Macross The Dub: Volume 1 Thoughts

[Otakuman1]

Howdy folks!

I picked up my copy at Best Buy yesterday.

Since I've been a Robotech Fan for years im so glad ADV Dubbed the original Macross with an all new engilsh dub.

Gotta say the dub is pretty darned good.

Vic Mignogna as Hikaru sounded good.

Brett Weaver as Roy is fun to hear.

Mari Iijima as Minmay sounded sweet.

Monica Rial as Misa sounded great.

Christine Auten as Claudia & the narrator is pretty nice.

Captain Global by John Swaysey has nailed down the character.

The Bridge Bunnies I have no problems with.
(Nancy Novotny-Vanessa, Kira Vincent Davis-Kim, Hilary Haag-Shammy)

The Zentradi Britai & Exedol
(John Gremillion & Andy McAvin)
Are superb.

The Extras has lotsa good info on the making of the dub commentary by ADR Director Matt Greenfeld & Translator Javier Lopez.

Plus a second dub commentary by Mari & Monica.

And a Interview with Mari as well.
(The extras are worth lookin into after watching vol.1)

Cant wait for volume 2.

See ya!

[Brent Long]

[ QUOTE ]
The Otakuman said:Vic Mignogna as Hikaru sounded good.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was worried about this one, but after watching the first episode I'm so glad Matt cast Vic in the role. He actually reminds me quite a bit of Tony Oliver's portrayal of Rick Hunter in Robotech.

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The Otakuman said:Brett Weaver as Roy is fun to hear.

[/ QUOTE ]

At first I thought that this was a bad casting choice after watching the first episode, but watching further episodes I got used to him and changed my mind. Brett does a great job of handling Roy in his serious scenes. Brett would defnitely do a good Zenigata if Houston ever got a crack at dubbing Lupin.

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The Otakuman said:Mari Iijima as Minmay sounded sweet.

[/ QUOTE ]

I really liked this one. Her accent adds so much to an already great performance.

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The Otakuman said:Monica Rial as Misa sounded great.

[/ QUOTE ]

This was by far the best performance out of the whole lot. This one really impressed me.

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The Otakuman said:Christine Auten as Claudia & the narrator is pretty nice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed. Her Claudia does sound slightly like Iona Morris' Claudia Grant in Robotech, but like Vic's Hikaru I'm sure it's just a coincedence.

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The Otakuman said:Captain Global by John Swaysey has nailed down the character.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Geoduck said that the best thing about this performance is that he sounds both foreign and not foreign at the same time. I agree with him.

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The Otakuman said:The Bridge Bunnies I have no problems with.
(Nancy Novotny-Vanessa, Kira Vincent Davis-Kim, Hilary Haag-Shammy)

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, they all had a great chemistry which will be more important later on.

[ QUOTE ]
The Otakuman said:The Zentradi Britai & Exedol
(John Gremillion & Andy McAvin)
Are superb.

[/ QUOTE ]

These were the ones I was most expecting to dislike as I always enjoyed Tony Clay and Ted Layman's chemistry in Robotech, but Gremillion and McAvin aced their performances.

[ QUOTE ]
The Otakuman said:The Extras has lotsa good info on the making of the dub commentary by ADR Director Matt Greenfeld & Translator Javier Lopez.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm just hoping we'll see more of these as the volumes go on. I'll be really disappointed if extras start to fizzle out.

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The Otakuman said:Cant wait for volume 2.

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Agreed which is odd for me considering my monstrous backlog consisting of titles I've never bought past the first volume.

[Starwind Amada]

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Brent Long said:Brett does a great job of handling Roy in his serious scenes. Brett would defnitely do a good Zenigata if Houston ever got a crack at dubbing Lupin.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, Brett can always take a trip to Ft. Worth for the movies. But then FUNi would need a reason to replace Phillip Wilburn.

[porkchopexpress]

I'm hearing alot of whining about how they pronounce "Macross" in the dub, lacrosse with an M and such. How is it pronounced otherwise?

[ic14]

Thats how ive always pronounced, come to think of it.

[Starwind Amada]

[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
I'm hearing alot of whining about how they pronounce "Macross" in the dub, lacrosse with an M and such. How is it pronounced otherwise?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, in Robotech, they say "Mack-ross."

[porkchopexpress]

[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:
[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
I'm hearing alot of whining about how they pronounce "Macross" in the dub, lacrosse with an M and such. How is it pronounced otherwise?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, in Robotech, they say "Mack-ross."

