A Pointed Discussion on Dubs
When I read discussions comparing voice acting in anime I occasionally encounter a statement to the effect, “The English voice sounds better than the Japanese voice.” I’d like to make a clarification about that perspective. Or, more specifically, a statement about a certain interpretation of that expression because the observation itself is a bit vague in its phrasing. It’s fine and reasonable to critique a voice acting performance, but the voice actor selection for the original language dialogue is less subject to second guessing.
I’ve long thought that Kanna’s voice in Sakura Taisen, provided by Mayumi Tanaka who may be best known as Dragon Ball’s Kuririn, sounds a bit unnatural. Likewise, I’ve long had difficulty in fully believing that Cowboy Bebop’s Faye Valentine actually has a vocal timbre that sounds like Megumi Hayashibara. However, the sound of these characters’ voices – the pitch and timbre especially – are the vocal tone that these characters’ original creators have envisioned them having. Anyone apart from the original creators suggesting that a voice is inappropriate is trying to suggest that the original creator’s personal vision of the character is wrong. Everyone makes mistakes, and I’m not trying to insist that every decision Japanese anime creators and directors make is always beyond reproach, but any attempt to contradict – not merely criticize – an artist’s personal creative vision should be undertaken with gravity.
One can argue that grass may be a sickly color, or that the sky may have an odd hue, but one doesn’t argue that grass should be red instead of green or that blue is the wrong color for the sky. An impression that an original Japanese vocal performance is uninspired or inexpressive is a legitimate critical observation. The argument that a secondary dub voice is more appropriate to the character – and I do mean the sound of the voice, not the language spoken – than the character’s original voice is an attempt to assert that your own mental image of the character is more authentic and authoritative than that of the character’s creator. At least outside of stunt casting, an anime character’s native voice is what the character is supposed to sound like, regardless of a viewer’s impressions based on observation of the character’s physique and actions, and comparison to an alternate voice selected by someone that was not involved in the character’s creation.
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Well said. We all run into something the about anime we don’t like. Character designs, narrative, music. Everyone has their own taste. Preferring one voice over the other is a personal choice, and if you don’t like it, don’t listen to it, or don’t watch the show if you have no other option.
“…observation itself is a bit vague in its phrasing.”
True, but wouldn’t the number of possible reasons be covered? I’d be more curious why it’s important to address the finer point, as that could lead to some passionate debates.
For example, I once remarked I didn’t like Monica Rial’s voicing of Hazuki in Moonphase. The remark was instantly attacked as though I said the worse thing in the world. Of course, I should have also included the statement “but her *performance* was very well done.”
The moment one opens them up to specific dislikes is an opportunity for many more to challenge it, as though their words will change *my* mind.
Best leave sleeping dogs lie, John. The last thing you’d want is a list of comments berating *your* personal opinion because people obviously have none of their own.
The “sub v. dub” debate is akin to Roe v. Wade in that there is no perfect “ruling” to please everyone.
Such is the fandom.
I agree there is no perfect answer, and will add that most efforts to clarify that matter often muddy the waters even more. Beyond this; most fans are probably unaware of the details of the ADR process on the whole… how many tweaks and adjustments sound engineers and ADR directors make in order to speed up or slow down the dialogue, how they often mix and match takes to as to result in the ideal line, and so on and so forth. Sometimes, even simply putting blame the voice actor(ess) is misplaced given how many other elements of casting and recording are in play.
I think Johnny Yong Bosch’s most incredible voice-over work is for niche, under the radar titles, well out of mainstream genre viewing… but I’m sure there are others who will disagree with me.
I think you can whittle this argument down to whether or not you’re a purist that wants to see things the way the artist(s) intended during the thing’s initial production, and not altered by a disconnected 3rd party after the fact in an effort to make the finished work more marketable in the opinion of some distributor.
Without this purist viewpoint, an after-the-fact alteration of the finished work (e.g. an English dub, a studio edit, etc.) would be just as valid as the original or any other version, and then the only criteria for evaluation would be which is more entertaining and effective. I mean that’s a perfectly fine way to evaluate what’s essentially commercial entertainment.
It all just comes down to whether or not you’re a purist. If you are, then you automatically place things like original voice tracks and directors cuts on a higher pedestal. Personally I can “enjoy” English dubs on some level, but the fact that I’m not watching something in its “original” form, the form closest to the artists who worked on it, will always be nagging me from the back of my mind.
Generally I’d rather see an inspired, _coherent_ artistic vision from a talented group of artists, than some Frankenstein production whacked together by a bunch of disconnected parties who don’t have much personal stake in the cumulative quality of the finished product. After-the-fact alterations by 3rd parties almost never improve an inspired, coherent artistic vision. When they do, it’s only by accident.
I haven’t go so much to add really. All I want to say is you cant use that “the director chose the japanese voices so it’s the way he intended it to be”? What about the video game world? Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame has said himself that ‘David Hayter’s’ voice suits Solid Snake better than his Japanese counter part. Then there comes things like Final Fantasy X. Where Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase and the rest of the crew sat in and chose the voice actors. Some fans claimed ‘James Arnold Taylor’ was too whinny(but how can that be the director chose him). What I’m trying to get at is it’s still a personal preference. A Director can make a bad decision too. Thats not the point though. There is a select few dubs as good as the japanese and a even smaller selection that are better…