New Voice cast - Discussion

[Ryoutarou]

First of all, exactly what was false? PUSA posted why we can't have the old cast back, they posted why they think the cast is good, not us, them. They haven't lied about anything at all in that statement.

Now to discuss why Pokemon.com editoral is completely wrong. If they really cared they would have found a way to remedy these supposed 'contractual commitments' just like any sports company would to keep their stars on the team. They didn't even care about them because according to Reggie Fils-Aime at last years E3, "Pokemon is serious business." The decision to change the voice actors was a business decision. After 8 seasons of voice acting for the anime, the actors salary increases, so replacing them with basic salary actors allows Pokemon USA to save money.

Not when 4Kids can threaten to sue, and easily win. PUSA did in fact try to get the voice actors back, but the 4kids contracts wouldn't let them, I've already posted why. If PUSA finds anyway to get the actors before the year term is up, 4Kids can take them to court, and they will have an extremely plausible case against PUSA. 4Kids right now is at one of the lowest points they've ever been in terms of sales, they stand to benefit from this if PUSA actually tried anything. For PUSA/Nintendo to try anything like that would just be plain stupid, there's no legal way that they can get the cast back right now. Sports contracts work differently than VA contracts do, these are two vastly different fields and you can't expect them to be the same.

For years, the background music has been changed from the originally broadcast raw in Japan. Myself and others believe that the japanese background music is leaps and bounds beyond the english dubbed version. The storylines would be great if they sticked to the original one in the japanese release. There are too many paint edits, clip cuts and dialogue changes in the english version and they are still doing it in the latest episodes of the show. Most recently, airing May's final contest out of order. This changes the flow of the storyline arc, so I do not see how they can justify by saying they are 'straight from Japan'. The final point here is the 'well-though out plot'. Pokemon plot: Ash and group travel to the nearest gym to challenge the leader to get the badge to enter the local league. Team Rocket arrives on the scene to capture Pikachu but fails miserably and blast out into the sky. You'de think the Japanese and english dub would finally come up with a new plot after 10 years. This isn't the dubs fault, but they could at least influence the Japanese script writers to change the plot.

Okay, you're blaming PUSA for what 4Kids and PUSA did here. Aside from the May thing, which was the fault of KidsWB, not PUSA or 4Kids', there has never been a significant change to the story at all. The background music effects the mood, yes, but does it change the story? No. Do paint edits change the story? Most of the time, no.

Team Rocket plays fair? Guess Giovanni must now run Pokemon USA. Fair would be actually listening to your fans concerns instead of laughing all the way to the bank. A recent magazine article stated the Pokemon USA is worth about 1.3billion dollars. I think they can afford to keep the original voice actors. The current rumour is that KidsWB also didn't like the change in the Voice Actors and decided they wouldn't broadcast the show anymore. (https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wik...kémon_USA)

This isn't an issue over money, PUSA can easily afford them, but as has been stated many times, they can't because of the contracts. The cast signed them, and they can't willingly just break them, there's nothing more to it there. PUSA did try, but the information was getting to the VAs, they thought it was PUSA's fault when it was 4Kids' fault.

I'm going to email Veronica Taylor again and try to get to the bottom of this. If there really is a clause in their contract(which so far all signs to point to there being one) then there has to be some reason they didn't know about them.

 

[Rukario]

Not when 4Kids can threaten to sue, and easily win. PUSA did in fact try to get the voice actors back, but the 4kids contracts wouldn't let them, I've already posted why. If PUSA finds anyway to get the actors before the year term is up, 4Kids can take them to court, and they will have an extremely plausible case against PUSA. 4Kids right now is at one of the lowest points they've ever been in terms of sales, they stand to benefit from this if PUSA actually tried anything. For PUSA/Nintendo to try anything like that would just be plain stupid, there's no legal way that they can get the cast back right now. Sports contracts work differently than VA contracts do, these are two vastly different fields and you can't expect them to be the same.

So, where is the source of these attempts to get the current Voice Actors? No one from 4kids has said anything regarding what has happened. The voice actors themselves were not contacted and have said as much.. so where did this tidbit of info come from?

Contacts can easily be bought.. happens all the time in the entertainment industry. Pokemon USA could have easily hired 4Kids productions to handle the voice recording and production and kept all the script / lic control themselves). They choose to use TAJ on there own..
I suspect that this is just a cover story and no other (i.e. the current actors) people were approached about the doing the special and/or next season dubs.

 

[Ryoutarou]

So, where is the source of these attempts to get the current Voice Actors? No one from 4kids has said anything regarding what has happened. The voice actors themselves were not contacted and have said as much.. so where did this tidbit of info come from?

We changed the voice actors for the main characters because we were told that the actors who used to provide voices to our characters had conflicting contractual commitments.

