Forum - View topicREVIEW: When They Cry DVD 1
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18493 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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One additional comment that didn't make it into the review:
When this series first came out on fansubs, I gave the first episode a try because of all the hoopla over it. I was so unimpressed that I didn't continue watching the series. The way the story progresses into the second episode is what got me hooked during the DVD release, however, so give this one a minimum of two episodes to work on you before deciding you don't like it. |
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PantsGoblin
 SubscriberEncyclopedia Editor  Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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Probably the release I was looking most forward to this year... I personally don't care for the dub at all. Ironically, I found Rena and Mion/Shion's voices to be the worst... Meh, subs for me. The DVD comes out right in time for Kai, so it gets me in the mood...
I've mentioned before that it's my personal opinion that the first episode is by far the worst in the series. I still stand by that. Kind of like the art box that came out, it's very misleading and greatly misrepresents the series. Last edited by PantsGoblin on Fri Jun 22, 2007 11:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6232 Location: Houston, TX |
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my main complaint so far is the dub. i just don't get that same creepy feeling from these voice actors. for instance: the person who plays Rena just isn't scary at all. the "liar" scene in episode 2 is supposed to be chilling, but instead it comes off really meh, like she was barely trying at all. of course this could change as it's only the first volume, but so far they haven't convinced me.
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DKL
 Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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About the dub: actually, I thought that the parts where the characters broke out was pretty cool... but the standard acting comes across as kinda bland.
Also, the "cutesy" voices are just kinda... okay... but it's got nothing on what I remember hearing out of the original Di Gi Charat TV series' dub (which I just heard recently, actually). On the other hand, this doesn't sound like the usual Bang Zoom! dub, so I guess I'll stick with it... not necessarily the highest of quality though. As for this show: hot damn, it's so GANGSTA. I had a lot of fun watching the main character give into paranoia; it was awesome. Mystery thing is pretty okay too, but it's not exactly in the realm of subtle storytelling, I will say that. I can't wait for the next DVD. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of extras (not even a clean OP), but I'm figuring they'll stick those on later discs with fewer episodes. Based on the TRSI info, Geneon is going for a 5/5/5/5/3/3 release, so I expect the last two discs will be the only ones with extras (and hopefully the TIPS will be among them).
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator  Posts: 11448 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I thought the dub was okay at first, but it actually grew on me around the middle of the disc. Granted, it's not overwhelmingly great to make me think the original Japanese track is inferior or anything, and Satsuki Yukino is one of my favorite female seiyuu and all. But I feel whoever dubbed her in this title did a much better job than other actresses I've heard (Moneca Stori, Luci Christian).
Then of course there's always the issue of dubbing young girls in anime. U.S. actresses naturally have deeper voices than Japanese seiyuu, so it won't always fit to a tee, though Satoko and Rika weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. Other than that, some of the overall delivery could use a little work (Mai, in particular). The focal points of the acting (for me, anyway) are when things get real crazy. Yukino's masterful job at playing both of the sisters later on was deserving of a huge A+ in my book and a major reason of why I like the series. EDIT: Oh, forgot to mention I was impressed with how they handled Rena's -ka na? -ka na? mannerism. It's especially effective when she gets all psychotic, and I'm glad they did a good job with it. Last edited by Tony K. on Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
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DKL
Posts: 1962 Location: California, USA |
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Though, when you think about it...
Half the time, anime DVD extras are pretty boring... What? Clean OP and ED... and some production art... That's usually it. (or I'm buying the wrong DVDs...) |
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PantsGoblin
Subscriber Encyclopedia Editor Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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I feel I should already know this... But do the Japanese DVD releases even include the TIPS? I was pretty sure they didn't... Could be wrong though. |
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HitokiriShadow
Posts: 6251 |
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Well, I absolutely love the opening, so I'd like a clean version. Geneon is usually lower on the extras, but in this case there is a particular element of the R2 release that some of us really want to see: the TIPS.
As far as I know, Yes, the anime has them, but they aren't the same ones as what the game had. I'm not exactly sure what the anime TIPS entail, but they do exist. |
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Shale
Posts: 337 Location: The Middle of Nowhere, DE |
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I'm not sure I'd call it the worst of the show (although I haven't watched the DVD yet, so it's been a while; maybe it is), but it's certainly a bad introduction to the show. It's not like there aren't other cutesy episodes later on. You just know what's coming by then. |
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Katsu Koneko
 Posts: 134 Location: California |
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Let's see, I pretty much got used to the dub like I do in every dub I think to be icky at first.
 Though the only person I'm still not pretty used to is Rika. :p She needs to sound more cute.
