Attention

I have made an important decision. For the next sixty-three (63) days, JRBnet will be, I guess you could call it, on pause. After the sixty-three days, JRBnet will most likely be back online with a new website. Thankyou for understanding. This site that you are reading this post on now is also considered closed and will never be updated again as of October 24, 2007. For the mail new site and that JRBnet copyright information go to the main news site here: This Link!

ATTENTION

ATTENTION! Jirachi!+Rob.bLOG (Free) (jirachirob.net), JRBnET's paid blog has moved to here, http://jirachirobfree.blogspot.com, due to issues with our host. Our host Elixant is closing, Sunday (way to procrastinate Rob!) after many years of serving people. Please update your bookmarks by, of preferably before Sunday, March 11, 2007.

:'( A silent day.

Well most of us Pokémon fans here in the USA have seen and commented on the special, Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon! that aired April 29^th. Most of us hated it and have voiced our concerns to Pokemon USA, Inc.. Well now, they have responded to, and acknowledged some of the many fan submitted email and letters (keep them coming, please) on the main Pokémon website, www.pokémon.com. We quote the response here:

Dear Pokemon fans,

Whew! The last couple of days have been exhausting for us, we’ve been going through all of the e-mails concerning the television special we aired recently, The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon. The show was fantastic, with a mostly positive response. Many said the action was “awesome” that the plot and storyline were “outstanding” and that the overall look of the animation was very, very cool”. Once again, you’ve proven yourself to be the best fans in the world. And we appreciate your comments!

We also heard you were concerned with the voice actors, and many of you have voiced your concern (pun intended) through your e-mails and letters. Believe us – we are fans of the TV show too and we care just as much about something like voice changes as you do. We changed the voice actors for the main characters because we were told that the actors who used to provide voices to our characters had conflicting contractual commitments. So, we hope you will help us welcome the new voice actors into the Pokemon family – we think they’re great, and they did a great job on Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon during the shortened transition period between production studios…

Nothing else changed, and it is still the same awesome show you’re used to seeing every week, with great storylines straight from Japan, original music, and well thought out plot (which is the most important thing when producing a TV show)! Pokemon has always been fair play and teamwork and we expect the same from our fans. In other words, if you have comments, complaints or praise, let us know directly at Feedback@pokemon.com.

We always welcome your constructive criticism! We are, and always have been, dedicated to our fans and how passionately and strongly they believe in Pokemon. We promise to always take your concerns top heart as we continue to make the show your favorite every week. Watch this space in the upcoming days for even more exciting news about Pokemon, and don’t forget to check out our Pokemon coverage from E3 next week!

Yours truly,

Lawrence Neves
Editorial Director
Pokemon.com
Mail: Feedback@pokémon.com

For those of you who missed it, and have AOL service, Pokémon USA will make the availabele for your viewing pleasure on KOL (the Kids On Line service from AOL) starting May 9th, 2006. You need to be an AOL member top view this. Look here for more info and responses from Pokémon USA, Inc. as they become available.

'Tis not working!

Taken from PPN:

I had a chance to talk to Veronica Taylor (Ash Ketchem's voice, and my favorite character) about the situation that has every Pokemon fan worried...Saving the voice actors! Here is what Ms. Veronica Taylor had to say:

Lucario: Why will there be new voice actors in the first place?

Veronica Taylor: Well, Pokemon USA decided to do the show by themselves. They simply replaced every element of the show without discussion or attempt at negotiation with anyone who works on the show, including 4Kids.
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Lucario: What happens to you and the rest of the cast if the other horrible voice actors take over?

Veronica Taylor: We will all be extremely sad as we have put our hearts as well as time into creating this show.
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Lucario: What can we do to help?

Veronica Taylor: At the moment, I don't know. Many people have emailed, called, or written to the WB, Cartoon Network, their local TV stations, and Nintendo to complain about the cast change on this Saturday's special. It's possible that the networks were unaware of the cast change before it aired as Pokemon USA has been selling it as 'exactly the same'. It's possible some did not even see it on Saturday. Simply educating those who make the decisions is the best effort right now. Tell them that you won't accept an imitation of a show to be slipped in, perhaps permanently, without reason. Tell them this will affect your viewing. Tell them what you thought of the show.
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Lucario: What will the most probable out come of this situation be, that the voice actors are in now?

