Was Electric Soldier Porygon Dubbed? - The History of Pokemon Shock | Pokemon Unsolved Mysteries

[@nickthetrex]

Meanwhile in an alternate timeline, Electric Soldier Porygon changed the explosion effect from red and blue strobe lights, to an explosion sequence. No Japanese children suffered seizures. And Porygon stayed in the anime.

[@kittycatgamer300thekat9]

huh!

[@FreakyWingedAngel]

Sounds like a nice universe

[@nickthetrex]

No pokemon episode has ever been banned in that universe.

[@Palkia8-Bit]

@@nickthetrex nah the alakazam line was banned from tcg

[@asmodeus58XX]

However, Uri Geller's lawsuit was successful, so Kadabra was banned instead.

[@APieceofT-BoneSteak]

I just asked Megan Hollingshead (the voice of nurse joy) about this at a con and she confirmed that an English dub doesn't exist for this episode. She said something to the effect of hearing about what the episode did, but she thought they would still dub it. The next day she got to work, the directors at 4kids said, "So yeah we're not doing the porygon episode, it gave a bunch of kids seizures."

[@SillyCreatureSally]

You do the darndest things, baby. Besides, if they had no footage, why dub it at all? Thanks to you and to the Pokerap.

[@nousukas]

The answers of the dubbing team seen on this video have no anecdotal evidence. It would have made 'em more believeable, if they could remember a line given to a character or something.

[@SillyCreatureSally]

@@nousukas Makes sense.

[@sbrocksman]

I should mention, there is indeed a chance 4Kids may have received the episode. If you watch the pre-release Pokémon tape they made to promote the anime, it uses footage from the pre-seizure version of the first episode. So they likely have other pre-seizure footage too

[@calixtomesterhazy3729]

Also back then, Japan may have just thrown the episode materials to 4kids by accident and they dubbed it and then Japan told them not to air it. I believe they dubbed it if Maddie Blaustein and Eric Stuart say so!

[@LeafRazorStorm]

My theory is that censored prints didn't really exist in early '98, so 4Kids was left to seizure-proof the episodes on their own, which is why several dub episodes have bizarre lighting and framerate issues while current Japanese prints just have a little motion blur here and there.

[@gingerkays7362]

I’m really mad that the Porygon family got permanently banned from the anime. I fully understand banning the episode, but why does the species have to suffer too? The flashing lights weren’t even caused by Porygon!

[@gills87]

They probably didn't want people saying "Oh, it's the pokémon from seizure episode!" every time they see Porygon. Put crap it has been over 25 years already. I don't think anyone would care at this point. But at the same time Porygon is not even popular. Not much reason to bring him back.

[@mathewvaquera0129]

I feel like they shouldn’t have canceled it because they could’ve edit it more like how people did in movies

[@Vulpas]

Sad to see this channel abandoned, I just found it. Excellent stuff.

[@Loon65]

I found this really interesting, more pokemon mysteries would be great! :)

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

Agreed.

[@wtpproductions7533]

Thank you!

[@fightingkitchen7960]

A really wish that Porygon will soon return in the anime!

[@chrissingh7184]

I agree and I also think they should dab and release that episode on DVD 📀 and I think 💭 for the DVD 📀 release they should replace the flashing red and blue lights today that would be way less hard on the eyes Do you agree?

[@fightingkitchen7960]

@@chrissingh7184 Yeah.

[@SillyCreatureSally]

Me too!

[@calixtomesterhazy3729]

Things could've slipped through the cracks. There was an Ultraman series called Ultra Seven that had an episode banned in Japan, but the producers of that dub created an English version and aired it on TV but then it got banned again. You never really know what materials the production teams got. That Team Rocket Vs team plasma two patter was so close to getting dubbed but had to be shelved quickly after another incident in Japan happened. Apparently the dub director did see footage of it.

[@spartanv4335]

This was one of the things in Pokemon that literally scared me.

