What is everyone's deal?... (Anime dubbing)
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English dubbing does NOT suck, I can think of several series like Azumanga or Haruhi that have top notch VO. Shows like Naruto don't represent the entirety of dubbed anime.
oh and...
oh and...
That's.....never, ever happened.Sparrow Tag said:
This is less the case with Miyazaki films who get pretty all star casts. But then again, I actually don't like categorizing Studio Ghibli as "anime", they transcend the label to me.Baby Tea said:
Overall though, I agree, for most shows etc. the voice dubbing is incredibly poor and done with even worse voice actors.
It's because some of them are rather crap, but it annoys me some too. Yes, 4kids raped One Piece and a good bit of dubs were also censored/bastardized, but that doesn't mean they all suck. Some dubs are quite good [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing], like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Code Geass, and a surprising number are at least decent. Overall it depends on the dub quality; I watch Code Geass dubbed and Nanoha subbed.
Oh, that thing about bad dubbing and elitism/weeaboos.
Oh, that thing about bad dubbing and elitism/weeaboos.
Case in point: Yu-Gi-Oh!
In the Japanese version, people actually die. Like people. In the dub, they get sent to the Shadow Realm. The crowning moment was when the Rare Hunters showed up. The guy with the saws? When you lose, the saws come close to you and cut off your OH WAIT! They're Dark Energy Disks, which are completely harmless. The guys on the roof? Well, when you lose, the roof breaks and you fall to a painful OH WAIT! The roof is a portal, so you'll be in the shadow realm before you hit the ground. Even my five-year-old self back when I still watched that show found that incredibly stupid.
Also, I've revisited the subs recently and found that some characters were sadists. Now, dubbers, we call that "characterization."
In the Japanese version, people actually die. Like people. In the dub, they get sent to the Shadow Realm. The crowning moment was when the Rare Hunters showed up. The guy with the saws? When you lose, the saws come close to you and cut off your OH WAIT! They're Dark Energy Disks, which are completely harmless. The guys on the roof? Well, when you lose, the roof breaks and you fall to a painful OH WAIT! The roof is a portal, so you'll be in the shadow realm before you hit the ground. Even my five-year-old self back when I still watched that show found that incredibly stupid.
Also, I've revisited the subs recently and found that some characters were sadists. Now, dubbers, we call that "characterization."
I'd say trying to emulate the Japanese voice actors is the BIGGEST flaw.
Black lagoon is probably the only show where the voices haven't been pitch-shifted five-thousand octaves higher.
Black lagoon is probably the only show where the voices haven't been pitch-shifted five-thousand octaves higher.
I brought the Azumanga box set at an Anime convention several years back, i thought the dubbing was horrible (and the subs wasn't as nice as the fansubbed versions) so i've never actually watched more than the first DVD, i stuck to the fansubs...TheTygerfire said:
I used to like subtitles because reading what is said helps me understand the plot. It's how I watch foreign language films, in general. I started switching to dub when I came to the biting realization that I have heard all these characters before. It's like playing an online game with a "choose from these 8 voice packs" feature.
In addition to the more varied and colorful speech patterns of English VA, I get the occasional bonus of unintentional comedy. It gives the worse examples a Mystery Science Theater quality.
I suppose I can see how that would irk someone for whom anime is Serious Business, but that's not really my concern. They can watch movies their way, and I'll watch movies my way.
In addition to the more varied and colorful speech patterns of English VA, I get the occasional bonus of unintentional comedy. It gives the worse examples a Mystery Science Theater quality.
I suppose I can see how that would irk someone for whom anime is Serious Business, but that's not really my concern. They can watch movies their way, and I'll watch movies my way.
My reasons:
Fifty times bitten, fifty-one times shy: I grant you that some anime dubs are very good, but some are very very VERY not. And even the ones that are often have flaws the original didn't. Take Gundam Wing for example. All the main characters sound pretty good... but the side characters and random soldiers seem to be taken from a pool of like 3 VAs.
I am a baby duckling: generally speaking, I imprint on the first voice I hear for a character, and any other voice for them will sound just plain wrong. Now since I like newer anime, I tend to have to watch fansubs at first, since dubs take longer to come out. By then, I've already seen enough that the original japanese voices are "right" in my head and switching takes effort.
There will be no closure: Three times now, the professionals have dropped a project I was enjoying at a critical point. UPN stopped showing their adaptation of Tekkaman Blade at a critical moment, Media Blasters killed the dub of Gaogaigar, and tokyopop quit carrying Yureka (a manwha so there's no dub issue, but still). At this point, I don't trust the professionals to finish their projects, so I'm not in a big hurry to acclimate myself to their VAs.
I am a pervert: If you think regular anime dubbing is bad, try hentai anime dubbing. It's TERRIFYING.