[/ QUOTE ]


So thats the big deal? "Muh-cross" instead of "Mack-ross"? Sheesh. Frickin people. /images/graemlins/relief.gif

[ic14]

[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
So thats the big deal? "Muh-cross" instead of "Mack-ross"? Sheesh. Frickin people. /images/graemlins/relief.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Anime fans, eh? /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Now i think of it, im always swapping between how i say "Macross"

I nomrally say Mac-cross, but soemtimes say it like lacrosse with an M, which is apparently a terrible sin...

[Legion]

Mack-ross is a fair bit closer to how it sounds in the Japanese dialog. On the other hand, I've heard people pronounce it "muh-cross" more than a few times, so... I dunno. I'll have to hear it for myself before forming an opinion.

[treatment]

[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:
[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
I'm hearing alot of whining about how they pronounce "Macross" in the dub, lacrosse with an M and such. How is it pronounced otherwise?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, in Robotech, they say "Mack-ross."

[/ QUOTE ]


So thats the big deal? "Muh-cross" instead of "Mack-ross"? Sheesh. Frickin people. /images/graemlins/relief.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

It's pretty simple, actually.

The term and correct original english pronounciation refers directly to the theme of the show.

Macross == Macro (english/greek) + SS == big/huge e.g. Macross-Cannon, Macross/Supervision Army ship-size, Zentraedi size, Zentraedi ship-size, etc, etc. It also pays homage to the original title: MegaRoad.

another hint: Micro(ns) == humans == small.

See, it all relates perfectly to the show. It actually makes sense.

Contrast it with:

ADV's McRoss/L(M)acrosse == stupid mispronounciation, does not make any sense, no significance, no relation and no tie-in to the show (both in pre/post production).

Somebody prolly just read that the BigWest-producer was a MacBeth-fan from Egan Loo's/AE's liner-notes and assumed that it should thus be pronounced as McRoss/L(M)acrosse in english. Totally missing the point of the title-compromise/pun.

[porkchopexpress]

[ QUOTE ]
treatment said:
It's pretty simple, actually.

The term and correct original english pronounciation refers directly to the theme of the show.

Macross == Macro (english/greek) + SS == big/huge e.g. Macross-Cannon, Macross/Supervision Army ship-size, Zentraedi size, Zentraedi ship-size, etc, etc. It also pays homage to the original title: MegaRoad.

another hint: Micro(ns) == humans == small.

See, it all relates perfectly to the show. It actually makes sense.

Contrast it with:

ADV's McRoss/L(M)acrosse == stupid mispronounciation, does not make any sense, no significance, no relation and no tie-in to the show (both in pre/post production).

Somebody prolly just read that the BigWest-producer was a MacBeth-fan from Egan Loo's/AE's liner-notes and assumed that it should thus be pronounced as McRoss/L(M)acrosse in english. Totally missing the point of the title-compromise/pun.

[/ QUOTE ]

Eh, still doesn't bother me.

[Brent Long]

[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
[ QUOTE ]
treatment said:
It's pretty simple, actually.

The term and correct original english pronounciation refers directly to the theme of the show.

Macross == Macro (english/greek) + SS == big/huge e.g. Macross-Cannon, Macross/Supervision Army ship-size, Zentraedi size, Zentraedi ship-size, etc, etc. It also pays homage to the original title: MegaRoad.

another hint: Micro(ns) == humans == small.

See, it all relates perfectly to the show. It actually makes sense.

Contrast it with:

ADV's McRoss/L(M)acrosse == stupid mispronounciation, does not make any sense, no significance, no relation and no tie-in to the show (both in pre/post production).

Somebody prolly just read that the BigWest-producer was a MacBeth-fan from Egan Loo's/AE's liner-notes and assumed that it should thus be pronounced as McRoss/L(M)acrosse in english. Totally missing the point of the title-compromise/pun.

[/ QUOTE ]

Eh, still doesn't bother me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, despite me being someone who despise it when dubs have mispronounciations it oddly works well for this dub. For some reason I would prefer hearing Monica Rial's Misa asking the fleets of valkyries to return to the Muc-Cross rather then to the Mah-Cross.

[Vicserr]

I just hope that ppl consume mass quantities of the Mecha classic now that it has a dub, The Original Super Dimension Fortress Macross deserves it... not forgetting to Pick up Science Ninja Team Gatchaman Along the way /images/graemlins/knowital.gif

[porkchopexpress]

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Vicserr said:
I just hope that ppl consume mass quantities of the Mecha classic now that it has a dub, The Original Super Dimension Fortress Macross deserves it... not forgetting to Pick up Science Ninja Team Gatchaman Along the way /images/graemlins/knowital.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Wierd thing is I am not one for "classic" anime. Most shows that look dated (Lupin et al.) kinda turn me off. If I hadn't won a free copy of volume 1 I probably wouldn't have started buying this show. But all the talk about the dub and seeing pictures of the release are making me really exited to get this and collect all 7 volumes. Also I'm gonna give Gatchaman collection 1 a shot and see if I want to get more. I want to see the cast auditions and hope that the dub is nice and campy. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Vicserr]

