Sailor Moon in Russia

From WikiMoon
Revision as of 01:21, 26 January 2018 by Wheelman Tanner (talk | contribs) (Transformations and Attacks)
Jump to: navigation, search
russian_logo.jpg
The bilingual logo

Sailor Moon in Russia refers to the Sailor Moon anime series broadcast in Russia. The Russian name of the series was written as one word, "Sailormoon" (Сейлормун), and this tradition mostly persists in Russian media to this day.

Original Dub

Translation and Channels

Seasons 1-3

The initial series run was on channel 2x2 in 1996-1997, and consisted only of the first three seasons. The translation was done by 2x2 Telemarket. As is common in Russia, it was not a full lip-synched dub but a voiceover; all male roles were voiced by Vadim Andreev and all female and child roles were voiced by Lyudmila Ilyina. The same three seasons were broadcast in Kazakhstan by channel 31 in 1998, by channel TNT in 2000, and by channel Stolitsa in 2001-2002.

The season names were changed as follows:

  • Original: Сейлормун — Луна в Матроске (Sailormoon: The Moon in a Sailor Suit)
  • R: Сейлормун снова с нами (Sailormoon Is With Us Again)
  • S: Сейлормун — супервоин (Sailormoon the Super Warrior)

The designation "Moon in a Sailor Suit" (Луна в Матроске) appeared in Sailor Moon's introduction speech in the first run, and was subject to frequent parody in Russian media due to its surreality. For the rerun on TNT, it was removed and the introduction speech rewritten more faithfully to the original, but the designation remained in the season title. It was never referenced in the episodes themselves apart from the original introduction speech.

The next episode previews were never shown, and the avant-titles were moved to right after the opening song (except for episode 89, which kept the opening sequence in proper order). The eyecatches were also removed, as no commercial breaks were inserted into the episodes. The episode title screens were kept in Japanese, so the Russian titles for the episodes never appeared on screen in written form and were only heard in the translated voiceovers telling the episode name.

In all three seasons, creditless versions of the opening and ending sequences were used instead of the original ones. The actual Russian credits were simply voiced over, so there was no writing in the ending sequence apart from the series name, the air time, and the words "To Be Continued...", which were added during the early runs on TNT. On the reruns, the ending was often cut from right after the translation group was announced.

The original season retained the first pair of opening/ending sequences during its entire length, and the second pair, which originally began with episode 27, was never shown. In addition, both "Moonlight Densetsu" and "Heart Moving" were played without words. The ending sequence was altered slightly by overlaying fragments from the series.

The second season retained both of its openings and the ending, but the theme songs were still played without words. The versions with lyrics started to be used from episode 89 onwards; episode 89 was therefore the only case when the DALI version of "Moonlight Densetsu" was heard with lyrics in the opening. The episode also retained its unique opening sequence, which included the second opening of the first season that had been removed from Russian broadcast.

The third season retained its opening sequence with the proper song; however, much like with the English subtitled version, the final modification of it was used, spoiling the appearance of the Outer Senshi, Sailor Chibi Moon, Hotaru, and Super Sailor Moon. The ending sequence used the video from the "Tuxedo Mirage" ending from the start, but played "Otome no Policy" until episode 110. The credits were handled the same way as in previous seasons.

Episode 114 was omitted from the first run on TNT and did not appear until the rerun, although no changes were made to the episode other than those common for the entire season. It was present during the previous run on channel 31.

Seasons 4-5

Starting from 2001, the SuperS and Stars seasons were added, making Russia one of the few countries where all 200 episodes were broadcast. However, as TNT apparently purchased the German dub for these two seasons, which was then re-dubbed into Russian, these seasons became the only ones where the season logos, as well as opening and closing sequences from their Japanese counterparts, were not used. In addition, unlike the first three seasons, the last two had no season subtitle and were broadcast simply under the name "Sailormoon."

The translation itself was done by SV-Double, a different company, and therefore different voice actors were used though it was still a voiceover with the Japanese audio track in the background and not a true dub, and the translation itself appeared to be based at least in part on the German dialogue. It quickly became infamous among the Russian fandom for being very inconsistent with the previous seasons' translation and having inferior script and voices.

