Forum - View topicHow impressive are all Japanese dubs, really?
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Wanabedamned
Posts: 15 |
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As someone whose stuck in the confinements of one language, English, I have constantly pondered this question! While I can easily be critical of English Dubs I can never tell with Japanese dubs what's good and what's bad. Sure, I'll pretend like Japan, who has been in the industry for so long, has a much higher level of VA's...but the truth is I can't tell the difference from massive greatness, and epic fail.
My request for this thread is simple! I ask those who can decipher such differences to please post simply their example of a Japanese dub character that is Awesome: and an example of one that is Terrible: |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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One courtesy you may want to learn when opening new threads here in the forums is to explain how you feel about the subject at hand as well. That way you don't have to deal with jurisdiction from administratives figures here on the forums, and spare yourself a headache, as well as one for them too.
Meanwhile, I've been one to always stick to Japanese dubs, simply for the fact that I am fluent in Japanese, lived in Japan for a while, and cannot stand most English dubs. This would be due to what I find to be either poor translation or something that they try to bring from Japanese culture simply does not translate into American culture. |
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zombie828
Posts: 62 |
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I thought the point of the thread was that he can't (nor can I) tell the difference between bad VAs and good VAs from Japan. Therefore cannot "explain how he feels about the subject at hand" and is why this thread exists. Also you're turning this into a dub vs sub thread which I don't believe it was intended to be. |
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_Earthwyrm_
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I suppose that, originally, when I first started watching Anime, I was completely unable to tell a bad Japanese dub from a Good one - I mean, when you can't even pick out where one word ends and another begins in a stream of speech, it's years beyond you to actually be able to tell good acting from bad.
Fortunately, years have passed since then, and while I still can't say whether or not any particular seiyuu's voice acting is good on a technical level, I can certainly judge whether or not a seiyuu's delivery of a line seems appropriate and enhances my experience. I've little doubt that the result is my tastes being for less-than-subtle voice acting, but the only thing that really matters (so far as I'm concerned) is the impact that a particular seiyuu's delivery has on my personal experience, not whether or not they're good actors to a Japanese ear. It's only really something that's been happening in the past year or so (For the record, I've been into Anime for about 4 years) where I can actually say 'Yes, I like this seiyuu', where previously I've been able to say 'Yes, I like this voice actor' from the start. O' course, as far as roles which involve singing are concerned, there are a good deal of seiyuu who are professional singers as well as being voice-actresses; so they can often be said to have the upper hand in that respect. And some seiyuu just have the cutest voices. Even if I can't judge their acting so well, I'll let it slide for that. 
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BlahBloke
Posts: 19 |
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well... i normally support sub.. but recently i find one piece sub really annoying, the main reason is that lousy stupid old geezar voice of Gecko Moria (im sure im not the only who hates his voice), he's a giant demon and he suppose sounds deep and horrifying, even though he's a bit crazy but still.
anyway, this come to my mind, not only gecko moria, but many other characters in all anime. there is always a character sounds aboslutly stupid in japanese, like barry in fma, that priest guy in scrapped princess, tones of characters in one piece, and every single character in bobobobobobobobobobobobo. I know many people hates the dubbed character's voice because they dont fit the characters (like that guy from that anime, forgot name, about a alien, asper and time traveller and a total spoiled girl, anyway, he's like in high school and he sounds like a 40 years old american manwhore), even me as well, but at least the dub characters dont have a pathetic voice... and another thing, i hated many cute girl's character's voice in japanese.. they sounds so weird... well most of the times. [EDIT: Merged this thread with a similar one that was made a few hours earlier than yours. -TK] |
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2094 |
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You're talking about Kyon from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which surprises me, since I think it was a fantastic dub, especially Kyon's voice (and Crispin Freeman is NOT a man-whore!). He IS in high school, guys' voices have generally deepened by then.
But then again, I guess we just different tastes. Even though I prefer the Funimation dub, I think One Piece has an overall great sub, it's just some scenes work better in English (like the scene with Zoro's Tarzan yell, much funnier in English). Also, FMA's sub didn't disappoint me with Barry, it was Ed himself who sounded off. |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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I watched the R1 DVDs months ago so I don't remember exactly what the voices sounded like, but I remember thinking that Kyon and Itsuki's voice would've fit perfectly--if they had switched roles. Kyon's voice was perfect for Itsuki and vice versa.
Maybe I'm just weird, but I would've liked to see a dub where the voice actors of the two played the others' character and see how that'd turn out. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6903 Location: Kazune City |
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I don't know about the "doesn't fit the character" aspect of English voices...quite often, I find statements like "That actor doesn't fit the character" to be code for "That English VA doesn't sound exactly like the Japanese VA."
