Dubbed Openings That're Better Than The Originals

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Thanks to the Favorite Opening Sequences thread, I got to thinking about dubbed intros that are better than the original. Specifically I was thinking about anime but I'm opening this to any original language show -> dubbed language redone sequence.

And if not outrightly better, how about just really really good?

Provide examples and explain why =]
 
So I'm going to start with YuGiOh 5D's.

Which actually has an interesting history! They ran a contest for the show. All the entries seemed to go the same "chant the shows name a lot" route. Except for one. And it's actually a really great song!

The original Japanese intro is just... Awful. Maybe I'm just too old to appreciate that type of music but even if I could, it doesn't seem to match the opening animation AT ALL.

Japanese: [spoili]
Link[/spoili]

English: [spoili]
[/spoili]

Another opening I really like is The Vision of Escaflowne.
The original Japanese opening is great but the English one, which only aired VERY BRIEFLY before it got canned when they realized Escaflowne wasn't a kid's show, was pretty catchy (despite it being the familiar "chant the tv show's name" type of opening). I list this one here not for the song (which despite being kind of catchy is terrible) but the video sequence, which gets across more of what the show is about than the original one. The original opening makes it seem like a love story that happens to have a couple giant mechs in it. The Fox Kids version is way more action packed and honestly the creator not realizing a bunch of boys would love it is ridiculous BUT I DIGRESS...
English: [spoili]
[/spoili]
Japanese: [spoili]
[/spoili]
Maybe I'm just super biased because this was one of the very first anime I ever saw as a kid.
PS: If you've never heard of this anime you should watch it, it's from the 90s and still holds up really well. Movie is neat but not as good as the series.


Another one where I really enjoyed what they did is Sailor Moon!
Actually the original Sailor Moon got dubbed so many times over, and all the openings in almost eveyr language are pretty great!
This is the Japanese video with 17 different language lyrics: [spoili]
[/spoili]
English: [spoili]
[/spoili]


Also most Pokemon openings should get a mention for being pretty interesting, but I still prefered the Japanese intros so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

edit: apparently you're only allowed 5 media per post now, so I linked the YGO original one.
 
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@Shiri oh man I remember that show! I am really upset it never took off.
 
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I agree with "hype" related introductions like Monster Rancher. It might be a cultural difference, but I've always felt like an opening to an action related anime has to be more than just taking scenes and overlaying it with a single piece of music. It's much more than that.

The composition has to be, in my opinion, visually compact. What do I mean by this? Simply, there should be no scene where there isn't any action. Notice that the intro for English is 1 minute, the gold standard. Second, notice and appreciate the sound effects of hype introductions - the sound of lightning, the blasting of plant guns, the charging and growling of monsters... The crash of another golem being flipped (:18 - :20) is most notable for me. This is battle - two large things clashing with their environment. Just having music to be in sync doesn't cut it. Sound effects changes the tone completely. It's not passive. It's active. It's exciting.

Here's another example. The Canadian introduction to Dragon Ball Z. Again, it's a minute. Again notice the visual compactness and sound effects. First thing seen - DRAGON. Brings focus right to a central element of the show. The cries and grunts of characters as they engage in battle, the buzzing of the Destructo Disk, the sound of fighting motions themselves, including a screeching halt where Goku has to make a sharp turn. Goku exploding out of ice. The slashing of Trunk's sword. Vegeta's transformation. Goku's transformation when the Dragon Ball hits the logo as the sound of fire erupts. Action is the focus here, not the music. The simple music complements and doesn't detract from what's important.

Now take the Japanese opening. It's too slow. There are too many 'nothing' shots or shots that take way too long, of wasted space where it slowly pans or grinds to a halt. (Picollo standing in front of light with his back to us. It's not dynamic at all.) This tone is meant to be more fantastical, but there is no urgency communicated. The tone is wildly different. There are no sound effects. I want you to realize that while this intro also has Trunks sword slash, as well as Vegeta's and Goku's transformation, it doesn't have the same impact. They're underwhelming compared to the English version - 'background'. The intro splits Goku's transformation with a rotating Dragon Ball that doesn't matte - that especially jars me.


 
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Dubbed version:

Japanese version:

Original is ok, but the dubbed version is one of my favourite openings of any show ever.
 
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Granted, the English/Original X-Men Animated Series intro is pretty fuckin' awesome. But the Japanese redub is hilariously even better...just not by that much of a margin.




This video does a direct comparison if Original Season Pokémon. Japanese version is boring as hell. Standard fare.

English version?

It causes the "Fresh Prince Effect" in a bar.

Here's how you do it:

1) Go to a bar. Any bar.

2) Sing the first line.

3) Watch as the rest of the bar joins in.

