[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kerai/1141233697412.jpg]]

->'''Lector''': [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Prepare for trouble!]]\\
'''Nesbitt''': [[TerribleTrio And make it double!]]\\
'''Gansley''': To protect the world from Japanimation!\\
'''Crump''': [[CorruptCorporateExecutive To overthrow the Kaiba Corporation!]]\\
'''Johnson''': [[{{Bowdlerise}} To denounce the meaning of the original dub!]]\\
'''Gansley''': [[TakeOverTheWorld To extend our reach to the world above!]]\\
'''The Big Five''': Team 4Kids, blast off at the speed of light! Surrender now or prepare to fight!\\
'''Meowth''': [[MaddieBlaustein Meowth, that's right!]]
-->--''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', '''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD5hmNBsb24 Episode 47]]'''

A New York City-based entertainment and licensing company which was responsible for several U.S. cartoons and dubs.

4Kids rose to prominence in the latter half of TheNineties with their dubs of ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' and ''Anime/YuGiOh'', which it helped popularize in the U.S. The success helped the company subsequently acquire more anime properties, and it adapted them with varying levels of success -- chiefly by applying unusual edits, cuts, and modifications to get them on network TV. These cuts, in addition to inflammatory comments by its higher-ups and its refusal to release uncut [=DVDs=] of the adapted series, helped 4Kids garner a fair share of hatred amongst fans of the original versions of these shows.

Its infamy came to a head with the bizarre localization and edit of ''Manga/OnePiece'', which managed to combine all of the company's worst practices into one show: [[{{Bowdlerize}} numerous content edits]], horrible voice directing, the replacement of ''all'' of the original music, the removal of a large number of episodes (that turned out to be important later on -- although they couldn't have known at the time), and widespread changes to the original script and plot even in the ''unedited'' parts. All of this solidified fandom hatred of the company, and it remains the darkest mark on its reputation.

On the other side of the quality spectrum is ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', which combined good storytelling with content not usually seen in Saturday morning cartoons -- and which would have never lasted as long as it did anywhere else.

The hatred garnered from their dubs seems to have won out. In the late 2000s, 4Kids' focus shifted away from anime to homegrown properties and acquisitions from other countries, which generally fit the company's creative philosophy much better and have obtained much more faithful treatment. What anime they still dubbed has been generally well received -- or, at least, has drawn less ire. With KidsWB[='s=] decision to leave the network Saturday cartoon market in 2008, 4Kids became -- for better or for worse -- the last remnant of what was once an institution. [[http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/11056 It was a position they suffered for having.]] In 2009, the series and merchandising rights to ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' were bought out by Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} as a component of their purchase of the franchise.

In April 2011, months after the departure of CEO Alfred R. Kahn, [[http://www.screendigest.com/news/us-childrens-entertainment-company-4kids-files-for-bankruptcy/view.html the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy]].

An auction resulted in the company being sold in pieces; {{Konami}} bought all of their ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' rights, and Saban Brands bought the rest of the company, including the Toonzai Saturday morning block and rights to ''Sonic X'' and ''Cubix''.

With the acquisition from Saban, Creator/TheCW4Kids[=/=]Creator/{{Toonzai}} ended in the fall of 2012, being replaced by a new block called Creator/{{Vortexx}}. [=CW4Kids=]' final broadcast on August 18, 2012 ended with a full marathon of one of its greatest properties, ''Yu-Gi-Oh!''. 4Kids successfully exited from bankruptcy in mid-December of 2012 as '''4Licensing Corporation''' without any notable entertainment assets. (They managed to gain control of patents for an impact-blocking technology.) However, the future is theoretically open for the company.