Veronica Taylor: I can only hope that the people are heard. It would make me very sad to think that the people who watch the show, buy the products, and play the games are expected to simply roll over and accept whatever is put in front of them, especially when it is so below the standards of that which have been set before.
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Well, Pokemon fans, you have heard it! Do your best to save our long-loved Pokemon voice actors, weather it be by e-mail or telephone, and make a difference in the Pokemon World!

U Suck Pokémon USA! We like Japan better anyways!

Just recieved an email message from the one and only Veronica Taylor (Ash's and May's voice actor on the Pokémon series) who just came across some interesting info regarding the next season of the Pokémon anime. Appearently, Cartoon Network is talking with Pokémon USA to accquire the series next season. She, and others who saw and hated the special aired last saturday, have grave concerns regarding the production and airing of this unacceptable remake of our favorite show.

To show how you feel about the sub-standard performance of the cast last Saturday, Veronica suggests you email the CN execs your concerns:

I have just received information that needs to get out to as many people as possible right away. If it's not too much trouble, could you forward this? Thanks!!!!

Veronica Taylor
Veronicanime@aol.com
9:57 am (20 minutes ago)

Here is the email and some addresses you can forward. please sign your own name to it as well.

At this moment Cartoon Network is talking with Pokémon USA and Nintendo about negotiating a deal for next season. Whether they know that the show they potentially acquire is a very badly done 'fake' is unknown. We need as many people as possible to flood them with emails letting them know that the 'special' we all saw on Saturday was beyond unacceptable. The actors, other than being lackluster and unable to fit the flap, lacked any emotion or character. The script was amateurish and flat. There was no direction. The Pokemon themselves all sounded incredibly different from the original show and video games. It was more violent than any other Pokemon episode has ever been. It was in no way up to the standards which have been set over the past eight years by 4kids, Nintendo and the WB. Are we all expected to simply sit by as Pokémon USA lies to everyone, saying the show will be "exactly the same", even though they have replaced every single element? We have now seen, through the fiasco which was the 10th anniversary special, that this is far from the truth. Please send emails immediately to the two executives at Turner Network (below) and warn them before they make a mistake they will certainly regret for a very long time. Bring Pokemon back to 4kids before it's too late.
Thank you in advance!
Sincerely,

Forward your Email to:

Mark.Norman@turner.com

Bob.Higgins@turner.com

We almost have them!

Pokémon USA has received our letters, and they have been reading them. They are 100% aware of our situation, and have actually read every single letter (and posts from forums) and have archived them. They are also very sympathetic towards the voice actors themselves, and appreciated us sending letters to them to save them.

They could neither confirm nor deny any information about the VAs (meaning nothing has been said officially yet, so they cannot comment on it), but we were still able to ask a few questions. They kept mentioning the "Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon," and as we know from Veronica Taylor and Eric Stuart, it will have new voice actors. From talking to the representatives, it was alluded to us that everything is already set in motion, and that contracts have already been signed regarding the change of voice actors. It is highly unlikely anything can be changed at this point, but Pokémon USA just asks that we watch the Mirage Special first so we can make an informed decision of NO!

Other Site's Opinions: Pokémon USA took back the trading card game from Wizards of the Coast, and look how much more healthier it is now. Look at how much more people there are in the game. Look at all of the tournaments. We need to trust Pokémon USA and their decisions, and we need to trust that they will do just as well or even better with the Anime. They are on our side, and have been with Pokemon since the beginning. They know what we like, and what we don't like. 4Kids is a corrupt company who treats their voice actors like Team Rocket's Meowth, and who is money hungry for everything they can get their hands on and destroy. Unfortunately, it had to come to the voice actors losing their jobs for Pokmon, but life will still move on for both them and us. Change is something that will always come our way, and we need to learn how to adapt to it and embrace it. This could be a change for the better.

That Opinion was bad. You can't give in and you can't trust them, yet.

Pokemon USA and Websites

I was so surprised about this. THEY READ POKEMON WEBSITES AND FORUMS! I was so shocked when they were naming the websites and forums they go to EVERY DAY. They were telling PKBeach about people on the forums they go to, were telling PKBeach things about topics posted recently - THEY READ POKEMON SITES AND FORUMS! Some websites they mentioned were PokéBeach, PokéGym, PPN, Bulbagarden, and PokeAni. However, they are absolutely never allowed to post on our sites, since if it were to be traced back to them, they might get into trouble. Anyways, be careful about what you post, because they have people who have the job of reading our sites, printing out things, and talking about them in their offices. But make it sure you post Save the dub. Campaign Items So They Can GET IT ACROSS THEIR STUPID, SELFISH MINDS! SAVE THE DUB POKÉMON STAFF! SAVE IT! Thank you peirz.

