I was interested in hearing this. Personally i watched it dubbed, i find the dub for this very well done and even better then the Japanese version.
"Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return- Alphonse Elric
Ditto. I thought the dub version was much better than the sub version, and that doesn't happend very often. Vic made a outstanding performance, absolutely perfect.
shareVic is awesome and as Edward he definitely gave a perfect performance i agree. I also loved Wendy Powell as Envy she was both hilarious and scary.
"Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return- Alphonse Elric
Subs. I've watched subbed anime since I was a child, so it's what I'm used to and any other language sounds weird and "wrong" to me.
(And before anyone calls me a pretentious weeaboo- there's inevitably one who does in most threads like this- I've always watched foreign films in their original language so my purism isn't exclusive to Japanese)
No I completly agree with you. Foreign movies should be watched with its original language. I'm from sweden so I'm used to subbed movies and do prefer subbed animes too, but with FMA as a exception. I've seen both versions and honestly prefer the english version. But I respect you opinion and do understan why some would prefer the original one :)
shareThere's nothing wrong with your opinion! Actually i would only get mad if you said "Sub rocked dubbed sucked" now THAT'S a pretentious weeaboo.
"Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return- Alphonse Elric
But what about the fact that it takes place in Germany? I just couldn't imagine Germans speaking Japanese.
sharefor me, nothing beats the original voices
share
I watched it subbed.
I saw part of the dub when it came out later, and although I liked it just as I liked the first FMA dubbed, I did think the sub was superior. Kimblee was amazing in the original, one of the best voice acting in anime I have ever heard, and it was all lost in the dub. The guy who did Scar in the dub also sounded so dry, did not really like him, but the dub was good overall.
It was a really great dub. I think we can all agree on that preference is preference though.
"Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return- Alphonse Elric
I watch this subbed for ease with Funimation, but I watch the original FMA dubbed. Sometimes, I'm not used to the way Japanese people talk, and in my opinion, Al and Ed sound too young in the Japanese versions. However, the voices in both the dubbed and subbed versions are great! But Roy Mustang's voice in Brotherhood in English grates my ears because Travis Willingham's voice got all growly, like he was gargling marbles.
"MALLL NOOO, JESUS CHRIST!" - Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception
I agree with lots of others here, I've watched a few amines and this was probably the first one I actually thought was better that the original Japanese. I started watching the dub version for like 5 minutes just for the sake of hearing it thinking that I was going to hate it just like all the other dubbed shows. However, I ended up really enjoying it, thought it was fantastic, some great voices (it seemed that the voice actors really enjoyed doing this and got into the story). My favourite voice was for King Bradley, he had that very smooth but menacing voice, love it!!!
shareI love Bradley's dub voice! I think everyone was great personally. One of the most underrated performances is probably Wendy Powell as Envy in my opinion. I don't know why but i love the way she plays him, a really sarcastic monotone voice and then it gets really raspy.
"Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return- Alphonse Elric
I agree OP. I could not imagine re-watching FMA in Japanese.
That "I love dogs" scene made me love Roy's character even more (even though it's from the other FMA) and Armstrong was just hilarious
I watched 99% with subs. I watched a few dubbed, and I wasn't a fan at all. Mustang came across as a whiny guy, when he went into a tirade about justice and honour and ambition, which is more epic and forgivable in Japanese.
I also didn't really like their voices, and I swear Al speaks more, and I prefer him quiet and contemplative :P
I watched it subbed, as I usually do with anime and foreign films, but the dub sounded very well done from what I saw of it. Either way, it's just good that people can enjoy this great series in either language.
sharewell said!
"Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return- Alphonse Elric
I'm going to sound way pretentious in this post, but it's just my opinion so relax! :P
I've never really ever enjoyed a dubbed show. Too often have I heard over dramatised or melo-dramatic voices, to which I'd assume is due to Americans thinking of "cartoony" or "loony tunes" in that every character must sound unrealistic and completely *beep* irritating.
I can't exactly judge the dub for this show since I have not seen it, reading the comments it seems like it isn't bad but I refuse to let the memory of one of my favourite animes be ruined by American accents :P
I don't exactly understand the concept of dubbing to a different language. Is it just for lazy people who can't be bothered reading subtitles?
I prefer to see something as the director intended. The director whom worked with the animators AND voice actors to create a piece of art, that is.. his vision. To replace the actors with someone else is no longer the directors vision. It has been changed, and quite oftenly ruined by a bunch of studio exec's in America just wanting some cash over foreign work by throwing in a few popular names and having them half-ass their way through..
I've seen it too many times in the past with some of my other favourite shows so it's completely put me off all dubbing.
I've even seen in some dubs, they completely re-wrote the dialog and threw in pop-culture references that didn't even sync up to the animation... it's really vomit inducing.
I think the only dub that I can recall that had a similar quality to that of the original was one of Miyazaki's works. And that's because I believe he closely controls the dub in order to maintain quality.