Notable voice actors include:
[[index]]
* SebastianArcleus
* AmyBirnbaum
* MaddieBlaustein ([[AuthorExistenceFailure deceased]])
* Rebecca Honig (also credited as Rebecca Handler)
* Frank Frankson (a.k.a. John Campell[=/=]Gregory Abbey)
* WayneGrayson
* '''[[DanGreen DAN GREEN!]]'''
* [[JasonAnthonyGriffith Jason Griffith]] (who is also credited under J. Griff and Adam Caroleson)
* MeganHollingshead
* BellaHudson
* TaraJayne (a.k.a. Tara Sands)
* TedLewis
* RachaelLillis
* LisaOrtiz
* AmyPalant
* MikePollock
* AndrewRannells
* SamRiegel
* SeanSchemmel
* MichaelSinterniklaas
* RebeccaSoler
* EricStuart
* VeronicaTaylor
* MarcThompson
* KerryWilliams
* DavidWills
* OliverWyman (a.k.a. Pete Zarustica)
* JimmyZoppi (a.k.a. James Carter Cathcart or Billy Beach)

Properties that have been acquired and/or produced by 4Kids include:
* ''WesternAnimation/BackToTheFuture: [[AnimatedAdaptation The Animated Series]]''
* ''{{Bratz}}''
* ''{{Chaotic}}''
* ''DinosaurKing''
* ''Funky Cops''
* ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' (license eventually dropped because they couldn't get a TV deal)
* ''GIJoeSigma6''
* ''{{GoGoRiki}}''
* ''{{Huntik Secrets and Seekers}}'' (Broadcasting/Marketing only)
* ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'' (Broadcasting/Marketing only)
* ''[[KirbyOfTheStars Kirby - Right Back At Ya!]]''
* ''[[TokyoMewMew Mew Mew Power]]''
* ''[[OjamajoDoremi Magical Do Re Mi]]''
* ''OnePiece'' (2004-2007. License revoked by Toei, picked up by {{Funimation}})
* ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' (1998-2006; license currently owned by Pokémon USA, with distribution by Creator/VIZMedia)
* ''ShamanKing''
* ''Anime/SonicX'' (2003-2012; proved popular enough in America that new episodes were produced even after the show's cancellation in Japan; license currently owned by Saban Brands)
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 series)]]'' (rights revoked by Mirage and given to Nickelodeon as part of the sale of the franchise)
* ''[[KinnikumanNisei Ultimate Muscle]]'' (did remarkably well, since the goofy voice acting and {{hurricane of puns}} fit the tone of the show ''perfectly''; 4Kids even paid to have new episodes made)
* ''VideoGame/VivaPinata''
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' (until 2010; [[http://www.nickandmore.com/2010/09/02/nickelodeon-acquires-winx-club-will-co-produce-seasons-5-and-6/ license was revoked and picked up by Nickelodeon]])
* ''Series/{{WMAC Masters}}''
* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' ([[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-03-29/tv-tokyo-nihon-ad-terminate-yu-gi-oh-deal-sue-4kids license revoked by TV Tokyo]], [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-12-31/4kids-yu-gi-oh-license-is-still-in-force-court-rules reinstated by court order]], [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-06-26/4kids-sells-yu-gi-oh-cw-network-related-assets-jointly-to-konami-kidsco then later sold to Konami]].)
** ''Anime/YuGiOh''
** ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''
** ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds''
** ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL''

In addition, when [=4Kids=] ran the "[=FoxBox=]" block, their shows also included (in addition to some of the titles above):
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCrampTwins''
* ''CubixRobotsForEveryone''
* ''Manga/FightingFoodons''

Some of the biggest shows listed above were involved in a [[MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover TV crossover]] called "TheFightForTheFoxBox".
[[/index]]

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!!Their properties and dubs provide examples of these tropes:

* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: One of the biggest offenders of this trope. All of the anime that 4Kids dubs usually have a different theme song than the Japanese version. They also usually play an instrumental version of the intro song as the ending theme. One of the things that anime fans constantly complain about is the dub song being inferior to the original. Although by themselves, they are kind of [[EarWorm catchy]].
** The YuGiOh theme, in particular, is the only one which fans widely admit is actually "good" if not saying it may be superior to the original themes, as it gives off a dark, dramatic feeling, and incorporates the whole "Ancient Egypt" theme in its sound quite well. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRC0Cu-QOQ Have a listen]].
* BadFuture: Could be considered this for Saturday morning cartoons (at least on local channels). Almost all Saturday morning cartoon blocks have been completely overtaken by 4kids, and most that haven't are just infomercial marathons.
** Recently, [[FoxKids Saban]] announced they're taking over the airspace for Toonzai with a block called Vortexx. AndThereWasMuchRejoicing.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: After years and years of fans complaining about 4kids dubbing Yu-Gi-Oh and its spinoffs, people weren't too happy about 4kids suddenly losing the rights to the show... since now the latter seasons of 5D's may not be dubbed at all, and the subtitled episodes of GX and 5D's will be pulled down. Fortunately for fans of the 3D movie, A&E Home Video picked up the home video rights shortly after the termination of 4Kids's rights.
* BloodlessCarnage: Thanks to massive censorship, a number of scenes that ''did'' have blood and violence would be turned into this after the fact.
* [[{{Bowdlerize}} Bowdlerization]]: Too many to list, but they've backed off from the worst of it in more recent years.
* CensorshipTropes: Try and see how many you can spot on this page.
* CreatorKiller: [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-12-31/4kids-yu-gi-oh-license-is-still-in-force-court-rules Possibly subverted by]] ''Anime/YuGiOh''.
** Played straight later after selling the rights to Konami for all Franchise/YuGiOh related merchandise.
* CulturalTranslation: For years, this was so often that the 4Kids cartoon with the most references to Japan and Japanese culture was the one ''not'' created there (''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Ninja Turtles]]'', in case you were wondering). They've finally backed off from this, especially with their new block, [[strike:[=CW4kids=]]] {{Toonzai}}. In most of their commercials, they claim that it's "where epic anime lives", their first two code words in the new block were anime and kanji, and they started up an online anime viewing site, Toonzaki, that includes such shows as ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' and ''PrettyCure''.
* CutAndPasteTranslation: ''OnePiece'', undeniably; the others are subject to debate.
** Given quite a hilarious ShoutOut[=/=]TakeThat [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=145 in this VG Cats comic.]]
** Poor, poor season 3 of ''SonicX''...[[NeverSayDie by the way I do hope Shadow finds Molly again some day]].
* DarkerAndEdgier: Surprisingly, the ShamanKing dub; many religious references (blatant or otherwise) and incredibly frightening scenes are kept in. Sure, it was comparably lighter than what aired in Japan, but by 4Kids standards, it's one of the darker dubs they've done, and surprisingly one of the only times in 4Kids history where the MoralGuardians got involved because of the last episodes, theirs being even lighter than the ones previously dubbed. Eventually the show, along with TMNT, would be advertised during the primetime hours in hopes to gain adult fans.
* {{Disneyfication}}: Particularly the ''Anime/YuGiOh'' dubbing, infamous due to the invisible guns.
** The most blatant example is an episode where Solomon gets shot in the back by one of his guides. In the Japanese version and the manga, it's a revolver, but in the 4Kids dub it's a slingshot. Given what happens after Solomon is shot, a slingshot just doesn't look right.
* DubInducedPlotHole: 4Kids' omission of the Laboon and Little Garden arcs from their ''OnePiece'' dub caused several inconsistencies later on, and would have become ''much'' worse had they controlled the series beyond the Alabasta arc. The various ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' series also have a history of these.
** ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' has quite a few, which are explained on the show's page.
* {{Dubtitle}}: Their Subs/Uncut Dubs of the Yu-Gi-Oh series and others generally use the Japanese script with dub names. This naturally upset the very audience such uncut releases were targeted at.
* DubText: Quite a few in the ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' dub.
