Yeah, I'm pretty much alright with that one, myself. Joke's kind of about the impression some people might get from listening to anime fans online. I can't recall anyone complimenting a dub.
I have nothing but love for the dub of Hellsing, both the original and the Ultimate series. I will compliment it all day long.
The dub of GTO is pretty good, Bebop is quite good, Last Exile is good...The dub of Orphen is actually better than the subtitles. The subtitles are really awful and boring, and the writing in the dub improves upon them considerably.
I just remembered something funny. Can probably still find it on YouTube. "If 4Kids dubbed Death Note": Light bends over and picks up a notebook. Pan up slowly... "Disappear Note"
I tend to watch with dubs unless it's just plain painful, because too long reading subtitles gives me a headache. The dubs I've named share one thing in common: the VAs actually sound like adults.
I've always thought that a lot of anime VAs sound like teenagers trying desperately do do an "adult" voice. When you can find the Crispin Freeman or the Victoria Harwood or the Steven Blum who actually sounds like a grown-up, you're doing something right.
Another great dub I forgot to mention: any season of Full Metal Panic. Awesome giant robot action/comedy.
The 4kids Death Note parody I saw was "Breath Note". Write their name, and they sneeze, leading to hi-larious consequences. And falls from a great height.
The same user did "Casey and Friends", which was... Well, I'll say that "Casey" is from "Keiichi", and leave it at that.
Cowboy Bebop is pretty much it. There are some others that are OK and a lot that are pretty awful but Cowboy Bebop is so good that I actually prefer the dub over the original Japanese audio track.
I liked "Robots in Disguise," largely because the voice actors were talented and didn't take the show seriously. I may come across as a philistine when I say that I also liked the dub of Princess Mononoke.
That's understandable, since a good dub doesn't call attention to itself and just lets you enjoy the show.
I do wonder about how one can tell if a dub is bad. I've heard rumblings about the dub of Patlabor being bad, but I didn't have problems with the dub. That was the TV series dub, though. (I did think that Ohta came off as incompetent, but I think that's just how the character was, not a by-product of the dub.)
Mostly what tears a dub for me is overly-high voices. I remember one time I accidentally switched the language on one of my Neon Genesis DVDs back to English, and Asuka's English voice grated on me like nails on chalkboard.
One example I can't quite describe is a voice change for Chad in Bleach. I know he's not exactly supposed to be the most conversant individual, but the guy that took over sometime in the Bount arc made him sound like he lost several IQ points.
Mostly what tears a dub for me is overly-high voices.
That's kind of what I was talking about when I mentioned teenagers trying to sounds like grown-ups. So damn many VAs are like that and it drives me up a wall.
One of the big problems most anime dubs have is that they are working with third string voice actors. The North American voice talent pool is rather limited, and companies like Disney tie up most of the good actors.
The few companies that can get better voice talent are also the ones that don't care because "it's just for the kids, and they'll watch any rubbish we shovel in front of them."
I watched the horrible 4kids Macekre of One Piece, trying to pick out what was really underneath all those horrible digital coverups. Did end up kind of disconcerting when Cartoon Network took it and got around to making their own dub with different voice actors.
I liked the dub of "Oh My Goddess". At first I found it rather jarring, because I was used to the japanese voices, but later on I got used to the american actors, and found that they were in fact pulling their weight.
Unfortuantely, there was a particular very important joke in one of the episodes that did not work in English.
The dub for Full Metal Alchemist was also great. I liked it better than the original.
Why does every single individual English dub ever of every anime ever suck? Ever.
21 comments:
I don't know, I've heard the dub of Cowboy Bebop was pretty good. Haven't seen it myself to confirm, though.
Yeah, I'm pretty much alright with that one, myself. Joke's kind of about the impression some people might get from listening to anime fans online. I can't recall anyone complimenting a dub.
I have nothing but love for the dub of Hellsing, both the original and the Ultimate series. I will compliment it all day long.
