Deadman Wonderland

[bartok2649]

Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and say that at first I was not a big fan of Deadman Wonderland, in fact I hated it. Now, before you start having an anyurism, hear me out. I decided to give it another try and watched the episode again online (I had deleted it from my DVR). I found the subbed version to be so much better, and I realised why.

Whoever voices Ganta in the dubbed version is freaking annoying as crap!

The subbed version made everything a lot simpler, and Ganta didn't sound like a pre-bubescent seal being rubbed on a cheese-grater for half of the time. Plus, most of the censorship wasn't needed, considering the sub went without most of the slang (but definatetly not entirely, the gore darkening was still very present). 

I truly enjoy the subbed version more, and I know [adult swim] can't air it because people change the channel when they see subs, but I think that if you want to truly enjoy Deadman Wonderland, watch the subbed version.

However, my thoughts aren't law, so what do you think?

[ohmond]

I feel like the original versions most of the time are a lot better. I will admit the VA for ganta is like nails on a chalkboard, but i got used to it. He is a pretty good voice actor its just his voice makes me want to punch babies ya know? 

[neverkeepchangin11]

Ganta's voice is just terrible

just...... terrible.....

sorry to whatever VA that is

[Cerceaux]

Yeah, not a fan of Greg Ayres either. His voice really annoyes me. Go figure he's been in like half the shows I've watched recently, ugh. It's not enough to ruin a show for me, but it's definitely distracting when a character starts talking and my first thought is "Oh great, it's that guy again".

[Poke_Nirvash]

Yeah... Greg Ayres has that effect on people. Even if people find him annoying (I personally don't), you have to admit that Ayres did a great job nailing down the role.

[ohmond]

yeah thats what i meant by him being a pretty good VA, his acting is pretty spot on, and feels natural. Damnit if it wasnt for that voice! haha 

[Dante_of_the_Inferno]

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bartok2649 wrote:

I found the subbed version to be so much better, and I realised why.

Whoever voices Ganta in the dubbed version is freaking annoying as crap!

The subbed version made everything a lot simpler, and Ganta didn't sound like a pre-bubescent seal being rubbed on a cheese-grater for half of the time. Plus, most of the censorship wasn't needed, considering the sub went without most of the slang (but definatetly not entirely, the gore darkening was still very present).

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And now, a civil rejection:

Having gone through literally everything that exists pertaining to DW, I can safely say that the dub is actually decent.  Ironically, the VA in the japanese release was none other than Romi Park, who has a background 2 miles long (including Edward Elric).  Now, for someone who rarely listens to dubs (let alone closely), Greg Ayares sounds different (not necessarily "better") than the whiny obnoxious twerp that I've had to endure in the original broadcast.  With that in mind, I've simply come to terms with the fact that Ganta is weak, he's just a weak person.  However, he does have his moments, and Greg Ayares certainly can deliver during those times (at least better than Romi Park ever could).  In particular, if a script calls for a character to scream, I better hear a convincing scream.  If it calls for a maniacal laugh, it better be memorable and it better be infectious, infectious as smallpox on a muggy summer day.  Just from what I've heard so far, Funimation has thrown as much talent as it can at DW, and while it's not as great as some of us may have envisioned, it still feels as good as the subbed version - just....different.

As for Shiro, she had Kana Hanazawa as her VA in Japan, so it's kinda fated that both main characters have two of the most popular VA pairs in modern anime.  She can certainly pull off Shiro, but GOD THAT SINGING.  I only have to suffer through it one more time, but I'm glad that won't be for a long while.

If anything, the voice I currently like the least is Takami You.  That may change, but just the way he conveyed those lines makes me want to cut him open myself.

Also, the translation is the most liberal version I have ever heard Funimation produce.  It's low, hovering around 60%, and it's not for lack of trying.  The studio basically knew they could never match the translation to the lip flaps (because altering the company's copy is absolutely forbidden for some reason), so they said whatever they had to to get the point across.  While this makes the show better for an english-speaking audience, some of the most memorable lines from the manga (and by extension, the original release) are completely lost.

