Comparison between the American Version (represented by the German DVDs released by Anime House) and the Japanese Version included in the limited Seijushi Bismark DVD box-sets 1 and 2 released by Pioneer LDC.

Runtime of the American Version: 00:21:45:17
Runtime of the Japanese Version: 00:24:08:10


Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs is a 52-episode American TV series with a Japanese origin. The series combines Mecha-Anime and western-elements.
The theme song (performed by Dale Schacker) has a cult status and alwaysw brings back childhood memories every time you hear it.

Naturally, the series was also licensed for other countries: England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, Russia, China, and others just to name a few. The series was also very popular in southeast Asia. It was pracically marketed and released all over the planet so you can really say that it was a huge success.

The Story of Saber Rider

In a remote future humanity lives on the planet Yuma. Soon, they start to colonize other planets. The Galaxy soon is called "New Frontier". To maintain all the laws and regulations, humanity created the Cavalry Command to protect all the planets. The peace is disturbed when aliens known as Vapor Beings or Outriders attack the planet Alamo. Unfortunately, the Cavalry Command's intervention comes too late - the battle of Alamo ends in a tragedy. Both the Outriders and the Alamos lost heavily. The Outriders fall back and planet Alamo breaks contact with Yuma. 15 years later, the Outriders strike again. The humans are heavily ountnumbered and seem to have no chance. Their last hope is a secret project which is called Ramrod - a huge battleship which is capable to transform into a giant robot. The project is planned under the direction of Commander Eagle - leader of the Cavalry Commando's special unit "Star Sherrif". When a spy named Vanquo finds out everything about Ramrod they face a race against time. Star Sheriff agent Saber Rider is supposed to catch Vanquo before he makes Ramrod's secret location public. When his mission fails, Saber Rider forms an alliance with race driver Fireball and headhunter Colt. In company with Commanrer Eagle's daughter April they're able to save Ramrod and use to obtain and keep peace for the New Frontier.

The Origin of Saber Rider

The series is based on the anime series Sei jûshi Bismarck produced by the Japanese company "Studio Pierrot.CO LTD". In Japan, the series bombed, therefore it was sold to the American company "World Events Productions"(WEP) in 1986. WEP wanted to create a child-friendly series for afternoon television in the tradition of other Sci-Fi-western series such as Galaxy Rangers or Bravestarr. Therefore, they had to change a lot of things.

The Story of Seijûshi Bismark

It's the year 2069. Humans have left the earth to colonize other planets of the solar system. However, the peace they wanted to achieve recedes into the distance - the aliens "Deathcula" attack the planets of the solar system. The humans mobilize against the offenders and form a confederation to fight against the Deathculas. However, some sectors refuse to be a b part of this confederation and choose to fight on their own. One of these "mavericks" is planet Ganymed. While the confederation is already able to defend itself against the attacks, there's a decisive battle between the Deathculas and the army of planet Ganymed. The battle is lead by General Domes. Domes asked the earth for help but didn't get any. The battle seemed to become a shellacking when susdelny pilot Shinjiro Hikari steps in the battle. Thanks to the spacepilot's brave behavior they were able to beat the Deathculas. However, Shinjiro pays for his fame with his life. The following time of piece is characterized by the cold-hearted relationship between Ganymed and the earth since general Domes lost any trust in the humans living on planet earth. The Deathculas had to return to their home planet Meteus and then tried to rebuilt their army. 15 years later in the year 2084 the enemy strikes again and starts to attack all the peoples (who now live in peace with each other) of the solar system. The solar system cofederation can't protect all the humans on all the planets who are unable to defend themselves against the enemies. Scientist Dr. Charles Louvre develops a new battle group which is called "Bismark". It is a special unit which is capable to transform into a giant robot. With this weapon they now have the strength to fight back. The team consists of 4 high qualified and very different persons: 17-year-old Japanese Shinji Hikari, 16-year-old American Bill Willcox, 18-year-old Richard Lancelot from Scotland on his Majesty's service, and 15-year-old Marianne Louvre from France who is Bismark-designer Charles Louvre's daughter.

This information was taken from the German "Seijûshi Bismark" webpage.