Fifty times bitten, fifty-one times shy: I grant you that some anime dubs are very good, but some are very very VERY not. And even the ones that are often have flaws the original didn't. Take Gundam Wing for example. All the main characters sound pretty good... but the side characters and random soldiers seem to be taken from a pool of like 3 VAs.
I am a baby duckling: generally speaking, I imprint on the first voice I hear for a character, and any other voice for them will sound just plain wrong. Now since I like newer anime, I tend to have to watch fansubs at first, since dubs take longer to come out. By then, I've already seen enough that the original japanese voices are "right" in my head and switching takes effort.
There will be no closure: Three times now, the professionals have dropped a project I was enjoying at a critical point. UPN stopped showing their adaptation of Tekkaman Blade at a critical moment, Media Blasters killed the dub of Gaogaigar, and tokyopop quit carrying Yureka (a manwha so there's no dub issue, but still). At this point, I don't trust the professionals to finish their projects, so I'm not in a big hurry to acclimate myself to their VAs.
I am a pervert: If you think regular anime dubbing is bad, try hentai anime dubbing. It's TERRIFYING.
I'm not gonna bother reading what been said so far but i'm guessing people are saying something along the lines of, english voices sound wrong/bad/terrible, they change the dialogue to much or any variation on those two. fair enough I agree.. but this is 2009, not 1999 any more. Anime is getting a lot of more respect these days.
I'm not dissing naruto or bleach, but they are basically only on air to make a lot of money. In turn when they get dubbed, ppl know that kids are gonna watch it no matter what so why spend money on any real talent.
However there are a lot of good series that get suprisingly good english dubs, to name a few: Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Eureka 7, Lucky Star (I was really surprised at this one, its not just the voice acting which fits perfectly but also the translation is spot on).. and im sure they are more, but i only recently gave up my sub-nazi ways so i'v not watched many dubs yet... anyway my point is there have always been a few good anime dubs, but they are getting more frequent and getting better. It helps that the ppl who started doing these dubs (who where mostly all inexperienced anime nuts at the time) are getting a lot better... Anyway for most series i recommend watching a few eps in dub and a few in sub and then decide for yourself... or like me just watch it twice, once with subs and then with dub (if its any good, otherwise with subs again
)
I'm not dissing naruto or bleach, but they are basically only on air to make a lot of money. In turn when they get dubbed, ppl know that kids are gonna watch it no matter what so why spend money on any real talent.
However there are a lot of good series that get suprisingly good english dubs, to name a few: Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Eureka 7, Lucky Star (I was really surprised at this one, its not just the voice acting which fits perfectly but also the translation is spot on).. and im sure they are more, but i only recently gave up my sub-nazi ways so i'v not watched many dubs yet... anyway my point is there have always been a few good anime dubs, but they are getting more frequent and getting better. It helps that the ppl who started doing these dubs (who where mostly all inexperienced anime nuts at the time) are getting a lot better... Anyway for most series i recommend watching a few eps in dub and a few in sub and then decide for yourself... or like me just watch it twice, once with subs and then with dub (if its any good, otherwise with subs again
)
I'm not so much into anime, but I hate it when they do this with movies. The Dutch do this with children's movies, and the French do it with almost every movie. I really don't get why you would rather hear someone talk in your mother tongue but see that the character's mouth are saying something completely different? I think it's charming to hear a foreign language, it adds atmosphere and better represents the culture.
By and large, dub scripts are awful. TV dialogue in general is nothing like the way real people speak, but dubbing from wildly different languages often leads to arcane and strange sentence constructions that no-one would ever say.
I was divided on this until I watched Elfin Lied. It was the scene where Yuka finally professes her love for Kohta. The Japanese version Yuka tells Kohta that she just wants to be around him and he can think of her as his property. She can be viewed as a possession of his just as long as she can be around him. In the English translation Yuka just says she love him and some other stupid stuff.
It was at that point where I said, fuck dubbed, subs or nothing. That was just too big of a switch for me.
Plus the Japanese actors are so much better. I follow the same rule when watching any foreign films. I refuse to see anything dubbed.
It was at that point where I said, fuck dubbed, subs or nothing. That was just too big of a switch for me.
Plus the Japanese actors are so much better. I follow the same rule when watching any foreign films. I refuse to see anything dubbed.
The only two animes i've been able to watch in English are Death Note and Full Metal Alchemist. i generally prefer the subbed version for two reasons. Firstly, most series are further ahead in japan, and secondly, it seems a little disjointed, speech wise, in english.
Dub sounds terrible, and the English version is always 'cut' so all the blood is removed. I know it's a small thing but I want to watch it in its full, not watch someone get stabbed to see him spit out water and there being no stab wound present(the dub), but to see blood actually leave his body and leave a mark.