Case in point:

"Bit*ch is ####."

"I won't disagree, but that is life....your life."

As opposed to:

"She's crazy."

"That may be, but reality is absurd."

That's kinda her catch phrase, folks, and that line is supposed to really set the stage for the long-term events that follow.

Oh, and I have no idea what you guys are talking about concerning the dark shading and censorship.  This entire first episode is completely uncensored straight from the Blu-Ray (of course, American S&P tried to blur out some small things - can't really think of what though).  The original japanese broadcast blacked out nearly 70% of that classroom, and don't think for a second the audience got to see a fully severed arm AND HEAD.  The series just has really dark backgrounds and lighting in certain places.  Of course, watching this broadcast from a DVR in the light of day helps quite a bit, but for those suffering, just up the TV brightness.  The only real consistency from the original broadcast is that there was A LOT of swearing that was bleeped out, which subsided quite a bit later on in the series.  The wierd part is that the Blu-Rays ALSO had that bleeping, though the hope is strong that none of that silliness makes it to an eventual disc release.

TL;DR - DUB is roughly equal to the SUB for Deadman Wonderland.  It just sounds different.  The American animation release is almost completely uncensored.

[gDamascus]

I often(not always) judge a VA on how well they can scream. Ganta's horrified reaction in Japanese stuck with me. The english... I wasn't as impressed. I only got to see the first half of Saturday's episode, so I won't draw any definite conclusions.

And since you mention it, I don't think they're darkening the gore, I think it's just a transfer issue. Funimation's online version is even worse. I couldn't get past episode 3. I saw people assume it was some sort of censorship, but It's been a while since I have seen any violence cut from an american release of anything. I could make out a lot more detail in the AS premier, so I'm pretty sure it was a an issue with the online upload. Now, if the fan translations weren’t exaggerating some of the vulgarities(which I have seen them do plenty), I get the feeling we are going to see/hear a lot of censored language. There were phrases in the manga I have never seen in Japanese media, let alone a shonen.

[LUNI_TUNZ]

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Dante_of_the_Inferno wrote:

Also, the translation is the most liberal version I have ever heard Funimation produce.  It's low, hovering around 60%, and it's not for lack of trying.  The studio basically knew they could never match the translation to the lip flaps (because altering the company's copy is absolutely forbidden for some reason), so they said whatever they had to to get the point across.

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How many times do dubbing companies go altering video to add one or two more words?

[vumanchu]

I guess for now it's matter of getting used to it but personally I prefer someone like Spike Spencer would fit a better Ganta.

[Angry_Strawberry]

Speaking of which, where have I heard his voice before?

Edit: Clannad

Also, I went on and watched the rest online and was very satisfied with it. Granted the ending reeks of a sequel hook. And I totally agree that the singing dubbed horribly. It had a far, far better flow in japanese. Perhaps they could have just left that untranslated and put a short sub for that scene instead.

[Real_AirCooledMan]

Speaking in English but singing in Japanese just sounds too jarring. If they can translate the songs and dub them in English in Beck, Bubblegum Crisis, Nerima Daikon Bros., etc., they can do it in DW.

As for the ending, it did seem like a sequel hook. Now where's our second season? Come on already!

Greg Ayres is good as Ganta, although I always imagined Spike Spencer voicing him, because he's Shinji.

[LUNI_TUNZ]

Since you bring that up, didn't one of the songs in Nerima Daikon Bros. get left in Japanese, like the last episode or something? (Also, they were ADV, and they kind of had no choice, or else half the show would make no sense)

[Real_AirCooledMan]

I don't remember ADV leaving any of the songs in Japanese. I watched the whole series and they were all in English.

[Dante_of_the_Inferno]

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Real_AirCooledMan wrote:

Greg Ayres is good as Ganta, although I always imagined Spike Spencer voicing him, because he's Shinji.

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See, that implies that Ganta was, is, and always will be weak.  However, Ganta won't.

