Anime What Do You Think of This Anime Dub Theory?

[serenayasha]

[CENTER][COLOR=Red][SIZE=4]The Anime Dubb Theory[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER]

I've read tons of comment from several sites on how people think the English voices don't fit the Anime or poeple who don't like the first version(mainly JApanese) vocies.

My theory is that the first version you listen to is the first vioces you like. you get so use to the character sounding like they do that when you hear a different version the sences in your brain can't deal with it in other words you don't like it.

The only time this theory doesn't hold water is when it comes to realy bad dubbs or dubbs that change the main plot of the story/anime.

[COLOR=Blue]If you don't mind you could test this theory watch a different verison of what you usual watch then watch the one you usual watch. you should watch at least half the anime if there is an end and if not yet then at least 25 episodes.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]What do you think of this theory: [SIZE=1]True[/SIZE], [SIZE=1]Some what [/SIZE] or, [SIZE=1]Not at all[/SIZE]?[/COLOR] :animesigh

[Guest grinner117]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Well, in my opinion, it's quite the opposite: I prefer the English version to the Japanese version in character voice. Why? Probrably because I find it easier to imagine an English-speaking American (Or whatever) acting out the part than a Japanese-speaking American. (Or whatever) For example, in the anime series 'Inuyasha', I can picture Inuyasha as a black-haired, annoyitive little teenager much easier than a Japanese person. (Or WHATEVER) This may be insignificant, but it's still my opinion.
Thanks for reading,
SG'06[/COLOR]

[Guest Husse67]

Hm. That's a difficult question. To a degree, I'd have to agree, because I tend to prefer English versions of shows, and English IS usually what I see first, but in the case of Fruits Basket, I saw the Japanese version first, loved it, and when the English version came out, I not only preferred the English, but quickly decided it was the best anime dub I had ever heard.

But other than that, I don't know. I only prefer the original Japanese for Case Closed/Detective Conan, and I honestly can't think of another show THAT I LIKE where I prefer Japanese. (Now, for ones I don't like, like Inu-Yasha and Naruto, the dub is so flat or abominable that it's hard to prefer anything else. But I guess you've already covered that, eh?) :)

I'll be able to test this "heard the Japanese version first" theory again once Utawarerumono is dubbed.

[r2vq]

[color=#007520]I've had a similar theory for a while now, actually.

My main concern is when people criticize the English voice of a character because of the differences the voice has to its Japanese version. Hardly ever do I hear a valid complaint with a voice without the comparison.

Can't a voice just be good or bad?

Although Husse67 and grinner117 aren't a great example of this theory, they are great examples of the exceptions. This theory only, really, applies to those who enjoy the Japanese version of an Anime more. xP A good example of this would be those who complained that the English version of Naruto sounded like a girl.
..as opposed to the Japanese version of Naruto. I believe that those who argue this

-r2[/color]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Depends on the voices, really. It doesn't matter if it's English or Japanese, if a voice is bad, a voice is bad. When I first got into anime I always watched them in Japanese because people were so complacent about English voice actors. Nowadays I watch them in English and I have yet to have any complaints.

I hate to see a character with a voice that doesn't fit them. It's not so much the pitch that matters -- a lot of anime give squeaky voices to timid people, deep voices to bad guys, yelling people to main characters, and just slap the rest on every other cliche.

All that matters is that the voice portrays the character who they are supposed to be. If it's someone who is always shocked or overreacts a lot, they need to sound excited. If someone has a lot of presence and makes themselves noticable, it should show (I don't remember who it was, but in something I saw recently the villain was an attention hog, but he mumbled all his words!).

