hetalia | Would you like to see Hetalia licensed?

There's been a tremendous response in Hetalia's favor, so hopefully a license is in the near future...

If it's licensed, then will it still be shared online for free?

i hope to god they license hetalia. i want it!

I'm rather interested in the manga getting licensed, not the anime.

Thanks so much for posting this! I voted and hope others do, too :)

I also really want the manga to be licensed.

It's possible. Funimation does stream some of their titles. They just started streaming the dub for Ouran High School Host Club.

Er... sub, rather

Voted! ^^

Hope both the anime and the manga get licensed. :D

Seconded. I would prefer to see the manga licensed before the anime.

I'm not a huge fan of stuff getting licensed. (Especially if Vic does one of the voices *stabs Vic*) But if they manage to do a good job with it then yay. Plus it means Hetalia merch will be easier to find in america.

Good point.. Even if the voices suck- Hetalia merchandise will be easier to get. :3

Thank you for bringing this to our attention! :) I sincerely hope we get a manga license in addition to an anime license. I would actually prefer the manga to be released first.

Does anyone know if the licensing Funimation is speaking of pertains to creating an official subtitled version, or whether they are seeking to license it to produce an English dubbed version? I know Funimation has dubbed in the past, but I believe it may also have taken to subtitling series sans dub. Can't double check that right now though because my work server blocks access to its main site and information. XD

I have mixed feelings about this. I personally do not want a dub of the anime produced, but if Funimation's goal is to release an official subtitled version on DVD, that would be fantastic (and I do hope that survey is correct in meaning actual DVD in place of their streaming videos).

My other concern would be if the license would affect the availability of material produced by subbing groups. In the case of shows like Bleach and Naruto, it does not affect the subbing itself (new Japanese episodes continue to be fansubbed despite a standing license), but it does affect availability on online in viewing/streaming sites such as Youtube. When shows are not licensed, fansubs are not targeted because no official license exists, so videos on Youtube tend to enjoy a longer shelf life.

If it does become licensed, I hope Funimation wouldn't take forever to release it onto DVD and just lord the rights. I don't know what Funimation's release schedule is like, so maybe that's not something we'd have to worry about at all with this company. :) I've watched that happen with some other company releases (manga mostly), however, and it was really a shame. Some really wonderful manga series were not given an official release because the companies that bought the rights all but ceased production, then refused to surrender the rights to other companies.

So does that mean it would definitely be dubbed if licensed by Funimation?

I think this has already been posted (http://community.livejournal.com/hetalia/1961967.html).

To be honest, I'm not interested in a dub, but I did vote for some other series in the survey.

third'd, i would way rather get the manga first.

No. It's possible they may stick to a sub-only release. Though personally I would like to see both. Not ALL dubs are bad, people!

Thank you for your reply, and once again, I appreciate you sharing this information. :)

"Not ALL dubs are bad, people!"

I certainly respect your opinion, but I also understand the pervading attitude by some fans that dubs in general are bad for a series. While everything loses something when translated, the best translators try their hardest to retain as much of it as possible by contextualizing and preserving the cultural nuances wherever possible. I personally have not found the American dubbing industry to take this approach.

For me, it's more that I cannot support an industry that has treated dubbing as an editing job as opposed to an honest translation and transcription job. Historically, dub editing in America has employed slashing and mincing separate episodes together into one, removing episodes, completely altering storylines, changing genders, poor attempts (or no attempt) to match voices to the original production, and eliminating homosexuality in attempt to "moralize" the series.

Some of these dubbing approaches may be changing, and for that, I am grateful, but to me, the fact remains that series are edited as opposed to translated, which often still results in being heavily compromised when dubbed.

It depends on the dub company, let's be fair. Funimation is way more faithful than say 4kids, which is just...just...well it tries that exact ass-backwards 'moralizing' you mentioned. I grew up with Yu Yu Hakusho and I've watched a) raw, b) fan and professionally-subbed, and c) dubbed anime of it, and read the entire manga over the years. Funimation was very faithful with it. I trust them enough to do okay with Hetalia. If they don't air it on TV, I bet they'd release uncut DVDs with both subs and dubs like they did YYH.