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porkchopexpress said:
[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
I just hope that ppl consume mass quantities of the Mecha classic now that it has a dub, The Original Super Dimension Fortress Macross deserves it... not forgetting to Pick up Science Ninja Team Gatchaman Along the way /images/graemlins/knowital.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Wierd thing is I am not one for "classic" anime. Most shows that look dated (Lupin et al.) kinda turn me off. If I hadn't won a free copy of volume 1 I probably wouldn't have started buying this show. But all the talk about the dub and seeing pictures of the release are making me really exited to get this and collect all 7 volumes.

[/ QUOTE ]

I pimp my Old Skool anywhere I can /images/graemlins/wink.gif

The thing is IMHO that one should not compare the visual artistry of shows with a large age gap but with shows of the time(In Macross case that would be MS Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Votoms, Dunbine among others) in no way you could compare it favorably with say Gundam Seed in the visual dept. but the thing is that in the story dept, these series go above and beyond a big % of what's being released recently... Good to see that you're enjoying it /images/graemlins/happy.gif

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Also I'm gonna give Gatchaman collection 1 a shot and see if I want to get more. I want to see the cast auditions and hope that the dub is nice and campy. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I've sampled the dub and watched the extras of the Gatchaman collections and the dub director respects (He also worked in MazinKaiser) the source material (unlike another ADR director in ADV *Cough*The Fosterizer*Cough*) and his casting was pretty dead on for the characters.

[Starwind Amada]

Silly Hikaru! You destroyed Mike McRae's house! /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

I noticed the Zentradi no longer have that wierd effect in their voices.

And after watching the HG dub of the first episode, I noticed that they cut a lot of stuff that wasn't even objectionable content, like the first shot of the mayor and that guy talking as Capt. Global and the senator pass by in the limo.

I like how ADV didn't use any cheesiness in the dub. I can't believe HG made that park camera talk when Hikaru and Minmay get their picture taken. LAME. Oh, and that cheesy song during the credits in the HG dub made me barf. It sounded like some G.I. Joe theme.

And I still can't get used to hearing these characters curse and talk about booze, even if they have different voices.

And Christine Auten sounds damn close to Claudia's original VA.

Also, Mari's doing a terrific job, although hearing Minmay's new voice is gonna take some getting used to. At least she sings in Japanese, and sings good songs (not that RT "Stage Fright" crap).

I should write up a review for Dub Review, because this release is OUTSTANDING. Now I'm glad I didn't get the Animeigo boxsets.

Oh, and did anyone else try to sync up the RT discs with the Macross one? I tried it, but the numerous cuts in RT screwed it up.

I can't wait till Volume 2 comes out.

[populuxe]

[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
I just hope that ppl consume mass quantities of the Mecha classic now that it has a dub, The Original Super Dimension Fortress Macross deserves it... not forgetting to Pick up Science Ninja Team Gatchaman Along the way /images/graemlins/knowital.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm already getting the Gatchaman boxsets and loving it. I bought the Macross box today. And I will get Aura Battler Dunbine when ADV thinpaks it.

[Vicserr]

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Starwind Amada said:
Silly Hikaru! You destroyed Mike McRae's house! /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

I noticed the Zentradi no longer have that wierd effect in their voices.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't know, that made them more alien to me /images/graemlins/happy.gif

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And after watching the HG dub of the first episode, I noticed that they cut a lot of stuff that wasn't even objectionable content, like the first shot of the mayor and that guy talking as Capt. Global and the senator pass by in the limo.

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably cuts for time...you gotta keep the advertisers happy by squeezing as much commercials as you can /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
I like how ADV didn't use any cheesiness in the dub. I can't believe HG made that park camera talk when Hikaru and Minmay get their picture taken. LAME. Oh, and that cheesy song during the credits in the HG dub made me barf. It sounded like some G.I. Joe theme.

