Anime is better when-with subtitles-or-english voices dubbed

[ssam]

To me it depends on what the setting of the anime is about. For instance Cowboy Bebop and Hellsing have a clear Western setting so it is more appropriate to hear the English dub. Granted, these dubs are considered one of the best dubs for animes.

Originally Posted by ssam

To me it depends on what the setting of the anime is about. For instance Cowboy Bebop and Hellsing have a clear Western setting so it is more appropriate to hear the English dub. Granted, these dubs are considered one of the best dubs for animes.

I agree for the most part. It's the obvious Eastern shows like Naruto that don't make sense dubbed.

[ssam]

Originally Posted by NeoZidane

I agree for the most part. It's the obvious Eastern shows like Naruto that don't make sense dubbed.

I agree on this as well. I much prefer to watch Eastern setting animes in Japanese because it feels more authentic.

[Meracanus]

I find it almost comical how well the English dub fits with certain animes sometimes; Cowboy Bebop being an excellent example. When I first saw that dubbed I had to actually stop and shut my mouth. I thought What the hell. The English version isn't supposed to be this good. What are you guys doing!!

Not that there's anything wrong with having an excellent English dub. It's invaluable for those among us who can't read fast enough, heh, and personally, I've no problem with watching an English dub...in principle that is. What I do have a problem with is inappropriate or awkward translations. Anyone who's seen the FLCL North American release with agree with me on this point. Often times there's just no good way to translate, especially when there's heavy amounts of word play, or popular Japanese sayings along the same line. Actually, FLCL is somewhat of an exception here, since the word-play was left un-westernized. Hell, it was left un-translated altogether. Of course, that makes for it's own problems, too...but I digress.

On the whole, I think original Japanese is much better.

[Sebur]

I have a really hard time watching anime when it's dubbed.

[ssam]

Really, even when there are some animes that have an excellent English voice cast that is superior or at the very least, matches the seiyuu cast perfectly?

Look at Dragonball Z...the english voice cast in my opinion was way better than the seiyuu cast.

[Killagame]

Well to me....

For somethings I like the japanese voice better. Like the japanese Zaraki Kenpachi sounds more menacing than the english version.

[ssam]

I do like to hear certain VA's for certain characters. For instance, Crispin Freeman has finally nailed down Alucard's tone and voice quite well. Fitting since Hellsing is in a western setting. However, I will always admire Jouji Nakata for his role as Alucard. His chilling and creepy voice for Alucard can send chills down your spine!

[Meracanus]

I agree with you ssam, but on a side note, I think it's somewhat unfortunate the situation Crispen Freeman has gotten himself into. He, like many other voice actors seem to have solidified their position in the anime world, stuck playing similar parts wherever they go. Now, I don't intend to say that the man is a bad voice actor; the real issue is that he's cast so often in nearly the same part in numerous different anime.

This actually harks on a much greater problem in the anime-dubbing world. There are not enough mainstream voice actors. Perhaps it's because everyone thinks "since the current actors are so good, why replace them," but it just can't be helped when you have the same actor going around and playing the exact same parts, and doing them in the exact same voice! I don't even need to see the credits in an anime to know that Crispen Freeman was in it, or Steven Jay Blum, another perfect example. When he acted as Spike in Cowboy Bebop, I thought he was perfect for the part. Then there was Mugen in Samurai Champloo, which was a good effort, though I don't think he could ever have portrayed Mugen nearly as well as the original seiyuu. Then, he played as Vincent in the recent Final Fantasy releases, which I just don't care for. It was a solid effort, but I'm sure if the casting director took the time and, god forbid, held some auditions, they'd find another person who could have portrayed the character much better.

Now, I know what lot's of you are already thinking: "there are plenty of voice actors out there, what are you talking about?" You are right, there are a number of them, and I always like to see dub-directors trying out new voice-talent, but haven't you ever noticed how all the major releases seem to be using the same tried-and-tested voice talent. Ghost in the Shell, hm?

Now, I realize this is totally my subjective opinion and not everyone's going to agree with me, but I think the point is still a valid one. I don't think dub-directors are giving new talent much of a chance, and for the old talent I don't think they're letting them explore other options. I mean, come on, Scott McNiel may have an easily identifiable voice, but you can tell if he works at it he can churn out two, three, damn, maybe four, unique character voices, (let's not forget his role(s) in Beast Wars).

[ssam]

Yeah a lot of VA's get typecast for certain roles. Crispin Freeman has a certain nastiness to his voice so he's usually cast for roles that require nastiness. When you look at Steve Blum for instance, he's one of the most prolific VA's in anime dubbing. I liked his protrayal of Mugen; I thought it was hilarious and appropriate. The English voice cast for Samurai Champloo was quite solid; given its hip hop backdrop. My personal favourite seiyuu is Jouji Nakata. Like I said he too is an excellent VA and at the same time is typecast as well.