Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

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Change comes with TV return of ‘Shinchan’

The good news: "Crayon Shinchan," once a Saturday night staple on KIKU-TV, is returning for a two-week trial run in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup.

The bad news: This might not be the "Shinchan" you remember from before.

Yes, the original Japanese voices have been jettisoned in favor of an English cast. That was to be expected.

But in an e-mail I received from Dawn Lach at Cartoon Network confirming the broadcasts and listing episode synopses, it appears that many of the characters' names have been altered as well. Shinchan's parents, Misae and Hiroshi, are now "Mitzi" and "Hiro"; his baby sister, Himawari, now seems to go by just "Hima." One of Shinchan's classmates, Nene, is now "Penny."

And then there are the names to which I can't even begin to guess their Japanese counterparts, including "Georgie," "Ai," and ... ahem ... "Action Bastard."

Still, though, I'm willing to give this show a chance ... or at the very least, I'm curious to see what other changes have been made to meet U.S. broadcast standards.

So set your recording device of choice or tune in at 8:30 p.m. Saturday (with a repeat at 11:30 p.m.), and we'll find out together what happens. The show then settles into a two-week run Mondays through Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., with repeats at 1 a.m. the following day ...

Meeting alert

» Oahu Anime Explorer: 6 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at HMC Academy, 555 N. King St. Visit www.oahuanimeexplorer.com for more details and this month's trivia question ...

» MangaBento: The next meeting of this group of artists inspired by anime and manga art styles will be on Aug. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Academy Art Center, 1111 Victoria St., Room 200. Visit mangabento.doomdrgn.com/phpBB2 for the most up-to-date information ...