Was the English dub of Mewtwo Strikes Back really that awful to watch?

Dec 4, 2022 10:04 AM

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Apr 2022

397

I know that most people didn’t hate the first movie, they actually hate the 4kids English dub of the first movie. Looking back at it, was the English dub really that bad to watch, or were there still good things about it?

funtime43_trOct 2, 2023 3:32 PM

Dec 4, 2022 10:11 AM

official_brown

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Jan 2021

2334

It’s not bad at all. It’s just weebs refuse to watch things even like this in dub. OG Ash’s dub was really good and funny.

The right mindset when watching an anime is hoping that it will break your top 10

Dec 4, 2022 11:36 AM

Mr_Sai

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Sep 2022

275

pokemon is one of those animes where the dub is better then the sub atleast imo
kirby right back at ya is also better in english then japanese

Dec 4, 2022 11:44 AM

Sand_bag

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May 2021

832

Pokemon english dub is amazing iirc. I didn't watched a single Pokemon episode in Japanese language with subs.

Dec 4, 2022 12:30 PM

IchiuzYluu_

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Jun 2022

113

funtime43_tr said:
I know that most people didn’t hate the first movie, they actually hate the dub of the first movie. Looking back at it, was the dub really that bad to watch, or were there still good things about it?

never seen any episode of pokémon in english dub, but the japenese is better than the VF (french dub)

Dec 4, 2022 1:01 PM

Maddy-Renee

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Jul 2016

building on what other people have said, the Pokémon dub was great especially for its time then went downhill over time for me personally.

Dec 4, 2022 3:37 PM

FVPrasko

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Apr 2021

Nah it was just fine, mewtwo sounded cool too

Dec 4, 2022 5:00 PM

SpritezUp

Degenerate Soda

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Nov 2017

Having grown up watching pokemon on tv in english, it just feels weird to not watch pokemon dubbed. Whether its bad or not idc it just feels right 🤣

Dec 4, 2022 6:38 PM

ClaudG

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Aug 2020

Nearly everyone watched pokemon the series dubbed. So I’d imagine nearly everyone watched the movie dubbed as well. I’ve never heard the movie dub specifically hate, so if there is any of that I’d imagine it’s just older weebs looking at something the once enjoyed and attacking it as something that they’ve “grown beyond.” On the other hand I definitely have heard plenty of criticisms of the movie itself.

Dec 4, 2022 6:54 PM

#10

PikaboyTK

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Feb 2021

573

It's quite the opposite. English dub of pokemon is really great. It's one of the best dubs in anime, almost everyone watched it in english back then. The cast is great, osts are equally good and translations, if not perfect, are still not repulsive.

Dec 4, 2022 8:32 PM

#11

Kenny644

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Jun 2022

Maddy-Renee said:
building on what other people have said, the Pokémon dub was great especially for its time then went downhill over time for me personally.

Well that’s probably because the VAs changed at the end of Advanced Generation. They also changed dubbing studios. 4Kids originally did the dub then it was changed to some other studio I don’t remember the name of. I’d recommend researching it cause it’s pretty interesting.

Dec 4, 2022 8:50 PM

#12

cdgamesx

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Aug 2022

I wouldn't say that the dub is bad, but there are some things that makes the japanese original more preferable to watch.

The most noticeable aspects are the soundtrack, which I fully recommend hearing at some point, especially "That which has life", and the dialogue in certain scenes (most notably, when Mew is speaking with Mewtwo about the clones and why they will never replace the originals).

Mew in general had a change in personality that ruins the message of the movie, coming from a Pokémon that people call both an "angel" and a "demon" in japanese, and whose actions are not better than Mewtwo's, to simply appearing as a hero in the dub who says that they don't have to fight.

Of course, people have preferences, and the dub is still an enjoyable watch overall, especially giving how iconic the voices are, so at the end of the day, I recommend watching both and seeing what you like and don't like about them.

Dec 5, 2022 4:54 AM

#13

TRUE_STRIKER9001

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Nov 2019

no, the dub is usually better for Pokemon than the sub. the only thing that I hate is the Netflix remake of this movie. it's really bad, and doesn't have any of the iconic lines that made the first movie so good.
the one good exception in Pokemon for dub vs sub is Pokemon XYZ. the Japanese intro for that season is just a million times better than the English one imo, to the point that I literally listened to it so many times, I can sing it now lol!