That statement implies that PUSA at least tried to contact 4Kids about using the VAs for the their version of the dub, otherwise they wouldn't have known, thus there was no reason to contact the VAs themselves.

Contacts can easily be bought.. happens all the time in the entertainment industry. Pokemon USA could have easily hired 4Kids productions to handle the voice recording and production and kept all the script / lic control themselves). They choose to use TAJ on there own..
I suspect that this is just a cover story and no other (i.e. the current actors) people were approached about the doing the special and/or next season dubs.

True, and 4Kids could use the money right now. But for whatever reason they're not, and that's what I'm trying to find out right now. I'm only going on what's known at the moment and it's obvious one group's lied to everyone, just which is unknown. That or the VAs have a really...really bad memory of what their contracts say they can and can't do.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

Exactly, someone's lying to us all... it would be nice to know who.

Personally, I don't find Pokemon.com the most reliable source. So I'm still skeptical about anything they say. Besides... who manages Pokemon.com? Is it some third-party company? No. It's Pokemon USA. So of course they're going to say anything they can to support their own choices. >.>

Perhaps I'm going a little overboard on this, but with all of the rumors and confusion, one can never be too skeptical. ^-^

 

[Forci Stikane]

Hmm...this is getting ugly...but at least, once that year's up, there won't be any excuses for PUSA not to rehire the VAs (rather, their excuse will be invalidated, so unless they want to admit to lying and/or lose their entire fanbase, they'll have to rehire them)...

Although, we haven't lost them yet--the newest episode had our original VAs in it...so I'm confused: weren't they supposed to start with the special and go from there??

 

[Tbone2356]

Hmm...this is getting ugly...but at least, once that year's up, there won't be any excuses for PUSA not to rehire the VAs (rather, their excuse will be invalidated, so unless they want to admit to lying and/or lose their entire fanbase, they'll have to rehire them)...

Although, we haven't lost them yet--the newest episode had our original VAs in it...so I'm confused: weren't they supposed to start with the special and go from there??

Maybe They Realized How Badly They Sucked And Cancelled Their Contracts And Got The New VA's Back..?

Or Maybe They Already Recorded This Season With The Old VA's And Are Doing The Next One With The New Ones.

I Hope Its The 1st Thing I Said.

 

[dqle]

4Kids sorta finished up dubbing season 8 before the special was finished, so we get to experience our old VAs for the time being. Once season 9 starts, though, then it MIGHT be a different story.

I see that KidsWB has two options right now...

The first would be waiting until PUSA finishes up dubbing season 9, then airing it. I don't see many people being too thrilled about this one.

The second would be a backup, in case too many people would stop watching Pokémon. That would be airing Pokémon Chronicles, since 4Kids already dubbed a good portion of them. This would definately make fans happy, but since only 18 episodes were dubbed, it won't last long.

This is just what I'm thinking, and not KidsWB. I have absolutely no backing of this, so don't flame me! (not to mention that WB won't carry Pokémon in three months...)

As to whether PUSA will hire our old VAs back, well, we're gonna have to wait. Should the new VAs get better, then PUSA could argue otherwise, though I hope that doesn't happen. (No offense, new VAs!)

 

[[Technya]]

Thought you guys might like to know this load of lies!

*Got this information from blackpersian*

Dear Pokemon fans,

Whew! The last couple of days have been exhausting for us -- we've been going through all of the emails concerning the television special we aired recently, The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon. The show was fantastic, with a mostly positive response. Many said the action was "awesome", that the plot and storyline were "outstanding", and that the overall look of the animation was "very, very cool." Once again, you've proven yourself to be the best fans in the world, and we always appreciate your comments!

We also heard you were concerned with the new voice actors, and many of you have voiced your concern (pun intended) through your e-mails and letters. Believe us - we are fans of the TV show, too, and we care just as much about something like voice changes as you do. We changed the voice actors for the main characters because we were told that the actors who used to provide voices to our characters had conflicting contractual commitments. So, we hope you will help us welcome the new voice actors into the Pokemon family - we think they're great, and they did a great job on The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon during the shortened transition period between production studios... Nothing else was changed, and it is still the same awesome show you're used to seeing every week, with great storylines straight from Japan, original music, and a well-thought out plot (which is the most important thing when producing a TV show)!

Pokemon has always been about fair play and teamwork, and we expect the same from our fans. In other words, if you have comments, complaints or praise, let us know directly at [email protected]. We always welcome constructive criticism!

We are, and always have been, dedicated to our fans and how passionately and strongly they believe in Pokemon. We promise to always take your concerns to heart as we continue to make the show your favorite every week. Watch this space in the upcoming days for even more exciting news about Pokemon, and don't forget to check out our Pokemon coverage from E3 next week!

