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D O C T O R W H O
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Doctor Who novelizations have enjoyed world wide success. Not only were TARGET novels shipped to countless foreign countries, but many nations published their own versions of the novels. Usually some semblance of the original mythology survives, but this is not always the case. Let us look now at Japan's unique contribution to Doctor Who - In 1979 "Sailor Fuku Books" bought the rights to publish translations of the novelizations. The head of the company, Takeshi Akimoto, admitted openly that his reason for deciding to buy the Doctor Who book rights wasn't inspired by his love of the programme. Akimoto had thought long and hard about which book series he should invest in. Only after noticing that the Doctor Who books were incredibly cheap, in fact half the price of what it currently costs to translate Tellytubbie Early Reader books, did he make his final and binding choice. The first book they released was a novelization of "The Curse Of Paddington". The Japanese translator, Mizugi Kenjitsu, translated this into "Gangu eimin kuma bachiatari seken" or translated back into english "Toy Death Bear Cursed World". Toy Death Bear Cursed World was a shock to me. When I saw this book, my first reaction was "Why the HELL would someone send me a Japanese Children's Book about a bear?" However upon seeing the illustrations inside I was aroused...I MEAN my CURIOUSITY was aroused. Researching this book painstakingly (ie: Calling up my friend who knows about this sort of thing and asking him what he knew) I soon realised how important this find was to Doctor Who fandom. Once I had grasped the rarity and importance, and that I quite possibly had the only copy in the Western world, I immediately sold it on eBay for an obscene amount. What I gathered from the book was very bizarre. The Doctor is no longer a strange old Englishman but instead has been transformed into an immortal shape shifting japanese woman. Continuity points have been largely ignored but the book is illustrated, which gave me some hints as to the new storyline. My main problem in reading and understanding the book was the unavoidable fact that I don't read Japanese! Thankfully the translator was tracked down some time ago and subjected to an incredibly thorough interview. From the original storyline, the translator's comments, and my own limited following of the books I have created my own captions for the artwork in Toy Death Bear Cursed World, which you can look at here I have also made available a relevant excerpt from the interview with Mizugi Kenjitsu. A Japanese Ad For Doctor Who Books circa 1990. |