History Main / DubPersonalityChange

** Cranky Kong is less cranky overall, being more weary than aggrevated.

* A rare WesternAnimation to Japanese dub case, the original series of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' conveyed Shockwave as a rather stoic and dutiful [[TheDragon Dragon]] to Megatron, while in the Japanese edit, he is more of an erratic GrumpyOldMan.

*** Seto Kaiba's {{Jerkass}}ery and refusal to believe in or care about the supernatural were played up, in addition to giving him a lot more sarcastic or bitter quips than he had in the original.

*** Seto Kaiba's {{Jerkass}}ery and refusal to believe in or care about the supernatural were played up, in addition to giving him a lot more sarcastic or bitter quips than he had in the original.

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*** In the original Japanese, Cloud's dialogue was riddled with clichés and took a more condescending and mouthy attitude towards [=AVALACHE=] during the opening, strengthening the idea that he's an immature poser trying to embody somebody else's personality. See LostInTranslation for more.

** Customer Service / [[DubNameChange N.M.E. Sales Guy]] is also notably different. In the original, he's a typically polite Japanese businessman, humble to Dedede to the point of condescending, while in English he's turned into a slick-talking [[HonestJohnsDealership used-car saleman]] type of character who often openly insults Dedede to his face.

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s Japanese translation, Marina is a very soft-spoken character who calls her partner Pearl "sempai", openly admires and is greatly respectful to her, and mainly presents any snarking through thick layers of polite language; she's only revealed to have a relationship with Pearl on more equal grounds in the ''Octo Expansion'' DLC. Endearing as it is, leaving this unaltered in English would have likely resulted in people unaware of the nuances behind Japanese honorific language or Senpai/Kohai dynamics to interpret Marina as much more deferential and "pining after" Pearl than she's meant to be portrayed as, so the English translation rewrites Marina's dialogue to be more blunt and portrays their relationship as more on the level of VitriolicBestBuds. That said, the release version of the game going a bit ''too'' far with it and making Marina go all the way into sounding like a {{Jerkass}} was controversial enough that later updates toned it down to be closer to the intended nuance.

** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': Izzy has InsufferableGenius tendencies in the Saban dub but he's much more polite in the original Japanese. Mimi is made into an over the top GirlyGirl stereotype and acts like a SpoiledBrat even later into the series. Japanese Mimi on the other hand is more of a SpoiledSweet GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak, and her most notable quality is how open-minded she is. That said, she does crack under extreme stress from time to time.

This is usually due to ValuesDissonance, cultural differences, or marketing reasons. A character's personality might be more acceptable at home than it is in other cultures, so translators soften them up or otherwise edit their dialogue. Othertimes, it's also a case of CharacterExaggeration or [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore an attempt at making characters less cute or goofy]]. Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad as, though most people associate this trope with [[{{Bowdlerise}} bowdlerization]], it can work and sometimes is even [[{{Woolseyism}} preferred by many fans]].

** Series protagonist Phoenix Wright was intentionally written in the Japanese as TheGenericGuy with little in the way of a distinguishable personality for the most part outside of being the OnlySaneMan. The localization of the first game would turn him into a major DeadpanSnarker, something which stuck to varying degrees in separate games.

* ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': While they were friendly despite being race opponents originally, Leon, and Clarice's follower Dan, are changed in the english dub to add HoYay, with Leon and his RobotBuddy Luxion both calling Dan a {{Hunk}}.

** For the English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku was a great deal nobler and had his more selfish traits toned down, as the earlier English dubs moved towards making Goku into an analogue of ComicBook/{{Superman}}. (And it's worth noting that even in the original Japanese version of the anime, Goku's selfish traits [[AdaptationalNiceGuy had already been toned]] down in comparison to [[Manga/DragonBall the manga]], which creator Creator/AkiraToriyama has criticized). He's also noticeably [[AdaptationalIntelligence smarter]] than his Japanese counterpart, not above using technical words instead of speaking like a {{country bumpkin}} with traces of a Tohoku accent. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' depicts Goku as closer to his original manga characterization, which has led fans who are unfamiliar with the original Japanese version of Goku to accuse ''Super'' of making him an AdaptationalJerkass and AdaptationalDumbass.

