Voice Acting in Berserk Animation

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
JezzaX said:
I'm so glad to see that troll emoticon at the end of your post Walter, otherwise we would be having words :guts:
Oh I'm pretty serious about making fun of the English voice acting. Please, unleash your words. This is certainly the place for it. Go ahead and defend the English dub! :ganishka:
 
X

Xem

Guest
The only one that was really awful was Guts imo.

I think the guy who did Griffith nailed it pretty well, but I'm totally open to a new actors' take on it. The guys that did Carcus and Judeau are over-used in anime also. Not that it really matters, subtitles baby!
 
Walter said:
Oh I'm pretty serious about making fun of the English voice acting. Please, unleash your words. This is certainly the place for it. Go ahead and defend the English dub! :ganishka:

I have no idea what you're talking about, this is obviously top class voice acting. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I laugh to near death when I choose it as an audio option when watching the DVDs :ganishka:

Nope, there's no defending it, it's just shocking.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
JezzaX said:
I have no idea what you're talking about, this is obviously top class voice acting. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I laugh to near death when I choose it as an audio option when watching the DVDs :ganishka:

Nope, there's no defending it, it's just shocking.
Ohh, sorry. I misinterpreted your comment. My bad.

I couldn't watch the dub. I cringed throughout every scene I heard with it. I probably heard more of it while capturing these .wavs than during actual viewings.

But please, if anyone wants to defend it. Go right ahead!
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
JezzaX said:
If I was to defend it in any way, it's when it's being used for the gag reel.

Yep. It was the only thing i watched.

Who cares about dubbing anyway? 99% of it sucks. I can only remember one example where the dubbing was better than the original, it was in the GTO anime.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
NightCrawler said:
Who cares about dubbing anyway? 99% of it sucks.
You'd be surprised by how many people praise the Berserk dub.

I can only remember one example where the dubbing was better than the original, it was in the GTO anime.
In my opinion, any dub is always going to be inferior because it's an extra line of filtering from the source. An extra chance to ruin the original intent.

However, I've seen a handful of series benefit from the dubbing process. The one that comes quickest to mind is Golden Boy, which was a purely comedic performance, so nailing the dramatic bits wasn't important. The perpetual overacting of voice actors worked to its favor in that regard.
 

Sammoniac

You taffers!
Bazuso : "I see you've got some balls!"

And I sure hope Warner Brothers have some too when it comes to investing in decent international releases. We wouldn't want people laughing in the theaters (I saw the first dubbed Gantz movie and the voice actors were abysmal) :magni:

But what really counts for me is adequate and accurate subtitles. I wonder if Duane Johnson will be the translator? Last time I spoke to him, he told me that he would be interested in the job. It would be fitting considering he worked on almost all the books (yeah, I know, some people here probably won't agree with me) :ganishka:
 

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
actually, I think Cowboy Bebop was very well done in English dub.

there's no complaining about Dragon Ball Z either.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Deci said:
I think the guy who did Griffith nailed it pretty well

You can't be serious. His delivery is so stiff and awkward, it's like he's reading the script to himself in an effort to memorize it. Hopefully given the size of this project we'll get some quality folks on it.
 

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
Walter said:
You'd be surprised by how many people praise the Berserk dub.
Not that I'm defending it in any way, but after been exposed to this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtthuOBGUQY
Sad to say that I managed to settle for so less just to achieve some sort of comfort level in watching dubbed anime back in the days. :judo:

Trust me, I have my share of history in this particular problem. In short? No chance in hell I will see this anime in dub form. And I'm sure most people here don't mind subtitles. :void:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
If the only way I can see the first Berserk film in theaters is to watch it with an English voice cast, I'll bite the bullet and go see it. Otherwise, it's subtitles all the way! I prefer to watch movies and television with the original audio, regardless of whether or not I have to read subtitles. It's the only way to go, in my opinion.
 
Aazealh said:
You can't be serious. His delivery is so stiff and awkward, it's like he's reading the script to himself in an effort to memorize it. Hopefully given the size of this project we'll get some quality folks on it.

Hold me in your arms, Aaz! :slan: I wasn't a fan of the Berserk dub choices myself. I could tolerate Guts's actor somewhat, but Griffith's? Reminded me waaaaaay too much of Yuri Lowenthal.

I'd be happy with an English dub of the movie, provided the actors chosen aren't mediocre.
 
I hope they'll be the best in Japanese dubbing. I want for the voices:

Guts: Nobutoshi Canna
Griffith: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Hopefully they won't change the actors. I want the administration to tell me when they know that Nobutoshi Canna will play the role of the new Guts.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Rhombaad said:
If the only way I can see the first Berserk film in theaters is to watch it with an English voice cast, I'll bite the bullet and go see it. Otherwise, it's subtitles all the way! I prefer to watch movies and television with the original audio, regardless of whether or not I have to read subtitles. It's the only way to go, in my opinion.

Agreed!
 

