Has anyone else seen it?
Do you like it, or find it downright offensive?
Subbed or dubbed?
Any news on the movie? I'd like to see it (I'm in the US), just not dubbed.
Who's your favorite character?If you haven't seen it... you should.
I've only seen bits and pieces of it. I find it charming, but primarily now that we(meaning the world) is in the political state it is in. At almost any other time it would either have been in very poor taste or outright offensive. Still, it's extremely political, and should be viewed in the same vein most view political cartoons.
As for dubbing....really? Is this even a question? Now that we have youtube and multi-language option DVDs, I'm surprised this format didn't bite the big one for all but television runs.
I've only seen bits and pieces of it. I find it charming, but primarily now that we(meaning the world) is in the political state it is in. At almost any other time it would either have been in very poor taste or outright offensive.Has anyone else seen it?
Do you like it, or find it downright offensive?
Subbed or dubbed?
Any news on the movie? I'd like to see it (I'm in the US), just not dubbed.
Who's your favorite character?If you haven't seen it... you should.
I've seen maybe the first 5-6 episodes of season 1 when it was making the fansub rounds. Although I haven't checked out the dubs yet, I've heard that Funi did a good job with them, featuring the appropriately exaggerated country accents. Haven't seen enough of the ridiculously huge cast to have a favorite, but I do enjoy the shorts with chibi-Italia & Holy Roman Empire. *grin*
I don't think that the current political state makes the show any more/less palatable, since at heart it's chock-full of stereotypes and misrepresentation. I mean the Axis Powers, esp. Germany, should really not be portrayed as the cool guys...
The anime is somewhat sanitized from the original manga/4-comi strip - poor Korea was deemed such a racist stereotype that it/he was excluded from the anime version (1st season, anyway).
Based on the mixed reaction at my anime club, I think if you have enough actual historical knowledge to get the jokes/references, but also identify and disregard the racial/ethnic stereotypes, it can be an enjoyable show. I hope some fans will learn more history b/c of Hetalia (I met a history teacher using the show in class :) but I also hope people will be able to filter out the more negative connotations.
As for dubbing....really? Is this even a question? Now that we have youtube and multi-language option DVDs, I'm surprised this format didn't bite the big one for all but television runs.
I suspect you haven't watched many modern/recent dubs - there are several really good ones from the last 5-7 years. IMO, Funimation tends to have the best success rate, with Beck, Mushi-shi, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Darker than Black among the recent "best dubs/best shows". Geneon and Bandai are/were hit-or-miss, but Cowboy Bebop, Read or Die TV, and Last Exile were excellently produced.
I've only seen bits and pieces of it. I find it charming, but primarily now that we(meaning the world) is in the political state it is in. At almost any other time it would either have been in very poor taste or outright offensive.Has anyone else seen it?
Do you like it, or find it downright offensive?
Subbed or dubbed?
Any news on the movie? I'd like to see it (I'm in the US), just not dubbed.
Who's your favorite character?If you haven't seen it... you should.
I've seen maybe the first 5-6 episodes of season 1 when it was making the fansub rounds. Although I haven't checked out the dubs yet, I've heard that Funi did a good job with them, featuring the appropriately exaggerated country accents. Haven't seen enough of the ridiculously huge cast to have a favorite, but I do enjoy the shorts with chibi-Italia & Holy Roman Empire. *grin*
I don't think that the current political state makes the show any more/less palatable, since at heart it's chock-full of stereotypes and misrepresentation. I mean the Axis Powers, esp. Germany, should really not be portrayed as the cool guys...
The anime is somewhat sanitized from the original manga/4-comi strip - poor Korea was deemed such a racist stereotype that it/he was excluded from the anime version (1st season, anyway).
Based on the mixed reaction at my anime club, I think if you have enough actual historical knowledge to get the jokes/references, but also identify and disregard the racial/ethnic stereotypes, it can be an enjoyable show. I hope some fans will learn more history b/c of Hetalia (I met a history teacher using the show in class :) but I also hope people will be able to filter out the more negative connotations.
That the negative connotations have to be filtered out and that Korea was missing only points out that this is a show that would not have worked at other points in Japan's/everyone else's history. It would have been interesting to see if the show would have lasted if Korea was kept in the first season, Axis' "cool" factor was pumped up, and it was less sanitized overall.
As for dubbing....really? Is this even a question? Now that we have youtube and multi-language option DVDs, I'm surprised this format didn't bite the big one for all but television runs.I suspect you haven't watched many modern/recent dubs - there are several really good ones from the last 5-7 years. IMO, Funimation tends to have the best success rate, with Beck, Mushi-shi, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Darker than Black among the recent "best dubs/best shows". Geneon and Bandai are/were hit-or-miss, but Cowboy Bebop, Read or Die TV, and Last Exile were excellently produced.