The dub of GTO is pretty good, Bebop is quite good, Last Exile is good...The dub of Orphen is actually better than the subtitles. The subtitles are really awful and boring, and the writing in the dub improves upon them considerably.
Actually, there are some dubs I would love to see come to exist.
I want to see 4Kids dub Bible Black. Because based on what little I know about the two, it would be fucking hilarious.
Oh, I do generally prefer subtitles, though. A lot of the anime I watch that has been dubbed has more annoying voices.
I just remembered something funny. Can probably still find it on YouTube. "If 4Kids dubbed Death Note": Light bends over and picks up a notebook. Pan up slowly... "Disappear Note"
I tend to watch with dubs unless it's just plain painful, because too long reading subtitles gives me a headache. The dubs I've named share one thing in common: the VAs actually sound like adults.
I've always thought that a lot of anime VAs sound like teenagers trying desperately do do an "adult" voice. When you can find the Crispin Freeman or the Victoria Harwood or the Steven Blum who actually sounds like a grown-up, you're doing something right.
Another great dub I forgot to mention: any season of Full Metal Panic. Awesome giant robot action/comedy.
The 4kids Death Note parody I saw was "Breath Note". Write their name, and they sneeze, leading to hi-larious consequences. And falls from a great height.
The same user did "Casey and Friends", which was... Well, I'll say that "Casey" is from "Keiichi", and leave it at that.
Gurren Lagann was astonishingly not-terrible, to the point where I thought I'd accidentally learnt Japanese and watched the original.
Well, not quite that good, but it's pretty good, and I can't see myself watching a subbed version again.
Cowboy Bebop is pretty much it. There are some others that are OK and a lot that are pretty awful but Cowboy Bebop is so good that I actually prefer the dub over the original Japanese audio track.
I liked "Robots in Disguise," largely because the voice actors were talented and didn't take the show seriously. I may come across as a philistine when I say that I also liked the dub of Princess Mononoke.
With the exception of Gillian Anderson, I agree.
"I can't recall anyone complimenting a dub."
That's understandable, since a good dub doesn't call attention to itself and just lets you enjoy the show.
I do wonder about how one can tell if a dub is bad. I've heard rumblings about the dub of Patlabor being bad, but I didn't have problems with the dub. That was the TV series dub, though. (I did think that Ohta came off as incompetent, but I think that's just how the character was, not a by-product of the dub.)
Mostly what tears a dub for me is overly-high voices. I remember one time I accidentally switched the language on one of my Neon Genesis DVDs back to English, and Asuka's English voice grated on me like nails on chalkboard.
One example I can't quite describe is a voice change for Chad in Bleach. I know he's not exactly supposed to be the most conversant individual, but the guy that took over sometime in the Bount arc made him sound like he lost several IQ points.
Mostly what tears a dub for me is overly-high voices.
That's kind of what I was talking about when I mentioned teenagers trying to sounds like grown-ups. So damn many VAs are like that and it drives me up a wall.
A more specific thing for me is... I'm not sure I could watch anything with Veronica Taylor in it now. At least, not as a small boy. She just, it...
GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL.
Gah...
One of the big problems most anime dubs have is that they are working with third string voice actors. The North American voice talent pool is rather limited, and companies like Disney tie up most of the good actors.
The few companies that can get better voice talent are also the ones that don't care because "it's just for the kids, and they'll watch any rubbish we shovel in front of them."
What, no love for Fullmetal Alchemist?
Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note, Bleach, and Naruto all have very well done dubs as far as I'm concerned.
The less said about One Piece the better.
Yeah, they did that group well.
I watched the horrible 4kids Macekre of One Piece, trying to pick out what was really underneath all those horrible digital coverups. Did end up kind of disconcerting when Cartoon Network took it and got around to making their own dub with different voice actors.
I liked the dub of "Oh My Goddess". At first I found it rather jarring, because I was used to the japanese voices, but later on I got used to the american actors, and found that they were in fact pulling their weight.
Unfortuantely, there was a particular very important joke in one of the episodes that did not work in English.
The dub for Full Metal Alchemist was also great. I liked it better than the original.
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