57 replies to this topic

[Paptala]

There are very few shows that I can watch dubbed, and Naruto is not one of them. I got about 5 minutes into the first episode, Naruto's voice made my ears bleed and I have never strayed from subbed since.

And in general, I always felt that the Japanese voice actors brought more believable emotion across than any English voice actors for anime. English dub has almost always fell flat for me, except in a few select cases (I felt YYH, for instance, was dubbed really well).

[Anguyen92]

Well, might as well voice my opinions, since I am one of those who discovered the series via english dub. After comparing Naruto's Shippuden voice compared to his part one english voice. Yes, I found it annoying at times, his part one voice. However, his Shippuden voice is more matured. Everyone else's voice is pretty much the same as before, albeit, with a little more aged in it. And yes, I hate it that its part of Disney now, that just means some of the parts that may be deemed "mature" would be censored in order to "protect" the kids.

Edited by Anguyen92, 29 August 2011 - 10:05 PM.

[Phantom_999]

hence the killjoy part of censorship courtesy of the freaking fcc (family Guy quote)

[Toasty Warrior]

Honestly I never did like the English dub myself because of a certain phrase Naruto said that got quite annoying and I'm glad they cut that out in later episodes, although I was disappointed in the Shippuden dub because most of the characters sound the same, they could at least tried to make them sound a bit older.

[Fyuria'sLeo]

I used to watch Naruto on cartoon network. also I have almost all the Uncut dvd's of Naruto...

[Toasty Warrior]

I wish they would put Naruto on a network that would take the anime seriously, but unfortunately when it comes to anime, we Americans always think its for kids and anything violent or not suitable must be censored. I seriously hate that about English dubs sometimes...

[merryGOflava]

what?? i cant be the only one that likes the english voices??? i think they sound perfect.

[Phantom_999]

Umm it's not that I hate the eng dubbed voices as much as I find them Annoying shall we say and out of character my brother says so -__-

Edited by Phantom_999, 29 August 2011 - 11:43 PM.

[sardns]

^^ no you're not the only one. I wish the English dub got more love. Whether you like subs or dubs better, to say the voice acting in Naruto is horrible is just being in denial. I think when people only watch subs (no offense to anyone), they're less likely to objectively watch a dub and judge the voice acting properly. I've watched certain dubbed scenes from other anime where the voice acting is awesome, yet people will comment "omg this is so awful, dubs always suck."

[catsi563]

Ive always enjoyed the dubs myself. I personally Think Yuri Lowenthals Sasuke and Kate Higgins Sakura are well cast. Also ive never relaly jumped on the hate for Maille Flannigan as Naruto. while the may ahve over done the believe it phrase Maille did a soldi job as Naruto and even went so far as to deepn her voice to make Naruto sound older in the second part.

[Super Boom]

^^ no you're not the only one. I wish the English dub got more love. Whether you like subs or dubs better, to say the voice acting in Naruto is horrible is just being in denial. I think when people only watch subs (no offense to anyone), they're less likely to objectively watch a dub and judge the voice acting properly. I've watched certain dubbed scenes from other anime where the voice acting is awesome, yet people will comment "omg this is so awful, dubs always suck."

It usually depends on the series, but I generally don't mind dubbed anime. It's true that sometimes the voices sound artificial, but being able to understand the characters without reading subtitles is something I generally prefer. Even if the voices sound more natural, there's still the factor of having your attention diverted somewhat. It's generally not an issue for me personally, but considering that reading takes more focus than listening, I can see why a lot of casual anime fans tend to prefer dubs.

But I guess I think the big thing is, like you said, whether or not the viewer started with the dub or not. For me, almost every anime I've gotten into I've been introduced to through a dub, so the subbed versions will always seem unnatural to me, even knowing full well that it's the original version, based solely on me not having seen it first. Even when I like the series to enough jump into the manga, I still generally imagine the characters speaking with the voices I heard first (Naruto and Sakura are exceptions, as I've never really cared for their dub voices).

Anyways, I only really have three big problems with dubs for the most part: censorship, re-use of voices, and how far it is behind the manga/subbed anime. The first problem usually doesn't bother me too much, since I almost always watch/download uncut versions. The re-use of voices from one dub to another, or sometimes in the same dub, does tend to bother me though. Sometimes the voice actors can do a good job of changing their voice so viewers don't notice, but when you watch enough dubs, the fourth wall can easily be broken by hearing the same voice multiple times.

