History Main / DubInducedPlotHole

** A lot of puns wind up getting missed by the translators. Probably the biggest one is Number 39 - King of Wishes, Hope, which had its name changed to Number 39 - Utopia. This turned the names of a lot of its upgraded forms (Hope Ray, Hope Ray Victory, Hope Roots, Future Hope, Beyond Hope) into non sequiturs.

What do you do? Well, there are three options. The first is to ignore changes in the source and just keep adapting the story as you always have, hoping that the series won't collapse under the weight of its own contradictions; this is high-risk because there is a point where no amount of editing or rewriting can change what's in front of you. The second option is to try and explain the discrepancies away using the best leaps of logic and (if applicable) technobabble you can, which runs the risk of making your viewers aware of the changes (which is never a good thing). The third option is to just completely blow it off! Just pretend the last change ''you'' made never happened and adapt the source as-is. So what if you just took a two by four to the plot? Who cares if your dialogue doesn't make any sense? Send that script out the door, and let the fans deal with it. If you even assume that the fans are smart enough, particularly given [[AnimationAgeGhetto their age]], to notice.

** The syndicated version will occasionally shave of a piece of the episode for whatever reason. This ranges from the removal of a single line like "SUCK IT, BITCH!!" to the removal of ''an entire climax''. For example, sometimes "His Story" will end with Dr. Cox growing closer to J.D. for literally no reason.

*** The game consistently uses a different word to refer to the BigBad (張本人, commonly fan-translated as "Ringleader", instead of the more common 首謀者), a nuance ignored in the localization, which sticks to just using "Mastermind". This causes problems because, in the final trial, [[spoiler:Tsumugi Shirogane says that, while she may be the mastermind (張本人), the actual mastermind (首謀者) is the outside world desiring the killing games]]. This results in the localization having [[spoiler:Tsumugi claim they're ''both'' the mastermind]], turning a fairly major twist revealing the true meaning behind a seemingly minor detail into utter nonsense.

** The Danish translation for ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' infamously created one regarding the name of Voldemort's father. Voldemort's real name is [[DubNameChange changed]] from "Tom Marvolo Riddle" to "Romeo G. Detlev Jr." to make it an anagram for "Jeg er Voldemort" ("I am Voldemort" in Danish), and since Voldemort was named after his father, Tom Senior's name was changed to Romeo too. This created a problem, since it's a minor plot point that Voldemort shares a first name with Tom, the bartender at the Leaky Cauldron, whose name wasn't changed. In an attempt to fix things, the translator throws in a bit where Dumbledore explains that Romeo Detlev's real first name was Tom; Voldemort's mother just nicknamed him Romeo, a nickname that was later passed down to their son. While this explanation does make sense, considering how obsessed Merope was with Tom Riddle, it unfortunately creates ''[[VoodooShark another]]'' problem: in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Harry sees the grave of Voldemort's father and paternal grandparents, and the name "Romeo G. Detlev" is chiseled on it. Why would Tom be buried under a pet name given to him by his AbhorrentAdmirer who magically coerced him into marrying her rather than his real name?

** A bug in the 3DS version of the third case of ''Dual Destinies'' creates a plot hole not present in the original Japanese. [[spoiler:The problem? When you first meet Prof. Means, he has his globe-tipped staff with him, even though later in the case, it’s proven that the staff was being used to disguise the victim’s body as a statue on the outdoor stage at that time. In the Japanese version, Means did not reclaim the staff until after the body was discovered during the mock trial, but in the English localization he somehow has it before then.]] Thankfully the bug was fixed when the game was ported to [=iOS=].

-->'''Green Guy:''' I am no longer dead.\\

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'': At the end of the book, Gryffindor wins the House Cup by 10 points which Dumbledore granted Neville by saying "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends", as a few hours before Neville had actually tried to stop his friends from leaving the common room at night in order to stop Gryffindor from losing more points. However, in the Latin American Spanish version, the phrase is translated as "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up ''for'' our friends", which is exactly the opposite of what Neville did, so Dumbledore giving him any points for it makes no sense.
* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'': When Hermione mentions that the 1792 Triwizard Tournament was cancelled because of a cockatrice breaking free and injuring the judges, the Dutch, Russian and Italian editions translate "cockatrice" as "basilisk". But this is impossible, since breeding basilisks has been illegal since medieval times. And they certainly don't want to use one of the most deadly creatures ever in a school tournament -- its gaze alone would have killed the entire audience. [[BasiliskAndCockatrice The terms are generally considered synonymous in the real world]], so this was bound to come up in at least one translation.

** In the last case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', Phoenix notices that Sister Bikini calls Elise Deauxnim, a children's book author, as "Mystic Elise," similar to how branch family members of the Fey clan, as well as those like Bikini who serve the clan, address main family members, [[spoiler:and this is a clue that Elise is the long-missing Master of the clan, Misty Fey.]] Bikini tries to cover for herself by saying that they address all guests as "Mystic" for a more authentic experience. In the original Japanese, the "-sama" honorific is used instead, and while it's the most respectful honorific possible, it's also used in a variety of other contexts, such as customer service employees to customers, or when addressing letters, so Bikini's slip-up wasn't as blatantly obvious in the Japanese version.