[/ QUOTE ]

it was the 80's, comparing Robotech and Macross is like comparing Star Blazers and Space Battleship Yamato, you going to get the core of the story, but you won't be able to sync them in a/v content or tone. I normally treat Robotech and the japanese series that make it up (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross & Genesis Climber Mospeada) as different entities and not RT as an adaptation of the japanese series

I think the Original Robotech Theme is one of the best OPs/Eds in animation, it got you in the right mindset to watch the show

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And I still can't get used to hearing these characters curse and talk about booze, even if they have different voices.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stuff that wouldn't play too well for a show in the kids block in the 80's and it's even worse now on US tv

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and did anyone else try to sync up the RT discs with the Macross one? I tried it, but the numerous cuts in RT screwed it up.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think most ppl would tell you that was going to be almost impossible from the start /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[3479]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and that cheesy song during the credits in the HG dub made me barf. It sounded like some G.I. Joe theme.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell me your referring to the original '84 dub of Macross' theme, and not the Robotech theme. Please. /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif

[Vicserr]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike JD Silva said:
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and that cheesy song during the credits in the HG dub made me barf. It sounded like some G.I. Joe theme.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell me your referring to the original '84 dub of Macross' theme, and not the Robotech theme. Please. /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn, I've forgotten about the 3 eps OLD dub, if that's the one you're talking about I take back most of what I said /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Starwind Amada]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike JD Silva said:
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and that cheesy song during the credits in the HG dub made me barf. It sounded like some G.I. Joe theme.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell me your referring to the original '84 dub of Macross' theme, and not the Robotech theme. Please. /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I'm talking about the 1984 dub. The one where Abe Lasser tells us how the ship "produced shockwaves of INCREDIBLE force!!!" /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[populuxe]

I just want to state for the record that I think Monica Rial's Misa Hayase may end up replacing Izumi from Princess 9 as my favorite Monica role.

[O-chan]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike Dungan said:
I just want to state for the record that I think Monica Rial's Misa Hayase may end up replacing Izumi from Princess 9 as my favorite Monica role.

[/ QUOTE ]

You know, I actually felt that at least for the first 2 and a half episodes she played Misa a little to shrill. Whenever I look at Misa I hear "older woman" and Monica's voice seems to be a little too soft for that type of role. It wasn't until around episode 3 when the character had some more relaxed scenes that I started to beleive she was capable of doing the appropriate voice.

O-chan

[George Manley]

Well, keep in mind that Misa Hayase may get called "old woman" by Hikaru, but consider her position on the ship. She holds the rank of 1st Lieutenant in UN Spacy, and equivalent officers in the Army or Marines in the US may only be 23-26 years old. And from where I sit, that aint that old. =) Old enough for Hikaru to rib her, but not that old. Granted, that may not be the standard age of your usual anime heroine - who seems to jiggle (tm) somewhere between 13-19.

Now, her position on the ship - roughly the equivalent of "air boss" on an aircraft carrier - is usually reserved for a more experienced officer. In other words, Hikaru is being a little bit nasty. The more anime you watch, you might notice that the subject of a female character's age seems to come up a LOT, and the notion that someone is "old" is often used as an insult rather than as a statement of known fact (well, known in the "universe" that particular show occupies, anyway).

Of course, it's diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

G

[Starwind Amada]

My only complaint with the new Macross dub is that they eliminated Global's best line ever:

"I was just holding it, I wasn't going to light it."

Oh, and...

"THUNDERING ASTEROIDS!"

But I guess that's expecting too much. People would probably accuse them of plagiarising Macek's script, anyway.

[O-chan]

[ QUOTE ]
George Manley said:
Well, keep in mind that Misa Hayase may get called "old woman" by Hikaru, but consider her position on the ship. She holds the rank of 1st Lieutenant in UN Spacy, and equivalent officers in the Army or Marines in the US may only be 23-26 years old. And from where I sit, that aint that old. =) Old enough for Hikaru to rib her, but not that old. Granted, that may not be the standard age of your usual anime heroine - who seems to jiggle (tm) somewhere between 13-19.

Now, her position on the ship - roughly the equivalent of "air boss" on an aircraft carrier - is usually reserved for a more experienced officer. In other words, Hikaru is being a little bit nasty. The more anime you watch, you might notice that the subject of a female character's age seems to come up a LOT, and the notion that someone is "old" is often used as an insult rather than as a statement of known fact (well, known in the "universe" that particular show occupies, anyway).

Of course, it's diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

G

[/ QUOTE ]

All I'm saying is that I was expecting a voice softer than her original Robotech voice but a little bit more "mature" than Monica Rial's initial interpretation.

O-chan

[Brent Long]

[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:My only complaint with the new Macross dub is that they eliminated Global's best line ever:

"I was just holding it, I wasn't going to light it."

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to admit I was kinda disappointed about this one too, but keeping this dub independent from previous ones is a good idea so I'm still fine with it.

[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:"THUNDERING ASTEROIDS!"

But I guess that's expecting too much. People would probably accuse them of plagiarising Macek's script, anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well it's not exactly Macek's script per say. Robert Barron, Ardwight Chamberlain, Greg Finley, Steve Flood, Jason Klassi, Steve Kramer, Mike Reynolds, Greg Snegoff, Jim Wager, and Tao Will were the actual staff writers and Macek was the story editor though I'm sure Macek likely wrote dialogue as well and contributed more to the title than just as a story editor, but calling it his script is a bit of stretch.

