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Voice Actors: Japanese vs English

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Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna
I'm a little curious about people's view on this, since I don't really have a plethora of friends who are really into anime (and what better place to ask for an outside opinion!).

Recently, the English VAers for SAO were released and someone I know from university implied that it's a bad idea and that "Because English dubs suck? That's common knowledge" (direct quotation). They also understand Japanese (and while I am Japanese, I can't) so maybe that sways their decision?

My question is this: Is it a 'thing' that people really are against English dubs, or it makes them 'suck'? Based on voice actors alone, I know a few anime that were done well in my eyes such as (in no particular order) Dragonball Z, Gundam 00, Full Metal Alchemist / Brotherhood, etc... I can go on.
It feels to me that people tend to stick to one or the other because they feel one or the other is bad, but I don't really agree on that.
I know only prefer English dubs (if it's tolerable... ie: not Naruto) only because I can't read subs fast enough to be able to actually watch the anime with as much enjoyment as possible.

It's entirely possible that I'm part of the minority that doesn't think the way my colleague does, so that might be something I'll have to keep in mind.

Thoughts on this topic?
Aoriki
778 posts
Joined February 2011
Aoriki
I enjoy both English and Japanese voices. Yes, there is some that I don't think I'd like to see in English (Cause Some may sound bad or just doesn't match the character's image). When it comes to Japanese subs, I can read pretty quick and would like to see it in English (like Hayate no Gotoku, I'm still waiting for that to be dub so I can laugh my butt off)

So it just depends on the people taste. SAO in english may or may not be good in my view but I still would like to see it. (And then fear it later)
MLGnom
1,365 posts
Joined October 2008
MLGnom
There is few reasons why do people hate/dislike English dubs.

Personally I dislike 2 things about them. Sometimes English VA doesn't sound good with character and kinda lack of emotions. For example 15 years old girl sounds like adult person. The second thing is that sometimes you can notice difference in meaning of conversation. Noticed that when I have been watching something with English dub and with English subtitles (made from japanese dub).
This really depends on who made dub. I have meet few series that wasn't bad at all.
Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna

Aoriki wrote:

I enjoy both English and Japanese voices. Yes, there is some that I don't think I'd like to see in English (Cause Some may sound bad or just doesn't match the character's image). When it comes to Japanese subs, I can read pretty quick and would like to see it in English (like Hayate no Gotoku, I'm still waiting for that to be dub so I can laugh my butt off)

So it just depends on the people taste. SAO in english may or may not be good in my view but I still would like to see it. (And then fear it later)
I agree that sometimes the English Voice Actors don't really match the characters. That happens. I just don't like hearing something along the lines of 'it's common knowledge that English dubs are bad'.
I can see it being good in English. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

MLGnom wrote:

There is few reasons why do people hate/dislike English dubs.

Personally I dislike 2 things about them. Sometimes English VA doesn't sound good with character and kinda lack of emotions. For example 15 years old girl sounds like adult person. The second thing is that sometimes you can notice difference in meaning of conversation. Noticed that when I have been watching something with English dub and with English subtitles (made from japanese dub).
This really depends on who made dub. I have meet few series that wasn't bad at all.
Yeah, and that's on the voice actor. If they're good, they'll really into it, like Vic Mignogna (Ed) from FMAB.
Eh, that one I can't judge terribly well because I don't watch a ton of anime with younger females in it. I'll bear that in mind though.
Well if they change meanings, you'll know later when that conversation is relevant, no?
Aoriki
778 posts
Joined February 2011
Aoriki
MLG is right, when it comes to children or young adults in the series, they sound like they're already got hit by puberty right in the face. Which makes me feel so eh about it. For starters, Nanoha series, I was really looking forward to hearing it in English and once I order it on Netflix for the first disc and watch it....I turn it off. Nanoha didn't sound like she was 8 or 9. She sounded like she was almost 13 and I didn't like it as much. (I decided to stay with Dub version all the way)
Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna

Aoriki wrote:

MLG is right, when it comes to children or young adults in the series, they sound like they're already got hit by puberty right in the face. Which makes me feel so eh about it. For starters, Nanoha series, I was really looking forward to hearing it in English and once I order it on Netflix for the first disc and watch it....I turn it off. Nanoha didn't sound like she was 8 or 9. She sounded like she was almost 13 and I didn't like it as much. (I decided to stay with Dub version all the way)
Like I said, depends on the voice actor. I've seen some good, some not so much.
Johnny Yong Bosch for Rentin (Eureka Seven) and Mona Marshall for Digimon Adventure (Izumi) are both solid examples that I've enjoyed their work.
DaddyCoolVipper
342 posts
Joined July 2012
DaddyCoolVipper
English dubs don't use actual good voice actors, just people from the company. In japland there are high quality voice actors since it's a big business.

The only good English dub is Cromartie.
Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna

DaddyCoolVipper wrote:

English dubs don't use actual good voice actors, just people from the company. In japland there are high quality voice actors since it's a big business.

