Multingual Seiyu/Voice Actor appreciation thread

[Mazryonh]

Siegel Clyne,

Well, I'm glad that the Shin-Nisei are leading the way for fluent English in Japan-made songs and anime voice acting. Still, aren't there good schools in Japan that teach you how to speak English fluently and convincingly? I really believe that if a role requires a good amount of spoken English, either the seiyuu should know how to speak it properly, or else an appropriate fluent English speaker should dub over just those lines of the character. It would avoid the problem of a thick accent or elementary vocabulary/grammar errors are very jarring and take away from an anime series.

By the way, is the the same Yuko Gotou that played Mikuru Asahina in Haruhi? I hear that Gotou studied to become a Japanese-English translator, but if this video is indeed her, apparently she never learned how to sing or speak it fluently.

Another song I'd like info on is the theme song "Love Suicide" from the game Rule of Rose. That game was unique because there was no Japanese dub (fitting for a story that took place on the grounds of a British orphanage), only Japanese text and subtitles. However, it seems like they couldn't hire a good lyricist to compose fluent-sounding lyrics. What about the singer, though? Does she have a history of singing in English?

[Ithekro]

That or she's out of practise. She did fairly well with Kate the Canadian.

[Siegel Clyne]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

Siegel Clyne,

Well, I'm glad that the Shin-Nisei are leading the way for fluent English in Japan-made songs and anime voice acting. Still, aren't there good schools in Japan that teach you how to speak English fluently and convincingly? I really believe that if a role requires a good amount of spoken English, either the seiyuu should know how to speak it properly, or else an appropriate fluent English speaker should dub over just those lines of the character. It would avoid the problem of a thick accent or elementary vocabulary/grammar errors are very jarring and take away from an anime series.

By the way, is the the same Yuko Gotou that played Mikuru Asahina in Haruhi? I hear that Gotou studied to become a Japanese-English translator, but if this video is indeed her, apparently she never learned how to sing or speak it fluently.

Another song I'd like info on is the theme song "Love Suicide" from the game Rule of Rose. That game was unique because there was no Japanese dub (fitting for a story that took place on the grounds of a British orphanage), only Japanese text and subtitles. However, it seems like they couldn't hire a good lyricist to compose fluent-sounding lyrics. What about the singer, though? Does she have a history of singing in English?

]

Complain to them. See if they'll listen to you. I doubt they'll listen, but heck why not give it a try, if it matters that much to you?

[Mazryonh]

Originally Posted by Siegel Clyne

]
Complain to them. See if they'll listen to you. I doubt they'll listen, but heck why not give it a try, if it matters that much to you?

I just wanted to know what's going on. I "complain" by voting with my money.

[Siegel Clyne]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

I just wanted to know what's going on. I "complain" by voting with my money.

Good for you. See where that gets you.

When I have problems with a business, I have contacted them directly on numerous occasions ... and got things done.

And if things don't work out, among other things, I've filed complaints against them ... and got things done.

[Mazryonh]

Originally Posted by Siegel Clyne

When I have problems with a business, I have contacted them directly on numerous occasions ... and got things done.

And if things don't work out, among other things, I've filed complaints against them ... and got things done.

When it comes to telling the right people of better alternatives for their English lines, where would I start? I'd sure love to tell the appropriate companies that certain very reliable English dubbing companies (such as Ocean Studios in Vancouver, Canada, or Outsource Media in London, England) can substitute in for characters who are supposed to speak fluent English (within the Japanese dub) at a reasonable price, but just who would I contact? The animation companies? The seiyuu agencies? The companies that finance the anime series? And what if they want to keep it "in-country," given the global recession and the "never-ending Lost Decade" in Japan (which you'll see shortly tends to be a bad idea)?

One of the worst portrayals of a supposedly-fluent English speaker in the original Japanese dub of an anime series that I can remember is of the character Dominique Miller of the Ginban Kaleidoscope anime. All of her lines were in terribly-accented English, a situation that could have been remedied if a fluently multilingual seiyuu was on hand (which might not work given how seiyuu salaries have been continually squeezed, leading the more experienced or more skilled to be booted out in favour of cheaper newbies more often than not), or if they could outsource these English lines to the right studios.

