Woah an about me post? How crazy and original of me!Â
I go by Jo and use she/he/they pronouns (not much preference towards any tbh). Iâm a genderfluid asexual lesbian but Iâm questioning all the time!Â
Mainly I draw, write, and read. Drawing and writing are, like, my favorite things to do! I also really love musicâmy favorite artist is Mitski!Â
Iâm not entirely sure what fandoms Iâd consider myself to be a part of right now because Iâve been in a bit of a limbo with my interests tbh. Hmmm⊠I like Stranger Things and The Owl House and Percy Jackson and Sailor Moon and Sanrio. Thereâs some other things too. I still like the Dream SMP but I havenât watched it in so long (Ranbooâs my favorite!). Oh, Sanders Sides is still cool but Iâm not super into it anymore. I donât know! A hard thing to think about!
Oh, some personality stuff if youâre interested: Iâm an INFJ 2w1. My sun sign is Aquarius, my moon is Pisces, and my rising is Cancer.
My blog will probably be some excerpts from my writing, my drawings, some of my ramblings. The mass fanart reblogs are inevitable. Iâm not a super social person (on the internet at least) so who knows? Maybe Iâll make a friend! I probably wonât be on tumblr a whole lot because I struggle with consistency.
My current interests are the Marvelđžïž, BatmanđŠ, Sailor Moonđ , Life is StrangeđŠ, and Percy Jacksonđ±. Mitski is still my favorite music artist.
In case you donât know what Glitter Force is, itâs the English dub of the anime Smile Pretty Cure; the 9th season of the Pretty Cure franchise. It was produced by Saban, and released on Netflix in 2015.
Not long later, they made another dub. Only this time, with the season DokiDoki! Pretty Cure, which they changed to Glitter Force Doki Doki.
Instead of keeping everything the same, Glitter Force changed way more than necessary, making it racist and implied to be homophobic.
First off, I just wanna point out that Saban was a problematic company. They were criticized for their questionable, race-related choices when it came to casting for Power Rangers(their version of Super Sentai). They also harassed one of the actors David Yost, for his sexual orientation so much, that he left the show, and even considered conversion therapy. Lastly, the president of the company, Haim Saban, supports Israel. So Saban is not a good company.
With that out of the way, letâs get into the changes.
~1. Name Changes~
Saban decided to remove all Japanese culture from Smile and DokiDoki! Pretty Cure; whitewashing it. They renamed almost everything, even things that didnât need to be.
Smile Pretty Cure Name Changes:
Miyuki Hoshizora/Cure Happy - Emily/Glitter Lucky(Glitter Pink in some dubs)
Akane Hino/Cure Sunny - Kelsey/Glitter Sunny(Glitter Orange in some dubs)
Yayoi Kise/Cure Peace - Lily/Glitter Peace(Glitter Yellow in some dubs)
Nao Midorikawa/Cure March - April/Glitter Spring(Glitter Green in some dubs)
Reika Aoki/Cure Beauty - Chloe/Glitter Breeze(Glitter Blue in some dubs)
King Pierrot - Emperor Nogo
Joker - Rascal
Wolfrun - Ulric
Akaoni - Brute(was also changed from a demon to a troll)
These arenât even all the changes. They changed all the names of the attacks as well.
~2. Cut Episodes~
(There are more that are included in different sections)
Again, Saban wanted no Japanese culture in the dub. So any episodes that contained too much Japanese culture were cut. Some were cut for other reasons. In total, Glitter Force cut 8 episodes. 13 full episodes were cut in Doki Doki, while some were stitched together in other episodes. In total, there are 19 less episodes in Glitter Force Doki Doki.
Here are the sources I used for guidance!:
Glitter Force, Glitter Force Doki Doki
Glitter Force:
âą Episode 10: It centers around Akane/Kelseyâs family restaurant, which serves okonomiyaki, a Japanese food. This food appeared once or twice in Glitter Force, but they referred to it as âJapanese pizzaâ. This isnât even what the food is. Itâs more like a savory pancake.
