The dub
I've been playing Odin Sphere lately, which features a lot of VAs from KKM, as an excert from my LJ states:
By the way, KKM fans (who have bothered to watch the dub), the game features numerous VAs you should be able to recognise! Most notable to my ears were Doug Erholtz (Conrart, also Leon in KHII) as Mevlin and merchants; and Michelle Ruff (Anissina, tons of other anime) as Velvet.
Others that popped up were Yuri Lowenthal (Yuri) as Cornelius; Grant George (Murata) as Krois and street mechants (actually I was sus about this one merchant who sounded just like Murata, as I had to look it up); Mia Bradly/ Karen Strassman (Giesela, Celi, Lasagna, Beatrice) as Gwendolyn; and Jennifer Sekiguchi/Stephanie Sheh (Lyla) as Mercedes.
This lead me to wonder if anyone in the fandom actually watched the dub. Since I arrived, not once have I seen it mentioned, not even to bash it. I've watched and enjoyed both Japanese and English tracks, has anyone else?
If so, this thread is to discuss the good and the bad of the dub; which voices fit well, which didn't, the script, and actors you think may have been more suited.
I'm very fond of Yuri Lowenthal, while he couldn't put across the Maou to effect, his portrayal of Yuri was just wonderful. He provided the character with such gentle warmth and naivety, he was believable. As for the bad, it was Murata that did it for me. While the actor could act, I was put off by the fakeness of his voice. It sounded too put on. That, oddly, wasn't the case with Conrad, who, while the tone wasn't natural, was consistent and always in dashing mode. The exact same tone was used for Leon - perhaps the actor's just stuck up? :P Most of the women sounded too alike to me, even when they had different actors.
Someone I angst over is Mona Marshall as Wolfram. She has a good voice for it and does bratty!Wolfram and pissed-the-eff-off!Wolfram so, so well, but she always portrays him as uppity, even when being sincere and woeful, she can't shake it. So, I like her a lot, but feel she has the capacity to do better. Unfortunately, she may never have that opportunity. THANK YOU GENEON ASSHATS!
I think most of the casting was appropriate and done with thought. Jozak retains his deep nasal voice (I don't know how else to describe it!) and Shori retains his deep voice. It would seem someone bothered to listen to the Japanese track!
The script was generally consistent with the orginal and genuinely entertaining. My only gripe was the beginning with all the urine jokes. I don't think that was a good fill in for the name pun. Well, it was, but in such poor taste and didn't amuse me.