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スポンジ・ボブ (Suponji Bobu), also known as スポンジ・ボブ、ズボンは四角, (Suponji Bobu, zubon wa shikaku,) is the Japanese dub of SpongeBob SquarePants. There are three dubs of the show. The first dub is season 1 to season 3, the second dub is season 4 to season 8, and the third dub (some characters) is the second SpongeBob movie to current seasons. It is part of International SpongeBob SquarePants.
Character translations[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants → スポンジ・ボブ ズボンはしかく (Suponji Bobu Zubon wa shikaku)
- Patrick Star → パトリック (Patoriǩu)
- Squidward Tentacles → イカルド (Ikarudo)
- Eugene H. Krabs → カーニさん (Kāni-san)
- Pearl Krabs → パール (Pāru)
- Sandy Cheeks → サンディ (Sandi)
- Sheldon J. Plankton → プランクトン (Purankuton)
- Karen Plankton → カレン (Karen)
- Mrs. Puff → パフ先生 (Pafu-sensê)
- Gary the Snail → ゲイリー (Gêrī)
- Patchy the Pirate → 海賊パッチー (Kaizoku Patchī)
- Potty the Parrot → ポッティー (Poťi)
- French Narrator → ナレーター (Narētā)
- Mermaid Man → マーメイドマン (Māmêdo man)
- Barnacle Boy → フジツボボーイ (Fujicubo bōi)
- Flying Dutchman → さまよえるオランダ人 (Samajoeru Orandajin)
- Bubble Bass → 太っちょバス (Futotčo Basu/)
- Squilliam Fancyson → イカリム (Ikarimu)
- DoodleBob → 落書きボブ (Rakugaki Boḇu)
Voice cast[]
Season 1-3
Original name | Localized name | Meaning | Voice actor |
SpongeBob SquarePants | スポンジボブ | SpongeBob | Hiroyuki Tsuru (original dub) |
Patrick Star | パトリック | Patrick | Ikuko Tani (original dub)/Takashi Nagasako (1st movie) |
Mrs. Puff | パフ先生 | Teacher Puff | Ikuko Tani |
Pearl Krabs | パール | Pearl | |
Bubble Bass | バブルバス | Bubble Bass | |
Squidward Tentacles | イカルド | Ikarudo | Rokurō Naya |
Patchy the Pirate | 海賊パッチー | Pirate Patchy | |
Flying Dutchman | さまよえるオランダ人 | Wandering Dutch | Rokurō Naya/Keijin Okuda (season 2) |
Perch Perkins | パーチ・パーキンス | Perch Perkins | Rokurō Naya |
Mr. Krabs | カーニさん | Mr. Kani or Kani-san | Keijin Okuda |
Larry the Lobster | ラリー | Larry | |
Realistic Fish Head | ジョニー・イレーン | Johnny Elaine | |
Squilliam Fancyson | イカリム | Ikarimu | |
Sheldon J. Plankton | プランクトン | Plankton | Yūko Ogiso (season 1-3)/Chie Matsuura (starting with season 3)/Chō (1st movie) |
Sandy Cheeks | サンディ | Sandy | Yūko Ogiso (season 1-3)/Chie Matsuura (starting with season 3) |
Mermaid Man | マーメイドマン | Mermaid Man | Keijin Okuda (season 1)/Ikuko Tani (the rest of the dub) |
Barnacle Boy | フジツボボーイ | Barnacle Boy | Yūko Ogiso |
Painty the Pirate | 海賊ペインティー | Pirate Painty | Rokurō Naya (season 1–2)/Keijin Okuda ("Graveyard Shift"–present) |
Second cast[]
Season 3-8/The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out Of Water to present
- It’s worth noting that while most of the cast remain from season 3-present, some are replaced.
Original name | Localized name | Meaning | Voice actor |
SpongeBob SquarePants | スポンジボブ | SpongeBob | Taiki Matsuno (season 4-13) |
Patrick Star | パトリック | Patrick | Ikuko Tani (up until season 8)/Mitsuaki Kanuka (2nd movie, season 9+) |
Mr. Krabs | カーニさん | Mr. Kani or Kani-san | Keijin Okuda |
Larry the Lobster | ラリー | Larry | Keijin Okuda |
Realistic Fish Head | |||
Squilliam Fancyson | イカリム | Ikarimu | |
Painty the Pirate | 海賊ペインティー | Painty the Pirate | |
Squidward Tentacles | イカルド | Ikarudo | Rokurō Naya (season 3-8) Yōji Ueda (season 9+) |
Sheldon J. Plankton | プランクトン | Plankton | Chie Matsuura (season 4+) |
Sandy Cheeks | サンディ | Sandy | |
Mrs. Puff | パフ先生 | Teacher Puff | Rie Takahashi |
Pearl Krabs | パール | Pearl | Ikuko Tani (season 4-8) Rie Takahashi (season 9+) |
Bubble Bass | バブルバス | Bubble Bass | Rokurō Naya (season 8) Taiki Matsuno (season 9) Yōji Ueda (season 10+) |
Patchy the Pirate | 海賊パッチー | Pirate Patchy | Rokurō Naya (season 3-8) Yōji Ueda (season 10+) |
Flying Dutchman | さまよえるオランダ人 | Wandering Dutchman | Rokurō Naya (season 3-8) Uoken (season 11+) |
Gary the Snail | ゲイリー | Gary | Yōji ueda (season 12) |
Mermaid Man | マーメイドマン | Mermaid Man | Rokurō Naya (season 4-8) |
Barnacle Boy | フジツボボーイ | Barnacle Boy | Keijin Okuda |
Changes[]
- Squidward's name is changed to Ikarudo, which is a portmanteau of ika (squid in Japanese) and the Japanese spelling of Edward.