The fourth season initially used the German opening and ending sequence, which were slightly altered credits from the first season, including the song "Sag das Zauberwort" and the title "Sailor Moon - Das Mädchen mit den Zauberkräften." The opening included two additional shots of Sailor V (who was not even mentioned during that season) and Luna at the beginning of the sequence. Halfway through, the German logo was replaced with the bilingual logo "Sailormoon: Сейлормун," and the songs were replaced by the same instrumentals used in the Russian dub of the first season. On the rerun, this change was applied to all episodes of the fourth season. The fifth season continued to use the same opening and ending as the fourth.

The episode titles were carried over from the German version and remained written on screen in German, translated into Russian in voiceovers in a manner similar to the previous seasons. The fifth season kept the same episode title screen as the fourth, even though the fifth season had nothing to do with Pegasus. Episode 181, however, used the correct music for the episode title screen, but not the screen itself.

The unique ending of episode 200 was not used, and the same ending as in the previous episodes played instead.

Censorship and Changes

With the exception of the opening and closing sequences (see above), there were no alterations to the animation. The original imagery was retained at all times, uncut and uncensored. All of the Japanese writing except the credits themselves was left in; some of this writing was translated in voiceovers, but most was not.

All of the insert songs were untouched and the Japanese lyrics were left untranslated; sometimes, a voiceover was added to a part of the song explaining the meaning of the lyrics, with little to no attempt to make the text fit the music or to follow the original text word for word.

Zoisite remained male, although his personality became more masculine and his romance with Kunzite was downplayed. The scene of Zoisite's death in episode 35 had him telling Kunzite that he had loved him "as a father."

In the third season Haruka Tenou, despite being female and confirming it, was consistently referred to (and referred to herself) in masculine pronouns, even as Sailor Uranus. This, however, was likely due to peculiarities of the Russian language; since it generally does not allow for gender-neutral writing, Haruka was required to use masculine speech to explain why she was consistently thought to be a man by other characters. Her romance with Michiru was retained, if slightly downplayed, and there were no attempts to present the two as relatives or justify their close relationship in any way. In the fifth season, however, Haruka was voiced by a male actor in her civilian form, much like the Sailor Starlights.

Makoto's "crush" on Haruka in episode 96 remained unchanged and was consistently pointed out by other characters, including them reminding Makoto of Haruka being a woman and suggesting that Makoto might be a lesbian. The final explanation was the same as in the original.

Tamasaburou was initially identified as a "young man" by Chibiusa, but after that was consistently referred to as a girl by all characters including "herself." When Chibiusa was fascinated by Tamasaburou's skills and wanted to become "her" apprentice, it therefore looked similar to the previously mentioned incident with Makoto and Haruka. This was largely believed by fans to have been a mistake on part of the translation group, as there was no perceived reason to change the character's gender, given that the scene of Zoisite crossdressing as Sailor Moon in the first season was not considered objectionable.

Fisheye became a woman, although the scene where "she" revealed "her" chest in episode 140 remained unchanged.

The Sailor Starlights were consistently referred to as males, even in their Senshi forms, despite visible breasts. However, different sets of voices were used for their civilian and Senshi identities.

Queen Metalia was changed to be male and officially became "King Metalia."

Names

Main Characters

Japanese Russian
Usagi Tsukino Банни Цукино (Bunny Tsukino) — seasons 1-3

Усаги Цукино (Usagi Tsukino) — seasons 4-5

Ami Mizuno Ами Мицуно (Ami Mitsuno)
Rei Hino Рей Хино (Rei Hino)
Makoto Kino Макото Кино (Makoto Kino)
Minako Aino Минако Аино (Minako Aino)
Haruka Tenou Харука Тено (Haruka Teno)
Michiru Kaiou Мичиру Кайо (Michiru Kaio)
Setsuna Meiou Сецуна Мейо (Setsuna Meio)
Hotaru Tomoe Хотару Томо (Hotaru Tomo)
Chibiusa Малышка Банни (literally: Little Bunny) — seasons 1-3

Чибиуса (Chibiusa) — seasons 4-5

Mamoru Chiba Мамору Джиба (Mamoru Jiba) — seasons 1-3

Мамору Чиба (Mamoru Chiba) — seasons 4-5

Except for Usagi, Chibiusa, and Queen Beryl, no characters suffered significant name changes; those that were made were mostly done for the ease of pronunciation by Russians.

