# Abridged Series An Abridged Series is a fan-made parody video that shortens and re-dubs a TV show, usually anime, with comedic dialogue and editing. The genre took shape in 2006 when LittleKuriboh uploaded the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series to YouTube, inspiring hundreds of imitators and giving rise to an entire creative subculture[1]. From Dragon Ball Z Abridged to Sword Art Online Abridged, the format blends voice acting, sharp writing, and self-aware humor to mock source material while building audiences that rival the originals. ## Origin The concept of comedic re-dubbing predates the "Abridged" label by years. Studio Sokodei's Evangelion: ReDeath shortened the 26-episode Neon Genesis Evangelion into a half-hour comedy in 2000[1]. ADV Films' English dub of Ghost Stories in 2005 took similar liberties, transforming a children's supernatural anime into an adult dark comedy[1]. TV Tropes traces the broader concept even further back to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), first performed in 1987[4]. But the genre as fans know it began with one creator. In 2006, LittleKuriboh uploaded the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series to YouTube[1]. His comedic take on the original material found a massive audience and gave the format its name. Other creators, with LittleKuriboh's blessing, adopted the "Abridged Series" label for their own parody dubs of different shows, and a full-blown genre emerged[1]. - **Platform:** YouTube - **Creator:** LittleKuriboh (genre originator) - **Date:** 2006 ## Overview An Abridged Series takes episodes of a TV show and condenses them into shorter, comedically re-dubbed versions[3]. Creators record new dialogue over the original animation, typically injecting mature humor, pop culture references, and self-aware commentary about the source material's writing, characters, and plot holes[1]. Most episodes run between five and fifteen minutes, compressing multiple original episodes into a single abridged installment. The humor relies heavily on exaggeration, lampshading, and breaking the fourth wall[1]. Characters often get amplified personality traits or entirely new ones. In Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged, the card game that drives the entire plot is constantly dismissed as a "children's card game," poking fun at how seriously the original treats it[1]. While anime is by far the most common target, the format has been applied to Western cartoons, live-action shows, movies, and even video games[4]. The genre lives primarily on YouTube, though copyright takedowns have scattered some series across DailyMotion and other platforms[4]. ## How It Spread Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged's popularity triggered a wave of imitators across YouTube. By 2008, TeamFourStar, founded by Scott "KaiserNeko" Frerichs, Nick "Lanipator" Landis, and Curtis "Takahata101" Arnott, launched Dragon Ball Z Abridged[2]. The series ran for over a decade and accumulated billions of views, with the TeamFourStar channel reaching over 4.4 million subscribers and 2.5 billion total views as of February 2026[2]. The genre branched out in unexpected directions. Code MENT, a parody of Code Geass, introduced a more heavily edited style known as "AbridgeMENTs" and spawned the viral "I'm at Soup" meme, which spread far beyond the abridged series community[3]. 50% OFF by Octopimp, based on the swimming anime Free!, generated its own set of memes and TikTok audios that circulated during the quarantine era[3]. Friendship is Witchcraft took the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic format in a unique direction by recutting scenes into entirely original episodes with original music, rather than just retelling the story[1]. Something Witty Entertainment's Sword Art Online Abridged earned particular praise for improving on its source material[1]. Both SAO fans and critics of the original agreed that the abridged version delivered better writing, stronger character development, and more emotional storytelling than the show it was parodying[1]. The format also went international. Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque: la Série Abrégée (CDZA), a French-language abridged series based on Saint Seiya, dealt with repeated copyright strikes from Toei Animation[5]. Its creator successfully contested takedowns by citing French intellectual property law protecting parody, though the victories proved temporary since Toei's bots kept flagging videos on an ongoing cycle[5]. ## How to Use Creating an abridged series typically follows this process: 1. **Pick a source show** with enough recognizable tropes and material to parody 2. **Write scripts** that condense multiple episodes into shorter, joke-heavy versions. Most creators exaggerate character traits or invent new personalities entirely 3. **Record voice acting** for all characters, often with one person covering multiple roles 4. **Edit the original footage** to match the new dialogue, recutting scenes and sometimes adding visual gags or text overlays 5. **Upload to YouTube** with clear parody labeling ## Cultural Impact Abridged series sit in a legal gray area that has shaped the genre's entire history. While parody is protected under U.S. fair use doctrine as outlined in 17 U.S.C. § 107[6], YouTube's automated copyright systems and manual takedown requests from rights holders have consistently targeted creators. TeamFourStar's channel was briefly taken