Some of my opinions on voice acting
The other night, Saturday, actually, while at my sensei's retirement dinner, I had a conversation with some other alumni about English dubs. When Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles came up, the topic focused on the dub of specifically that show. We agreed that the show's dub had its ups (Syaoran's English actor) and downs (some shoddy subtitles in certain episodes), but disagreed over the effectiveness of Fai's English voice actor. Some of the ladies expressed displeasure of Vic Mignogna's performance and of his religious beliefs, especially any effects they felt these might have on his acting.
Here's my opinion as explained to them.
I like Vic, he's a great voice actor and a nice guy in person. I know that he's religious and I'm not, and that he has opinions that I don't completely agree with. But I like Vic the actor, not Vic the philosopher or philanthropist, and I will continue to like him as long as his personal beliefs don't drastically alter his performances.
Fai came into question as one of the 'downs' of the Tsubasa dub. Some of the girls suggested that Vic tried to play Fai straight when it was pretty clear that he, well, wasn't straight. It's no fangirl goggle delusion that CLAMP writes many of their characters -both male and female- with sexualites that either obviously swing both ways (or just one, but not the hetero one) or are left intentionally vague and open to the interpretation of the reader. Fai is certainly one of the former, and maybe also of the latter as well; he tries to hide his true emotions, and with them, most of his true sexuality. I found it hard at times to tell apart what was him acting from what he actually felt. However, I tend to lean to the gay side when it comes to Fai.
Before I go farther, I would like to mention -as I did to them- that Vic wasn't the actor originally chosen to pay Fai; Chris Patton was. Patton recorded quite a bit of the first season as Fai before he ran into difficulty with his agoraphobia and his long drive to record in Dallas from Houston. Unable to record more until he got his personal issues taken care of, he had to be replaced.
Do I think that Patton could have played Fai better? Yes, I do. I think he was an excellent choice and could have added many more levels to the character. I'm certain he wouldn't have missed the gay part, either. That is not to say that I think Vic took anything from character, at least intentionally, or tried to play Fai more heterosexually.
It is my opinion that good actors add elements to the pre-existing aspects of a character. Okay actors don't add anything new, but play the character as is. Bad actors somehow manage to take away or ignore what was written into the character by its creator. We also must remember that actors don't assign themselves their parts, but are chosen by directors. With this in mind, I think that Vic was a fair second choice for Fai. He certainly added something to Fai: his voice, his nicknames, his relationship with Chi. I don't think that Vic ignored Fai's loose wrists or dependence on Kurogane intentionally or as a result of an inability to act well; I think Vic just didn't notice them.
Vic Mignogna, or anybody else on the show for that matter, is not a CLAMP afcionado. He couldn't be expected to know that CLAMP writes their characters certain ways, including ways often considered counter-cultural. Also, Vic is a straight male, so he played Fai as a straight man. I guess you could say that he added that possible aspect to Fai's character, too. In short, I don't think that Vic played him poorly, he just played him as seen through a straight man's eyes.
I can't be mad at or disappointed in Vic when part of acting is the actors' interpretation of the characters they're playing. I can't accuse Vic of changing Fai, either. The fans still know that in all probability, Fai is meant to be seen as gay. And even Vic Mignogna couldn't straighten out Fai Flourite.
Here's my opinion as explained to them.
I like Vic, he's a great voice actor and a nice guy in person. I know that he's religious and I'm not, and that he has opinions that I don't completely agree with. But I like Vic the actor, not Vic the philosopher or philanthropist, and I will continue to like him as long as his personal beliefs don't drastically alter his performances.
Fai came into question as one of the 'downs' of the Tsubasa dub. Some of the girls suggested that Vic tried to play Fai straight when it was pretty clear that he, well, wasn't straight. It's no fangirl goggle delusion that CLAMP writes many of their characters -both male and female- with sexualites that either obviously swing both ways (or just one, but not the hetero one) or are left intentionally vague and open to the interpretation of the reader. Fai is certainly one of the former, and maybe also of the latter as well; he tries to hide his true emotions, and with them, most of his true sexuality. I found it hard at times to tell apart what was him acting from what he actually felt. However, I tend to lean to the gay side when it comes to Fai.
Before I go farther, I would like to mention -as I did to them- that Vic wasn't the actor originally chosen to pay Fai; Chris Patton was. Patton recorded quite a bit of the first season as Fai before he ran into difficulty with his agoraphobia and his long drive to record in Dallas from Houston. Unable to record more until he got his personal issues taken care of, he had to be replaced.
Do I think that Patton could have played Fai better? Yes, I do. I think he was an excellent choice and could have added many more levels to the character. I'm certain he wouldn't have missed the gay part, either. That is not to say that I think Vic took anything from character, at least intentionally, or tried to play Fai more heterosexually.
It is my opinion that good actors add elements to the pre-existing aspects of a character. Okay actors don't add anything new, but play the character as is. Bad actors somehow manage to take away or ignore what was written into the character by its creator. We also must remember that actors don't assign themselves their parts, but are chosen by directors. With this in mind, I think that Vic was a fair second choice for Fai. He certainly added something to Fai: his voice, his nicknames, his relationship with Chi. I don't think that Vic ignored Fai's loose wrists or dependence on Kurogane intentionally or as a result of an inability to act well; I think Vic just didn't notice them.
Vic Mignogna, or anybody else on the show for that matter, is not a CLAMP afcionado. He couldn't be expected to know that CLAMP writes their characters certain ways, including ways often considered counter-cultural. Also, Vic is a straight male, so he played Fai as a straight man. I guess you could say that he added that possible aspect to Fai's character, too. In short, I don't think that Vic played him poorly, he just played him as seen through a straight man's eyes.
I can't be mad at or disappointed in Vic when part of acting is the actors' interpretation of the characters they're playing. I can't accuse Vic of changing Fai, either. The fans still know that in all probability, Fai is meant to be seen as gay. And even Vic Mignogna couldn't straighten out Fai Flourite.