"Glass Half Full" corner - What do you like about the dub?

[CynthiaLover]

Well, for starters, I like being able to understand what the characters are saying. Reading subtitles tends to make me a bit sick to my stomach, especially when it's "translating" another language (I have read subtitles when watching something in English too, both of which make me dizzy). Plus I feel that the dub does a better job at lip-sync, makes it seem more natural, and it makes it much easier to remember the dub names VS Japanese names. And it's easier to pick up on different tones of voice, such as sarcasm. Plus I'm a fan of puns, no matter how bad, and I love the "breaking the forth wall" gag, as it seems to translate better in English. As for music, it depends on the score, but overall I'm quite pleased with dub music, usually only minor gripes here and there, like Hawlucha's theme being more pronounced in the Japanese version. Plus some of the opening songs like those during AG and DP always had such a good rhythm, beat, and lyrics that I couldn't help but like. While I do like it when a dub is more faithful to some plot details, overall the dub does a very good job at keeping on-par when it comes to important plot points. So, overall, I'm quite pleased with the dub. There are times it can vary, but generally speaking it does a good job.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

In the dub of the second movie, I've said before in another thread that I prefer its soundtrack over the original one. One track in particular is their version of Lugia's Song. I felt it fit the gigantic imagery (and it's still gigantic imagery despite the awkward 16:9 to 4:3 cropping) better. Plus, I felt it was a nice touch that it started as an ocarina solo, and then ended as an ocarina solo on its last "verse."

 

[Alola]

I actually really enjoyed the dub before the infamous change prior to Battle Frontier. The VAs indeed put effort and heart into their characters, thus making their performances that much more genuine and memorable. I thoroughly enjoyed Veronica Taylor as May and Rachael Lillis as Misty.

Also, the lack of original OST from the Japanese version wasn't as blatant then as it is now.

 

[The Power of Pika]

I'm going to be the weirdo who admits I do like that the show feels a little more like an inbetween of anime and western due to the dubbing. It's kept my interest in the show to an extent ever since my tastes have shifted back to watching western cartoons over anime. I don't have as much interest in Pokemon as I use too but the westernisation that helps it compete with the hoard of western kids cartoons airing where I live helps it stay on the radar to an extent.

I do like the dub music. I also like the theme tunes especially season 11 and onwards to the end of BW.

 

[Alola]

They also gave us the Johto Journeys, I Wanna Be A Hero and Battle Frontier Openings (some of the best in my opinion). Oh, and the movie version of We Will Be Heroes.

 

[Perpetual_Phoenix]

I've enjoyed all the dub openings for the DP series except the first one.

Pretty damn good if you ask me.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I've enjoyed all the dub openings for the DP series except the first one.

Pretty damn good if you ask me.

Oh, that first DP opening is easily my pick for the worst Pokemon music ever made.

I like how the dub removed Misty's tendency to introduce herself as "the world's most beautiful girl." Normally, I don't like character changes, but this is one I'll let slide, being as it didn't interfere with her personality (which is where I draw the line when it comes to handling characters). The same I can say about the dub removing Brock's tendency to ask if girls are legal age.

 

[ArvAl]

Specially "prior to BW"

-I miss the times where ryhmes/pun titles were established on each episode. It's that one factor which made Pokemon was freaking popular both then and now.
-Memorable openings. One that never gets too old.

Each series:

-They exactly do the homework when it comes to Moves/Abilities. Fixing every errors from Japanese so the fans won't get confused.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I'm going a bit meta again, but whenever Norman Grossfeld and Michael Haigney weren't talking about the actual dubbing process in the first and third movie commentaries (they never recorded one for the second movie) or misremembering some details of the original Japanese films , the commentary was hilarious to listen to. To list some of my favorite moments:

First movie:
Any time Haigney scoffs at Grossfeld whenever he tried to pass a blooper off as intentionally included to test the audience's knowledge.

Haigney: "This is the part that was inspired by a bath I took." (said during the very first scene of the movie)

Haigney: "We're still settling a lawsuit over that line." (I forget which line this was said about, but it was still a funny comment)

Haigney admitting that Psyduck was his favorite Pokemon to voice, and therefore is his favorite Pokemon.

Third movie:
Haigney: "'Mom, you're safe' (Ash runs to his mom, having reached Molly's bedroom, stopping just short of her to answer "Of course it's me! Are you okay?" to her "Is it really you?" question) 'but I'm not gonna get within three feet of you.'" (Apparently Haigney and Grossfeld were just as overanalytical as fans can be; not to mention that, now that they mentioned it, it did look strange that Ash didn't hug his mom in relief that she's okay, which was what they thought he'd do when they first got to that part of the Japanese version).