[@bluebaron6858]

You should ask, Michael Haigney, he wrote the scripts for the early seasons of pokemon, you should check his various social media to figure it out

[@megatronacepticon]

In Season 2 a new recording of the cast saying, "who's that Pokémon?" was created and used with new WTPs, however for Season 2 episodes where a WTP was reused from Season 1 the Season 1 version of the WTP line-read was used. When Porygon was used as the WTP in Season 2 its segment uses the Season 2 version of the line-read, further indicating that it was never dubbed. Even though they got some pre-seizure versions of episodes we know that they didn't get them until after the seizures had occurred because there's no Jynx footage in the PokéRap, which would have been included if they had received their episodes before the incident because the Japanese producers would have assumed the Jynx episode was to be part of the first batch of 40 ordered and sent it. Therefore the Japanese producers knew that the seizures had occurred and were still shamed by them when they sent the tapes, so the idea that they would include the Porygon episode to 4Kids in the first place seems ludicrous to me. Assuming they didn't send it, Eric once said that the Dratini episode with the guns was never dubbed, meaning that he knows that every other episode they got was dubbed, meaning that he's assuming the Porygon one was dubbed because he wasn't aware that they never got it in the first place. Plus it was literally over 2 decades ago so his memories have probably mixed and mingled with each other over the years since then if he's not as fanatically into the Pokémon anime as we are.

[@Franciz_10]

I never get a seizure but its a eyesore when you feel sleepy

[@catholiccontriversy]

DUDE! SYNDICATION PACKAGES! You just gave me a new lead on why Beauty and the Beach only aired once or twice. That would make so much sense.

[@joniivee]

I actually have never even considered this theory and it's super interesting to me. Great work on this!

[@whackyzachy1482]

Porygon did nothing wrong

[@SuperCartoonist]

I wonder if they still have the original film master of this episode?

[@issaknife802]

thanks for the warning before the scene

[@xcmet]

whoever storyboarded the porygon episode musta seen 60 years of his career go by in a flash.

[@mothman3317]

It’s sad that it’s not a bad episode It’s actually pretty good.

[@foxboxarchives2059]

Does The Pokemon Company have that episode in English? If so couldn't they try releasing it as "Pokemon The Lost Episode"

[@PigBoy99]

Don’t forget that a New Years episode was skipped due to Porygon

[@MisterPancake778]

I NEED a dub of this epsiode I CANNOT watch it with the JP language and subs, I am 100% convinced that the dub is lost media.

[@5Porygon]

Thank you so much for all videos you made. You are one of my absolutely best youtubers ever. :) Jsi borec. Mám moc rád tvoji tvorbu.

[@saged1513]

It's sad that this episode was hurt so much by the incident. I wish they had altered the scene and still released it worldwide because it's a good episode that adds a lot of interesting lore, as well as capturing that kind of mysterious, mythical view of computer technology that was common in the area. I also like Porygon as a Pokemon, it's super interesting and unique. But I also understand that there might have been even more backlash if they still aired it, even with the flashing edited.

[@nousukas]

Nice investigation! You could have used a minute or two explaining, how the Porygon episode got uploaded to Hulu. And also, I think the "watch this program on a brightly lighted room" message is still proadcasted on before every anime on Japan.

[@nousukas]

I misheard, as in the video it says only the preview of the porygon episode was on Hulu. My bad.

[@WildVoltorb]

What? The porygon episodr could easily be found on the internet even back then.

[@nousukas]

@@WildVoltorb Not in any official sites, ofcourse.

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

This episode really upset me as a kid - not due to the flashing lights, but because there wasn't a computer virus in the transporter system. Young me was obsessed with Toonami and saw the "Trapped in Hyperspace" event, and I had a crush on Swayzak. Swayzak was a computer virus, which led me to ADORE computer viruses (I LOVED ReBoot and for a short while Cyberchase, and imagine my reaction to the Phantom Virus in that one Scooby Doo movie.) So when I downloaded this episode through the ancient Internet, I was watching the beginning and getting all excited, only for a computer virus to not show up and only be referenced. If I were writing this episode, I'd make a virus be the villain. However, in Ash's explanation, we see a Baikinman looking dude. Maybe, since the antivirus was a vaccine, the virus would be a germ. But Nyarth says humans and viruses are the same thing to the vaccine, so viruses are humanoid like Swayzak and the Phantom Virus. I guess it's like the white blood cells in most Fantastic Voyage Plots, though, and viruses look like Baikinman. It's a show meant for young children, so viruses would appear cute and cartoony, not scary, like shows meant for older children. Anime, just give us a scary computer virus for once! (Love Machine from Summer Wars doesn't count; he was more of an AI like Grid, and besides, he didn't talk, unlike Grid.)

