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Voice Actors


Nepenthe

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Is this topic about all the voices, or just Sonic? IF so, then I'll do the main ones I like.

Sonic:

I'll keep it simple, I prefer Roger. He may have hit a rough patch with that Alton Towers fiasco but he quickly grew into the role, I admit it was weird hearing Sonic with such a deep voice at first, but I got used to it, and love the way he portrayed Sonic.

That's not to say I don't like the other actors though, Griffith grew on me after a few years, especially after Secret Rings where he vastly improved, and his voice for the Werehog was amazing, he made Sonic sound gruff and pissed off. I always liked Griffith's Angry voice, always more than his normal speaking roles, he just sounds so pissed off and ready to kill someone. Tis a shame he got the axe as he reached his peak with both Sonic & Shadow in Black Knight, but alas at least he isn't bitter about it and actually does wish Roger good luck with the role.

Now while I don't hate Ryan, because he was awesome as Sonic in Sa2, but he's had far less games to act in, and most of those games he kind of overacted, In Sa1 I understand it was his first time voicing a character, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to criticize it. Anywho in Heroes, it was kind of his low point, but Ryan wasn't the only one who was the over the top in Heroes, everyone was. Now I don't hate Ryan, or even dislike him, but he has a lot less to judge under his belt, and most of those roles could've been better.

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I'm about to say something that people are going to hate, I thought Ryan was stiff in SA1 and SA2 I'm sorry but none of Sonic's lines sounded natural he's not bad it's just his acting wasn't as great as most people make it out to be.

For me I perfer Roger his voice just fit's Sonic well, Jason is my #2 guy simpley because I thought starting with SatSR his voice improved, Jaleel is good I honestly think that's what Classic Sonic would sound like and lastly Ryan his voice fit Sonic as a character but like I said his actual acting just didn't work.

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That's not to say I don't like the other actors though, Griffith grew on me after a few years, especially after Secret Rings where he vastly improved, and his voice for the Werehog was amazing, he made Sonic sound gruff and pissed off. I always liked Griffith's Angry voice, always more than his normal speaking roles, he just sounds so pissed off and ready to kill someone. Tis a shame he got the axe as he reached his peak with both Sonic & Shadow in Black Knight, but alas at least he isn't bitter about it and actually does wish Roger good luck with the role.

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I wonder if anyone realises that we can blame Espio for the Heroes voice acting? It's weird. :lol:

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I did, too. Griffith had a fantastic angry voice, and he was excellent as the Werehog. Griffith started off good in Sonic X (the first half to three-quarters of the season, he acted quite decently), but his voice-pitch wavered a ton in Next-Gen and Riders. His petformances in Unleashed and Black Knight were absolutely tremendous. A shame he's not VAing Sonic anymore, but that's okay. Whether they like it or not, Griffith CAN act.

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I like all of Sonic's VA's in their own special ways (Except Martin Burke's Sonic. That voice is just loathesome to me for some reason...) but I won't deny that Junichi pwns all of them. By far.

Starting with Ryan. His voice suited Sonic like a horse and carriage. I ALWAYS envisioned his SA2 voice to be Sonic's voice, even since I was a wee girl. I always thought Sonic would have a mildly high-pitched nasally sort of voice and Ryan's voice for him in SA2 was absolutely spot-on in terms of range and voice regarding my perception of Sonic's voice. However, that doesn't mean that I would prize it over other voices especially if those voices were better acted.

Next, Jason. He got off to a rocky start in early Sonic X and Shadow but he got drastically better over time and nowadays, I feel such a strong sense of familiarity with his Sonic voice that it is the voice I hear in my mind if I envision Sonic talking when I read fanfiction. What Jason gets down so incredibly well is Sonic's calmness. This is especially prevalent in the two storybook series games, such as when Sonic is enquiring to Shahra about how she and Erazor know each other in SatSR and when he comes back to the small Arthurian child after defeating the Earth Dragon in SatBK to assure the child that her/his kindred are safe.

And Roger. He has undeniable talent but I'm not sure that his Sonic voice was entirely my cup of tea but it did grow on me. I guess that Sonic's Flanderization in Colours contributed to this, because Sonic sounds mildly sarcastic in a lot of his lines in Colours. That and he sounds a tad too old. I know that Roger was directed to make Sonic sound older and yeah, I guess Sonic would likely get to sound like that older as he's still presumably a pubescent boy whose voice is probably still intended by SEGA to be developing but it still sounds slightly too old for a 15 year old. Still very well acted however :)

And now for Junichi. Junichi runs circles around all the others, as Nepenthe said. Language difference be damned, Junichi is a damn fine seiyuu. He not only can emote Sonic amazingly (More on this in a bit), he can also portray Sonic's state (Strengthened, weakened etc) incredibly as well. And his Enrish is distinct and extremely adorable. The voice is highly appropriate as well, very youthful and very energetic.