ANYWAY! I'm sure I've gotten a lot of people mad... this is just my opinion after watching hundreds of different shows and have in most cases had that "dual-language" option so I could see what both were like.
I think the only dub that I can recall that had a similar quality to that of the original was one of Miyazaki's works. And that's because I believe he closely controls the dub in order to maintain quality.
I've heard that in correlation with John Lassater of Pixar who was the person who pushed to get Miyazaki's Spirited Away to get dubbed in the first place, that John Lassater tried really hard to keep everything as close as possible to Miyazaki's vision and consulted him.
Although this would never be the case for say dubbing shows such as D. Gray Man, or Death Note, amongst the rubble of horrible dubs. Where the director probably won't even know at all that a dub is being made since it's the IP owners who are dealing with the licensing. I'm not excluding the possibility that good dubs exist. It's just that they are so far and few because the original vision falls apart the moment you rewrite the script to "appeal" to a different audience. Especially when it's actually set in Japan, with Japanese Culture, and your throwing in jokes aimed at the American Audience left right and center.
I just don't understand why dubbing exists in this modern day where we can easily add subtitles to things with the aid of a computer (which didn't exist back in early cinema when dubbing was actually the only option). I've just never heard a good reason.
It's as if Americans were to dub Der Untergang (Downfall) that movie famously used for Hitler Rant videos on YouTube, and replaced the German actors super realistic and perfect performance with a Red Neck sounding american accent. If the story is set in Japan, wouldn't it be far more realistic to WATCH IT IN JAPANESE? lol
But if people enjoy the dubbed version of a show then that's fine. It's not up to me to tell them what to like, I just think that if American studios are going to do a dub, at least try to stay as true to the original material as possible. Enough of rewriting dialog, changing story, or completely destroying characters by *beep* up the voices.
[/rant]
Youre all acting like this is a live action "foreign film".
Its a CARTOON. They work equally well. To compare dubbed animes to Downfall is rificulous. OF COURSE Hitler is going to sound normal in German.
When you start dubbing live action, thats a totally different story. And no one really does that Nyway. Id like to see what a native japanese speaker has to say about both versions.
If you guys were such purists, youd learn Japanese. Either way youre getting it in English, and as a native English speaker, Id rather actually hear words I can underatand than spend time away from visuals trying to read subtitles.
In Japan, animation is essentially their cinema. "Its a CARTOON"... okay right, now go and watch the original Japanese versions of Monster and Berserk, then try to repeat the phrase "Its a CARTOON" to me.
Just because the visual style is drawn and not photographed does not change the fact that the story or setting can often demand a certain cultural respect. Fullmetal Alchemist is probably not the best example as it is a fantasy set in a made-up country, and uses the animated form to its advantage for humor. However some animation such as Monster could be as easily photographed as a film or written in a book and nothing would have changed the story or impact. Monster is a very dark psychological thriller set after the collapse of the berlin-wall in Germany and follows the story of a Japanese doctor who is framed by a serial killer and is on the run from interpol to clear his name.
Another anime called Hyouka is specifically set in a Japanese school and constantly uses Japanese knowledge of history and culture to tell its story. To then give all the characters southern american red-neck accents would definitely *beep* distract me.
"If you guys were such purists, youd learn Japanese."
I am learning Japanese solely so I can enjoy anime more, that's how much I respect the form.
I do understand your reasoning for subtitles distracting the art, it's true I'd very much like to not have to read subtitles, again hence why I'm learning Japanese.
I understand that some anime dubs are of decent quality and sometimes a good or talented voice actor comes along and does a better job than the original, but it's rare. If the story is set in Japan I just can't stand watching a dub since often they change the script to apply western culture to overwrite the japanese culture so it "makes sense" for westerners. Essentially it's a dumbed down western version.
Call me a "purist" or whatever you like. Hate me or detest me I just want to watch things as they were intended. I'm just against other people altering or replacing things after the fact (don't get me started on fan-subs).. lol
I've watched 2 episodes dubbed and I really don't like Alphonse's voice. Maybe I'm just used to the other one :o
I am starting to believe that this Fuzzy fellow doesn't exist.
Regarding the "southern american red-neck accents," one might keep in mind that the Osaka-ben dialect of Japan, described as being "more melodic and harsher by speakers of the standard language," (Wikipedia reference), is often portrayed in English with either a Brooklyn or Southern/Texas accent, to emphasize its non-standard pronunciation.
Could that be what you're thinking of?
I prefer to see something as the director intended. The director whom worked with the animators AND voice actors to create a piece of art, that is.. his vision.You know Hayao Miyazaki right? Here is what he said about watching his movies subtitled:
"When you watch the subtitled version you are probably missing just as many things. There is a layer and a nuance you're not going to get."and about Lauren Bacall as the Witch of the Wastes in the dubbed version of Howls Moving Castle:
This is fine, says Miyazaki, because Bacall is "a fabulous woman" who brought something to the role that home-grown actors couldn't. "All the Japanese female voice actors have voices that are very coquettish and wanting male attention, which was not what we wanted at all.".