u/Brilliant_Designer83

This is probably my first non-controversial opinion! This episode is just awesome, and I'll break it down why!

First of all, the plot is really creative and out of place for an awful season, like season 7. I'll give a bit of a plot summary, so you can skip, if you already know what happens:

SpongeBob overhears Mr. Krabs talking on the phone about letting his clam go, and SpongeBob thinks, that Mr. Krabs is talking about him, so he sadly goes home. Patrick tries to cheer him up, by showing him how HE hunts for a job, with watching TV and drinking Drinkable Sausage. Gary however gives him a better advice, by giving him the newspaper, so SpongeBob decides to look for a new job there. He tries out many jobs, but as we saw in "Le Big Switch", his talents of doing anything else are overshadowed by his massive talent at making Krabby Patties. After nothing works, he applies for a "New Sponge" role for a commercial. He gets to role, and actually meets Mr. Krabs, who goes golfing (apparently he doesn't hate it anymore lol) and in a nutshell, thanks him for letting him go, and Mr. Krabs doesn't understand, but doesn't say anything back. SpongeBob goes to work the next day, only to realise, that he's not gonna clean the bathroom the way he thinks he's going to... but he's the one the bathroom will be cleaned *with*. After a really fun commercial scene, with the amazing track "Workaday World" in the background, which many of us may know from Ren and Stimpy, SpongeBob finally gives in, not wanting to clean the toilet, and tells the director, that he's not cut out for this, and goes back to Mr. Krabs, who doesn't understand, why SpongeBob is begging him to take him back. SpongeBob explains the whole thing, and Mr. Krabs knows it was a misunderstanding, but decided to play along and "hired" SpongeBob back.

Now this episode is so good, for so many reasons. As I've said, the plot is surprisingly original, and creative, which can't be said for a lot of Season 7 episodes. It's a really fun episode as well, and I just enjoy it everytime I watch it (the commercial scene is the best scene though). It also surprises me, how in-character everyone was. SpongeBob wasn't the hyperactive, dumb kid he sometimes can be, in Season 7, but rather the childlike, intelligent and level-headed guy, who tries his best, as we've seen him in S1-S4 and a little bit of S5. He also doesn't act like a slave, who can't exist without the Krusty Krab, like we see in many of these dark era episodes, but he tries to find a new job, and only returns when literally nothing works. Overall, he was a very likeable character. Patrick is also likeable, he's the dim-witted, supportive friend, who tries to help, but hardly does. He's very in-character too, and he made some scenes really funny. Say what you want, but Squidward is also in-character. Like I doubt he would've reacted any differently, to SpongeBob not working at the Krusty Krab anymore, in say Season 1. Mr. Krabs, while not COMPLETELY in-character, is far from being out of character too, since while he doesn't act like a father figure to SpongeBob, we can still see that he cares for him, and doesn't just use him for money. The director is also really fun, and as someone who has german roots, I really enjoyed hearing someone finally do the german accent right (I know he appeared before in the show, but this was my first time seeing him, when I was a kid).

And you know, this isn't about what's amazing about this episode, either. But the ridiculous reasons people have to hate it, just 'cause it's Modern SpongeBob. Like I saw someone saying it's boring and unoriginal, while it's one of the more original episodes of Season 7, and it's packed with tons of good scenes, so it's not boring at all, unless you like the S13-S15 hyperactive things, which make sure you don't look away for one second, instead of letting you breathe for a second, and having a few quieter scenes. I even saw someone say, that this is a rip-off of "Suds", because Hans also uses SpongeBob as a cleaning sponge. Like, what? These haters just find every reason to hate this episode, smh. "One Krabs Trash" also reuses elements from "Squeaky Boots", but no one ever talks about that, since it's Classic SpongeBob. Not saying OKT or SB are bad episodes, cuz far from it, but the fandom is so hypocritical about the new episodes, because they're new.

I also saw someone saying that this is "'As Seen On Tv' done right, because SpongeBob isn't annoying in this one", and you know what, I agree. Sure, "As Seen On TV" had funny moments, like the striped sweater song, but imo it's not as fun as this episode.

But what do you think? Share it in the comments!

Okay, before you come at me, hear me out.

I'm not saying it's all bad, like the newer seasons are actually enjoyable to watch with the Japanese dub, mostly. But the older episodes are just horrible and almost unwatchable for me with the Japanese dub. Japan made really good dubs in the past, like TTTE's Japanese Dub is legendary, so idk how this dub is so bad, but imo it is.

I do like the translations, but my main problem is with some of the voice actors. Not all of them, but some of them. I'll only be covering the main characters though.

