Anime (English vs. Japanese)?

Question

I am barely into Anime. I watched Death Note and decided to watch it in Japanese with English subs. I watched it all the way through and liked it. I decided to check out the English counterpart of Death Note and Yagami and L's voices are very gayish. I loved the voices in the original.

My question is how come the English version did not have similar style voices (since it is much better in Japanese)? And even if it didn't have it exactly alike why did they choose to use such gay voices for Yagami and L?

Comparison:

Japanese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Jq9SNZMtw

English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bygdlhkDlJ0

Answer 1

This is where the huge debate between people who prefer subtitles versus people who prefer English dubs comes into play. (The battle still rages....)



I began watching Anime with subtitles. I raved about one specific movie to a friend and demanded we go rent it immediately. Sadly, it was dubbed in English, so not only were the characters' voices VERY different, but so was inflection and even what they said. (One part makes me cry every time in the subtitled version. It just made me angry the the point was missed in the dubbed version.) If you're interested, the movie in question is Ghost in the Shell.



The fans who prefers dubs usually site the fact that they hate to read movies... at least the ones I've talked to have said that.



Anyway, on to your answer....

Many times it is an English-speaking production studio that does the dubs. They don't have as much invested in the movie as the original creators did. Also, cheap voice actors aren't exactly the cream of the crop.

Dubbed movies are often dubbed MANY years after their original release, as well. not that it has much to do with the answer... I don't think.

Answer 2

Yes, Death Note is so good! I'm not sure why they chose such bad voices. Maybe the people who dubbed it were lazy. Death Note was the first anime I watched other than Pokemon and other kid shows as a child :D

Gosh, the English dub is so bad (ex: I'll take a potato chip... AND IT IT!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC6T3_O2iWc

XD



But I do know that there are some shows that do a fantastic job at dubbing. I think that the people who dub Bleach did a hella good job. For the most part, the voices are similar style to those in Japanese. The voice that stuck me the most was the feline Yoruichi. The voices sound so similar.

Here's what I mean:



Japanese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc2CparyTLI&playnext=1&list=PL3D3BD229DB91A323

English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QeJzmHzWg



Please watch the clips. They're hilarious!

If you need another anime, please watch Bleach. Its really good/full of action/comedy/is touching.



:D

Answer 3

The English-speaking anime industry is actually very small. Voice acting in the US simply doesn't have the kind of talent pool to draw from that the Japanese have. Especially when you consider that the importers usually do their dubbing in-house, it's entirely possible that they had less than ten VAs to choose from for the entire show. Trying to find similar voices is next to hopeless



While I don't want to set off an argument, this is one of the biggest reasons that people watch anime subtitled. Most of the time the Japanese voices simply fit better.

Answer 4

A lot of it has to do with the fact that English speaking countries do not have a large or particularly great dubbing industry, since most media is produced in English.



Other countries, (Germany, for example), have a much better dubbing industry because they dub pretty much EVERYTHING that comes out of Hollywood, because they have to for it to be watched mainstream.

Answer 5

You choose the most biased comparison for this argument. That one scene was done badly, big whoop. Overall the english series is freaking amazing and 10 times better than the Japanese voices. I know because I've watched it all in BOTH languages.

Answer 6

the dubbers don't watch the anime to find a voice that matches the character. i prefer subs 95% of the time myself

Answer 7

...you're kidding right?



the english dub of death note is one of the best. granted some dubs are horrible (one piece, for example), most dubs of current anime are spot on.