Anime Ghost Stories

[ethriel21]

I am just postin this to see if anyone has watched Ghost Stories. I luv this show and wanted to talk about it with others. I think it has got to be the funniest anime I have ever seen. Well, if anyone wants to talk about it....have at it. :catgirl:

[Dagger]

Ghost stories sub = :)

Ghost Stories dub = :(

I don't like what ADV did with the dub. What makes it particularly irritating for me is that a lot of people excuse the improv dub by ripping on the original version of the show. Well, gee--it wasn't originally meant to be funny, and it's not some kind of Japanese Scooby-Doo. I really want to give a good braining to whoever first came up with that simile.

I was excited about Gakkou no Kaidan before I learned about its special treatment. It's from a director whose work I enjoy (Noriyuki Abe), and in addition to him, it shares a couple of other cast members with one of my favorite mystery anime, Detective Academy Q. It even features similar character designs. At the time, I'd read a lot of positive comments about the series in general. In fact, I don't ever remember seeing anything negative being said about it.

Then people started watching the dub. Some of them loved it, and some of them didn't. And only then did people start to claim that the sub version sucks, which is irksome but not surprising, since 1) the dub and sub target audiences couldn't be more different, and 2) it's the only possible way to excuse taking such liberties with the dub script (or lack thereof).

It completely baffles me when dub fans embrace this kind of approach. How long have dub fans been trying to show that they're just as "serious" as sub fans, that they value the original story just as much, that they, too, place an emphasis on accuracy? I just don't get how someone can take that attitude and then turn around and praise Ghost Stories.

Anyway. Absolutely none of this was aimed at you personally, of course--I just wanted to get it off my chest. I hope it doesn't seem as if I'm trying to hijack your thread.

~Dagger~

[Delta]

[COLOR=#790A43]What's this? A Gakkou no Kaidan thread? Oh joy! Oh rapture!

Yeah, it does sound Scooby Doo-ish at times but then you remember that all them ghosts were actually real (anime-real, if I may say. :P). I love the way the show had me laughing at one scene then scaring me senseless at the next. It's a really odd anime, if I may say, blending good, clean, G-rated fun with Japanese-style horror. Never have I encountered anything like it.

[SIZE=1]Oh, one more thing: Sub, dub, raw, whatever. As long as it gives me the creeps, I'd hit it.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=Raya][COLOR=#790A43]
[SIZE=1]Oh, one more thing: Sub, dub, raw, whatever. As long as it gives me the creeps, I'd hit it.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]
That's the problem. The ADV dub is a total cesspool of gay/Christian/Jew/etc. jokes. It's almost completely divorced from the content/spirit of the sub script. I wouldn't have minded nearly so much if they had also included an accurate dub (as was done for Super Milk-Chan)... :animedepr

But I'll stop harping on that now, haha.

~Dagger~

[ethriel21]

[QUOTE=Dagger]Ghost stories sub = :)

Ghost Stories dub = :(

I don't like what ADV did with the dub. What makes it particularly irritating for me is that a lot of people excuse the improv dub by ripping on the original version of the show. Well, gee--it wasn't originally meant to be funny, and it's not some kind of Japanese Scooby-Doo. I really want to give a good braining to whoever first came up with that simile.

I was excited about Gakkou no Kaidan before I learned about its special treatment. It's from a director whose work I enjoy (Noriyuki Abe), and in addition to him, it shares a couple of other cast members with one of my favorite mystery anime, Detective Academy Q. It even features similar character designs. At the time, I'd read a lot of positive comments about the series in general.
~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

Well, I am glad that I have stirred up some interest...good or bad. But as everyone agrees whether you like one show one way or it another depends on your prefrences. I actually like the show both ways. What I think ADV was trying to do here was give us fans something different and see how we react. If you don't like the dub it really isn't that big of a deal because you can still watch the subtitled version. What is, I am understanding, what alot of people do anyways.

I completely agree that the show is completely off course when it comes to how it was originally meant to be. Maybe it wasn't meant to be funny but I know that when I put it in I am not in for any surprises, no twisted plot lines, and no hard thinking. It is a show I watch when I am just wanting something to make me laugh. If I wanted something else wouldn't have spent my money on it. Thanks for your interest... :catgirl:

[Dagger]

I think the idea of an "improv dub" is actually pretty interesting, but it would have been better to try out the idea with a show that was a parody/comedy series to begin with. Anyway, though, I'm relieved that you didn't mind what I said.

Steven Foster (the Ghost Stories dub director) has been responsible for some really excellent "straight" dubs in the past. Of course, he's also the guy who worked on Milk-Chan, and he's kind of notorious for incorporating minor script alterations (like the extra cursing in Saiyuki). So maybe he prefers to have that kind of freedom.

~Dagger~

[ethriel21]

[QUOTE=Dagger]I think the idea of an "improv dub" is actually pretty interesting, but it would have been better to try out the idea with a show that was a parody/comedy series to begin with.
~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

I would probably have to agree with you there. It would have been more appropriate to improv on a show that was actually meant to be funny. The original plot line is interesting and the animation is good, but the show hadn't done spectacular even in Japan.

I attended a OniCon this October where they screened a couple of the episode off of the first vol. Greg Ayres and Monica Rial were there to explain what had been done with the show and why. It is my understanding from that panel that ADV didn't believe that the show would have much of a following here in the US, so they wanted to try this without stepping on too many toes, so to speak. Though if they had provided a regular dub to go along with the revised one it would have cost alot more money and might not have made it back. But it might have made true fans of the show happier. :animeswea Not to imply that that doesn't matter.

I believe the show would have been good either way, though it might not have gotten as much attention. Which does help the series out in a way...I would have never heard of it without the hype that it has gotten, as it is an oddity, and spawns discussion. Isn't that kinda how you tell the worth of a show...if it causes you to think. Whether you like the dub or not we are still talking about it...bad or good. Oops I went all philosical. I hate when I do that. ;)