** There are a few examples in the 4Kids dub:

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Spike has a pretty different personality in the original Japanese language and similar changes were made with a lot of characters. In the original, Spike was presented much like a typical anime character who uses ObfuscatingStupidity--with a goofy voice and mannerisms much of the time and then a stereotypically gruff and hardboiled voice in action scenes or serious, dramatic moments. In contrast, his English dub voice, Creator/SteveBlum, has a gruff-voice, to begin with. He voiced Spike with a more subtle personality and less change in his voice tone/personality between comedic and serious moments, presenting Spike as having an undertone of world-weariness at all times.

** For the English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku was a great deal nobler and had his more selfish traits toned down, as the earlier English dubs moved towards making Goku into an analogue of ComicBook/{{Superman}}. (And it's worth noting that even in the original Japanese version of the anime, Goku's selfish traits had already been toned down in comparison to [[Manga/DragonBall the manga]], which creator Creator/AkiraToriyama has criticized). He's also noticeably [[AdaptationalIntelligence smarter]] than his Japanese counterpart, not above using technical words instead of speaking like a country bumpkin with traces of a Tohoku accent. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' depicts Goku as closer to his original manga characterization, which has led fans who are unfamiliar with the original Japanese version of Goku to accuse ''Super'' of making him an AdaptationalJerkass and AdaptationalDumbass.

** In those same dubs, Vegeta in the Saiyan and Namek Sagas, while still clearly evil, is less overtly cruel than his Japanese counterpart; he tries to convince Goku to join his side before their battle on Earth, expresses disgust when Freeza brutalizes a young Gohan, and most notably, tells Goku that Freeza's influence on him as a child was responsible for his personality as an adult. The original version of Vegeta, who didn't undergo a proper HeelFaceTurn until the very end of the series, never showed any obvious redeeming qualities before he started a family with Bulma during the Cell Saga.
** Much like Goku, his father Bardock from the movies was given a much different personality in the English dubs. The Japanese version of Bardock is an unapologetic space mercenary with no qualms about committing genocide on behalf of Frieza. He was also an abusive father and a typical [[ProudWarriorRace Saiyan]] SocialDarwinist who shows no interest in his son because he believes Goku is a disappointment due to his low power at birth. While the Japanese version of Bardock does at least come to care about the fate of his son, he turns against Frieza only because his visions of the future show him how Frieza will destroy his entire race. English dub Bardock, on the other hand, was a somewhat conflicted NobleDemon who had a full on HeelRealization after being forcibly gifted psychic powers. He proclaims to Frieza that he's not just rebelling for himself or his people, but on behalf of all the people who have been killed on Frieza's orders, and deeply regrets not having had a chance to be a proper father to Goku.

* ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'': At least in the first season, Koneko's personality is far more indifferent and snarky in the dub. For example, when Issei and Kiba are about to head to a church to save Asia, they ask Koneko if she'll come. In the original, she responds that she'd be too worried to let them go alone. In the dub, she says she's got nothing better to do in a nearly sarcastic tone.

* For Disney's English dub of ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'', Creator/PhilHartman was brought in as the voice of Kiki's black cat Jiji. He was allowed to ad-lib most of his lines, including additional dialogue to [[FillingTheSilence fill the silence]] where the original had none. Jiji's original voice, Creator/ReiSakuma, is childlike and gives him a timid and cautious personality, albeit with the occasional one-liner; Hartman's take on him, owing to his extensive ad-libbing, is a much more sarcastic and sardonic DeadpanSnarker. Even after the 2010 recut of the dub, which removed most of the additional dialogue, the difference in personality between languages is still noticeable.

** When told that he can't be scared all the time, Luigi comments that it depends on the circumstances — a possible nod to him being as brave as Mario in the 2D games but a coward in the ''Luigi's Mansion'' games.