As it was common in European translations, Usagi became Bunny Tsukino; the name "Bunny" was not translated from English into Russian, but its meaning was mentioned during her narrations in early episodes.

Chibiusa became "Little Girl Bunny" (Малышка Банни), although she was usually simply referred to by the Russian term for "little girl" (Малышка). The "Rabbit" nickname used by the Black Moon Clan in the original version was not kept; in episode 60 they simply called her "Bunny," and later used the same "Little Girl" nickname as the rest of the characters.

In episodes 17-24 and 47 Ami Mizuno was erroneously called "Ami Tsumino" during Bunny's introduction speech. The correct name was used everywhere else and remained consistent for Sailor Moon R and beyond.

In SuperS and Stars, which were dubbed later, both Usagi and Chibiusa were referred to by their Japanese names.

Usagi's nickname "Odango Atama"/"Odango" did not have a consistent translation. For most of the first season, in places where Mamoru originally used the nickname it was often replaced with insults, making Mamoru's lines sound much more harsh than they were in the original. When he started to use it affectionately in the R season and beyond, a common replacement was "round-faced" ("Круглолицая"). When used by Seiya in the Stars season, it was changed to "Dolly" (Куколка) or "Doughnut" (Пончик), depending on the episode, but neither version referred to Usagi's hairstyle.

Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and (in the third season only) Sailor Uranus kept their planet names in English ("Mercury" was pronounced slightly differently, but this was just to simplify it for the Russian actors); however, the rest of the Solar System Senshi had their planet names translated into Russian. The difference in sound was usually minimal, but in some cases quite noticeable, especially with Venus (Венера).

Sailor V retained her name, but during her introduction as Sailor Venus in episode 33, the other girls referred to her as "Sailor Five" ("Сейлор Пять").

In the third season Sailor Chibi Moon was called "Sailor Little Girl" ("Сейлор Малышка," using the same term as her nickname in civilian form, and completely dropping "Moon"). In later seasons, she retained the original name.

The only difference in Tuxedo Mask's name was that the word "Tuxedo" was given a slightly odd pronunciation; it should technically have been transcribed as "Таксидо," but instead was consistently heard as "Такседо," with the "eh" sound in the middle instead of a more appropriate "ee" - and the "eh" even remained stressed.

The Sailor Starlights got a treatment similar to the Sailor Animamates and had the word "Sailor" moved to the middle of the name; Sailor Star Fighter was called "Star Sailor Warrior" ("Звёздный Сейлор Воин"), Sailor Star Maker was "Star Sailor Creator" ("Звёздный Сейлор Творец"), and Sailor Star Healer was "Star Sailor Healer" ("Звёздный Сейлор Целитель"). The collective name "Sailor Starlights" was rendered simply as "Star Sailor Soldiers/Warriors" ("Звёздные Сейлор-воины"). Their transformation phrases were left out completely, and instead, they called out their Senshi names.

The name of the group "Three Lights" was translated to "Three Stars" ("Три Звезды"), which made it a pun in Russian (the word "star" still carries an additional meaning in Russian, as in "pop-star") but not a literal translation.

Princess Kakyuu was called "Princess Meteor" ("Принцесса Метеор").

Dark Kingdom

Japanese Russian
Queen Beryl Королева Погибель (Queen Ruin)
Jadeite Джедайт (Jedite)
Nephrite Нефрит (Nefrit/Nephrit)
Zoisite Зойсайт (Zoisite)
Kunzite Кунсайт (Kunsite)

Queen Beryl is the only known case in the entire series where the Russian name had nothing to do in sound or meaning with the original; some Russian fans have speculated that the translators misheard her name, thinking that it was the English word "Peril," and chose a name related to that in meaning.

Jadeite, Zoisite, and Kunzite retained the English pronunciation of their names, while Nephrite did not: his name was translated into the Russian name for the mineral nephrite. The term "Shitennou" was not used, and they were instead referred to as "generals".

