History Main / Macekre

Pronounced similarly to "massacre", the term was coined by anime fans from the name of the late producer/writer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Macek Carl Macek,]] whose early "free adaptations" of anime frequently bore little or no resemblance to the original Japanese stories. His usual procedure was to dispose of the original script entirely, and write his own from scratch. This was no ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'', however. He would often combine two or more unrelated series simply in order to have enough episodes to fulfill a syndication deal (probably the most famous of these combined series was ''Anime/Robotech''). He is particularly reviled for the seemingly xenophobic ruthlessness with which he purged any hint of Japanese culture -- what he euphemistically called "ethnic gestures" -- from the series which he adapted.[[note]]Macek later claimed that many of these changes, including his having to splice together three different series to create ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'', were a case of ExecutiveMeddling; he was required to force the show to fit syndication-length guidelines, without having complete scripts for any of them, while still making it compelling enough to sell the accompanying toy lines. Trying to tie the three shows together by giving them a unified script was his attempt at meeting these conditions; obviously, this didn't work as well as he hoped. As to the charges of removing "ethnic gestures" from scripts: to be fair to the late Mr. Macek, there is some evidence that his original plan was to have Hikaru Ichijyo/Rick Hunter remain ethnically Japanese, naming him "Rick Yamada".[[/note]]

Pronounced similarly to "massacre", the term was coined by anime fans from the name of the late producer/writer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Macek Carl Macek,]] whose early "free adaptations" of anime frequently bore little or no resemblance to the original Japanese stories. His usual procedure was to dispose of the original script entirely, and write his own from scratch. This was no ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'', however. He would often combine two or more unrelated series simply in order to have enough episodes to fulfill a syndication deal. He is particularly reviled for the seemingly xenophobic ruthlessness with which he purged any hint of Japanese culture -- what he euphemistically called "ethnic gestures" -- from the series which he adapted.[[note]]Macek later claimed that many of these changes, including his having to splice together three different series to create ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'', were a case of ExecutiveMeddling; he was required to force the show to fit syndication-length guidelines, without having complete scripts for any of them, while still making it compelling enough to sell the accompanying toy lines. Trying to tie the three shows together by giving them a unified script was his attempt at meeting these conditions; obviously, this didn't work as well as he hoped. As to the charges of removing "ethnic gestures" from scripts: to be fair to the late Mr. Macek, there is some evidence that his original plan was to have Hikaru Ichijyo/Rick Hunter remain ethnically Japanese, naming him "Rick Yamada".[[/note]]

-->-- Fanart of ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'' that made the rounds upon the release of ''[[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment Mew Mew Power]]''.

Over the years, the Macekre has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has lost its luster following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs, even for children's television, have taken their place.[[note]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while [[TokuSatsu not an anime]], seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

Historically, ''[[Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato Star Blazers]]'' and ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' led to ''Robotech'', which in turn led to ''Manga/{{Akira}}''. Without those groundbreaking early steps, the later ones would have been impossible.

Over the years, the Macekre has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has [[DeaderThanDisco lost its luster]] following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs, even for children's television, have taken their place.[[note]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while [[TokuSatsu not an anime]], seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

->'''Ichigo:''' [=MewMew=] Power, I think I'll Pass. Your Mew Mew Power, Can [[CurseCutShort Kiss My A]]...--\\

->'''Ichigo:''' [=MewMew=] Power, I think I'll Pass. Your Mew Mew Power, Can [[CurseCutShort Kiss My A]]--\\

->'''Ichigo:''' [=MewMew=] Power, I think I'll Pass. Your Mew Mew Power, Can Kiss My A--...\\

Fans, with some justification, feel that this practice is disrespectful to the original content's creators, as the series is being treated as a pure marketing product rather really "getting" the draw. The practice has fortunately dwindled since the 1980s because of the utter hatred modern fans hold for it, as well as the greater accessibility to the original product (although [[DubInducedPlotHole consistency can flounder]] at times). The importing companies have realized that the [[WidgetSeries quirks]] were what attracted many viewers in the first place. The increasing number of import companies born from fan groups, like Creator/ADVFilms, may also have something to do with it. The practice has also largely faded, however, because ironically doing things like what Macek did -- replacing whole scripts and renaming whole casts, writing entirely new musical scores, having to spend days editing and re-cutting a show -- is actually ''significantly more expensive'' and time-consuming than a straight dub, especially now that the original source music and the like can be stored digitally and easily layered back into an English track. With the margins of the Western anime market being fairly tight, it simply makes more sense to give the fans what they want.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SarcasmMode Because some spring-loaded hammer is just as dangerous and deadly as a pistol]].[[note]]Left, Creator/FourKidsEntertainment version. Right, original version.[[/note]]]]

In recent years, the Macekre has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has [[DeaderThanDisco lost its luster]] following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs, even for children's television, have taken their place.[[note]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while [[TokuSatsu not an anime]], seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

Contrast {{Woolseyism}} (where the changes are seen as more organic and workable), GagDub (where nearly the entire dialogue is rewritten from the ground up, and the changes are for intentionally comic purposes, often [[{{MST}} making fun of the original]]), and GoodBadTranslation. See also [[Creator/StreamlinePictures Streamline Pictures,]] which Macekre founded.