TRUE_STRIKER9001Dec 5, 2022 4:57 AM

Dec 5, 2022 7:32 AM

#14

IanDimas

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May 2011

Yeah, it's awful. Any 4kids dub is.

Dec 5, 2022 10:38 AM

#15

Slays_Media

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May 2021

Look, the sub was great and had arguably better voice acting, but the dub is straight legendary status. if you don't watch Mewtwo Strikes Back in dub, you're missing out.

Dec 5, 2022 12:45 PM

#16

funtime43_tr

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Apr 2022

397

Slays_Media said:
Look, the sub was great and had arguably better voice acting, but the dub is straight legendary status. if you don't watch Mewtwo Strikes Back in dub, you're missing out.

I love the dub of the first movie because of the voice actors and music.

Dec 6, 2022 9:57 AM

#17

funtime43_tr

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Apr 2022

397

IanDimas said:
Yeah, it's awful. Any 4kids dub is.

because you don’t like the dub music.

Dec 6, 2022 6:44 PM

#18

IanDimas

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May 2011

funtime43_tr said:

IanDimas said:
Yeah, it's awful. Any 4kids dub is.

because you don’t like the dub music.

I actually do like a few tracks from the dub, but it doesn't save it for me.

Dec 8, 2022 8:41 PM

#19

okamikotori

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Apr 2015

speaking in general here, but tbh I like pokemon dubbed. I watch nearly everything subbed, but for pokemon it's just nostalgic. Some of the writing is also funny in a cheesy way (mostly Jessie and James) There's some things i like more ab the Jap dub, e.g. how the eng dub felt the need to add a soundtrack to everythingggg bc god forbid there's a second of silence,,, but idk overall I'd say give both a shot. I think the Jap dub just makes you more aware of how... japanese the anime is lol. The world building of pokemon always felt so spectacular to me as a kid, but while watching the jap dub, it's so much easier to see which elements are directly lifted from JP scenery and culture. It gave me a new appreciation.

Jan 8, 2023 1:13 PM

#20

minix_animade

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Jul 2022

The dub is awesome and is full of iconic voices. Mewtwo's voice in particular I just adore in this movie. The reason why I watch the movie subbed however is 4Kids' overkill censoring and script changes. It really is a different movie almost.

Jan 8, 2023 2:32 PM

#21

funtime43_tr

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Apr 2022

397

minix_animade said:
The dub is awesome and is full of iconic voices. Mewtwo's voice in particular I just adore in this movie. The reason why I watch the movie subbed however is 4Kids' overkill censoring and script changes. It really is a different movie almost.

the music in the dub is iconic though.

Jan 8, 2023 5:15 PM

#22

minix_animade

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Jul 2022

funtime43_tr said:

the music in the dub is iconic though.

Yeah I agree. Love Brother My Brother.

Jul 18, 2023 6:25 PM

#23

GrayZStars

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Apr 2019

114

IanDimas said:
Yeah, it's awful. Any 4kids dub is.

Yes! Finally someone with some common sense in this thread...!

The 4Kids dub of this movie completely misses the point of the original — start to finish. I liked the movie as a kid because I didn't know any better, but the moment I saw the Japanese version (when I was around 13), I immediately wished the dub was never made... It's so bad it's not even consistent with the dub of the show — which by itself is a pretty good dub for 4Kids, surprisingly close to the original and has great voice acting — but the movie's dub just throws the Japanese script out the window! This shouldn't even be legal...!

Jul 19, 2023 4:35 AM

#24

funtime43_tr

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Apr 2022

397

GrayZStars said:
Yes! Finally someone with some common sense in this thread...!

The 4Kids dub of this movie completely misses the point of the original — start to finish. I liked the movie as a kid because I didn't know any better, but the moment I saw the Japanese version (when I was around 13), I immediately wished the dub was never made... It's so bad it's not even consistent with the dub of the show — which by itself is a pretty good dub for 4Kids, surprisingly close to the original and has great voice acting — but the movie's dub just throws the Japanese script out the window! This shouldn't even be legal...!

At least the pop soundtrack and the voice actors were the saving graces of the dub.

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Was the English dub of Mewtwo Strikes Back really that awful to watch?

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