Editing the Series

Names

• The series (obviously) was renamed from "Seijûshi Bismark" to "Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs".
  
• Almost all the persons, places, planets, organizations, and vehicles were changed / Americanized (for this, take a look at the chart below).
  
• Many of the places/vehicles/etc. were named after American words/cities such as Eagle, Yuma, Colt, New Dallas, Dakota, Alamo, and so on. Thus, they eliminated all the Asian-sounding names.
  
• By changing the names they also blanketed any connection to the real world. In the Japanese version the series takes place in our solar system. Because of the different names for the planets, the American version takes place in an unknown galaxy far away.
  
  Intro and Credits
  
• The intro as well as the credits are completely different. For further details, look at the main report of the first episode.
  
  Music and Sounds
  
• All the music for the American version was composed by Dale Schacker and has a "Wild West" feel to it.
  
• All the sounds were (gunfire, engines of space ships, and so on) were edited / added by the American company.

Story

The central topic of the Japanese original is an unadorned war where innocent people die.
Thus, the Japanese version is rather violent and (despite the humor) has a very serious and aggressiv undertone.
To form this into a childrens TV series they had to change this undertone as well as reduce the violence.
They also changed a lot of other things (either for the different American notion or other reasons), resulting in a completely different series in terms of story as well as mood and style.

• Different Background Story
  The background story of the series was completely changed (for this, read the paragraph "Outriders").
  
  
• Different Story of the Episodes
  The crucial course of the episodes stayed intact but had to be adapted to the American mentality as well as the American TV standards (some characters stayed alive even though they were killed in the Japanese version). This sometimes changes the whole story of the episodes.
  
  
  
  
  

  Shortened Scenes

  
  
• Violent Scenes
  They mainly cut out violence against human beings (especially if the scens show humans being shot, hit, or blown to bits). However, they also cut out drastic violence against the alien Outriders.
  
  
• Morally Alarming Scenes
  Morally alarming scenes (e.g. the consuming of alcohol, bad/aggressive behavior, violence against kids, kids carrying guns, ...) had to be cut out.
  
  
• Humor and Emotional Scenes
  Funny scenes (including weird facial expressions) as well as emotional scenes were cut out.
  
  
• Dialogues
  For each episode they shortened numerous dialogues. They did this in order to fit the dialogues to the American dialogues (which were more or less rewritten) in terms of length, timing, and lip synch.
  
  
• Various Scenes
  For all the episodes thes deleted various scenes (e.g. pan shots of buildings and places).
  These scenes probably didn't quite fit in the American storyline or were just not needed there.
  However, they mainly cut such scenes away to achieve a consistant runtime for every episode.
  
  
• Framecuts
  There are numerous cuts that only cut away a few frames and that would fit into the above-mentioned category. Lots of these cuts are probably a result of a faulty master or something like this.
  Every now and then they cut a few frames away to eliminate minor mistakes (e.g. a black screen in the middle of a scene).

The Characters

One of the major changes of the series are the characters. Especially the "leader issue" has far-reaching consequences for the whole series.

• Alteration of the Ages
  The main characters are older. In the Japanese version they're aged between 15 and 18. In the American version they seem to be way older.
  
  
• The Leader Issue
  The "leader issue" is one of the main differences of the series and concerns the characters Saber Rider and Fireball.
  
  While in the Japanese version Fireball (Shinji Hikari) is the leader of the Star Sherriffs (Team Bismark), the American version made his older brother Saber Rider (Richard Lancelot) the leader of the team.
  He's the leader because he's the oldest, most experienced and most balanced characters of the bunch; Fireball is a little younger and hastier.

They had to change several things in order to make Saber Rider the leader of the troop.

• Saber Rider now is the name giver of the series.
  
• Saber Rider also is the narrator of the story. In the first episode he introduces the series like a story by telling the audience what the series is all about. In the individual episodes he always introduces and ends the story. This makes him a person of authority which makes it easier to accept him as the leader.
  
• Whenever Fireball gives orders or commands, they tried to cut these out as often as possible or just replaced them by orders/commands given by Saber Rider.
  
