Do you feel the voices have improved since the cast change took place?

[GreatLiver]

To me it was never really the voices that bothered me. I just felt like the script writing for the dub became so terrible since the change over. Maybe it's that way in Japanese, but I don't understand what they're saying and just go for the gist of it. I have yet to watch a dubbed episode of BW since seeing the trailer in March where Ash says something along the lines of "A fire type, nice and fiery!" when he sees Tepig. I don't know who are translating these scripts, but I'm sure they could be doing a better job.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

Personally, the script never bothered me. Even with the TPCi dub, I've always liked the dialogue on Pokemon.

My only problem with the TPCi dub (and the show in general) is the voice acting. I have high expectations for the quality of voice acting, and Sarah's Ash still bothers me sometimes. But keep in mind, this isn't because Sarah is a bad VA. It's because of nostalgia, and the fact that I love watching the 4Kids dub. Yeah, I guess I have weird tastes. ^^;

Don't get me wrong, the B/W episodes are great. And I love how much the new cast has improved (this allows me to enjoy B/W). But, I simply like the old episodes of Pokemon better. That's all.

 

[AshK]

Ash's voice has improved tremendously since Battle Frontier where I thought the voice sounded awful. I always liked Jessie's voice, whether it was the old dub or the current one. James voice still hasn't really done much for me though I think his 4kids voice is unmatchable imo.

 

[Cybersai]

I wonder why nobody comments on May's voice change much. Is it because she was only there for 1 season under PUSA?

 

[Thingamajig]

Well apart from the whole "she sounds like she's 40" issue in the first dub of MoMP, Michele Knotz's May was - while very different to Veronica Taylor's - rarely bad enough to warrant ranting discussions. Bill Rogers and Sarah Natochenny had shocking episodes in season 9 - Michele Knotz never really did.

Well that, and the fact that May is about as relevant as Misty these days... so there's not much to discuss.

 

[Cybersai]

Well that, and the fact that May is about as relevant as Misty these days... so there's not much to discuss.

The difference is Misty never appeared in any actual PUSA dubbed eps except the Mastermind special, simply because Misty never had another appearance in an episode ever since Season 9 started, (which, amuses me, for some reason).

May was still there for all of BF, Movie 9, and her DP cameo's.

I think its for the same reason Veronica Taylor's May doesn't get as much recognition as her Ash does, even though she played May for 3 years. Why is it when people mention Veronica Taylor, its always about her Ash, yet you never hear her May being brought up?

 

[Thingamajig]

May was still there for all of BF, Movie 9, and her DP cameo's.

And I'm sure when those things happened people discussed May's voice. (except for the Wallace cup, because VA discussion was banned by then. Although I remember a post by Lisa airing her oh-so-subtle disappointment about Veronica Taylor not being back to voice May)

But it's the same reason no-one discusses Harley's, Drew's or Max's new voices - they're just not important anymore. And since none of those characters have appeared in 4 years, there's really no way of being able to discuss whether they sound any better.

I think its for the same reason Veronica Taylor's May doesn't get as much recognition as her Ash does, even though she played May for 3 years. Why is it when people mention Veronica Taylor, its always about her Ash, yet you never hear her May being brought up?

It's not like Veronica Taylor's ever mentioned outside this thread (and the thread in the Clubs board), but again it's the relevance factor. Ash is still here, May isn't. Veronica Taylor's May was my favourite performance in the 4Kids dub - but even if Veronica Taylor was still around, she wouldn't be voicing May anymore. So there's not really anything new to say on the matter.

 

[Cybersai]

There are also a lot of people out there who didn't even know Veronica Taylor voiced May. Which I find strange since everyone knows she did Delia, and at points they would sound similar.

Or it could be because people thought when we're talking about the classic voices we're only going to the end of Johto, even though they also did Hoenn.

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

I never really had many issues with the new VAs--beyond the Mastermind special--and got used to them as early as mid-Battle Frontier. By DP, none of the voices bothered me one bit, and at DP36 ("A Secret Sphere of Influence!") I remember how shocked I was at hearing Ash's voice. I even though maybe he got another replacement because he didn't sound too deep, but it seems there was still room for improvement there.

I stopped thinking about the difference years ago and I think the VAs are doing well enough with their repsective roles.

 

[Faye Scarlet]

I prefer Sarah over Veronica any day. Sarah sounds closer to Rica Matsumoto than Veronica did. At least in DP. D| I finally managed to get Japanese DP, so I'm still starting on comparisons.

Team Rocket sounds nearly exactly like their 4Kids counterparts though. D: I like their voices better than the JP Team Rocket, anyway. OTL Meowth should stop talking in Japan!

Piplup is LESS annoying than Pochama. D8; God, how will I be able to withstand that annoying "POCHAPOCHA!!". Piplup sounds much cuter and better to listen to. Wait, off topic.

So anyway...I prefer the DP voice actors over the 4Kids actors. D8 I liked Sarah's version of Ash since, like, forever man. Definitely a better job imo.