DarkDragoon

Kuro no mahoutsukai
I thought the dub was okay for a dub. The thing about japanese is that it just sounds cooler, honestly. It's easier to express the over-dramatic energy that makes japanese media what it is in Japanese. In english, no matter what, it's always going to come across as somewhat forced and unnatural. Also, if you aren't fluent in a language it makes it nearly impossible to pick up on bad voice-acting, which I'm sure in many cases is the reason people think the japanese versions are better.

I personally never really liked Griffith's japanese va, he just sounded too average for someone so not-average.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
DarkDragoon said:
Also, if you aren't fluent in a language it makes it nearly impossible to pick up on bad voice-acting, which I'm sure in many cases is the reason people think the japanese dubs are better.
The Japanese voice track isn't a dub, it's the original. It's not being dubbed over anything. It's how it was intended to sound.

But this American company swings in and says, "Hey I bet I know how these characters should sound. Beherit? Sounds unnatural. How about this: ...Baylet!"
 

DarkDragoon

Kuro no mahoutsukai
Walter said:
The Japanese voice track isn't a dub, it's the original. It's not being dubbed over anything. It's how it was intended to sound.
Yeah I don't know why I said that, made no sense.

:magni:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
mevoo said:
I want the administration to tell me when they know that Nobutoshi Canna will play the role of the new Guts.

The scream at the end of the official trailer sounds a lot like him. You were told as much by Gobolatula a week ago.

DarkDragoon said:
The thing about japanese is that it just sounds cooler, honestly. It's easier to express the over-dramatic energy that makes japanese media what it is in Japanese. In english, no matter what, it's always going to come across as somewhat forced and unnatural.

Nah, I disagree. When you see what American voice actors can do in some cartoon series or some video games nowadays, it's clear that there's potential for greatness. It's not a matter of Japanese vs English but simply of talent. The talent of the translator for adapting the dialogue so that it sounds good in English, the talent of the voice actors to bring the dialogue to life, and the talent of the director/editor to integrate it correctly. And I think in most cases it comes down to how much money they have at their disposal.

DarkDragoon said:
Also, if you aren't fluent in a language it makes it nearly impossible to pick up on bad voice-acting, which I'm sure in many cases is the reason people think the japanese versions are better.

I disagree again. It's simply that there's an established animation industry in Japan with many professional voice actors and so it's easier to find and pay for talent (studios are willing to put more money into it & the talent costs less anyway). When releasing the same material in other countries it quickly becomes a hassle to do a quality job given how little budget the companies have and how underdeveloped the market is in comparison.
 
Aazealh said:
Nah, I disagree. When you see what American voice actors can do in some cartoon series or some video games nowadays, it's clear that there's potential for greatness. It's not a matter of Japanese vs English but simply of talent. The talent of the translator for adapting the dialogue so that it sounds good in English, the talent of the voice actors to bring the dialogue to life, and the talent of the director/editor to integrate it correctly. And I think in most cases it comes down to how much money they have at their disposal.

I disagree again. It's simply that there's an established animation industry in Japan with many professional voice actors and so it's easier to find and pay for talent (studios are willing to put more money into it & the talent costs less anyway). When releasing the same material in other countries it quickly becomes a hassle to do a quality job given how little budget the companies have and how underdeveloped the market is in comparison.

I agree with this, and also believe that these factors are a big reason why English anime dubs usually suck. However, I also have to add, the reason why American cartoons have much better voice acting, whether it be tv or film, is because the voice acting comes first, and the animation comes second. It's much much easier for a voice actor to say the line as he or she pleases, not having to worry about the exact specific timing of each word. That's why ADR sounds weird in normal live action film and tv shows too. Recreating dialogue is no easy task. That's why when you watch Disney movies, or Pixar movies, or even your standard cartoon on tv, they record the voice actors first, and even use digital mapping on their facial structures to coordinate the movements of the mouth. That's why everything looks and sounds natural.

Not only this, generally when doing an English dub, the writers have to add syllables to create a line of dialogue that's equal in length to their Japanese counterpart. That's why the phrasing of English dubs or so awkward, and they all sound like run on sentences.

Anyways, I think, that if WB does show this film outside of Japan, we will most likely see it subtitled if you see it at film festivals or IFC theaters or the likes. I will be sosososososo disappointed if the first time I see the Berserk movies is in English. Sad, cuz I think watching Berserk in theater full of people sounds fun as hell!
 
S

supa_pokute

Guest
I've watched the dub of Berserk the TV series twice now, and I have to say the only voice actor I thought was decent was Griffith. I see a lot of praise go to whomever voiced Guts, but honestly he sounds like he is forcing his lines half the time. I don't normally watch dubs for Japanese anime unless I hear really good things about them, so I guess I am a little biased when it comes to that stuff. Though I will say the outtakes were entertaining on the DVDs. :p

On another note, I'm actually surprised how many anime fans I have talked to that will not watch Japanese animation if it's not in English or their native language other then Japanese. I guess I can see if you have a difficult time following subtitles, but I got used to it pretty quickly, and why pass up a good show or movie if it's not dubbed?
 
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