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Anime that is better in a language other than Japanese?


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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7400
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 8:13 pm Reply with quote
No, this isn't some sort of Sub vs. Dub topic, infact this doesn't have anything to do with competing languages at all.

For instance, I've been watching a lot of Full Metal Alchemist and I can't help but think how much better this series would be in English. All of the characters have English names and all writing is in english (or in some cases engrish). It just seems like the japanese language isn't very fitting for this series.

Any others?

Emerje
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Steventheeunuch





PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 8:28 pm Reply with quote
I prefer most series that are set in English placs to be spoken in English, like Bebop, Big O, Trigun etc..

Apparently the French Lupin dub is suprisingly good, and the UFO Grendizer Arabian dub is supposed to be great aswell.
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darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5510
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 8:50 pm Reply with quote
I guess I could say that Gunslinger Girl would sound good if it's dubbed by Italians.
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Samurai CDZ



Joined: 22 Mar 2003
Posts: 776
Location: Manhattan, KS
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 8:50 pm Reply with quote
I think Chrno Crusade is in the same boat. It's kinda strange them talking Japanese in 1928 New York...although I'm not so sure a NY accent would be great...
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rektagunn



Joined: 04 Oct 2003
Posts: 218
Location: enohana
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 9:26 pm Reply with quote
Also, whenever there's a certain degree of multi-culturalism (i.e. anime that showcases multiple races / nationalities / etc.) involved in a show, there's always a strong potential for the English (or any other appropriate language) dub.

The suggestions above sound interesting, and I would add PLANETES into the mix. I absolutely love this show, and I'm looking forward to any language treatment outside of the Japanese version. I've noticed a number of nationalities (some fictional, some non-fictional) based on the characters, and it would be interesting to see some international treatment. At the same time, the Japanese staff did a commendable job in incorporating the international aspect of the show and raising several pertinent issues worthy of deep reflection (i.e. corporate and national politics, discrimination, etc.). And oh yeah, the show's funny too!
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Ken Hayashi



Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 752
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:08 pm Reply with quote
I might want to say that Sakura Wars can do with a mix of languages, seeing that the girls come from all over. But it just doesn't work for me. I love the japanese language too much.

BTW, Samurai CDZ, nice avatar. A scan from the Maison Ikkoku manga?
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6227
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:10 pm Reply with quote
Hellsing: THE BRITISH DO NOT SPEAK JAPANESE!!!

Cowboy Bebop: elitist or not, one cannot deny that this show was so obviously made to be american.
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Ken Hayashi



Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 752
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:24 pm Reply with quote
Yes, you're quite right. Says so with the music.

But in the world of CB, every culture has mingled to a great extent. You can see it all over the place: Chinese medicine (Tiger Balm), HK-style neon signboards, cup noodles (which they seem to be always eating), the Japanese-style yakuza (they still use swords in the future?). But the music is definitely American.
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king_micah



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 994
Location: OSU
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:03 pm Reply with quote
Beebop is of course made to fit English. Planetes is another good choice, and already contains English in the Anime. In particaular the phrase "I copy" said pretty often during EVA. The manga, which is already out to volume 2, feels like a good piece of hard scifi at home with American fen. Russian would be a good lanauage for Planetes due to the involvement of them in the manga itself. But what I really want is a Russian Dub of Gits:SAC, it would go well with the theme.
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Ken Hayashi



Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 752
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:15 pm Reply with quote
Now a Russian dub of GITS: SAC would really be weird. GITS clearly takes place in Japan. All the members of Section 9 are Japanese. Why would a Russian dub work?
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king_micah



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 994
Location: OSU
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:21 pm Reply with quote
The theme for Gits is Russian. Thus it would work with the music, and the general story themes which are Russian as well.
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Fenrir



Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 369
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:50 pm Reply with quote
Frankly it all depends on the scripts and the actors. I find anime to be distinctly japanese and don't tend to enjoy it as much in other languages because I feel that the actors or the story is missing something. This is probably due to how hard it is to translate japanese into english accurately. Hell even certain subs can piss me off with their inacuracy now a days.
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4533
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:20 am Reply with quote
I'm pretty much a die-hard sub fan, though I'm not elitist since I don't have a problem with the existence of dubs and I don't mind that plenty of people have a preference for dubs. There are some things where I like the dub a lot, like You're Under Arrest, especially the first four episodes with the southern accented kids, and Kiki's Delivery Service, because, damn, I like Phil Hartman as Jiji even if they added things not present in the Japanese version, but, even in those cases, I still prefer the Japanese audio more.

Perhaps the exception would be Mad Bull 34, but, in that particular case, the anime itself is attrocious, so the bad dubbing only makes it unintentionally funny. And Samurai Pizza Cats obviously took huge liberties with Cats dou Ninden Teyandee, but, in that way, it's like the anime dub equivalent of What's Up, Tiger Lily?.
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arxane



Joined: 30 Oct 2002
Posts: 447
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:27 am Reply with quote
I heard that Miyazaki really loves the French dub for "Porco Rosso", especially the voice for Porco, played by Jean Reno (which is why I'm a little disappointed Disney didn't get Reno for the English dub).
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Ken Hayashi



Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 752
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:30 am Reply with quote
I still feel anime should be watched in its original Japanese audio. I didn't realize that GITS (or are you referring to the SAC TV series?) had a Russian theme. It never appeared that way to me.

The Japanese language is a very complex one (I spent a year learning it and still can't grapple with it). Sometimes, with a good voice actor, the naunces in their tone, the choice of words, etc. make a significant contribution to making the anime that much better. It's similar to Chinese (of course I can't read Chinese very well, but I can comprehend Mandarin) so choice of words, tone of voice, etc is all very important to convey a certain message across.

I'm not against dubd, they help me understand the plot better (English is my 1st language). But when I want to really get into an anime, I usually watch the subbed version. It's easy with DVDs, you get all the audio tracks on one disc.
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