Oh dear god they dubbed it and aired it....

[ifonlyiwereclvr.livejournal.com]

Ok since I posted a gripe against the dub I thought it only fitting that I post a follow up. My initial reaction which I'm sure i shared with many was "You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!" In defense of the dubbers they made a few decisions that i agree with. They did change the aggravating trailer "This Britannia will be obliterated" (though i still think obliterated is a poor choice of words), they cast the English Straight Cougar (s-cry-ed) and Alucard (Hellsing) {I think his orange will be phenomenal}, they kept the other "Yes my lord!" so can someone please tell me why in the name of all that is both holy and unholy did they insist on having loser soldier boy say "happily your highness" I'm sure they've at least seen their lines in the original Japanese, you'd think as an actor you'd want to stay as close to the source material as possible, and the emperor didn't even mention the Ragnares race though he did say something about the Ragnarok. It's only the first episode so i hope that they can pull it together because honestly I'd love to see a good dub come out of this, the show is so spectacular that any deviation from what we know should be is disheartening (to put it mildly) Still C.C.'s intro was surprisingly good, and they have 24 more episodes to go, fingers crossed. 

For those who have yet to see it...

Comments

[vicks111.livejournal.com]

The dub wasn't that bad. Lulu's voice bothers me, but he wasn't bad when he screamed. Karen was ok in my opinion, but Milly's and Shirley's voices were awful. I still don't have an opinion on C.C. voice.
The britanian's voices were awesome, though. Clovis <3 too bad he dies.

[leitao.livejournal.com]

The only problem I have with the dub is that IT'S SO WEEEEIIIRRDDDD to hear other actors' voices come out of these characters' mouths. XD I'll quickly adjust, of course. If I'd seen it in English first, I wouldn't know the difference, so.

[kaeleer.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Hell, I know it wasn't that bad. Whatever your opinions of it, just remember it could be worse.

4kids could have picked it up.

Do you really, really, wanna experience a, dare I say it, pacifist Lulu? Or maybe have the Knightmares throwing out gumballs and lollipops, or have freakin TOYS as weapons? 4kids would probably have re-written half the script! Just be happy none of that happened. Other than that, turn off your television and everything will be a-ok =)

[powercorrupts.livejournal.com]

We have no disco guns yet. All is well until there are disco guns!

[animegoil.livejournal.com]

I thought it was alright. Some of the voices I thought were great (Villeta, Jeremiah), others I'm hoping will grow more comfortable in their roles. That's usually the problem I have with dubs-- they sound forced and unnatural.

Translation-wise... yes, sometimes there's those facepalm moments where you just wonder why the heck they couldn't just keep it with the original. But other times it's (as has been mentioned) either because it won't fit with the mouth, or because it just doesn't sound quite right in English. Though I like keeping translations as close to the original as possible, even to the extent of keeping some vocabulary in Japanese (oh, bad example but let's say 'chi' or 'ki' instead of 'spiritual energy'), sometimes just getting the right nuance and connotation is better than a direct translation

Take Tokyopop's handling of a line in Wild Adapter where one character asks the other if he's Nobita-kun because he keeps falling asleep immediately and deeply. To the average American, that MEANS NOTHING. Response is -who the hell is Nobita-kun? And without either independence research or an editorial note, they're not gonna know what that means. And once they do find out, it's still not gonna carry that same nuance of familiarity that it would for the Japanese. It might not even be humorous. It's just not a joke for the culture. So, what does Tokyopop do? They ask if he's a narcoleptic instead. The cultural reference would have been wasted on the non-Japanese, so let's go back to what was meant with the statement: OMG, I can't believe you fell asleep that quickly! slightGRRR. "Are you narcoleptic or something?" carries the same connotation of 'disdain' and is understandable by any english speaker (possibly with a dictionary). I thought it was a brilliant replacement.