âą Episode 17: It contains a Japanese comedy show. It also contains real life Japanese comedians. So while Saban probably wouldâve cut it regardless, they most likely didnât have the rights to use it anyway.
âą Episode 26: Itâs focused around a Japanese summer festival. This obviously includes Japanese food, clothes(yukatas) and games.
âą Episode 26: It takes place at Miyuki/Emilyâs grandmotherâs house in Japanese mountains. We see rice fields, which I guess is enough of a cultural difference. There are also yokai mentioned, which are Japanese monsters/ghosts.
âą Episode 33: This episode takes place on the set of a Japanese edo-period drama. Obviously, this has tons of Japanese culture.
âą Episode 34: Itâs about the Cultural Festival at the charactersâ school. Cultural Festivals are not a thing in America. It also includes characters from Japanese fairy tales.
âą Episode 36: Akane/Kelsey is assigned the task of showing an English exchange student around the school. She teaches him Japanese, and shows him the culture.
There were episodes with Japanese culture that stayed in the Glitter Force. And some of those were episodes 13 and 14(episodes 12 and 13 in Glitter Force) where the girls go on a field trip to Kyoto and Osaka. Although, in Glitter Force, they call it the âAsia Pacific Expoâ. Now Saban, I donât know if you know this, but Asia is a continent with many countries. And each one has its own unique culture. So you shouldâve just called it the âJapanese Expoâ.
They also kept episode 21(episode 18 in Glitter Force), which is about Tanabata, a Japanese festival. Probably the only reason they kept this in was because it contained a very important plot point. Although, important plot points didnât stop them from cutting episodes in Doki Doki.
The way they treated the holiday in Glitter Force was pretty normal. They did rename the festival from Tanabata to the Star Festival. But besides that, they pretty much portrayed what the holiday is about accurately. They even explained the story behind it correctly(I believe. Iâm white, so please correct me if Iâm wrong). As a kid, I wasnât confused at all. Sure, it was a holiday Iâd never heard of, but it was explained, so I was fine. So this proves even further that keeping the rest of the Japanese culture wouldâve been perfectly fine. So cutting it really wasnât necessary.
Lastly, I just want to point out how in episode 2 of Glitter Force(whether intentionally or not), they basically poked fun at the traditional Japanese greeting. In Smile Pretty Cure, Miyuki hows Candy how they greet people, which is by bowing. However, in Glitter Force, itâs Candy showing Emily how the pixies in Jubiland, the weird fantasy world, greet each other. While doing so, they say âHello, my friend! I am happy to see you!â in silly voices. The way this is done and said implies that what theyâre doing is funny and weird. So they turned a normal thing to do in Japan into thatâŠ
Glitter Force Doki Doki:
âą Episodes 12 and 41 were cut for seemingly no reason. At least, not for any I could find.
âą Episode 14: Includes Karuta, which is a Japanese card game. If I remember correctly, parts of this episode may have been used, but not the whole thing.
âą Episode 19: Not sure why this was cut, but a section of it was used in episode 14 of Glitter Force Doki Doki,âRoyal Crystal Chaosâ. Saban liked to combine episodes together.
âą Episode 28: Itâs about a Japanese summer festival. Weâve been over this previously.
âą Episode 29: The characters are preparing for their schoolâs Cultural Festival. It also shows the fairies turning into humans. So more episodes had to be cut because of that.
âą Episode 32: The actual Cultural Festival.
âą Episode 33: The only reason I can think of why this was removed, was because it talks about Alice/Clara being a sickly child in the past. Itâs a shame it was cut though, because it includes the story of how Alice/Clara became friends with Mana/Maya and Rikka/Rachel.
âą Episodes 34, 35, 37 and 38: Ai/Dinaâs character arc. No idea why Saban wanted to cut it, but they did.
âą Episode 36: Ai/Dinaâs character arc, and it includes Raquel/Rory as a human, which was only previously featured in an episode that was cut. So it wouldnât make sense to keep it.