** Actually, nearly all their shows have this to some extent. The Pokémon Chronicles side-stories of {{Anime/Pokemon}} has Ritchie mentioning various Pokémon he does not have in the Japanese version. A lot of Team Rocket's dialogue is rewritten as well, ranging from BreakingTheFourthWall to GettingCrapPastTheRadar to bordering on a GagDub.
*** The dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' contains many, many Dub Text-y one-liners, two of which actually became [[DubInducedPlotHole Dub-Induced Plot Holes]] later on.
* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: Inconsistently applied; some shows have firearms removed completely (''Yu-Gi-Oh''), others get guns' sound effects altered (''Sonic X'') but are otherwise intact, and still others have the gun look different while still having them shoot bullets (''OnePiece'', for the most part). A lucky few (''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Ninja Turtles]]'', ''Funky Cops'') emerge unscathed.
** And some (''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'') get entire, plot-important episodes banned [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035.html because of them.]]
*** Ironically, some rifles would be allowed to appear unedited. Around the Hoenn saga, though, there would be minor edits, such as the sound of guns cocking being muted.
** Back on the ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' example: this also resulted in some monsters getting edited (any monster which has a gun is edited to look toy or laser like) [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Barrel_Dragon Revolver/Barrel Dragon]] was a [[http://yu-jyo.net/images/001-040/032/32-11-u.jpg PERFECT example of this]].
*** One ''5D's'' episode did have some goons with guns, but the dub [[http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/GymLeaderLance99/5Ds%20Episode%2025%20Edits/edit1dub.jpg painted them lime-green.]]
*** The gun-laden "Crashtown" arc of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' has 4Kids back up to some of its old tricks again.
* FrothyMugsOfWater: Due to censorship, this pops up a '''lot'''.
* GagDub: Part of the third season of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' is like this, done in the style of''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''. Team Rocket's dialogue on ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' borders on this. The latter is generally considered an improvement over the original.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In their dub of the Kirby anime, specifically the episode "Un-reality TV", Chief Bookem exclaims (when Kirby appears huge thanks to a combination of Dedede faking a monster attack via film camera and scale model of Cappy Town), "Looks like someone's been feeding Kirby steroids!" In addition in a Chef Kawasaki-centric episode, Escargoon mentions Chef Shitake has a new book, "A Crock of Shitake," in another episode. On the flip side of things, the ''Shaman King'' dub slips past homosexual overtones (Ryu's over-the-top "affectionate" behavior towards Lyserg and that one taxi driver), religious symbolism (the X-Laws, though oddly enough crosses are removed), and a surprisingly large amount of on-screen character death and blood during the latter half of the series. Hao/Zeke is also referred to as a devil during one flashback.
** Most famously, 4Kids was responsible for ''adding'' such moments in their {{Anime/Pokemon}} dub, particularly in regards to Team Rocket's dialogue.
** In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', Icy said, while locking Bloom in an ice coffin, "I hate to be a total ''[[WitchWithACapitalB witch]]'' about it, but I'm very quickly running out of patience!" Emphasis hers. And the Trix called each other "wi-atch" sometimes.
*** Another example from ''Winx Club'', their dub of episode ten ("Magical Reality Check") had Knut saying this line:
--->'''Knut:''' Sorry I'm late, traffic was a [[WitchWithACapitalB witch]].
* GoshDangItToHeck: One of the most infamous (mis)uses of this trope.
* HostileShowTakeover: During the "[=FoxBox=]" block, when the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Shredder]] threatens to drain the color of all its animated shows, like ''SonicX'' and ''[[Anime/KirbyOfTheStars Kirby: Right Back At Ya!]]'', kicking off the [=FoxBox=] Color Drain Sweepstakes, and the 4KidsTV Saturday Morning block, in which [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeSigma6 Cobra Commander]] takes over the block, renaming the block into ''Cobra TV'', kicking off the Cobra Domination Station Sweepstakes. This was also the premise of ''TheFightForTheFoxBox''.
* {{Hurricane of|Puns}} {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s: '''''Mew'''''tamorphosis? Half of all ''Pokémon'' episode titles? ''OnePiece'' probably got the brunt of this. It didn't even start that way at first, but later on, it seemed like every line the characters spoke were nothing but puns.
** BlindIdiotTranslation: Speaking of the ''Pokémon'' episode titles' puns, Spain translates most of these ''literally'' without preserving the (attempt at a) joke, making them go from bad puns to absurd nonsense.
** The amount of bad puns and lame jokes they have written over the years is more than enough to get a separate page.
* InconsistentDub: Was Gold Roger hanged or decapitated? And how did Nami get sick?