Thundering Asteroids might have been written by Robert Barron though. I believe Gloval used that statement in the first three episodes and Barron's original Macross dub (the on featured on ADV's release) script (he both wrote and directed it on his own) was almost completely recycled for the first three episodes of Robotech.

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
Brent Long said:
[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:My only complaint with the new Macross dub is that they eliminated Global's best line ever:

"I was just holding it, I wasn't going to light it."

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to admit I was kinda disappointed about this one too, but keeping this dub independent from previous ones is a good idea so I'm still fine with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Out of curiosity, what does he say in the new dub? IIRC, the Japanese line is basically the same as the Robotech line (ie: Global claims he just wants to hold his pipe, not smoke it).

[George Manley]

[ QUOTE ]
O-chan said:
[ QUOTE ]
George Manley said:
Well, keep in mind that Misa Hayase may get called "old woman" by Hikaru, but consider her position on the ship. She holds the rank of 1st Lieutenant in UN Spacy, and equivalent officers in the Army or Marines in the US may only be 23-26 years old. And from where I sit, that aint that old. =) Old enough for Hikaru to rib her, but not that old. Granted, that may not be the standard age of your usual anime heroine - who seems to jiggle (tm) somewhere between 13-19.

Now, her position on the ship - roughly the equivalent of "air boss" on an aircraft carrier - is usually reserved for a more experienced officer. In other words, Hikaru is being a little bit nasty. The more anime you watch, you might notice that the subject of a female character's age seems to come up a LOT, and the notion that someone is "old" is often used as an insult rather than as a statement of known fact (well, known in the "universe" that particular show occupies, anyway).

Of course, it's diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

G

[/ QUOTE ]

All I'm saying is that I was expecting a voice softer than her original Robotech voice but a little bit more "mature" than Monica Rial's initial interpretation.

O-chan

[/ QUOTE ]

Eh, it's all good. We all have expectations. They're natural. Heaven knows if we all expected the same thing all the time then creating new entertainments would be a piece of cake and we'd all being say, "Yo, this part of the story goes here, and that bit of scenery goes there" and so on.

That's what makes this so groovy. The occasional swerve. Just like I wasn't expecting <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Kate Beckinsale to be nekkid as a jaybird </span> recently. She's MY PVC ANGEL, dammit!

So yeah. Expect way. It's all gravy.

G

[Starwind Amada]

[ QUOTE ]
Legion said:Out of curiosity, what does he say in the new dub? IIRC, the Japanese line is basically the same as the Robotech line (ie: Global claims he just wants to hold his pipe, not smoke it).

[/ QUOTE ]

"I was just keeping it in my mouth."

[porkchopexpress]

[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:
"I was just keeping it in my mouth."

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/shy10000.gif /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif

I just had to. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Starwind Amada]

WTF? That is the stupidest sexual reference ever.

[porkchopexpress]

[ QUOTE ]
Starwind Amada said:
WTF? That is the stupidest sexual reference ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, stupidly awesome.

[machineger4]

Finally got around to watching this, so here are some quick thoughts after four eps:

It took a few eps to get used to hearing these characters in English, but after that I really enjoyed the performances. Vic and Mari have a good chemistry, Monica is good as usual. It's great to hear Brett Weaver as Roy, he brings so much energy to his roles. It's a lot of fun to listen to him, hopefully he'll be doing more in the future. And it's nice to hear John Gremillion in a role where he says more than "hmmm" and "wrench."

Overall, the cast is solid so far and the reservations I had before are not much of a problem now (I wasn't sure about Mari's performance. I also wasn't that sure about Vic, looking back, I don't know why I worried that much). I'm looking forward to hearing the rest, and I guess I'll be double dipping (can't have that empty box sitting there).

For those who hasn't seen Macross or Robotech for awhlie (or ever), there's a bit of a spoiler in the episode 3 commentary. So watch out for that /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Back to the topic, and somewhat related to the spoiler. I have never seen the original Macross. I've seen the Robotech version along time ago. For example, I didn't remember the spoiler that i just mentioned about. and i'll type it here since you want to know so bad. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> Matt Greenfield tells the audience that Roy's gonna die. Also, slightly unrelated to the spoiler, Bret Weaver has been thinking about this part for a VERY long time. I just want to say that I do like the idea of him playing roy specifically. It feels like he is playing a less extreme Guy Daigohji (sp), which, to me at least, is modeled after Roy. He is playing the original character type of the role. I just find that neat and wanted to stated that. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif</span>

I enjoyed John Swasey as Captain Global. He's just salty enough. I hope he'll be able to do a commentary on one of the future discs. I'm always a big fan of commentary in general. At first, I wasn't going to buy the title at first, going to save a spot of money, but i couldn't resist :-x

[DKL]

Cross-posted from my other board:

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Okay, let me get to my Agenda (dub-related, as always)

I bought that Macross thing with the box (I also need a new DVD rack since I’m running out of space with all my purchases... they have this thing at BEST BUY that I can purchase, which is good since I was actually gonna get some overpriced BS at IKEA at one point... err... it was a bookshelf).

