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: 00:21:35:24
Runtime of the Japanese Version: 00:24:08:06


Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs is a 52-episode American TV series with a Japanese origin. The seriescombines 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.

• Diferent 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.

Story of Episode 7

April's uncle Wade works for the Cavalry Command as a spy. He stole the plans for Gattler's new Outrider base. He's in the Sana-Fe-express train to give the plans to the Cavalry Command. The Star Sheriffs are supposed to protect the train as well as Wade's life. Just as you would expect, the train is attacked and taken over. Fireball is able to save Wade in the last moment. He hands the Star Sheriffs the microfilm which includes the plan for the new base. Unfortunately, the plan is encrypted and it is very hard to decrpyt it. Since Wade too injured they talk to his daughter June. However, she disowns the whole thing. Saber Rider is convinced that June is in great danger. The Star Sheriffs follow June and are able to prevent an assassination on her. Finally, June is willing to thelp the Star Sheriffs. With June's help they are able to spot and destroy the base. At the end Commander Eagle informs us that April's uncle is feeling better now.

Plot Differences in Episode 20

Note: Since the official SJB webpage was offline while this report was made (the webpage's operators were also not available) it is possible that the story differences are not complete. Everything that's still missing will be added as soon as possible.

Wade

The main difference in this episode is April's uncle Wade. In the Japanese version he's called Anthony and is a friend of Commander Eagle. Therefore, Wade is not her uncle and June (her name in the Japanese verison is unknown) is not her cousin. During the attack on the train Wade is deadly wounded and dies in the train. In the American version he's heavily wounded but survives.

The Intro

00:00:00
Runtime of the Japanese intro: approx. 1.43 min
Runtime of the American intro: approx. 1.29 min
If you want to have a look at a more detailed comparison of the intros then have a look at the report about episode 1.
14 sec.

Title of the Episode

In the Japanese version, the title of the epsiode is shown during an additional scene right after the intro. In the American version the title of the episode is shown during the beginning of the episode. The Japanese version is 5 seconds and 24 frames longer.

Seijushi Bismark

Saber Rider

5 sec. 24 frames

Saber's Introduction

At the beginning of the American version Saber Rider introduces the episode with a short monologue:
"When I became the leader of the Star Sheriffs I knew that my comrades and I will be facing parlous times. The Outriders were on the loose and and anyone who tried to cross the New Frontier was in danger. That's why we were sent to defend the famous western bullet train - a train whose fate is still remembered in the Legend of the Santa Fe Express."

Added Scenes
01:49:03
Right at the beginning there are a few added scenes where you hear the introductory monologue. At first you see Saber Rider talking. Then the scene fades to the famous first scene of the first episode. At first you see Jupiter, then the camera fades to Yuma followed by a transition to the actual beginning of the episode. These additions are about 22 seconds long. Due to the transition at the end you can't identify the exact runtime.
+22 sec.

Protect the Agent

Commander Eagle tells the Star Sheriffs that April's uncle is a spy who stole plans of Gattler's new Outrider base. Momentarily, April's uncle is inside the "New Santa Fe Express". The Star Sheriffs are supposed to protect the train as well as Wade.

02:10:04 - 02:10:14
The shot of April was shortened. However, you don't miss out on any dialogue.
10 frames

02:12:19 - 02:13:07
Eagles dialogue was shortened.
13 frames

02:13:08 - 02:15:19
April's dialogue was extended.
+7 frames

02:15:20 - 02:16:08
April sticks out her tongue. This was cut out because this act is too childish for the American version's character of April (who is more mature).
13 frames

02:38:03 - 02:38:08
Eagles dialogue was shortened.
5 frames

03:18:22
At this point they added the Saber Rider transition-effect.
+1 sec. and 21 frames

The Attack on the Train

03:45:12 - 03:48:10
Before the Outriders attack the train there's a missing tracking shot of the rocks on whcih the Outriders are waiting. In this scene you see how many Outriders are going to attack the train.
2 sec. and 23 frames

05:13:15 - 05:15:13
The two guards who are supposed to protect the train are shot dead.
1 sec. and 23 frames

05:20:08 - 05:22:18
The passengers of the train shoot two Outriders.
2 sec. and 10 frames

05:44:16 - 05:48:17
The 2 engineers are standing around a little longer with their hands in the air before they foolhardily pull out their guns - the Outriders shoot them dead. The shooting is shown with 3 still pictures. In the foreground you see the light of the gun; the sound is not interrupted in any way.
4 sec. and 1 frames