Unfortunately the English voice actors within Japan often aren't of very high quality, as the makers of the Shenmue video game series learned to their cost. You can read about that fiasco here. In short, according to localizer Jeremy Blaustein, "In Japan you already don't have the cream of the best actors, what you have are people who were models who turned into actors, and people who were teachers who turned into actors, or people who were actors and couldn't hack it as actors in the West and so left to become actors in Japan - and those are the best actors in Japan. So the best ones you have are the ones who failed in America and went to Japan. So it was such a stupid proposition to do it there."

[xxanimefan4_ever]

ooh I came across this video. foreigners working hard in japan INCLUDING A SEiyuu and mangaka.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/Y9tMeWtsRv0

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

It's so cool that for the first seiyuu mentioned in the video she actually used her russian skills.

[Mao Mao]

Honestly I respect anybody who can speak more than one language.

I'm white Australian with no interesting background at all (probably British) but I'm trying to learn Khmer (my boyfriend is Cambodian) and Mandarin (just for fun and because it's going to come in handy in the near future). And it's hard, especially because these languages are so different to English. I don't know much Japanese but I do understand that the structure of the language is very, very different to English.

So, respect to anyone who can speak another language or is at least trying to learn!

That being said, sometimes it can be kinda funny when there are Japanese Seiyuu acting as Americans. Has anyone else seen Speed Grapher? They have a few scenes where there are some Japanese Seiyuu acting as Americans but they don't sound very American at all xD

[Yu Ominae]

@xxanimefan4_ever

- Nice find. Been a while since I've heard up on Japan-based foreign seiyuus.

[Ithekro]

Voice actor Takeshi Aono passed away yesterday. He played may rolls including that of the original Sanada (Sandor), Space Battleship Yamato's chief science officer, and general inventor of about everything they need on the way.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...no-passes-away

[Yu Ominae]

Thanks, but I don't think that post is relevant considering the topic.

Nevertheless, my thoughts are with his family.

[Kirarakim]

Taking this from another thread (not really sure if this is the best thread either but probably better than discussing seiyuu in depth in an episode thread).

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Sugita is the funniest male seiyuu out there, I think, but I don't buy his "serious" side like I do with Miyu Miyu.

Kamiyan and Jun Fukuyama aren't in the same weight class, just MHO. Jun-kun is also great at comedy (Panda-kun!) but again, I don't buy his serious side to the same degree I do with the very best. Kamiyan does indeed have that range to be both very funny and very serious, but apart from Natsume (perhaps because he is Natsume in my mind) I'm more conscious of him "performing".

As I said, the other actors who come to mind as being able to transition from comedy to drama at the top level are Haruka Tomatsu and Kazuhiko Inoue (who, while of an earlier generation, is probably the best seiyuu in the business in pure acting and voice modulation terms).

Yeah I do understand it's all opinion still I hope you don't mind if I elaborate a bit more on my opinion.

For example Kamiyan's Natsume voice is my favorite as well (he also uses it in Honey & Clover). I can't think of another male seiyuu with such a soft quality to his voice (perfect for reflective narrations).

But even though he isn't my favorite character I am amazed that Kamiya can go from a character like Natsume to a character like Izaya, that is what I mean by range.

Same with Jun Fukuyama going from Lelouch to his more comic roles (although I do think Lelouch was a bit theatrical it's still one of my favorite performances by a male seiyuu despite not liking the series that much).

But no opinion on Seki Tomokazu? consider all the different types of characters he played from teenagers like Kyon & Van, to the Tsundere musician Chiaki, to Otaku Daru, to arrogant Gilgamesh, to wise and a bit silly Chichiri, to king Ryuuki & many I am probably forgetting.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Yeah I do understand it's all opinion still I hope you don't mind if I elaborate a bit more on my opinion.

For example Kamiyan's Natsume voice is my favorite as well (he also uses it in Honey & Clover). I can't think of another male seiyuu with such a soft quality to his voice (perfect for reflective narrations).

But even though he isn't my favorite character I am amazed that Kamiya can go from a character like Natsume to a character like Izaya, that is what I mean by range.

Same with Jun Fukuyama going from Lelouch to his more comic roles (although I do think Lelouch was a bit theatrics it's still one of my favorite performances by a male seiyuu).