The highlight of this of course is the dub by Matt Greenfield, which is like, probably the first faithful adaptation of the series (and hey, it’s only 36 episodes, hooray).

I’ll talk about the show in detail… later (meaning, when I feel like typing stuff up again).

It’s good (of course... the dub I mean).

My favorite performance seems to be John Swaysey as Captain Global; it’s the kind of role where he doesn’t deliver flat. I also really liked Brett Weaver as Fokker. Anyway, can’t seem to find anything wrong.

As usual, in Matt Greenfield dubs, there’s a lot of attention to the detailed techno-babble. The delivery and quality control for that is very good since it sounds like people actually know what the hell they’re talking about and that it doesn’t come off as overacted (like in some parts of Evangelion… actually, when I think about it, it might’ve just the lady who played Maya that really bothered me in that thing).

OKAY, the real reason why this dub is considered “big� (and why I actually even considered looking into the series, blind I might add) is because the Japanese actress who played Minmay, Mari Ijima, actually came back to reprise her role in the English version of the show (well, she’s in the US, so why not?).

So… how does she fare? I’m in 5 episodes so far, so that was more than enough to judge.

What say me? Well… she’s… kind of…

Yeah, she’s distracting to some extent. Her accent is fairly thick, some people might think of this as like… “authentic� or something since the character is Chinese, but it’s clearly a Japanese accent; this isn’t the most distracting thing though or particularly bad for that matter.

My main problem is that some of her delivery is kind of weak (some of it actually does come from the accent). I listened back and forth between the English and Japanese tracks and it seems that her projection is clearer in Japanese.

I think that Matt Greenfield might be taking it easier on her (or that he’s too intimidated to direct her) since she’s a celeb, which would be kind of stupid since all the English actors are kind of stepping over her as a result (It’s hard for me not to imagine Hikaru not going: “Come again?� when they have conversations with eachother).

Anyway, I know she can do better, but Greenfield needs to get it together and just have her give him what he wants.

I could be jumping to conclusions though, but this is what I feel right now. But the flow of dialogue exchange between Minmay and Hikaru could definitely be better… maybe if they both got in the recording booth or something, but I remember Greg Aryes (in the KODOCHA commentary) saying that doing so would be a pain in the ass for both the director and actors.

The sound-quality is awesome, although, it seems that some sound-effects are definitely reversioned… but, you know, who gives a rat’s ass.

Okay, 2 more things.

One, accents. I actually can tolerate different English accents in dubbing. It gives it some variety to some extent. My favorite Asian-accent used in dubbing would be what they use in Singapore, which is a rough cross between British-English and a Chinese accent (see the live-action dub for INFERNAL AFFAIRS as a good example); I think it comes off as extremely super-cool and I’ve actually been trying to emulate my actual way of speaking like this (you know, Military is pronounced as “Militree,� etc.).

Hell, in ADV, some of the actors have accents; a good example is Illich Guardiolla (Hayate in Pretear, Isshiki in RahXephon and he’s going to play some guy named Kamjin in Macross, of which hasn’t come out yet I assume… I’ve heard him in some of the wolla though at this point)

… I don’t know what kind of accent it is, but his voice is pretty sexy /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Lastly, if for some reason Ijima couldn’t wrap-up with the series (which I hope doesn’t happen, since it’s a really cool… uhhh… novelty), she would actually have a very good replacement right there at ADV. After a few episodes, I realized that she really sounded like KIRA-VINCENT DAVIS (who plays one of the Macross crew member ladies).

In fact, if you watched SUPER GALS! it would sound like Ijima was acting the role of Miyu (except… you know, without the uber-thick accent).

So yeah, in conclusion, Mari Ijima coming into her role for the English dub is totally just to get me to buy the DVD; ADV has succeeded apparently since I’m now going to collect all of what they release.

It’s a super-cool idea, and even if it does have its fair share of problems, I still want to see where this goes (err… the dub production). Also, I can now thoroughly conclude that dubs are a major factor in my buying preference; for example, I’ve actually considered getting stuff like Diamond Daydreams since Kyle Jones is working the dub.