** ZigZagged with cases involving firearms. In a few cases it's an issue that guns are hard to obtain which makes sense in the original version since gun regulations in Japan are very strict, but USA has the ''constitutional'' right for citizens to carry guns so it doesn't make much sense that a gun would be hard to obtain. On the other hand there are cases involving guns where it's never really questioned how the culprit obtained a gun in the first place. In the Japanese version, it's a pretty big thing to leave unexplained; in the US version, not so much.
** More of a joke than a plot point, but when Ema meets Phoenix for the first time she mistakes him for Mia, an acquaintance of her older sister, when visiting Phoenix in the office Mia used to rent (never mind that Mia's been dead for some time). [[DubNameChange In the Japanese version]], Mia had the GenderBlenderName (but more commonly female) Chihiro, so Akane's mistake was understandable but "Mia" is clearly a female name so even if Ema never met her, she would've known she's not a guy.
** On two separate occasions, a plot point is that Pearl is unable to read kanji, leading her to incorrectly reassemble the Sacred Urn after she broke it, and [[spoiler:misunderstand the instructions in the written note Morgan left for her]]. Since the concept of a separate alphabet doesn't exist in English however, the English version of 2-2 instead gives the explanation of her being unable to read. Thing is though, while a small child being unable to read kanji is perfectly normal, a girl Pearl's age being illiterate enough to misspell a simple three-letter name makes far less sense, especially when one considers her backstory. More glaringly, however, when the second instance occurs Pearl is suddenly able to read just fine, and only messes up because of the complex wording, no mention of her supposed illiteracy or an explanation as to why [[spoiler:Morgan would trust written instructions to her daughter unable to read them]] is ever made.
** In 3-2, when Godot first comes up, Atmey states that Edgeworth was the one who named him the best prosecutor in the country before going overseas, despite the fact that Edgeworth states in 3-5 that he doesn't even know who Godot is. This is the result of a mistranslation - the Japanese line is Atmey stating metaphorically that Godot was now the best prosecutor in the country with Edgeworth having left.

** A bug in the English version of the third case of ''Dual Destinies'' creates a ''massive'' plot hole not present in the original Japanese. [[spoiler:The problem? When you first meet Prof. Means, ''he still has his staff.'' In the original game it was missing, providing a hint to the true killer. The plot hole only becomes apparent once the staff is revealed to be the true murder weapon.]] Thankfully the bug was fixed when the game was ported to [=iOS=].

* Naturally, this is the case when ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'' received a Japanese dub that was released on Creator/{{Netflix}}. Japanese viewers may be confused as to where Twilight suddenly got wings from, and why she suddenly has a crown and is a princess. Of course, since Season 3 of ''Friendship Is Magic'' had yet to air in Japan, which [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure explains everything]], this left a major plot hole in ''Equestria Girls''[='=] Japanese Dub. It got worse when ''Rainbow Rocks'' and ''Friendship Games'' were quickly and subsequently released in the region. ''Rainbow Rocks'' features [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's new castle]], and ''Friendship Games'' has a scene in its {{Stinger}} mentioning [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 Twilight's time-travelling adventures]]. Naturally, since Seasons 3 and beyond have yet to come to Japan, this turned a mere plot hole into a plot ''canyon'' for Japanese viewers. Needless to say, many Japanese fans are not happy that the ''Equestria Girls'' films have been dubbed before the rest of ''Friendship Is Magic'' and have even boycotted this move by watching Japanese fansubbed versions of the original show in English online instead. This hasn't deterred anything it seems, as ''Legend of Everfree'' and the ''Magical Movie Night'' special were still released in Japan. Speaking of the latter, it features ''[[SixthRanger Starlight Glimmer]]'', [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros effectively making it her debut]] to Japanese audiences (and ''not'' her [[BigBad villainous self]] in "The Cutie Map"), thus expanding the plot holes even wider.
* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' film examples:
** The German dub of ''Web of Shadows'' cut nearly 10 minutes to meet German age restriction guidelines, including a line that explains the villains' plan. When Sidorak asks Roodaka what she wants for proof of the Toa's deaths, she demands their bodies. In the dub, the scene abruptly cuts after Sidorak asks the question. Strangely, Roodaka does talk about the Toa's bodies being brought to her in a later scene, but the fact that she deliberately requested them isn't clear. The movie also cuts the Toa mutating and bursting from their cocoons, meaning they suddenly appear looking completely different and falling to their apparent doom without a reason -- their mutation is at least explained later.
** Swedish and Hungarian dubs of ''The Legend Reborn'' misinterpret the Great Beings as "Giant Beings", giving the impression that the [[HumongousMecha huge robot]] assembled at the end of the movie is such a giant. The word "Great" is merely a fancy title, the Great Beings are no giants, they'd be about the same size as most of the main characters and the robot is one of their many creations, not an actual Great Being.

** ZigZagged with cases involving firearms. In a few cases it's an issue that guns are hard to obtain which makes sense in the original version since gun regulations in Japan are very strict, but USA has the ''constitutional'' right for citizens to carry guns so it doesn't make much sense that a gun would be hard to obtain. On the other hand there are cases involving guns where it's never really questioned how the culprit obtained a gun in the first place(for example, Dr. Grey has a gun on his person at the time of his death, which is used in his murder). In the Japanese version, it's a pretty big thing to leave unexplained; in the US version, not so much.