Dub voices, Japanese Voices, and other things.

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

This will be a thread comparing the Japanese original voices, and the English Funimation dub. I would like to hear which voices are best for EACH character.
The goal isn't for the dub to sound like the original, but how close they fit the character. It doesn't have to be just the strawhats for voice comparison.
This is my opinion and to make things simple I think the layout should be like this.

1. Dub Luffy 2. Sub Luffy = 2
Meaning that you put the number of which one is your most preferred voice after the equals sign. If you have simpler way of doing it, and quicker, let me know. Thanks for looking.

1. Dub Eneru 2. Sub Eneru = 1
The dub of Eneru was perfect.

[Badass SnoCone]

For some reason I never liked the Japanese voice of Luffy. So Funi Luffy for me.

Zoro. I'm gonna say I like his Japanese voice better.

Nami. Funi Nami. The scene with her stabbing herself in Arlong Park did it for me.

Usopp. Hmmm....Probably Japanese Usopp.

Sanji. Funi Sanji because the Japanese Sanji sounds older than what Sanji actually is.

Chopper. Definitely Japanese chopper. Brina Palencia just makes Chopper sound like too much of a girl.

Robin. Definitely Funi Robin. Perfect choice for the chaacter.


Not doing Franky or Brook since they haven't appeared in the dub yet.

Oh, also, I have a feeling this thread might be merged with an existing one.

[Kitsune Inferno]

The fact that you made this thread in retaliation to my comment about the dub being on par with the Japanese version is a little annoying.

But Luci Christian, J. Michael Tatum, and Stephanie Young sell the dub for me.

[Flux]

"hurr durr durr, the Japanese voice actors are flawless gods despite the fact that I can't even fucking understand the language with which they speak"

English Dub cast is fine. No it's excellent.

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

I am not complaining at the english dub, don't start flaming.
I made this before I read your comment about the dub, Kitsune.
I hope I didn't annoy anyone with this thread. Thats not its purpose.

Eneru is better in the dub.
Nami stabbing herself was very well done in the dub. So dub nami wins.
Zoro is pretty close to the sub, so because it is in english I say Dub zoro wins.
Sub Usopp beats the dub, same for Luffy.
Sanji is sort of a tie, kind of depends on the situation.
Chopper is much better in the sub, it hurts my ears when he screams.
Robin, Dub is a big winner. A smooth, relaxed, and intelligent sounding voice.

[WolfWood37]

Okay I happen to like both the sub and dub, but if you are really forcing me to choose...

Luffy
Sub, Tanaka just has such a unique voice and in turn makes Luffy such a unique character. Colleen is great as Luffy, but I just like Tanaka more.

Zoro
Going dub here, I think the sub comes off as an jerk alot of the time and also makes Zoro sound dumb at times when he's really not. Sabat has a way of making Zoro sound tough and badass, while not sounding like an asshole or an idiot.

Nami
Tie, both actresses nailed Nami's personality. No complaints from me.

Usopp
Again tie, both Sonny Strait and Yamaguchi both bring out Usopp's cowardice, humor, and quirks. Though I think his attacks sound just a little better subbed.

Sanji
Sub. The dual personality of Sanji just seems to have alot more range in sub form. Which is a compliment to his sub actor. Also alot of his quirks and humor just don't translate well into English or just simply lose their humor. That is no fault of what Eric Vale has brought to the table mind you. He is alot better than I first thought when I heard the dub early on.

Chopper
DAWWW! He is just so CUTE in sub or dub. Had Brina Palencia not gotten this role, it would have been sub by a landslide, but since she did...I gotta say dub by a slim margin.

Robin
I have to say her sub actress seems to have gotten alot of flak for her portrayal of Robin because she's older than her character...but Luffy is played by a 54 year old lady, so I don't get that argument. I LOVE her sub voice. She is my favorite voice of the sub cast, so I had a lot of expectation for her dub. Stephanie Young has done a marvelous job as Robin, but I am biased toward the sub on this one.

Franky
Its really not fair to compare Yao and Seitz yet because Patrick Seitz hasn't really got a chance to play enough of Franky to see what he is all about.

Brook
Obviously can't compare yet.

[Sakonosolo]

I think I like the majority of the dub voices at least as much as the Japanese. I prefer watching in English.

[RobbyBevard]

...There's actually a debate here? Japanese. I picked up the first few Funi dvds to support and the dub hasn't impressed me in any way.

I mean, Tanaka was Oda's ideal dream voice for Luffy, and he created Franky with Yao in mind.

ANd for god's sake, Sonny Straight is using the exact same voice he uses for Krillin, his natural speaking voice apparently. Its a terrible voice for Krillin and its even worse for Usopp... since it already belonged to Krillin. Sabat at least did like 80 voices in Dragonball, so its not AS bad that he sounds exactly the same.

That said, the current dub is a million times better than the 4Kids one, and most of the voices are pretty decently cast, so there's at least that. It's not a bad dub, (aside from the Dragonball carryovers) but the Japanese cast is just really superb.

"hurr durr durr, the Japanese voice actors are flawless gods despite the fact that I can't even fucking understand the language with which they speak"

That's what subtitles are for, and if you listen to them long enough, you do in fact start picking up on some of the language.

Even without subtitles, I've watched plenty of anime raw, and you can still hear the acting and the sound of their voice and the emotion, which in most cases, are in fact way better than the english dub counterpart.

Cowboy Bebop and Nadia are the only cases that come immediately to mind where the dub is as good or better than the original.

[IamGod]

Japanese definitely. But i really like most of the crews Funimations voices. The only one I cant get used to is Chopper. His voice is sooo high especially when he screams.