Songs that have the Fresh Prince Effect?

-The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme ("So....this is the story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down...")
-Don't Stop Believing ("Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world....")
-The fuckin' Pokémon theme song ("I wanna be the very best like no one ever was ... dun dun du-dunn!")
 
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Not gonna lie, I think a lot of why I liked the Sailor Moon dubbed intro better is nostalgia. That being said, catchy song, uses the melody from the original JP song, English lyrics pretty much spell out the show's premise in a minute or so, and girls in short skirts who were in my age demo when I started watching and perving out to the show.

Being in 8th grade was awesome.

For the record, Mercury is best girl. 8th grader me totally would've banged her more ways than there were Sailor Scouts.
 
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@Razilin Pokemon is definitely an amazing example of GREAT localization, but I still prefer the Japanese intros a bit, personally.
My favorite song was Johto's "OK". But English is just as catchy. xP
Japanese: [spoili]
[/spoili]
English (with japanese after) : [spoili]
[/spoili]
 
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Looking through this thread, makes me feel young. *cough*

Anyway... Yeah, I don't know if it was 4Kids who was specifically responsible for the older, localized changes in OPs, but I liked/like a lot of the earlier Pokémon dubbed openings.
 
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Fucking...

MEDABOTS, my dudes.

~JP VERSION~

~SUPERIOR WESTERN VERSION~

This anime was AWESOME as a dub.

~ENJOY MORE CLIPS~
 
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Why not both?

 
While not really "better", 4Kids's openings were, as people say nowadays, "fire" [insert red underlined 100 here].


Aside from them, while not "dubbed", a localized opening that really strikes me as better is the opening for the game Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World/Knight of Ratatosk. Honestly, it's my only experience with the Tales series thus far, aside from buying the steam versions of Zestiria and the original Symphonia, as I received it as a gift when I was younger, so I can't say anything about the other games. Anyway, the original Japanese opening is a happy-sounding J-Pop number, which is good by itself, but just plain doesn't fit with some of the scenes, in my opinion. The sound briefly changes at moments, but it just seems more like coincidence at times, since the song becomes a tad more subdued before picking up the tempo while there's a scene of a goddamn town burning, though the tone does become a bit more "serious".

The orchestral song in the English version may be generic, but it's tailored to fit the animation, whereas the Japanese version, at least to those who don't speak Japanese, seems more along the lines of "dramatic scenes while I play vaguely-fitting music" or something akin to an official AMV.

JP
EN



Not technically an opening, but the 12th English Dub ending of Negima!? (probably at least one of the few anime that aren't dubbed by the 1st company mentioned that doesn't just use the Japanese theme) is a duet by Laura Baily and... Laura Bailey. With fairly distinct character voices for Ayaka Yukihiro and Evangeline A.K. McDowell (whom she voices)! On a certain level, it's certainly a more impressive feat than the Japanese original, which is sung by the 3 voice actresses for Negi Springfield, Asuna Kagurazaka, & Konoka Konoe.

 
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Cyan said:
While not really "better", 4Kids's openings were, as people say nowadays, "fire" [insert red underlined 100 here].


Aside from them, while not "dubbed", a localized opening that really strikes me as better is the opening for the game Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World/Knight of Ratatosk. Honestly, it's my only experience with the Tales series thus far, aside from buying the steam versions of Zestiria and the original Symphonia, as I received it as a gift when I was younger, so I can't say anything about the other games. Anyway, the original Japanese opening is a happy-sounding J-Pop number, which is good by itself, but just plain doesn't fit with some of the scenes, in my opinion. The sound briefly changes at moments, but it just seems more like coincidence at times, since the song becomes a tad more subdued before picking up the tempo while there's a scene of a goddamn town burning, though the tone does become a bit more "serious".

The orchestral song in the English version may be generic, but it's tailored to fit the animation, whereas the Japanese version, at least to those who don't speak Japanese, seems more along the lines of "dramatic scenes while I play vaguely-fitting music" or something akin to an official AMV.

JP
EN



Not technically an opening, but the 12th English Dub ending of Negima!? (probably at least one of the few anime that aren't dubbed by the 1st company mentioned that doesn't just use the Japanese theme) is a duet by Laura Baily and... Laura Bailey. With fairly distinct character voices for Ayaka Yukihiro and Evangeline A.K. McDowell (whom she voices)! On a certain level, it's certainly a more impressive feat than the Japanese original, which is sung by the 3 voice actresses for Negi Springfield, Asuna Kagurazaka, & Konoka Konoe.
Click to expand...



the same thing happened w/ Tales of Legendia

inappropriate J-POP for the JP version

generically epic, yet appropriate, orchestral for the ENG
 
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