The only good English dub is Cromartie.
Depends how you define 'good voice actors'. Because I know several that I think are really good. =/
Mogsy
osu! Alumni
3,450 posts
Here since the beginning
Mogsy

DaddyCoolVipper wrote:

English dubs don't use actual good voice actors, just people from the company. In japland there are high quality voice actors since it's a big business.

The only good English dub is Cromartie.
This is actually a highly inaccurate statement. Yes, there are some companies that do in-house dubbing, but there actually are other dubbing companies found within the R1 release market that do get contracted to work on specific series (Bang Zoom comes to mind).

Now, I notice that many complaints come from 'not sounding like the characters'. The one to blame here is the AR director for their casting decisions and their direction. This is noticeable in many of Foster's dubbing (ADV, Sentai Filmworks), especially with the recent major miscastings in the release of Penguindrum. Casting and writing are to blame for awkward-sounding dubs, which in the end changes greatly from director to director, and even project to project.

Also, I'd like to think that a lot of dub hate comes from dubs that came out 10-20 years ago, thanks to cases of overtranslation or loose interpretation combined with misdirection/miscasting. Dubs have definitely gotten a lot better over time (checking out FUNimation's dub efforts definitely prove this with most of their recent releases), but people aren't willing to give them a chance.
Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna

Mogsworth wrote:

This is actually a highly inaccurate statement. Yes, there are some companies that do in-house dubbing, but there actually are other dubbing companies found within the R1 release market that do get contracted to work on specific series (Bang Zoom comes to mind).

Now, I notice that many complaints come from 'not sounding like the characters'. The one to blame here is the AR director for their casting decisions and their direction. This is noticeable in many of Foster's dubbing (ADV, Sentai Filmworks), especially with the recent major miscastings in the release of Penguindrum. Casting and writing are to blame for awkward-sounding dubs, which in the end changes greatly from director to director, and even project to project.

Also, I'd like to think that a lot of dub hate comes from dubs that came out 10-20 years ago, thanks to cases of overtranslation or loose interpretation combined with misdirection/miscasting. Dubs have definitely gotten a lot better over time (checking out FUNimation's dub efforts definitely prove this with most of their recent releases), but people aren't willing to give them a chance.
I knew some did in-house, but I wasn't sure on how much.

Haha, maybe I should be paying more attention to the AR Directors then.

Oh, gosh, I hope a lot of dub hate doesn't come from judging old anime - I didn't really think of that. For sure dubs have gotten better over time.
DaddyCoolVipper
342 posts
Joined July 2012
DaddyCoolVipper

Mogsworth wrote:

Dubs have definitely gotten a lot better over time (checking out FUNimation's dub efforts definitely prove this with most of their recent releases)
Not at all.

I know a lot of people here will think dubs are good or whatever, but I absolutely can't stand them. There's always something about every single voice actor that irks me- either they don't suit the character or simply don't have talent.

Take Kyon's English VA, for example. Why is he so, err, "breath"-y? Why does he sound so old? And it's like this for every character. As for the girls, oh christ, don't even get me started.
TamaraMarie
115 posts
Joined October 2010
TamaraMarie
I can't stand most dubs. Mostly because the characters I know and love are completely ruined by the voice provided. Dubs like Cardcaptor Sakura and Naruto just further fueled my hate for dubs (especially since CCS and Naruto are two of my favorite anime).

However, there are some dubs that I HAVE enjoyed such as xxxHOLiC (if this was destroyed, I would have been absolutely done with ALL dubs), Durarara!!, Clannad, Ouran High School Host Club, Fairy Tail (FUNimation), Shuffle!, and Hetalia: Axis Powers (although many people hate the APH dub because it's basically just a bunch of Americans with fake accents but idgaf).

As you can see, FUNimation is pretty much the only dub production company that I enjoy and actually expect something good out of.
Sotodashi
63 posts
Joined September 2012
Sotodashi

DaddyCoolVipper wrote:

English dubs don't use actual good voice actors, just people from the company. In japland there are high quality voice actors since it's a big business.

The only good English dub is Cromartie.
Cowboy Bebop.
Pumear
7 posts
Joined June 2012
Pumear
I've recently started to watch anime. First one I watched was Angel Beats!, and once I got into it, I didn't mind the Japanese voice acting, in fact I thought it fit very well into the image of the character. Then I watched Anohana and Myself; Yourself, both in Japanese with english subtitles. At this point I'm loving anime, the story-telling is superb, and the action is astounding. But then I tried watching the dub on the first anime I ever watched (Angel Beats!), and it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought. But I would still definitely prefer subs over dubs, simply because the voice just doesn't match up with the character, and the story telling is noticably different.

Then there's American styled Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh or whatever. I've grown up with those as a kid, so it all sounds like regular stuff to me. In fact, when I tried watching some Pokemon in Japanese with subtitles, it doesn't sound right to me. It wasn't the way I expected, or used to watch it. Maybe that's the same with "real" animes. You watch it first with subs, and go back and watch it with dubs, and it doesn't sound right to you.

