TLDR;
This podcast episode covers episodes 14-21 of the original Digimon anime, focusing on the second story arc and the infamous English dub produced by Saban Entertainment. The hosts discuss the plot developments, character dynamics, and the changes made in the dub, including altered dialogue, music, and overall tone. They also explore the history of Saban Entertainment and its impact on children's programming.
- The group discusses the transition from the first arc to the second, the introduction of new characters and Digimon, and the challenges the DigiDestined face in the Server continent.
- They analyze the English dub, highlighting both its humorous aspects and its alterations to the original story and character personalities.
- The hosts examine the history of Saban Entertainment, its founder Haim Saban, and its influence on shows like Power Rangers and Digimon.
INTRO [0:00]
Billiam introduces the Nova Blast podcast, where he and his friends Nico, Lexi, and Savannah are watching the original Digimon anime. They're watching both the original Japanese version and the English dub, and will discuss the infamous English dub and Saban, the company that produced it. The group will also watch some episodes twice, once in English and once in Japanese. Previously on the show, seven kids were transported to the digital world where each of them meet their own companion, a Digimon. During the first 13 episodes, the focus shifts between the characters who all struggle to figure out how to survive in this wild world and possibly make it back home.
EPISODE 14 [2:44]
The group discusses episode 14, where the DigiDestined meet Jedi, an NPC who informs them about the powerful Digimon wreaking havoc on the Server continent. To become more powerful, the children need to find their corresponding crest for their tags to unlock their next Digi Evolution. They decide to trust Jedi and build a raft to travel to the Server continent, with the help of Digimon they previously aided. During the raft-building montage, an insert song plays. The egg of Angimon hatches, revealing Pouyoman. As they sail, they encounter a biomechanical whale Digimon that eats them, but they are quickly released. The whale Digimon turns good and directs them to an underground convenience store guarded by Strammojiman, where they find a tag. The group notes the significant character change of Strammojiman in the English dub, where he is portrayed as nervous in the Japanese version but aggressive in the English version.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SABAN ENTERTAINMENT [10:12]
The group transitions to discussing Saban Entertainment, the company that produced the English dub of Digimon. Saban was founded by Haim Saban, described as a ruthless businessman. He avoided hiring union talent, and Power Rangers had accusations of having an abusive environment on set. Haim Saban made his fortune creating soundtracks for cartoons and would dub some anime around this time and retitle many of them. Saban would dub some anime around this time and retitle many of them with few of its licensed shows getting an extra special treatment such as Macron 1, which was a brand new show created by cutting up clips from multiple different shows. By the 1990s, Saban dove deep into producing their own cartoons, teaming up with a bunch of companies to create licensed cartoons such as Nintendo and Marvel Comics to create some classic licensed interpretations of these characters. The company's biggest break came with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, created by recycling action footage from Japan and splicing it with newly shot footage with American actors. Fox Kids picked up Digimon, fast-tracking a dub of the show. Disney bought the Fox Family Network, including Saban Productions, and Haim Saban profited personally from the sale. He later bought back Saban Productions and sold Power Rangers to Hasbro for over $500 million.
EPISODE 15 [17:02]
The group discusses episode 15, where the DigiDestined land on the Server continent and encounter a village of Paguman. Pouon evolves to Tookon. The group notes the evil eyes of the Paguman, indicating they are being fooled. They are introduced to Edomon, an ultimate Digimon. The group discusses Edomon's design and the lore behind it. Edomon can digif them. They find a cryptic wall inside a cave where Toamon has been taken, with a symbol on it. Tai's crest is located by the Cororomon village, and the symbol on the wall goes inside his tag.
EPISODE 16 [21:05]
The group discusses episode 16, "The Arrival of Skull Greymon." Tai pushes Aguman to Digivolve, but his aggressive treatment backfires. Joe's tag picks up his crest location at a coliseum with a soccer field. The group loves this location. Sora has a goalie flashback, and they come across the coliseum, which is a soccer field. Tai intentionally wants Sora to get the goal in the original version versus the dub. Izzy lays things out way too simply for Tai and he feels like he can exploit the rules here. Tai is pressuring Agumon to digivolve, leading to Skull Greymon's appearance. The group discusses Skull Greymon's design and its connection to care mistakes in the V pets.
EPISODE 17 [25:40]
The group discusses episode 17, "The Crest of Sincerity." Jedi encourages the children to continue their quests for the crest. The kids are walking through the desert and all of a sudden a cruise ship shows up. They see a big cactus, which turns out to be a mirage. They get on the ship for some reprieve from the desert. They are introduced to Cockatrimon. Mimi gets the crest of sincerity.
EPISODE 18 [27:21]
The group discusses episode 18, "The Fairy Piccolo." The chosen children train under Piccolo, a pixie Digimon. Yamo and Izzy search for their crests nearby while Aguman and Tai are sent on a spiritual journey to mend their fears of Digivolving. Tai Chi and Aguman go to a spiritual realm to get over their fears. The music is a call back to the little 1999 short film with Bolero. Edetoon infiltrates because Izzy and Matt go outside the barriers of Piximon's little fortress to look for their tags and crest together without their Digimon.
EPISODE 19 [30:38]
The group discusses episode 19, "The Prisoner of the Pyramid." TK finds his crest, and Izzy hacks into Edetoon's dark network, learning that the digital world is linked to their world. They travel to the center of a pyramid to retrieve Sora's crest and reach Datamon, who says he's trapped away. The group discusses the animation quality in this episode. They've been lured into Edetoon's lair by Datamon. Tai thinks he can exploit the rules. Izzy breaks the news to him.
EPISODE 20 [35:01]
The group discusses episode 20, "The Earthquake of Metal Greybon." Sora and Pomon have been taken prisoner by Datamon. The children decide that they must split up in order to defeat both Damon and Edetoon. Tai Chi has to go back to the fence that will electrocute him and kill him in real life. Tai Chi has to put his hand through the electric fence and believe it will not kill him because that is what Izzy told him. His crest starts to glow. He goes in to rescue Sora. Adom's not dead. He comes out as a big black ball of wires. Metal Greybon defeats Adam.
BREAK: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DUB'S PRODUCTION [37:24]
The group discusses the English dub, mentioning the Latin American Spanish dub and the Finnish dub. Digimon never quite beat out Pokémon in the ratings, but the Sabon dub of Digimon did give Fox Kids Saturday mornings a couple extra years of life before being sold off. Sabon made a title change for Digimon Adventure, changing it to Digimon Digital Monsters. Digimon would be one of Sabon's most unchanged shows. There was an approval process through Bandai and Tolli. The pace of production made story changes harder to implement. The biggest change is the music for the dub. Wendy Lee, who plays TK, was the series voice director until she went on her honeymoon. Jeff Nemoy would take over. Sabon wanted to make the show as funny as possible and they really wanted it to be a young hip show on Saturday morning.
EPISODE 21 [44:37]
The group discusses episode 21, "Home Away From Home." Tai and Coraman find themselves in Tai's hometown in Japan, in the real world, and the two head to Tai's house. Rakari, his sister, seems to recognize Coraman. Tai Chichi doesn't know how to get back to the digital world when his friends send him a message asking for help and he starts to question if he truly wants to go back. The group prefers the Japanese version of this episode. The English dub makes this more confusing. The stakes feel way lighter. Tai Chi is now going back to the digital world.