- SpongeBob: He's one of the only characters to sound good throughout the series' run. Hiroyuki Tsuru mostly fit SpongeBob in the first three seasons and did a solid job at voicing the character, but my main problem with him, is how inconsistent he sounds. Like in S1, he was mostly consistent, giving SpongeBob an energetic, high-pitched, teenager-like tone, but in S2-S3 he kept switching between a high-pitched and very deep voice, and it got annoying how inconsistent he sounded, and sometimes he even sounded emotionless. Thankfully, Taiki Matsuno, who's the heart of this dub, did a way better job at providing SpongeBob's voice, and he's still the most iconic voice for the character for this dub. May he rest in peace. Kōki Miyata, the new voice for SpongeBob is actually REALLY good. He sounds really close to the voice Tom Kenny had in Season 1, and Miyata also sounds really similar to both Hiroyuki Tsuru and Taiki Matsuno, while also giving a fresh new voice, that just sounds cute, and would've fit the character from the beginning. Overall, SpongeBob was really well-casted in this dub.

- Patrick: Patrick's voice is what makes S1-S8 unwatchable fot me in the Japanese dub. Like what were they thinking? Ikuko Tani is a good voice actress, and did a solid job with Mrs. Puff, but her Patrick voice sounds genuinely awful and ear grating. I don't have a problem with Patrick having a less deep voice, but not to the extent of him sounding like an old lady. Like he sounds nothing like he should. And in S1-S3 it's especially annoying, since SpongeBob's voice is way deeper than Patrick's, which makes little sense. Now, I kinda think that Ikuko Tani's raspy voice would've fit SpongeBob, kinda. But not Patrick. Her voice as Patrick is awful, and not only because it's not what I'm used to, but it just doesn't fit the character in the slightest. Takashi Nagasako is hands down my favourite Patrick VA this dub, he gave a perfect, dim-witted and loveable performance, and gave Patrick the voice he should have had from the beginning. It's such a shame that his role as Patrick was so short-lived. Now, Mitsuaki Kanuka is definitely a different voice. He sounds deep and high-pitched at the same time, and he's an amazing Patrick. He keeps the same charm, that some may see in Ikuko Tani's performance, and his voice also resembles Takashi Nagasako, making him a perfect voice for Patrick. I'm so glad he replaced Ikuko Tani. So overall, Patrick was horrible before, but now he sounds pretty good.

- Squidward: Squidward imo is the character best portrayed in this dub. Rokurō Naya did amazing, and enough said about that. Yōji Ueda... literally sounds the exact same as Naya did in S1. I don't know how they found a voice actor who sounds exactly like Rokurō Naya, but they nailed it with Yōji Ueda, and he does an amazing job. Both of Squidward's VAs in this dub are top tier.

- Mr. Krabs: He had only one voice actor throughout, that being Keijin Okuda. I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of his voice in the early seasons, he just sounded a bit weird, but he became really good later on, and he's still amazing. Glad he's still part of the voice cast, now that he's the only member left.

- Sandy: She sounds good. Yūko Ogiso is my favourite Sandy voice this dub, she sounds soft, her voice is nice to listen to, and despite sounding soft, she fits the character PERFECTLY. It's such a shame she quit. Chie Matsuura sounds good, but for me, she's a bit too high pitched, compared to Yūko Ogiso. Don't hate her voice though, because she's one of the highlights of this dub.

- Plankton: For fans who don't like Plankton's voice in this dub, you've probably been waiting for this. Last and probably least is Plankton. His voice is just... I don't like it. I see what they were trying to do, by kinda making his voice match his size, but the reason it just doesn't cut it for me, is because Plankton's deep voice is supposed to be an irony, of how he has a small size, but a big ego and a deep voice. And let's be honest, while Plankton is mostly a comedic villain, that doesn't mean he's not a threat. And giving him a voice like this, totally undermines the fact that he's supposed to be threatening. Yūko Ogiso and Chie Matsuura both had emotions for sure, and probably did the best they could with the dubbing direction given, but they are both just so unsurprisingly bad as Plankton. Chō is literally the only VA for Plankton I think fit him.

- Karen and Pearl: Both were voiced by Ikuko Tani, and I think they sounded too old, didn't like their voices. Rie Takahashi did a much better job with their voices imo.

- Mrs. Puff: Now in her case, I find Ikuko Tani to be better, as she fit her better. Rie Takahashi is good, but her voice is a little too young for Mrs. Puff.

The male incidentals are mostly dubbed by women too, which is really annoying, because then what's the point of male and female fish having distinct designs to tell their genders apart, if all of them have the same voice? In newer seasons, their voices are better imo.

TL;DR: Not a fan of the Japanese dub overall, but it def got better.