This has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has [[DeaderThanDisco lost its luster]] following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs, even for children's television, have taken their place.[[note]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while [[TokuSatsu not an anime]], seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

Contrast {{Woolseyism}} (where the changes are seen as more organic and workable), GagDub (where nearly the entire dialogue is rewritten from the ground up, and the changes are for intentionally comic purposes, often [[{{MST}} making fun of the original]]), and GoodBadTranslation. See also [[Creator/StreamlinePictures Streamline Pictures,]] which Maceckre founded.

''No examples, please. This page describes a common emotional reaction to CutAndPasteTranslation; examples of such practices can be found on that page. In addition, keep in mind that TropesAreTools. Some people use such dubs as a GatewaySeries, and the virulent fan reaction against the dubs may puzzle those not familiar with the original version, or even perhaps those that watched the dubs first. Also, the sliding scale of macekre varies from person to person; what one may consider [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks bad changes]], another may not mind quite as much.'

Keep in mind that TropesAreTools. Some people use such dubs as a GatewaySeries, and the virulent fan reaction against the dubs may puzzle those not familiar with the original version, or even perhaps those that watched the dubs first. Also, the sliding scale of macekre varies from person to person; what one may consider [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks bad changes]], another may not mind quite as much.

''No examples, please. This page describes a common emotional reaction to CutAndPasteTranslation; examples of such practices can be found on that page.''

Keep in mind that TropesAreTools. Some people use such dubs as a GatewaySeries, and the virulent fan reaction against the dubs may puzzle those not familiar with the original version, or even perhaps those that watched the dubs first. Also, the sliding scale of macekre varies from person to person; what one may consider [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks bad changes]], another may not mind quite as much.

Pronounced similarly to "massacre", the term was coined by anime fans from the name of producer/writer the late [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Macek Carl Macek,]] whose early "free adaptations" of anime frequently bore little or no resemblance to the original Japanese stories. His usual procedure was to dispose of the original script entirely, and write his own from scratch. This was no ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'', however. He would often combine two or more unrelated series simply in order to have enough episodes to fulfill a syndication deal. He is particularly reviled for the seemingly xenophobic ruthlessness with which he purged any hint of Japanese culture -- what he euphemistically called "ethnic gestures" -- from the series which he adapted.[[note]]Macek later claimed that many of these changes, including his having to splice together three different series to create ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'', were a case of ExecutiveMeddling; he was required to force the show to fit syndication-length guidelines, without having complete scripts for any of them, while still making it compelling enough to sell the accompanying toy lines. Trying to tie the three shows together by giving them a unified script was his attempt at meeting these conditions; obviously, this didn't work as well as he hoped. As to the charges of removing "ethnic gestures" from scripts: to be fair to the late Mr. Macek, there is some evidence that his original plan was to have Hikaru Ichijyo/Rick Hunter remain ethnically Japanese, naming him "Rick Yamada".[[/note]]

Fans, with some justification, feel that this practice is disrespectful to the creators, as the series is being treated as a pure marketing product rather really "getting" the draw. The practice has fortunately dwindled since the 1980s because of the utter hatred modern fans hold for it, as well as the greater accessibility to the original product (although [[DubInducedPlotHole consistency can flounder]] at times). The importing companies have realized that the [[WidgetSeries quirks]] were what attracted many viewers in the first place. The increasing number of import companies born from fan groups, like Creator/ADVFilms, may also have something to do with it. The practice has also largely faded, however, because ironically doing things like what Macek did -- replacing whole scripts and renaming whole casts, writing entirely new musical scores, having to spend days editing and re-cutting a show -- is actually ''significantly more expensive'' and time-consuming than a straight dub, especially now that the original source music and the like can be stored digitally and easily layered back into an English track. With the margins of the Western anime market being fairly tight, it simply makes more sense to give the fans what they want.

