Japanese Sonic or American Sonic?

[ASonicFanThatLeft]

Hey guys. I'm new and I thought I would start off my first topic. I was wondering if you guys prefer the Japanese voice actor or the English voice actors? I for one, really like the Japanese voice actors.

[Chaos Incarnate]

I think there's already a topic on this. In any case, American actors, for the sole reason that I can understand what the hell they're saying.

[Uraraka]

I love the Japanese voice actors best. Amy is so cute, and I like how Knuckles always sounds so excited. I think Sonic's voice is more suitable too. Tails sounds cute!

[Motobug]

While I don't mind RCS, hearing Japanese Sonic's Engrish always makes me smile.

 

As for other characters, I don't really care since I never re-watch cutscenes in Generations.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Speedster

[Endy]

I'm not really familiar with any of the Japanese voice actors, so I can't make a proper judgement. All I can say is that Sonic's Japanese voice annoys me alot. Sounds so kiddish and sounds exactly like any Japanese voice of any shoenn hero ever.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Enderwoman

[Vertekins]

Junichi blows every English language Sonic VA clean out of the water as he has both an appropriate tone for the character and great acting ability, something that I don't think any English VA has in combination.

 

That said, I've never really been against any English Sonic character voice except for Amy's as of Free Riders and White's Sonic. Both are extremely grating voices that epitomize what I find wrong about those iterations of Amy and Sonic.

[Dr. Mechano]

Both casts do a fine job. Eggman in particular has absolutely fantastic voice acting, regardless of language.

 

Mike Pollock needs no introduction, but Chikao Otsuka does quite the amazing job as well. Fittingly, Otsuka voiced Dick Dastardly in the Japanese dub of Wacky Races (and its spinoffs), so he's no stranger to hammy, over-the-top villains. In both the games and Sonic X, his infectious laugh and distinct voice really characterize Eggman well.

 

Pollock's acting talent is fantastic too, and he alone is the reason I whethered through the English dub of Sonic X (having already viewed the Japanese series). As cut-down and edited as it was in comparison to the original Japanese, his hilarious acting as Eggman made the whole experience enjoyable enough to sit through. The games typically give him much better lines, so it's nice to see him there too.

 

Of course, I think no voice-acting post would be complete without a mention to Eggman's former English VA, Deem Bristow. He brought to Eggman a very human voice in my opinion. Oh, he could be loud and over-the-top, but at his most reserved, Bristow really brought the character to life in a subtler, softer way. That scene on the ARK when Eggman reminisces about his childhood just felt so real, and so heartfelt, and Bristow's masterful acting really carried that sentiment perfectly. While Bristow is no longer with us, his acting - both as Eggman and as other characters - was amazing.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Doc Eggman

[sonfan1984]

I like both but I always play the games in English.

[Goldenlink64]

I like both to be honest, which is why I tend to alternate between both languages each time I replay the Adventures. Really makes me wish Heroes and on had the option to do so too, really glad they finally put it back in Unleashed.

 

Junichi Kanemaru in particular does a great Sonic voice I can recognize instantly compared to a lot of other Japanese voices I've heard that often just come off as generic. When it comes to English, I think Ryan and Jason do a great job in the English games. I haven't got yet to playing Colors or Generations yet, so I can't judge Roger yet. Not a big fan of what I've heard so far though.

 

Also Doc Eggman above pretty much nailed my thoughts on Eggman's voices as well, both do great jobs at portraying the guy. Deem Bristow will always be my favorite Eggman voice though.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Goldenlink64

[TwoTailedFox]

English, because I don't have to read subtitles while trying to watch the scene. It's kinda hard to read the subtitle, and watch at the same time because by the time you've read it, whatever was going on at the time is already over.

[MegasonicZX]

While I can't really say since i've never heard both casts except for sonic in both languages I will just say I like both the actors for sonic since his JP voice is definitely better than most actors in the field since unlike most others I don't think I have heard that voice in any other anime or anything that I have watched (plus he gives off a very good feel) but I am a little bit more partial to english sonic (mostly jason griffith) because he really seems more comfortable to the role and so far he has been the only VA I have ever heard that has pulled off a VA so well it just feels natural and seems like he really is the character (not counting eggman because the above post pretty much explained it already).