But what Junichi's voice and acting stand out from the others is how well he can act and his range. Contrast Sonic's silliness in most of his engrish with his bone-chilling anger and horrifying flatness of voice as "Dark Super Sonic" in episode 67 of Sonic X. Contrast his calm inquisitive-ness when he gains the Blue World Ring in SatSR with his wonderment when he gets the White World Ring - Two vaguely similar feelings yet acted with distinction. The way Junichi emotes not only in regards to emotion but also in regards to what Sonic is going through is absolutely amazing. Anyone else feel genuinely sorry for Sonic when 1. Eggman electrocutes him in the Unleashed intro whilst he's Super and he screams horribly? 2. He sounds emotionally drained to the point of sounding not only flat but also perceptibly distraught when he gives Cosmo's seed to Tails in episode 78 of Sonic X? 3. He sounds clearly upset whilst Shahra is dying in his arms in SatSR? 4. Again in SatSR when he sounds genuinely sick and cold-afflicted in the intro? All because of Junichi's great talent in VA'ing.

I could gush about Kanemaru-san's brilliant VA'ing all day *0*

Oh yes. I almost forgot Tomokazu Seki. I ADORED his Werehog voice. It sounds so whimsical! When he's fighting, he sounds like he's really enjoying himself, doing it with a flourish. What is highly intriguing is how vastly different the Werehog's voice is to normal form's voice, the difference between the Japanese VA's tone implies that Sonic's voice box changed between forms, an aspect that is largely lost in the English version.

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I'm going to be off topic a bit and say one thing I absolutely love about Tomokazu Seki:

GoooooooooKAIGER!

You may resume your VA discussion.

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I came here expecting a huge shitstorm...

Well my thoughts are firmly that Ryan Drummond is extremely overrated, I hate how some people act like him leaving ruined the series. Griffith is just average for me, and Smith is finally a voice actor that I could truly and honestly like. Jaleel White I just think of Urkel, I hate Martin Burke along with all VA work in that movie.

What I hate the most are VA fanboys though.

I.E. GRIFFITH!!!!!!!

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A bit of a reminder, this topic is open to discuss all characters' voice actors, not just Sonic's. I just figured that crude timeline would be appropriate and informative. =P

Oh well now that you think about. I can't nor ever will stand DAN FREAKING GREEN as knuckles. Oh my gosh they killed him. When I first heard it I was like....Yugioh in sonic?

But he VERY slowly grew on to me. I miss Scott Dreier. He was my childhood. He never made Knux sound so....annoying. Green hurt my feelings. Then again I really loved Knux's SA-SH swagger. He was chill but at times he could mean he could be a serious guy. Never annoying at all. I've not heard much of Travis Willingham, his current VA so I can't say anything about him. To be honest I don't even remember hearing anything from WIllingham as knux.

Edited by Eternal Awesomeness
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I loved Dan Green! He may not have been as universally liked as Pollock, but he can cheese it just as entertainingly. He'd be a perfect evil Knuckles (...Not heard enough of Mephiles, ironically). Plus his Vector was shockingly distinct from the voice that everybody knows and recognises. His Storm...not so much.

Edited by VEDJ-F
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Yay, im glad everyone is keeping to there selves and getting along.

I also agree that voice direction has a big place in why the actors sound a certain way.

I just feel like most sonic fans overlooked what happened to Ryan.

I mean think about it people...Your given the role of one of the most well known characters

on the planet, and its taken away from you for virtually no reason.

With Jason, they had a reason.

At the time they fired Drummond, they didnt. I mean they technically DID but the reasons were flat out ignorant.

I guess i just kind of wish people would of gathered as a fanbase to get Ryan back for what happened to him, We ALL KNOW that was messed up and I feel like we should of united for him coming back because it was what is the right thing to do.

But now, since roger is in the picture, its a little more weary on whats right and wrong.

But i still say Ryan was there first, and he got shit on by sega so he deserves SOMETHING.

Does nobody else feel this way?

@Garctocer and EVERYONE ELSE.

IM going to explain to everyone WHY voice acting, CAN INDEED ruin the series for many people.

Voice acting DID ruin it for me for a while. Here is why...

Okay lets start out with an extreme scenario

take idk say Winnie the pooh for example.

