FUNimation Entertainment acquired the license for the Shin-chan anime in the US as of 2005. As per all international licenses for the series, TV Asahi remained a licensing partner for North America. The new dub received a month-long test run on Adult Swim. Season 1 returned to Adult Swim on April 9, 2007, at a 12:30 am EDT time-slot.
The new dub features a Texas-based cast of voice actors, and English scripts written by television writers Jared Hedges, Joel Bergen, Alex Muniz, and a few part-time writers. Comic and television writers Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer also contributed to the early scripts (episodes 1-6 and 8) for polish/punch-up. The dub is directed by Zach Bolton, and occasionally Laura Bailey.
FUNimation's dubbing of "Shin Chan" takes many liberties with the source material. Since most episodes do not feature extensive continuity, FUNimation has chosen to take advantage of this by producing episodes of the series out of their original order. As a result, characters such as Ai are introduced much earlier than in the series' original Japanese run.
The FUNimation dub is adult-oriented, with many sexual references, dark humor, and references to current popular American culture, the latter of which makes the series appear to be set in the "present day" (2006), rather than in 1992 (the year the series was first broadcast in Japan). For example, in one scene, Ai and Penny argue over which one of them is Jessica Simpson (whose first album was not released until 1999) and which one is Ashlee Simpson (whose first album was not released until 2004), which is very different from the original Japanese script that dealt with many social issues within Japan at the time. At least two episodes reference Rudy Guliani and his unsuccessful bid for President.
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