[@SillyCreatureSally]

Ok. Although tbh I thought the Tin Man from the wizard of oz is rly cute.

[@zs4580]

There's an annoying number of people in these comments making s*** up about having seen the episode or just misremembering. Seriously do you think that everyone in this video is lying about it being banned? You did not watch it dubbed version of the episode because it was never aired. Maybe you saw pictures or clips from it online, those did exist even back then. Play episode did not air outside of Japan.

[@almir-chan9570]

Are we just going to ignore the fact that Porygon is literally in the Who's that Pokemon segment?! No less with an English voice, this makes it more likely Electric soldier porygon was indeed dubbed but scrapped

[@gills87]

They only dubbed Porygon for that specific segment on season 2.

[@zs4580]

Yes because it's completely irrelevant. There's no footage from the episode there and there's no indication that Porygon voice clip was taken from the episode either.

[@supermarioplushgirl3445]

Whoever thought that red and blue flashing lights was a good idea I hope was fired

[@Father_of_Death]

This is why they had to change "Incredibles 2" To avoid another controversy with strobe effects and epilepsy.

[@Mnemoniforma9.00]

The lack of dubbing for some of these episodes is one of the big reentry barriers as to why I've not gotten around to rewatching Indigo League for study's sake.

[@Gameplayer-vm5ml]

10:34 That theory is good, but not really true at all. Pokemon like Poliwhirl got shown before Episode 42 and they just got the simple picture. (He was shown in Episode 40 in the Eevee Brothers episode)

[@nousukas]

Was the footage of poliwhirl so good it could have been used in the pokerap? I remember it only jumping to the fountain and maybe being stolen by team Rocket. Not anything suitable for pokerap, I think.

[@awesomeocelot7475]

Honestly Porygon and Porygon2 needs to return to the anime and Porygon-Z needs to make its debut as like a prominent role just to give them another chance….

[@didack1419]

Porygon-2 never was

[@AdamDawson3]

Legend of Dratini was also banned and despite what people said Beach and the Beach did air in English

[@Majora_2010]

I really don't things 4k!ds ever dubed the episode because of what had happened because they would normally dub them after they had already aired in Japan and if they did get around to dubing it in English they probably destroyed any copy that existed

[@SuperCartoonist]

Someone can use OpenAI to dub this episode in the future.

[@samuel-wankenobi]

I gess

[@Idkanymore9029]

And slowww doooowwwnn the liggghtss

[@SuperCartoonist]

@@Idkanymore9029 But that's already been done though by how people transfer the frame rate poorly.

[@Idkanymore9029]

@@SuperCartoonist ok

[@ShiroiTengu]

It wasnt Pikachu's fault either, it was the antivirus missiles! Pikachu and Porygon are bkth wrongfully accused 😭

[@astroferret4700]

I know that it wasn’t dubbed in US, because I asked Veronica Taylor (Ash)herself and she said she never even heard of the episode till the internet age

[@disneyboy3030]

There is a fandub I found on the internet archive along with a fandub of the gun episode.

[@jacobcarter9772]

In the pokerap metapod had no footage but he was shown in the anime before the first 40 episodes so not every pokemon they had footage of had footage in the pokerap

[@dror843]

dude will you ever continue this channel? it was such enjoying ;(

[@dror843]

@Austrian MLG Gamer 🇦🇹 yes i saw too bad though he doesn't continue the pokemon podcast there are none besides his and it was pretty good

[@underdogtv2855]

Wait wasn't one of the porigon on Diamond and pearl?

[@supermariogamer1757]

It was just in an opening for one of the movies,I forget which one though

[@mysteryxio9957]

Aw give the pokemon an episode

[@dystohpia]

Porygon spotted

[@Danmcel1]

0:32 where did you find that video?

[@MsMoranguinho92]

I know that some people did a fandub of the Porygon episode, but no really official dub.

[@Mantekilla22]

What’s the music at 14:00 I can’t remember and it’s killing me

[@SillyCreatureSally]

Some sources say a heavily edited version was made at 4k!ds, but was just lost, thus not aired. But i don't believe that it's true due to the Pokerap theory.