• Even though Saber Rider often rather stays on the sideline, he still very often is a conversational topic and gives orders.

Even though they really tried to cover up Fireball's position as the leader of the group, it still doesn't work every time.
Fireball still is a way too dominant character. He mostly assumes control and almost constantly gets the final word for important decisions. Additionally, he's always standing in the front while Saber Rider can rather be seen in the far right.

Additional Changes of the Characters

• In the Japanese version, April Eagle (Marianne Louvre) is 15 years old and therefore acts more childlike and emotional than the other characters. In the American version she seems to be a little more mature.
  
  
• Archenemy Jesse Blue (Perios) is not a human being in the Japanese version, he's an Outrider (Deathcula) and also their security chief.
  In the American version he's an arrogant ex-cadet of the Star Sherriffs who fell in love with April Eagle. Because of injured pride and rejection he leaves the team and defects to the Outriders. He wants to prove to April that he's a good fighter. This background story is told in 2 additional episodes that were exclusively produced for the American version.
  
  
  
  
  The Outriders (Japanese: Deathcula)
  
• In the Japanese version, the Outriders are an intelligent and brutal alien race who want to conquer the human galaxy.
  
• In the American version teh Outriders are rather stupid. They often have sily conversations along with dumb-sounding voices (one example would be a scene where one Outrider asks another one what time it is. The other Outrider replies that he doesn't know the time since he doesn't know how to read a clock.).
  
• The Outriders are said to be "phantom beings" who don't die but rather jump back to their own dimension every time they're wounded/shot. The American version underlines this fact by several dialogues that talk about this ability.
  This change suggests that the Outriders can't die. This also means that it doesn't matter how many Outriders are killed in each episode. This makes the American version a little less menacing than the Japanese version.
  
• The reasons to why the Outriders attach the humans is rather ridiculous:
  
• In the Japanese version, the Outriders want to conquer a new habitat since their home planet was completely destroyed and exploited. Additionally they want revenge for their critical defeat.
  
• In The American version the Outriders attack the humans just for fun.
  Since the Outriders neither have feelings nor fun they want to win a war against the humans in order to find out what fun is.

The Dubbing

The dubbing is the key element of the changes as well as the censorship of the series. Due to the change of names and the plot as well as the censorship, most of the dialogues had to be re-written. Some dialogues were just rephrased, while several were mitigated / changed in order to make them funnier than in the Japanese version. Other dialogues were completely changed. The American version also offers dialogues where the Japanese version is just silent. Most of these additional dialogues are just for the sake of fun.


Censorship via Dubbing
With the help of the dubbing the characters sometimes say things that are included to censor the series. These dialogues are mostly very conspicuous and one of the series' trademarks.

• One of the best examples are the stupid dialogues of the Outriders (for a more detailed description, read the paragraph "Outriders").
  
• Humans are never killed but shot with capture guns (they often switch their guns to a torpidity-mode).
  
• If any secondary characters die in the Japanese version, the American version usually contains dialogues that "save" them from death (such as "He's just unconscious but not heavily injured.").
  
• Every time the Outriders attack, they only destroy remote-controlled cars or emptiy / evacuated buildings.
  
  
  
  
  

  Miscellaneous

  
  
• Deleted Episodes
  5 Japanese episodes were completely deleted since they didn't fit in the concept / idea of the American producers. Two of these episodes include a character named "Captain Holiday" who's constantly drunk.
  
  
• Added Episodes
  6 episodes were exclusively produced for the American version. The drawings are a little worse than those of the original episodes and are include a very stereotypical Wetern community by e.g. also including native Americans.
  
  
• Inserted Scenes
  A regular method was to include scenes from other episodes. Most of the time they added some dialogue-scenes to feature characters that were originally not included at this point in the Japanese version of the episode. Many of these scenes are rather irrelevant for the story and often just inlcude funny dialogues.
  
