Best Optimum dub series finale

[Frenchfries&AChocolateMalt]

The Canadian dub had several different stopping points. Of these what did you think worked best as a series finale.

Treed- The last new episode of DiC’s original production to air in the United States due to DiC holding onto the Doom Tree arc until they ran the Rini episodes first. While not technically a last episode prior to DiC finishing R this is the closest the original dub had to a proper finale since DiC originally left the Rini story unfinished

Sibling Rivalry- The last episode (chronologically and production wise) of DiC’s original 1995 syndicated dub. And would be the last episode for two years

Final Battle- Technically not a final episode but since the actual “last episode” was a preview for the next series at a time where there was no guarantee those episodes would be dubbed this functions the best as a finale prior to S and SuperS being picked up by Cloverway.

Follow the Leader- The final episode produced by DiC Entertainment and the final English dubbed episode for 3 years

The Sweetest Dream- The actual last episode of the Optimum dub.

SuperS movie: Black Dream Hole- Although along with the other movies it was produced before S and SuperS chronologically it would take place after “The Sweetest Dream” (and there’s no Sailor Stars to contradict Pluto being with Neptune and Uranus at this point)

 

[tux67]

Probably Treed. I haven't compared it to the original to see how faithful it was, but I loved Terri Hawkes acting in it.

Day of Destiny was a mess and I cannot for the life of me understand why they messed up that scene in Final Battle and made it seem like Wicked Lady was attacking Tuxedo Mask when she was really attacking Sailor Moon.

The Sweetest Dream was a good one too.

 

[Guardian Princess Nadia]

Probably Treed. I haven't compared it to the original to see how faithful it was, but I loved Terri Hawkes acting in it.

It's...on the lower end in terms of in faithfulness. While the general gist was the same, the dub made some very big changes, much of it a continuation of how it softened Alan from Ail. It made Alan come to realize Serena is in love with Darien a lot sooner than Ail accepted it, and thus changed the moment of Ail realizing Usagi (now transformed into Sailor Moon) would never love him to Ann imploring to Alan that Sailor Moon was the enemy and that he would have to destroy her. This change is carried through the scene where Alan seems resigned to let Sailor Moon die because she is their enemy more than because she chose Darien. He voices a lot of respect for her, making him seem more upset by the fact they were enemies. By contrast in the original version, Ail is just mad because he can't have her.

"Treed" also removed Ail's pivotal order to the Makaiju to destroy the planet and instead had Alan order the Doom Tree to simply drain Sailor Moon and Darien's energy. Because of that, Treed came across as mid-stakes filler instead of the possible global threat the aliens were. It also, again, made Alan's character fundamentally different from Ail. Where Ail came across as an immature brat who decided to kill everyone because he couldn't have Usagi, Alan comes across as feeling betrayed that the girl he loved was their enemy, with the jealousy a present but secondary factor. He focuses the order on Sailor Moon and Darien as he's still thinking about saving the Tree while getting his revenge.

However, the biggest change was with the nature of the Makaiju itself. In "Treed," when the Tree told its backstory, it was a happy little Tree of Life that gave birth to happy little tree people on a planet, but evil forces (implied to be the Negaforce, but also follows the) managed to turn some of its children against the Tree to fight for its energy, to the point where most of the Tree's children destroyed the world they were on. The original version didn't have a known force, but it's largely parallel to the dub (even closer than rest of the episode) until near the end of the exposition.

In both, the Tree has become too weak to speak, but the dub explicitly states that the energy the aliens did collect helped; it just needed love to grow, and it asked Sailor Moon to purify it because it had been poisoned by negative energy over the years. In other words, the Tree wasn't itself and essentially became corrupted and needed a reboot (which explains why it turned on its own kids).

In the original version, the Tree admits it purposely withered itself to get the attention of the aliens. The tree seems to be in a lot more control over itself, although it still needed to be attacked with Moon Princess Halation to heal it for some reason.

That said, the Optimum's "Final Battle" seems to be the best way to close out the series. All of the story arcs are wrapped up satisfactorily, there is a nice inversion of Classic (where Princess Serenity had to fight alone as her friends an lover were dead, Neo-Queen Serenity fought alongside her daughter as her friends and lover were alive and giving her strength), and the conclusion was epic.

 

[tux67]

Thanks for the comparison!