Jelly-Filled Doughnuts

Pokémon has its share of verbalisms, as I've detailed in two posts on this blog. For this post, I'd like to detail another one. As can be guessed by the title of this post, that verbalism is "jelly-filled doughnuts". At first glance, it might seem like something that is barely even connected to Pokémon, especially considering how it is in modern times. But a deeper look into it shows that the connections are very much evident. It's also related to what I know and what I do, though the link to Pokémon makes it all the more fascinating.

This verbalism concerns something that occurred in the early English dub of the Pokémon anime. In one scene, Brock is shown holding what are clearly onigiri (Japanese rice balls), but they are referred to exactly as:

"These doughnuts are great! Jelly-filled are my favorite."

This, of course, creates an incongruity between the dialogue and what is shown on screen. And as avid viewers can attest, it's not the only one; similar incongruities occur across different episodes, while across other dub productions of the same origin, they're incongruous to different extents.

The workings that govern this issue is "right up my alley", as a linguist in general and translator in particular. The process of dubbing, whether for Pokémon or any other anime, is one that localizes, to make foreign content consumable by local audiences. It's not a bad thing if executed properly, but in this case, it wasn't really so. In terms of translation and specifically the method, this is a full-on adaptation as it's radically different from the original, but it's one that "goes off the deep end", figuratively speaking, and one that borders on or is outright unacceptable.

As an incongruity, it is rather egregious. That quality is what makes it the subject of various humor on the Internet in the form of memes. It also makes the aforementioned food item liable to be referenced continuously as such; I can attest to this first-hand by someone I know who has his own connections to Brock. Whatever happens, these remain a testament that such has occurred, and they could be construed as criticism as well, something that should ideally be avoided in the process of localization by dubbing.

While I would say that the English dub of the Pokémon anime has improved in modern times, this legacy of older times certainly stands out among the lesser qualities of that time. It will surely be remembered forever in jest as much as for its adverse quality, and it is certainly a linguistic phenomenon as well due to the process of how it was created, establishing itself as yet another verbalism for a franchise that is well-known for many other verbalisms.

One year ago: Cosplay: Bunkasai XXI
Two years ago: The Music of Go
Three years ago: Alt+0233 and Its Kin