Can you imagine if winnie the pooh all of the sudden got a high pitched squeaky voice?

It would simply RUIN the character for most people, the voice Winnie has is a huge part of what makes him a character.

Some might argue that this is an EXTREME, but to some people, like me. It isnt.

Most people here at least agree that Ryan and Jason sound very different.

So OBVIOUSLY allot of people are gonna be pissed off about the change.

Now think about it, IF a voice can make or break a character, is it really that farfetched that a voice change can kill a series for someone? Especially when it is the MAIN characters voice that changed.

This is what happened to me, I COULDNT STAND jasons voice, it literally gave me a headache.

BAM, my childhood hero was RUINED. Therefor, the series IS RUINED.

Many people act like it is stupid that the series can be ruined for someone due to a simple voice, well IT CAN, and the above is the reason why.

Anyone who disagrees with what I said IMO simply doesnt understand character development.

Think of some of the most well known characters in the world, almost all of them have VERY unique voices. You take that voice away, you take the character away PERIOD.

So therefor, anytime i would play the games with Jasons voice I simply didnt feel like I was playing as Sonic.

Bang! series is ruined.

Hopefully this puts it into perspective for some people a little better.

Edited by TheDanimator
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They did rally together. It just got fucking annoying by the end.

And the example you cited is different on the basis that, well, Sonic isn't like that at all. Even before Ryan, you had Jaleel and Martin doing the voice, whom there are still fans of who want them back as well. Then there's the fact that Ryan Drummond really didn't spend long as Sonic from a chronological perspective. Sterling Holloway was Winnie the Pooh for a fucking long time, and Charles Martinet has been doing Mario for 16 years now. Ryan? He did four/five years, and his last role was one people tend to joke about. While there are characters who just have the one voice associated with them, Sonic isn't one of them, at least not when people can't agree that the voice is suited for him.

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T'tell you the truth, I didn't really like Dreier's voice as Knuckles so much. It sounded a little bit too laid back, too high, and too calm, although he was great in Heroes. The subtleties in McGaharn's fit him more, IMO, despite retaining the near-identical tone range. Green in Sonic X felt too deep, but it had the gruff that I felt was needed. Yet, his voice in the games fit him better. He had the gruff, but it didn't sound too tense all the time. The higher pitch of Green's game version of Knuckles was good and fitting.

That said, I was really glad to see that older-Knuckles voice in Mephiles. IMO, Mephiles's voice acting had the best direction in SNG.

Edited by Attitude Adjustment
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@VEDJ

Your completely missing the point.

For one thing, It makes sense that they didnt get Jaleel because he was never the actor for the games. It also makes sense that they didnt get martin because it was one movie, where the voices were not well received.

The point your missing is that a voice can make or break a character, period.

It doesn't matter how long the person came before them was voicing or whatever.

Some people just like different things.

Technically, Ryan Drummond was Sonics FIRST english In game voice.

ASIDE from ONE TIME things like Sonic cd.

He was the first person to voice Sonic in multiple games in english.

Edited by TheDanimator
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@VEDJ

Your completely missing the point.

For one thing, It makes sense that they didnt get Jaleel because he was never the actor for the games. It also makes sense that they didnt get martin because it was one movie, where the voices were not well received.

The point your missing is that a voice can make or break a character, period.

It doesn't matter how long the person came before them was voicing or whatever.

Some people just like different things.

Technically, Ryan Drummond was Sonics FIRST english In game voice.

ASIDE from ONE TIME things like Sonic cd.

He was the first person to voice Sonic in multiple games in english.

Edited by Scar
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Wait, we can talk about the other character's voices too? Cool with me ;)

I'm probably gonna get hated on and bashed for this, but I do NOT like Kate as Tails. I just, don't. Tails sounds even more like a girl now, not a boy.

Knuckles is ok, I guess. I'm more of a fan of Scott Drier though ^_^

Someone, please take away the mic from the person who is Amy. That's just horrid! I prefer Lisa Ortiz.

Oh, and you guys ALL forgot

for Sonic :D
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Oh, and you guys ALL forgot
for Sonic :D

I'm Sonic! *jumps around a bit ala "They Call Me Sonic"* Click on me for HELL!

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You are going to love this one, the grunts annoy me to no end. It is like he is trying WAY too hard to convey a grunt. It sounds like Sonic is really forcing himself to do simple tasks that in the past, he was silent about (see SA1).

Hold on.