A lot of the time I hate the voice actors in both versions because they don't sound like how I thought they would while reading the manga XD

I still have my reservations about anyone hired by [B]4Kids[/B]. [B]One Piece [/B] has by far the worst English cast of any show ever. EVER. And [B]Naruto[/B]... his voice actor has gotten better I think, I know longer want to put a hole in his throat.[/COLOR]

[aoi_hikari]

This doesn't really apply to me, but it applies to some friends of mine. They watched the english dub of InuYasha (as an example) and they prefer it over the Japanese dub ( But this might be because they dont really care about the whole "watching anime in the form it was originally intended to be viewed in" thing, and prefer watching in English)

For me, even if I do watch the dub of an anime, I almost always prefer the sub.

[AzureWolf]

[COLOR=maroon]Your theory is correct. If you've ever heard songs that have two or three different versions (but are exactly the same otherwise - tonalization, key, just the words are changed), then you tend to prefer the one you first heard, even though they are the same at heart. Good example of this would be to take one of BoA's most awesome songs: Valenti, which can be found in English, Korean, and Japanese (and I *think* Chinese) - and you can find them all on youtube.

I will add a corollary to your theory though: there are times when the english version of both songs and anime tend to be worse, regardless if you've heard it first or not, because you realize how lame the... execution(?) is. Let's face facts: very few songs are poetic and amazing as people think they are, so when you hear it in a different language, you think it's poetic because you don't realize they are saying, "My cheese face." The translation tries to capture the meaning, not the words, so don't say you read the translation of the show and that's why it's beautiful.[/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[color=dimgray] I disagree. I always prefer the original version rather than the dubbing, even if I hear the dub first. I'm not saying that English dubs are bad, because there are good English VAs, but I just prefer the original language.

First of all, a cartoon is made to fit the linguistic style of the original language. It will usually always have a better flow and adjustment, whereas the English dubbers have to make up stuff up to fit everything. Branching off of that, the Japanese (and Asian languages in general) have different expressions and stylings. Expressions such as "kyaa" and "uwah" are used more often that English terms such as "er" or "ugh".

Small things like make a difference. Right now I'm thinking of [i]Howl's Moving Castle[/i], where Calcifer makes "mah" noises while eating eggshells. No matter how I look at it, it would just be akward to replace that with an English expression such as "yum". It's just a cultural line. I'm also thinking [i]Ouran High School Host Club[/i]. I would [i]never[/i] want to see a dub of that, simply because it would not cross that cultural boundary well. Never in a million years.[/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray'] I disagree. I always prefer the original version rather than the dubbing, even if I fear the dub first.[/color][/quote]
Freudian slip? ;)

[quote][color=dimgray]Right now I'm thinking of [i]Howl's Moving Castle[/i], where Calcifer makes "mah" noises while eating eggshells. No matter how I look at it, it would just be akward to replace that with an English expression such as "yum". It's just a cultural line.[/color][/QUOTE]
I actually [strike]MSTed[/strike] watched Howl's earlier tonight, and Billy Crystal just makes gobbling noises. It works quite well, really--his performance is one of the better ones in the dub version because it's so confident, although it's quite different from the Japanese performance (insofar as I even remember the Japanese version).

Anyway, this theory has some merit to it. Paradoxically, though, I think that it tends to stop working once one becomes aware of it.

~Dagger~

[eleanor]

[QUOTE=Dagger]Freudian slip? ;)


I actually [strike]MSTed[/strike] watched Howl's earlier tonight, and Billy Crystal just makes gobbling noises. It works quite well, really--his performance is one of the better ones in the dub version because it's so confident, although it's quite different from the Japanese performance (insofar as I even remember the Japanese version).

Anyway, this theory has some merit to it. Paradoxically, though, I think that it tends to stop working once one becomes aware of it.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

[color=dimgray] My bad. I'm more of Jungian pysch fan myself anyway. ;)

So Billy Crystal did do a good job, but what I'm saying is that it changed Calcifer's cuteness factor. It sounds dumb, but it's true and it was a part of why Calcifer was so likable. The original VA is on top for this case.

