Bad voice acting that just makes you nerdrage

[Hazy992]

I'm gonna use a game as an example, but it can apply to anything so I thought to post it in off-topic. Anyway...

I was fiddling around on the settings on Street Fighter x Tekken and saw English language options for the Tekken characters that usually only speak Japanese. Nothing could prepare me for the horrors that awaited:

Asuka [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=0m0s]
Heihachi [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=1m8s]
Kazuya [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=1m35s]
Jin/Xiaoyu [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=2m35s]

Why?! Why have they done this?! They're awful! Dammit Capcom! D:

[/rant]

Anyway, have you ever come across a dub or something that just makes you facepalm? Where you listen to it and it almost makes you dislike the characters? Can you top these? Not just in terms of quality but in 'shock' value? I'm sure someone can.

Captcha: 'brush your teeth' Rude.

 

[Raika]

Mark Meer comes immediately to mind, especially considering that the comparisons between him and the vastly superior Jennifer Hale are inevitable. One could argue that Jennifer Hale is an unfair comparison because she's superior to pretty much everyone else, and that's true. The thing is, even when you don't compare him to someone who might be the best video game voice actor ever, Mark Meer falls flat. Compare him to most voice actors and Mark Meer falls flat. Compare him to Steve Blum and he falls flat. Compare him to Nolan North and he falls flat. Hell, you can even compare him to Jon St. John, the ultimate one-trick pony of the voice acting world, and Mark Meer still falls pathetically flat. Mark Meer might be one of the worst leading men of all time in terms of video game voice talent. If I ever hear his dull, lifeless, uninterested monotone again, it will be too soon.

 

[Antonio Torrente]

Mark Meer comes immediately to mind, especially considering that the comparisons between him and the vastly superior Jennifer Hale are inevitable. One could argue that Jennifer Hale is an unfair comparison because she's superior to pretty much everyone else, and that's true. The thing is, even when you don't compare him to someone who might be the best video game voice actor ever, Mark Meer falls flat. Compare him to most voice actors and Mark Meer falls flat. Compare him to Steve Blum and he falls flat. Compare him to Nolan North and he falls flat. Hell, you can even compare him to Jon St. John, the ultimate one-trick pony of the voice acting world, and Mark Meer still falls pathetically flat. Mark Meer might be one of the worst leading men of all time in terms of video game voice talent. If I ever hear his dull, lifeless, uninterested monotone again, it will be too soon.

One of the reasons i played fem shep is because Mr. Meer's voice is lifeless, dull, uninteresting and no emotion.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

It has bad voice acting but Resident Evil 1 is one of those cases where the bad voice acting is just hilarious.

 

[Raika]

One of the reasons i played fem shep is because Mr. Meer's voice is lifeless, dull, uninteresting and no emotion.

You are not alone. A whole bunch of people refused outright to play a male character due to the unfathomably poor quality of Mark Meer's voice work coupled with the undeniable fact that Jennifer Hale just fucking nailed every single spoken word. I know I sound like a fangirl(because I am), but when you're given the option of Jennifer Hale to voice your player character, you really shouldn't consider anything else if you give even two sevenths of a fuck about voice acting. I'm not saying Jennifer Hale has never given anything but a five-star performance(lest we forget Soulcalibur III and its two equally horrific sequels), but her best performances(Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic in particular) stand as some of the best work in the history of video game talkies. I bought a fighting game solely based on her presence in it(oh, Jean~). She's just that good.

 

[Woodsey]

snip

FemShep never sounds right to me - she puts a slight macho-man twist on it and it sounds forced. She was much better as Bastila.

OT: I actually thought I was going to have this problem with Letho (The Witcher 2) when he started speaking, but after a couple of scenes I'd warmed up to it significantly.

 

[tmande2nd]

Dawn of War Soulstorm springs to mind.
Most Dawn of War games really.

MMMETALL RHINOS!!!!!! BAWKSES! EMPRAH! hehehe.

But no the Witcher games have some REAL stinkers in terms of VO.
I could also add most games really too.

Some of the Medal of Honor games have guys who sound so bored its just bad.
I actually dont really enjoying playing a femshep that much.

She just HAMS her lines up left and right.
Meer sounds a bit to much like a stoic when he talks, and his "humor" is forced.

 

[Tadd]

It has to be from Skyrim. Karliah that female Dark Elf, member of the Nightingales.

I had to turn my volume way up every time she spoke, constantly mumbling; instead of coming across as mysterious, her voice just sounds completely aloof and lacking any kind of emotion.

 

[Antonio Torrente]

One of the reasons i played fem shep is because Mr. Meer's voice is lifeless, dull, uninteresting and no emotion.

You are not alone. A whole bunch of people refused outright to play a male character due to the unfathomably poor quality of Mark Meer's voice work coupled with the undeniable fact that Jennifer Hale just fucking nailed every single spoken word. I know I sound like a fangirl(because I am), but when you're given the option of Jennifer Hale to voice your player character, you really shouldn't consider anything else if you give even two sevenths of a fuck about voice acting. I'm not saying Jennifer Hale has never given anything but a five-star performance(lest we forget Soulcalibur III and its two equally horrific sequels), but her best performances(Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic in particular) stand as some of the best work in the history of video game talkies. I bought a fighting game solely based on her presence in it(oh, Jean~). She's just that good.