05:57:10 - 05:57:14
At this point they deleted a minor mistake: Fireball turns and says something to April (in the American version he says something to Saber Rider). While he talks he quickly turns to the side. This turn was cut out.
4 frames

Added Scene
06:01:05
They added Fireball's "taking-off-scene": He says "Red Fury Turbo on!" followed by an additional shot of the Red Fury Racer driving down Ramrod's ramp.
+4 sec. and 23 frames

Added Scene
06:04:12
Colt's "taking-off-scene" was added as well. He says "Stallion Power on!"
+3 sec. and 9 frames

Censored Dialogue
When the 2 Outriders burst into the coach one of the Outriders says "Stun them!" In the Japanese version no one says a word. Of course this sentence is supposed to show that no one gets hurt.
No difference in time.

06:37:20 - 06:45:19
The Outriders shoot a little longer. Then you can see the bloodbath they caused among the passengers. You see a woman who protects her child - they scream. Just as for the scene where the engineer was shot the shooting is displayed by a still picture - the camera just moves over it. After this scene you see a man falling to the ground and the Outriders kneel down to look at the corpses.
7 sec. and 24 frames

Censored Dialogue
At this point one of the Outriders says "They'll be out for a while." Since you see the people lying on the floor they again had to underline that they're not dead:
No difference in time.

Censored Dialogue
And another censored dialogue. When the Outriders follow Wade one of them says "We can't afford to hurt him. Just stun him!" In the Japanese version no one says a word and they shoot real bullets at him.
No difference in time.

06:58:21 - 07:00:16
Wade is shot in the back.
1 sec. and 20 frames

07:07:04 - 07:08:04
After Wade fell to the ground one of the Outriders grabs his suitcase in which they hope to find the plans for the Outrider base. The following things were cut out:
In the Japanese version one of the Outriders pulls the suitcase a little longer but is unable to wrench it from Wade. Wade doesn't want to let the Outriders get it and therefore holds it with the last of his strenght. The Outrider says something (probably something like "Let it go.").
1 sec.

07:10:04 - 07:12:04
Since Wade doesn't let them have the suitcase one of the Outriders puts his rifle at his head and pushs him to the ground. The Outrider's voice sounds quite aggressive.
2 sec.

07:12:05 - 07:12:16
This shot was shortened.
12 frames

07:29:05 - 07:32:05
Fireball is able to save Wade at the last moment. He goes to Wade and turns Wade on his back. In the American version Fireball says "They just stunned you. You'll be okay." In the Japanese version he talks to Wade to see if he reacts. Then follows an additional shot where Fireball says something to Wade who is only able to gasp since he seems to be almost dead.
3 sec.

Stop the Train

After Wade was saved the Outriders blow up a bridge nearby in order to destroy the train. Saber Rider tries to reach the locomotive to stop the train.

08:04:02 - 08:04:10
This shot was shortened.
8 frames

08:21:15 - 08:22:23
In the Japanese version Saber Rider flies next to the train a little longer.
1 sec. and 8 frames

Censored Dialogue
When Saber Rider enters the locomotive and sees the engineer they added a dialogue in the American version. Saber Rider says "They're out cold." Of course, this sentence is supposed to explain why the engineers are lying on the floor.
No difference in time.

08:55:01 - 08:56:16
In the Japanese version the train approaches the abyss a little longer before Ramrod appears.
1 sec. and 15 frames

Censored Dialogue
Before Ramrod saves the train you in the American version hear the engineers talk:
Engineer 1: "The train is out of control!"
Engineer 2: "Nothing can stop it except..."
When Ramrod appears to save the train they both shout "Ramrod!!!"
This dialogue is supposed to underline the fact that they're not dead.
No difference in time.

