The Unshaven ([info]theunshaven) wrote,
@ 2007-08-18 12:21:00
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Yay for Anime!
I realise that this is going to turn me into Uncle Dave, the Ubiquitous Plumber Who Sees the World Through His Job, but I regret nothing.

[info]poing_critter and I watched the first two discs of Bleach the other day.

We have concluded that the english translation/dub is INFERIOR.

It must be spurned.

Why?

Because of an overall trend I'd be tempted to write papers on eventually based on comparisons of depth of characterisation, and depth of perceived capacity to possess responsibility between Western cartoons and anime.

To summarise and lose the academic wank:

The english version makes the characters all juvenile, and changes the translations so that anyone tagged as less old than the protagonist cannot take care of themselves.


The protagonist finds one of his younger sisters in the grip of a huge monster.

English version: She yells, "HELLLLLLP MEEEEE!"

Japanese version: She yells, "No, Ichigo! RUN!"

See the tiny difference in translation there?

If I spend too much time on this it will bore anyone that isn't me, so I'll stop.

Suffice to say that we've been reminded Why Bleach Is Cool.

The difference between the versions/translations is such that I can guarantee we wouldn't have watched the series if we'd first encountered the english variant.

It's that different.

I should mention that we've already watched the first 100+ episodes or until the first really long story arc (you will know the one if you've seen it) finished, so we have something to compare it with. This was the first time we watched it on DVD.

Worth watching.

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[info]zcatcurious
2007-08-18 01:26 am UTC (link)
Huh.

I did not know that you understand Japanese.

For something that radically different, I would no longer call it a translation, nor even a paraphrase, because there has been no attempt to reproduce the original message. I would put that down as an 'adaptation, in English', being about as faithful to the source material as Hercules Returns, but less funny.

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[info]theunshaven
2007-08-18 01:37 am UTC (link)
Heh. In this case I don't understand Japanese, it's a difference between the English-dubbed version, and the Japanese-with-English subtitles version.

And yes, it's an adaptation. And not a good one.

We're not even talking about the differences in intonation which turns most of the characters into self-important juvenile little punks, when this is completely sideways to their normal characterisation.

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[info]debxena
2007-08-18 06:59 am UTC (link)
So, we're talking differences up there like the various Nausicaa versions?

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[info]theunshaven
2007-08-18 11:01 pm UTC (link)
Not QUITE as dramatic, but certainly when applied to characterisation, yes.

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[info]cat_i_th_adage
2007-08-18 02:58 am UTC (link)
Would that long story arc be the bit where Ichigo and friends had to leave town on an urgent errand? My friend and I watched a stack of fansubs, but they gave out right in the middle of that story-arc, near the scene with the very large cannon... I'm sure there was a happy ending, and I'll find out how it happened, at some point. Before the end of the century, at any rate.

But yeah, I have a long tradition of loathing English dubs, mostly for the whine that appears in the voices of the younger characters. I liked the dubbed version of R.O.D, mostly for Maggie's voice.

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[info]theunshaven
2007-08-18 11:05 pm UTC (link)
Yep, that's the long arc I was thinking of.

Tis good work, and worth watching, although the vibe does change from the beginning of the series. I'm torn on this, because the beginning of the series captivated me, but I also hate arbitrary status quos. This evolved naturally, and so I endorse it.

R.O.D, you say? Interesting. Seen the OVA (movieish thing?) but not the series.

For english versions, I liked the english for the two Ghost in the Shell series better than the japanese because

a) It was pretty good, certainly not annoying,
b) The Tachikomas were cooler,
and c) Simple self defence. It was way easier to absorb the amount of detailed intrigue going on in english than in reading the rapidfire subs.

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[info]cat_i_th_adage
2007-08-19 07:16 am UTC (link)
The series is good, too. It has three entirely new main characters, which disturbed me at first, but since they're wonderful I complain no longer. Yomiko Readman gets a different voice actress, and is no longer irritating to listen to.

And there are some very interesting plot developments from the OVA, though you have to wait a while for them to, well, develop.

Twelve-year-old female action heroes! Yeah!

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