âą Episode 40: Includes a full singing performance by Makoto/Makenzie. Saban most likely cut it because they didnât want to write a whole new song, or that it was too emotional. The song was made and sung for Regina, and was a very important part of the plot.
âą Episode 42: Includes the fairies as humans. Again, with no context as to how they gained this ability, it wouldâve been confusing.
~3. Toned Down/Removed Emotional Scenes/Episodes~
For some reason, Saban decided that children canât handle anything too emotional. So any scene or episode that seemed âtoo muchâ to them was toned down or cut completely.
Examples:
âą In episode 42(34 in Glitter Force) Cure March/Glitter Springâs siblings are caught up in the middle of a battle. A big attack heads towards them, and March/Spring isnât able to stop it in time. The attack hits, and a big cloud of dust envelops the children. Luckily, when the cloud clears, itâs revealed that the other Cures stopped the attack, saving the kids. In Smile Pretty Cure, thereâs silence leading up to the reveal, making the viewers believe that the children are seriously injured, or worse. However, in Glitter Force, we hear the kids talking before the dust clears, saying âHey, weâre okay!â. This ruins the suspense and emotion of the scene.
Shortly after, all March/Springâs sibling run to her, hugging her. Theyâre all crying, and share a happy, emotional moment together. In Glitter Force, however, this moment is once again ruined by dialogue. The littlest brother asks why everyone is so sad, and a sister tells him that theyâre not, and that theyâre crying because theyâre happy. That was completely unnecessary. And frankly, I think kids could tell that they were happy tears.
âą There was episode about Yayoi/Lily that was cut, which was episode 19. In it, it reveals that her father had passed away when she was young, and that she desperately wants to remember him. Though being young when he passed, she canât remember that much, making her upset. Her fatherâs death is never shown, and itâs never said how he died. Glitter Force cut this episode out, because heaven forbid death be mentioned. Even though characters die in basically every Disney movie, and itâs fine. I think this episode is important, because it could be relatable for children whoâve lost family members of their own. It could even give them a sense of comfort.
Added after @glittercakes mentioned it
(Thanks for letting me know about this!)
âą In the final episode, Candy has to go back to her homeland, so she says goodbye to the girls. Candy is crying a lot, but the girls just smile, letting her know that itâs okay. When Candyâs gone, the girls break down, finally allowing themselves to cry. Itâs a very sad moment, which makes the reunion even better. But in Glitter Force, the girls stay smiling the entire time, even after Candy leaves. Emily even goes as far as to call her dramatic.
All these changes paint the picture that kids are too sensitive, and should only watch things that are happy 100% of the time. This is just ridiculous to me. Having emotions other than happiness in childrenâs shows is important, because it teaches them that itâs okay to be upset or sad. Having everything happy all the time, even when it shouldnât be, teaches unhealthy lessons to children, like âitâs not okay to cryâ. Thatâs what toxic positivity is, and it is not a good thing.
âą This last point isnât specifically about cutting emotional scenes, but I thought it was important to add. Smile Pretty Cure includes many life lessons in their episodes. These are obviously meant to teach children how to be better and kinder in life. However, in Glitter Force, they often twist the lessons to make them into funny cartoon shenanigans. I donât see the point in doing this at all. Including life lessons in childrenâs media is genuinely useful and important. Taking out the whole point of the episode leaves no value in it.
~4. Homophobia~
There are a few, minor details that were completely unnecessary for Saban to edit out, which gives the impression of being homophobic.
Examples:
âą In episode 39(episode 31 in Glitter Force) where the girls get transported into the fairytale âCinderellaâ, Reika/Chloe gets casted as the Prince, since there are no boys. In Smile Pretty Cure, Miyuki/Emily, whoâs casted as Cinderella, sees her as charming. However, in Glitter Force, all their interactions and dialogue are done in a joking matter, making sure the audience knows that they donât like each other like that. That was unnecessary, as in the original, itâs never implied that they shared romantic interest. They were just following the story. In another scene, Reika/Chloe catches Yayoi/Lily when she falls. We see Reika/Chloe from Yayoi/Lilyâs point of view, and there are the classic anime sparkles, insinuating that she sees her as incredibly handsome. Sheâs seen blushing a moment later. These tiny details were cut in Glitter Force.
