Ask John: Why Are Older Anime Only Released in America Dubbed?

Question:
I have been interested in some of the older anime series from the 60’s and 70’s that have been released on DVD recently. I would buy the series but they are only dubbed, and I only buy subtitled anime. I was wondering why do the older classic anime like Kimba the White Lion, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Transformers, to name a few, only come out dubbed?

Answer:
There are several reasons why older, classic anime titles are released to American home video in dubbed only format, all of them carrying equal weight. In many cases, such as Kimba, Starblazers, Gigantor, Astro Boy, Speed Racer, and Transformers, we’re talking about series that were broadcast on American television. Thus the home video distribution rights to these series are still either owned by, or influenced by major American home entertainment corporations. These companies know little about the anime industry or the market for anime in America, nor are they really concerned with selling titles to the 15,000 or 20,000 (very rough estimate) hardcore anime fans in America. When titles like these are released to home video, they are often targeted to the nostalgia of older consumers that grew up watching these shows on television in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. These mainstream consumers, presumably, aren’t interested in the cinematic integrity of these programs. Dubbed only titles are released to appeal to the nostalgia of consumers interested only in what they watched on television during their childhood.

Furthermore, since many of these series were broadcast on American television, their dubbed versions are heavily edited and altered. Releasing them on DVD implies only transferring existing video onto a digital format. Releasing subtitled, unaltered versions would require new translations and new master footage. For titles that aren’t expected to sell very well, the amount of time and expense necessary to produce subtitled versions just isn’t worth it. After all, these releases aren’t designed to be archival; they’re produced and released quickly to cash in on nostalgia and make a quick profit before interest dies off. After all, with so much of the contemporary anime market in America made up of young consumers and fans used to more contemporary shows with better animation and brighter colors and a more contemporary look, there just aren’t that many people who actually buy DVD releases of classic vintage anime programs. An excellent example is Rhino Home Video’s release of Battle of the Planets. Rhino did an admirable job of releasing to DVD discs that contained both the heavily edited and altered American Battle of the Planets episodes, and the fully uncut and subtitled original Japanese episodes. These American DVDs were exceptional, archival discs worthy of a place in the collection of any fan of anime history and the pure art of Japanese animation; however, sales were clearly poor and Rhino seems to have placed the remainder of the series on indefinite hiatus.

The Mobile Suit Gundam television series was released in America in a dubbed only format at the instence of Japan’s Sunrise Studios. Since the original Gundam television series has not been released on DVD in Japan, Sunrise feared that an American DVD version with a Japanese audio track would be imported into Japan, reducing potential sales of any possible future Japanese DVD release of the show.