31 replies to this topic

[Jorden-Kun]

Well, I've been seeing the English Naruto dub getting bashed for a while now, and I want to know why.
Granted, the Japanese usually are better at dubbing a show than us. But I still don't get why everyone is saying that the English Dub is horrible. I know it's really a matter of personal opinion, but it really doesn't seem all that bad to me.

Here are the reasons why I DO like the dub:
1: Don't have to read subtitles! So it's a lot easier to understand.
2: Makes it a lot easier to 'connect with the characters' if you can understand them. Make them feel a lot more realistic.
3: As an aspiring voice actor, it is wonderful to hear others who also enjoy voice acting to get themselves out there and have fun doing what they do. A lot of my favourite voice actors are in Naruto, Yuri Lowenthal, Stephanie Sheh, and others.

Now for the reasons that I don't like the dub:
1: Some characters that are supposed to have emotion, end up not having enough, and their character comes off bland.
2: Some voices just don't fit the character at all.
3: Some translations are a bit off. Or just horribly translated completely.

So list your top three reasons for why you DO like the dub, and your top three reasons for why you DON'T like it. Also if you want, pick a character whose voice you like in the dub and compare it with the Japanese Seiyu's voice. Here's mine:

Naruto Uzumaki:
His voice in the beginning was completely off from the Japanese dub. But as the series progressed (namely Shippuden) it became deeper, and more mature sounding, a lot closer to the Japanese dub. But I'll agree that in the beginning, it was very annoying and too high-pitched for Naruto.

[Broken Figurine]

Well, first thing I like to point out when discussing ANY Dub over its Japanese... Do we really know the language? I like to hear the opinions of those who are fluent in both Japanese and English, because quite honestly I don't think people fairly judge it otherwise. What true criticisms can we make about a language we don't understand? I can't say now that the Dub has a terrible translation of the Japanese because how am I supposed to know? And those subtitles that people constantly boast about? How do I know the translator didn't take any liberties? Truth is, of course the translation will be slightly different. There are cultural things in Japanese language, such as slang or regional references, that we just don't really "get" in English. Sure, you always have that one Japanese-sub fan saying "Oh, I get it!!!" but that's because they get the cultural note, which they tend to pause and read and go "Oooh." If a Japanese common phrase is switched to an English one, then as long as the concept stays the same I'm not too picky.

I think they do well with the dubbed. I mean, Lee's and Gai's voice just can't be beat for me. Naruto's voice is cited as being terrible but really, it grew on me. I have high respect for Yuri, Sasuke's VA so I'm not even going to compare him to his Japanese. I find when it comes to speeches I'm more impressed with the English, simply because I understand the words. The flow, the emotion, the emphasis on certain words, it's stuff that I don't pick up on with subtitles.

I just can't wait for Part Two. I have a lil bro and he really wants to see it on T.V. We're still in fillerland. ;-;

[Merger Knight]

I have to admit I like Episode 23 of the dub when Ino called Naruto, Sakura's boyfriend.

But not in the orginial

[Mugen no Neko]

Why I like the Dub
1. It's true. It's easier to understand then reading subs, not that I have a problem with them.
2. Some of the voices aren't all that bad, especially if you don't compare them to the admittedly better Japanese voices.
3. It gives me a chance to re-watch Shippuden in a slightly different way, so in this case it's not as repetitive as watching the subbed episodes all over again.

Why I dislike the Dub
1. Maile Flanagan
2. Takes tooo long to be released.
3. Censorship on Television

I don't dislike the dub much I must say... just certain aspects.

[Jorden-Kun]

Why I like the Dub
1. It's true. It's easier to understand then reading subs, not that I have a problem with them.
2. Some of the voices aren't all that bad, especially if you don't compare them to the admittedly better Japanese voices.
3. It gives me a chance to re-watch Shippuden in a slightly different way, so in this case it's not as repetitive as watching the subbed episodes all over again.

Why I dislike the Dub
1. Maile Flanagan
2. Takes tooo long to be released.
3. Censorship on Television

I don't dislike the dub much I must say... just certain aspects.

