The initial dub of the US Beast Wars series did relatively well in Japan, and was fairly popular. However, on due to the constraints of technology that Mainframe used, as well as the budget they were under, Mainframe was unable to produce the number of episodes Takara would prefer to release per annum (52).

Beast Wars The Second, Beast Wars Neo and their accompanying theatrical movies were release, but all were less sucessful than the original US Beast Wars.

Takara also brought over US BW Seasons 2 & 3 as Beast Wars Metals, but it was very disliked by the Japanese fandom because of the severe changes in characterisation by Takara and [whichever studio handled the translation and dubbing]. Apparently, the characters and tone in Metals was changed to reflect the lighter-hearted slapstick in the Second and Neo, presumebly to better fit the younger age group Takara aims for with mainline Transformers.


But either way, G1 Optimus Prime and BW Optimus Primal remain the most popular 'Convoys' of their respective eras in Japanese TF fandom, as I understand.

 

Well, to be honest, Beast Wars season 1 had that same stupid "dumbing-down" of the characters to suit a younger audience as Beast Wars II, Neo and Metals.

Personally, I think the Japanese Dub of Beast Wars is a fucking travesty.

Megatron was butchered, in-particular, as they turned him into a Team Rocket-style goofy buffoon villain. His trademark was a silly high-pitched voice, and whenever someon shot at him or surprised him, he would shriek like a little girl.

It was supposed to be funny. No, it was not.

Blackarachnia's character as a strong, independant female was played down slightly. She'd beg for enemies not to hurt her in battle and things like that. The Japanese did the same thing to Arcee in Headmasters, turning her into a secretary, as they don't seem to look highly upon women in the battlefield.

Rattle wasn't so bad in the cartoon dub, but was brutally "Pikachu-ed" in the manga. Thankfully, the Beast Wars Metals manga is NOT in-continuity with the cartoon, and was basically off in crazy land all by itself.


Holy shit, we're getting way off topic, here...

 

A funny story. I was in Tokyo when Beast Wars first episode aired. I was in the bar of my tiny hotel (the Sakura Inn which I highly recomend to anyone who visits) and was flipping thru channels looking for anime to watch.

I caught the tail end of some weird show that I really don't remember and was about to turn the tv off when the now infamous opening started. I honestly laughed out loud at the cheezy yet coolness of it which caused the desk guy to come over to see what was so funny.

Anyway, I wound up watching the whole thing while he translated what was being said to me. I filled him in with a little more info about the show and some of the episodes that he could expect. It turned out that he had watched G1 when he was a kid and after the show was over, we exchanged stories about our collections. (his was about how his mom threw his out after he went to college) That and he really liked Starscream.

The best part of the whole thing was the commercials for the toys. Heh heh, I love Japanese toy coms.

 

But many Japanese fans who have not seen the original BW in English to compare, that stupidity is accepted and mostly loved, I understand.
One reason Second and Neo were disliked by them is that the animated beasts were too kiddy cute.

As far as I've read in various JP message boards, most people are not getting enough information.
Will they like it? I think it will be the same as other TF fans in other parts of the world.
Some will ilke it, the others won't.

 

Well, that's not entirely true. "Bad Spark" was released theatrically, in English, all across the nation. So every Beast Wars fan that saw the movie got to hear the English cast.

Additionally, the DVDs come with optional English audio with subtitles. So any Beast Wars fans who own the DVDs can hear the English version.

 

So is it too late to do the 'There are no speed lines! And why are the girls all so old?" joke? It seems to have turned into a serious discussion somewhere on page two.

 

i would imagine a lot of picture taking... lots of picture taking...

 

For those wondering how wacky the Japanese Beast Wars was, the intro says enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGDOzMTpXpM  

 

Indeed...

 

THE GREATEST NEWS EVER!!!!!!!

 

That clip was worth the time I spent reading this thread, hahahaha.

As for what their reaction will be, well, they'll sweat it like every other country does special effects. They'll sweat the technique and try to do as good, but run out of money, so they'll add 18 year old half naked chicks in schoolgirl uniforms and it will sell like wildfire!! haha

sorry, I'm just in a weird mood today.

 

Wow, just... wow.

 

The musical talents of Banana Ice know no limitations.

C'mon, he was the voice of Funky Kong on the Japanese dub of the Donkey Kong Country cartoon!