09:03:03 - 09:03:18
The camera moves away from Ramrod and then cuts to the inside of the train. The tracking shot was slightly shortened towards the beginning.
15 frames

Life or Death

After the train is safe the four Star Sheriffs gather round Wade inside the train. In both versions April and Wade talk to each other. Then, the 2 versions differ from each other. In the Japanese version Wade dies of his wounds in plain view of the Star Sheriffs. In his cold dead hands they find a medallion with an image of his wife and a microfilm with the plans of the Outrider base. In the American version they cleverly cover up Wade's death. They just cut away the scene where Wade dies and April's reaction. Additionally Wade has way more dialogue (e.g. he tells April that the microfilm is in his medallion). Even though Wade is rarely ever shown you hear him talk. Therefore the audience believes that he's still alive. They also factor the Star Sheriffs into the cover-up. Fireball says "The Cavalry medics are on their way. They'll be here any minute." This also explains why the Star Sheriffs don't bring him to a hospital instead of just standing around. In the Japanese version the Star Sheriffs know that Wade won't survive. Therefore they don't do anything. Saber Rider is also a part of the cover-up. He directly talks to Wade: "Thank you for keeping this safe uncle Wade. We need it." In the Japanese version Wade talks in a weak voice while in the American version he talks quite normal - still you hear that he's a little weakened.

09:18:24 - 09:19:09
In the Japanese version Wade is shown a little longer.
10 frames

09:21:17 - 09:22:09
April's dialogue was shortened.
17 frames

09:30:07 - 09:36:11
During the conversation with April Wade closes his eyes. In the Japanese version this means that he dies. In the American version you do see him closing his eyes, however, they cut out the following footage: The camera zooms to Wade. Then you see a close-up shot of April. Shocked, she opens her eyes wide and addresses Wade. Then follows a long shot. While she continues to talk/scream to Wade April bends down to him. His body slumps down a little.
6 sec. and 4 frames

10:06:04 - 10:09:22
April's eyes fill with tears.
3 sec. and 18 frames

10:09:23 - 10:10:14
This scene is a little longer in the American version since Wade says something.
+1 sec. and 1 Frame

10:25:04 - 10:30:10
The camera zooms to Wade's body. At the end of the scene you already hear Gattler talking in the background (who then is shown in the next scene).
5 sec. and 6 frames

10:25:04
At this point they added a transition-effect.
+21 frames

Find June!!!

After the attack on the train failed Gattler tells his troops to find Wade's daughter June. Apparently he thinks that June has some information about the Outrider base. At this point there's an illogical plot hole in the American version. Since Wade survived Gattler normally should get rid of both June and Wade to keep the base's position a secret. However, both versions still have the microfilm, so Gattler has a lot to do...

10:44:04 - 10:45:03
Gattler's dialogue was shortened before he moves his head forwards.
24 frames

10:48:14 - 10:49:04
The end of Gattler's dialogue (after he moved his head forwards) was shortened.
15 frames

10:56:08 - 10:58:16
Gattler is shown longer. Additionally you don't see the slow fade-out followed by a short black screen.
2 sec. and 8 frames

10:56:08
At this point they added a transition-effect.
+21 frames

10:58:17 - 11:09:14
The Japanese cut-scenes were cut out.
10 sec. and 22 frames

On a visit to June

April visits Wade's daughter June to tell her about all the events that took place in the train. Since Wade is dead in the Japanese version the conversation had to be altered for the American version. In the Japanese version the conversation - of course - is way more serious. Therefore, the music as well as the dialogue are both more emotional. Despite the language barrier you can still hear the emotional undertone of the scene. In the American version the whole conversation is more calm. June still is emotional (after all, her father is heavily injured) bust the difference is still quite obvious.

11:13:23 - 11:16:13
In between the tracking shots over the city (image 1) and the tracking shot towards April and June (image 2) there's an additional transition-effect (image 3). Due to this transition there's a total of 1 second and 18 frames of missing footage. It's not too easy to see exactly which of these scenes were cut out. The Japanese version just cuts from the one scene to the other one.
1 sec. and 18 frames

11:31:03 - 11:31:08
In the Japanese version April is shown longer.
5 frames

11:39:08 - 11:40:21
A short missing dialogue of April.
1 sec. and 13 frames

11:49:05 - 11:54:08
In the Japanese version April is shown a little longer while June talks in the background.
5 sec. and 3 frames

Postponed Scene
11:58:06 - 12:00:06
June turns her head and starts to talk. This scene was postponed to 12:13:19.
No difference in time.

Added/Postponed Scene
12:00:07
This dialogue scene of June was originally shown at 12:14:00 - 12:22:00.
Difference in time will be mentioned below.

12:01:13 - 12:03:06
After April lowered her head the shot was shortened. In the Japanese version June talks in the background.
1 sec. and 18 frames

12:03:07 - 12:08:18
A missing dialogue of June.
5 sec. and 11 frames

12:13:19 - 12:13:24
April's dialogue was shortened.
5 frames

Added/Postponed Scene
12:13:19
At this point they included the postponed scene from 11:58:06 - 12:00:06.
No difference in time.

