05-25-2006, 05:28 AM
Oh boy... a "quick" sub vs dub conversation.
This is the oldest argument in anime and will probably never be resolved.
Granted, it has been a very long time since this subject has reared its head. I'll let this thread go on for a while as long as people don't make all encompassing remarks like "dubbing sucks" or other such broad sweeping comments.
I will weigh in on this topic stating that it is easier to lip synch animation than it is to lip synch a live actor. The other thing is that it is very hard to match the level of emotion a live actor puts in to his voice... especially when compared to the emotion put into the voice of an animated character.
The biggest difference I can see between North American voice actors and Asian voice actors is that voice acting for cartoons is still looked down on here for the most part. This limits the number of high quality voice actors that we have available to make English speaking dubs and makes most English dubs pale in comparison.
There have been a few notable series where the English dubs have been outstanding. Shinichiro Watanabe himself said that the English dub of Cowboy Bebop is better than the original Japanese dub. This is a rare instance though and far too often we end up with tragedies like Naruto to compare to.
When looking at live action dubs I can not name a single example where the viewing experience has been enhanced by the dub to English and I have frequently found it distracting. Of course, there are those old kung fu movie dubs that I love so much because they are so incredibly bad that it becomes funny.
And whose idea was it to dub Mel Gibson in the first Mad Max movie?
This is the oldest argument in anime and will probably never be resolved.
Granted, it has been a very long time since this subject has reared its head. I'll let this thread go on for a while as long as people don't make all encompassing remarks like "dubbing sucks" or other such broad sweeping comments.
I will weigh in on this topic stating that it is easier to lip synch animation than it is to lip synch a live actor. The other thing is that it is very hard to match the level of emotion a live actor puts in to his voice... especially when compared to the emotion put into the voice of an animated character.
The biggest difference I can see between North American voice actors and Asian voice actors is that voice acting for cartoons is still looked down on here for the most part. This limits the number of high quality voice actors that we have available to make English speaking dubs and makes most English dubs pale in comparison.
There have been a few notable series where the English dubs have been outstanding. Shinichiro Watanabe himself said that the English dub of Cowboy Bebop is better than the original Japanese dub. This is a rare instance though and far too often we end up with tragedies like Naruto to compare to.
When looking at live action dubs I can not name a single example where the viewing experience has been enhanced by the dub to English and I have frequently found it distracting. Of course, there are those old kung fu movie dubs that I love so much because they are so incredibly bad that it becomes funny.
And whose idea was it to dub Mel Gibson in the first Mad Max movie?
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.