Well she is an industry veteran branching out on film, video games, cartoons and tv.

Just see her wikipedia and imdb entries and she has done and accomplished more than Mark Meer so she knows more how to convey the right emotions on any given role.

I don't say that Mr. Meer is bad it's just that he is using the same voice in almost all video games he is in if the youtube videos I saw is to believe.

 

[Ryu-Kage]

When it comes to anime, I typically prefer watching the dubbed version if there is one available. I don't necessarily consider the dubs better or worse than the Japanese version ; it's just that I would rather not have to keep glancing to the bottom of the screen in the off-chance I miss something important in the animation. I don't really know enough about Japanese voice actors to make a judgment call on which is better.

There have, however, been English dubs of cartoons that are so bad, despite how good the source material is, it is annihilated by how dreadful the acting or sound quality is. Such is the case for Revolutionary Girl Utena. It is a rather interesting show that explores fairy tale tropes, homosexual relationships, and the line between fantasy and reality among other things. But I saw the English dub of the show, and the acting there is so awful that I really began to think much less of it. The sound quality was mumbling or echoey when it doesn't call for it, and the actors just sounded bored to be doing this (I think Crispin Freeman was the only guy that "worked").

Other little quirks I've noticed in some anime dubs include more stiff-sounding lines that make the show sound incredibly cliche (S-cry-ed) and pauses that the actors seem to take in the middle of delivering a line that I can't be sure were intentional (Spider Riders, which sucked anyway).

 

[Scarim Coral]

4kids One Piece dub, every single one of them.

E.g. Nico Robin 4kids voice. She is a sophisticated type of gal given a fact that her pofession is archaeology. 4kids decided to give her a southen accent just because the first time we saw her, she was wearing a cowgirl just of clothing. No offence to the southern out there but the 4kids dub only make her sound like an mall girl and does not suit here at all!

Thank got Funimation save the show dubbing!

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Every time Rikku opens her mouth in FFX... and any time ANYONE opens their goodamn mouth in FF-X2!!!!!

I agree with @Ryu-Kage though... I prefer dubbed versions of things... I find it easier to follow something if I can read the words and hear the tone in which they are said! Nothing worse than a bright and cheery voice actor ruining a darker or more upsetting scene!

 

[Hazy992]

It has bad voice acting but Resident Evil 1 is one of those cases where the bad voice acting is just hilarious.

Stop it! Don't open! That door!

 

[Hazy992]

Every video game ever, with the exclusion of Bioshock.

I think the stuff Rockstar does is at least decent.

 

[Tartarga]

4kids One Piece dub, every single one of them.

E.g. Nico Robin 4kids voice. She is a sophisticated type of gal given a fact that her pofession is archaeology. 4kids decided to give her a southen accent just because the first time we saw her, she was wearing a cowgirl just of clothing. No offence to the southern out there but the 4kids dub only make her sound like an mall girl and does not suit here at all!

Thank got Funimation save the show dubbing!

Oh god this, it's been a while but didn't they make Sanji sound like some sort of snobby Italian guy? Sweet merciful zombie christ that was annoying.

 

[dyre]

I remember there was some uppity paladin woman in Neverwinter Nights who had an extremely annoying voice (and was also an extremely annoying character). She was one of the main NPCs, but I forgot her name.

edit: Aribeth! It was Lady Aribeth

 

[Soviet Heavy]

snip

FemShep never sounds right to me - she puts a slight macho-man twist on it and it sounds forced. She was much better as Bastila.

OT: I actually thought I was going to have this problem with Letho (The Witcher 2) when he started speaking, but after a couple of scenes I'd warmed up to it significantly.

Definitely agree on Letho. The dude speaks like a man with a disability, but his odd speech makes him freaking intimidating.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I'm gonna use a game as an example, but it can apply to anything so I thought to post it in off-topic. Anyway...

I was fiddling around on the settings on Street Fighter x Tekken and saw English language options for the Tekken characters that usually only speak Japanese. Nothing could prepare me for the horrors that awaited:

Asuka [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=0m0s]
Heihachi [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=1m8s]
Kazuya [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=1m35s]
Jin/Xiaoyu [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdqAPxs6wg#t=2m35s]

Why?! Why have they done this?! They're awful! Dammit Capcom! D:

0_o I thought most of those were quite good or at least entertaining, but then again I don't have anything to compare them to.

 

[evilneko]

Most dubbed anime, with very few exceptions (OUTLAW FUCKING STAR. Best dub EVAR). Also any TokyoPop dub. That company can go to hell.

For some reason, games don't really bother me much. Except for....

Disgaea. "Lord, give me strength!" Yeah, I'll need it to put up with you, Flonne... (Bear in mind, Disgaea 1 had english in battle, even if you selected Japanese)

I don't really blame Oblivion or Fallout 3 voice actors, it's not their fault Bethesda didn't give their NPCs enough things to talk about.