Japanese Episode 12

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Japanese Episode 12

Japanese Episode 12: "Zenigame-Gundan Toujou!"

(“The Zenigame Gang Enters!”)

The Zenigame-Gundan are terrorizing a nearby town, and Satoshi-tachi encounter the gang’s trickery on the road. The turtle pokemon wind up kidnapping Satoshi-tachi and Musashi-tachi, but Nyasu has a plan to get the latter out of captivity. Nyasu, being a pokemon, is able to talk the Zenigame-Gundan into letting Musashi-tachi free to get supplies. Meanwhile, Satoshi talks (or rather cries) the Zenigame into letting him go into town to get a Super Potion for Pikachu. After Satoshi returns, he sees that his friends are free, and that the Zenigame-Gundan are really just harmless pranksters. However, the Rocket-Dan don’t believe this, as they return with their “supplies”--bombs to blow the pokemon up with! They blast off after a failed attempt at capturing Pikachu, and the resulting explosion causes a huge forest fire. The Zenigame combine their water guns to douse the fire, and Junsa names the turtle pokemon honorary firefighters. Just as Satoshi-tachi leave, the leader of the Zenigame-Gundan requests to join the young trainer, and Satoshi readily accepts.

Thoughts
This is probably my favorite of the three starter pokemon episodes. There’s Fushigidane, the protector pokemon, and Hitokage, the pokemon who needed protection. And then there’s Zenigame, who really doesn’t fit in, but is still a welcome addition. It’s the prankster, it’s just too bad this personality doesn’t cross over in future episodes.

Side Note
At the beginning of the episode, Ash is singing along to the music in the background. In the Japanese version, he’s just singing a random song that really doesn’t go along with anything. I actually like the change the dub made…

Side Note
Misty says:

Misty: “I’ve never heard of a pokemon gang before.”

Oh my God…did she say “gang” in the dub!? Oh no! Quick, burn all your Squirtle toys, because it teaches children to be in gangs!

I was surpised they let Misty call them a “gang,” since they changed “Zenigame-Gundan” (Zenigame Gang) to Squirtle Squad. I know Squirtle Squad flows better than Squirtle Gang, but I really do have a feeling that 4Kids has a problem with the word “gang.”

Paint Edit
When Junsa’s telling Satoshi-tachi about the Zenigame-Gundan, the back of the Zenigame’s coats have “Ze” (as in “Zenigame”) on it. 4Kids erased this. Then in the very next shot, the one that shows everyone writing graffiti, the bank at the upper right-hand corner of the screen has the en symbol (¥) erased. Yes, 4Kids thought it was worth their time and effort to erase a symbol that just about EVERYBODY in America knows in a shot that lasts about one second. Good thinking, 4Kids, good thinking…

Dialogue Edit
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the very first time 4Kids changes onigiri (rice balls) into an American food! Yeah, 4Kids decided that rice balls were too evil to show on children's shows, so they changed rice balls into donuts and éclairs. Of course, donuts and éclairs look nothing like rice balls, and I’m sure little kids could pick up on this. Just thought I'd mention it.

Dialogue Edit
OK, this is just stupid:

Meowth: “You’re not gonna Squirtle outta this one!”

OK, I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. Is it supposed to be a pun or something? It’s just as dumb as Jessie’s “They’re not Squirtles, they’re Piggles” line earlier in the episode. Doesn anyone know what this means?

Sign Edit?
The Wild West-style town Satoshi goes to to get medicine for Pikachu has a sign, written in English, that says “BEER.” And you know what? 4Kids left it in! That’s right!

I think it's kinda funny, really. I mean, you can't show someone being slapped. And you can't say the word "God." But you can show the word "BEER." I guess it just shows the differences in editing practices...if the show had been on Cartoon Network, I'm sure everything else would have been left in, but they'd get rid of the word BEER. Or replace it with an advertisement for tea...

Dialogue Edit?
Like the rest of you, I’m pretty skeptical about Team Rocket’s “ice guns” scene. I wish my Japanese was good enough to understand what they were saying their guns were, but it isn’t. 4Kids didn’t alter the video any, so what you see in the dub is what you see in the original.

Dialogue Edit
The Zenigame-Gundan’s threat to Kasumi was more serious in the Japanese version. In the dub, the Squirtle Squad threatens to dye Misty’s hair purple--in the original, they threaten to kill her. That’s why when Satoshi returns and sees Kasumi missing, he’s imagining her falling into a bottomless pit. He thinks the turtle pokemon killed her. I think it's pretty obvious why 4Kids made this change.

Paint Edit
At the end of the episode, when the Zenigame-Gundan are wearing their coats, the “Ze” on the back is erased like it was at the beginning of the episode.

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