|Discuss| Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

**Zer0** · 09-17-2008

Since the dub is nearing completion of Part I, I felt it was time to reask this. How do you guys feel the Dub is in, well, dubbing quality? How are the voice actors? Do they match the character's original or perceived voices? How are their pronunciation skills with the foreign terms? Do they handle emotion well?

Praise or condemn.

WombatKombat · 09-17-2008

I must say that my first instance of Naruto was watching it late one night while on holidays in America. It was Kin vs Shikamaru, IIRC, and I still consider Shikamaru's dub voice to be on par with the subbed. Same goes to Sasuke, Kabuto, Kakashi, Orochimaru and Gaara. Don't really like Naruto's voice that much, despise Sakura's and Jiraiya's and overall, I would probably prefer the dub to translate the Japanese words that remain intact simply because of the quite irritating pronunciation...

But yeah, it's not as bad as many people claim, though I do agree there's a shitload less emotion within the dub, but then, I'm not even up to date with subbed Naruto currently, so yeah..

bean · 09-17-2008

I hate them, but I kinda have a prejudice view on it...I grew up speaking both english and spanish, and though english is my primary language, I grew up speaking a lot of spanish with family. So it's like nails on a blackboard when I hear spanish words getting butchered. But even worse than that, is when foreign words are pronounced with their foreign accent...I fucking hate it. If you're speaking english, say the word as it's spelled in english. It's a tortilla, not a torteeya. Same applies with naruto and japanese. I don't speak fluent japanese, but I know the sounds and how things are pronounced, and the english dub fucks it up. Like I said, I would rather hear hokag than hoka-geh.
But that aside, I got into naruto through the subbed anime, so when I hear the english voices, it's horrible. The voices don't match, and they kill the characters completely, jiraiya especially.

Blazing Hyuuga · 09-17-2008

I think that they've grown well into their roles, Naruto is really good, Sakura is as annoying as hell so that's good and Saskue tried being japanese, when that failed he went back to speaking his native language. So on the voice sides it's okay. They still have that whole kiddy aspect but who's to blame them but a little more maturity at times where it was mature in the jap would help. And the editing is okay I mean I don't really notice that much editing anymore.

Island of 1,000 Condiments · 09-18-2008

Why is this not our weekly debate?

**Zer0** · 09-18-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Island of 1,000 Condiments

Why is this not our weekly debate?

Hm, what? Its been the debate for a while now, buddy. >___>

Island of 1,000 Condiments · 09-18-2008

Lies.

But anyway, I dislike the anime in general. The quality just sucks.

**Zer0** · 09-18-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Island of 1,000 Condiments

Lies.

But anyway, I dislike the anime in general. The quality just sucks.

Truths.

Por que Island? What exactly do you mean by quality? The animation style?

Island of 1,000 Condiments · 09-18-2008

Yes. That and the fact that its basically a bunch of still images clipped together with voices in most non-battle scenes.

Nikushimi · 09-18-2008

There is definitely less emotion going on in the English dub than in the original Japanese. However, there are some redeeming qualities as well.

Good Voices

Naruto- At the beginning of the series, it was almost painful to listen to Maile Flanagan stumble over botched word emphasis amidst a sea of cheesey grunts. But she's actually grown into the role extremely well.
Gaara- Probably the best in the series. I'm tempted to say the dub voice is better than the Japanese voice.
Jiraiya- I actually think Jiraiya sounds pretty good in the dub.
Itachi- Of course.
Kisame- Hell yeah. Quite different from his Japanese counterpart, but let's face it, that would just sound weird in the English language. So I'm glad that he has the voice he has instead. It works better, even though I prefer the Japanese voice (when it's speaking Japanese).
Orochimaru- Yes. His voice is excellent. Mr. "I have to play a character in every single fucking animu series evar yet not change my voice at all for any of my roles" really stepped things up and is doing a nice job.
Sasuke- He annoyed the hell out of me up through the Chuunin Exams, longer than Naruto did. But he shaped up once it moved past the Chuunin Exams. I guess Yuri Lowenthal's better at doing angsty, yelling voices than quiet emo voices.

Bad Voices

Iruka/Deidara- Please, just stop. This is probably the worst voice in the series, which is unfortunate for Deidara. This guy has a lot of voice acting experience, there's no excuse for him being this bad.
Tsunade- Lolwut? Sounds like a crackwhore.
Pain- It's clearly Dave Wittenberg, Kakashi's VA. Kakashi's voice isn't bad, it's just...the same guy is obviously also voicing Pain. Which sounds really weird, because it's noticeable. Very much so.
Zetsu (both): This guy had better fucking grow into the role... I'm going to be pissed if he remains this...raspy and lizard-like.

