The Naruto Dub

[XanBcoo]

Well bumped bagandscalpel. And yeah, Naruto sounds like he smokes or something 0.o

The ep on Toonami last night was the one where Haku first uses his Crystal Ice Mirror Jutsu. Nothing much to say of the voices. I think they're already beginning to grow into their roles. Not one line made me cringe because of its corniness or anything.

Oh, and for anyone who gives a shiet about the dub, Gaara's voice actor was announced: Liam O'Brien

I know this guy best as Asaba from His and Her Circumstances. He also plays Joachim in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Personally, I think the voice is a very good fit. He sounds a lot like Richard Hayworth, so I'm guessing we can expect a Legato type voice from him.

[Phoenix20578]

Originally posted by: Lefty
Naruto's voice is the only one thats really misscast, it's too frigging raspy. Everybody else works.

Agreed. I wouldn't mind if all of a sudden the voice changed and sounded good.

[XanBcoo]

Episode 14: Uneventful episode but the English voices are remaining pretty good. I'm getting used to them, at least. My opinion now is that Zabuza, Haku, and Kakashi's voices are the best of the dub so far. Even though Haku's VA is new to anime, she resembles the original Japanese voice so much it's uncanny, and her acting isn't half-bad either. Viz made a good choice with her.

Also, once again, Viz pulls through and leaves another translation intact: Kekkei Genkai. Just like in the manga, they use both the original Japanese phrase and the translation of "Bloodline Trait" which isn't exact, but close enough. Very nice.

Also, Sam Regal, has just been listed on ANN as Shino's voice actor. Don't know him too well except that he does Lil' Slugger on Paranoia Agent, but I don't remember his voice at all.

[ChaosK]

kakashi's voice acctually has a certain sense of mystery to it...but then again i only saw the survival training episode. i HATE naruto's voice...its absoultely horrible.

[The Heretic Azazel]

They even said kunoichi for a female ninja.

I guess half of you won't be happy until they air it with subtitles though.

[masamuneehs]

Originally posted by: The Heretic Azazel
I guess half of you won't be happy until they air it with subtitles though.

Yes. That's about right...

I am pretty open to English VAs and dubs in general... but there's always a couple major flaws that just make my hair stand on end and then I end up cursing the Dub and their retarded VAs... Its not my fault they can't satisfy my high standards.

[The Heretic Azazel]

I think if one voice improved in this episode it would be Sasuke's, because for a little while there I wasn't sure his bland VA was going to sound decent when yelling or showing emotion.

[DarthEnderX]

Originally posted by: masamuneehs
Its not my fault they can't satisfy my high standards.

I can't imagine who's fault it is if not your owns as to where your standards are.

[XanBcoo]

It's his fault for having those standards, but the dub's fault for not meeting them.

I must admit my standards were pretty high for this dub in particular, but so far I've come to accept it. It's far from perfect because Every now and then there is a translation or a delivery of a line that is pretty grating. This is something that doesn't happen in good dubs, but I think part of that comes from the fact that we're all so used to the original VAs (this point was made earlier in the thread).

I think if one voice improved in this episode it would be Sasuke's, because for a little while there I wasn't sure his bland VA was going to sound decent when yelling or showing emotion.

I noticed that too. I'm really looking forward to his "death" scene to see how meester Lowenthall can pull it off.

[Ero-Fan]

Anybody else feel that the eng dub ver of Naruto will die as soon as it catches up to the current filler arc we're in now? I can barely stand these fillers right now. I can't imagine the pain of seeing them in english as well.....

[DarthEnderX]

I doubt it. Most of the kids that are going to be making up the dubs fanbase won't know the difference between the fillers and the non-fillers. They'll just be sitting there like, 'Man, I hope Naruto learns a new move soon" for 9 months.

[Ero-Fan]

Poor bastards, that's almost worse than knowing he won't learn shit till April. Then again, they say ignorance is bliss... I know I sure as hell won't watch fillers more than once, so they should have to suffer like we do.

[Cyberdude93]

Surely they could cut out all the filler entirely. They're just under 150 episodes behind. If they cut out the ~52 episodes of filler we're going to total, they'll still be 100 episodes behind. Even throwing in another filler year to cut there are still 50 episodes. And let's face it, I doubt there'll be any other episode skipping or merging (have they even shortened episode lengths yet? Seems like they've kept the same timing to me so far), except possibly episode 26 since that's a full episode.

Even if they're paranoid, they could leave the best half of the filler or something. Keep all the funny episodes, keep the best arcs, etc.

It'll never happen if they reckon the fillers will fare well on American TV though.

[XanBcoo]

They'll leave the filler in. That is, assuming Naruto will still be on Toonami by the time the anime reaches episode 135.

[Ero-Fan]

Hehe, OMG, Cartoon Network is going to do a marathon of Naruto on Dec 31- 17 episodes, 8.5 hours straight. My god, can you imagine hearing Naruto's voice for that long? I ain't watchin it, anyone here going to?

[XanBcoo]

Hell, I would 'cept I'm gonna be out of the country on the 31st. Sucks. But I've already seen every episode so far, so unless they're showing the news episodes, it doesn't really bother me. Chances are it will just be a marathon of the first season.

What I'm really looking forward to are the voices we haven't heard yet (Temari, Gaara, Lee, Neji, etc).

[The Heretic Azazel]

Is that 17 episodes after the ones they've shown, or 17 included the ones that have aired?

[Ero-Fan]

16 will be reruns, and the 17th will be the new one for that weekend.

Edit: At least, thats what the news said. I think that works out, what, the 14th episode should be out this weekend, correct?

[anbu41]

they lost my interest once they pronounced "Iruka" in a different way.

[XanBcoo]

Originally posted by: anbu41
they lost my interest once they pronounced "Iruka" in a different way.

Different, but not incorrect. I'm pretty certain that they've been pronouncing his name just fine (memory's fuzzy though, he hasn't had screen time for a while).

Episode 15:
Wow, I'm really starting to like the dub. Almost nothing sounded corny or forced in this episode. I say "almost" because Tazuna (Kirk Thorton) had a line when Zabuza created the mist, and yelled out "Zero visibility!" which made him sound much like a robot. This had both me and my brother rofl our asses off. Everything else was just fine, a solid performance by everyone (yes, even Naruto). I didn't notice any serious script changes, and as far as edits go, there wasn't a lot to cut out.

Some of the lines in this episode were just awesome. In particular, Haku's (Susan Dalian) speech about how he would become a shinobi for the end of being-a tool-for-the-one-who-is-important-to-him was, imo, spectacular. I felt that speech. Probably her best delivery yet, and I can't wait until episode 17 when Haku reveals his past, because this actress will undoubtedly shine.

Steven Blum (as Zabuza) has also stopped sounding like a saturday morning villian, and is seeming more like the Demon of the Hidden Mist we know him as. For me, this goes for every character. I think everyone introduced so far is beginning to fit into their repsective roles. Sasuke sounded confident as he assesed his situation inside Haku's ice prison, and not like the arrogant prissy boy he did earlier on.

If anyone still isn't watching the dub ONLY because they think it sucks, I advise them to get their head checked and actually watch it.