Episode 2 had Jadeite's name pronounced as "Jeditti" ("Джедитти"), but the correct name was used elsewhere.

Makaiju

Japanese Russian
Makaiju Дерево Тёмного Мира (Tree of the Dark World)
Ail Эйл (Ail)
An Анна (Anna)

An became the Russian equivalent of the name Ann, while Ail's name was unchanged.

Black Moon Clan

Japanese Russian
Berthier Бертерайт (Berthierite)
Koan Кермесайт (Kermesite)
Petz Петцайт (Petzite)
Calaveras Калаверайт (Calaverite)
Rubeus Рубеус (Rubeus)
Esmeraude Изумруд (Emerald)
Saphir Сапфир (Sapphire)
Prince Demande Принц Алмаз (Prince Diamond)

The Spectre Sisters became "Pursuer Sisters" (Сёстры-преследовательницы), and their names were changed to English names for the respective minerals (as opposed to literal translations into Russian). The names of Esmeraude, Saphir, and Demande were literal translations of the respective gemstone names into Russian, and they are therefore pronounced differently from the English names (given in brackets). Rubeus' name was unchanged.

The name of the planet Nemesis was usually pronounced as "Menezis" (Менезис).

Death Busters

Japanese Russian
Professor Souichi Tomoe Доктор Соичи Томо (Doctor Soichi Tomo)
Kaolinite Каоринайт (Kaorinite)
Eudial Юджил (Eugeal)
Mimete Мимет (Mimet)
Tellu Телулу (Telulu)
Viluy Бириют (Biriut)
Cyprine Сайприн (Cyprine)
Ptilol Питирол (Pitirol)

Neither of these were literal translations. Kaolinite's Russian name pronunciation followed the same pattern as those of the Shitennou (except Nephrite) and the Spectre Sisters, and was a rendition of the English pronunciation.

Mistress Nine and Pharaoh Ninety retained their English names, except that the Russian word for pharaoh (фараон; "pharaon") was used, and the "e" in "ninety" was not only pronounced, but also stressed.

The Death Busters themselves became "Apostles of Death" (Апостолы смерти).

Dead Moon Circus

Tiger's Eye, Hawk's Eye, and Fisheye had their names literally translated into Russian (but the translations were not based on the mineral names). The name "Amazon Trio" was left unchanged, except for episode 128 where Zirconia referred to them simply as "my trio".

Shadow Galactica

The Sailor Animamates used a slightly different pattern for their names: the word "Sailor" was inserted between the metal and animal names. For instance, Sailor Iron Mouse became "Steel Sailor Mouse" (predictably, diminishing the accent on "Sailor... Iron Mouse?" when Sailor Moon first met her, and thus downplaying the fact that she was surprised to learn that her enemies were also Sailor Senshi).

Japanese Russian
Sailor Iron Mouse Стальная Сейлор-Мышь (Steel Sailor Mouse)
Sailor Aluminum Seiren Алюминиевая Сейлор-Сирена (Alumin(i)um Sailor Siren)
Sailor Lead Crow Сейлор-Ворона (Sailor Crow)
Sailor Tin Nyanko Жестяная Сейлор-Мяу (Tin Sailor Meow)

Crow was the only Animamate to have her metal completely omitted.

Monsters-of-the-day

The Youma, Droids, Daimons, and Phage were all called "demons." The Cardians were called "cards," and the Lemures were known by their English name, "remless" ("remluss").

Transformations and Attacks

The Russian dub is notorious for its abuse of "artistic liberty" when it came to transformation and attack names. Not only did they almost never match their English counterparts, with the exception of Deep Submerge (briefly, only in the beginning of Sailor Moon S) and possibly Silence Wall and Dead Scream (in Sailor Stars), but also several powers used by the same character often received the same name (even when it made no sense story-wise), and vice versa: one attack was often called differently in different episodes, even within the same seasons.

For example, all four phrases Usagi used throughout the series to transform alone were translated the same way. On the other hand, World Shaking is notable for having no less than four discarded translations, each of them only used in a single episode, until the fifth and final version, which had nothing to do with the original name, was agreed on and was used for the remainder of Sailor Moon S (and in Sailor Stars).

