Incorporating Islamic Values Through Arabic Redubbing of the Animated Television Series "Detective Conan"

In: Intercultural communication, S. 41-56

Abstract

Among the animated series that became very popular and witnessed tremendous success in the Arab world is the Japanese Detective Conan, which was first dubbed in 1998 and redubbed in 2013 to convey Islamic values. However, the re-dub did not attract wide viewership and remained infamous among the Arabic anime community. This study is an attempt to investigate the differences between the two versions with a particular emphasis on technical issues and moral and value systems and explore how viewers received the Islamic re-dub. The researchers analyzed the responses of 178 viewers to a structured open-ended questionnaire. The participants demonstrated that in the first dubbed version, the image resolution, voice clarity, and synchronization were of better quality. The content analysis showed that in the re-dub, some scenes were omitted, names were replaced with Arabic ones, and references to prohibited activities were changed to fit better into the Islamic culture. The study stresses the importance of taking viewer preferences and difficulties into account when adapting media content. The current study can be used in future adaptation attempts in related environments.