**Shirogetsu** · 09-18-2008

Crispin Freeman as Itachi, FUCK YEAH. Steve Blum is in every anime and game ever, but he does a good Orochimaru.

I'd say the dub is probably better than the Japanese version. But that may be because I'm biased towards subfags who prefer a language which isn't even their OWN, so they have to read subtitles on the bottom of the screen instead of listening to it, which is the natural way of doing it.

**JAIF** · 09-18-2008

The dub, like all dubs, is horrible, so horrible in fact that it is the most horrible part of the Naruto anime, which is by all means so horrible it makes the Berserk anime look like a masterpiece. Which Berserk anime is so horrible that... well, you get the point.

But that may be because I'm biased towards dubfags who prefer a language because it's their own, so they have to listen to it instead of the original one in which the anime was clearly meant to be listened to at, which is the natural way of doing it.

**Shirogetsu** · 09-18-2008

JAIF confirmed for weeaboo and subfag. "THE SUB IS BETTERU KAWAII DESU NEKO NEKO!!!! ^____^"

EDIT: Also, JAIF, some animes have dub only. So... wut?

Nikushimi · 09-18-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shirogetsu

Crispin Freeman as Itachi,

Other than the silent guy from Blood+, I haven't really seen Crispin Freeman do any other roles.

And yes, I fixed on that Itachi remark immediately and had to reply to it. >_>

**JAIF** · 09-18-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shirogetsu

JAIF confirmed for weeaboo and subfag. "THE SUB IS BETTERU KAWAII DESU NEKO NEKO!!!! ^____^"

I don't know what the first one means, but I've been a confirmed so-called 'subfag' since I first watched anime. I have only seen one anime whose dub was better than the sub, and that anime was so shitty I don't even remember what it's called.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shirogetsu

EDIT: Also, JAIF, some animes have dub only. So... wut?

Show me some of them. I'll watch them to confirm that they suck and can't really be considered anime, and then come back here and tell you how they suck and can't really be considered anime. As far as I

View Poll Results: The Naruto Dub is
Horrible. Nothing works. Kill it with fire.	6	27.27%
Its decent. Not excellent, but there aren't any real problems.	14	63.64%
Perfect. All of the voices match and know what they're doing.	2	9.09%
Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll

09-17-2008	#1 (permalink)
Zer0 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Hn, None of your business Posts: 10,193 Blog Entries: 4 Rep Power: 148	Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Since the dub is nearing completion of Part I, I felt it was time to reask this. How do you guys feel the Dub is in, well, dubbing quality? How are the voice actors? Do they match the character's original or perceived voices? How are their pronunciation skills with the foreign terms? Do they handle emotion well? Praise or condemn. __________________ Want a colored username? Then check out the Weekly Naruto & Bleach Caption Contests.

09-17-2008	#2 (permalink)
WombatKombat (19) Mastered Super Saiyan Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baile Atha Cliath, Eire Posts: 1,094 Rep Power: 72	Re: Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly I must say that my first instance of Naruto was watching it late one night while on holidays in America. It was Kin vs Shikamaru, IIRC, and I still consider Shikamaru's dub voice to be on par with the subbed. Same goes to Sasuke, Kabuto, Kakashi, Orochimaru and Gaara. Don't really like Naruto's voice that much, despise Sakura's and Jiraiya's and overall, I would probably prefer the dub to translate the Japanese words that remain intact simply because of the quite irritating pronunciation... But yeah, it's not as bad as many people claim, though I do agree there's a shitload less emotion within the dub, but then, I'm not even up to date with subbed Naruto currently, so yeah.. __________________ 'Cause Alakazam and Sableye rock your shit.

09-17-2008	#3 (permalink)
bean (8) Saiyan Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 96 Rep Power: 2	Re: Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly I hate them, but I kinda have a prejudice view on it...I grew up speaking both english and spanish, and though english is my primary language, I grew up speaking a lot of spanish with family. So it's like nails on a blackboard when I hear spanish words getting butchered. But even worse than that, is when foreign words are pronounced with their foreign accent...I fucking hate it. If you're speaking english, say the word as it's spelled in english. It's a tortilla, not a torteeya. Same applies with naruto and japanese. I don't speak fluent japanese, but I know the sounds and how things are pronounced, and the english dub fucks it up. Like I said, I would rather hear hokag than hoka-geh. But that aside, I got into naruto through the subbed anime, so when I hear the english voices, it's horrible. The voices don't match, and they kill the characters completely, jiraiya especially. Last edited by bean; 09-18-2008 at 05:38 PM.

