An ADV-ism (ADV-isms in plural) is a piece of slang coined by Gatchaman fans for various inventions or translation errors in ADV Films' otherwise uncensored dubbing of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. While sometimes said in a lighthearted way, some of these liberties and ADV-isms also caused frustration among fans as the box sets were being released.
This is in no way to list every single difference or to nitpick, rather to examine some of the most memorable or infamous translation issues or line changes that the dub put forth.
Translation Errors[]
Most egregiously, fans took issue with Utoland being rendered inexplicably as Jutland, as ADV was reportedly provided a list of translations for certain confusing names and terms yet didn't take note of it or opted to deliberately diverge. There are other such cases in this dub, that also extend to the subtitles (providing a partial case of "dubtitling" when it comes to these matters).
In regards to the Jutland error and off-sounding translations in the later half in particular, the late Amy Forsyth (who had worked on many other ADV dubs) may have been responsible as the name first appeared that late in the show, in the episode batches she translated (73-78, 85-88, 97-100). Besides Forsyth, the dub had at least five other basic translators that tried to make sense of the notoriously difficult simple English scripts that Tatsunoko had sent, with two of them being Japanese themselves.
- Ameris in episode 24 is called Amerisima in the dub, likely conflating it with Amerishima of the previous episode
- The Moscorn mecha in episode 35 is translated as the Moskon, losing out on the corn pun
- The mecha in episode 37 is meant to be a pun on a microwave/range, but the localization deems it the Renzilla (instead of something like the Rangeler or Rangella)
- The Magnechecks mechas used by Galactor in episode 38 are called The Magnetics instead
- Einstan is translated as Einshutan in episode 46, likely due to how it was represented in katakana
- Indelhia is translated as Inderia in episode 50
- President Davala in episode 56 is inexplicably called President Zabal in both the subtitles and dub
- Queen Flake in episode 66 has her title translated to Princess, which some believe may bring her closer in line to her possible "Princess Grace" inspiration but still note that it's inaccurate (since if she were meant to be a princess, she'd have hime at the end in Japanese)
- The same episode has Caridon (whose name is believed to be a pun on the fashion designer Pierre Cardin) translated as Calidon, for Jun to make the joke "Calidon, take me away!" (based off the slogan "Calgon, take me away!" for Calgon bath products)
Sudden and Punny Names[]
In some cases, if not in the episode itself, some characters that were previously unnamed (aside from cases like Naomi who were named in the script but didn't originally have their names spoken aloud), would get some English pun-based names that would be seen in the credits. Other times they wouldn't necessarily have a pun in them, but still would be a name that would only exist in ADV's inventions.
There would also be cases where a generic male character on either the ISO or Galactor side would receive the name Melvin, and Katse's female form was often listed as Madam X or Madam Rahl.
These as well as the silly dialogue examples in the next category came from the ADR script writers who were tasked with rewriting the scripts that the translation team had made sense of, for further localization in English. This team of people included the director Charles C. Campbell, along with Monica Rial, Cyndi Williams, and Elena Carrillo.
- The seal that the Science Ninjas meet in episode 45 is given the name Wally
- The Galactor in episode 48 is named Kodak
- A commander in episode 49 is given the name of Screamin' Commander Such, after the English musician Screaming Lord Sutch.
- The commanding captain of episode 57 is named Commander Klinkenstein
- The captain of episode 58 is named Commander Chokula
- The captain at Gorakuen Stadium in episode 63 is named Captain Bismol, for the pink in his uniform (like Pepto-Bismol)
- The Bem captain in episode 65 is named Commander Bluefang
- The woman selling corn in episode 69 is named Olga Riddenbacher
- The announcer in episode 74 is referred to as Bob Barker in the credits, in a shout-out to "The Price is Right"
- The woman subordinate of Katse in 74 is named Mrs. Hathaway, as a shout-out to the Jane Hathaway character of The Beverly Hillbillies
- One of the Galactors in episode 78 is named Pancho and the other Santo
- The Patrol captain in episode 89 is named Patrol Captain Stubbs, while the Spy Satellite Captain is named Porkmeyer
- The Galactor captain in episode 93 is named Captain Limpet
- The captain of episode 96 is named Chief Wampum
- A scientist in episode 101 is named Professor Twain, after Mark Twain (and Charles C. Campbell is credited as "Markus Twain" for voicing him)
Other Inventions[]
Sometimes, ADV would also get a little more out of the box with the localization in their ADR scripts. Notable examples come below.
- '70s slang would pepper scripts a bunch, including shout-outs to some catchphrases of programming around that time such as Jinpei using Jimmie Walker's catchphrase of "Dyno-mite!" from Good Times, or paraphrasing Arnold Jackson's "Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?" from Diff'rent Strokes.
- As Ken had the phrase of "Bird Run!" when throwing his boomerang, the ADV dub has the sudden voiced ad-lib of "Yo-Yo Strike!" for Jun swinging her yo-yo (an audio formatting error even places this line in the wrong spot in one episode, while the scene that the line is supposed to be in is silent)
- Ryu references the candy Pixie Sticks in episode 12, and Ken can be heard yelling "Zoinks!" (ala Shaggy from Scooby Doo) when the three are traversing the dangerous Ibukuron.
- Instead of crying out Jun's name, Ken screams "GALACTOR!" at the end of episode 39, allegedly due to the fact the dub writers felt the cry of "Jun" didn't match the mouth movements.
- Episode 41 has the vocal-less song by The Demon Five become a lyric-filled one titled "Battle of the Planets", referencing and paying tribute to the original dub by Sandy Frank. The lyrics were written by Charles C. Campbell.
- Robotic echoing effects are added to the newly cybernetic Romina and Julia's voices in episode 43
- Ryu is originally silent but has a line of wanting to snap off Katse's ears in the equivalent scene of episode 55's dub (even if his mouth doesn't move), along with the team saying "Big 10!" (another shout-out to BOTP) instead of "Roger!"
- Ken's "We're not having a speed race with Galactor" becomes "We're not a bunch of Speed Racers, you know" in episode 57, providing a shout-out to Speed Racer
- Ryu references the drink Tang in episode 63's dub script
- There are instances where Joe is referred to as "Joseph", such as in episode 73 (annoying those who'd know well his true, full name is George)
- When commenting on the fallen Dave in episode 85, Ryu's "The Snack J has lost a great worker" is changed to a darkly comedic "I'll miss his magic brownies"
- In episode 86, Ken wonders if the evil organization responsible for the Sugare depletion could be "SPECTRE" (from James Bond) or "KAOS" (from Get Smart) at first, before realizing it's Galactor.
- Jinpei is referred to as "Shaggy" by Ryu in episode 87, while the Japanese track had him being called "Tetsuya" (after Tetsuya Azuma in Casshan, which had also been airing on Fuji TV)
- Episode 95 has Ryu ask Jinpei "So what's up with the monkey suit, Dr. Moreau?" in a shout-out to the movie The Island of Dr. Moreau