  
  
• Altered Order
  For the American version they altered the order of the episodes. One can only spaculate to why they did this. Maybe the storyline was the main reason for this akteration. In the first two thirds of the episodes, Commander Gattler is the opponent of the Star Sheriffs. In the last third you only have Jesse Blue as the main villain. By changing the order of the scenes, the series seems to have a little more variety, however, this also carries problems. During the episodes with Jesse Blue, Commander Eagle originally was taken hostage - not so in the episodes with Commander Gattler.
  Additionally, there are episodes including Gattler that take place after his last appearance in the episode "Gattler's Last Stand". Even though they could explain this inconsistency by saying that the Outriders don't die but just warp back to their own dimension - then again, if that's the case, why did they call the episode "Gattler's Last Stand"? This just causes confusion.
  
  For the German version (which is the main source of this report) they used the original Japanese order of the episodes. Only the 6 episodes that were exclusively produced for the American version were not included in a sensible way but rather just included after the last epsiode. For the DVD they remedied this mistake.
  
  
  
• Inserted Transitions
  The American version regularly fades from one scene to the next one. In the Japanese version this happens way less frequently / not at all.

Animated Transitions
In the American version there are 2 types of transitions:

• Sword-Transition

A transition-effect that pays tribute to the titular character.

• Transition

This type of transition moves fast from right to left / left to right. Depending of the direction of the movement, the transition is either green or brown. This type of transition originates from the Japanese version, however, there it occurs way less frequently.

• Non-Animated Transitions

Most of the transitions are just regular transition effects that you know from movies.

Examples:

The DVD

Saber Rider

• In the years 2003/04 the complete season was released as a DVD box-set with 10 DVDs. In april 2007 they also released a limited collector's edition that included pewter figures of the main characters.
  After this limited box-set was (almost) out of print, they released yet another edition of the series in september 2009. It was released in 2 different boxes (each including 5 DVDs).
  
• In the USA they at first released a "Best Of" DVD, including 10 episodes of the series. Then in november 18th, 2008, they startet releasing the complete series in 3 different box-sets. Finally, in October 2009, they also released a complete box-set (including 6 DVDs) with all the episodes in 1 box.
  
• In the UK they momentarily just sell a DVD that includes 4 episodes.

Seijûshi Bismark
The Japanese original was released in 2 seperate DVD-boxes as a limited edition in Japan.
Unfortunately they don't include any subtitles and have so far only been released in Japan. By now, these DVD-boxes are very rare and unbelievably expensive. So far, there are no future plans to release the series in any other country.

Comparison of the Names

You now will see a list of the most important characters along with their names in both versions.

Japanese Version:	American Version:
Deathcula	Outrider
Team Bismark	Star Sheriffs
Solar System Confederation	New Frontier
Planet Earth	Planet Yuma
Planet Ganymed	Planet Alamo
Shinji Hikari	Fireball
Richard Lancelot	Saber Rider
Bill Wilcox	Colt
Marianne Louvre	April
Chales Louvre	Commander Eagle
General Domes	King Jarred
Hyuza	Nemesis
Perios	Jesse Blue
Zatora	Gattler
Bismark	Ramrod
Road Leon	Red Fury Racer
Donatello	Steed
Arrow Striker	Broncobuster

Comparison of the Images

The Japanese version has a better image quality than the American version.
For this comparison, the images come from the German and the Japanese DVD. Generally, the image of the German DVD is more blurred and paler. Additionally, the German DVD includes interlace flickers (resulting from a bad transition from NTSC to PAL) which are very apparent when you watch the DVDs.

Japanese DVD:	German DVD:

Conclusion

It's not easy to say which of the versions is the better one. The Japanese version is more complex, more serious and more realistic than the American version. The American version tones down the violence and pretty much erased death from the series. There are a few plotholes which most of the time result from all the alterations from the American version. However, the great dubbing of Saber Rider as well as the music are a great advantage of the American version. Still, the Japanese version has quite a good soundtrack as well.

So, it pretty much is a matter of your own taste, so check out both versions and make up your own mind.

If you want to have more information on Saber Rider and Seijûshi Bismark, there are plenty of webpages to choose from.


We would like to thank the following webpages for supplying us with background information about both of the series, covers, and translations for this report:

• Yuma City
  
• Seijushi Bismark
  
• Saber Rider Kreativ Portal

Note:

• The time designations refer to the Japanese version.
  
