Website at (unsurprisingly) www.funimation.com
Go there for propaganda. I'm here to rant.

The company who (most notably) do the dubbing of Dragonball Z. They're responsible for the degree of censorship which has pissed a lot of people off. Pros and cons of this:

Pros:

  • Made Dragonball/Z/GT very well known, and hugely increased it's fanbase. I for one would never have discovered the show (or how much I like anime) without this input.
  • It's easier (debatably) to watch television in your native language. And some people don't care for subtitles. This is well-covered at the node Subtitled or Dubbed?

Cons:

  • Seriously censored. No swearing, beer becomes "sports drink" or some such, blood is edited out, the most severely censored aspect is violence. In an action/fighting type show - is that a Good Idea? In several places scenes are so badly cut the story doesn't make sense anymore. People go from vertical to horizonal (and injured) without anything in between. Grrr.
  • The voice acting. Most noticeable post-first season. Freeza sounds like an old woman, King Kai/Kaio-sama has an incredibly irritating lisp, and the voices are generally laughable. IMHO.
  • Dialogue! Argh! Almost everything Freeza/Frieza says is completely inane, Stupid phrases have been inserted and I strongly suspect the dialogue has been written to fit syllables to the way their mouths move. Maddening. I'm aware the subtitled versions probably aren't exact translations, but god damn, What they're really saying isn't anywhere near that stupid.

Hooray for subtitles!
Dragonball Z Episode Guide

Funimation has recently announced that they have acquired two new Anime series, Yu Yu Hakusho and Blue Gender.

Their reputation now hangs in the balance, as Blue Gender is not a DBZ like show. It is a much more violent, graphic show that aired late on Japanese television, and easily carries a reputation of not hesitating to kill off characters, gruesomely if need be. This show will likely be straight to video (yeah, you get broadcast on CN and see what happens!), likely both VHS and DVD (with japanese audio, subtitles, and a WELL MASTERED DISC ie NOT like the current DBZ TV discs).

It's hoped by many serious anime fans that funimation will not further their fuckups and will treat these new series with a more mature attitude, and not destroy more anime, as they have done with DBZ.


December 29, 2002

FUNimation, now having moved out into 3 other series (Yu Yu Hakusho, Fruits Basket, and Blue Gender), is receiving wide compliments on their handling of all three.

In January they will finish with the 8 disc release of Blue Gender. A two year release schedule has somewhat hindered its reception, but what a treat is in store. Excellent menus, two subtitle tracks (a true sub track and a CC track), along with Japanese and English audio), and a low price to offset the now high disc count leaves FUNimation with a killer release.

Fruits Basket, as well, has garnered FUNimation many complements. Following an equally unorthodox release style, at 6 episodes per disc at $40/disc (though it can easily be found for $30 or less), has gotten the attention of many current players in the industry.

Yu Yu Hakusho, the big TV release in this batch, is currently airing in a dubbed, edited version on Cartoon Network and is receiving a DVD release similar to that of DBZ. There are two versions of the DVDs, a English only, edited release, and an uncut release with Japanese and English audio. Funimation is also fluctuating episode counts per disc to get each arc to fit within a certain number of discs, so some come with 4 episodes per disc, some come with 3. Thankfully, like Blue Gender, the series has a low price.

As of the time of this writing, Funimation has announced the Blue Gender movie, which is apparently a recap movie with a different ending, as well as both Blue Gender and Yu Yu Hakusho boxed sets.

I do believe FUNimation has earned a new reputation in the anime industry, and for that we are all thankful.

Now if only Manga Entertainment would get a clue...

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