1. The dubbed version of Inu-Yasha....Since it's one of my favorite anime of all time, this is really the only thing I don't love about it. My thanks to CN for bringing it to my attention, but after seeing the Japanese version, I can't help but get upset about the way the dub was done. Here's why.
I could've done better casting voices...heck, I could've done some of them myself and it would've been better. Every time Inu-Yasha does his Sankon Tessou, I think "go Liger Zero" (FYI. Richard Cox, who voices Inu-Yasha in English, is also the voice for Bit Cloud from Zoids, which is why I say that...) Miroku sounds okay I guess, but he just isn't nearly as funny in English to me as he is in Japanese...there's more life in the Japanese actor's voice, which translates into more believability.. Sesshou-maru doesn't sound nearly as creepy and mysterious as he does in Japanese, he just sounds like some really bored guy. Kagome sounds like a total airhead, which isn't too terribly far from the truth at some points in the series, but that's just not a point about a character you want to drive home. Kikyo isn't that bad...I actually like her voice in English a lot...suits her very well. Don't get me started on Kouga. He's a rival for Inu-Yasha...why should he sound like he's 40??? His voice and Inu-Yasha's voice aren't too terribly different in Japanese, and I think that making less of a contrast between their voices would help a lot. Jaken sounds like Gilbert Godfried mated with a muppet...possibly Gonzo, but I'm not sure ^_^. Sango just sounds off...not bad, neccessarily, just off. Shippou sounds so much cooler in Japanese, as opposed to sounding like a little girl, he sounds like a very short guy ...oh wait...that's what he IS....ahhhh..... Going back to watching in English for one episode is just too much to bear....as I've said before and will say again, I like the voice actors themselves, but I just don't like who they were cast for...(all except for Kagome...she's just annoying in English)
The second thing is the translation itself. Overall, it's a pretty solid translation as far as I can tell, but there are some things I think should have been done differently. For one, the translation of the word "youkai" into "demon" is not at all accurate given cultural factors. To be honest, a much better interpretation given the Western aversion to anything that suggests evil would be, perhaps, "spirit"? Youkai aren't inherently evil or good, and giving a translation that has a primarily religious meaning, not to mention a negative connotation, is just stupid, especially looking at Shippou and Kirara, who aren't evil, but are referred to as demons nevertheless. The next bone of contention is the translation of the attacks...what's so wrong with leaving it untranslated? It sounds so much cooler that way. For example, Sankon Tessou has a much better ring to it than something as gay as "iron reaver soul stealer" (btw...that's a really crappy translation of that...Sankon Tessou actually means something like "soul shattering iron claw(s)"...it doesn't steal a soul, it freakin shatters it. AND WHAT THE HECK IS A REAVER!?) Miroku's Kazaana sounds better than "wind tunnel"...what are they thinking, that Miroku's hand is what they used to test ancient Japanese airplanes??? I think they left Hiraikotsu alone...that makes me happy. I'd hate to see what they'd do to that (it acually means "flying bones"). Some of them were too direct to mess up, i.e. foxfire...which is actually a direct translate from the original name...I think it would have added a bit of authenticity, not to mention points in the series where there's no "Godzilla style" dubbing (where the mouth doesn't even come close to matching the rhythm of the voice... "RUN! IT'S GODZILLA **mouth still moving for 3 seconds**). Another thing is how they left out the opening themes for the CN broadcast. I love those songs, and listening to them in Japanese introduced me to a lot of really awseome groups I hadn't heard of before I started collecting fansub. They also cut out the signature eyecatch at the middle of every episode...it's like they decided to completely wipe out the logo entirely as if it never existed...and since I made a t-shirt with the logo on it to test my iron-on transfer equipment, I don't like how they made sure that the logo is unfamiliar to American fans... okay...I'm done.
My second gripe isn't so much a gripe, but a simple observation about life. It seems that people just like to see other people suffer. I don't have many examples coming to mind, but it just strikes me that people as a whole don't care about other people, those rediculous reality shows where people are payed insane sums of money to screw over their fellow man are still popular, Help when someone needs it is hard to come by, people aren't as polite to others as they once were, the moral fabric of this nation....no, this world, is breaking down at an increasing rate, technology has taught us to not work if we can help it.....we've screwed ourselves over with all our progress...not that I don't want progress...I do like technology, and without modern culture and society, anime wouldn't exist....how sad would THAT be??...., I just think that things should have been done right in the first place instead of having us only just now start to understand what we're doing to ourselves with ignoring our fellow man, our planet, our own lives, just for the purpose of greed and foolish gain.
Please let me know what you think about what I've said via e-mail or my guest book thingy. Thanks.