09-17-2008	#4 (permalink)
Blazing Hyuuga Bleach Ranked (22) Espada Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,893 Rep Power: 21	Re: Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly I think that they've grown well into their roles, Naruto is really good, Sakura is as annoying as hell so that's good and Saskue tried being japanese, when that failed he went back to speaking his native language. So on the voice sides it's okay. They still have that whole kiddy aspect but who's to blame them but a little more maturity at times where it was mature in the jap would help. And the editing is okay I mean I don't really notice that much editing anymore. __________________

09-18-2008	#5 (permalink)
Island of 1,000 Condiments (28) Lord of Worlds Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 8,168 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 103	Re: Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Why is this not our weekly debate? __________________

09-18-2008	#7 (permalink)
Island of 1,000 Condiments (28) Lord of Worlds Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 8,168 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 103	Re: Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Lies. But anyway, I dislike the anime in general. The quality just sucks. __________________

09-18-2008	#9 (permalink)
Island of 1,000 Condiments (28) Lord of Worlds Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 8,168 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 103	Re: Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Yes. That and the fact that its basically a bunch of still images clipped together with voices in most non-battle scenes. __________________

09-18-2008	#10 (permalink)
Nikushimi Naruto Ranked (30) Akatsuki Leader Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: NF's MBD, in some thread raving about Itachi. Posts: 14,030 Rep Power: 234	Re: Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly There is definitely less emotion going on in the English dub than in the original Japanese. However, there are some redeeming qualities as well. Good Voices Naruto- At the beginning of the series, it was almost painful to listen to Maile Flanagan stumble over botched word emphasis amidst a sea of cheesey grunts. But she's actually grown into the role extremely well. Gaara- Probably the best in the series. I'm tempted to say the dub voice is better than the Japanese voice. Jiraiya- I actually think Jiraiya sounds pretty good in the dub. Itachi- Of course. Kisame- Hell yeah. Quite different from his Japanese counterpart, but let's face it, that would just sound weird in the English language. So I'm glad that he has the voice he has instead. It works better, even though I prefer the Japanese voice (when it's speaking Japanese). Orochimaru- Yes. His voice is excellent. Mr. "I have to play a character in every single fucking animu series evar yet not change my voice at all for any of my roles" really stepped things up and is doing a nice job. Sasuke- He annoyed the hell out of me up through the Chuunin Exams, longer than Naruto did. But he shaped up once it moved past the Chuunin Exams. I guess Yuri Lowenthal's better at doing angsty, yelling voices than quiet emo voices. Bad Voices Iruka/Deidara- Please, just stop. This is probably the worst voice in the series, which is unfortunate for Deidara. This guy has a lot of voice acting experience, there's no excuse for him being this bad. Tsunade- Lolwut? Sounds like a crackwhore. Pain- It's clearly Dave Wittenberg, Kakashi's VA. Kakashi's voice isn't bad, it's just...the same guy is obviously also voicing Pain. Which sounds really weird, because it's noticeable. Very much so. Zetsu (both): This guy had better fucking grow into the role... I'm going to be pissed if he remains this...raspy and lizard-like. __________________ Pierce the heavens.

09-18-2008	#11 (permalink)
Shirogetsu I like the eye patch. Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Land of Rain Posts: 8,775 Blog Entries: 13 Rep Power: 162	Re: Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Crispin Freeman as Itachi, FUCK YEAH. Steve Blum is in every anime and game ever, but he does a good Orochimaru. I'd say the dub is probably better than the Japanese version. But that may be because I'm biased towards subfags who prefer a language which isn't even their OWN, so they have to read subtitles on the bottom of the screen instead of listening to it, which is the natural way of doing it. __________________ NO WAI Turoru no Hibi is coming, you'll see.

09-18-2008	#12 (permalink)
JAIF Moderator Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Piercing the Heavens and stuff. Posts: 5,852 Rep Power: 63	Re: Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly The dub, like all dubs, is horrible, so horrible in fact that it is the most horrible part of the Naruto anime, which is by all means so horrible it makes the Berserk anime look like a masterpiece. Which Berserk anime is so horrible that... well, you get the point. But that may be because I'm biased towards dubfags who prefer a language because it's their own, so they have to listen to it instead of the original one in which the anime was clearly meant to be listened to at, which is the natural way of doing it. __________________ Empty until further notice.

09-18-2008	#13 (permalink)
Shirogetsu I like the eye patch. Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Land of Rain Posts: 8,775 Blog Entries: 13 Rep Power: 162	Re: Weekly Debate - Naruto Dub: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly JAIF confirmed for weeaboo and subfag. "THE SUB IS BETTERU KAWAII DESU NEKO NEKO!!!! ^____^" EDIT: Also, JAIF, some animes have dub only. So... wut? __________________ NO WAI Turoru no Hibi is coming, you'll see.