- Likewise, Squilliam is now Ikarimu, which is a portmanteau of ika and the Japanese spelling of William.
- Bikini Bottom is called ビキニタウン (Bikini Taun) or "Bikini Town."
- Plankton is voiced by a female voice actor and not a male voice actor. However, Patrick and Bubble Bass are now excluded because they are replaced by a male voice actor.
- The Krusty Krab is renamed カニカーニ (Kanikāni).
- Krabby Patties are renamed カーニバーガー (Kānibāgā) or "Crab Burger."
- "Closing Theme" has a completely different version.
- The English text in the animation is read in Japanese by a French narrator for pre-school children.
- In NHK's broadcasts, scenes showing mushroom clouds are unnaturally enlarged in order to regulate their appearance.
Episodes[]
DVDs[]
Blu-rays[]
Video games[]
- Creature from the Krusty Krab (March 15, 2007) - Known as "SpongeBob (スポンジ・ボブ Suponjibobu)," to mark it as the first SpongeBob SquarePants video game to have a Japanese release. This has a major difference in the Japanese box art because the international releases have the cover box art as SpongeBob flying an airplane and a giant Plankton in the background shooting a laser out of his eye. The Japanese cover just has SpongeBob's face and his arms holding the game's logo. This game was only released on the PlayStation 2 and Wii in Japan.
- Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island (March 15, 2007) - Known as "スポンジ ボブとなかまたち"/"SpongeBob and Friends." This is the first Nickelodeon crossover video game to be released in Japan. Released in Japan on the same day as Creature from the Krusty Krab and both share the same exact cover artwork in their Japanese releases. This game was only released on the Nintendo DS in Japan.
- Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (December 20, 2007) - Known as "スポンジ・ボブとなかまたち トイボットのこうげき"/"SpongeBob to Nakamatachi: Toybot no Kougeki." This game was only released on the Nintendo DS and Wii in Japan.
- SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis (June 26, 2008) - Known as "スポンジ ボブとなかまたち*ニンテンド"/"SpongeBob to Atlantis, Ikitain Desu." Like the previous official SpongeBob video game, this also has a major difference in the Japanese box art as well because SpongeBob isn't smiling on the cover in the international releases while he is on the Japanese cover. This game was only released on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in Japan. This was also the last SpongeBob video game to be released in the Classic THQJapan era.
- Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated (June 23, 2020) - Known as "スポンジ・ボブ:Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated"/"SpongeBob: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated." This is the first SpongeBob video game to be released in Japan in over a decade. This game has new voice acting that stays faithful to the Japanese version of the series (as seen here) and the first one to have Japanese dubbing. All previous video game entries didn't have Japanese voice acting and only used the original English voice acting instead while being hovered over by Japanese subtitles. Not only does this game have actual Japanese voice acting, but it also has the option to turn on Japanese subtitles to make it more understandable for players in Japan. This is the first SpongeBob game to be developed by Purple Lamp and published by THQ Nordic.
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (November 24, 2022) - Known as "ニコロデオン オールスター大乱闘." The Japanese release has a golden cover box art and is based on the game's Ultimate Edition that was released on November 11, 2022 in North America, 13 days before the Japan release. Unlike all other countries and previous releases of the game, the Japanese version contains all of the DLC content added in from the start and does not have to be downloaded/purchased separately. This game was only released on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in Japan.
- The Cosmic Shake (February 28, 2023) - Known as "スポンジ・ボブ:ザ コズミック シェイク"/"SpongeBob: The Cosmic Shake."
Trivia[]
- Patrick, Plankton, Barnacle Boy, and Bubble Bass were given a female voice actor in the series.
- In the first movie and from the second movie and season 9, Patrick now has a male Japanese voice actor.
- Bubble Bass was voiced by a woman in his debut, but in his next speaking appearance, he was voiced by a man.
- Mr. Krabs is called "Kani-san" in this dub. "Kani" is Japanese for "crab," and "-san" is a suffix attached to the end of a person to refer to them in a formal way in Japan.
- Likewise, Mrs. Puff's Japanese name, "Puff-sensei," has the suffix "-sensei," which is attached to the end of a teacher's name to refer to them formally in Japan.
- SpongeBob uses "boku" as a pronoun to reflect his childlike personality, and Squidward uses "washi" to reflect his maturity.
- The Japanese version of SpongeBob SquarePants used to air on Nickelodeon Japan, but the channel was later shut down on September 30, 2009 (two days after Nickelodeon changed their logo) due to declining viewership. As a result, SpongeBob airings and premieres were moved to MTV Japan and NHK (Eテレ) for a while. Eventually on January 30, 2018, Nickelodeon Japan was relaunched and SpongeBob began airing on that channel again. However, Nickelodeon Japan got shut down again on January 31, 2022.
- The Japanese version of the official Nickelodeon YouTube channel also launched on May 17, 2022.
- "Big Pink Loser" and "The Great Snail Race" Japanese titles both have the term "Ganbare," which means "go for it." Both, especially "The Great Snail Race," titles could be a reference to the Konami video game series Ganbare Goemon.
- "Goo Goo Gas" and "Hiccup Plague" are the only episodes to premiere in Japan before they aired in the United States.
- In the second dub ending theme, instead of being the usual one that is used in other dubs, it is a song made by Japanese hip-hop group Rip Slyme.
- Airings of season 11 instead use a song made by the Japanese musical group "Boys and Men" named One Way.
- Mouse Promotions was in charge of casting until season 3, but due to repeated casting changes, Matsuura is now the only Mouse Promotions member.
- Due to budget shortages, until Season 8 there were only five regular voice actors per episode, but from Season 9 there are five regulars plus guest voice actors.