** Donkey Kong is less of a braggart and less antagonistic towards Mario, forming a friendly rivalry with him. He's also more hyperactive and enthusiastic, requiring Cranky Kong to keep him restrained.

** Mog in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is a laid-back, friendly, generally NiceGuy in the Japanese script. The game came out in the mid-'90s, however, and Square's American branch was not at all blind to the trends of the era--thus Mog became a slang-spewing, sharp-tongued MascotWithAttitude whose in-game description tries its hardest to paint him as a TotallyRadical KidAppealCharacter. While several other characters in the game saw their personalities or motivations change somewhat due to translation errors (Setzer being the most notorious example), this is the only character change that was clearly intentional and unambiguous in motive. Attitude Mog didn't catch on due to the relative unpopularity of console [=RPGs=] at the time, and the retranslated script used starting with ''Final Fantasy VI Advance'' reverts him to his Japanese personality.

-->'''Japanese Micaiah:''' “There’s no longer anything we can do… There is only one path left for Daein… and that is destruction…”

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':

** In the Japanese version, Misty was a ProudBeauty who considered herself the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman. This element was absent in the 4Kids English dub and several other dubs, making her a more humble-seeming character. In fact, the dub made her out to be HollywoodHomely instead. When she reappeared in Alola, the new dubbers ([=TPCi=]) kept Misty's comments about her beauty, as did ''VideoGame/PokemonYellow''. Misty is also more of a {{tomboy}} in the English dub, while the Japanese version portrays her as a TomboyWithAGirlyStreak.

* The Creator/FourKidsEntertainment dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
** Seto Kaiba's {{Jerkass}}ery and refusal to believe in or care about the supernatural were played up, in addition to giving him a lot more sarcastic or bitter quips than he had in the original.
** Joey is snarkier and more openly HotBlooded than the original's Jounouchi.
** Japanese's Insector Haga expressed interest in the opposite sex, making several flirtatious remarks toward Anzu. 4Kid's Weevil Underwood is never shown as such, which gives off certain vibes.
* The Creator/FourKidsEntertainment dub of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' frequently adds and changes the dialogue in order to add more jokes. As a result, many characters become goofier and sometimes have quirks that were never there in the original:
** Princess Rose, a one-off duelist, is changed from a gentle PrincessClassic into a trash-talking ValleyGirl. Pretty much all her dialogue is rewritten to include some sort of vain or bitchy remark.
** Abidos the Third is a stoic, no-nonsense antagonist in the original version. He always suspected that his servants were [[ILetYouWin losing to him on purpose]] and seeks a real challenge. In the dub he has no idea of his lack of skill and is a bragging KnowNothingKnowItAll, setting up the HumblePie he is eventually forced to eat.
** "X", another one-off duelist, is changed from another Pro Duelist ranked higher than Aster Phoenix, to Sartorius's lawyer, full name Howard X. Miller (referring to his preferred strategy). His dialogue is rewritten to include lots of courtroom references and puns.
** Mad Dog, a one off underground duelist. In the Japanese version he is a tough rugged no-nonsense man with a deep gruff voice. In the dub he is a ManChild who has a high pitched whiny voice, somewhat reminiscent of Mike Tyson, and uses childish speech patterns and insults.
** In the dub, Professor Satou, who's bitter about Judai causing all his students to turn their backs on him, is renamed Professor Stein and reimagined as TheBore who frequently drops historical references to Pharaoh Atem's time, including just before he apparently falls to his death after losing to Jaden. One of his lectures even makes him sound like Creator/BenStein in ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff''.

* Downplayed in the case of Yoshikage Kira, the main villain of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable''. His [[Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa Japanese voice actor]] plays him with a bit of a [[ManOfWealthAndTaste sophisticated touch]] (fitting for a man who notes that he lives in an area of town where all the villas are), while his [[Creator/DCDouglas English voice actor]] plays him as more of an everyman, [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse the kind of guy you could find anywhere]] (fitting for a serial killer who explicitly wants to live a "quiet life").