Why I like the Dub
1. It's true. It's easier to understand then reading subs, not that I have a problem with them.
Indeed
2. Some of the voices aren't all that bad, especially if you don't compare them to the admittedly better Japanese voices.
I can agree with that
3. It gives me a chance to re-watch Shippuden in a slightly different way, so in this case it's not as repetitive as watching the subbed episodes all over again.
Exactly! Re-watching them in English is half the fun of any anime. Even if it's JUST to compare voices. ^^

Why I dislike the Dub
1. Maile Flanagan
Lol. I'll agree to a point, but she has gotten a lot better than she was.
2. Takes tooo long to be released.
I know T_T
3. Censorship on Television
There are always the Box Sets though =/

Well, first thing I like to point out when discussing ANY Dub over its Japanese... Do we really know the language? I like to hear the opinions of those who are fluent in both Japanese and English, because quite honestly I don't think people fairly judge it otherwise. What true criticisms can we make about a language we don't understand? I can't say now that the Dub has a terrible translation of the Japanese because how am I supposed to know? And those subtitles that people constantly boast about? How do I know the translator didn't take any liberties? Truth is, of course the translation will be slightly different. There are cultural things in Japanese language, such as slang or regional references, that we just don't really "get" in English. Sure, you always have that one Japanese-sub fan saying "Oh, I get it!!!" but that's because they get the cultural note, which they tend to pause and read and go "Oooh." If a Japanese common phrase is switched to an English one, then as long as the concept stays the same I'm not too picky.

I think they do well with the dubbed. I mean, Lee's and Gai's voice just can't be beat for me. Naruto's voice is cited as being terrible but really, it grew on me. I have high respect for Yuri, Sasuke's VA so I'm not even going to compare him to his Japanese. I find when it comes to speeches I'm more impressed with the English, simply because I understand the words. The flow, the emotion, the emphasis on certain words, it's stuff that I don't pick up on with subtitles.

I just can't wait for Part Two. I have a lil bro and he really wants to see it on T.V. We're still in fillerland. ;-;

Paragraph 1:
I DO understand what your saying, but I'm not all that picky on literal translations, it's just when they take something to extreme differences. Like Dattebayo. It means NOTHING in Japanese, and yet they still try to change it. I think leaving "Dattebayo" in the English dub would have been better than "Believe It"! I guess that isn't exactly a bad translation, as much as it is just a horrible decision.

Paragraph 2:
I do really like Lee's voice in the English. Gai's is okay. But Sasuke... As much as I hate his character, (now) I can't help but say that Yuri does the best at matching the Seiyu's voice for Sasuke. It is almost EXACTLY the same.

Paragraph 3:
Where do you live? In the US it is playing on Disney XD. I'm not sure about anywhere else though. Also, episodes 1-12 are available on DVD.

[Derock]

I can give a couple of reasons why I like it:

1) No Subtitles (excludes the opening and ending sequences)

I only watch subs because spoilers doesn't affect me. I'll watch it ASAP if I have the time. Now, subtiles don't not affect me but I have to understand what the characters are saying when the dialogue translated to English. And when I get to the episode aired in English, I compared and contrast.

2) Our English Voice Actors:

Normally people will diss dubs because of the following: English VAs and editing. The Naruto dub have great voice actors, notable (in my opinion) are Yuri Lowenthal (best of the best in the series, he got Sasuke's personality and he pronouced the names correctly), Steve Blum, Liam O'Brien (he does a great Gaara) and Dave Wittenburg. And some are actually better to listen like Tenten's VA.

Right now, I do not have major dislikes on the dub, except on some cases:

In the edited versions, while I do agree some of the translations are very off, but it has to make sense in the closest American English as possible to be acceptable to the public.

I also do had some issues with certain games from the series when its released in the US. They switch some voice actors : always happen in this issue with Tsunade, ever since they released Ultimate Ninja 2 for the US, Debi Mae West wasn't available so Kurenai's VA fill her spot and later on in certain titles, like Clash of Ninja Revolution, they'll switched.

[Jorden-Kun]

I can give a couple of reasons why I like it:

1) No Subtitles (excludes the opening and ending sequences)

I only watch subs because spoilers doesn't affect me. I'll watch it ASAP if I have the time. Now, subtiles don't not affect me but I have to understand what the characters are saying when the dialogue translated to English. And when I get to the episode aired in English, I compared and contrast.

2) Our English Voice Actors:

Normally people will diss dubs because of the following: English VAs and editing. The Naruto dub have great voice actors, notable (in my opinion) are Yuri Lowenthal (best of the best in the series, he got Sasuke's personality and he pronouced the names correctly), Steve Blum, Liam O'Brien (he does a great Gaara) and Dave Wittenburg. And some are actually better to listen like Tenten's VA.