The first thing that comes to mind for voices disliked in Japanese is Kappei Yamaguchi. Now, I don't think he's a bad actor per sé, it's just that he sounds exactly the same in every freakin' role he plays. (To name a few, Ranma in Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha in Inuyasha, Usopp in One Piece, Tomonori in Rizelmine, Hikoro in DearS, Ryuichi in Gravitation, and Enki in 12 Kingfoms.) I don't usually like ADV's "Monster Island" dubs, but I found myself liking Eden's Bowy in English because I didn't have to listen to Yamaguchi as Yorn. So it's not so much hatred as it is "oh great, this guy again  "
I didn't much care for Urara and Koumi's voices in Sakura Diaries...their pitch and intonation was just all over the map, more so than chirpy high school voices demand. The English cast was a slight improvement, though there was only so much they could do with the material. When I went back and watched Azumanga Daioh in English, I found myself liking that track better, primarily because Jessica Boone > Tomoko Kaneda. And I remember reading that Japanese fans felt the same way. Yuko Gotou is a case of "love the character, hate the voice." Okay I don't hate it, but her high-pitched, breathy voice makes the characters sound whinier than they needed to. It worked with Mikuru in MoHS, but not so much for Nanami in Lamune. Fortunately there's the alternative of Carrie Savage for Kaede in Shuffle. Speaking of Shuffle, I have to say I found Sia much less annoying when played by Brittney Karbowski than Sayaka Aoki, whom I also know from other H-game adaptations like Da Capo II and Wind ~a breath of heart~. It would be interesting to hear which Japanese casts and VAs are considered bad by Japanese fans. I thought about asking over on AoD's Japanese VA/music forum since I know some people there follow 2ch and Japanese fan sites, but thought it would be too negative for the setting. |
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Wanabedamned
Posts: 15 |
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First of all I'd like to thank you for giving me a better idea of what a forum administrator might be looking for when I post. Every forum is different and I certainly want to keep things lively while working in the restrictions that they feel I should. As it has already been said my view on Japanese dubs is that I don't understand levels of quality because I don't feel I can. Now I asked others to perhaps help me in this process so that I can listen to examples of both extremes. Certainly I trust there are people on this forum that have that ability, and you have shown yourself to be one of them. I appreciate your intent to have a broader discussion on Japanese dubs vs. English dubs, I really wish you could just respond to my simple question. |
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doctordoom85
Posts: 2094 |
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Really? That would seem odd to me, personally. Kyon's dub sounded uptight and occasionally sarcastic, the way he should, and Itsuki's dub was more laid-back and occasionally serious with a hint of wisdom in his voice. The other way around would throw me off.
This one might surprise you: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. I met a Japanese kid who said he preferred the English version and thought the sub acting was weak. That took me by surprise, because I (and most people, it seems) thought the sub was much better in that movie. |
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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Speaking of Crispin Freeman, I remember reading an interview with him where he said he was speaking to a friend from Japan who, after hearing that he was acting in English anime dubs, asked him "Oh, do you overact like the Japanese actors do?"
That's just one person's opinion, of course, and I doubt they all overact, but it's interesting to hear that someone from Japan would say that. As for myself, I don't think I've really heard enough subs to fully tell when a Japanese actor is good or bad. I do know that while watching Soul Eater, I've heard that Maka's seiyuu is a newcomer and...it...sorta shows. The first few episodes with her in them were really, really awkward. She got better later own, though. |
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Zoe
 Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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In general though, that's what voice acting is all about. That's why being a good live-action actor doesn't necessarily translate into being a good voice actor. You HAVE to overact in order to convey the emotions properly.
Yes... she received a lot of hate on 2ch when the series first came out... |
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MorwenLaicoriel
Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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Huh, really? I never really thought of that! I guess I've learned something new today...
Eek, really? I hope they weren't TOO harsh--I really wasn't impressed with her, but sometimes those image boards seem really brutal. |
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Zoe
Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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(2ch isn't an image board, it's an old-school text BBS) It was really obvious even from the moment the trailer was released. She's definitely improved though. |
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spoon89
 Posts: 45 |
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I know a few people who do not actually like japanese dubs because they are just too used to english and i ofcourse, i watched animes in italian dub until when i was 7 but to tell u the truth, there is no better way to enjoy anime than when it is in Japanese dub, and my reasons are simple:
1. You actually get the feeling of realism from a japanese spoken character than an english one 2. It is cool especially in a high vocal POV 3. The language is fast but it actually moves with the lips of the characters in animes, when it is in english dub, u get distracted with how different the lips of the characters are to the english dub. If u have watched Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in english dub and Japanese dub, u would be able to tell that the Japanese version tends to excite u at extreme moments compared to the english version. If u have watched Code Geass in both versions too, i would just never get enough to Lelouch's/Zero's speeches in Japanese, u actually get the uplifting feeling from these speeches even if u dont understand the question. The same could be said of Death Note's Yagami Light, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni's Keiichi, Claymores Clare, Air Gears CROW KUN, Naruto's Uzumaki most especially, Bleachs Ichigo which completely sounds outragious in English and there is a huge list of other anime characters that are simply fantastic in Japanese. The only English dubbed anime that i have ever acknowledged in my life is Hellsing, that is without a doubt well done. |
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