Alfred J. Kwak (partially lost Japanese dub of Dutch-German-Japanese animated series; 1989-1990)
Unfolded cover art for the music CD.
Status: Partially Lost
Alfred J. Kwak is a Dutch-German-Japanese animated comedy-drama TV series based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen and was co-produced by VARA, Telecable Benelux B.V., ZDF, and TV Tokyo. The show was released in 1989. It consists of 52 episodes.
Despite being animated in Japan, its Japanese dub is, however, rare. The show's title there is 小さなアヒルの大きな愛の物語 あひるのクワック (Chiisana Ahiru no Ooki na Ai no monogatari: Ahiru no Kuwakku - "The Great Love Story of the Little Duck: Kwak the Duck"), with the plain Alfred J. Kwak title appearing in English as well.
Official Releases
The only home media related to this anime that was released in Japan was a music CD with the show's theme song sung by Megumi Hayashibara.
This made the Japanese dub much more difficult to find than any European version of the show, considering there were several DVD's and VHS's produced in some European countries with a respectful dub of country in question.
Findings
On October 13th, 2008, YouTube user 6satan6lucifer6 uploaded the Japanese opening of Alfred J. Kwak, which seems to be TVRip, proving that recordings out of there clearly existed. In the comment section of the video, YouTube user OldClassicGamer asked if it's possible to find episodes of the show in Japanese. One of the answers stated that a long time ago, someone uploaded all episodes in Japanese on YouTube in the past, but it seems like they were removed at some point, most likely due to the copyright claims. Nevertheless, the user did say he had some episodes saved before they were removed thus sending OldClassicGamer 32 out of 52 episodes with a Japanese dub.[1]
Given the copyright law in Japan, it is likely possible that quite a few Japanese people have this anime recorded in their private collection, but cannot be uploaded due to constant internet monitoring. Unless someone comes forward and says they managed to save all episodes while they were on YouTube, chances of this dub being found are quite low.
On December 21st, 2017, Finnish YouTube user "kaljapullotonhenki" uploaded a clip of the Japanese dub from episode 27. The clip is 44 seconds long and is recorded from its original Japanese airing. As of 2020, this is the only known clip from the Japanese version that exists online.
On January 9th, 2019, YouTube user "Casseopaya" uploaded all 52 episodes of the show in the Chinese/Mandarin language that not only showed the Japanese theme song but also included the Japanese version of Zo Vrolijk sung by Alfred's Japanese voice actress. While most of the show was dubbed in Mandarin, some music from the original Japanese dub still remains intact. For example, in the final episode showing the entire supporting cast singing the Japanese version of Spetter Pieter Patter. Another notable difference from other versions is that the Japanese and Mandarin versions have title cards after the show's theme song, which isn't present in the other European versions.
Gallery
Extended Link
- YouTube playlist that contains the Chinese/Mandarin version of the show. Retrieved 10 Nov '19
- Blogpost that contains a screenshot of a Japanese TV recording of the 52th episode.
Retrieved 9 Jul '22
Reference
- ↑ A Nyaa.si link to the 32 episodes. Retrieved 17 Feb '19