• To ensure a comparison that is frame-exact, the version was converted from NTSC to PAL.
  
• The Japanese titles of the episodes will be translated - therefore, they might not be 100% accurate.
  
• Framecuts up to 5 frames will be ignored for the reports - after all, they're already very extensive; including every single difference would just simply break the mold. However, if any of these cuts include important footage, they (of course) will be mentioned.
  
• Both versions always include a little preview of the following episode. These previews won't be mentioned in the reports.

The Castle Of The Mountain Haze

Eruptions shock the borderland. It is implied that this is the only clue leading to a man who claims to have signed some shady document.
According to April's calculations, the Star Sheriffs expect the new eruptions near a palace in the Western Highlands. The Star Sheriffs get order to go there and check if everything is in order. The Castle of the Mountain Haze, as it is called, has been build on a grot filled with water. The lord of the castle is the famous Baron Vong, the best swordsman ever, and he's being pushed by a Mr. Relttag to sign some documents. Mr. Relttag also threatens him the Star Sheriffs were going to show up and take his castle if he didn't sign.
But the Baron doesn't give a damn and makes it nice and sparkling clear what he thinks about Mr. Relttag's help.
The Star Sheriffs aren't being welcomed by the Baron when they arrive. Meanwhile colt chases the ominous Mr. Relttag. While he's chasing him, he gets attacked by some Outriders and loses his track.
Subsequently the Baron gets attacked by some Outriders during a fox hunt. But he's a lucky sob because Saber Rider saw everything and helps him.
In a conversation with the Baron, Saber Rider tries to get more info about the background but the Baron sends him away.
When the magma pressure in the inside of the volcano gets higher and is just before the eruption, Saber Rider decides to demand a duel with a Baron as last option. Saber Rider hopes to set the Baron under pressure by winning and make him talk.
When the volcano actually eruptions shortly afterwards, the Star Sheriffs try to stop the lava stream. Meanwhile Saber Rider and the Baron are fighting with their swords. Suddenly a Renegade unit surfaces out of the lava stream and Ramrod has to fight. When the Baron thinks he's won, Saber Rider surprises and finally defeats him. Being defeated, the Baron admits a Mr. Relttag extorted him and forced him to do it. After thinking about a for a sec, Saber Rider becomes aware that the name Relttag is actually the name Gattler spelled in reverse. To make it up to Saber Rider and to save his castle, the Baron destroys the cover of the grot with a harrier to stop the lava.
Ramrod can grab the Renegade and pushes him into the water grot and destroys him.
When the hole thing is over, Saber Rider and the Baron say goodbye to each other in a very friendly way. As farewell gift, the Baron gives Saber Rider a real bagpipe plus the proper outfit.

Intro

00:00:00
Running time Japanese Intro approx. 1.43 min
Running time US Intro approx. 1.29 min
A detailed comparison of the intro can be found in the comparison of the very first episode.
14 sec

Title of the Episode

The Japanese Version shows the title of the episode in an additional scene after the intro. In the US Version, the title pops up at the very beginning of the episode. The Japanese Version is 6 sec longer.


Seijushi Bismark

Saber Rider

Added Transition
The US Version starts with a transition. During the entire time of the transition, the first frame of the Japanese Version gets freezed.
The US Version is longer.
+1 sec 6 frames

The Volcanic Eruption

Like out of the blue, a volcano near the military base erupts and destroys the base plus the stationed soldiers.


This intro sequence after the actual intro has been heavily mutilated in the US Version. First of all, any scenes with humans have been removed. At the same time, Saber Rider's monolog has been combined with the remains. This monolog belongs belongs to the most pathetic censorships in the entire series btw.

First the cuts of the US Version, then the monolog.


