dubbed Kenshin

[BigShot Jordan]

well,i got the kenshin OVAs and i first watched it dubbed.i thought the dubb was pretty good but not as good as the Japanese soundtrack.it did occasionally suffer from the tradition of,"Kung-foo movie dubbing" and some names were pronounced wrong. but i will give the dub credit for the excellent script that had kind of a poetic theme to it.

as for the t.v. series,i didn't like the dubb to much.all of the voices were o.k. except for Sanosuke's which was way to low for his character.and the opening singer for the english version of the intro sounded like she was pumped full of helium.

see you space cowboys.

[Drizzten]

I honestly think the Samurai X/Kenshin OVA dub is the best dub I've ever heard. I though the voices were very expressive without being over-the-top like so many others. After watching the first tape twice, I could pick out who was saying what pretty acurately. Since I haven't heard the original Japanese, I can't comment on the mispronunciations.

[Draco]

i haven't watched the english dude, but i got the japanese with subtitles, i would pissed if the english ones were edited up

[Ronin Aquila]

Having seen the English dubbed version of the Rounin Kenshin movie on HBO in Taiwan, (but not the dubbed TV/OVA yet) I can only shake my head in pity for the stupidity of American dubbing companies.

First of all, Saitoh Hajime is meant to sound evil yet authoritative, not like the sleazy pimp from "Taxi Driver!!"

Secondly, put some EMOTION into the acting, dammit!! The way the English Kaoru said "Oh Kenshin" hardly sounded like an expression of concern for a man she has lived with for half a year. Rather, it resembled calling out to a total stranger she did not give a damn about.

FINALLY...

JUST BECAUSE KENSHIN IS A BLOKE DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE VOICE HAS TO BE DONE BY A BLOKE, DAMMIT!!!! (That applies to Shinji too, AD Vision!!)



Having a gruffy voiced surfer act as Kenshin is just plain WRONG. Suzukaze Mayo, although a woman, brought out Kenshin's melancholic gentleness while retaining his masculinity, something totally lost in the English dub of the film. And to add insult in injury, Kenshin NO LONGER SAYS ORO!! Oh, the humanity!!

The RK dubbed episodes have yet to reach Australia, so please enlighten me on the following matters.

1) How bad is Kenshin's TV/OVA voice. Is it done by a man?

2) How horrendously (as most strait Jap > English pop songs are) is the opening song "Sokabasu" translated and performed?

3) How is Kenshin's humbleness of language ( Seshya, Dono and Gozaru) conveyed in the English Version?

And most importantly

4) What the hell do they have in place of the pricelessly funny "Oro?"

Much Obliged

Ronin Aquila

[Drizzten]

His OVA voice sounds like a man's voice, but it's done very well. It's expressive, quiet, and generally has the tone of a man who is just going through the motions.

[BigShot Jordan]

kenshin's english OVA voice was very good.

the voice that i really like in the OVA dub is the voice of Hiko.ADV pretty much nailed that voice.

[BigShot Jordan]

i hate the english version of the opening song. it sounds like it is sung by a woman who has been pumped full of helium.

[Mikage]

Originally posted by BigShot Jordan
kenshin's english OVA voice was very good.

the voice that i really like in the OVA dub is the voice of Hiko.ADV pretty much nailed that voice.

I haven't seen much Kenshin in fact Samurai X Truth is all i've seen, except for the Oro Movie, I LOVE HIKO'S VOICE, like Evangelion the dub is pretty good. Oh and FYI I think the worst dub ever is Utenas

[heerogf]

i like the japanese opening better :) the dubbed girl's voice is a little annoying, but the song is really kewl though

[Edited by heerogf on 10-01-2001 at 07:44 AM]

[Shadow War]

I got the DVD of Samauri X and only watched it subbed. I might watch it dubbed one day. I had mainly seen dubbed animes I know that I have been missing out on some amazing voice acting. The subs are so much better I couldn't believe it! I watched Eva and few others in DVD and I know why people talk about sub been better. I have changed my opinion now that I have seen the light:)

[psycnarf]

So far Ive seen only the sub OAV but I expect no less than great about the english dubbed.

[shoujo-duo]

am i the only one who absolutely loves the dubbed version of the series? sano-sama's voice, albeit not the same growly-wonderfulness that it usually is, was still very good. granted, this is coming from a girl who worships anything to do with sanosuke.. o.0;;

but i agree, i didn't like kaoru's dub voice very much. kenshin's voice, i liked.

i haven't had a chance to see the ovas yet, so i can't comment on them.

*walks off, humming freckles* i brush against the freckles that i hated so much...

[Shinigami]

I personally watch the dubbed more often because of Kenshin's voice. Sorry, guys, but if I SEE a guy on the screen he has to SOUND like a guy too. No pansies.