Spread the word.

Feel free to use anything and everything here to get the word out about the issue and the SOVA campaign!

Banners:

Save the dub.

With all the recent heated talk about Pokémon USA going to switch the voice cast, a bunch of fans have got together and started a mail campaign to help save the US dub show.

If you want to help out, just read below the image to see how you can send a letter or email to Pokémon USA stating how you feel about your beloved Pokémon Animé.



There is also an online petition located at www.petitiononline.com/pkmnRB. This petition to Pokemon USA was created by Pokemon Rebirth and written by Gemma Bright (gemma.bright@gmail.com).

As many of you know, Pokémon USA has recently taken over the licensing rights for Pokémon from 4Kids Entertainment, who have been running it for the last 8 years. However, from e-mails we received from Eric Stuart and Veronica Taylor, two of the major voice actors who have been with the dub of the show since 1998, have said that since Pokémon USA is dubbing the show from Season 9 onwards, the company has decided to hire new voice actors... not just new ones to continue such as other tv shows have done, but new actors to IMITATE the current voice actors and try and get the same sounding voices.

Apparently, the upcoming 10th Anniversary special is going to be used as a testing ground for these new voices, but the voice actors for the 9th Season have yet to be chosen, possibly using this special as a test to see what us fans think... So, there is time to save it:

Many of the fans of the Animé across the community have suggested starting a Mail-In campaign in order to convince Pokémon USA that the dub should continue to be made with the previous Voice Actors, those who have put their hearts and souls into these characters for 8 years and have become attached to the characters.

While the show will still look the same, have the same plot lines, twists and so forth, the Voice Actors are what make a show and changing the voice actors mid-stride is just wrong and, in our opinion, bad for the franshise. We need to let Pokémon USA know how we feel about the current voice actors and any possible changes they make. The way we suggest to do this is to either send an e-mail to the Pokémon Company (feedback@pokemon.com) or, preferably, to send a snail mail to:

Pokémon USA, Inc.
ATTEN: Animation Director
400 Madison Avenue
21st Floor
New York, NY 10017
United States

and

Corporate Offices
Pokémon USA
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Sample letters can be found here and below by PPN+.

PokeUSA_Letter 01 (.pdf) Adobe pdf format

PokeUSA_Letter 01 (.doc) Microsoft Word format>

A working ONLINE Word Processor can be found at http://www.ajaxwrite.com/, try it if you don't have MS Word or another text tool.

More resources and supporters can be found at Save Our Voice Actors, a nice site put together by Pie, from BMG. Go on and add your name to those that support our cause.

3/22/2006

Pokémon USA, Inc.
ATTEN: Animation Director
400 Madison Avenue
21st Floor
New York, NY 10017
United States

Pokémon USA
ATTEN: Animation Director
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Pokémon USA, Inc.
ATTEN: Animation Director
777 108 Ave NE #2000
Bellevue, WA 98004
USA

feedback@pokemon.com

Dear Sir or Madam:

It has come to our attention that, besides using a team of sound-alike voice actors/actresses for the 10th anniversary Pokémon special, you are also considering replacing the original voice acting cast of the series from the next season onward. As long-term fans of the dub this news has caused us much disappointment.

We, the fans, believe that replacing the main cast at such a late stage would cause interest in the Pokémon animé (and possibly the franchise as a whole) to noticeably decrease. We feel this is because many viewers enjoy watching the show just to hear their favorite voice actor or actress perform, and they wouldn't imagine the characters sounding any different.

We all love the VAs for the major characters. There are other ways to save money than to change the VAs. Making fewer edits on episodes should save quite a bit of money and time. Keep the fan base (which consists not just of kids, but of people of all age groups) strong first, then the money will roll in on its own. That way, we'll all be happy.

With this in mind, we hope that you will consider such a decision very carefully.

Sincerely,


______________________________

Please take a minute and support our beloved dub version, thanks.

There is also an online petition located at www.petitiononline.com/pkmnRB. This petition to Pokemon USA was created by Pokemon Rebirth and written by Gemma Bright (gemma.bright@gmail.com).