The following list is not exhaustive. For example, attacks of the Inner Senshi sometimes had slightly different names that were only used for a handful of episodes. In such cases, only the most common names are listed.

Sailor Moon

Original Russian Translation
Moon Prism Power, Make Up

Moon Crystal Power, Make Up
Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up
Moon Eternal, Make Up

Лунная призма, дай мне силу Moon Prism, give me power
Crisis, Make Up Святой Грааль, дай мне силу Holy Grail, give me power
Moon Crisis, Make Up Лунные призмы, дайте нам силу Moon Prisms, give us power
Moon Tiara Action Лунная диадема, в бой Moon Tiara, to battle
Moon Tiara Stardust Лунная диадема, рассыпь звёздную пыль Moon Tiara, spread stardust
Moon Healing Escalation

Moon Princess Halation

Исцеляющая сила Луны, помоги Moon's healing power, help
Moon Spiral Heart Attack

Rainbow Moon Heartache

Волшебный лунный жезл, помоги Magic moon rod, help
Moon Gorgeous Meditation Волшебный лунный калейдоскоп, в бой Magic moon kaleidoscope, to battle
Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss Медовый поцелуй невесты Honey Bride's Kiss
Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss Поцелуй Серебряного Кристалла Kiss of the Silver Crystal

Sailor Mercury

Original Russian Translation
Mercury Power, Make Up Сила Меркурия, приди ко мне Mercury Power, come to me
Sabão Spray

Shine Aqua Illusion

Мыльный дождь, в бой Soap Rain, to battle
Mercury Aqua Rhapsody Мерцающая волна, в бой

Водяная рапсодия, действуй

Glimmering Wave, to battle

Water Rhapsody, act

Sailor Mars

Original Russian Translation
Mars Power, Make Up Сила Марса, приди ко мне Mars Power, come to me
Fire Soul

Burning Mandala

Дух огня, в бой Fire Spirit, to battle
Mars Flame Sniper Огненная стрела Марса Mars' Fire Arrow

Sailor Jupiter

Original Russian Translation
Jupiter Power, Make Up Сила Юпитера, приди ко мне Jupiter Power, come to me
Supreme Thunder

Sparkling Wide Pressure

Дух грома, в бой Thunder Spirit, to battle
Jupiter Oak Evolution Летите, грозные молнии

Древо жизни Юпитера

Fly, menacing lightning bolts

Jupiter's Tree of Life

Sailor Venus

Original Russian Translation
Venus Power, Make Up Сила Венеры, приди ко мне Venus Power, come to me
Crescent Beam Луч полумесяца, в бой Crescent Beam, to battle
Venus Love-Me Chain Цепь любви Венеры, в бой Venus Love Chain, to battle
Venus Love and Beauty Shock Венера дарит всем любовь

Красота Венеры

Venus grants everyone love

Beauty of Venus

Sailor Uranus

Original Russian Translation
Uranus Planet Power, Make Up Сила планеты Уран, дай мне силу Uranus planet power, give me power
World Shaking Твердь, разверзнись Ground, open

Sailor Neptune

Original Russian Translation
Neptune Planet Power, Make Up Сила планеты Нептун, дай мне силу Neptune planet power, give me power
Deep Submerge Глубокое погружение

Глубокая волна
Высокая волна
Полное погружение

Deep Submerge

Deep Wave
High Wave
Full Submerge

Sailor Pluto

Original Russian Translation
Pluto Planet Power, Make Up Сила планеты Плутон, дай мне силу Pluto planet power, give me power
Dead Scream Дух стихии

Крик мёртвых

Elemental Spirit

Scream of the Dead

Sailor Saturn

Original Russian Translation
Silence Wall Стена безмолвия Wall of Silence
Silence Glaive Surprise Безмолвие смерти Silence of Death

Sailor Chibi Moon

Original Russian Translation
Pink Sugar Heart Attack many versions, all beginning with "Сердце розового сластёны" Pink Sweet-Tooth Heart
Twinkle Yell Пегас, прошу тебя, защити мечты людей! Я верю в тебя! Please, Pegasus, protect people's dreams! I believe in you!