That's pretty much the only dub complaint for me since Rena got better after the beginning of the series. ^^ OMG. Tomitake is Teen Gohan from DBZ. -shot- Anyways I agree that the extras were pretty small. They were pretty much like the extra ADV's thinpacks. -falls over- Was pretty disappointed that they didn't put romanji lyrics in some episode openings like they did with Rozen Maiden. And that's pretty much it for me. *edit: Crackers how could I not see "late's see"... Last edited by Katsu Koneko on Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Now, about the review: I agree with quite a bit of it, except about the artbox. I love the artbox. It is not mundane. It is awesome if for no other reason than that it is so completely off from what the series really is. That artbox is one of my all time favorites. About the dub: Sometimes I wonder if I even have a right to comment, since I'm actually positive about the English dub and it almost seems like a rule around here lately that all comments have to be negative. No offense to people who don't like it, but I wonder if we were listening to the same language track. I thought the performances were quite good. Sure they might not be as high pitched as the original Japanese but that's a given, few people over here have voices like that. And the performances are going to be the exact same anyway. It's a different person playing the part, they aren't just going to copy the Japanese performance nuance for nuance. (I'd love to hear the comments if they tried.) I'm especially suprised by the negative comments about Mela Lee's performance as Rena. I thought she was just plain scary. Every time she switched from sweet Rena to creepy mode, I felt like something was crawling on my skin. The scene at Keiichi's door was excellent as well. My only real complaint about the series is that I think spoiler[Keiichi's an idiot for turning into a paranoid baseball bat-weilding loon. Personally, I would have sided with the cute crazy girls over the detective.  ]
Other than that, I can't wait to see more. |
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Asrialys
 Posts: 1164 |
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Hm, I wasn't creeped out while watching the dub like the first time I saw the fansubs. Then again, those were two different situations. The very first time, it was new and it was the middle of the night in a dark room lit by just a computer screen. As for the dub, I was watching it in the middle of the day and I already expected it. And I think I was on the computer at the same time. Maybe I'll rewatch tonight without disturbances and the lights off. Not sure if it'll work on the third time through though, whether it's in English or Japanese. Haha, get my sister to watch it (no anime experience though...).
Nevertheless, I liked the dub. It did sound odd at first, but I got into it right away. Can't wait for more. |
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Sarkozy
Posts: 132 |
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Dub Review:
Rika - I felt this was pretty good, gave off the cuteness. Satoko - Same as Rika, very cute and acted the age. Keiichi - Got annoying at first, but grew into him, I liked it after a while. Mion and Shion - It worked for me, acted their ages. Rena - The first character in anime to EVER give me goosebumps. Mela Lee was amazingly. Mela Lee was just amazing. I did get goosebumps more than once during Mela's preformance, I don't think I could get that same feeling from subs. Dub: A- - Became one of my favorite BZ dubs, very well cast. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11448 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Not possible. From what I understand, a lot of the VAs never even hear their Japanese counterparts until the recording is done, if at all, should they choose. In the extras disc of Hellsing Ultimate Vol.1, Crispin Freeman explains that an actor is given a part of the script, a few words from the ADR director, and sometimes a picture of their character. It's all on them from their on out (with some directing assistance here and there, of course). Freeman says it's essential that the actor do his/her best to communicate with the director and get as much background info as possible on the character and just practice, practice, practice. If they hear even the slightest bit of the Japanese voice, they risk falling into the trap of simply imitating that voice instead of adapting it. Personally, I put most of the responsibility on the director. He's the only one that knows what every character sounds like, and it's up to him/her to cast the right voices and explain all the nuances themselves. On top of that, they need to watch the script, make sure certain pronunciations are at least halfway decent, and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting to mention. If the actor/actress can get it right away, that's great. But in my ears, dubs have very little excuse for getting it right. Not that a dub has to be pitch-perfect from the get-go, as the Japanese are basically starting from scratch just the same when they produce their own track. Then again, it's a matter of what I call "first impressions." I believe a big contributing factor in why so many people are critical of dubs is because they usually hear most, if not all, of a series in Japanese (usually through fansubs or what not). And because of that, they develop a higher affinity to those voices, which consequently makes them a little picker on the eventual English dub. As for my own criteria, I rank dubbing into three important elements; casting, script, and pronunciations. Casting is the most important in that the director needs to get a relatively close voice to the original, and hopefully they can explain the proper inflections and such for the actor/actress to have. If that didn't matter so much, then they'd cast just anyone for whatever role, and it would probably sound horrible (like Love Hina). Acting and delivery will depend solely on the person selected for the role, but of course that can vary a great deal depending on the actor's and director's history, work chemistry, or any number of things. The script is second most important. It's not as big a deal for me because translating a foreign language isn't an exact science. Synonyms, substitute words, and literal translations are just a matter of preference to the viewer. But so long as the dialogue gets across the story or the neccessary lines that help build/develop a character without too much detraction or awkwardness, then that's fine. Lastly, is the aspect of pronunciations. This is my least important factor because personally, I've heard a lot of bad pronunciations in the past. But nowadays, they just seem to have done a little better within the last 4-5 years. No, it's not that hard to say a Japanese word or name. The English language has all the neccessary sounds to pronounce such simple vowels, so all the actors need to do is not emPHAsize on the wrong sylLAble.
I'll agree she did a good job, but I think a lot of assistance comes from the production values. Kenji Kawai composed an excellent soundtrack for the entire thing and incorporated a lot of sound effects into the instruments as well (I highly recommend you watch Ghost Hunt if you want an even better version of that). Also, the art and camerawork played a big role in making that parituclar scene very foreboding. I think they cranked the volume up a lot for some of those outburst scenes as well (a sign of good sound directing in horror titles, if you ask me). But again, I think the overall reception is a result of that "first impression" I talked about. And besides, I'm sure a lot of people, here at ANN in parituclar, are probably more familiar with Mai Takahara's work versus Mela Lee's (big difference in the number of titles and importance of role; personally, I'll always know Takahara for her role as Mai from Mai-HiME that she played so well). It's not that I don't like the dub. It's just going to take some "getting use to," which I've already mentioned a number of factors as to why. At this point, I'd give it a B+ or A-. Trust me, though, that's pretty good because most initial dubs don't leave as big an impression on me. Sorry for being so nitpicky  .
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