[Chappi_The_Rabbit]

The lines are pretty much the same except some swears are considered more offensive on American television than Japanese (Japan had alot of bleeps as well, but the Japanese censors are weird considering certain phrases with the same meaning, like someone being called a f### in actual Japanese would be bleeped while someone saying "FACK" which would be the katakana equivalent of "f###" would be said without censorship). I distinctively remember the titty line being in the Japanese sub too so it's not like the dub was swearing it up on their own accord.

As for voices, Romi Park is one of the most talented VA's in Japan (alongside Yuu Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro, Chiwa Saito, and Akira Ishida) so her Ganta actually sounds like a frightened boy who is also pissed at being in his current situation, while Greg Ayres just sounds like Greg Ayres trying to sound like a little boy. It's a good effort but his voice is used better on other characters like Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK or Kaoru in Ouran Host Club.

The other voices in both English and Japanese are pretty good so far though. I'm impressed that Monica Rial fit in as good as she did as Shiro when the voice she always ends up using sounds more shrill than Kana Hanazawa's bubbly ditz routine. I'm even more impressed in Aaron Dismuke since his voice has finished undergoing the post-Alphonse puberty phase and he's now on-par with the older male VA's at FUNi.

[Real_AirCooledMan]

But Spike Spencer's also Rolo Lamperouge, and we all know how that ended up.

[Dante_of_the_Inferno]

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Chappi_The_Rabbit wrote:

The lines are pretty much the same except some swears are considered more offensive on American television than Japanese (Japan had alot of bleeps as well, but the Japanese censors are weird considering certain phrases with the same meaning, like someone being called a f### in actual Japanese would be bleeped while someone saying "FACK" which would be the katakana equivalent of "f###" would be said without censorship).

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Spoiler

But how am I supposed to listen to the Super Monk talk?   "Yo, FRACKING GUYS!"

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Chappi_The_Rabbit wrote:

As for voices, Romi Park is one of the most talented VA's in Japan (alongside Yuu Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro, Chiwa Saito, and Akira Ishida) so her Ganta actually sounds like a frightened boy who is also pissed at being in his current situation, while Greg Ayres just sounds like Greg Ayres trying to sound like a little boy. It's a good effort but his voice is used better on other characters like Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK or Kaoru in Ouran Host Club.

The other voices in both English and Japanese are pretty good so far though. I'm impressed that Monica Rial fit in as good as she did as Shiro when the voice she always ends up using sounds more shrill than Kana Hanazawa's bubbly ditz routine.

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This is where I kinda share bartok2649's sentiment.  Romi Park and Kana Hanazawa are just crammed into so many anime that after a certain point it becomes irksome to hear that VA's voice AGAIN.  I guess the equivalent would be if you heard Johnny Yong Bosch or Steve Blum in 3 different shows every week, every season.  Greg Ayres is (even in the context of heavy use) refreshing in that it's just a different voice from what I've used to hear a sniveling teenager sound like (sorry, Spike Spencer).

I felt the same way with Kana Hanazawa, but to a smaller degree because her voice acting just sounded so accurate with respect to my vision of Shiro's personality from the manga.  I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Monica Rial speak in simple conversation with Ganta, bringing almost a simplistic wisdom to her character that's hard to initially grasp from Shiro's manga personality.  However, her singing is all but tone deaf (that sketchy-as-all-hell animation during the pan-shot up the tower certainly didn't help).  I don't know, maybe her singing will improve by episode 12, but I can't help cringing at the thought of hearing her sing AGAIN in just another month.

[Chappi_The_Rabbit]

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Dante_of_the_Inferno wrote:

Chappi_The_Rabbit wrote:

The lines are pretty much the same except some swears are considered more offensive on American television than Japanese (Japan had alot of bleeps as well, but the Japanese censors are weird considering certain phrases with the same meaning, like someone being called a f### in actual Japanese would be bleeped while someone saying "FACK" which would be the katakana equivalent of "f###" would be said without censorship).

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Spoiler

But how am I supposed to listen to the Super Monk talk?   "Yo, FRACKING GUYS!"