01:54:03
Cut
Missing pan shot of the missiles on the base.
5 sec

02:02:02
Cut
At the main gate od the base, the guards feed a squirrel and enjoy it. Suddenly the animal smells trouble and runs away. At that moment, the earth starts shaking. A tracking shot of the irritated soldiers follows. Alarm is audible in the background.
25 sec 22 frames

02:31:24
Schnitt
Two soldiers watch the starting eruption and talk about it. The following shot if 15 frames shorter.
5 sec 8 frames

02:40:00
Cut
Shot of the soldiers on the run.
2 Sek 12 Frames

02:57:01
Cut
Shot of the dying passengers.
1 sec 2 frames

03:01:15
Cut
The lava destroys the missiles.
4 sec 12 frames

Saber Rider's Monolog

It suddenly started. Everyone in the new borderland. The mountains open up, the earth shakes. Lava pours out in bubbling streams and rocks darken the sky. The people got saved but many of the automatic transport vehicles burst in a shower of destructive ammo.




03:14:00
Cut
Shortened shot.
3 sec 21 frames

03:31:00
Extended scene
The beginning of the shot is longer in the US Version.
+7 frames

03:40:10
Cut
The beginning of the shot is shorter.
6 Frames

03:43:00
Cut
The end of the shot is shorter.
9 Frames

04:02:05
Added Transition
Added transition (screen 3) between two scenes (screen 1+2). The US Version is shorter.
9 frames

04:38:21
Cut/ Added Transition
Missing pan shot over the castle (6 sec). Instead an added transition (+18 Frames) in the US Version.
5 sec 7 frames


Seijûshi Bismark

Saber Rider

05:10:05
Cut
The Baron's dialog is shorter.
2 sec 17 frames

05:20:06
Extended scene
The Baron's dialog is longer.
+2 sec 16 frames

05:24:07
Extended scene
Extended shot of the Baron.
+1 se 21 frames

05:29:03
Extended scene
The guy's dialog is longer.
+1 sec 10 frames

05:31:19
Extended scene
For some reason, the end of the shot is slightly longer in the US Version.
+6 frames

05:40:05
Extended scene
The end of the shot is longer in the US Version.
+5 frames

05:40:08
Cut
Missing shot of the palace grounds.
2 sec 5 frames

05:44:22
Extended scene
Extended shot to find a slot for April's dialog from the off, which isn't in the Japanese Version.
+24 frames

05:45:00
Cut
Missing shot of the palace.
2 sec 12 frames

05:57:15
Cut
The shot of April is 5 frames shorter plus the first frame of Colt is also missing.
6 frames

06:01:19
Cut
The end of Colt's dialog is shorter.
14 frames

06:42:23
Cut
The end of the shot is shorter.
9 frames

07:01:07
Extended scene
Extended shot because it's Saber, who speaks in the US Version, but the Baron in the Japanese Version.
+8 frames

07:49:15
Cut
The end of the shot has been shortened.
12 frames

07:52:24
Added Transition
Added transition after the last shot of Saber Rider (screen 1). The last 5 frames of the shot got lost.
+23 frames

08:43:05
Cut
Extended shot of flying Colt.
2 sec 5 frames

08:57:09
Cut / Added Transition
A pan shot over the Outrider base (6 sec 11 frames) has been removed. Instead an added transition (+18 frames) in the US Version.
5 sec 18 frames


Seijûshi Bismark

Saber Rider

The Fox Hunt

09:30:01
Added Sword Transition
Added sword transition (1 sec 17 frames). The first 17 frames of the following shot got lost / aren't there because they got "swallowed" by the transition.
+1 sec

10:32:20
Cut
The beginning of the shot has been shortened.
9 frames

10:38:13
Cut
Here's a transition in the Japanese Version for a change (same transition usually being used in the US Version). That transition has been removed.
16 frames

10:39:09
Schnit
The Baron's dialog is longer.
+19 frames

11:03:09
Cut
The fox escapes from the Baron and his dogs and jumps over a small crack in the ground. The following is missing:
When the dogs want to jump as well, shooting noises are audible and the dogs fall whimperingly in the crack.
The following shot shows the confused Baron mumbling sth. into his beard.
In the US Version, the dialog has been deleted from the audio track and it hasn't been redubbed, despite the lip movements.
2 sec 21 frames

11:19:11
Cut
Shot from the Baron's POV, he's aiming at the fox.
2 sec 7 frames

11:44:13
Cut
Saber Rider chops off an Outrider's arm. The US Version contains a black screen with an effect and an added "slashing noise" instead.
7 frames


