Tonight, the Fine Living Network began broadcasting Iron Chef. I encourage everyone who has that channel to watch their airings of our show in the hope that renewed interest in the show will lead to more episodes being purchased and dubbed.
Update #1: We have reached the first commercial break. It seems that all of the Backdraft music is gone. All of the voice work appears to be the same. Since they had to pull the music bed from the intro, we get a dubbed Kaga during the challenger intro. More updates to come.
Update #2: Kobe’s replacement rise music has been replaced. Same style of music as the rest of the new stuff. The music for the theme ingredient rise is, of course, new. Unfortunately, the music that was in the Youtube videos is also present here. It reminds me of a bad 70’s newscast opening.
Final Update: At least the music used for the explanation of the dishes had a feel similar to the original. And I am very glad they did not change the title screens to show “Iron Chef Japan.” It seems that the music later in the show at least tries to have the same feel as the original. All voice-work is the same as are any onscreen graphics. It appears to be simply the Food Network broadcast with different music beds. I will also give them credit for airing the only challenger to specialize in Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo.
My judgement: I will certainly use any missing episodes that Fine Living airs to help complete my personal collection as well as this collection, but I don’t see myself watching these broadcasts on a regular basis. I know why they made the changes they did, but I really don’t like them. The new music lacks any dramatic feel that the original had. (This is my personal assessment of the broadcast. Other staff here may feel differently.)
If you saw the episode, let us know what you thought about it in the comments. If you think I’m being nit-picky, tell me. If anyone who did not see the episode would like me to post some clips, let us know that in the comments as well.