Right now, I do not have major dislikes on the dub, except on some cases:

In the edited versions, while I do agree some of the translations are very off, but it has to make sense in the closest American English as possible to be acceptable to the public.

I also do had some issues with certain games from the series when its released in the US. They switch some voice actors : always happen in this issue with Tsunade, ever since they released Ultimate Ninja 2 for the US, Debi Mae West wasn't available so Kurenai's VA fill her spot and later on in certain titles, like Clash of Ninja Revolution, they'll switched.

I agree. But I think almost anyone can do a good Gaara. XD At least I can. =/

And another thing I forgot to mention.
The anime lip flaps are created for the Japanese words to match them, not the English. So if the lip syncing is your problem, that is a major contributor to that. (Not you in particular Derock. XD)

Edited by Jorden-Kun, 28 November 2009 - 05:58 PM.

[Dreamer]

I have to admit I like Episode 23 of the dub when Ino called Naruto, Sakura's boyfriend.

But not in the orginial

Were have you been watching the Dub's at? Last time I checked the other day their were only 17 episodes that have been dubbed.
________________________________________________________________________________

Reason I like the Dub over Japanese Sub:

IMOP, anytime you can watch a show in a language you fully understand and without annoying subtitles is always a plus to me.
Naruto's voice has grown over me with all the original episodes of Naruto, Sasuke done by Yuri, Sakura's/Tsunade/Kakashi/Gaara/Might Gai/Ten-Ten and several others I find to have good voices. I also like Deidaras voice and Yahiko Pain's as well.

Well, I don't want to be hateful but I can't really point out many goods reason's why I like the Sub except maybe your looking at the original anime other than that I don't see anything else.

Edited by Uzumakikage, 28 November 2009 - 02:32 PM.

[Jorden-Kun]

Were have you been watching the Dub's at? Last time I checked the other day their were only 17 episodes that have been dubbed.
________________________________________________________________________________

Reason I like the Dub over Japanese Sub:

IMOP, anytime you can watch a show in a language you fully understand and without annoying subtitles is always a plus to me.
Naruto's voice has grown over me with all the original episodes of Naruto, Sasuke done by Yuri, Sakura's/Tsunade/Kakashi/Gaara/Might Gai/Ten-Ten and several others I find to have good voices. I also like Deidaras voice and Yahiko Pain's as well.

Well, I don't want to be hateful but I can't really point out many goods reason's why I like the Sub except maybe your looking at the original anime other than that I don't see anything else.

Were have you been watching the Dub's at? Last time I checked the other day their were only 17 episodes that have been dubbed.
He means the first half of Naruto. You know, non-Shippuden.

Reason I like the Dub over Japanese Sub:
Yeah, that seems to be a big plus to most people. I mean, why wouldn't you want it to be in your language? Naruto's voice has grown on me too. A few years ago, when Shippuden came out in Japan, I thought I wanted them to change Naruto's VA for when it was dubbed in English. But then I realised that it really wouldn't be the same if they changed the VA. You know?
And Deidara's VA is awesome. Not sure if I can remember Pein's... I think Johhny Young Bosch is supposed to play Sasori's True Form. I'm only up to episode 9, so I haven't seen the other 8 episodes yet.

Edited by Jorden-Kun, 28 November 2009 - 04:50 PM.

[Broken Figurine]

Paragraph 1:
I DO understand what your saying, but I'm not all that picky on literal translations, it's just when they take something to extreme differences. Like Dattebayo. It means NOTHING in Japanese, and yet they still try to change it. I think leaving "Dattebayo" in the English dub would have been better than "Believe It"! I guess that isn't exactly a bad translation, as much as it is just a horrible decision.

Paragraph 2:
I do really like Lee's voice in the English. Gai's is okay. But Sasuke... As much as I hate his character, (now) I can't help but say that Yuri does the best at matching the Seiyu's voice for Sasuke. It is almost EXACTLY the same.

Paragraph 3:
Where do you live? In the US it is playing on Disney XD. I'm not sure about anywhere else though. Also, episodes 1-12 are available on DVD.