I do prefer Sanosuke's Japanese VA. Much better fitting. Although I don't mind the English voice.

And the opening credits... *shudders* Can NOT stand the English dubbed. Give me Japanese anyday!

[Draco]

The jap intro was not the good either , Agh! the high pitched sound of the woman sing was .... disturbing...

[Mika-chan]

Originally posted by Draco
The jap intro was not the good either , Agh! the high pitched sound of the woman sing was .... disturbing...

I'm not a fan of either opening either. I fast forward or hit the mute button!

[LiDDoDrAgOn]

The voice is a little annoying, but the tune is pretty catchy. I laugh everytime that girl sings so I never fast forward it or anything.

[Darklightz]

I think the dubs weren't that bad except for Kenshin's voices.I laughed when I heard it,since he keeps talking the whole series and that japanese is shorter than english,his dialogues are filled with filler speech.;
---------------------------------------
Kurogasa Jine "Fight me Battousai!I hold Kaoru,you can't save her until you kill me!!!"

Kenshin "I will draw my sword now,that I will.You won't get away with this,that you won't.I am ready to fight now,that I am"
---------------------------------------

[LP]

incidentally, i was watching the first kenshin dvd today and was switching between the jap and english, just to see what the dub voices were like. as soon as i heard all the voices, i was like "holy cow. i ain't gonna switch to the english ever again."

I guess after watching 65 or so episodes all in jap, I really don't want to listen to "new" voices ... :)

[snoKat 15]

I dislike dubbed Kenshin. My friends father accidently got her a dub for her birthday. Without knowing we put it in the VCR. First, there was that disturbing Jungle de Ikkou prevue, then we heard Kenshin and were like...somethings wrong. He sounds like Steve from Blues Clues. And Kauro is ...well, she sounds like a popular teenager.(yuck!) I didn't get to hear anyone else. That was all i could stand.Sorry, not trying to be offensive to those who like the dubbed version.Bye-Bye.

[heerogf]

hehe, i love the opening, it's so kawaii :kawaii:

[LP]

I also hated the tv-size version of the song, but when I heard the song in full, it didn't bug me too much! And get this: I actually thought the English version of the same song wasn't bad either!

The first time I watched disc 1 of the tv series, I switched to the english track to see how the voices were. I was temporarily stunned ... then didn't know whether to cry or laugh, or both at the same time. But as the disc went on, I kinda got used to the voices. I still don't like Kenshin's, Kaoru's, or spikey-haired kid's voices ...

[EvilgoatmanSanosuke]

At first I hated the Japanese song, but then i got the English version of it off of Napster and realized just how good it really was.
I have vowed to never watch dubbed kenshin, ever.
~Zac
What does he say instead of oro?

[psycnarf]

I was able to see a fanfic dubbed version of the RK OAV and its was ok except for enishi's accent and Im a little bit disappointed in kenshin's voice but aside from that it was ok.

[Don]

Originally posted by Darklightz
I think the dubs weren't that bad except for Kenshin's voices.I laughed when I heard it,since he keeps talking the whole series and that japanese is shorter than english,his dialogues are filled with filler speech.;
---------------------------------------
Kurogasa Jine "Fight me Battousai!I hold Kaoru,you can't save her until you kill me!!!"

Kenshin "I will draw my sword now,that I will.You won't get away with this,that you won't.I am ready to fight now,that I am"
---------------------------------------


Actually, this is due to the fact that Kenshin speaks with the "gozaru" stuffs and so that is how it is commonly written out. I'm pretty sure when he "reverts" to Battousai, he stops using it in the dub, as in the Japanese version.

Oh, and as for the Kenshin OVA... garbage. Okay, it was decent but there were only two main problems. One, her name is Tomoe... not Tomo. TO-MO-EH, got it? ^_^;;

Second... is Okita called Saitoh "master." Let me get this straight... the captain of the division of a higher rank than Saitoh's... calls Saitoh "master?" There's great logic....

[Ranma-Chan]

I like the Samurai X series dub; at least Kenshin did not sound too girlish.

[LP]

i haven't at any point think kenshin SOUNDED like a girl, although when i first saw it i thought HE was a SHE. :D

[PsychoGoatee]

I think the TV dub is great, and the OAV dub is decent. The Japanise is probably better overall, but there are a few things I prefer about the English Kenshin TV dub:
1. Kenshin has a soft male voice that suits him well
2. Sansoke has a badass voice that suits him well
3. ...thats about it :D

[LP]

man, i don't see how much of a softer "male" voice for kenshin than the jap voice. :D I thought the english voice actor's voice was waaay to deep. as for sano, the japanese sano had quite a bad arse voice as well.

but if you like the english, that's fine with me. :)