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Discussion 4Kids Flashback- A 4kids History Podcast. (Updates Tuesdays)

Mer.Saloon

Mer.Saloon

Chain Chomp
Pronouns
He/Him
Have you ever wondered: what exactly happened to 4Kids Entertainment? What exactly happened at the company that originally localized Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Sonic X, and many more? For the first time ever, our podcast uncovers the true history of 4Kids, as told by the people who were actually there!

Hosted by Tara Sands and Steve Yurko, 4Kids Flashback will interview the producers, writers, directors, engineers, actors etc responsible for bringing you the shows of your childhood.
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For a company that used to be so infamous in the anime scene for a variety of reasons, we really didn't know a lot about the place outside of the vague internet rumors and exaggerations that plagued 2000s era internet. So mark my surprise a few months back when I learned about this podcast all about gathering people for interviews all about the goings on at the company at the time, and all the cool tidbits we never knew about, such as voice direction, the involvement of Japanese studios, as well as the bonkers work schedules I had to give it a listen.

It really is like getting a whole new perspective on my childhood anime. Thought it'd be cool that more people knew about it.

https://www.4kidsflashback.com/

The latest episode:


My reccomended episodes:




 
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Oh I’m gonna listen to ALL of this. I often tell people my “dream job” is “4Kids writer/voice actor circa 1999” because I have always (and still do) love doing funny voices and making bad puns. Stoked to listen. Thanks for the heads up!
 
ngpdrew said:
Wow! What a find. Going to get in on this ASAP. Thank you for sharing!
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No problem. I hope everyone finds something more than a little fascinating about all this, because I know I have.

The fascinating stories about Turtle's development and Yu-gi-Oh's acquisition especially surprised me.
 
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SpaceGodzilla said:
that mike pollok interview one is going to be hard to sit through with recent events
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Yeah, shame because it has the Dan Green getting stalked story which honestly was probably the weirdest/funniest story of all these interviews so far.
 
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And just as I've been looking for a new podcast to sink my teeth into while I write/draw. Can't wait to dive in!
 


In this episode, Tara Sands and Steve Yurko interview Andrew Rannells!

Andrew is best known for voicing Tama in Tama and Friends, Connor in Cubix, Lenny/Tao Ren in Shaman King, Fried Ricer in Fighting Foodons, Jack in Funky Cops, Bokkun in Sonic X, Noah in Yu-Gi-Oh! and lots more during his time at 4Kids! He was also the Voice Director for Sonic X and Kirby: Right Back At Ya! in addition to playing james in the Pokémon Live musical. And, of course, he's done some pretty great things since his time at 4Kids - but that's for a different podcast.

Follow Andrew on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/andrewrannells/?hl=en and find Andrew's books at https://amzn.to/3JFWTcT and https://amzn.to/4415Er9

4Kids Flashback is a behind-the-scenes podcast about the 4Kids era of television as told by the people who were actually there. 4Kids is the company that brought Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and many other anime series to English speaking audiences. You can go to Patreon for early and ad-free episodes plus bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/4KidsFlashback or https://www.4kidsflashback.com/
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Everyone at this company was so young and so rushed. All these stories of slap dash vocal decisions and off the cuff script reads, it really is a miracle anything got done.

And I didn't expect to get more Kirby vocal trivia: Rick the Hamster got an Australian accent just 'cuz. No special reason, just because.
 
Sphinxer said:
I have really been enjoying this podcast. It's nice hearing things from their point of view.
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I know. It's nice getting all this info from a company who really didn't say much during their time period aside from one off, over-exaggerated quotes from Al Kahn. And it is still so shocking so much of their stuff is just lost media now.
 
Mer.Saloon said:
Everyone at this company was so young and so rushed. All these stories of slap dash vocal decisions and off the cuff script reads, it really is a miracle anything got done.

And I didn't expect to get more Kirby vocal trivia: Rick the Hamster got an Australian accent just 'cuz. No special reason, just because.
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Something I remember Mike Pollock telling me awhile back. If I recall correctly, he said they were usually about 5-6 weeks ahead of broadcast, so the rushness of everything sounds about right. It's a miracle the dubs aired on time, to be frank, especially with 4Kids editing all on screen text and some shows needing more paint edits than others.
 


In this episode, Tara Sands and Steve Yurko interview Russ Velazquez!

Russ worked in the Music Department at 4Kids and wrote and sang a ton of your favorite theme songs and music including the TMNT and Sonic themes, Pokémon World and 2.B.A. Master. Find Russ at https://www.youtube.com/@rv919 4Kids Flashback is a behind the scenes podcast about the 4Kids era of television as told by the people who were actually there. 4Kids is the company that brought Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and many other anime series to English speaking audiences.

Our website is https://www.4kidsflashback.com/

Subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/4KidsFlashback for episodes one week early and ad-free plus bonus content!
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Mendinso said:
Something I remember Mike Pollock telling me awhile back. If I recall correctly, he said they were usually about 5-6 weeks ahead of broadcast, so the rushness of everything sounds about right. It's a miracle the dubs aired on time, to be frank, especially with 4Kids editing all on screen text and some shows needing more paint edits than others.
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It also makes sense why some shows took so long to finish their runs. Like how Kirby began in 2003 but ended in 2008. At some point you probably had to use other shows just to buffer the schedule. And the Fox Box was only a Saturday morning block so 4kids had the luxury of having a revolving door of shows on there to fill time between others.

Also makes sense then why it just kinda all fell apart. 4kids really needed to move past Saturday mornings and into cable, but just couldn't when everything else was so busy. But you understand why the investment was good at the time. Cable still wasn't an absolute behemoth it would become in the mid-2000s.
 
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