To leaving Dattebayo as it is in the English--No, I disagree with that very much. For younger kids like my brother, that would need a big explanation and it jutst doesn't fit... I'm not a big fan of "Let's keep all the Japanese words!" because unless it's significant, like say the name of an organization, person, any important plot device, it should stay the same. "Akatsuki" is an example. "Konoha" is an example. Dattebayo, despite being a catchphrase that we associate with Naruto, doesn't contribute anything important. Maybe Dattebayo is as annoying to the Japanese as "Believe It" is to us--I wouldn't know. Believe it served a purpose though, it became a catchphrase we associated with Naruto. And, for the record, they stopped doing it. They tried to give Dattebayo an English translation and realized it didn't work. Am I very affected by it? Naaw. Usually in the case of translations it's censorship, Americanization problems that I have. When they change around a translation because it's too "Japanese" or because they're worried it might offend someone--but in Naruto's case I haven't found that yet. I don't know where people are finding these terrible translations, because in all honesty I don't notice it.

Yuri=Awesome. I was so happy to meet him at Anime North ^^ I took a picture and had an actual discussion! <3<3<3 Tara Platt was there too--it was so cute.

I live in Canada--we haven't gotten to Shippuuden yet. We're still in the fillers. I watch it on YTV and I'm hoping Shippuuden will be on there too, at a reasonable time. >.< Right now it plays Saturday at 12. Uuuugh. Yet Fairly Odd Parents gets run about three times after school. BLAH.

[Jorden-Kun]

To leaving Dattebayo as it is in the English--No, I disagree with that very much. For younger kids like my brother, that would need a big explanation and it jutst doesn't fit... I'm not a big fan of "Let's keep all the Japanese words!" because unless it's significant, like say the name of an organization, person, any important plot device, it should stay the same. "Akatsuki" is an example. "Konoha" is an example. Dattebayo, despite being a catchphrase that we associate with Naruto, doesn't contribute anything important. Maybe Dattebayo is as annoying to the Japanese as "Believe It" is to us--I wouldn't know. Believe it served a purpose though, it became a catchphrase we associated with Naruto. And, for the record, they stopped doing it. They tried to give Dattebayo an English translation and realized it didn't work. Am I very affected by it? Naaw. Usually in the case of translations it's censorship, Americanization problems that I have. When they change around a translation because it's too "Japanese" or because they're worried it might offend someone--but in Naruto's case I haven't found that yet. I don't know where people are finding these terrible translations, because in all honesty I don't notice it.

Yuri=Awesome. I was so happy to meet him at Anime North ^^ I took a picture and had an actual discussion! <3<3<3 Tara Platt was there too--it was so cute.

I live in Canada--we haven't gotten to Shippuuden yet. We're still in the fillers. I watch it on YTV and I'm hoping Shippuuden will be on there too, at a reasonable time. >.< Right now it plays Saturday at 12. Uuuugh. Yet Fairly Odd Parents gets run about three times after school. BLAH.

Paragraph 1:
Well, I'm just saying that I like 'Dattebayo' better than 'Believe it'. I know that younger kids would have trouble understanding that, and would need an explanation. So I guess that would have been a drawback if they had used it. =/ This is all purely opinion ^^

Paragraph 2:
I have never been to a convention T_T. I want to go VERY badly though. But I am still a minor living with his mother. So if she doesn't want to take me, I don't get to go. But I do watch for Yuri Panel videos on YouTube. As well as Johhny Young Bosch, and Vic Mignogna, and some others. He is really awesome. ^^

Paragraph 3:
Well... there are always Torrents. But make sure you buy the DVD's when they come out. ^^

Edited by Jorden-Kun, 28 November 2009 - 05:56 PM.

[Cloud]

Well, I don't want to be hateful but I can't really point out many goods reason's why I like the Sub except maybe your looking at the original anime other than that I don't see anything else.

Even without subtitles, I can pick out what they're saying most of the time. Watching Dub might be fun for you, but it makes my ears bleed just listening to the horrible voices and pronouncing Japanese names wrong half the time. A lot of stuff gets lost in translation.

If you've been honestly watching subbed or non-subbed original anime as a lot of people on this site. Eventually you learn the simple Japanese phrases and you can pretty much pick out what they say after a while of listening. The original is always the best, simply because they get the voices perfectly.

You may like Yuri, etc... for their voices. But honestly... after the third or fourth butchering of "Master Kakashi" I deleted the dubbed episode. Before you start getting rowdy on me, yes, I've watched dubbed anime.

I watched DBZ, DBGT, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho dubbed. Hell, I even tried watching Initial D and Gundam dubbed, but those just butchered it with non-spirited voices. English dub is going well, but there's still a bunch they need to get right before I'll even switch over.

But it's not the worst, I've had to watch Naruto dubbed in Mandarin. God, worst choice I've made. The voices were even worse than that of the English dub.

