doctor's cute...screw the fruit ^_^

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Cuz Japanese names and words are too unAmerican for American audiences.

Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!!1!1

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If God is good, they'll at least give us an uncut and uncensored Japanese-language release of the *whole* series on DVD before too long...

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I know this question was posted a longlonglong time ago, but I will answer anyway.
As a translator I personally hate why names and titles or sometimes even situations are changed for the translated version, whether it be a sub or a dub, but I get it. + usually if something gets dubbed, the actors read the same text as the subtitles. and with cartoons, subbed versions are usually for older kids, so sometimes the original names are kept for subs but not for dubs.
I haven't seen the dubbed version of this so I can't really comment on it specifically, but here are the general reasons for changing names, titles etc.

kids can't pronounce foreign words/names and it's easier for them to watch the flick if it has familiar sounding names and places, as they will relate to them and remember them better and can talk about them.
same with changing an explanation or a situation, to make it more relateable or to make it shorter, as subtitles have a certain character limitation, usually 38 characters per row. and like I said, sometimes dubs are subs.
when changing the names while translating, usually there is an explanation for every name or tips on how to change it, the translator must come up with these. Sometimes you're asked to translate the name, unless it sounds stupid. Sometimes you have to use a word that sounds similar to the name, like "ichigo - itching" that would just be stupid once again. sometimes you just have to come up with a totally new name, but it has to sound normal and understandable in the language it's being dubbed in. And if nothing else works, you have to use a common name that just fits the character, or it pretty or whatever. Sometimes characters have a name for a reason (like the name means something) then you have to find a name in the dubbing language that means that. or sometimes the name sounds like or means something different or even something inappropriate in the language it's being dubbed in, so you have to change it. ooooor if nothing else works you have to use a common name, or just a pretty one.

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