"Glass Half Empty" corner - What don't you like about the Japanese version?

[Ryu Taylor]

Only real thing, honestly, is Meowth's voice~ I know what they're going for, since his English voice here is also just a localized annoying sounding cat voice, but he actually sounds incomprehensible; like I wonder if he's actually saying words at times in the Japanese version.

Whenever I watch it, it's just "meownnyaranyanyanyanyarr". Enunciate please, sir.

Yep, I hear you. I literally cannot listen to it.

 

[ii kanji]

Enunciate please, sir.

(Inuko Inuyama is a woman...)

I also don't understand this Nyasu voice hate - Nyasu is after all a pokemon, and therefore has a pokemon-like voice with the "nya" tic referencing the annoying way in which all pokemon speak. How is this any more annoying than Pikachu, Sonansu, Fushigidane .etc...

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I also don't understand this Nyasu voice hate - Nyasu is after all a pokemon, and therefore has a pokemon-like voice with the "nya" tic referencing the annoying way in which all pokemon speak. How is this any more annoying than Pikachu, [Wobbuffet], [Bulbasaur] .etc...

I do get that's what the show was going for. It still annoys me to no end, though. The vocal pitch and scratchiness of it is what hurts my ears.

I'm glad you brought Wobbuffet up, because that's another JP voice I'm starting to lose patience with. I find it to be a less annoying version of Meowth's voice, but still grating nonetheless. The one bright side is that at least Wobbuffet only says its own name, so it (and any other Pokemon that doesn't speak an actual language) doesn't have to speak as long as or as often as Meowth does.

 

[Team Gaara]

Enunciate please, sir.

(Inuko Inuyama is a woman...)

I also don't understand this Nyasu voice hate - Nyasu is after all a pokemon, and therefore has a pokemon-like voice with the "nya" tic referencing the annoying way in which all pokemon speak. How is this any more annoying than Pikachu, Sonansu, Fushigidane .etc...

Meowth is a male, I was referring to him. And like I said, I know what they were going for, but it still doesn't make him any more comprehensible. Other Pokemon literally only say their names and I can understand them. Pokemon that speak with telepathy are understandable. Meowth in English, is understandable. Japanese Meowth is literally just "nyanyanyannyarrmeow" and I can't make out anything he says, which is the problem I have with it.

 

[ii kanji]

And like I said, I know what they were going for, but it still doesn't make him any more comprehensible. Other Pokemon literally only say their names and I can understand them. Pokemon that speak with telepathy are understandable. Meowth in English, is understandable. Japanese Meowth is literally just "nyanyanyannyarrmeow" and I can't make out anything he says, which is the problem I have with it.

I must say I am impressed with the BIB!
Just to clarify, do you speak Japanese?

I'm glad you brought Sonansu (Wobbuffet) up, because that's another voice I'm starting to lose patience with.

I can only assume that you find Wobbuffet's voice as grating?

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I'm glad you brought Sonansu (Wobbuffet) up, because that's another voice I'm starting to lose patience with.

I can only assume that you find Wobbuffet's voice as grating?

Original voice, yes. Dub voice, no. Wobbuffet's dub voice is not laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it's still rather funny.

 

[Desdar300]

I really did not like Kasumi's/Misty's "World's Most Beautiful Girl" catchphrase. Nor did I like Takeshi's/Brock's tendency to ask if girls are legal age. For the former, it makes her sound too conceited; for the latter, it makes him sound like a gigolo.

Also (though this is true of all Pokemon media), though I have no problem with hard-to-pronounce Japanese names (having taken Japanese for two years and gotten back to privately studying it, it's not hard for me anymore), I have a problem with uncreative names. Freezer? Thunder? Fire? To me, it just seemed like they gave up. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres all the way (although I'm also fond of their French names: Artikodin, Electhor, and Sulfura).

The names sound absurd to sound absurd to you because you're from a English speaking country but in Japan those names sound exotic and unique.
All that aside the Japanese version is now the definite version of the show with A list actors, Pokémon that sound like actual monsters, and all the above. Meanwhile the dud dropped in quality after 4kids lost the rights and it shows.

 

[Team Gaara]

I must say I am impressed with the BIB!
Just to clarify, do you speak Japanese?

I don't speak it (though I can read Hiragana and Katakana; very few Kanji)but I do know a few words and phrases here and there. As an Anime watcher, I have a pretty decent ear for it to the point where it doesn't sound like jibberish to me. I can make out words from time to time.

Except with Meowth. I can't make out a single thing he's saying without subtitles because I only here "nya" over and over.