offline due to copyright strikes from Toei Animation, even after being listed in Google's Preferred program in 2014[2]. These copyright pressures directly shaped the genre's trajectory. In 2020, TeamFourStar ended Dragon Ball Z Abridged after 11 years, citing the changing YouTube copyright climate and difficulty keeping content online as primary reasons for not proceeding with a fourth season covering the Buu Saga[2]. Critical reception for top-tier abridged series has been strong. CBR's Joe Ballard praised DBZA for "its ability to balance its humor with an added sense of awareness and realism"[2]. The Mary Sue's Princess Weekes called it "a labor of love" and "a triumph of storytelling"[2]. ComicBook's Nick Valdez argued that DBZA "added the necessary layers the original Dragon Ball Z anime was missing"[2]. The genre proved it could outlast individual series. In August 2023, TeamFourStar collaborated with YouTuber Totally Not Mark to produce "Buu Bits," covering scenes from the saga they never fully abridged[2]. In November 2025, they launched Toonami Abridged: Sailor Moon, and in December 2025, they released Dragon Ball Magic, a parody of Dragon Ball Daima[2]. TeamFourStar also moved into official dubbing work, producing the English dub of the anime film Hells in 2017[2]. ## Fun Facts - TeamFourStar members were invited to do voice work in official Dragon Ball Z properties after DBZA's success[2]. - The French abridged series CDZA discovered that Toei Animation apparently didn't read their counter-notification emails, allowing restored videos to stay up until the next automated sweep[5]. - Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged was not the first comedic anime re-dub, but it was the first to use the "Abridged" label and define the genre's conventions[1]. - Sword Art Online Abridged is one of the rare cases where fans of the original material and its critics both agree the parody improved on the source[1]. - The concept of shortening and parodying a work dates back to at least 1987 with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is an Abridged Series? An Abridged Series is a fan-made parody video that shortens and re-dubs a TV show, usually anime, with comedic dialogue and editing[1]. ### Where did the Abridged Series come from? The genre started with LittleKuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, first uploaded to YouTube in 2006[1]. Earlier parody dubs existed, but LittleKuriboh defined the format and gave it its name. ### What does Abridged Series mean? "Abridged" refers to the shortened length of episodes compared to the originals, with the comedic implication of being a proper summation of events[7]. ### How do you use the Abridged Series format? Creators select a show, write comedic scripts that condense episodes, record new voice acting over the original animation, and upload the edited result to YouTube[4]. ### Is the Abridged Series genre still popular? Yes. TeamFourStar launched new abridged projects in late 2025, including Toonami Abridged: Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Magic[2]. The format still draws dedicated audiences on YouTube. ### What is the biggest Abridged Series? Dragon Ball Z Abridged by TeamFourStar is one of the most watched, with the channel accumulating over 2.5 billion views as of February 2026[2]. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series by LittleKuriboh is recognized as the genre's originator[1]. ### Why did Dragon Ball Z Abridged end? TeamFourStar ended DBZA in 2020, citing the changing copyright climate on YouTube and repeated takedown strikes from Toei Animation as key factors[2]. ### Are Abridged Series legal? They occupy a gray area. Parody is protected under U.S. fair use law (17 U.S.C. § 107)[6], but YouTube's content management systems and rights holder takedown requests have consistently targeted creators[2]. ### What is Code MENT? Code MENT is an abridged parody of Code Geass that pioneered a more heavily edited style called "AbridgeMENTs" and created the viral "I'm at Soup" meme[3]. ### What is Sword Art Online Abridged? Created by Something Witty Entertainment, SAO Abridged is widely praised for improving on the original anime's writing and character development, earning approval from both fans and critics of the source material[1]. ### What is Friendship is Witchcraft? A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic abridged series that broke from the typical formula by recutting scenes into entirely original episodes with original music[1]. ### Who is TeamFourStar? A YouTube channel and production company founded in 2008 by Scott "KaiserNeko" Frerichs, Nick "Lanipator" Landis, and Curtis "Takahata101" Arnott, best known for Dragon Ball Z Abridged[2]. ## References 1. [The Abridged Series - TV Tropes]() 2. [Abridged Series - Fanlore]() 3. [⭒✧ Abridged Series are pretty cool I think ✧⭒ - ⋆ ★ olivia's Blog | SpaceHey]() 4. [TeamFourStar]() 5. [Abridged Series - Urban Dictionary]() 6. [Détournement - Wikipedia]() 7. [Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque, la Série Abrégée - Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque, la Série Abrégée : la parodie avec du Zodiaque et des Chevaliers.]() 8. [CDZA de retour sur YouTube... jusqu'à la prochaine fois ? - Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque, la Série Abrégée]() 9. [17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/abridged-series Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library