Sonic grunted enough in Sonic Adventure and made other voice effects when doing things. He'd grunt when he picked up an item/Chao, he'd grunt if he threw an item/Chao, he'd grunt if he put down an item/Chao, he'd vocalise if he fell down after running into something and he'd also say "READY! GO!" whilst charging and doing a Light Speed Attack/Light Speed Dash. And all of these vocalizations sounded arguably identical/more forced to/than the grunts/vocalizations performed by other voice actors.

The point your missing is that a voice can make or break a character, period.

No it doesn't. Personality and actions make or break a character. Voice is unimportant in regards to 'making or breaking' a character. The only way in which voice will make or break a character is in the minds of fans who place something as unimportant as voice above the character's much more important attributes.

Edited by Verte
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I personally have experience in the VA business. I'm trying to become a VA myself, and I can tell you a chimp could dub anime. I've been taught how to do Anime dubs in my VA class, and almost everyone I went to class with HATED it with a passion because it requires no effort. That is why I feel Roger and Jason are fake, cardboard "actors". When Jason or Roger preform, I feel their acting and it comes off very cheap. They are just reading what was put on the page. Mind you,that is what they are paid to do but that is why I prefer Ryan because he made Sonic sound believable.

I'm sorry but, you make it seem like all anime voice actors don't care, don't give it their all, or are just a bunch of douches. Maybe at places like 4kids (even there though there's hard working peeps), but not all of them are like that, and from what I gather, companies like Funimation prefer their actors to have other forms of acting experience before working for them, atleast, that's what I've heard, and during commentaries and such certain VAs tend to mention how they really hurt themselves voice-wise all for the sake of some of their roles where stuff like constant screaming is involved.

Also as a defense of Animu VA's in general, of course their not gonna really "connect" to the role they're currently playing if it may be just one of tens of roles that they have to do. In the end most of them don't even remember most of the lines they said because it's so much they have to do in a limited time frame. Ryan mostly just had Sonic and only Sonic, of course he gave that role his all and "connected" with the character.

Don't mind me though, unlike you I didn't take any voice acting classes or whatever, and voicing stuff isn't even an aspiration of mine, just a hobby, so it's your word against mine. Your experience against what I hear from outside sources. but that paragraph just irked me for the past day now. ._.

Edited by Inferno
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I would just like to bring up that the best voice actor for Sonic was featured in only one underrated classic:

Edited by Tobbii
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@ Scar

NO, i prefer drummond because I like his voice the best.

I also grew up with Jaleel White, but as i said he never voiced in the games.

Were talking about the games here.

You are starting to do something that i am greatly apposed to, you are starting to state things as if they are fact, when they are not.

"Sonic adventure had woeful acting"

Thats a matter of opinion.

I personally thought the acting was REALLY good in that game especially considering the way it was dubbed and the script and lip syncing issues.

Btw, ive stated this already, but I LOVE roger craig smiths sonic also.

This is totally wrong

"Also the voice doesn't affect the series at all, because ALL of the cutscenes are skippable. If it bugs you SO much, then just don't watch the cutscenes."

I personally DO NOT play the game just for the gameplay, ever since SA the Sonic games have been LARGELY about characte development and story telling also, and thats part of what made them so great to me. It simply is not as fun of an experience to just play the levels, to me, many times that feels like your playing for to accomplish no goal.

Also, Ill use Sonic unleashed as an example because it is the worst offender of this...

SONIC WOULD NOT SHUT UP DURING GAMEPLAY. It totally killed it for me.

Jason had lines almost every few seconds of gameplay.

Even games where he grunts allot would kill it for me.

Some people are just far more sensetive to sound.

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No its not like that at all! I'm saying that dubbing is much MUCH easier than having to actually make up the emotions for the character.

In quite a few classes, we were shown an anime that had been dubbed in the past but didn't have any audio. It was our job to convey the emotion of the character and say the dialogue to match the lips. That is easy stuff compared to reading a script and having to be directed. Roger and co are mostly anime dubbers and lack the fun and bounce that most non-dubbing VA's have. I love creating the voice for a character, not use a stock voice.

Oh ok then cool. :P In that case, Anime dubbing is pretty easy when you look at it that way.

Carry on. :v

Edited by Inferno
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I would just like to bring up that the best voice actor for Sonic was featured in only one underrated classic:

http://youtu.be/epovJai7JSY?t=8s

I already mentioned that one, but it's still strange, isn't it?

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I already mentioned that one, but it's still strange, isn't it?

LOL, I ALMOST like the Sonic Schoolhouse voice better than griffith.

Nice cat btw.

Edited by TheDanimator
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I already mentioned that one, but it's still strange, isn't it?

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

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