Funimation are in trouble again for an inaccurate dub, this time with YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of This World (YU-NO).
In the first episode of the series (which you can see here on Crunchyroll for free), the following exchange occurs (around 5:16), with subtitles and the original audio:
Yuki: Wait, boss. You sure know a lot about Shimazu-san. Don’t tell me…
Arima: No way in hell do I want to date that ice queen.
Yuki: Yeah, that’s right! But you know, Shizamu-san’s nice to everybody else, but she’s really mean to you. Ah! Shimazu-san!
Arima: Hey. Milday.
Shimazu: Stop calling me that, please.
Arima: Then how about “Mio-chan, the school idol!”
Shimazu: Why do you make me so mad?
Arima: Not sure. That time of the month?
Shimazu: How crude!
While the scene seems to be playful teasing and Shimazu quite rightly calling Arima crude, the Funimation dub takes a different turn (which you can see here via Sankaku Complex)
Yuki: Wait a minute… Why do you know so much about Shimazu? Fess up!
Arima: Calm down. I’d never date that ice queen.
Yuki: That’s good to hear. It is kinda weird though, because she’s nice to everybody. It’s only you who really seems to set her off. Ah! Shimazu!
Arima: Hey. So, what’s up sweet cheeks?
Shimazu: Don’t call me that. You know I hate it.
Arima: Sorry, do you prefer “Queen of the World”?
Shimazu: I’ll never understand how you can get under my skin so easily.
Arima: Good question. Maybe it’s just that time of the month?
Shimazu: Ah! You’re such a misogynist!
The line has drawn ire from some fans, most likely due to some feeling the term misogynist has been misused to label and harass some. For others it may be due to it not being the first time Funimation has made sweeping changes, arguably far worse.
In 2015, Funimation’s dub of Prison School added a reference to GamerGate- with little to no relevance to the original scene. The dub had the line “Woah, cut the breaks Arthur Fonzarelli. You got a stick up your ass, or are you one of those dumbass GamerGate creepshows?”, while in Japanese it was closer to “You keep talking to me like we’re on equal terms, but I’m a 2nd year. You have to address a superior more politely. Shut… up…”
Despite distancing themselves from their own writers, the trend would continue in 2017 with Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. There, the usually oblivious and flirty Lucoa said she had changed into a sweater to stop “pesky patriarchal societal demands”– while in the original she stated “Everyone always tried saying something to me, so I tried toning down the exposure”– in reference to characters asking her to dress more modestly as oppose to flirting or making lewd comments.
2017 also saw My First Girlfriend Is a Gal taking similar liberties, by parodying the speech style of President Donald Trump. The series also saw a character decry light novel-fans as “freaks who hate women” seeking “jailbait”. Neither lines are accurate (albeit the former featuring a bombastic speech, and the latter having the character speak poorly of light novel-fans).
In 2019, Interview With Monster Girls several bullies chastise a character defending another from their harassment by calling them a “social justice warrior.”
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of This World is available to stream now on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