Added Scene
A dialogue scene which was already shown before was included again.
+3 sec. and 24 frames

Postponed/Shortened Scene
12:14:00 - 12:22:00
June's dialogue was shortened and postponed to 12:00:07:
5 sec. and 23 frames

12:32:03 - 12:33:00
This shot is a little longer in the Japanese verison.
22 frames

12:36:06
At this point they included a transition-effect (image 3) in between two scenes (images 1 & 2). The first scene was slightly extended while the second one was slightly shortened. Therefore, the American version is only 10 frames shorter than the Japanese version. The Japanese version doesn't fade from one scene to the other but just has a regular cut.
10 frames

12:54:17 - 12:55:20
Colt's dialogue was shortened.
1 sec. and 3 frames

13:06:07 - 13:08:20
This scene was extended since Fireball talks a little longer in the background.
+1 sec. and 18 frames

13:18:03 - 13:25:23
This shot is shown a little longer since April talks a little longer in the background.
+19 frames

13:32:01 - 13:36:14
Even though there's less dialogue than in the original version, the American version still extended this scene.
+1 sec. and 3 frames

13:45:19 - 13:46:07
This shot was shortened.
13 frames

13:59:06 - 13:59:16
Ditto.
10 frames

14:03:02
At this point they included a transition-effect (image 3) in between two scenes (images 1 & 2). The American version misses out on 1 second and 4 frames of footage. Actually it only misses out on 12 frames of the first and 5 frames of the second scene. However, since the scenes fade into each other this results in another 12 missing frames. The Japanese version simply cuts from the one scene to the next one.
1 sec. and 4 frames

13:23:15
At this point they added the Saber Rider transition-effect.
+1 sec. and 21 frames

Trapped

After June left her apartment she's easy prey for the Outriders. The Star Sheriffs do their best to protect June and decoy the Outriders into a trap. April dresses herself and then gets shot at by the Outriders. The next moment the Star Sheriffs surround the Outriders. Even though they're trapped now they still open fire, resulting in a shootout.

14:32:04 - 14:36:03
In the Japanese version April is shattered by the gunfire. At least you might think it's April (which is probably the reason why they cut the scene out of Saber Rider). In the American version the Outriders just shoot a little longer.

Seijushi Bismark

Saber Rider

3 sec. and 8 frames

15:04:11 - 15:14:23
When April shoots at an Outrider, the following scenes were cut out: The Outrider is hit and screamingly falls to the ground. Then follows a cut to April who's quite shocket. The camera zooms to April 3 times in a row. Then follows a cut to the Outrider who lands on the floor in slow-motion. Cut back to April. Thze camera moves away from April a little before she drops her gun and runs away. The gun lands on the ground. The background of this scene is quite simple. In the Japanese version April is only 15 years old and apparently this Outrider was the first being she ever killed. Therefore her reaction is thoroughly understandable.
10 sec. and 12 frames

15:23:16 - 15:24:13
Colt's dialogue was shortened.
22 frames

15:38:24 - 15:39:13
Colt shoots the Outrider in the head.
14 frames

15:47:24 - 15:51:17
When June is wounded the scene goes on a little longer in the Japanese version. June falls down in slow-motion. In the Japanese version June screams resoundingly.
3 sec. and 18 frames

15:55:19 - 15:56:05
At this point you don't see Colt shooting an Outrider in the head. You do hear the shot and also see how the enemy falls to the floor. 4 frames of the scene were not cut out but rather covered by a white screen (which won't be included in the difference in time). The rest of the footage was cut out. During the white screen you hear the shot.
11 frames

16:02:12 - 16:03:05
This shot was shortened.
18 frames

16:29:20 - 16:32:12
June is shown longer with tears in her eyes.
2 sec. and 17 frames

16:43:05
While the Japanese version cuts from one scene to the next one, the American version added a transition-effect (image 3) in between two scenes (images 1 & 2). The second scene was extended - therefore the difference in time is not that big.
3 frames

16:43:05 - 16:46:18
Fireball is shown longer since June talks in the background.
+1 sec. and 17 frames

17:04:13 - 17:05:01
This shot was extended.
+6 frames

17:05:02
At this point they added a transition-effect.
+21 frames

Storming of the Base

Added Scenes
17:45:12
At this point they added two short dialogues. Saber Rider says "Well, I think we should introduce him to Ramrod." This sentence refers to the Renegade who appeared just moments ago. Fireball responds "Right.“
+4 sec. and 4 frames

17:46:17 - 17:48:10
The button is shown slightly longer - the background flashes.
1 sec. and 18 frames

The Transformation Sequence

Generally speaking, the transformation sequence includes the same differences as the previous episodes.

