The Naruto Dub

[snapcase]

I just saw a commercial for upcoming episodes on CN, and it seems that the little robot guy that hosts Toonami is finally starting to pronounce "Naruto" correctly. He even rolled the "R".

[Deblas]

Hey! Zabuza's voice is the same guy who did Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop(always keep forgetting his name) or I really think it is. He's really a good VA for any dub anime. I like how he is doing it. I think it fits Zabuza.

[XanBcoo]

DAMN! Steven Blum is so awesome as Zabuza!

He uses this really evil snarl when speaking - much like his role as Mugen in Champloo. He is just perfect for the Zabuza's part and pulls it off 100% perfectly. Heh, I guess I called it way back in the first post of this topic XD.

I think I'm going to start enjoying the dub much more now that he is in it.

@Deblas: yeah, he plays Spike. He also goes under the name David Lucas. Look him up on AnimeNewsNetwork. He's probably the most prolific voice actor there is, so you're bound to have heard of him before.

- #1 Steven Blum Fanboy.

I just saw a commercial for upcoming episodes on CN, and it seems that the little robot guy that hosts Toonami is finally starting to pronounce "Naruto" correctly

He damn well better, as Tom (the robot guy) is also played by Blum.

i dont understand y they had to translate 'dattebayo' and put it in there as well. it doesnt serve any useful purpose. like like 'dawg' into japanese.

Because they're trying to remain as faithful as possible to the original japanese dub. I, for one, am so impressed with the English dub so far. The quality of the acting is somewhat questionable (with the obvious exception of Zabuza ^^), but MAN they are really catering to the fans in their treatment of the script. They are keeping all of the original terms and phrases. They even kept the word "dojustu" in episode 7, along with "sharingan" (I was half afraid they'd resort to saying "copy wheel eye"). The fact that they acknowledge Naruto's unique speech pattern by adding a word to the end of the sentences shows they're treating it professionally.

Well done Viz.

[Knives122]

Steven Blum = The Sam Jackson of VA

I was suprised they pronounced sharingan pretty well in the ep, sasukes acting seemed a little forced again but that can be fixed.

[The Heretic Azazel]

I finally caught an episode with Zabuza and god damn he's awesome.

[XanBcoo]

He most certainly is.

I also forgot to mention Tazuna (played by Sparky Thorton). I'd say he fits the role pretty well. I was expecting a Saito/Jin voice from him - like he's done in other roles, but he's going for the cooky-old-guy voice. Which is cool 'cause it fits. His acting has no problems that I can see so far.

sasukes acting seemed a little forced again

lol, especially during Sasuke's "I'm gonna kill myself" monologue. Ah well, at least the voice fits him.

[masamuneehs]

I wish oh how I wish they'd gotten Steven Blum to do a different character. (think he would have made the perfect Kakashi) But he did Zabuza damn well.

I haven't really been watching the dub too often, just don't find Naruto's voice pallatable... (enough's been said about Sasuke's VA already by others...) but found it really sorta funny that they have Blum and Sparky Thorton pair up in this arc, just because it always makes me think about Cowboy Bebop and them as Spike and Jet) and it was really pretty enjoyable watching this episode of Naruto and thinking back to the very first time I ever saw it, as this was the point where I started really loving this show...

EDIT It's Champloo that I was thinking of with Thorton and Blum together... my bad...

[XanBcoo]

@Masamuneehs:
1. Yeah, I kinda wish he had done Kakashi too. He fits the role pretty well, plus we'd get to hear more of him past episode 19.

2. Sparky Thorton doesn't play Jet. Jet is played by Beau Billingslea (I think) - an old black guy [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]. But Thorton and Blum do have roles together in various anime - like in Champloo. They're both cool.

3. Yes, the Wave Arc rules so much it's not even funny.

Edit: Here's Beau Billingslea's ANN page: Beau Billingslea

Come to think of it, I hope he gets a role in Naruto. He'd be the PERFECT Jiraiya imo. *crosses fingers*

[Necromas]

Blum pronounces sharingan so wierd, since he's the first so say it, he was like "blah blah blah SHINING-GUN eye blah blah" I was like WTF!!!