4kids ruins whatever it touches, I do agree with that. Changing storylines, removing cultural nuances, eliminating anything that would offend, blah blah blah. I hold a really really deep disrespect for those people. That kind of 'Americanizing' just helps kids remain ignorant of other cultures AND completely destroys the series for the serious, older fans.

But anyways, I'm really glad to hear Funimation might pick it up. Thanks to the above for bringing us the information! <3

ohh man Hetalia is not going to be underground anymore...
I am mixed on the issue of Dubbing Hetalia. I like dubs but I hope they do it well & Funimation tries & has had successes....so i am mixed

I loled @ Dubbing Detroit Metal City I wonder how they will do that LMAO XD
& Also redubing-Sailor Moon? Umm no, even though it was not that great it was part of my child hood.

That sort of cutting and editing more happens to anime that is set to be broadcast on TV (especially during hours kids are expected to be awake or if it's aimed at children). It's not so much the dubbing that's at fault, but the TV authority that sets standards for what's okay to be shown to a certain audience.

Since Hetalia most likely won't be shown on TV, and isn't for little kids, I don't expect there to be any editing. As far as how well it's dubbed, that's something different, but hopefully it'll be done well.

Wow, some of my other fandoms are promoting this very same survey =P -coughSailorMooncough ;O;-

While I'm not interested in a dub, I'm certainly VERY interested in a release in the States. Honestly, I'd buy the japanese DVDs; but since I don't know a single word of japanese, they would be useless for me. So, I'm really hoping to get a subbed version.

And I'm relieved it's Funimation xD At least, I liked what they did with FMA...

I was referring to the industry as a whole, not Funimation in particular. I also fully realize that some dub companies are better than others, and that the approach taken toward dubbing has started to get better with the emergence of companies who attempt to be more faithful to the original. While I can appreciate that higher quality dubs are being made, I still think it's important to make dubbing issues known and decry them because they still happen, and today's better approaches are being born out of fans taking issue with poor dubs and expressing anger at having such heavy edits to the original.

I hold a really really deep disrespect for those people. That kind of 'Americanizing' just helps kids remain ignorant of other cultures AND completely destroys the series for the serious, older fans.

Exactly. And not just 4Kids, unfortunately. DiC, Nelvana, Saban, Graz, Ocean Group, Viz, Tokyopop, and many others have employed that ass backward style of moralizing. It's initial prevalence combined with the awful voice acting by those companies that did care little about matching characters to the original (4kids for example), has ruined that entire avenue for me.

To some degree, it comes down to personal taste, and I was never disputing that in the first place. :) I'm no going to deny that it can be amusing to hear an alternative for a scene or so, or even watch something in a foreign language after I've seen the original. Hearing a scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in French, for example, was hilarious, but as amusing as it was, I will never prefer that over the original English. I simply prefer to hear the original first, and I prefer that original. It's not just anime dubs for me. I don't want to first watch a French, Italian, or Chinese movie in English anymore than I want to watch Japanese anime in English. On the flip side, I wouldn't want to regularly watch South Park's Japanese dub or watch Harry Potter in Spanish before watching the original.

I can certainly understand fears about having the series licensed; however... readily available R1 DVDs. >D I make a point of purchasing series I watch fansubbed (which, granted, is limited to a only handful) once they're available in the States. FUNi also includes the Japanese language track on their DVDs with professional subs, so even if dubs aren't your thing there's that.

I'm not sure how I feel about the boost in popularity the series would get if it were licensed... as is the fandom is growing rapidly stateside, and in a way I like being part of a smaller fandom. It wouldn't be a tragedy, though.

True. The TV censorship and production authorities make many of those decisions, and I agree that Hetalia likely will not face that issue.

But as you noted, it isn't just about editing, but how well it's produced. If they had to edit Hetalia for TV, it would be problematic. Way too many BL overtones for them to edit out. I wasn't saying I believed Hetalia would be edited per se; I was simply including the editing in explanation as to why dubs hold no personal interest for me. That's all.

I'd like to see Hetalia licensed to Funimation (their dubs are generally not as terrible as many other dubbing companies), but only on the condition that Vic Mignogna goes absolutely no where near it! ¬___¬

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