スポンジ・ボブ

***スポンジ・ボブ*** (*Suponji Bobu*, pronounced *Supongey Bobbu* and also known as スポンジボブ ズボンは四角) is the Japanese localization of the British-American children’s series, *SpongeBob SquarePants*. It was the first international dub of the show.

## Character Translations

* SpongeBob SquarePants → スポンジ・ボブ (*Suponji Bobu*)
* Patrick Star → パトリック (*Patorikku*)
* 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-sensei*)
* Gary the Snail → ゲイリー (*Geirī*)
* Patchy the Pirate → 海賊パッチー (*Kaizoku Patchī*)
* Potty the Parrot → ポッティー (*Pottī*)
* French Narrator → ナレーター (*Narētā*)
* Mermaid Man → マーメイドマン (*Māmeido man*)
* Barnacle Boy → フジツボボーイ (*Fujitsubo bōi*)
* The Flying Dutchman → さまよえるオランダ人 (*Samayoeru Orandajin*)
* Bubble Bass → 太っちょバス (*Futotcho Basu*)
* Squilliam Fancyson → イカリム (*Ikarimu*)
* DoodleBob → 落書きボッブ (*Rakugaki Bobbu)*
* The Octopus in the Beaver Hat → 毛皮の帽子のタコ *(Kegawa no bōshi no tako)*

## Cast

* David Raymond (suit performance) and Sō Yamamura (voice; season 1) and Mizuho Suzuki (voice; season 2 onward) as Dream Gary (the narrator)
	+ Noel MacNeal provides the facial puppetry, reprising his position from the original British-American version.
	+ Also like the British-American version, Lena Thomas Austin and Dan Meers serve as back-up performers in case Raymond is unavailable.
* Martin P. Robinson as X-29488 (“Ugh”)

**Voice Cast**

* Ikuko Tani as SpongeBob and Margaret SquarePants, Sandy, Mrs. Puff, Pearl, Karen, Potty (voice/puppetry; head), Perch Perkins, Princess Mindy and various other characters
* Kosei Tomita as Patrick Star, Mr. Krabs, Mermaid Man, Television Documentary Narrator, Fearless Freddy, Bubble Bass and King Neptune
* Akira Takarada as Squidward and Betsy Krabs
* Keijin Okuda as Plankton, Flats Flounder, Larry the Lobster and various other characters
* Taiki Matsuno, Takashi Nagasako and Rokurō Naya as various characters
* Tom Kenny: Gary, Jellyfish, various animal roles
* Frank Welker: SpongeBob (vocal effects), Patrick (vocal effects), Gary, Mzeebo the Vulture, Jellyfish, Mystery, Clamu, Baby Oyster, Gorilla, Potty (vocal effects), various animal roles
* Kazuo Kumakura: The Octopus in the Beaver Hat

**Puppeteers**

* Tim Lagasse: Potty (puppetry, hands), various characters
* Jessica DiCicco, Ayako Iguchi, Kenta Matsumoto, Joey Mazzarino, Rena Mizushiro, Kaori Takeda, Hideki Tanaka and Matt Vogel as additional puppeteers

**Guest Roles**

* Kaneta Kimotsuki: Barnacle Boy (2000 - 2016)
* Nobuyo Ōyama: The Dirty Bubble
* Kenpachiro Satsuma: Man Ray
* Chikao Ōtsuka: Burger Beard the Pirate
* Bill Melendez (retained from US version): Howling Oysters in "Texas."
* Thurl Ravenscroft (retained from US version): Sea Rhinoceros in "The Camping Episode."

**Musical Guests**

* Dream in "Texas"

## 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*).
* SpongeBob, Perch Perkins and the Dirty Bubble are voiced by a female voice actress and not 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."

## Trivia

* Due to this being more of a localization than a regular dub, this marks the debut of David Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic, as the puppeteer captain and suit performer for Dream Gary
* Mr. Krabs is called "Kani-san" in the 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, Ms. 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.
* The Japanese version used to air on Nickelodeon's Japanese broadcasting station, but it was later shut down on September 30, 2009 (the same day Nickelodeon changed their logo), due to declining viewership, meaning that it moved to the Japanese MTV, and NHK, however, Viacom confirmed that Nickelodeon Japan will return in subscription form in the first quarter of 2018, and *SpongeBob* began airing on the channel there.
* "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*.
* The ending theme, instead of being the usual one that is used in other dubs, is a song made by Japanese hip-hop group Rip Slyme.
	+ Airings of Season 11 onward instead use a song made by the Japanese musical group "Boys and Men" named One Way.

* Tom Kenny, Frank Welker, Tim Lagasse, Bill Melendez, and Thurl Ravenscroft are the only cast members from the US dub to make a comeback to this dub.
* A Japanese advertisement for *SpongeBob* Happy Meal toys in McDonald's Japan became an internet meme because the commercial stars some kids who try some toys and have bizarre reactions.
* Because this was the first international dub of the series, it was the first piece of *SpongeBob* media to fix (almost) all the errors that came in the original US version.