** It goes another way: expect to see one thing edited out in another show...only for the exact thing that was edited out to appear in another show they're dubbing.
*** While their dub of ''OnePiece'' tried to censor out everything having to do with cleavage and nudity in general, their dub of UltimateMuscle actually ''added'' a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar talking ass]] to act as MrExposition ''at the beginning of every episode''.
* [[LastOfHisKind Last Of Its Kind]]: Their block on TheCW, Creator/{{Toonzai}}, was the last traditional Saturday Morning block prior to being replaced by Creator/{{Vortexx}}.
* LighterAndSofter: All of their dubs, even their ''ShamanKing'' dub (which had dark elements, but was still lighter in comparison).
* LullDestruction: Good luck trying to find a silent moment in a 4kids dub.
* MoralGuardians: 4Kids is either absolutely terrified of them or controlled by them.
* NeverSayDie: While 4Kids' will allow characters to die on some of their shows -- ''ShamanKing'', ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Ninja Turtles]]'', and later ''OnePiece'' episodes -- it is much rarer to see the word "death" used to refer to it (although the word may be used in other contexts). An exception occurs, of all places, in an episode of ''FunkyCops'', where the episode revolves around the faked death of an Elvis-like rock star, with the word is used constantly throughout the episode.
** Played with in ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight''. Defeated Riders are "Vented" (trapped between dimensions), which is treated as a FateWorseThanDeath. [[spoiler:Later it turns out that it's supposed to be a good thing, preventing the Riders from being killed; it only became a virtual prison when the Riders' leader, who has the power to bring them back, was incapacitated.]]
** Averted in ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' episode 13. Tristan says "According to this, I'm dead!"
** There is also the four-episode duel between Yugi and a Marik-controlled Joey in which the loser would be dragged to the bottom of the sea. While the words "die" and "death" remain unspoken, the explicit threat of drowning remains throughout. To compare, most duels in the series have the penalty of death swapped out for eternal banishment to the shadow realm.
*** And there is also ''Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie'', where Anubis is known as the Egyptian Lord of the Dead, and towards the films end, tells Yugi and Kaiba that "It is no longer time to duel. Now, it is time to DIE!"
---> "[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Soon you will die, and then you'll be dead... because I killed you!]]"
** In ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' dub, when a duelist loses a duel in one of the Duel Monsters Spirit World dimensions, they are "sent to the stars", though there was still a clear implication of death.
** Viva Piñata however seemed to throw the use of the word around randomly, with one episode using the words suicide, death trap, and killed within the space of a minute.
*** A good rule of thumb for their dubs: for every mention of death that gets past the censors, there are probably several more getting censored.
** Cosmo's tragic death at the end of ''Anime/SonicX'' was the only one in the show that they couldn't write their way around besides perhaps Maria, though neither are explicitly referred to as a "death".
* NoPronunciationGuide: Look at ''TheLegendOfThunder'' Pokémon special; Raikou's name is never pronounced correctly. Applies to a few other of the {{Mons}} as well.
* NotSoDifferent[=/=]OneOfUs: One of the dubbed episodes of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' had many references to ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' in the dialogue, and 4Kids themselves have said they are fans of it. Unfortunately, that was the only episode they did that in...
* PragmaticAdaptation: A handful of the changes made by 4Kids were simply typical Saturday morning censorship where ''anyone'' trying to air the same shows would have made the same changes. This is why even the episodes of ''One Piece'' that Funimation aired edited out Sanji's cigarette, booze, some of the violence, and many of the guns.
* SelfDeprecation: There was a certain ''[[KirbyOfTheStars Kirby: Right Back At Ya!]]'' episode (the one where Dedede makes his own cartoon starring him as the hero) which had Tiff refer to the aforementioned cartoon as "SoBadItsGood". Some fans saw this as 4Kids themselves making a dig at their own dubs and shows.
** ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZlIcJbbm08&feature=player_detailpage#t=79s "LEO BURNETT AND 4KIDS ARE THE DEVIL! LEO BURNETT—"]]''
** [[MoneyDearBoy Which has]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny an]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYkZBDkMf04 explanation!]]
* {{Unperson}}: The Website/AnimeNewsNetwork refuses to acknowledge 4Kids's involvement with the ''Anime/YuGiOhTenthAnniversaryMovie'' due to a pending lawsuit filed by TV Tokyo and NAS and plays up the involvement of A&E Home Video and MangaEntertainment concerning the English dub.
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