/rant

[Jorden-Kun]

Even without subtitles, I can pick out what they're saying most of the time. Watching Dub might be fun for you, but it makes my ears bleed just listening to the horrible voices and pronouncing Japanese names wrong half the time. A lot of stuff gets lost in translation.

If you've been honestly watching subbed or non-subbed original anime as a lot of people on this site. Eventually you learn the simple Japanese phrases and you can pretty much pick out what they say after a while of listening. The original is always the best, simply because they get the voices perfectly.

You may like Yuri, etc... for their voices. But honestly... after the third or fourth butchering of "Master Kakashi" I deleted the dubbed episode. Before you start getting rowdy on me, yes, I've watched dubbed anime.

I watched DBZ, DBGT, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho dubbed. Hell, I even tried watching Initial D and Gundam dubbed, but those just butchered it with non-spirited voices. English dub is going well, but there's still a bunch they need to get right before I'll even switch over.

But it's not the worst, I've had to watch Naruto dubbed in Mandarin. God, worst choice I've made. The voices were even worse than that of the English dub.

/rant

I'm only saying that I like to hear it in my native language. And I can understand some things in the original RAW Japanese versions, just from watching subs. But not as much as I'd like to. Don't get me wrong, I DO think that the Japanese VA's are a lot better than the English ones. But I still enjoy the English dub, especially Shippuden. The voice acting is much better in Shippuden than it was in part I.

Yeah. =/

[Cloud]

I'm only saying that I like to hear it in my native language. And I can understand some things in the original RAW Japanese versions, just from watching subs. But not as much as I'd like to. Don't get me wrong, I DO think that the Japanese VA's are a lot better than the English ones. But I still enjoy the English dub, especially Shippuden. The voice acting is much better in Shippuden than it was in part I.

Yeah. =/

Yeah. I know.

Pre-Shippuden was just bad. Shippuden itself is actually bearable now. But there are lots of other dubbed anime out there that should've just stayed subbed.

[James S Cassidy]

Naruto I am on the fence about. I like some of the VA and I don't like others. However, I don;t think it is the Voice actors themselves so much as placement.

I mean some of the voice actors in the Naruto anime were awesome in other anime. There is actually two anime I liked better in English than in Japanese. Trigun and Outlaw Star. Their VAs were perfect.

Johnny Young Bosch for example (note here: I remember this guy from power rangers almost ten years ago) was perfect for Vash the Stampede and Ichigo for Bleach. He has the "Hero" voice as some say he has. He can be totally serious and yet funny all at the same time. His Vash laugh was perfect. Is he perfect for Sasori? I have to see him as it first which I have yet too. It depends on his disposition as the character. As I said, he can be serious character such as being Ichigo from Bleach.

I say it is now who the VA are, it;s what role they play.

[Jorden-Kun]

Naruto I am on the fence about. I like some of the VA and I don't like others. However, I don;t think it is the Voice actors themselves so much as placement.

I mean some of the voice actors in the Naruto anime were awesome in other anime. There is actually two anime I liked better in English than in Japanese. Trigun and Outlaw Star. Their VAs were perfect.

Johnny Young Bosch for example (note here: I remember this guy from power rangers almost ten years ago) was perfect for Vash the Stampede and Ichigo for Bleach. He has the "Hero" voice as some say he has. He can be totally serious and yet funny all at the same time. His Vash laugh was perfect. Is he perfect for Sasori? I have to see him as it first which I have yet too. It depends on his disposition as the character. As I said, he can be serious character such as being Ichigo from Bleach.

I say it is now who the VA are, it;s what role they play.

I agree. I haven't seen him as Sasori yet, but I don't really think he'll be TERRIBLE though =/

[Dreamer]

Even without subtitles, I can pick out what they're saying most of the time. Watching Dub might be fun for you, but it makes my ears bleed just listening to the horrible voices and pronouncing Japanese names wrong half the time. A lot of stuff gets lost in translation.

If you've been honestly watching subbed or non-subbed original anime as a lot of people on this site. Eventually you learn the simple Japanese phrases and you can pretty much pick out what they say after a while of listening. The original is always the best, simply because they get the voices perfectly.

You may like Yuri, etc... for their voices. But honestly... after the third or fourth butchering of "Master Kakashi" I deleted the dubbed episode. Before you start getting rowdy on me, yes, I've watched dubbed anime.

I watched DBZ, DBGT, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho dubbed. Hell, I even tried watching Initial D and Gundam dubbed, but those just butchered it with non-spirited voices. English dub is going well, but there's still a bunch they need to get right before I'll even switch over.