âą In DokiDoki! Pretty Cure episode 10(episode 8 in Glitter Force), we really get to see Rikka/Rachel and Mana/Mayaâs friendship in greater detail. Rikka always makes sure that Mana/Maya is being responsible, and keeping her on top of things. Her fairy partner, Raquel/Rory, compares Rikka/Rachel to being Mana/Mayaâs wife. This wasnât insinuating romantic interest. It was just comparing her traits to traits of a stereotypical wife. But of course, Glitter Force changed it, making the comparison to Mayaâs mother instead.
âą Episode 44 of DokiDoki! Pretty Cure was cut for very obvious reasons. Rikka/Rachel is trying to get Regina to admit that she and Mana/Maya are friends. So she asks her if she likes her. While blushing profusely, Regina admits that she does, in fact, like Mana/Maya. While they used the word âlikeâ instead of âloveâ, the fact that she was blushing and bashful gave a clear queer coded vibe to the scene.
These changes may be minor, but thatâs exactly what makes it homophobic. They were tiny scenes that werenât made to be taken super seriously. But the idea of two girls liking each other bothered Saban so much, that they felt the need to edit them out. And the previously mentioned situation with David Yost proves that this was intentional homophobia.
~Conclusion: Stop Supporting Glitter Force~
The amount of people who still support Glitter Force really upsets me. Like, I get if you didnât know about Smile Pretty Cure. But there are people who know that Glitter Force is problematic and still support it like nothingâs wrong with it. They either deny that itâs problematic, ignore it, or simply donât care.
âBut they made it easier for English kids to understand!â
Iâm sure kids wouldâve understood just fine if they kept the Japanese culture. Kids arenât so sensitive, that the moment something is slightly different, they shut down. I mean, look at Disney. They explore different cultures in their movies all the time, and are still one of the most successful movie companies in the world. Mulan and Encanto are super popular, despite the fact that they take place in and contain culture from China and Colombia. So if Glitter Force kept the characters original names and the culture, Iâm sure the kids couldnât care less. Besides, itâs important to teach kids about different cultures, so they donât grow up to be ignorant.
The only time anime was edited this heavily was in the 90s-early 2000s. And they did it because anime was so new and strange, so they thought no one would watch it if it wasnât more American. But Glitter Force was released in 2015. At that point in time, anime was receiving a huge rise in popularity. So Japanese culture was much more normalized and understood in the west. So all those changes were even more unnecessary.
As an American, I can say that we donât need everything to be tailored to be like us. The very idea is just ridiculous to me. And itâs the same for every other country. Just accept things for the culture they are.
âBut it was my childhood!â
I understand that. It was mine, and many other Precure fansâ, too. I know it can be hard to let go of something nostalgic, but the thing is, you donât have to. Watching Precure can give you the same feeling! Thereâs no legal way to watch Precure yet, but now, itâs the same for Glitter Force. So if youâre gonna go on illegal websites to watch Glitter Force, you might as well watch the original.
Choosing to ignore, excuse or not care about problematic behavior, simply because something was your childhood is a very immature thing to do. Especially in this case, where you can just watch the original. I promise you, Smile Pretty Cure is honestly so much better!
The very last thing I want to point out is that Smile Pretty Cure was made to aid the children who suffered from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan. The overall theme of the show is happiness, with each Cure being named after something that makes people happy. And the animeâs title, Smile Pretty Cure, is a reminder that smiles can help you through tough times. So the fact that Glitter Force takes that meaning away is just disrespectful.
Thank you for reading all this. I didnât even get to go through all the changes Saban did, but I went through the most important. Let me know if this informed you in any way!
HAPPY FNAF 2 MOVIE RELEASE DAY EVERYONE!!! I know I am going to be insufferable about my sad stray dog Vanessa for weeks, months, possibly years after I see this movie in theatres đđđ