The American version is 15 frames longer towards the beginning of the transformation sequence.
+15 frames

At this point the Japanese version is longer.
5 frames

Alternative Scene

The scene where Ramrod lowers his legs is an alternative shot from other Japanese episodes. As opposed to the American version, the Japanese version shows lightning. The background is different as well. However, the course of the scenes is identical.

Seijushi Bismark

Saber Rider

No difference in time.

17:57:00 - 17:57:08
8 frames of the scene offer slightly different footage.

Seijushi Bismark

Saber Rider

No difference in time.

In the American version Ramrod shortly hovers.
+1 sec. and 3 frames

In the American version you also see the transformation of the control room.
+14 sec. 11 frames

Ramrod's face is shown longer in the Japanese version.
11 frames

This shot was shortened.
6 frames

18:43:01 - 18:45:01
After April found the entrance to the enemy base the Japanese version shows a dialogue of Fireball. In the American version you instead see Saber Rider who talks. Again, they wanted to underline Saber Rider's leading position. The American version is 10 frames longer.

Seijushi Bismark

Saber Rider

+10 frames

19:04:01 - 19:04:06
This shot was shortened.
5 frames

19:04:07 - 19:05:12
The half-finished Renegade robots are shown a little longer in the Japanese version. The beginning of the tracking shot over the robots was cut out of the American version.
1 sec. and 5 frames

19:23:09 - 19:24:12
This shot is shown longer in the Japanese version.
1 sec. and 3 frames

19:24:13 - 19:24:22
The first 9 frames of Fireball's dialogue were cut out.
9 frames

19:36:00 - 19:37:12
The explosion was slightly shortened.
1 sec. and 12 frames

19:40:01 - 19:41:06
Ditto.
1 sec. and 5 frames

19:44:10 - 19:45:17
Ditto.
1 sec. and 7 frames

20:11:21 - 20:14:08
The base is shaken by an explosion. A few Outriders are buried alive.
2 sec. and 12 frames

20:24:17 - 20:29:17
The self-destrucion mechanism is activated and the explosion quickly expands.
5 sec.

20:49:05
After the base exploded the American version fades out.
No difference in time.

The Funeral

20:49:05 - 21:30:24
Since Wade is still alive in the American version, his funeral was cut out. June says a few words in front of his grave. Shortly after that April shortly talks to Colt and then runs to Ramrod. Fireball and Colt watch her.
41 sec. and 19 frames

Father-Daughter Conversation

After the funeral April and her father talk to each other. In the Japanese version April seems to be a little confused and insecure. She really seems to need an advise from her father. I don't know whether they talk about Wade's death or the Outrider whom she killed. Still, Eagle is able to cheer his daughter up. In the American version Eagle congratulates her for the good work. April is sorry for Wade's injury. Eagle tells her that June paid her father a visit in the hospital and that he's already feeling better. Therefore, Wade lives on in the American version... April's behaviour in the Japanese version is probably related to her age - after all she's only 15. Since April is much older in the American version and Wade is still alive, her behaviour (of course) is very different.

21:31:00
At the beginning of the scene it fades in.
No difference in time.

21:37:18 - 21:40:19
You don't see April sitting around completely silent before she goes on talking.
3 sec. and 1 frames

22:08:16 - 22:08:24
Eagle's dialogue was shortened.
8 frames

22:35:21 - 22:36:06
This shot is shown longer in the American version.
+13 frames

22:40:06
At the end of the scene they added a fade-out. After this fade-out the American version shows the credits.
No difference in time.

22:40:07 - 22:48:06
The last scene of this epsiode was cut out. You see the horizon and the cemetery in the foreground. A seagull flies over the cemetery before the scene fades out and the Japanese credits roll.
7 sec. and 24 frames

The Credits

A more detailed comparison of the credits can be found in the report about the first episode of Saber Rider.

Runtime of the Japanese credits: 00:01:19
Runtime of the American credits: 00:01:02
17 sec.