* [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing2001 The first entry]] in the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' series had its various overseas localizations seemingly directed at a slightly older audience than the original (and later) all-ages demographic. The villagers use bigger words and make adult jokes from time to time, but more noticeably, the setting is much more cynical and mean-spirited compared to the laid-back Japanese version, bordering on WorldOfJerkass; villagers can get upset over something as petty as not buying a piece of fruit from them and will often insult you as a result (cranky, peppy and snooty villagers are particularly notorious in this regard). The letters you get from your in-game mother also seem to imply that the two of you aren't particularly close. Later installments in the series are much closer to their Japanese counterparts.

** Mog in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is a laid-back, friendly, generally NiceGuy in the Japanese script. The game came out in the mid-'90s, however, and Square's American branch was not at all blind to the trends of the era--thus Mog became a slang-spewing, sharp-tongued MascotWithAttitude whose in-game description tries its hardest to paint him as a TotallyRadical KidAppealCharacter. While several other characters in the game saw their personalities or motivations change somewhat due to translation errors (Setzer being the most notorious example), this is the only character change that was clearly intentional and unambiguous in motive. Attitude!Mog didn't catch on due to the relative unpopularity of console [=RPGs=] at the time, and the retranslated script used starting with ''Final Fantasy VI Advance'' reverts him to his Japanese personality.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney''
** Series protagonist Phoenix Wright was intentionally written in the Japanese as TheGenericGuy with little in the way of a distinguishable personality for the most part outside of being the OnlySaneMan. The localization of the first game would turn him into a major DeadpanSnarker, something which stuck to varying degrees in separate games.
** Among the entire cast, Trucy is ''easily'' the most jarring between the two languages. In the Japanese, Trucy is characterized by being in the persona of a performer at all times, speaking in a very deliberately childish manner written mostly in hiragana and using [[ThirdPersonPerson her own name]] as a pronoun, only using kanji when discussing magic tricks or the rare occasions she acts serious. She is also extremely formal at all times, using very professional formalities to Apollo despite frequently teasing him. None of this is present in the English for the most part, where she only speaks slightly whimsically and never changes speaking style, and her name for Apollo is a more generally AffectionateNickname in "Polly", making her come off as more of a straight {{Expy}} of Maya.
** Susato Mikotoba's defining trait in the Japanese version is that she speaks in overly polite Japanese, such as using the extremely formal "-sama" honorific on her friends. While this is typically translated by not using contractions, her actual dialogue and demeanor doesn't always line up in a way that avoiding contractions would make seem polite or professional. Instead, rather than always being polite in the English version, she instead is very professional in court or when speaking with new people, but then becomes very relaxed and friendly as she gets more acquainted with them. In the English, while she uses Japanese honorifics while speaking Japanese, she only uses "-sama" on Kazuma, while she uses "-san" on Ryunosuke and calls Iris, Gina and [[DubNameChange Rei]] by their first names without honorifics.
** Simon Blackquill is perceived by fans as an example of this not because anything actually changes between languages, but simply because the context does. In Japanese, he's simply a FanOfThePast who presents himself as a samurai: he wears traditional clothing, he's mastered falconry, carries a katana, and speaks formally to those he sees as allies and friends. He's quite intimidating and serious, although he does occasionally make a joke, usually at someone else's expense. None of that changes in the English version, except for the major detail of the ThinlyVeiledDubCountryChange. Here, because he's apparently not Japanese, the samurai routine, the katana, and the Japanese PoirotSpeak make him look like a stereotypical OccidentalOtaku, which turns him into TheComicallySerious.
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* In the French dub of ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', the lyrics of ''"Let it Go"'' changes "Be the good girl you always have to be" to "Pay attention, the secret will survive," which sounds less like Elsa is mocking her responsibilities and her parents than the original line.

* In the French dub of ''Series/{{Alf}}'', the titular character (voiced here by Roger Carel) speaks in a gentler and slower tone that makes him sound more mellow and nicer than how he was in the original American writing.