[@Father_of_Death]

Banning the episode was dumb, they easily could have pulled it and had OLM release a version that toned down the strobe effects.

[@veghesther3204]

That I'm not sure but I believe the English TV dub DID air it only ONCE but never put it on the home video/VHS release.

[@mikefromireland]

Electric Soldier Porygon may have been dubbed, but it was never aired. If it did there would be recordings or anecdotes from fans who saw it

[@zs4580]

Did you even watch the video? It has never aired outside of Japan. Period.

[@freakyshowboy]

This is a ver interesting video... I've found it one day before #PokémonGo #Porygon #CommunityDay #JusticeForPorygon

[@seanhunt138]

I gotta see it

[@dror843]

subbed!

[@mr.patriotjol]

Were most of the banned episodes released on the VHS tapes?

[@hoaujudaiyubel]

Beauty and the beach and holiday hi-jynx are the only banned episodes to receive any sort of release in America unless you count backseat airing, which as pointed out in the video electric soldier Porygon didn't.

[@Tomsonic41]

I actually remember seeing an English dubbed version of the episode on TV here! Sadly I tuned in only halfway through the episode, and wasn't set up to record at the time. The flashing sequences were slowed down to around 2 frames per second so they wouldn't cause seizures though. So the episode was dubbed, it was just removed before it could be shown to a widespread audience.

[@albertodiaz6962]

Im 100% sure i watched that porygon dubbed episode back in 99 on a saturday morning.

[@nousukas]

It could be a false memory. If it really was proadcasted, there should be a recording or anything other than a pseudonyme in a KZbin comment section saying it was aired. I had a false memory of a person lightning himself up in a tv drama series. Turned out he was only threatened to do so, and I had pictured his burning body myself.

[@gills87]

False memory...

[@albertodiaz6962]

I SWEAR it wasnt a false memory

[@gills87]

@@albertodiaz6962 Haha that's exactly what false memories do, I also have a few. Do you really think that if something like that actually happened we wouldn't have any evidence of it? For what we know this episode never left japan, much less being dubbed and much much less being casually broadcasted on a Saturday morning.

[@zs4580]

​​​@@albertodiaz6962 it doesn't matter what you swear, we have evidence the episode literally never aired. Do you think you're special and got to see an episode that no one else got to watch? Do you really think that nobody would have taped it and then it wouldn't have come up in all these decades of discussing the episode ? It didn't air outside of Japan. That being said, there were clips and pictures from the episode online even back then, and it's possible that you saw that and have formed a false memory of seeing the episode.

[@bluebaron6858]

I miss the content

[@user-us8hz4me5y]

Bro, you know the scene that you shown might’ve gave some seizures to kids. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Thepokenerdoriginal]

Dude chill, he gave a warning

[@AlexAnder-bp2hx]

I remeber "Cyber Soldier Porygon" being dubbed on CN round 7 or 8pm-ish. I shy away from the tv because it was getting me a headache.

[@SillyCreatureSally]

...What?

[@zs4580]

You're either lying or you have created a false memory based on things you read online. The episode has never been aired outside of Japan. You are not some special magical creature that got to see it. It has not been aired outside of Japan.

[@Tornado1994]

@@zs4580 I was around during this time. 4Kids Skipped Episode 38 and NEVER localized/Americanized or dubbed it.

[@v1gaming299]

the dubbed version exists bro, i just found it on an anime website

[@Thepokenerdoriginal]

Link?

[@ElKamaleon777]

There is a fandub

[@Tornado1994]

No there isn't. Edited Fansubs do exist and were circulating around during 1998-2002. Mostly on Fansub Sites.

[@bluebaron6858]

Yo ask Michael Haigney

[@dwainsimmons3447]

He was interviewed in 2006 and said something that made fans so pissed at 4kids.

[@bluebaron6858]

@@dwainsimmons3447 there was an interview recently that said no, it wasn't dubbed

[@davidlewis5189]

​@@dwainsimmons3447 What did he say?

[@dwainsimmons3447]

@@davidlewis5189 he don’t know the games or comics of sonic

[@thegreenbeetledrewscott9608]

8:12 it's 2016, not 2006

[@SillyCreatureSally]

It right