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Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! - Local-Lies
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RyanSaotome
 Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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About localization/translation, the one thing you should NEVER do is add your own stuff to it. Meaning, you shouldn't add character traits (like making the fox girl during the tournament arc in YuYu Hakusho into a sadist), nor should you add jokes that aren't hinted at all in the original source material (like how GG recently added some Zelda joke in Chuu-2 that wasn't part of the original show). What you SHOULD do is clarify a joke and have it make more sense for the audience instead of just creating your own if you don't like the joke the original anime had.
A translators job is to allow people to enjoy something in a different language... not to create their own take on it. Thats what parodies are for. Last edited by RyanSaotome on Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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rinmackie
 Posts: 1040 Location: in a van! down by the river! |
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I can't really comment on localizations since I usually watch dubs, regardless. I only watch subs when it's the only option or when I watch hentai. (Those dubs are usually bad.) As for popularity, it doesn't necessarily mean something's good but it's not alway bad, either.
Just wanted to mention to the person who mentioned Black Butler, I too, avoided it at first because of the sqee! fangirl association. But I watched the first season on Netflix, and it was better than expected. However, I've heard the manga is much better and I plan to read that someday. As for the second season, I haven't watched that but from what I can tell it has nothing to do with manga and was made specifically for those aforementioned fangirls. |
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thenix
 Posts: 265 |
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Localizations can depend on how well it's done and how the viewer takes it. When Pokemon first came out I could tell they localized it, tried to take out as many Japanese references they could. I hated this. Sure I might not of understood some of the traditional cloths, or local festivals, but I would of learned about them and enjoyed the show more. This happened many times in early dubs. (Sailor moon reversed clips of cars driving on the streets so that they looked like they were driving on the right side instead of the left) I don't know if I just didn't like any localizations or they did a bad job. It made me not want to watch anime in English though and for several years I didn't.
Lately I've been watching anime in English when the dub is good. There are shows where the localization really helps it. For example I don't think I would like Shin-chan or Lupin III without the localization (and good dub). I think it really works for comedy shows, and it really doesn't work for shows aimed at children. (Because they are most heavily localized, and usually just because children won't understand japanese traditions or customs) |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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I kind of want to see Wreck-It Ralph for the first half, but the opinions I've listened to made it seem like the Sarah Silverman half would make me check my phone and be anxious to leave. I trust those opinions, so I still say ParaNorman is the top contender for best animated feature this year. Pixar's submission wasn't up to their normal level, which is a let down from a team/company you've come to expect the best from. I've seen Poppy Hill, and yeah, it's about at the same level as Brave in terms of being a good film with a strong message.
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Dagon123
Posts: 194 |
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Far be it from me to say but, would you really have enjoyed the show more? The entire point of Pokemon is, um, duh, Pokemon. It's not like the kids (Yes this was shounen, and technically aimed at "kids") were really missing out. The first 2 anime I ever saw were Vampire Hunter D and Dragonball Z, and most intelligent Homo Sapiens can figure out that these are fundamentally different then the Looney Toons, or Tom and Jerry for a menagerie or reasons. Whenever I saw something that was unique, like say the Kimono's in Pokemon, I didn't say "Man I'M REALLY MISSING OUT HERE", I just associated them with any festival where people dressed up in different fashions, and enjoyed the quirkiness that aspect brought with each show, and trust me most 5-11 year olds were probably too busy playing with the cards or the Gameboy games to really care THAT much. Now that's not to say you legitimately didn't, It's just a tired argument against localization. It wasn't the internet then, it was early to prime-time slots on early to mid 90's television, you're lucky you saw it at all. |
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Shinn AsukaGSD
Posts: 32 |
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One piece,Naruto,bleach still to this day i still dont know why is popular.i watched them anf give it a chance but in the end it it all was a waste of time and now i have lost hope in humanity coud thiese series are plane garbage.shows like madoka magica,gundam 00,code geass,clannac completely destroy shounen shows.o btw answer man you wasted your timr in watching the elections because its rigged and ur vote doesnt matter.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4157 |
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I hate Japanese puns, not that they're puns or even funny but I still hate them. Sometimes, they're not suppposed to be funny which is the joke which is painfully obvious, other times, it's ... all they got. My point: The translastor's job: To allow people to enjoy something in a different language. The writer's job: Hopefully do a better job than what the translator did. There's a difference. I know it's subtle but it's there.
I like it best when the dub's so far off from the Japanese track that it's practically a different show. Why? 'Cause the original track's still there. The people who demand absolute fealty to the original work, will watch the original work anyway and will complain about any problems regardless. The only way they'd be fully satisified if the original japanese cast did the dub. And I liked the old Dragon Ball Z dub more than Funimation's mid efforts so this is dangerous ground to tread. Butchered and inferior, so butchered and inferior Toei later did their own version which sadly over-butchered the show. Yu-gi-oh? No problem with it. Pokemon? Liked it. One Piece? Prefer it. Simple little factite: Anime is business, it's not serious business. Honestly, I'd rate the entire medium at a lower significance than kaiju films. Anyway, if you're qualified enough to judge the difference between an entertaining show in English and an entertaining show in Japanese, why are you watching the English version? If you can't, why would you automatically declare that the dub is not only a bad translation but it's inferior? Being boring, whether writing or acting, is the greatest flaw of any dub, no exceptions. Hmm, much shorter and to the point than usual for me... And yes, the small subsection of the creative medium of anime in America has brought out people who think they can write creatively and sometimes even compentently when they are merely small fish in a too small pond. |
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Haterater
 Posts: 1728 |
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All I ask at the very least for localization is to make the dialogue flow, something a real person would say. Not any stilted dialogue or weirdly worded stuff that's just directly translated with little thought. Its all about the "spirit" of the work, the feelings its supposed to convey. Not being so super literal/accurate to the point that it feels like an autobot or crazy fan did it. That would alienate many different audiences.