 

[ii kanji]

Perhaps the fact that you are not a fluent Japanese speaker explains why you can't decipher what Nyasu's saying? I'm no native Japanese speaker myself, but I have no problem in making out what Nyasu says most of the time. Maybe if you improve your Japanese (if you're that way inclined!) you might be able to enjoy Nyasu more because tbh he is a great, great character IMO better than Maddie Blaustein's Meowth and no-questions-asked on another level to Zoppi's.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I really did not like Kasumi's/Misty's "World's Most Beautiful Girl" catchphrase. Nor did I like Takeshi's/Brock's tendency to ask if girls are legal age. For the former, it makes her sound too conceited; for the latter, it makes him sound like a gigolo.

Also (though this is true of all Pokemon media), though I have no problem with hard-to-pronounce Japanese names (having taken Japanese for two years and gotten back to privately studying it, it's not hard for me anymore), I have a problem with uncreative names. Freezer? Thunder? Fire? To me, it just seemed like they gave up. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres all the way (although I'm also fond of their French names: Artikodin, Electhor, and Sulfura).

The names sound absurd to sound absurd to you because you're from a English speaking country but in Japan those names sound exotic and unique.
All that aside the Japanese version is now the definite version of the show with A list actors, Pokémon that sound like actual monsters, and all the above. Meanwhile the dud dropped in quality after 4kids lost the rights and it shows.

You can explain that further here. And complaints on the dub go here.

Maybe if you improve your Japanese (if you're that way inclined!) you might be able to enjoy Nyasu more because tbh he is a great, great character IMO better than Maddie Blaustein's Meowth and no-questions-asked on another level to Zoppi's.

I know that was to Team Gaara, but I have something to add to that, too. In Japanese, Nyarth is a better character. I just think he sounds better in English (all three of his English voices). Plus, I never had a problem with him sounding like a New York gangster. Disney films and what little TMNT experience I have made me tolerant of out-of-place accents.

 

[Desdar300]

I really did not like Kasumi's/Misty's "World's Most Beautiful Girl" catchphrase. Nor did I like Takeshi's/Brock's tendency to ask if girls are legal age. For the former, it makes her sound too conceited; for the latter, it makes him sound like a gigolo.

Also (though this is true of all Pokemon media), though I have no problem with hard-to-pronounce Japanese names (having taken Japanese for two years and gotten back to privately studying it, it's not hard for me anymore), I have a problem with uncreative names. Freezer? Thunder? Fire? To me, it just seemed like they gave up. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres all the way (although I'm also fond of their French names: Artikodin, Electhor, and Sulfura).

The names sound absurd to sound absurd to you because you're from a English speaking country but in Japan those names sound exotic and unique.
All that aside the Japanese version is now the definite version of the show with A list actors, Pokémon that sound like actual monsters, and all the above. Meanwhile the dud dropped in quality after 4kids lost the rights and it shows.

You can explain that further here. And complaints on the dub go here.

Maybe if you improve your Japanese (if you're that way inclined!) you might be able to enjoy Nyasu more because tbh he is a great, great character IMO better than Maddie Blaustein's Meowth and no-questions-asked on another level to Zoppi's.

I know that was to Team Gaara, but I have something to add to that, too. In Japanese, Nyarth is a better character. I just think he sounds better in English (all three of his English voices). Plus, I never had a problem with him sounding like a New York gangster. Disney films and what little TMNT experience I have made me tolerant of out-of-place accents.

I mean that the JP Pokémon sound like actual monsters\ animals rather than some person making a voice for amusement. Take Japanese Greninja he sounds amazing and like a true frog ninja while hid dub counterpart makes him sound silly and childish. The Pokémon voices sound far more believable in Japanese IMO

 

[Team Gaara]

Perhaps the fact that you are not a fluent Japanese speaker explains why you can't decipher what Nyasu's saying? I'm no native Japanese speaker myself, but I have no problem in making out what Nyasu says most of the time. Maybe if you improve your Japanese (if you're that way inclined!) you might be able to enjoy Nyasu more because tbh he is a great, great character IMO better than Maddie Blaustein's Meowth and no-questions-asked on another level to Zoppi's.

Well, I'm still working on my Japanese, so it stands to reason that it's certainly why I can't understand Meowth in Japanese. But it also backs up my point that this doesn't affect other characters in the show. I'm sure if I knew more Japanese I'd have no trouble understanding him. It's just a bit irritating and offputting that I need to be damn near fluent to comprehend Meowth when other characters are just fine for me~

Though, as I almost exclusively watch the Anime in English, I'd just like to note that I enjoy Meowth's character in English, so it isn't that I dislike the character, just that he's so hard to understand in Japanese.

 

[ii kanji]

Well, I'm still working on my Japanese, so it stands to reason that it's certainly why I can't understand Meowth in Japanese. But it also backs up my point that this doesn't affect other characters in the show. I'm sure if I knew more Japanese I'd have no trouble understanding him. It's just a bit irritating and offputting that I need to be damn near fluent to comprehend Meowth when other characters are just fine for me~

The truth is that this also affects English Meowth (though I'm not sure about the current incarnation). Certainly when I was watching Pokemon as a child growing up in London with English as my second language I didn't understand a lot of what Meowth said until I went back and watched the series in my teens!