 

[Kip]

I couldn't stand most of the voices in Battle Frontier. But over DP, they started improving. Part of it might have to do with my getting used to them, but I think they've gotten better as well. Sarah Natochenny, in particular in my opinion, is doing a much better job as Ash. It's kind of strange- I've gotten so used to old and new voices that I'm able to watch Kanto episodes, turn right around and watch DP episodes, and not be bothered at all by voice changes.

 

[Cybersai]

Funnily enough TR sound the same in BF as they do now. In BF they didn't do too much of that rhyming garbage which ruined them in DP. I do notice that Brock did sound off in early BF, which is strange but he gets better really quickly.

Other than that Max's voice was horrible. I know a lot of people don't care since by that point he was such a minor character even the writers stopped caring about him, but its amazing how the change of a voice can totally make you dislike a character. Thank god Max didn't sound like that all throughout Hoenn.

 

[Egghatch]

Yes, the current VA's are definitely much better than they were in DP and Battle Frontier. However, I'll always prefer the original VA's.

 

[Caseydia]

I like BW's voices except for Ash's. His voice still sounds like he got punched in the throat.

 

[Dustox]

I've always wondered if Kayie Rogers continued playing Ash Ketchum, if her version would be moretrue to Veronica Taylor's than Sarah Natochenny's.

Especially when Kayzie played Squirtle in Teah Go-Getters Out Of The Gate. With some aadjustments, it could of been great, IMO.

 

[Moe]

Dunno if anyone else notices it that much, but I think the overall sound quality differences matter a lot more than the voice acting. The movies and the episodes since going HD all have a distinctly different sound quality that makes the voices very different, even when 4kids were dubbing it, when it came to the movies (well the later ones) the better audio quality made them sound very different from their voices in the regular episodes, so much so that they seemed like different people.

A similar, but not as noticeable, difference between the non-HD and HD episodes of DP also makes the voice acting sound a lot nicer to hear, while making the voices sound slightly different again.

Professor Oak is the only character I still think never sounded right after the change. Max/Brock and Team Rocket all sounded fine to me shortly after getting over the shock of being different, May took a bit more time (and still sounded a bit too old by the end) and Ash slowly refined over time.

 

[Cybersai]

Professor Oak is the only character I still think never sounded right after the change.

I agree. I mean the new Prof. Oak "sounds" somewhat like the old one, but just the way he talks made it never sound just quite right. I also loved Oak's original voice.

Max/Brock and Team Rocket all sounded fine to me shortly after getting over the shock of being different, May took a bit more time (and still sounded a bit too old by the end) and Ash slowly refined over time.

For Max I disagree, his PUSA voice was horrible. They just made him sound like a one-dimensional nerd unlike his 4kids voice which made him sound like a regular kid. I know it didn't matter as Max was barely around for long once PUSA started dubbing, but his new voice was awful.

As for May, I always thought she sounded the most similar to her old voice, along with Brock and Jessie, than any of the others. I even thought May's voice surpassed Veronica Taylor's version in some aspects.

 

[Yankees4life]

I like BW's voices except for Ash's. His voice still sounds like he got punched in the throat.

This. His voice sounds like he's dying sometimes as well

 

[gottocatchemallpokemonwan]

I think the voice actors have gotten a LOT better then in battle frointer. They dont sound like 4Kids but they can get the character's prortayed well.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

I like BW's voices except for Ash's. His voice still sounds like he got punched in the throat.

Same here. I like all the voices in B/W, except for Ash's. His new voice will never sound right to me. :-(

I mean, the voice itself isn't exactly bad. What bothers me, is simply the fact that it's different.

This. His voice sounds like he's dying sometimes as well

That's true. Especially in seasons 9 through 12, I couldn't stand Sarah's Ash. In my opinion, her acting and portrayal of Ash during D/P was terrible (except for Sinnoh League Victors when Sarah started showing signs of improvement). However, now, I can tell that her acting has really improved. And with the B/W series, I can finally tolerate Sarah's Ash voice.

In conclusion, Sarah's definitely not as bad as she was back in Battle Frontier and D/P. So, I do think she has gotten better (which has allowed me to enjoy watching the B/W episodes). But no matter what, I'll always see Veronica Taylor as Ash Ketchum. No one can bring Ash to life the same way that Veronica can, and this still holds true today. =)

I've always wondered if Kayie Rogers continued playing Ash Ketchum, if her version would be more true to Veronica Taylor's than Sarah Natochenny's.

Especially when Kayzie played Squirtle in Teah Go-Getters Out Of The Gate. With some aadjustments, it could of been great, IMO.

I actually think that Kayzie would have improved, and she would have pulled off a fantastic Ash voice. ^^

Because, there's a random D/P episode where Kayzie voiced a random kid. And he sounded A LOT like Veronica's Ash. I'm not kidding! It was amazing! O_O