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Kohii
 Posts: 428 |
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There was a lot of bitching when CR was released in Spanish, too. People would be so stubborn when I told them that them downloading fansubs did not help the creators in any way, shape, or form. But it was also met with a lot of support. CR even bought ad space on McAnime, the largest Spanish anime community, which ironically also has a lot of DD links of fansubs (or maybe MCAnime posted those ads on their own) which eventually led to more viewers.
At any rate, like most major projects, it wasn't perfect. There was complaining about the subs that didn't work, the limited library, and many other things. So yeah, expect a rough beginning. |
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gwern
 Posts: 67 |
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The Arrietty/Academy stuff was only ever wishful thinking anyway. I mean, have you watched that movie? Beautiful animation, beautiful music, fantastic worldbuilding - and a real dog of a plot. Compare the plot to _Spirited Away_, and it's just no comparison. It's as well that the Academy slot went to another.
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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Like a failed political campaign, Funimation and Sentai have not gotten this message across to the fans. Clarine Harp has mentioned it at several panels of hers to which I've gone, as have Sentai veterans like Greenfield and Grant. Clearly that isn't enough to spread the word. I've even seen ANN reviews comment on the dub's "faithfulness" to the subs, which shows how pervasive this unfortunate assumption is. Xam'd comes to mind. The only "true" way to compare the Japanese to the English dub is to be truly fluent in both languages and thus avoid subtitles that are subject to translation. The assumption that the subtitles are 100% accurate to the Japanese spoken dialogue is baseless and not sufficiently guaranteed to be correct to be the basis for the OP's comparison. |
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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YMMV, your opinions are not doubt different from mine, but that said, I went into "Wreck-It Ralph" EXPECTING to hate the character Sarah Silverman voices BECAUSE the actress annoys me. But I actually found myself liking the character I think her character was well done for what she is. That said, if you can't stand her VOICE, then "it is what it is". (I'm not really a "voice" person) But if you have concerns from the trailer, I'd almost liken it to other movies that think certain STUPID exchanges make for a great trailer. I think the movie will live or die on the concept, the trailers don't do it justice. |
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I personally don't care how closely a dub follows the original Japanese script, so long as it's entertaining, makes sense and is well performed. Samurai Pizza Cats is one example where the Japanese script wasn't used and the outcome was hilariously great imo. IIRC Shinesman took a lot of liberties with the jokes in the dub script, and it was that much more fun to watch because of it.
I also tend to prefer dubs when the plot/setting call for it. Castle in the Sky was difficult to appreciate in its original Japanese, but the French version felt like a better fit for the more European-esque world feel (the English dub was mostly ruined for me by Pazu's VA). I liked the English dub for Kiki's Delivery Service, and felt like the Japanese-ness of the original track hurt my sense of immersion in the film. Although I much prefer the Japanese dub of Slayers, the English track has a campy feel that fits in its own goofy way. On the flip side of the coin, I think anime that take place in Japanese-specific locations are almost always going to be better in Japanese, simply because the language makes more sense for the setting. It really breaks immersion, for example, when an English voice adds honorifics to names, since it's unnatural dialogue for an English speaker. The mix is usually too jarring for my tastes. I studied Japanese for a few years in college (because of anime), and I can definitely say the nuances of the spoken language can't really be fully captured in subtitles alone. In some cases, understanding the spoken Japanese can actually grate on your nerves (especially nowadays, the voice acting for stylish young Japanese teenage characters makes me want to claw my ears out sometimes). |
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TitanXL
 Posts: 4036 |
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Agreed. I want to watch the show, not "Funimation's Comedic Rebranding of X" which they have a tendency of doing with pretty much all of their dubs Localization is so patronizing and insulting to the audience, thikning they're too stupid to handle things like Japanese names. Japanese shows having Japanese things in them, how dreadful. The only dubs I bother with from time to time are 4Kids ones just to see how bad/hilarious they are. It's good for a laugh sometimes after I watch the original version. Just recently I saw them turn a gun in Yu-Gi-Oh into a magical slingshot which sends you to the shadow realm. How lovely.
Nice to know you have such a low opinion of this medium. As for awards, I don't see why people care so much. I think the fact there's only one real category for animation in the Academy Awards (which was just created in the 2000s I'll point out, so it's a fairly new thing) and it's just for 'best movie' which only a handful get made the whole year, shows you how little the American mainstream regards Animation. If they care so little about it why to people care what they think at all or what they deem best? (Especially when it's been pretty much well known that these kinds of award things are incredibly bias/rigged) Isn't it more indicative to care about something like the Tokyo Anime Awards which goes into greater depth like best director, screenplay, composer, character designer, seiyuu, show, OVA, movie, etc? |
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Chagen46
 Posts: 4377 |
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He didn't just take liberties. From what I read, he flat-out didn't get the Japanese script at all, and had to make an English one completely from scratch. |
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