British dubs - let's make it happen.

V

VivisQueen

Adventurer
I'm unsure how many more times I'll rewatch a favourite show with the US dub and promptly gag. Too many boys sounding like high school jocks and too many girls sounding like Britney. I'm even pleased my new Ouran boxset comes without the dub (thanks, Manga!).

Even so, I recall only one series that features a British cast and that is the first four episodes of Heroic Legend of Arslan. It is good - not the best acting in all cases, since Arslan sounds like Peter from the new Narnia movies - but good. One or two characters like Narciss are even outstanding. Most importantly, they suit the cerebral high fantasy nature of the beast to a tee. When the dub switches to an American cast for the last two episodes, however, the gag reflex erupts once more.

So, do we think the British could do better if someone actually set a company up? Wouldn't it be great to watch Victorian Romance Emma with vocal performances to match the setting? And would some characters not just improve tenfold when given crazy regional accents?
 
I will never get tired of wheeling out these videos (props to Rui for bringing the first to my attention):

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So in summary... YES, MORE BRITISH DUBS!
 
There have been at least one previous attempt, with Anime UK's dub of KO Beast, and to say that it wasn't a roaring success would be an understatement.

Many of Manga Entertainment and Kiseki Films' 1990s licenses were dubbed in the UK, though most of the actors were American expats. In addition to Arslan, the dub for Rumiko Takahashi's Laughing Target featured British actors, or at least actors using British accents, and there may have been a couple of others I'm forgetting.

Emma is a good example of a show that would work well with a British dub, but I'm certainly not keen on the idea of crazy regional accents. It will never happen, though, simply because of the costs involved.
 
I agree to a certain extent. Hearing American accents can be grating in things with a distinct historical setting. It is also irritating when you have English characters but you get the Mary Poppins/cock-er-nee treatment from American voice actors.

Then again they work brilliantly with sci-fi stuff like Cowboy Bebop and action that takes place on the international stage like Black Lagoon - I know a Canadian studio handled it. Basically it all depends upon the quality of the actors and the studio.

I loved the wide range of accents in Final Fantasy XII but British voice-over studios can still deliver results that don't fit in either. Robot Warlords and Forbidden Siren on the Playstation 2 are examples where the fit isn't perfect:

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Again, it is a case of the quality of the actors and directing. I also think the idea of hearing Liverpudlian and Brummie would lose its novelty after a while (at least for me). I'd love to hear Terry Thomas types though:

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Nothing will EVER beat the dub for Monkey Magic 8) :

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After wathcing those british anime dubs Ayase posted, NO! NO BRITISH DUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY WERE TERRIBLE!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
 
sanji no 1 said:
After wathcing those british anime dubs Ayase posted, NO! NO BRITISH DUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY WERE TERRIBLE!!!!!
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Of course they were, but they were also hilarious.

Think about it - Subs for serious watching, dubs for comedy. You double the re-watch value of the show! ;)
 
I actually liked the UK dubs of both Nuku Nuku and KO Century Beast Warriors, but then I suppose they are both comedy series. Had they been more serious, perhaps it wouldn't have worked.
 
"I've got a fiver on the bird in the bikini"

A line you will never hear again in anime :)

However much I like dubs I could not watch anything dubbed like that!! But I really want to see the rest of Urusei Yatsura now!

EDIT: that dub has grown on me ;)
 
Would Kero from Cardcaptor sakura sound good with a West Country Accent.

Hello there i'm Keroberos Keeper of the Cards My luver. :D
 
Soubi-Hurt said:
Would Kero from Cardcaptor sakura sound good with a West Country Accent.

Hello there i'm Keroberos Keeper of the Cards My luver. :D
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He's to serious, despite his apearence, any point where he is seriously thinking about something would just be too sidesplitting to actually follow the plot. It would on the other hand make it obvious he's speaking with a strong accent.
 
On such a topic, it would please me to no end to hear the word "Gundam" being delivered in a West Country tongue.

This project would have limitations however. In most Northern accents, "Macross" and "my cross" would be homophones.
 
Zin5ki said:
On such a topic, it would please me to no end to hear the word "Gundam" being delivered in a West Country tongue.
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Being resident to the West Country, I can confirm that it sounds like 'Gunnum'.

Thank you for your kind attention in this matter.
 
Mmmm...yeah...UK dubs don't have the best of histories... I'm sure they could be fine though.

Kirrimir said:
Dubs? No thanks. Try watching JAPANESE ANIME, in JAPANESE. You know the way it's meant to be watched.
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If I wanted to read stuff, I would read Manga. Which I don't. Hmph.
 
HdE said:
Being resident to the West Country, I can confirm that it sounds like 'Gunnum'.
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mangas-1143742198-t.jpg


This could cause confusion.
 
ayase said:
I will never get tired of wheeling out these videos (props to Rui for bringing the first to my attention):

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hehe. I still have this on VHS ^^
 
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