The third problem though, is generally the reason I end up switching to subtitled versions, but even then it's a rarity for me. It really varies from anime to anime, but it seems like dubbed versions are usually around two years behind the original anime (obviously there are exceptions, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood was only about a year behind the original, and Naruto Shippuden only just started the Sanbi Filler Arc). If the dub and sub have both finished their runs by the time I decide to start watching the show, I'll start watching the dub, but if the series is ongoing, I might just jump into subbed version. But that generally doesn't happen too often for me. With Bleach for example, I went straight from the dub to the manga, and just skipped the subtitled version altogether, although I do occasionally watch it for omakes and filler scenes of my favorite characters. But I think Naruto's one of the few series where I follow the manga, subbed anime, and dub simultaneously.

Anyways, I thought I'd share my stance on the whole dub vs. sub issue. I've met a lot of anime fans with a sort of elitist attitude towards dubs, and a lot of dub watchers who absolutely refuse to watch subtitles because "it's too Japanese", so I guess I'm a little closer towards the center.

On a side note, if anyone liked/likes the Bleach dub, they're on the Shinigami vs. Arrancar Karukura fight right now. I really like most of the VA's they picked for the Espada. Laura Bailey and Tony Oliver do a great Harribel and Ulquiorra, in my opinion, and David Vincent does an AWESOME Grimmjow. The only problem I really have is the how some of the Espadas' names are romanized - the Harribel/Hallibel thing being the best example. But oh well, it doesn't take that long to get used to.

Edited by Boom...Winning, 12 September 2011 - 07:39 PM.

[merryGOflava]

i like how VIZ dubs...well anything XDD Funimation is awesome most of the time (FMA)

[Phantom_999]

^^ no you're not the only one. I wish the English dub got more love. Whether you like subs or dubs better, to say the voice acting in Naruto is horrible is just being in denial. I think when people only watch subs (no offense to anyone), they're less likely to objectively watch a dub and judge the voice acting properly. I've watched certain dubbed scenes from other anime where the voice acting is awesome, yet people will comment "omg this is so awful, dubs always suck."

Ive always enjoyed the dubs myself. I personally Think Yuri Lowenthals Sasuke and Kate Higgins Sakura are well cast. Also ive never relaly jumped on the hate for Maille Flannigan as Naruto. while the may ahve over done the believe it phrase Maille did a soldi job as Naruto and even went so far as to deepn her voice to make Naruto sound older in the second part.

i like how VIZ dubs...well anything XDD Funimation is awesome most of the time (FMA)

I watch the dubb I'm not saying the voices are bad just some voices are out of character; thats what I meant when I say they were annoying, not all. Jiraiya for instance, doesn't sound old enough or like his perverted personality and sounds OVER serious. And that whole trying to pronounce Japanese words with a Japanese accent, COME ON!!!! They are AMERICAN so they quit trying to sound Japanese and say it how they normally would. But overall The voices I don't hate just that the Japanese voices will always be the best

Edited by Phantom_999, 13 September 2011 - 12:35 AM.

[Giosoccer]

When i first watched english dud shippuden the only voices i thought were out of place were yamatos and sais the others i thought were fine.

[Sir G]

I like the english naruto voices except for naruto's in shippuden (in part 1 it sounds ok)

That being said.. Dragonball Z has the best english voices for any anime.

[pharix]

I like the english naruto voices except for naruto's in shippuden (in part 1 it sounds ok)

That being said.. Dragonball Z has the best english voices for any anime.

DBZ is the only anime where I've preferred english voices :/

Screechy saiyans = fail

[merryGOflava]

I like the english naruto voices except for naruto's in shippuden (in part 1 it sounds ok)

That being said.. Dragonball Z has the best english voices for any anime.

really? naruto's voice sounds cool in shippuuden too its not like they can give him a manly voice seeing as hes played by a girl when hes older in the japanese version too

[sardns]

yeah, a voice actress still fits for Naruto but not for adult Goku. But if they did decide to cast a male voice actor for Naruto I wonder who'd they pick.

[Phantom_999]

really? naruto's voice sounds cool in shippuuden too its not like they can give him a manly voice seeing as hes played by a girl when hes older in the japanese version too

Takeuchi-san sounds WAY more manly doing Naruto than Maile Flanagan

[Amy-chan]

Takeuchi-san sounds WAY more manly doing Naruto than Maile Flanagan

There going to have to wait till he's much older to do the male voice actor now arnt they Naruto is only 15 or 16.

Edited by Amy-chan, 21 October 2011 - 08:26 PM.