Sailor Starlights

Original Russian Translation
Star Serious Laser Сила, движущая звёзды Star-Moving Force
Star Gentle Uterus Милосердие звёздного источника Mercy of the Star Source
Star Sensitive Inferno Нежный звёздный ураган Gentle Star Hurricane

2016 DVD Remake

In November 2016, a new lip-synced dub of all five seasons of the anime was released on DVD by Super Disc Russia as a limited edition.

Censorship and Changes

Censorship

All nudity scenes except Make-Ups were cut off by RZD-TV, the intermediate agent of Super Disc Russia. All eyecatches are not deleted. Haruka Tenou was voiced as a female, so the early error in the voiceover by 2X2 is fixed. Also Fish-Eye got his male voice back.

Soundtrack changes

Opening theme of 1st episode, 1st season was Paulina Johnes - Life is so sad, but main opening of all next episodes and Preview theme was Aerovokzal - Go, Go, Railway Drivers!. Also the following soundtracks are changed to original tracks by Abdul Rakhmanov:

  • Just an ordinary girl
  • Dumpling Head
  • Queen Beryl
  • Battle theme
  • Danger themes

Prince Endymion's theme was changed to Gershon Kingsley - For Elise Beethoven maybe due the copyright infringement notices from Universal Media Group.

Names

Main Characters

Japanese Russian
Usagi Tsukino Усаги Цукино (Usagi Tsukino)
Ami Mizuno Ами Мидзуно (Ami Mizuno)
Rei Hino Рей Хино (Rei Hino)
Makoto Kino Макото Кино (Makoto Kino)
Minako Aino Минако Аино (Minako Aino)
Haruka Tenou Харука Тено (Haruka Tenou)
Michiru Kaiou Мичиру Кайо (Michiru Kaiou)
Setsuna Meiou Сецуна Мейо (Sezuna Meioh)
Hotaru Tomoe Хотару Томоэ (Hotaru Tomoe)
Chibiusa Чибиуса (Chibiusa)
Mamoru Chiba Джон Таннер (John Tanner)
Prince Endymion Гонщик (The Wheelman, The Driver)

The characters expect Mamoru Chiba and Prince Endymion are translated in Russian as is. Mamoru Chiba due the official request of Russian Federation Ministry of Culture was renamed to John Tanner, and Prince Endymion was renamed to The Wheelman or The Driver (Гонщик). But Tuxedo Mask is translated as is.

Dark Kingdom

Japanese Russian
Queen Beryl Королева Берил (Queen Beryl)
Jadeite Жадеит (Jadeit)
Nephrite Нефрит (Nefrit/Nephrit)
Zoisite Зойсайт (Zoisite)
Kunzite Кунцит (Kunzite)

Black Moon Clan

Japanese Russian
Berthier Бертерайт (Berthierite)
Koan Кермесит (Kermesite)
Petz Петцит (Petzite)
Calaveras Калаверас (Calaveras)
Rubeus Рубеус (Rubeus)
Esmeraude Эсмеральд (Esmerald)
Saphir Сапфир (Sapphire)
Prince Demande Принц Диамант (Prince Diamante)


Death Busters

According to official data only Professor Souichi Tomoe was translated in Russian as Доктор Томоэ (Dr. Tomoe). Another characters from Death Busters are translated literally as is.

Dead Moon Circus

Tiger's Eye, Hawk's Eye, and Fisheye had their names literally translated into Russian. The name "Amazon Trio" was changed to Sailor Quartet.

Shadow Galactica

Japanese Russian
Sailor Iron Mouse Стальная Сейлор-Мышь (Steel Sailor Mouse)
Sailor Aluminum Seiren Алюминиевая Сейлор-Сирена (Alumin(i)um Sailor Siren)
Sailor Lead Crow Сейлор Ворона (Sailor Crow)
Sailor Tin Nyanko Оловянная Сейлор Мяу (Tin Sailor Meow)
Sailor Galaxia Графиня Галаксия (Count Galaxia)

Transformations and Attacks

The transformations and attacks were translated in Russian literally, as is. The errors in the early dub are fixed.