ChrisMcFeely posted the following on TF @ The Moon - Sake CommentsThere's not a huge amount to actually tell about this release yet, as it's still some way off. However, I'm sure that most people are aware of the issues there were with the subtitles for Headmasters, so first off, I'll allay fears with this bit of news:
The DVD will be using subtitle scripts written by Jordan L. Derber (Buster Darkwings), as seen on TVNihon's fansub releases. This basically elminates the possibilty of TF-specific errors that burdened the Headmasters release.
That said, there are some things in the subtitles which still need to be discussed. Firstly, there's the business of names - for Headmasters, the characters were referred to in the subs by their Western names. This just really doesn't work for the majority of Masterforce, and as such, I, personally, am behind keeping all the characters' Japanese names (and I was an advocate of American names for HM, just to give that context). The Godmasters and Headmasters, specifically, are just entirely too different from their Western counterparts for it to work, and characters like Sixknight don't visually jive with their Western selves also. The only characters I can conceivably see the idea working with are the Seacons and the Pretenders, but I feel that they, too, have some differences, and it all gets very picky-choosey, so, yeah. Japanese names. In the same vein, I feel "Godmasters" ought to be used instead of Powermasters (assuming that there is no active desire NOT to use a term involving "god" - I could see that happening quite readily in the US, but I wouldn't be too sure about over here).
However, purely in the name of consistency with other releases, I DO feel that "Autobot" and "Decepticon" ought to be used in place of "Cybertron" and "Destron." In fact, there's even one scene of a scrapbook in which the evil 'bots are referred to as both "Destrons" AND "Decepticons" in written text.
Outside of the show and characters itself, there is also the way that Jordan has chosen to translate the scripts, often using untranslated Japanese swear words. He's said himself that he sees why some people would find this less than desirable, and although I agree with him that it can be more colourful, I often found it distracting, and I feel that for a full DVD release, the subs should be fully anglicized.
Similarly, the fansubs also contain frequent cultural notes and explanations at the top of the screen. If the DVD were to contain a third pop-up track - in the vein of ADV's "ADVid-Notes," as seen on releases like "Excel Saga" - I would be behind including them, but as that seems unlikely, I generally believe that most of them should be dropped, as they are generally inessential lessons in the Japanese language (many of which will be rendered pointless by the anglicization of the swears) and occasionally distracted me, or required me to pause or rewind so I could read them and the dialogue subtitle that was on the screen at the same time. There are SOME which I feel can - nay, NEED - to say - for example, there's a scene in which Cab sings a traditional Japanese chlidren's song, and one has to understand that to appreciate the scene, so that one could stay.
Okay, so... discuss. No polls or anything yet, just talk about it, what your views are, whether your agree or disagree with me, etc.
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