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Do you miss English songs?


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Hitokiri Kenshin



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 293
PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:36 pm Reply with quote
Was wondering lately, does anyone else miss English opening songs in anime? They used to be done a bit and know a lot of folks didn't like dub versions, but I miss them. Partially as it's easier for me to sing to something in English than in Japanese. (I'm not good at singing songs in other languages). So was wondering if anyone else missed them and singing to them?
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omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1852
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:24 pm Reply with quote
Hitokiri Kenshin wrote:
Was wondering lately, does anyone else miss English opening songs in anime?


I find it rare that one gets the same intensity from an English OP song, and actually find it interesting how much English appears in the lyrics of the Japanese OP/ED songs.

(To be fair, I enjoy being able to hear the OP/ED songs performed live at events like Animelo Summer Live and Animax Musix, mainly by their original singers or otherwise by really capable singers).
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omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1852
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:23 am Reply with quote
Occasionally one will get the same song sung in both English and Japanese by the same singer (e.g. Everlasting Song from Elementar Gerad by Aira Yuuki) or Uchū ni saku (宇宙に咲く) / Faith from Rental Magica by Lisa Komine - I like to be able to hear an English version of a Japanese song by the Japanese artist.

Christina Vee's English cover versions of Japanese anime songs are pretty good also.

This article mentions a similar thing having happened in France - originally anime OP/ED songs were replaced with French songs, but now the original songs are retained:

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001860712
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theflickx



Joined: 20 Aug 2015
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 7:41 am Reply with quote
I always have enjoyed the language that anime is in Smile loved them the way they are.
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5150
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:38 pm Reply with quote
As I understand it, Funimation used to dub the Op/Eds of series that they were trying to get broadcast on various channels and that this effort ended when they launched their own cable channel. I could be wrong about this, of course.
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faridania



Joined: 28 Jul 2015
Posts: 11
Location: London, United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 12:46 am Reply with quote
Hundred percent yes! I wish they could translate this anime song to english.
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5150
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 2:52 pm Reply with quote
^
But what anime song are you referring to?
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Vee-Tee



Joined: 12 Aug 2015
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 8:43 am Reply with quote
I actually liked a lot of English dub anime songs growing up... I unashamedly prefer Dic's backing music for Sailor Moon. Shocked

I think fans nowadays prefer the fidelity of the original song, rather than a dubbing studio doing a new one that's often translated a little wonkily to fit the metre. I remember Funi did Ouran High School Host Club's opening in English... and fans hated it.
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Gatherum



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Aurora CO
PostPosted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 12:56 am Reply with quote
I don't so much miss dubbed Japanese songs as I do songs that were in English to begin with.

My favourite OP songs are, by far, "Duvet" by Bôa and "Kiri" by Monoral, which were employed by Serial Experiments Lain and Ergo Proxy, respectively. But maybe it's because it's the rarity of it happening that anime will employ such material that makes it a truly beloved thing.

...Still, the latter is hitting its tenth anniversary this year, and the former is beyond its fifteenth. I feel like it's time for a good, new contender.
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3966
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Wed May 03, 2017 2:12 pm Reply with quote
It would vary depending on the quality of the dubbing and how well it syncs with the musical accompaniment. I recall the mentioned quality being rather hit or miss for older titles depending on the effort of the voice actors and whether or not they have any singing ability to go along with their acting.
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Dunk_Kong



Joined: 20 Jun 2017
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 11:59 pm Reply with quote
For me it would be varied. Some of them are good, but there are also some of them that should be only in Japanese. The translation sometimes feel bad and that is similarly happen to any Japanese game with English Voice.
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animecosplayer



Joined: 22 Jun 2017
Posts: 25
Location: Tampa, Florida
PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 3:29 am Reply with quote
This is just my opinion but I still prefer the original version as I don't really appreciate it once it is translated into English.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 7:50 am Reply with quote
No, I don't miss them at all. Songs simply don't translate well. Generally if you got a good song, it was a poor translation and usually a poor fit for the show. Most of the time you got a so-so song and a so-so translation. I can't think of anything where I wouldn't prefer the original.
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niji9t