** The original (French) version of the show has Mr. Cat be a super genius who is right about everything; in the English dub he generally switches between being of average intelligence and being stupid. The dub also made him a lot meaner to Kaeloo; despite him being a {{jerkass}} in the original, the dub added more insults in scenes where he hadn't insulted her in the original. In addition, the English dub averts the AmbiguousGender trope by having Kaeloo be confirmed to be a girl, so he often makes misogynistic remarks towards her, which is entirely absent from the French dub.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Bart's rebellious attitude [[ValuesDissonance caused complaints in Japan]]. This caused the Japanese dub to tone down Bart after season two.

** Riven's FaceHeelTurn in season 1 was temporary but genuine. In the 4Kids dub it's a product of [[{{Brainwashed}} brainwashing]], therefore giving Riven a sort of AdaptationalHeroism.

** For the English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku was a great deal nobler and had his more selfish traits toned down (though even in the original Japanese version, his selfish traits had already been toned down in comparison to [[Manga/DragonBall the manga]], which creator Creator/AkiraToriyama has criticized). He's also noticeably [[AdaptationalIntelligence smarter]] than his Japanese counterpart, not above using technical words instead of speaking like a country bumpkin with traces of a Tohoku accent. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' depicts Goku as closer to his original manga characterization, which has led fans who are unfamiliar with the original Japanese version of Goku to accuse ''Super'' of making him an AdaptationalJerkass and AdaptationalDumbass.

** When told that he can't be scared all the time, Luigi comments that it depends on the circumstances — a possible nod to him being as brave as Mario in the 2D games but a coward in the Luigi's Mansion games.

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s Japanese translation, Marina is a very soft-spoken character who calls her partner Pearl [[SenpaiKohai "sempai"]], openly admires and is greatly respectful to her, and mainly presents any snarking through thick layers of polite language; she's only revealed to have a relationship with Pearl on more equal grounds in the ''Octo Expansion'' DLC. Endearing as it is, leaving this unaltered in English would have likely resulted in people unaware of the nuances behind Japanese honorific language or SenpaiKohai dynamics to interpret Marina as much more deferential and "pining after" Pearl than she's meant to be portrayed as, so the English translation rewrites Marina's dialogue to be more blunt and portrays their relationship as more on the level of VitriolicBestBuds. That said, the release version of the game going a bit ''too'' far with it and making Marina go all the way into sounding like a {{Jerkass}} was controversial enough that later updates toned it down to be closer to the intended nuance.

** In ''Touched'', there's Ashley. While her core characteristics are kept intact, the English localization downplays and removes many of her cuter and more innocent traits (most notably her ThirdPersonPerson speech) and puts more emphasis on the aloof and scary side of her character, while making her more of a cold DeadpanSnarker compared to how she's depicted in the Japanese version.
** In ''Twisted'', the Mona's Pizza song does this with her rival Pizza Dinosaur. They're portrayed as arrogant in both versions, but in the English version, they smugly boast that, "Our crust is tough and our sauce is thin, but we're everywhere, so you've gotta give in." In the Japanese, they simply claim that their product is superior.

* ''Anime/VoltesV'': The Philippine-English dub changed Kenichi and Megumi to be more vengeful towards the [[AliensAreBastards agents of the]] [[EvilColonialists Boazanian Empire]]. [[spoiler: For instance, in episode 28, after finding out that his father, Kentaro Go, is actually Boazanian Prince-in-exile Gohl, Kenichi swears to not allow it to bring his morale down. However, this is changed in the Philippine-English dub]].

--> [[spoiler: '''Philippine English''': ''"General Watson, your sacrifice will not be in vain! Thank you. Father has severe and tragic past, we will avenge your death".'']]
** [[spoiler: In episode 31, after Megumi watches her father die at the hands of Daiand, she breaks into tears before vowing to honour his last request to form the Voltes robot with her team. However, the dub removes this]].

** Erika is slightly less polite in the English dub due to LostInTranslation reasons. {{Keigo}} is hard to translate into English, so 4kids had her speak more casually. The dub of ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'' ends up being TruerToTheText of her Japanese character and her character in the games.