But what do I know? I have yet to watch and experience hundreds of other animes out there. :P
Sotodashi
63 posts
Joined September 2012
Sotodashi
Watching Dragonball with their original voices sure is a shock after a lifetime of dubbed.

Also, Black Lagoon has a good dub.
Professor Prinny
280 posts
Joined July 2012
Professor Prinny
To be honest I think it's just a lack of effort with the English dubs these days, I can easily tell that some voice actors really can't get used to anime character roles easily (probably because the English language has a slightly more serious tone to it) although like a few people have mentioned most of the older anime have awesome dubs.

Onto the Japanese ones, I think they pretty much a voice for any situation, character, object etc.
Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna

DaddyCoolVipper wrote:

I know a lot of people here will think dubs are good or whatever, but I absolutely can't stand them. There's always something about every single voice actor that irks me- either they don't suit the character or simply don't have talent.
And that's your opinion. =P

TamaraMarie wrote:

I can't stand most dubs. Mostly because the characters I know and love are completely ruined by the voice provided. Dubs like Cardcaptor Sakura and Naruto just further fueled my hate for dubs (especially since CCS and Naruto are two of my favorite anime)
Naruto was pretty atrocious. Considering how big that anime is, it disappointed me a little.

Pumear wrote:

I've recently started to watch anime. First one I watched was Angel Beats!, and once I got into it, I didn't mind the Japanese voice acting, in fact I thought it fit very well into the image of the character. Then I watched Anohana and Myself; Yourself, both in Japanese with english subtitles. At this point I'm loving anime, the story-telling is superb, and the action is astounding. But then I tried watching the dub on the first anime I ever watched (Angel Beats!), and it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought. But I would still definitely prefer subs over dubs, simply because the voice just doesn't match up with the character, and the story telling is noticably different.

Then there's American styled Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh or whatever. I've grown up with those as a kid, so it all sounds like regular stuff to me. In fact, when I tried watching some Pokemon in Japanese with subtitles, it doesn't sound right to me. It wasn't the way I expected, or used to watch it. Maybe that's the same with "real" animes. You watch it first with subs, and go back and watch it with dubs, and it doesn't sound right to you.

But what do I know? I have yet to watch and experience hundreds of other animes out there.
It's nice to hear different opinions.
I actually watched Angel Beats! in English because... that's what I found first, no other reason. xD And I enjoyed it. This is one of those where I can see English dubs being slightly odd.
Pokémon (though more so early) and Yu-Gi-Oh I watched as a kid to and you said it perfectly - regular stuff. Which isn't a bad thing at all. I'm sure if I listened to them in Japanese, they'd so very strange. They're considered "real" anime. xD

Sotodashi wrote:

Watching Dragonball with their original voices sure is a shock after a lifetime of dubbed.
Going from watching DBZ in dub, then to DBGT (back when it was new) in subs was a 'very' strange transition for me...

Professor Prinny wrote:

Onto the Japanese ones, I think they pretty much a voice for any situation, character, object etc.
North American voice actors can do that, they're more unique here than in Japan though. But yeah, I see what you mean.
Mogsy
osu! Alumni
3,450 posts
Here since the beginning
Mogsy

DaddyCoolVipper wrote:

Mogsworth wrote:

Dubs have definitely gotten a lot better over time (checking out FUNimation's dub efforts definitely prove this with most of their recent releases)
Not at all.

I know a lot of people here will think dubs are good or whatever, but I absolutely can't stand them. There's always something about every single voice actor that irks me- either they don't suit the character or simply don't have talent.

Take Kyon's English VA, for example. Why is he so, err, "breath"-y? Why does he sound so old? And it's like this for every character. As for the girls, oh christ, don't even get me started.
You have a personal preference that is confusing to me, then, because there's a difference between being picky and being anal. You're being anal about this and kinda biased for no real reason other than "it's not Japanese". Because Crispin Freeman does a fantastic job as Kyon, capturing the right level of oddity and snark required for the character.
Guigocsilva
20 posts
Joined July 2012
Guigocsilva
Most of the times i think that english dubs are fine but if i have the option to watch in the original audio i'll most likely go for the originals
Justykanna
1,090 posts
Joined April 2011
Topic Starter
Justykanna

DaddyCoolVipper wrote:

As for the girls, oh christ, don't even get me started.
Okay, so you have a thing for guys voices over girls? Wut.

Mogsworth wrote:

You have a personal preference that is confusing to me, then, because there's a difference between being picky and being anal. You're being anal about this and kinda biased for no real reason other than "it's not Japanese". Because Crispin Freeman does a fantastic job as Kyon, capturing the right level of oddity and snark required for the character.
Agreed.
Crispin Freeman's actually one of my favourite voice actors... I'd hate to hear that he performed poorly. xD

Guigocsilva wrote:

Most of the times i think that english dubs are fine but if i have the option to watch in the original audio i'll most likely go for the originals
Yeah, my sister's the same way (and she watches way more than I ever will).
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