Commentary on the VA's...

[Zero Angel]

i know that there has been topics like this before but i was curious...

how is it that people can like the Lupin VA cast?

perhaps i should lay some ground work.

i have been an avid Lupin fan for the past 4 years now and suffice to say, no english VA has been able to match up to the original japanese Lupin. i have to say i have heard people preform similarly but never seem to get it right or hit the mark well enough to even try to match up.

this includes the current VA for Lupin III on AS. i think that Fujiko is decent and Jigen is all right, Zenigata even has the intonation and exagerrated syllabols down when he calls out Lupin's name (LU-PAN! you know what i mean) so that is pretty cool. the Lupin VA though...still hasnt been able to match up.

so my question is : how is it that people can like the VA for Lupin?

when you answer this question, have you heard the original VA?

and if so, why do you like the english VA?

[MBxxSC]

My guess would be that people lean towards English VA's because they don't understand Japanese. I do my best these days to not open myself to the conflict that a Dub creates. Wichever I watch first, I try to stick with through the duration. If I see the sub first, then I try not to watch the Dub, and vice versa. Once you're used to a style, any change will likely seem hard to accept.

[JeffTMBG]

I've never been a sub snob, despite seeing Lupin mostly in subbed form. His new dub voice is similar to some of his past english VAs. Personally, I'd rather have the ability to take in all of the screen rather than focus my attention on the subtitles at the bottom.

[MothMonsterMan]

I just keep seeing Rick Hunter. I like the voice though. And I would rather see it in English

[DarthNuriko]

I've only heard the Japanese Lupin's voice a couple of times (I've seen like two/three of the movies) and I like him and the English-dub version about the same right now. The Lupin on Swim is the only English exposure I've had to the characters. Any other actors portraying the character, I haven't heard.

[JetMaster5]

Originally posted by Zero Angel
i have been an avid Lupin fan for the past 4 years now and suffice to say, no english VA has been able to match up to the original japanese Lupin. i have to say i have heard people preform similarly but never seem to get it right or hit the mark well enough to even try to match up.

I think you're expecting too much from dub actors. There's absolutely NO WAY that the dub VA's are going to match perfectly with the original VA's. Especially from those of different culture. There's no way.

That's why I never expect much from VA's when watching the dub. As long as the VA's themselves can generally fit in the character's moods and personalities, then that's all I ever wanted.

[EightOh]

Originally posted by MothMonsterMan
I just keep seeing Rick Hunter.And that's why I try to avoid seeing pictures of voice actors. Stumbling upon photos of Wendee Lee and Kirby Morrow nearly warped my fragile little mind. ;)

As for the VAs, I think you're just setting your expectations at a level that simply can't be reached. The objective for them is to do a good job of portraying the character in an accurate manner that's true to that particular character, not trying to be a carbon copy of the original foreign voice actor.

[Zero Angel]

while i believe that it is true that it is impossible to recreate any one preformance i do think that for the most part on a whole, either the Voice Director can understand what is being done and give the actors the necessary set up or the actors themselves can do research and try to go in a direction that the series has set up.

ex. (good) - Cowboy Bebop has a cast better in the english dub even though Wendee Lee is no where near as a strong actress as Megumi Hayasabara was.

ex. (bad) - Love Hina was directed without really paying to much attention to emotional content in the dialogue. whenever it didnt make sense they would have to go back of coarse and do the scene over.

i suppose im being a little to much of a purist though when it comes to Lupin. i had this very same conversation with some friends of mine the other night and they agreed that i was being a purist and made some of the very same comments people here have made. i say...oh well. i think that the new Lupin VA is still not as good as the original.

[Chris Wood]

It's probably close to impossible to match the original Lupin VA. It's just so distinctive, and so good. To really enjoy Lupin, you have to watch it in Japanese.

That said, the dub isn't THAT bad. I wish they didn't use Rick Hunter though. Lupin's a fast talker, not a dork.

[tlsmith1963]

I haven't seen the subbed version, so I can't really judge. I judge each series individually, though. With some shows I prefer the sub, & in others I prefer the dub. It depends on the performances. The English Lupin makes me laugh, so I don't mind him. Will the DVDs have the subbed version?

Tammy

[Zero Angel]

yes the dvds will have the original japanese track on it.