I was checking out the guide of my TiVo when I spotted the title Shin Chan listed under Cartoon Network.
"No," I thought to myself, "That’s not Crayon Shinchan, is it?"
I tuned into Cartoon Network and heard the ending theme refain, "Party party join us join us". Oh dear — it is Crayon Shinchan.
Crayon Shinchan aired on KIKU-TV in Honolulu during the early ’90s. I watched it religiously and got my brother addicted to it as well.
Just when I thought the show couldn’t reach a new low, it did. An increasingly busy college schedule pretty much weaned me of Shinchan, and after I moved to Austin, the show barely crossed my mind.
My brother told me KIKU-TV stopped airing Shinchan a few years ago.
Now, it’s popped up on [adult swim], dubbed in English.
I’ve only watched one episode so far, but I have to say, the English dub doesn’t preserve the five-year-old tone of the show. The characters use slang teenagers would use, and these kids are supposed to be kindergarteners.
And of course, the dub has to tone down the original content like crazy. When the dialogue got too raunchy for KIKU, they just wouldn’t translate it. (I only remember one instance that happened.)
The one episode I viewed was taken from a later season, when the show was on something of a creative decline. I hope the producers get around to remaking the earlier episodes — those were damn funny.