[Space☆Tomoki]

Japanese. Not only do I find most of the Japanese VAs more fitting than their English counterparts (with the exception of Mike Pollock, who has to be the only Sonic character VA that matches- if not surpasses- his JP counterpart in quality voice acting in my book), but they're also the most consistent Sonic voice cast out there, considering the English VAs tend to get swapped out every 5 years or so. I'm just more used the JP VAs than any of the English ones. Jun'ichi Kanemaru also puts more passion into Sonic's voice than any other Sonic VA I've heard so far; I like him a lot more than Jaleel, Martin, Ryan, Jason and Roger. His Engrish lines are also hilarious.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Tomoki

[famicommander]

It depends on the game/show. I understand some Japanese (took four years of the language in school) and will watch Sonic X in Japanese simply because the American dub is awful. I don't go out of my way to play the games with Japanese voice acting unless the American acting is cringeworthy, such as in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Colors and Generations were fine in English so I never tried the Japanese.

[-Mark-]

I'm not really familiar with any of the Japanese voice actors, so I can't make a proper judgement. All I can say is that Sonic's Japanese voice annoys me alot. Sounds so kiddish and sounds exactly like any Japanese voice of any shoenn hero ever.

Which anime have you been watching? Sonic sounds nothing like your typical 'shonen action kid'. 

 

Not that they have a particular voice trope in Japanese like they do in English, anyway. 

[Your Vest Friend]

I have actually never heard the Japanese voice cast, or at least never paid attention enough to remember what they sound like.

Edited June 20, 2013 by VEDJ-F

[Blue Blood]

I prefer the English cast, only because their voices sound more 'normal' to me and I can understand what they're saying. I do like the sound of the French dub in Generations though.

[Kuzu]

I don't think its really that fair to compare the two regions ; JPN have had the same VA's since 1998, While America struggles to keep a cast for more than five years. 

 

That said, in terms of actual voice acting...I have to hear more of Junichi's Sonic because my primary exposure to him was Sonic X, and I'm not gonna lie he was kinda boring there. Not saying Griffith was any better but I don't see any particular quality difference between the two performances. 

 

Tails is perfect in Japanese. Sounds like a young child, but not too monotone or girly. A performance that wasn't touched by english till recently; You are a godsend Kate Higgins.

 

Knuckles tends to fluctuate really; there are times when he's superior in Japanese, and times when I think his voice should be deeper, but not growly.

 

 

Everyone else is passable. I don't really have a preference but I'd probably default to English because I'm curious how the english VA's will improve.

[Dizcrybe]

I personally prefer dubs in general, so I main the US cast, but I think Jun-ichi's Sonic is very fitting for the character.

 

Rouge's JP voice, on the other hand, sounded like a mouse* when I first heard it. Not a good first impression.

 

* Not Minnie Mouse like Amy in Free Riders. Just a mouse, as in it was too squeaky.

[iDEATH]

I guess I'm english by default. Never heard any of the JP cast. Anyone wanna post some vids or something?

[Blue Blood]

I guess I'm english by default. Never heard any of the JP cast. Anyone wanna post some vids or something?

Here's one with the bulk of the cast:

 

[iDEATH]

Here's one with the bulk of the cast:

 

 

Based on that clip alone i'd have to say I still prefer the current English cast, voices just seem to fit the characters a little better. classic Tails' was cute though.

 

Has the Japanese cast remained constant throughout the series or have they swapped actors like the english cast has done so many times.

[Mauro Fonseca]

It's the same cast from 1998, as far as I can recall, who also did Sonic X.

[Space☆Tomoki]

Based on that clip alone i'd have to say I still prefer the current English cast, voices just seem to fit the characters a little better. classic Tails' was cute though.

 

Has the Japanese cast remained constant throughout the series or have they swapped actors like the english cast has done so many times.

For the most part, the cast has remained the same since 1998 starting with Sonic Adventure. Only Tails' VA has been swapped out a few times due to him being voiced by a real kid back in the day just like in English, but by Sonic X and Heroes they finally settled on having a woman voice the character. IIRC, Amy had a different JP voice exclusively in Sonic Shuffle due to the normal VA being on maternity leave, but she came back for SA2 onwards. Sonic X also used the same voice cast from the games in Japanese. So yeah, the JP cast has a lot more consistency than the English casts ever had.

Edited June 21, 2013 by Tomoki

[JackSpicer]

I love the jp cast because they never had so many cast changes like the na one.

 

And I hate sonic's new voice, using Ezio's voice actor was a bad choice.

 

At least we still have Mike Polloc.

Edited June 21, 2013 by JackSpicer

[Ryusuke]

I dig both, but I appreciate that the Japanese cast stays consistent....like...no recasts....which how the English cast should be. =_=

Edited June 21, 2013 by Ryusuke