As for the actual show, it’s really cool. For now, I’ll just say that the music is actually awesome in comparison with other stuff I’ve heard from that time. Kentaro Haneda is awesome. Theme songs are great too. The show seems to glorify angst in a manner that makes it come off as cool (like… those things where the guy is standing outside in the rain calling to his leading lady… another example? Well, there is Marmalade Boy).

I think, there’s a certain way to overdo angst, but still make it come off as stylish; this show is a good example (so far).

==================

Man, this comes off as extremely negative... but... I should really start posting more critically or something (although, it seems that Animebox was banned)

Bottom-line, I liked the dub, and have continued in the tradition of watching dub-only with this newer release (but, like I said, checked the Japanese track on occasion)

I went through the commentary earlier, and it seems that Greenfield is having Ijima making the accent thicker than it should be... at least, that's what I remember hearing... so yeah, it seems that THAT is what he wants /images/graemlins/shy10000.gif

Oh yeah, the spoilers were terrible...

Err... also, my issue isn't really the accent, but the projection... it feels iffy hear and there (although, my post seems to be moving in the other direction... lame)

... man, truth is, I don't feel to good when it comes to making negative commentary about dubs &gt;_&gt; (although, you can't really call this negative)

For the record though, I'm pretty fickle and I'm sure that I might not even believe this post anymore by the time I rewatch...

but anyway, fire-away or school me or what have you, I'm ready (no... not really)

... oh yeah, I've never seen ROBOTECH or whatever, since I'm new here to the states

[Shsway]

Well, as a first-time viewer of the franchise, uncut and accurate, I really liked what I saw in these first few episodes, and am eagerly looking forward to seeing if the rest of the story delivers (preorder!) If I like this series enough, I'll be clamoring for the license and release of every related one after it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

The dub was alright. Pleasant so far, and relatively well-cast, but there are a few moments that came across as over-the-top and unnecessarily grand. Mari Iijima's delivery is a bit off, but not terrible. There is definitely time for it to improve, though she already has all of the foley down.

I really think that Vic Mignogna was the best choice for Hikaru, and that Christine Auten and Nancy Novotny sound great. It was also nice to get to hear a George Manley character that speaks for longer than a couple of seconds, so I can actually familiarize myself with his voice. On the other hand, I think that this is, so far, Hilary Haag's weakest performance. She can do cuter, and she's a bit shrill here.

A first for me is that I sometimes felt that the added swears were too much, in light of the original dialogue. Everything else feels right, however. In terms of the extras, I was very interested in what Javier Lopez had to say, and learned a bit about the specific work that he was doing. The Mari/Monica commentary comes across as more of an interview piece, but I guess that it's not surprising, given the uniqueness of the circumstances for this dub. Monica was surprisingly relaxed in her approach, and it was just great to hear the more emotional side to the conversation towards the end, not to mention the new friendship that seems to have developed between the two.

And translator notes! I didn't think there would be any, and I love those, so yay!

[DKL]

[ QUOTE ]
Shsway said:

Mari Iijima's delivery is a bit off, but not terrible. There is definitely time for it to improve, though she already has all of the foley down.



[/ QUOTE ]

... hmm... I think this better sums up my thoughts on the thing than what I posted

Also...

Hilary Haag was great, you bet! /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

The swearing was a little over-the-top, but I liked it, it was fun.

ALSO, what did I learn from the commentary?

-Mari Ijima (Minmay) was a little haunted by the shadow of her Macross role that cast itself over her singing career.

-Mari Ijima has taken acting lessons here in the US.

-Mari Ijima was good friends with Arihiro Hase (Hikaru) and then later on with his mom after he died.

-Mari Ijima writes her own songs and probably got the role because of her singing ability coupled together with this fact.

-Monica Rial (Misa) has been in almost 100 titles.

-Monica Rial has had a stalker sleep outside of her hotel room at one point.

-Matt Greenfield apparently keeps the literal translations written underneath the ADR scripts… whether or not everyone else does this, I’m not entirely sure yet.

-Brett Weaver (Focker) has apparently gotten really drunk with Akira Kamiyama (Focker) at one point during a convention here in the US.

...

I sure hope they bring back Mari Ijima for interviews and commentary... also, I hope they shove 6 more episodes onto the next release /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:
-Brett Weaver (Focker) has apparently gotten really drunk with Akira Kamiyama (Focker) at one point during a convention here in the US.

[/ QUOTE ]
Akira Kamiya just rocks. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[DKL]

Yeah, learning little fun things like that is just so cool...