But it's not the worst, I've had to watch Naruto dubbed in Mandarin. God, worst choice I've made. The voices were even worse than that of the English dub.

/rant

Aren't you Chinese Cloud and wouldn't that mean you have a better understanding of Japanese language than Americans do?

[Cloud]

Aren't you Chinese Cloud and wouldn't that mean you have a better understanding of Japanese language than Americans do?

.............. Not really, no.

You're oversimplifying the difference in East Asian languages. East Asians can get an easier understanding of each other's languages because SOME words are similar (but not always), since there's a huge difference in a lot of the languages. Just as how American English and British English are different. We Chinese have different dialects for different provinces and areas in China. Same with the Japanese, they have the Kansai dialect and the Philippines have Tagalog and other dialects.

Just because I'm Chinese doesn't mean I'd be able to understand Korean completely. I've honestly watched Japanese anime all my life, that's probably the only reason why I can watch some series without subtitles. Plus there's the fact that my grandparents fought the Japanese during WW2 and they (from my mother's side) can speak Japanese and they've taught me a little when I was young.

[Dreamer]

.............. Not really, no.

You're oversimplifying the difference in East Asian languages. East Asians can get an easier understanding of each other's languages because SOME words are similar (but not always), since there's a huge difference in a lot of the languages. Just as how American English and British English are different. We Chinese have different dialects for different provinces and areas in China. Same with the Japanese, they have the Kansai dialect and the Philippines have Tagalog and other dialects.

Just because I'm Chinese doesn't mean I'd be able to understand Korean completely. I've honestly watched Japanese anime all my life, that's probably the only reason why I can watch some series without subtitles. Plus there's the fact that my grandparents fought the Japanese during WW2 and they (from my mother's side) can speak Japanese and they've taught me a little when I was young.

Okay, thanks for the clarification Cloud.

I watched all of the Jiraiya fight with Pein all the way through 137, the Itachi vs. Sasuke fight in sub, it grew on me a little but I still will go back and watch the new release Dubs when their out.

Edited by Uzumakikage, 29 November 2009 - 09:40 AM.

[Paradox Jast]

I think one reason many people have a sort of stigma in regards to English dubs, is because people like us (the -big- fans) watch each episode when it first comes out, and have gotten used to the Japanese seiyuu doing the voices for the characters we watch week after week. I'm fairly certain it would be the same thing for a weekly western cartoon should it have a huge following in Japan (or elsewhere) and people can't wait to see it... you get attached to the first voice you hear associated with the character. It isn't even a conscious choice, I think it just happens.

As a result, you have a preconceived notion as to what the voice should sound like when it gets translated. Sometimes I wonder if the English VA's have to watch the original Japanese versions with subtitles, so they know what kind of emotion they need to bring to the forefront when speaking certain lines.

Not only that, but censorship for a young audience (at least in the US, I absolutely despise how we manage to censor the most inane things but the obvious crap gets by until someone with their head up their ass raises a big stink because they caught the whiff of a potential money-grubbing lawsuit in the making) probably kills a lot of the emotion that a voice actor could potentially use. I remember reading a lot of old Dattebayo subs, and they tended to embellish a bit, but a lot of the time when they chose to do that, I could actually make sense of why a character would say things a certain way, with the amount of emotion the seiyuu was putting into it. "God dammit" is much easier to say with emotion than, for example, "Oh darn." Sometimes phrases have to be legitimately lengthened or shortened to fit the animated speaking time that was already drawn. If you need an example, just go watch some old Speed Racer cartoons. They're good for a few laughs.

I can at least respect the English voice actors for what they try to do, even if they don't always nail it right on the head. Some words are butchered, obviously - not everyone has a talent to speak words of another language fluently. It would be a different story if we actually had a bilingual person doing voice acting work, but taking into account, say... an average Japanese person, most have a hard time pronouncing any English word that has the letter 'L' in it, simply because there are no Japanese words that have a use for that consonant. Herro, Engrish.

Overall, I try to be patient, for a little while at least. Sometimes the voice actor does need to move on when a character grows up... I appreciate Maile Flanagan but I really think she needed to step aside and let a guy do Naruto's voice for Shippuden. But maybe that's just me.

But if the VA is totally monotonous, or doesn't seem to put the slightest amount of effort into their work... that's when I hop on the 'Down with English Dubs' bandwagon.