Seijûshi Bismark

Saber Rider

11:51:20
Cut
Saber Rider jumps into the image and pulls his sword out of the Outrider's body.
24 frames

12:12:23
Cut / Added Transition
Missing zoom of the Baron's face plus some missing eyecatch scenes.
The US Version contains an added transition instead.
14 sec 23 frames


Seijûshi Bismark

Saber Rider

12:58:05
Cut
That shot at the beginning has been removed so that's in sync with the lip movements.
17 frames

13:04:11
Cut
The Baron's dialog is shorter.
15 frames

13:09:14
Added Sword Transition
Added sword transition (length: 1 sec 21 frames) between two scenes. Well, two more exact the transition has been put over the actual footage.
The last 10 frames of the first scene (screen 1) and 1 sec 11 frames from the beginning of the second scene (screen 4) get lost or are affected.
no difference

13:15:23
Cut
Colt, Fireball and April are having a little chat. In the US Version, Saber Rider enters the room immediately.
10 sec 18 frames

13:34:03
Cut
The beginning of the shot is shorter.
6 frames

13:41:07
Cut
April's dialog has been shortened.
24 frames

13:49:01
Cut
Saber Rider is shocked and looks at the monitor. Fireball says sth. to him. The first 5 frames of the following shot are also missing.
2 sec 16 frames

14:18:10
Added Transition
A transition has been added here.
+20 frames

The Grot of the Blue Water

The Baron enters the grot under his castle. He determines that the water is hot. Saber Rider shows up from somewhere in the background. He tells the Baron it was because of the lava stream under the castle and the volcano was going to erupt if there were no precaution measures but the Baron doesn't want to hear it. That's why Saber Rider wants a sword duel with him. If Saber Rider wins, the Baron has to listen to what Saber Rider has to say.
I don't know if and how much the conversation varies in the Japanese Version but the scene seems to be more agressive in the Japanese Version, escpecially Saber Rider's tone.
One could get the impression that he really provoces the Baron so that he gets rough.


14:54:00
Cut
Missing pan shot from the water to the ceiling of the cave.
6 sec 24 frames

15:10:05
Cut
Shortened pan shot.
8 frames

15:16:24
Cut
The end of Saber Rider's dialog is slightly shorter.
5 frames

15:26:05
Cut
Ditto.
17 frames

15:54:10
Extended scene
Saber Rider's dialog is a bit longer.
+12 frames

15:56:23
Cut / Added Transition
The Baron hits Saber Rider in the face (1 sec 6 frames). The US Version contains a transition instead (+20 frames).
11 frames


Seijûshi Bismark

Saber Rider

The Duel

16:23:00
Cut / Added scene
The beginning of the sword fight has been cut and some new scenes have been added.

Seijûshi Bismark
In the Japanese Version, the Baron splits up a vase in slow motion. Then he stabs into Saber Rider's direction but he can block this and some following attacks.
Length: 4 sec 1 frame

Saber Rider
In the US Version, the fight begins with a short monolog from the Baron.
He's not considered best swordman worldwide for nothing. He has defeated 100 of young parvenus like Saber Rider and he's determined to raise that number up to 101.
Short pause.
Baron: "Engarde Marchere."

Now a short fighting sequence follows before the Japanese Version continues.
Length: 12 sec 24 frames

The US Version is longer.
+8 sec 23 frames


16:51:03
Cut
Shortened shot of the lava flowing to the palace.
22 frames

17:02:04
Cut
April's dialog has been shortened.
8 frames

17:03:23
Cut
Extended shot of the lava in the Japanese Version.
22 frames

The Transformation Sequence

This episode's transformation sequence is special.
In the Japanese Version, Ramrod's transformation gets interrupted by an attacking Renegade. Ramrod runs and parts of the sequence take place besides the regular transformation sequence. The transformation sequence ends after Ramrod could successfully escape.
The US Version contains an extended alternate version of the transformation sequence. That sequence doesn't get interrupted plus the shot of the attacking Renegade is shorter and has been removed. Now it comes after the transformation sequence.
To make it clearer, I do it without a detailed list of the difference and come up with a simple comparison the mutual and exclusive scenes in either of the versions.

