(runs screaming)

[tj_dragonblade]

Oh, dear lord, my *ears*!

I can only imagine that this must be how Saiyuki sub fans felt when they first heard the ADV dub. They have my complete and utter sympathy.

I took a listen to Geneon's version of Reload last night. I have many, many thoughts to offer. And unfortunately, most of them aren't pleasant.

Dude. *Jeff* was cringing, after only two minutes. Mr. Anti-Subtitles himself. He actually *begged* me to switch the vocal track before the first episode even finished. For which...well, I suppose I should be grateful for that much. ^_^

The new voices...gahh. I've adjusted to two sets already; and I've no inclination to adjust to a third. Especially when they sound so *off* to begin with. I think Goku got the worst of it, poor monkey. And Hakkai. Just not *soft* enough. They did get the sense of overly-polite-ness in the dialogue; but what the hell's up with that pretentious little pseudo-British curl behind random words, huh? And...when he says Gojyo...(shudders) He pronounces it with a hard 'j'. It's almost as bad as everyone saying 'Ten-poo' back in the Gaiden eps. And then of course there's the fact that when Gojyo says 'Hakkai' it sounds like 'Hawkeye'. His voice just doesn't fit, either. Nowhere near rich enough, and I didn't get that sense of swaggering cocksure complacency that Gojyo really really *must* have.

And Sanzo...ghehh. Lex Lang sounds closer to Toshihiko Seki than David Matranga did, certainly. But that's about all he's got going for him. Purists, please don't kill me; but I've always felt that David Matranga's pissy Wolverine-esque rasp was a very good match for Sanzo's character. Different from the original, certainly; but still good. (cowers and ducks in fear of rotten fruit being thrown) Perhaps I only say that because I heard that version first; but nevertheless. When I was adjusting from Dub to Sub, it was Sanzo's voice that took the longest to appreciate. And now...

Lex Lang...he was a mediocre Shun Aurora, an overly-villainous Kane-whatever-the-hell-his-name-was-in-Nightwalker, a horrible Sagara Sanosuke, and now he's a bad *bland* Genjyo Sanzo. And I'm sure he's done more that I've either missed or failed to mention. He's kinda in the same category as Scott McNeil. Widely known VAs who do lots of popular work all over the place but just don't sound *right* in almost any of their leading roles. And now they've both had a hand in bringing ToshiSeki characters down to the realms of mediocrity. Yay.

Thankfully, I missed out on whatever's been done to Kou and crew and Nii, since we switched before ep 2. Maybe I'll take a listen at some other time. Maybe I won't.

Maybe the dub will improve over time, as the ADV one did. But I'm not in any hurry to stick around and find out. It irks me, truly, that a company picking up a sequel series would not make any discernible effort to effect any sort of continuity with the first leg of the story. They could have at least *tried* to get the same VAs. Or at least to match vocal quality and sense of character better. And there were little things in the translation that just felt *different*. Feh.

I'm just a little annoyed with Geneon at the moment.

And full of sympathy, as I said at the outset, for how the long-time fans must have felt when the ADV dub came along.

Comments

[sychogrl.livejournal.com]

...I'm afraid to listen to it.

*huddles in corner, clutching Hong Kong Reload bootlegs, and whimpers*

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Yes! That's the spirit! (whimpers in harmony)

[sychogrl.livejournal.com]

*nods, still whimpering* I'd even take ADV's dub, after what I've heard of the new one. *_* At least they cared SOMEWHAT about doing some justice to the show.

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's horrible isn't it? Your gripes are about teh same as mine, oddly enough. They just dont' match up. Hirata's voice and enthusiasm is waaay to hard to classify, so they continually get Gojyo wrong. >_<

Just torture. The ADV dub was horrible, but tolerable. The Geneon one? *cringe*

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm much more generous with the ADV dub than this crap. The ADV dub was my first anime exposure to Saiyuki, after all, and that's what I fell in love with. Over time, and exposure to the subs, I've learned to recognize its numerous shortcomings and developed my own set of complaints about it and I've definitely come to prefer the Japanese track. But I still have something of a soft-spot for the dub. Which I know puts me in something of a minority. But...heh.

God. Like I said. I'm just not willing to adjust to a third set of voices. Especially when they can't be bothered to pronounce the names quite right. -_-x

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me. The use of Hakkai sounding like 'Hawkeye' continually reminds me of the M*A*S*H characater played by Alan Alda for some reason. I associate that name with his cynical tenor voice. *laughs*

Talk about your completely off kilter word associations. >_<

There is some good in the ADV dub, i give them props for doing so well with it. Grey Ayres is the best Goku outside of japan. So i watch it, mostly for laughs and to see how they messed up. In the end it all boils down to the fact that i heard the japanese track the first time i saw Saiyuki. So the original voices hold the highest spot in my heart.

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

You are forgetting Sailormoon Super S where Hawk Eye came from as well.