Then I heard the others say it and they pronounced it fine.

[mage]

Originally posted by: Necromas
Blum pronounces sharingan so wierd, since he's the first so say it, he was like "blah blah blah SHINING-GUN eye blah

lollololofaloafffafxg

Please go back and read the rules again. If everyone made a post just to say 'lol' or the equivalent when they found something funny, you'd have to scroll through pages to get to the next post with content. So please do the forum a favour and save your posting for when you have something worthwhile to say. This doesn't just go for mage, but everyone in the Naruto forum since quite a few of you have a tendency to do this.

GotWoot Moderator

[Nin10doman]

Wow, I love this absolute refusal to say the word "kill." It has to be "destroy" and "annihilate" instead, because those are sooo much nicer.

Steve Blum still kicks ass, though.

[XanBcoo]

Thoughts on episode 8's dub:

Although Blum kicks-ass, I think his performance was a little overdone in this episode. During his speach about the Mist Academy graduation test, he sounded way too dramatic (That is, in comparison to the japanese dub). He talked so slowly, annunciating the word "ninja" every chance he got. Sounded a bit like an old Saturday morning cartoon villian. In Japanese, Zabuza spoke of all the deaths quite normally, as if it were a matter of course, and then laughed sadistically, recalling the "good old days" of the test. I'm not saying Blum's perfomance was bad, I just didn't like the way he went about it.

Another thing I noticed: wtf is with them calling Tazuna "bridge builder"?? The guy has a name. They should use it!

@Nin10doman: It's pretty weird they don't say "kill" anymore. Naruto said it in the first episode, but now they've resorted to using the words "destroyed", "taken down", and the like. Dunno why that is...

And, as much as I dislike Mael Flannigan as Naruto, his speech when he got back his head protector from Zabuza sent chills through me. But this has little to do with the dub. That scene is just pure awesome IMO, and it would affect me the same way in any language [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[Necromas]

I like how they still kept the blood comming from their mouths in, this might be the bloodiest show to ever hit cartoon network, we are making history people!

[KoKo37]

well pretty much anyone will be better then the current voices imo, naruto sounds like a girl with a sore throat in the english one -.- lol but i hope Richard Cox isn't in the voice's i really hate his voice its so irratating lol and i wonder waht orchi's voice will sound like? il prob be disapointed cause teh jap voice for orchi was godly lol.

also im on ytv so there just starting the mission in the english verion for me T.T

[XanBcoo]

LOL watch Richard Cox play Orochimaru.

I wouldn't worry though. So far none of the cast (to my knowledge) from Inuyasha has been on Naruto. They're using another voice studio. So far I think they're doing ok, with the exception of a few voices.

[Liquid Echo]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409591/

apparently Tony Danza has the part

[XanBcoo]

Man, episode 9 was pretty cool. Haku showed up and I must say I really like the voice they picked for him. I don't know who the voice actress is yet, but it sounds a LOT like the woman who plays Motoko Kusanagi on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I'd say the only problem with her voice is that maybe she sounds a bit too mature, but then again, she still sounds very similar to the original japanese actress IMO.

Also, another really cool thing: They kept the chanting in Japanese during the Water Dragon Jutsu-thing part. That was really cool. I'll say it again, Viz has got the fans in mind with this dub. Excellent.

As for everything else. Same old same old. Naruto's VA sucks and any emotion portrayed by the actors comes off terribly. They've either got no emotion or they try to hard and make it sound corny. Blah.

Waiting for next week!

[The Heretic Azazel]

Maybe the voices will evolve as the VAs become accustomed to what it should sound like, but I agree, all around the Naruto dub is really good.

I just wish Blum got a bigger part than Zabuza.

[DarthEnderX]

I wouldn't be surprised if Blum does more than one voice on the show. I mean, he's the adaptation writer. So he can probably take any parts he wants.

[The Heretic Azazel]

That's true.. he might make a nice Oro.

It's probably bordering on impossible to please me with Oro's English VA though, whoever it is. His Jap voice actor suits him perfectly. Like a snake.