Seijûshi Bismark	Saber Rider

The US Version is longer.
+7 sec 19 frames


17:50:13
Cut
The last 6 frames of screaming April have been removed and the following shot is 2 sec 4 frames shorter.
2 sec 10 frames

18:12:13
Extended scene
The Baron's dialog is longer.
+13 frames

18:12:16
Added scene
When Saber Rider is hanging at the wall, some already-shown scenes have been added here. As a result of that the Baron has somenew dialog:
The end of the dialog before is still audible here. Then he laughes and keeps talking. He says Saber Rider was finally defeated and the others had to pay the price for it.
+8 sec 12 frames

18:15:15
Cut
Shortened shot of Saber Rider beginning to pull hisself up the wall.
13 frames

Added / Extended scene
After Saber Rider defeated the Baron, the US Version contains an additional conversation between the two of them.
In the Japanese Version, Saber Rider doesn't say anything after he took the down. It's only the Baron who says a few words. Suddenly the earth starts shaking and the two of them watch the erupting volcano.
In the US Version, Saber Rider questions the Baron about the men who set the Baron under pressure at the beginning of this episode. It turns out it was Commander Gattler. And after this dialog, the earth starts shaking in the US Version as well, followed by the shot of them looking at the erupting volcano.
For that additional dialog, the US Version contains a dubbing in scenes where they are silent in the Japanese Version.
Here the other differences:

18:31:20
The Baron's dialog is longer.

+1 sec 22 frames


18:31:20
Added footage right after the extended dialog.

+12 sec 11 frames




The dialog in the US Version:
Saber Rider says he wanted some information, just like he'd said before. The Baron agrees to talk. He explains it was a guy named Relltag and Saber Rider had already met him when he came to the Baron for the very first time.
Saber Rider: „Relttag, Relttag…. Ah!" Then the penny's dropped: he understands that the name Relttag is Gattler spelled in reverse.


The US Version is longer.
+14 sec 8 frames




18:34:19
Cut
Shortened shot of the volcanic eruption.
1 sec 6 frames

18:42:15
Cut
The lava hits the wall of the palace.
4 sec

18:53:01
Cut
Saber Rider's message has been removed.
1 sec 12 frames

19:00:15
Cut
Saber Rider's dialog is distinctly shorter.
4 sec 21 frames

19:26:02
Cut
Extended shot of the Harrier.
2 Sek 18 Frames

20:16:03
Cut / Added scene
After the Baron fired off some missiles in the lava (to open the grot and lead the lava stream into the it), the Japanese Version contains a close-up of Ramrod's head. That close-up has been combined with a split screen image of Saber Rider, Colt and April. Colt and April say sth.
In the US Version, some scenes are being repeated instead.
Fireball asks what he was doing out there (refering to the Baron). April replies he was blowing away the ground over the grot.
The Japanese Version is longer.
21 frames


Seijûshi Bismark

Saber Rider

21:07:06
Cut
The exaggerated explosion of the Renegade has been shortened.
4 sec 9 frames

21:26:05
Cut
Missing shot of Ramrod showing up behind the Baron's harrier. The shot stops down with a black screen.
7 sec 24 frames

21:26:05
Added Transition
Added transition (screen 3) between two scenes (screen 1+2).
Because of that, the end of the tracking shot of Saber Rider (equals screen 1) gets lost. The beginning of the following scene (screen 2) has been extended for a second, which means it's longer in the US Version.
4 frames

21:46:02
Cut
Missing shot of Saber Rider.
1 sec 18 frames

21:49:24
Extended scene
The Baron's dialog is longer.
+2 sec 2 frames

22:06:22
Cut
Missing shot of Saber Rider and his confused fellows.
3 sec 22 frames

22:44:22
Cut
The last shot of the episode fades out to the black screen slightly faster in the US Version.
18 frames

The Credits

A detailed comparison of the different credits can be found in the comparison of episode 1.

Running time of the credits in the Japanese Version 00:01:20
Running time of the credits in the US Version 00:01:03
17 sec