4Kids Entertainment may now be a thing of the past, but at one point, the television network was one of the preeminent production companies in American entertainment. Primarily specializing in children's television, the company aired a weekly segment on the Fox network from 2002 to 2008 known as 4Kids TV. In addition, they also licensed several other series as 4Kids Productions from 1992 to 2012.
During this span, it adapted numerous anime titles for American audiences, introducing countless fans to the Japanese art form for the very first time. While 4Kids TV's infamous over-editing of their programs has hurt their reputation over the years, their shortcomings don't change the fact that they aired some of the best anime titles of the 2000s.
10 Sonic X Introduced Its Protagonist To A New Generation Of Potential Fans
Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog video game was wildly popular during the 1990s, and although the franchise's name value slowly declined in popularity, it still spawned several more noteworthy products over the following decades. In particular, Sonic X, released in 2005 and 2006 as part of the 4Kids TV umbrella, was well-received among its target demographic of young children.
Sonic X follows the exploits of Sonic after he, the Chaos Emeralds, and most of the franchise's most popular characters are teleported to a fictional version of Earth. The show doesn't necessarily challenge any conventions of the genre, yet there is something undeniably charming about its presentation, especially in the original Japanese version.
9 Dinosaur King Enjoyed Moderate Success In America
Sunrise, Inc.'s extensive library includes Cowboy Bebop, Gintama, Inuyasha, and numerous other iconic titles. However, despite their stellar reputation, fans often overlook one of their series that isn't as well known: Dinosaur King. The dino-filled anime originally started out as a Sega-owned trading card game with rules similar to their other property Mushiking, and after a moderately successful debut, they then licensed the title to Sunrise, Inc. and 4Kids TV for matching anime adaptations.
Dinosaur King polarized audiences with its juxtaposed blend of Japanese-style animation and mid-2000s CGI, but given its three-year run on American television, it's safe to say that it enjoyed some level of sustained success. 4Kids TV's handling of the program helped carve out a solid market for the title with international audiences.
8 Kirby: Right Back At Ya! Was A Treat For Fans Of The Franchise
The Kirby franchise ranks among the best-selling series in video game history, and as a result of this success, it's seen numerous spin-offs across a variety of different mediums. When 4Kids Entertainment was attempting to set up their television block, Kirby: Right Back at Ya! was one of the first titles that they acquired. The show premiered on September 14th, 2002 as part of the debut of 4Kids TV, then known as "FoxBox," on the Fox Network.
Kirby: Right Back at Ya! is geared toward 4Kids TV's target demographic of 7-11 year-olds, meaning that the scope of its appeal is a bit limited. However, fans of the franchise will likely find that it possesses all the same charm and wit that made the video game such a hit.
7 Fighting Foodons Helped Form 4Kids' Initial Lineup
Although Fighting Foodons only aired on 4Kids' programming for 11 months, it comprised a significant part of their starting lineup from September 2002 to August 2003. The series first found success as a shonen manga between 1998 and 1999, and after Enoki Films acquired its licensing rights, they contracted the anime's dubbing to 4Kids TV.
Long before Food Wars paved the way for culinary-based series in the anime genre, Fighting Foodons found its way onto American television lineups. The eccentric show centered around the adventures of its 10-year-old protagonist as he strives to become a magical Master Chef, paving the way for similarly peculiar series like Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo years later.
6 Ultimate Muscle Unexpectedly Became A Cult Classic
Alongside Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Fighting Foodons, and Ultraman Tiga, Ultimate Muscle helped form the quartet of series that aired during 4Kids TV's debut on the Fox Network. Unlike its peers, Ultimate Muscle drew inspiration from a well-established manga, making it the programming block's first anime with a traditional history of development.
Produced by Toei Animation, Ultimate Muscle is an action-comedy shonen centered around the adventures of Mantaro Muscle, a wrestling superhero who battles against various forces of evil throughout the series. The show first debuted as a manga in 1979, making it one of the most long-standing presences in Japanese entertainment.
5 Mew Mew Power Experienced Significant Edits Before Airing
Many anime fans are familiar with the Tokyo Mew Mew franchise, but rarely do they remember that the series was originally introduced to American audiences under the name Mew Mew Power as part of 4Kids TV's lineup in 2005 and 2006. In total, the programming block aired the show's first 23 episodes. However, due to licensing issues, they failed to acquire the rights to the remaining 26.
As is the case with many of the anime adapted by 4Kids TV, Mew Mew Power's source material was subjected to heavy edits before airing on the network. The company stripped the series of any Japanese elements, including the removal of "Tokyo" from its title.
4 Shaman King Left A Mark On The Genre That Is Still Seen Today
Given the recent announcement of a sequel to the Shaman King reboot, 4Kids TV's relationship with the series is as significant as it has been in decades. The shamanistic shonen was once among the most well-known titles in its genre, thanks in large part to the anime adaptation produced by the network during the early 2000s.
Shaman King is centered around Yoh Asakura's journey to becoming the Shaman King, and it heavily draws upon traditional Japanese spiritualism for its tone and setting. 4Kids TV aired all 64 episodes of the show from 2003 to 2005, making them the only English production company to be involved with the franchise until its reboot in 2021.
3 Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Fame Is Deeply Tied To 4Kids TV
Between 2006 and 2010, 4Kids TV aired a variety of different series, yet arguably none were more successful than their handling of Yu-Gi-Oh! and its various sequels. Even after the programming block moved to an online-only service in 2010, they retained the rights to air the program, speaking to its relevance to their success.
Interestingly, 4Kids TV's handling of Yu-Gi-Oh! also played an instrumental role in the company's downfall as well. A judge eventually ruled against them during a lawsuit regarding their licensure of the program, causing them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
2 Pokémon's English Dub Was First Picked Up By 4Kids
As the most lucrative anime/video game franchise of all time, Pokémon's success knows no bounds. Feature-length films, video games, mobile apps, trading cards, and, of course, television series have all been produced by The Pokémon Company. The first eight seasons of its television series were dubbed by 4Kids Productions, which played a huge role during their rapid rise to fame in the later 1990s.
Most of the anime picked up by 4Kids experienced some significant edits, but in regard to their handling of Pokémon, they were uncharacteristically laissez-faire in their approach. The childish tone of the original series lent itself to 4Kids' target audience, providing them with the perfect opportunity to begin their foray into the anime market.
1 The 4Kids Edit Of One Piece Is Their Most Infamous Product
Out of all the anime to ever air on 4Kids TV, none are more well-known than the studio's adaptation of the legendary manga, One Piece. 104 episodes of Monkey D. Luffy's journey aired on the television network from 2004 to 2006, making their dub of the anime the first official English release of the series.
Due to 4Kids TV's tendency to over-edit every show that they put their hands on, they made significant changes to One Piece's source material. Although some would argue that the 4Kids version of One Piece possesses a wholesome nostalgia, the fact that 4Kids TV effectively erased its presence from existence speaks loads about their opinion on the matter.