I'd also add that Nyasu has a noticably different character to Meowth (read: he's not an arsehole).

 

[KrisiChiki]

I did not like how much they overused the opening song by Volt as insert song in episodes. It was nice at first, but then it turned a bit too much, especially when the opening had changed to Mad-Paced Getter and they were still using Volt's song.

I don't have any particular complaints about the voice acting, although I have to admit sometimes they do sound a bit over the top. I generally prefer them over the English dub though, even at the cost of missing out on puns. Also, yes, the Pokemon voice acting for the Japanese version sound a lot better than the English ones for the most part. I was especially disappointed with Piplup in DP. His Japanese voice really added personality to him, whereas in English he just sounded whiny. However, I wasn't very fond of Fennekin's voice acting. I haven't really watched the XY English dub to make a comparison though. Braixen's voice is great on the other hand.

Hm, I'm sure there is more to say. The Japanese anime isn't perfect for sure, but I can't think of anything right now.

 

[Team Gaara]

The truth is that this also affects English Meowth (though I'm not sure about the current incarnation). Certainly when I was watching Pokemon as a child growing up in London with English as my second language I didn't understand a lot of what Meowth said until I went back and watched the series in my teens!

I'd also add that Nyasu has a noticably different character to Meowth (read: he's not an arsehole).

I can understand that, as well. I imagine a good handful of characters might have been hard to understand, especially with 4Kids's accents and voices. Though, since the thread was more just for the Japanese version, Meowth's Japanese voice was all I mentioned because it's the issue I have~

As for them having different characters, seeing as I'm okay with Meowth in English (I find him funny) it isn't too much of a big deal that he's more dickish. Though, I'll admit, if that's true, I never knew that. I would've thought Team Rocket were equally dickish in any dub~

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I just can't stand Meowth's voice. Honestly, I find it so annoying.

 

[ii kanji]

As for them having different characters, seeing as I'm okay with Meowth in English (I find him funny) it isn't too much of a big deal that he's more dickish. Though, I'll admit, if that's true, I never knew that. I would've thought Team Rocket were equally dickish in any dub~

Jessie, James and Meowth are each strikingly different from Musashi, Kojiro and Nyasu, it's actually bizarre to see! The most obvious thing is their relationship with each other is clearly closer in the orginial and the way they talk to each other is more affectionate. The TRio get a lot of dialogue change, presumably because Zoppi (who I understand writes the script) thinks it is funnier, and things like James and Meowth's abject fear of Jessie is almost entirely a dub-only addition. I remember in DP they changed a lot of Kojiro and Nyasu's irrelevant lines into ones about being scared of Jessie.

 

[Desdar300]

I did not like how much they overused the opening song by Volt as insert song in episodes. It was nice at first, but then it turned a bit too much, especially when the opening had changed to Mad-Paced Getter and they were still using Volt's song.

I don't have any particular complaints about the voice acting, although I have to admit sometimes they do sound a bit over the top. I generally prefer them over the English dub though, even at the cost of missing out on puns. Also, yes, the Pokemon voice acting for the Japanese version sound a lot better than the English ones for the most part. I was especially disappointed with Piplup in DP. His Japanese voice really added personality to him, whereas in English he just sounded whiny. However, I wasn't very fond of Fennekin's voice acting. I haven't really watched the XY English dub to make a comparison though. Braixen's voice is great on the other hand.

Hm, I'm sure there is more to say. The Japanese anime isn't perfect for sure, but I can't think of anything right now.

I think the over the top statement people keep saying might just be because they aren't use to seeing passionate acting in anime or cartoons.
Like Frank Welker isn't overacting when he plays Fred Jones or Scooby Doo he's just really into his characters and in animation you really have to act like that.

 

[Dogasu]

Now it's finally time to do the unthinkable: talk about what there is not to like about the so-called perfect Japanese version.

Maybe the "the dub sucks because it replaces music" mob will be calmed down just a bit.

You really need to stop trying to paint us Japanese fans as some rabid mob of fanboys that can never be satisfied. Because aside from the fact that it's just. not. true. it also creates this toxic "us vs. them" mentality that needlessly divides fans.

You can trash the Japanese version of the show all you want but leave its fans out of it.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

Maybe the "the dub sucks because it replaces music" mob will be calmed down just a bit.

You really need to stop trying to paint us Japanese fans as some rabid mob of fanboys that can never be satisfied. Because aside from the fact that it's just. not. true. it also creates this toxic "us vs. them" mentality that needlessly divides fans.

You can trash the Japanese version of the show all you want but leave its fans out of it.

Good on you for realizing that I'm fully within my rights to talk about the original version's problems (of which there are many).

Only once did I make a comment that appeared to imply that to be the case (which you quoted).

However, I'm not setting out to divide fans. Never have, never will. It's not my fault if a schism happens against my wishes.