And I guess it would stop working for some people, but it would further aggravate others. I respect that many fans prefer the English dubs, but I find it odd because the akwardness of a lot of it is just sticks out to me. I'm guessing it has to do with my familiarity with the Asian languages and culture, but whatever. I'm definitely not a supporter of sub/dub wars.[/color]

[Tallgeese-]

Your theory is got a really good point. If a person waches Fullmetal Alchemist for the first time they will agree Roy's voice is perfect for him but if half way through the anime it changes to a less deeper voice it wouldn't seem right. But then again in Pokemon they changed the voices like 3 times. At the beggining of the show for like 10 episodes they had 1 voice for Ash and James and then it changed but when it changed it seemed more fitting, then it changed again and it seemed really weird. As for originality that doesn't mean anything if you like your character voice souding like a girl (which in japanese usually does) that's your preference.

[Delta]

[COLOR=#038000][SIZE=1]Yeah, it's true to some extent. I can easily name one proof and a counterproof.

But since proofs have been discussed to the point of (our) exhaustion, I'll discuss a counterproof:

[center][b]Genjo Sanzo: Japanese vs. Filipino dub[/b][/center]
It's been a really long while since I last watched locally-dubbed anime. There was this particular VA with a really nasal voice and a throat perennially coated with a film of phlegm who always gets casted for every cute girl role (Usagi, for one) in every anime (Sailormoon, for one) that airs on every channel (Channel 5, for, uh, one). I swore off watching locally-dubbed anime until she meets her untimely demise which will be dealt by my hands, patterned after a fool-proof plan conceived with my newly-freed time.

A hundred years later, I happened to catch a local airing of Gensoumaden Saiyuki while channel-surfing. I listened for a while and said to myself: [b]"This is love."[/b]

I liked Sanzo's voice in the Japanese dub: full of confidence, swagger and "Hnnh". Very Sanzo, yeah? The Filipino Sanzo VA, however, had a rich, deep voice that could switch between trashtalk and preaching and still sound right. Plus he had that cigarette-scratched voice I imagined Sanzo had (since the character's a walking chimney stack and all).

In the end, this Sanzo VA was able to end my respite from Filipino-dubbed anime and restore my faith in local VAs. Plus he saved that Sailormoon VA's life from her untimely death. [i]That is one hell of a good VA.[/i][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Kenso]

[size=1]I think it varies greatly by anime and person watching. I for one tend to prefer Japanese versions, though I usually see the English version first. Reading subtitles is such an afterthought to me that I barely notice I'm doing it. There are, however, a few anime in which I actually prefer the English version (like Cowboy Bebop, I actually can't stand most of the Japanese voices for the characters). I know some people who prefer the English versions just because they don't have to deal with subtitles, and I've known a few who preferred the Japanese ones simply because they knew that's what it was supposed to be.
[/size]

[Guest EtherForce]

I agree somewhat. I think how someone got into anime in the first place has a lot to do with if they prefer the Japanese or the dubbed voices. For example, I got into anime watching DBZ on Toonami and when I try listening to the Japanese voices it sounds funny, whereas someone who got into anime watching subs will likely prefer the Japanese voices cause that's what they're used to.

[Guest MidnightToker26]

I think it's true most of the time. But probably the only reason I probably rather watch the Japanese version of the anime, is that most of the time the English anime is edited. And i get really pissed after I watched a japanese version of the episode and there was so much more differrence than the English version I watched first. I would never watch a Japanese dubbed anime, if the English one was unedited. I just want to watch the Anime as the creators intended it to be like.

[Guest Drusila]

I just can´t stand the english dubed animes, It makes all characthers sound like spolied american high school boys from holywood movies. The great feelig with anime is totally ruined when it´s dubed.

[serenayasha]

[quote name='Drusila']I just can´t stand the english dubed animes, It makes all characthers sound like spolied american high school boys from holywood movies. The great feelig with anime is totally ruined when it´s dubed.[/quote]

Come on there got to be some that are dubbed that you like