It's important to understand this phenomenon in the context of its time. What modern anime fans might not realize is that at the time, there simply ''was'' no Western fanbase for Japanese animation in its pure form and in fact the term "anime" itself was not commonly known to Westerners at all. For many years, a variety of companies simply saw Japanese animation as a cheap way of producing [[AnimationAgeGhetto disposable children's programs]] for syndication. For these companies, the process of buying the rights to Japanese shows, which at that time had no real foreign market, so international rights were cheap, editing, and redubbing them was far more inexpensive than actually producing original animation. This was typically done with no respect whatsoever for the original material, as it was intended for a children's audience typically on weekday mornings and afternoons where they competed with reruns of original series produced for the more profitable Saturday morning timeslot.

Over the years, a small but growing contingent of fans began to recognize what remained of the quality of the original works in the stripped versions they were exposed to, and endeavored to reconstruct as much as possible of the original stories and characters from what they had and learn as much as possible from the scant translated information available to them. This grew to include research into the original Japanese material by those few capable of translating and understanding the language, and fanclubs were born. At the time, the term "anime" wasn't known yet and the fandom was called "Japanimation". As these fanclubs grew, they began to advocate the position that if Japanese material could be translated and presented in such a way that the bulk of the original spirit was retained, it would be of excellent storytelling quality and could find an audience. Considering that market proof for an audience for non-comedic animation that skewed older than the 8-12 demographic was, [[AnimationAgeGhetto at the time, basically nonexistent]], this was a difficult sell indeed.

This has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has [[DeaderThanDisco lost its luster]] following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs, even for children's television, have taken their place.[[note]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while [[Tokusatsu not an anime]], seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

This has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has [[DeaderThanDisco lost its luster]] following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs, even for children's television, have taken their place.[[note]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while not an anime, seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

Over the years, a small but growing contingent of fans began to recognize what remained of the quality of the original works in the stripped versions they were exposed to, and endeavored to reconstruct as much as possible of the original stories and characters from what they had and learn as much as possible from the scant translated information available to them. This grew to include research into the original Japanese material by those few capable of translating and understanding the language, and fanclubs were born. At the time, the term "anime" was as yet unknown and the fandom was called "Japanimation". As those fanclubs grew, they began to advocate the position that if Japanese material could be translated and presented in such a way that the bulk of the original spirit was retained, it would be of excellent storytelling quality and could find an audience. Considering that market proof for an audience for non-comedic animation that skewed older than the 8-12 demographic was, [[AnimationAgeGhetto at the time, basically nonexistent]], this was a difficult sell indeed.

In recent years, this has become a DiscreditedTrope as syndicated television has [[DeaderThanDisco lost its luster]] following [[TechnologyMarchesOn the rise of cable]] and on-demand streaming. Likewise, companies that were prominent for heavy anime edits in the 1970s-2000s have either closed their doors or left the industry while anime distributors who produce faithful dubs--even for children's television--have taken their place.[[note]]''PowerRangers,'' while not an anime, seems to be the sole exception today.[[/note]]

See also DifficultyByRegion, DubNameChange.

->'''Ichigo:''' Mew Mew Power, I think I'll pass, your Mew Mew Power can kiss my a-\\
'''Mint:''' ''Ichigo!''

->'''Ichigo:''' Mew Mew Style, I think I'll pass, your Mew Mew Power can kiss my-- \\

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SarcasmMode Because some spring-loaded hammer is just as dangerous and deadly as a pistol]].[[note]]Left: Creator/FourKidsEntertainment version. Right, original version.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SarcasmMode Because some spring-loaded hammer is just as dangerous and deadly as a pistol]].[[note]]Left: Creator/FourKidsEntertainment version. Right, original version.]]

Fans, with some justification, feel that this practice is disrespectful to the creators, as the series is being treated as a pure marketing product rather really "getting" the draw. The practice has fortunately dwindled since the 1980s because of the utter hatred modern fans hold for it, as well as the greater accessibility to the original product (although [[DubInducedPlotHole consistency can flounder]] at times). The importing companies have realized that the [[WidgetSeries quirks]] were what attracted many viewers in the first place. The increasing number of import companies born from fan groups, like [[Creator/{{ADVFilms}} ADV Films]], may also have something to do with it. The practice has also largely faded, however, because ironically doing things like what Macek did -- replacing whole scripts and renaming whole casts, writing entirely new musical scores, having to spend days editing and re-cutting a show -- is actually ''significantly more expensive'' and time-consuming than a straight dub, especially now that the original source music and the like can be stored digitally and easily layered back into an English track. With the margins of the Western anime market being fairly tight, it simply makes more sense to give the fans what they want.

[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/OnePiece http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4kids_boot_gun1.png]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SarcasmMode Because some contraption made from a shower-head is just as dangerous and deadly as a pistol]].[[note]]Left: Creator/FourKidsEntertainment version. Right, original version.]]