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 The "FACKING GUYS" part will probably be censored here, while I'm guessing English swears aren't as offensive to the Japanese ears as their regular harsh words

Spoiler

Mainly, I remember an odd one being Yo's "How can this #### be the one who killed his class" which was randomly censored while all the FACKS and Minatsuki's lines about Ganta's pain making her come were in-tact for the JPN broadcast 

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Dante_of_the_Inferno wrote:

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Chappi_The_Rabbit wrote:

As for voices, Romi Park is one of the most talented VA's in Japan (alongside Yuu Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro, Chiwa Saito, and Akira Ishida) so her Ganta actually sounds like a frightened boy who is also pissed at being in his current situation, while Greg Ayres just sounds like Greg Ayres trying to sound like a little boy. It's a good effort but his voice is used better on other characters like Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK or Kaoru in Ouran Host Club.

The other voices in both English and Japanese are pretty good so far though. I'm impressed that Monica Rial fit in as good as she did as Shiro when the voice she always ends up using sounds more shrill than Kana Hanazawa's bubbly ditz routine.

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 This is where I kinda share bartok2649's sentiment.  Romi Park and Kana Hanazawa are just crammed into so many anime that after a certain point it becomes irksome to hear that VA's voice AGAIN.  I guess the equivalent would be if you heard Johnny Yong Bosch or Steve Blum in 3 different shows every week, every season.  Greg Ayres is (even in the context of heavy use) refreshing in that it's just a different voice from what I've used to hear a sniveling teenager sound like (sorry, Spike Spencer).

I felt the same way with Kana Hanazawa, but to a smaller degree because her voice acting just sounded so accurate with respect to my vision of Shiro's personality from the manga.  I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Monica Rial speak in simple conversation with Ganta, bringing almost a simplistic wisdom to her character that's hard to initially grasp from Shiro's manga personality.  However, her singing is all but tone deaf (that sketchy-as-all-hell animation during the pan-shot up the tower certainly didn't help).  I don't know, maybe her singing will improve by episode 12, but I can't help cringing at the thought of hearing her sing AGAIN in just another month.

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I can see where you're getting at with Kana because she sounds the same in alot of her roles even though she fit in quite well for Shiro (since then she's used that same voice in a crapton of her characters though of her "bubbly roles", this and Mayuri are her best), but to me Romi has enough range in her voice to make each character sound different despite getting typecasted as short angry boys. I actually like Greg Ayres' take on Ganta based on the same reasoning of being different than just having the same VA's being attached to roles, but if I were to compare voices, Romi's seems to fit more with Ganta because as desperate as he is, he isn't a pissant all the time and has a temper which I think she gets down much easier than Greg just yelling and hoping it makes him sound angry. If we could strike a balance between Romi's anger and Greg's sniveling, then we'd have the perfect Ganta

[Dante_of_the_Inferno]

I guess we get to find out Saturday if Greg can pull off "angry Ganta."

[kingny]

I am so sick of hearing about dubbed VS subbed this is the USA most want to hear eng. dub .

[Dante_of_the_Inferno]

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kingny wrote:

I am so sick of hearing about dubbed VS subbed this is the USA most want to hear eng. dub .

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Except that most in the USA would like to hear the same things that the original said.  That said, this is by far the most liberal translation I've heard since ADV covered Ghost Stories.  It's not quite a total troll dub, but every (and I do mean EVERY) sentence spoken is completely mangled.  Then again, the anime had awful sales in Japan, so it's likely Funimation is trying to change the dialogue as much as possible to reflect the typical American prison setting.  The problem with this is I'm afraid it might conflict with the overall direction of the story.  Deadman Wonderland is a fantastically cruel place, so much so that superfluous swearing and uneccessary words can muddle that message and drag the series down.

Most anime viewers really could care less if there's some small discrepancies in translation, but at this point, the difference is about as apparent between red and orange.  Hopefully it doesn't grow to red and blue.

[DXLelouch15]

did you guys know that Leah Clark is going to be the dub voice for Minatsuki

[Dante_of_the_Inferno]

I'll reserve judgement for a month.