Lost and Found in Translation

"Lost and Found in Translation" is an episode of the American children's television program Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, the twelfth incarnation of the Power Rangers series. As with all Power Rangers: Dino Thunder episodes, it is loosely adapted from, and uses certain footage from, a Japanese tokusatsu program produced as part of the Super Sentai franchise, 2003's Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger.
What makes "Lost and Found in Translation" unique, however, is that it uses the action footage, as well as footage of the original Japanese Abaranger actors, under the pretense of a dubbed, late night television series within the series. This episode marks the first appearance of the original, Japanese Super Sentai actors appearing in Power Rangers. "Lost and Found in Translation" was originally broadcast on ABC Family on June 13, 2004, and is the 19th in Dino Thunder ' s first and only season. The Abaranger episode that is the source of the footage is the 10th.
The premise of a comically-dubbed super sentai series on late-night television might be a subtle nod to "Dynaman," a similar parody of the 1983 series Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, which was seen on the USA Network during 1987 as part of their old late-night Night Flight block.
The episode name references the 2003 film, Lost in Translation, which also deals with culture shock between elements of Japan and the US.
Plot summary
The Power Rangers, Conner McKnight, Kira Ford, and Ethan James, are watching television late one night at Hayley's Cyberspace, and discover an unusual dubbed Japanese program that is seemingly based on their own adventures as Power Rangers. Troubled by what he sees as a mockery of their heroic efforts, Conner turns off the program.
Ethan, ignoring Conner's qualms, continues to watch. On the program, the villain reveals that his plan is to use wigs to take over the world, further upsetting Conner. When he sees a scene with "Whacker Wilson", an American baseball player, extolling the virtues of money and expressing his belief that it is the key to happiness (after the Japanese Blue Ranger fixes his back), Conner feels that the program is not only making a mockery of the Power Rangers, but of American culture as well.
However, when the Power Rangers triumphantly defeat the villain in an action-packed finale, Conner is able to see the other side of the story. Inspired by the courage and heroics displayed by the Japanese Rangers, Conner is able to look back on the program and take it in a better light. Afterward, he writes an essay entitled "Japanese vs. American Culture - Closer Than We Think.", learning lessons both about the importance of diversity and, he says, the fun of watching foreign TV.
Adaptation
The Abaranger footage that was used was mostly left intact, though several cuts were made for various reasons. In addition, the translation is, for the most part, accurate according to the general plot of the episode, although most of the lines were deliberately altered for comedic purposes; for example, the scene where Lije attacks Jeanne — in the original, she was simply berating her for her failure to complete the mission, whereas in "Lost and Found in Translation", she attacks her for stealing her hairspray. Another is when Ryouga suggested to deposit the money the torinoid fired while in the dub, he wondered how much money Yukito had. Most of the characters named are changed as well. The Japanese counterpart of Whacker Wilson actually spoke English in the Japanese version. However, he was redubbed to say many different things. Additionally, he was voiced by Jermaine Turner, the head of Jetix Original Series at Disney, and a self-professed Power Rangers fan. Nevertheless, many American Super Sentai fans were left disgusted and angry by this episode since it was assumed that the genre was finally going to be acknowledged as an integral part of the American show's success, but was instead the subject of mocking and ridicule. Fans of both shows are still sharply divided about this today.
Content edits include:
* The removal of scenes where Asuka sits in a bathroom, about to vomit due to Yukito's curry, and an overjoyed Patchy Bonds thanks Yukito with a kiss.
* Two moments featuring a police officer wielding a gun.
* A scene featuring Bakuryuu Tricera chatting with the Abaranger team was cut for unknown reasons, despite the fact that he also talked to Yukito/Abareblue earlier in the episode on Yukito's brace.
* An Abareguts/Super Dino Mode battle is cut and it could be for time purposes (mainly because Asuka had Abareguts whereas Tommy had yet to receive Super Dino Mode).
* The mecha battle and Whacker Wilson's farewell scene were also cut, for time.
* A scene featuring the board game Monopoly was cut for legal reasons, but it can be seen briefly.
The reason for these changes, rather than a straight adaptation of the Sentai episode, is unknown, but the dialogue between the three Rangers at the end hints at a particular theme. Essentially, it was not the purpose of the episode to merely display "the Japanese version of Power Rangers," but instead, to make a statement about Power Rangers' own nature as an adaptation (specifically, as Kira says in the episode, that a different interpretation can still be good), and make some tongue-in-cheek knocks at itself and the concept of dubbing from one series to another - indeed, many such conventions (the non-Japanese names for the characters, the comedic emphasis, etc.), are knocks at things done not just by Power Rangers, but anime dubs, and translations of live action shows.

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