Meh. This is going to be an eternal sticking point for me and for many. Sure, dubs' star seems to be on the rise, but there will always be a significant portion (I would go as far as to say lion's share) of the population that will never have heard the dub track because they never turned it on- and probably never will because they simply don't have to.
That the negative connotations have to be filtered out and that Korea was missing only points out that this is a show that would not have worked at other points in Japan's/everyone else's history. It would have been interesting to see if the show would have lasted if Korea was kept in the first season, Axis' "cool" factor was pumped up, and it was less sanitized overall.
Hmm, I guess I'm just not sure what you mean that it wouldn't have worked at an earlier time. The mixed fanbase reaction to Hetalia makes me think that it doesn't entirely work well now either. There have always been aspects of some anime (esp. alternate-history or future-history war stories) that need a propaganda-filter to enjoy guilt-free.
We ran a Leiji Matsumoto marathon a couple months back, and included the first couple eps of the original Space Battleship Yamato (~1974-76). A classic, certainly, but the cultural/historical dissonance was a bit jarring. Maybe you mean that Hetalia has less of that dissonance, or maybe that the Western anime audience has developed a better filter? I'm curious to see how Hetalia is received in Europe...
Meh. This is going to be an eternal sticking point for me and for many. Sure, dubs' star seems to be on the rise, but there will always be a significant portion (I would go as far as to say lion's share) of the population that will never have heard the dub track because they never turned it on- and probably never will because they simply don't have to.
Dual-language releases are great. I'm not trying to preach or change your worldview, just offering suggestions for good stuff to check out if you have the time/inclination. We've got a lot of folks at my club who stopped bothering with dubs years ago, but really enjoyed Beck when we showed it in English, and were happy to get the heads-up.
That the negative connotations have to be filtered out and that Korea was missing only points out that this is a show that would not have worked at other points in Japan's/everyone else's history. It would have been interesting to see if the show would have lasted if Korea was kept in the first season, Axis' "cool" factor was pumped up, and it was less sanitized overall.Hmm, I guess I'm just not sure what you mean that it wouldn't have worked at an earlier time. The mixed fanbase reaction to Hetalia makes me think that it doesn't entirely work well now either. There have always been aspects of some anime (esp. alternate-history or future-history war stories) that need a propaganda-filter to enjoy guilt-free.
We ran a Leiji Matsumoto marathon a couple months back, and included the first couple eps of the original Space Battleship Yamato (~1974-76). A classic, certainly, but the cultural/historical dissonance was a bit jarring. Maybe you mean that Hetalia has less of that dissonance, or maybe that the Western anime audience has developed a better filter? I'm curious to see how Hetalia is received in Europe...
[EDIT]Yes, I'd say it's because the western audience we are both a member of (US) has the room to laugh at some of the parodies being put forth and be shocked by others. I would also LOVE to see how Hetalia is viewed at the one french anime con I know of...
Meh. This is going to be an eternal sticking point for me and for many. Sure, dubs' star seems to be on the rise, but there will always be a significant portion (I would go as far as to say lion's share) of the population that will never have heard the dub track because they never turned it on- and probably never will because they simply don't have to.Dual-language releases are great. I'm not trying to preach or change your worldview, just offering suggestions for good stuff to check out if you have the time/inclination. We've got a lot of folks at my club who stopped bothering with dubs years ago, but really enjoyed Beck when we showed it in English, and were happy to get the heads-up.
It's cool. I realize that part of it is me being old fashioned, but some dubs were truly unforgivable. It's good to see better quality overall, but I just can't get past the past.
Leading on to another question: do you think England's imaginary friends are invisible and real, or he's just a little crazy?
Couldn't say - I got just far enough in to be introduced to the Allies, but not get to know them. I'm hoping/waiting for Hetalia to show up on Netflix Watch Instantly - it's a good platform for marathoning, and Hetalia's a marathon kinda show.
Netflix still has the DVDs listed as upcoming in their catalog - no word yet on Watch Instantly. The movie is definitely licensed at this point, plus apparently all 4 past/planned seasons of the TV show.
Funi has failed to release licensed stuff before, but if Hetalia sells well into 2011, the movie and S1-3 should come out at least.
Netflix still has the DVDs listed as upcoming in their catalog - no word yet on Watch Instantly. The movie is definitely licensed at this point, plus apparently all 4 past/planned seasons of the TV show.
Funi has failed to release licensed stuff before, but if Hetalia sells well into 2011, the movie and S1-3 should come out at least.
Its one of the reasons I don't care for Funimation...although that is a sin several other companies have committed as well.