Yours truly,

Lawrence Neves
Editorial Director
Pokemon.com

This is completely unacceptable! As far as I can tell from sites, communities and forums 98% of Pokemon fans are basically insulted by the changes these people have made. Seems they like to ignore the real numbers which is why we should respond to them with the real facts about how we truly feel about the new "voice actors".

 

[Arcanine]

After reading that my hope for getting the old VAs back has went down.
"we think they're great, and they did a great job The Mastermind of Mirage"
^ That's a load of bull.

And I'll say one thing about that petition. It's not going to work. Petitions never work, and if it's something like "Anti-PUSA" then your smallest chance of it working goes out the window.

 

[miyo]

The letter's breaking my heart. They're lying when they say they take fans' concerns to heart. Cos' if they really do, they would have hired back our old voice actors. Can't they see that we fans are concerned about new voice actors?? We are signing petitions, writing in to pokemon.com, and yet, they still 'welcome the new voice actors'.

I can't take it.. I can't take new voices.. I'm gonna miss Eric Stuart's voice... these guys are breaking the hearts of millions of fans.

LIARS. And to think I've been spreading the save the dub message to all my friends.. even changed my msn nick and picture to 'save the dubs'.

A pack of lies if they said they were concerned about the fans.

 

[anakin]

You know if they dont bring back the old voice actors im just going to watch the old episodes. Well theold episodes were great anyhow.

 

[miyo]

You know if they dont bring back the old voice actors im just going to watch the old episodes. Well theold episodes were great anyhow.

lols, as much as I want the old voices back, I wouldn't miss it for Battle Frontier.. hahas. I believe there'd be more battles XD

 

[anakin]

Yah well i hope the old voice actors will be in the episode with greta and thats as far as i go as long as the good for nonething voice replacement are on. I like Veronica Taylor and Tara Jaynes the best i like all the old actors. I grew up with them. and besides i like the old episodes anyway. I realy want some good news. And that letter is a totaly absolutly OUTRAGES. I hope they dont go on butchering the other charactersvoices like Casey Richie and Sakura.

 

[miyo]

Yah well i hope the old voice actors will be in the episode with greta and thats as far as i go as long as the good for nonething voice replacement are on. I like Veronica Taylor and Tara Jaynes the best i like all the old actors. I grew up with them. and besides i like the old episodes anyway. I realy want some good news. And that letter is a totaly absolutly OUTRAGES. I hope they dont go on butchering the other charactersvoices like Casey Richie and Sakura.

well.. I can understand how you feel. I was fuming mad when I first read that letter, but had to keep my cool.. otherwise, I might be banned from the forum if I post some kind of super-rude comments.. :P It was very hard for me to accept the fact that I was about to hear different voices.. and I'd admit that there was this time that I was considering if I should watch Battle Frontier too.. but ah well, I watched a few previews of BF and I decided I couldn't live without it XD

I adore Veronica Taylor too, and also not forgeting Eric Stuart ^^

 

[Ryoutarou]

Might as well use this thread.

At Comic Con today, Nintendo showed off the new voices. They sound a LOT better right now, the Ash voice sounds a lot like the old Ash. I don't think I'll mind these voices. They also showed off the new theme...which really blows.

 

[SBaby]

Whoa. Been awhile since I've been here... Let's see...

This is completely unacceptable! As far as I can tell from sites, communities and forums 98% of Pokemon fans are basically insulted by the changes these people have made. Seems they like to ignore the real numbers which is why we should respond to them with the real facts about how we truly feel about the new "voice actors".

I figured PUSA would pull something like that. Of course, we're not convinced. But it's not that I hate the new VAs, and I DO think they sound better now. I just think this is too reminiscient of what happened with L'Oreal and the creators of He-Man. They were pretty much fired on the spot. In this case, there was apparently some notice, but to replace an entire staff like that was totally low and unacceptable.

Let's put it another way, that was so low, Giovanni would've pulled them aside and told them to get a grip.

 

[Lucy Lu]

Yeah, I heard the new clip of new VAs voices. And they sounded so much better. Especially Ash and Brock. Big improvement! And Max, the VA hit it dead on. May...it is alright. Needs a little more work. Misty's voice was dead on.

Well they just need to keep working on it and they will turn out great! But I wish they didn't change the theme song though. >>;

Looks like they are going to redub the special. And I heard it will be with Movie 8. A two disc set. That is what I heard though, don't know if it is true.

 

[Forci Stikane]

Well, where's this clip of the new voices?

 

[Derrot]

Well, where's this clip of the new voices?

https://www.pokebeach.com

The new (redubbed) voices sound better, but I still think Ash still needs some work... the attitude just doesn't fit his personality and sounds kinda female-ish...

 

[Aegis]

Alright, I know this is sorta noob-ish, but, have they redone May/Haruka's voice as well? Ive missed the news for a while now...