AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - Spice and Wolf II

tyranuus · 2010-02-11, 06:50

Ouch...still waiting on the DVDs? I managed to find an import place in the UK that had them in stock so I only had to wait 2 days!

I did wonder about the proud wolf side, the problem is it almost feels like the English VA has overemphasised that side of things, even if english does sound a bit funny over emotional, it also sounds quite wierd to hear Horo with less depth, there's less of the mischevious hints and little verbal nuances from the bits I've seen so far, a little less humanity too.

For example theres a bit in the second episode where Horo is speaking to Lawrence, and then tries to kill a flea. In the Japanese theres a marked difference in her tone when she mentions the flea, its definately a sullen grumble even if I cant understand whats being said, wheres in the English VO, the tone of her voice doesnt change anywhere near as much, and its things like this I'm on about.

A lot of Horo's character is in the little movements, voice tone changes etc, and the English dub loses a bit of that. You're right, I do need to sit down and watch it through before I make a final decision, but it still comes across quickly the English voice acting doesn't have the same depth.

The depth was part of what made Horo such an interesting character.

In terms to youthful voices, yeah they could have pitched it too young and that would have been awful (Lymle in SO4 comes to mind), but she sounds about 20 or so, perhaps a little older in the English dub, in the Jap version, she sounds much closer to her 'human' age of 15, they could have at least gone for something a little lower. A couple of points the English VA really loses the voice too, and she ends up sounding laughably old for a few seconds, so whilst the mature sound sometimes works, other times it really doesn't. Although as you mentioned, perhaps the VA will loosen up and begin to get into character later on in the dub.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the English dub is bad (it's better than I was expecting to some extent, Lawrence's VA seems to have hit the mark a lot better than Horo's) I just think the Japanese Dub is better.

Im introducing my brother to Season 1 now, he saw the English dub first, and normally he prefers to watched dubbed shows, and even he prefers the Japanese audio though so I'd say that does reflect something, as originally he wanted to watch the English dub not the Japanese, and now he doesnt really want to watch it in English.

2010-02-11, 06:50	Link #146
tyranuus Team Spice and Wolf UK Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: England Age: 36	Ouch...still waiting on the DVDs? I managed to find an import place in the UK that had them in stock so I only had to wait 2 days! I did wonder about the proud wolf side, the problem is it almost feels like the English VA has overemphasised that side of things, even if english does sound a bit funny over emotional, it also sounds quite wierd to hear Horo with less depth, there's less of the mischevious hints and little verbal nuances from the bits I've seen so far, a little less humanity too. For example theres a bit in the second episode where Horo is speaking to Lawrence, and then tries to kill a flea. In the Japanese theres a marked difference in her tone when she mentions the flea, its definately a sullen grumble even if I cant understand whats being said, wheres in the English VO, the tone of her voice doesnt change anywhere near as much, and its things like this I'm on about. A lot of Horo's character is in the little movements, voice tone changes etc, and the English dub loses a bit of that. You're right, I do need to sit down and watch it through before I make a final decision, but it still comes across quickly the English voice acting doesn't have the same depth. The depth was part of what made Horo such an interesting character. In terms to youthful voices, yeah they could have pitched it too young and that would have been awful (Lymle in SO4 comes to mind), but she sounds about 20 or so, perhaps a little older in the English dub, in the Jap version, she sounds much closer to her 'human' age of 15, they could have at least gone for something a little lower. A couple of points the English VA really loses the voice too, and she ends up sounding laughably old for a few seconds, so whilst the mature sound sometimes works, other times it really doesn't. Although as you mentioned, perhaps the VA will loosen up and begin to get into character later on in the dub. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the English dub is bad (it's better than I was expecting to some extent, Lawrence's VA seems to have hit the mark a lot better than Horo's) I just think the Japanese Dub is better. Im introducing my brother to Season 1 now, he saw the English dub first, and normally he prefers to watched dubbed shows, and even he prefers the Japanese audio though so I'd say that does reflect something, as originally he wanted to watch the English dub not the Japanese, and now he doesnt really want to watch it in English.