I wonder how many other of our local VAs have gotten drunk with Japanese VAs? /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

My only problem now was the SPOILERS /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

I'm actually tempted to not watch the next set of extras, but if they have more Mari Ijima stuff, I don't think I'll be able to resist &gt;_&gt;

[Clint]

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:
-Matt Greenfield apparently keeps the literal translations written underneath the ADR scripts… whether or not everyone else does this, I’m not entirely sure yet.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is the norm at ADV as far as I know (that being, my experience acting and writing). It's a fairly recent (last 2 years?) development. Among other things, it helps when flaps don't quite fit and the line has to be rewritten in the studio.

[DKL]

I wonder who else does this?

[Brent Long]

[ QUOTE ]
Clint said:This is the norm at ADV as far as I know (that being, my experience acting and writing). It's a fairly recent (last 2 years?) development. Among other things, it helps when flaps don't quite fit and the line has to be rewritten in the studio.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, Matt's comments about this defnitely intrigued me. I wonder if this is the general industry norm as well.

Speaking of which, just how literal are the translations listed underneath the actual scripted lines? Are these generally just the subtitle scripted lines or are they different? Do they go so far as to have suffixes and some untranslatable jokes listed in romanized Japanese with their joke meaning listed in case the scripted joke just doesn;t work well in the booth?

[Clint]

[ QUOTE ]
Brent Long said:

Speaking of which, just how literal are the translations listed underneath the actual scripted lines? Are these generally just the subtitle scripted lines or are they different? Do they go so far as to have suffixes and some untranslatable jokes listed in romanized Japanese with their joke meaning listed in case the scripted joke just doesn;t work well in the booth?

[/ QUOTE ]

Everything depends on the translator. In many cases, they're very close to the subtitle scripts, though sometimes they're quite rough. I don't want to go on a tangent here, but I am constantly ranting and jumping around like a monkey in reference to translators. Knowing as much Japanese as I do (which isn't really that much) MAY be a blessing in terms of what I can do for the final product, but in terms of the process for me, it's a curse.

There are "irritating" things that translators can do all across the board. I put "irritating" in quotations, because it's not really their fault and I'm tremendously picky.

For example, when you have a translated line, it may be very rough. Sometimes it's too rough for me to clearly understand what the character is trying to say. In other cases, it may be very interpretive to the point that the original meaning is lost and I can't figure out what the characters are REALLY trying to say.

But these two polar opposites have advantages as well. In the first, rough, scenario, you know exactly what the characters are -really- saying, and in the second scenario, you have a line that you can actually use without having to interpret it.

I was highly pleased with the Moby Dick translation, because it had interpreted versions of lines/Japanese gags, then translation notes that explained the lines in literal terms.

So, in the case of a joke, by the time it gets to the booth, it should be in good shape. First, the translator either interprets it, or gives an idea of what's going on, then the writer turns it into something that works, then the director looks over it to make sure they agree with the decision. When a director gets a script by me, I keep the translation notes (even if I make a decision based on them), write my own notes about the situation, and write short cultural/alternate translation notes on anything that the translators might have overlooked (or in cases where I disagree with them for whatever reason).

I think the amount of notes that make it to the final in-studio script depends on how confident the director is that the lines will work one way or another...or just their personal preference.

[kusanagi-sama]

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:... also, I hope they shove 6 more episodes onto the next release /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope, volume 1 is the only one with 6 episodes. The other 6 volumes have 5 episodes each.

[Starwind Amada]

So they're just knocking off one episode. No biggie.

Illich appears in the next volume, right? I'm pretty sure this is where Kamjin (Khyron) appears.

[DKL]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It's Illich!

Anyway, 5 episodes is still pretty great... were the extras announced already?

[Super Saiyajin Joshua]

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It's Illich!

Anyway, 5 episodes is still pretty great... were the extras announced already?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes they were (http://forums.animeondvd.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&amp;Number=1273820&amp;page=2&amp;view=c ollapsed&amp;sb=5&amp;o=&amp;fpart=1) .

Man I've never gone back and watched a whole volume over again with the dub on before this one. But I really liked it on this one.

[DKL]

... yeah, I was in that thread &gt;_&gt;

Which reminds me, why isn't Mari Ijima reading for anything other than MACROSS?

She should cameo for other shows... I mean, she is flying out there so you might as well take the opportunity, you know?

... It'd be fun!

... come on!

[populuxe]

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:
... yeah, I was IN that thread &gt;_&gt;

Which reminds me, why isn't Mari Ijima reading for anything other than MACROSS?

She should cameo for other shows... I mean, she is flying out there so you might as well take the opportunity, you know?

... It'd be fun!

... come on!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's more Funi's thing. But who knows, maybe they've already approached her about doing something with them?