Haigney mentioning that his own son was one of the many people who didn't like Team Rocket's fourth-wall break at the end of the second movie.

Fourth movie (Veronica Taylor, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, Maddie Blaustein, and Jim Malone got to join Haigney and Grossfeld for this one, and it's glorious)
Any time Haigney goes in-character as a Pokemon he voiced.

Eric Stuart having to do the James "crazy laugh" as punishment for coming into the commentary half an hour late.

Maddie Blaustein mentioning how control-freaky Meowth sounds in German (something I'd like to see for myself, honestly).

Maddie Blaustein praising Inuko Inuyama's performance as Nyarth, and then doing a short impression of Nyarth (on that note, how is it that an impression of Nyarth is more bearable than the actual Nyarth?!).

Veronica Taylor proposing a "Butterfly Effect"-kind of theory about the Pokedex when they see the scene where Ash tells Sammy what a Pokedex is, which then prompts a mention of a possible alternate timeline.

Just to name a few. I probably got some stuff wrong.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I like that the dub has made their own image songs. This is my favorite one of them.

 

[Almonds]

Re: "Glass Half Full" corner - What do you like about the dub?

Easy understanding. It's my language after all.

Iconic dub lines. For my language dub, Ash's "[NAME], you're mine!" (넌 내꺼야!) after he successfully catches a pokemon/wins a badge/wins something etc has been a popular phrase among the kids when I was a child during OS. It's the equivalent of "Getto Daze!" I think he still says that today, but since his voice actress has changed, it probably doesn't sound the same anymore. It was a really cool phrase back then

Dub image songs. Some of the movies have really impressive theme songs.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

One very big kudos I give to the dub is whenever they acknowledge an oddity that the original missed (i.e.: Ash's first words to Slowking in the second movie were "You can talk?"; Slowking's ability to speak is completely glossed over in the original film). And there may even have been those ultra-rare occasions where they fixed a plot hole the original created.

 

[MizuTaipu]

The dub sometimes fixes any mistakes the Japanese version makes. An example that comes to mind is when Satoshi defeated Lila/Anabel, the script accidently called Frontier Symbols as Badges and the dub corrected that.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

This one is one I'm ambivalent toward: Team Rocket's dub personalities. Thing is, I'm not super-fond of them, so I'm okay with how they are in any version. I suppose it helps that I grew up watching lots of shows where characters who are friends are constantly at odds with one another (Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers comes to mind).

 

[KojiroKing]

I did like the voice acting and voices prior to Battle Frontier, especially Veronica Taylor's Ash, Eric Stuart's Brock, Rachael Lillis' Jessie, and Maddie Blaustein's Meowth.

I did like the script writing/dialogue in the OS Anime dub, and actually I found many of the lines creative and the dialogue very memorable. "Flaming Moltres," "it's following Pikachu like a streaker," "she can violate my rights," and "It might finally stop all of Jessie's...err...complaining" being high points for me.

I also loved the (4Kids' only) AG Anime Movie dubs.

The only thing I've ever liked about the TPCi dub were the fairly faithful episode titles they had for the BW episodes, but they went right back to writing awful episode titles since XY, so yeah...

 

[Lord_Mewtwo]

4Kids: The voice acting, Veronica Taylor is the one, true, original English Ash, Everyone else had their real English voices too. The overall faithfulness and less dub music in Seasons 1-3 & Movies 4, 5 & AG 1-3 (These 3 had none at all)
TPCi: Not much other than a few random episodes & Movies AG 4 & all of the DP & BW movies having little to no dub music & the overall faithfulness to the original scripts in everything they've dubbed especially in BW.

 

[uncutpokemon]

Those few episodes in D/P and BW that actually kept 100% of the music intact, as well as the movies that do the same. And the dub of Origins. That's the only nice things I got.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

Those few episodes in D/P and BW that actually kept 100% of the music intact, as well as the movies that do the same. And the dub of Origins. That's the only nice things I got.

There's more to a dub's quality than how much music is kept, but I agree with you that it's nice that happened in those cases.

 

[uncutpokemon]

It can really make or break the quality of the episode, but yes having accurate scripts and good directing is also a good thing.

 

[Shadowlarvitar]

All the opening up until DP's first, then picking up from the second until BW's first swapped to the second after that it was horrible until XY 1, the second XY opening(THE ONE WE'RE STUCK WITH SINCE FOREVER) sucks horribly...... Arceus please, have mercy and change it come XYZ otherwise I'll lose it.

Sonic and Eggman's actors lending their voices to various characters I freaking loved it. It's what made Cilan(Has to be the most underrated character ever.....) so loveable to me.

And Team Rocket's original actors were fantastic! Not that their new ones aren't. They were the only ones beside May's and Brock's I wasn't sour at when they first changed.