I really didn't like the Funimation Crocodile. Compared to his Japanese VA Crocodile sounded so less menacing and unique in the Funimation version. It just feels like the same voices are recycled more in the Funimation version when it comes to non Strawhat characters.

[Darkstorm]

Tatum's the only person I consider to be better then his Japanese equivalent, so yeah, Japanese version.

Funi version's fairly good though, it's just that toei's VA's are that good.

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

You didn't like crocodile? When he asked Luffy what he took from the people, he sounded awesome. Funi chooses good voices for villains. Arlong, Crocodile, and Enel all are awesome.

[Zack]

Tatum's the only person I consider to be better then his Japanese equivalent, so yeah, Japanese version.

Funi version's fairly good though, it's just that toei's VA's are that good.

Basically this. The Funimation team does an amazing job(Especially Luci and Tatum. I also liked Stephanie's once I heard her in her fight against Yama), but a lot of the Toei VA's are incredible.

I prefer Japanese Crocodile though for the sole fact that I really love that unnaturally low voice for him.

[WolfWood37]

You didn't like crocodile? When he asked Luffy what he took from the people, he sounded awesome. Funi chooses good voices for villains. Arlong, Crocodile, and Enel all are awesome.

I didn't like Croco-boy much either. It was acceptable at times, but there is no comparison to his sub.

Arlong was great, Eneru was great.

But I REALLY want to hear Lucci and Spandam.

[Maron]

They already have English voices in the video game. It'll be fun to hear more of them when we get to Water 7 dubbed though.

Oh, and I enjoy viewing the series in English just as much as Japanese, if not more.

[Demon Rin]

And for god's sake, Sonny Straight is using the exact same voice he uses for Krillin, his natural speaking voice apparently. Its a terrible voice for Krillin and its even worse for Usopp... since it already belonged to Krillin. Sabat at least did like 80 voices in Dragonball, so its not AS bad that he sounds exactly the same.

This is the only complaint about the dub that I plainly do not understand. So the man played two roles. So?... Judge his performance of each as its own separate thing rather than as two of the same.

You never see people going "Edward Norton's acting in The Incredible Hulk was terrible. He looked and sounded exactly like he did in The Score."

...That's because it's the SAME GUY.

He can be bad for Kuririn, he can be Bad for Usopp, but it's not BECAUSE he plays one that he's bad for the other...
It'd only be bad if he was using the exact same voice for two different characters in the exact same show... even worse if those two characters talk to each other at some point...

[Sakonosolo]

At first it sounded exactly like Kuririn but it's gotten a lot less similar.

[LUFFY#1 fan]

Luffy: Equal. I love both interpretations.

Zoro: Equal also. They both make the character slow, but a epic bad ass at the right time.

Nami: Gotta give it to the Japanese voice on this one, they really pull off the their and cute girl. While Luci also does this, she does not do it is a great. And I hate how she sounds so naggy. But this is just a general aspect of a woman(in a shonen anime as a lead character)

Usopp: Gotta give it to the Funimation voice, mainly because I always thought Strait would be the perfect liar type of voice.

Sanji: Both are great, but gotta hand it to the Funimation voice. The Japanese one is always great at doing the perverted scenes like "Nami Swan!", but I never liked his voice as much as I did Eric's when he is angry and in a fight.

Chopper: The Japanese one for sure, while Monica is great, she just does not sound as cute. Monica sounds as if she is angry and cute.

Robin: Equal, both bring out Robins shyness, but knowing exactly what they have to do and having a firm voice.

So yeah, I like the Japanese version more. But I like watching series in English generally just more. So I always watch the dvd's in English and the Simulcast in it's native language of course.

[demonkicksanji]

This is the only complaint about the dub that I plainly do not understand. So the man played two roles. So?... Judge his performance of each as its own separate thing rather than as two of the same.

You never see people going "Edward Norton's acting in The Incredible Hulk was terrible. He looked and sounded exactly like he did in The Score."

...That's because it's the SAME GUY.

He can be bad for Kuririn, he can be Bad for Usopp, but it's not BECAUSE he plays one that he's bad for the other...
It'd only be bad if he was using the exact same voice for two different characters in the exact same show... even worse if those two characters talk to each other at some point...

This. And people make a big deal about Strait's Usopp sounding like Kuririn, when other VAs, like Luci, for example, are just as guilty of sounding like other previously played characters (still love her as Nami)? Her voice for Nami is pretty much the same as Chidori from FMP, Asuna from Negima, and Ms. Yukari from Azumanga Daioh (there are more, but I'll stop there). In my opinion, if a voice fits the character, why complain...just enjoy it. As for preference...I love both dubs.

[BatDan]

This is the only complaint about the dub that I plainly do not understand. So the man played two roles. So?... Judge his performance of each as its own separate thing rather than as two of the same.

You never see people going "Edward Norton's acting in The Incredible Hulk was terrible. He looked and sounded exactly like he did in The Score."

...That's because it's the SAME GUY.

He can be bad for Kuririn, he can be Bad for Usopp, but it's not BECAUSE he plays one that he's bad for the other...
It'd only be bad if he was using the exact same voice for two different characters in the exact same show... even worse if those two characters talk to each other at some point...

GAH THE JAPANESE LUFFY SUCKS BECAUSE HE SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE KRILLIN!
That's what this complaint basically is.

I enjoy Funimation's dub, it helps because I notice things in the animation I didn't notice before because I was too busy reading subtitles.

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

See I don't care what other voices the actors did, as long as they fit.
I watch the dub depending on what I have to do. But man Chopper screaming during Sky island hurt my ears.