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

Ah but i don't associate my first hearing of the name with Hawk Eye in Sailor Moon. With M*A*S*H i do. Since i was maybe 5 the first time i heard that name, and Sailor Moon wasn't around at that time. *laughs*

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Plus M*A*S*H is quite enjoyable in its own right, whereas Sailor Moon of any sort tends to set my teeth on edge. ^_^;

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Ishida Akira is Hakkai in Saiyuki, Fish Eye in Sailormoon Super S o_O;;;

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Oh? (perks up) See, I've never seen it in Japanese. Hmmm...

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

I only seen the cantonese dubbings, but he is part of the Sailor Moon Super S cast as Fish Eye, who is a cross-dresser. You know Ishida always get the strange, and beloved characters XD!

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Even with that name... You can associate both. I am just killed over from this entry because of the names. I must hear the dubs if I ever get the chance.

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

For pure shock-horror comic value, yes. You must. ^_^

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

The use of Hakkai sounding like 'Hawkeye' continually reminds me of the M*A*S*H characater played by Alan Alda for some reason. I associate that name with his cynical tenor voice

(blinks) You too? (laughs) One of us is slowly taking up permanent residence in the other's head, it seems...

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

I think it's a generational thing. *grins* We're both the same age to have heard that name in the reruns of that tv show as little kids. Granted, i remember it by voice, more than anything. And the fact that Hawkeye crossdressed continually to try to get himself drummed out. *laughs*

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

...(scratches head) Wasn't Klinger the cross-dresser?

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

*tilts head* I dunno. I could have sworn it was Hawkeye...

Now i wanna watch an ep so i can see which one of us was right! *headdesks*
All i know is that the show was funny, even to me as a kid. I'd appreciate all the jokes even more now as an adult.

[sychogrl.livejournal.com]

Nope, it was Klinger. And he was the one to stay behind, at the very end. XD

I watched that show ALL the time when I was younger.

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

...Phoo. And there's *never* a re-run on when you really want one...

(grumbles) Hundreds of cable channels, and most of them *crap*...

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Like I said I offer to buy HK subtitles for you...

(trying to keep a straight-face from the mispronounced names)

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you. But I've got the AniKraze fansubs so I think I'm set well enough. Just missing episode 9.

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

For the whole set for a good deal ^_^

[fuzipenguin.livejournal.com]

Someone burned fansubs for me, so that's what I've been watching. I heard the new voices were horrible so I don't know if I'll be able to buy the official release when everything comes out, but I'd like to for collection purposes. ADV - come back!

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

You've heard correctly, I'm afraid. And yes, collection and DVD convenience and duly paying for copyrighted material are the only factors that make me consider buying the rest of it. Though I can say right now that I probably won't. ^_^;

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

Buy it, just dont' listen to the english dub. That's all. I want to have it over here as much as possible. So i support the companies that distrobute it. I just completely ignore the english track. *shrugs*

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

...Good point, good point.

(starts saving random pennies into a Support-Good-Anime-by-Buying-Reload-Even-Though-They-Crapped-All-Over-It Fund)

[akoumi.livejournal.com]

The English (ADV dub) and the Japanese dubs, imo, are two different animals and I like each one. Seki Toshihiko is my god, oh yes, with his wide vocal range and definitely has the most unique Sanzo voice of anyone (who else can shriek like that?) but Matranga actually had a youthful sound to his voice which I always appeciated. I've heard him voice teenagers before and he was hilarious. I wish he did more voice work. oops.. just wandering by. don't mind me.

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

I swear you two need to add each other (brain breaks in halves) XD!

[akoumi.livejournal.com]

I am a fan of TJ's fics! Particularly that tasty Gojyo/Hakkai number she wrote awhile back.. Awakenings :D

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

^_^ Which reminds me...I need to finish my revisions of that and put it back up again...

[akoumi.livejournal.com]

And I was just thinking it was about time I reread it! :D

[akoumi.livejournal.com]

Lex Lang is one of the head honchos over at that company, btw. He does practically everything. He's a writer, producer, director, voice actor. I think it was in bad taste for him to be cast as Sanzo, frankly. Makes me think they just didn't take the time or have the time to do the casting properly.

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Ohh, see, now that makes a bit of sense. I knew he was very firmly entrenched in the business, but...you're right. Bad taste. Particularly as he doesn't sound like he grasps the character very well, from what I heard. (shakes head) And then there's the fact that when the subject came up months ago in one of the comms, Greg Ayres reported that none of them from the ADV cast were approached by Geneon, which...really, I just don't understand. Are VAs tied to one company exclusively? Are they not allowed to do work for more than one studio? That seems a little silly, to me; but...meh. Musicians and authors generally get tied to one publishing company, so...I guess it's possible; but at the same time it's not like screen actors are tied to any one film company...feh. They could have at least tried to employ the same talent for the principal players, I'd think. Is Geneon so concerned with making Reload Their Own, leaving their mark on the series, that they don't care about disgruntling the existing fan-base?

Whoops. Ranty. ^_^;