But no opinion on Seki Tomokazu? consider all the different types of characters he played from teenagers like Kyon & Van, to the Tsundere musician Chiaki, to Otaku Daru, to arrogant Gilgamesh, to wise and a bit silly Chichiri, to king Ryuuki & many I am probably forgetting.

Whilst I don't think most of the names you've mentioned have that great a range, I agree with a lot of what you've said here.

Kamiya excels at narration and FukuJun at the lutz...but I'd go with Seki Tomokazu for versatility too. He's the only seiyuu (at least of this generation - I don't really hear the greats of the previous generation much) whom I can confidently say has done just about everything and been absolutely convincing at it.

That said...I'm not sure even Seki could pull off some of Wakamoto Norio's roles... Wakamoto's voice is just too unique...

I personally think Miyu-Miyu still does too many of the same types of characters - though that's not necessarily his fault. It probably says something that my favourite role of his remains Spirited Away's Haku... But still, I'd be interesting in seeing what happens when he moves on into his 30s - like, whether he'll be able to expand his range a bit like some of my favourites have (Sakurai is a good example)...

[Kirarakim]

I think I mentioned Jun & Kamiyan as examples because I think they can play very different types of characters but yeah they don't have quite the range of characters as Seki Tomokazu (although Seki Tomokazu has been around for awhile now).

Norio Wakamoto is Norio Wakamoto. He's not a personal favorite but I definitely respect his talent.

On another note my favorite Miyu Miyu role would be Kou. And I also love Sakurai.

[karice67]

Seki really seems to have been around forever...but he's only 3 years older than Kamiyan Though it's also that Seki is a bit of a chameleon. FukuJun and Kamiya have pretty distinct voices that you can generally recognise (though I'll admit that Jun suprised me with his second role in Sora Kake Shoujo, and Kamiya with his woman's voice), but Seki can be pretty much unpickable sometimes (e.g. his Genshiken role...or Bebidebi in Gekiranger...).

I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say Wakamoto is a favourite, but he's definitely noticed and respected when fans pick him out.

On another note, for the ladies' side, I think I'd still go with Hayashibara Megumi for versatility...

[Same_Shark]

Getting at least a little bit back on subject. Revo of Sound Horizon once stated that he could understand many languages, but as far as actually speaking them, he's a little at a loss. Black Lagoon singer, MELL, has also stated that the English education system in Japan is a bit flawed. They pretty much teach you to read English, rather than actually understanding and speaking it.

[Yu Ominae]

In Upotte!, Sayaka Ohara does a stereotypical American accent for Thompson. Otherwise, she was able to speak some English words with fluency.

Kudos to you, Ohasa-san!

[Kirito]

Just rewatched Oreimo and Asobi ni Iku yo! A couple of days ago and Kana Hanazawa...oh my god. Her singing voice is pure sex for the ears.

My favourite song from her is the 7th Oreimo ending "Masquerade". If you haven't heard it look it up, it's pure win...Oh my god. Sorry it's just when it comes to Hanazawa-san I can talk about her for hours, hell, even write an university essay about her. She's just so awesome!

A seiyuu, singer, and to top it off she's a real beauty behind the mike. Kana Hanazawa has been my favourite Seiyuu for 4 years now, and I can't wait for her in Oreimo S2 when she voices Kuroneko again.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by karice67

I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say Wakamoto is a favourite, but he's definitely noticed and respected when fans pick him out.

I'll list Wakamoto as my favourite . The guy has a voice. That kind of Bass is very rare, and in all his roles he's really able to just do it. That said, he kind of got typecast into "big villain" roles, and he doesn't do as much as he used to. But if you look at the work he did in the late 80s, and 90s, you can see him at his best. Specifically as Coach in Aim for the Top! and Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes!. He brings gravity to any role, and he's instantly recognizable. Other seiyuu will be forgotten after they exit the industry, but Wakamoto won't, due to the sheer uniqueness of how deep his voice is. The best comparison is a guy like Don LaFontaine.

[andyjay729]

Back during Minami-ke's first season, someone from the Anglosphere called up Marina Inoue on their radio show.

She obviously has an accent, but still, her English is a lot better than my Japanese.