Basic point, if you're still here, is that some changes are natural. Lost in translation or changed in translation is what will happen every single time. You can't change that, so there's no point bitching about it constantly. Only the fatal errors need to be bitched at.

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

God you are just. So hot.

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

Everyone is easy for the right price.

Hey big man. What's your price?

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

On your knees.

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

And in case you need any more persuasion than that, have a look at this.

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

^

[vehemence.livejournal.com]

Tell me how attractive I am.

[whitetux.livejournal.com]

I didn't think it was that bad. Except Lulu (and Rivalz oh god) but he has time to change. He started getting better towards the end I thought, but he sounds so bored with everything he says. There's not the same emotion behind it.

If you haven't seen it in Japanese, it manages to hold your attention. It held my attention and I have seen it in Japanese. Which is ultimately what they want, to get people who haven't seen the subs interested in the show.

I hate the way they say Suzaku though, the way they draw out the zak part. soo zack oo instead of soo za ku

Also lol, they reused Spinzaku's animation from ep1! Totally wouldn't have caught that w/o the dub.

Not to mention Lloyd/Clovis/ORENJI?! is a dream~ Didn't think Shirley was that bad either.

[stk316.livejournal.com]

I've watched it in drips and drabs and while it isn't a bad dub my gripe is prnounciation.
Lancelot should be Lance-eh-lot.
Very surprised they got Glasgow right. Usually I've always heard Americans say it with the w when really it's dropped.

It isn't bad by any means. It's actually good for a dub but I am not fond of Lelouch's voice. I'm just used to the distinct change from pre-Geass to after.

[kandycat.livejournal.com]

I think they did a good job with the dub. I was a little annoyed with C.C. because it sounded too sweet unlike her ruthless personality.

[random-irony.livejournal.com]

I was pretty happy with the dub. I don't really like dubs, but it was okay. It could have been much worse. I do wish they got a deeper voice for Lelouch (I am in love with the japanese voice), but the other voices weren't bad. (Also I agree that "obliterate" was too strong a word for young!Lulu.)

One thing I do have to say in response to the comments on the changing of some words (even though others have said it already, just thought I'd squeeze in my two cents): (While this doesn't always apply) The dubs often need to have the words changed slightly (though they try to keep the same meaning) because the direct translation of the original Japanese may have fewer or more syllables and they need to match the words with the mouth movements. Otherwise it would look really strange; someone coul be talking but the mouth wouldn't be moving. I've even SEEN anime where a character's mouth was moving but there were no words.

And despite bad dubbing, it can contribute to the fan community. Then when those poor, lost, dub-watching sheep wander here, we can lead them to the path of righteousness and subs. XD

[get-in-get-out.livejournal.com]

*amIlate?*
I really liked the dub. There were some voices that were kinda... weird to hear (like Shirley's), but I think I'll get used to them. Other than that I was pretty happy with all the voices, especially Lloyd's. (And let me just say listening to Rivalz talk and hearing Takato's voice was just kinda holyshitawesome. But that's just me.)

Also, I'm glad they changed it to 'Happily, your Highness'. It made the scene creepier to me.

[raved.livejournal.com]

Clovis = Yay.
Lloyd = Still fabulous~
Orange = OMGYESPLZ.
Rivalz = ... DD:
Lelouch = Oh dear god, what did they do to you?
Kallen = Please stop showing those "fellas" what "this badass mother" can do.

No opinion on everyone else just yet. :c

[white-stellar.livejournal.com]

lol i forgot how stupid clovis's speech was xD and kallen is like >_>
(i disliked the "madam president" i mean, WHO SAYS THAT IN ENGLISH to a STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT?! it sounds like a japanese person translated the script and [brainless] north american voice actors just droned the words)

[lillaoryo704.livejournal.com]

I found it okai, the only voice i didn't like was Shirley's >.< her voice just make wanna strangle her to death, it was creepy hearing her, Lelouch's voice was okai, his voice actor was ichigo's voice actor right?