Joined: 12 Jul 2017
Posts: 18
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 7:16 am Reply with quote
I do, actually. You can say about 4kids whatever you want but that Pokemon intro will always be epic and it clearly surpasses the Japanese one.
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Snomaster1
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Joined: 31 Aug 2011
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 15, 2022 5:42 am Reply with quote
For all those who miss English anime songs,you're not alone. I'm among those who do and I have no problem saying it. While there have been some poor English language songs,there have also been some wonderful ones. One of the best and most obvious of the English language openings is the one from "Sailor Moon" by DIC. It's certainly one of the most memorable and it's very good.
Another example is from Nelvana's version of "Cardcaptor Sakura" called "Cardcaptors." It had a mysterious but also an action-oriented quality to it which made it good to hear. Now,you may not like the English dub of this show,but to be honest,I kinda think they did a good job with the English opening.

For me,whatever you think of 4Kids,they had two things going for them. They had really talented voice actors and wonderful English openings. Their opening themes gave their version of shows a distinct personality of whatever they were localizing. One of the most obvious and memorable one is their first "Pokemon" opening theme. Beloved and treasured by all who heard it,it gave you a sense of excitement whenever you heard it.
It meant that you were going to have a fun time when you heard it. You couldn't help but imagine you and your own friends going out on an adventure to catch your own Pokemon. It's other great success was "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and it's English theme. It started off with ancient Egyptian instruments at it's beginning to a more hard driving modern beat later on in the opening gave it a strange,sometimes haunting and mysterious quality. It would be well served throughout the 4Kids run and while other themes would take it's place in later "Yu-Gi-Oh!" shows,I often thought they did a good job with this one.

One equally memorable show 4Kids did was "Shaman King." It's bold and epic theme easily fit in with that show. Now,I haven't seen the current English version of "Shaman King,"but I have heard that there are those who wish they used the original English theme that 4Kids did. I don't blame them for wanting it. It's darn good and fits the show like a glove.
Another English theme that 4Kids did that wasn't as successful as many of it's other ones was it's English theme for "One Piece." Their attempt to have a rap song mimic old time sea shanties wasn't exactly everyone's cup of tea. In my view,it was a good idea,but it could have been better. From what I heard,they did a fine English version of it's original opening that had a lot of people wishing they went with that instead.

But,if you think that 4Kids was alone in making good English openings for anime,you'd be wrong. Viz's opening to "The Prince of Tennis" is another example. It's strong,confident opening with guitars and electronic music pumped you up for whatever adventure it's main character was going to go on. You really enjoyed it and it's a shame that it doesn't get as much respect as it really deserves.
Another English theme to an anime that needs a little more respect are Manga Entertainment's themes to "Fist of the North Star." From it's hard-charging opening to it's more subdued closing is a great example of an English theme fitting the personality of a show of it's type. I recommend you give them a listen. You'll see exactly what I mean.

While there have been Japanese anime that have English language openings themselves like "Serial Experiments Lain's" "Duvet" by Boa,which I have heard and liked and "Ergo Proxy's" "Kiri" by Monoral,which I haven't so,I can't really say. But,there's one English language closing theme I'd like to mention that I have heard. It's in the movie "Tenchi Muyo In Love." Surprisingly enough,it was done by Christopher Franke of the "Babylon 5" franchise. It's called "Alchemy of Love" and there's both an English and Japanese version. The English version was done by Nina Hagen and Rick Jude while the Japanese version was done by Megumi Hayashibara. It'll be up to you which version you prefer.
Now,you've heard my examples of English themes I like but which themes do you enjoy? Please tell me. I'd love to hear about so please tell me what you think about these English language themes to anime.
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