Being a Brief Discussion of Anime Dubs: Conduct Zero

By: Way Jeng
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Although the title of this column implies that it deals exclusively with anime dubs, I'd like to discuss a dubbed live-action movie today. Specifically, this installment is going to focus on Conduct Zero, a Korean movie released by ADV Films and dubbed by Industrial Smoke and Mirrors. While it's not anime, examining live-action dubs can yield a lot of insight into voice acting and dub appreciation in general.



Taking the lead as Joong-pil, king of his school and more than a bit of a jerk, is John Swasey. Though this performance adequately emotes the character, it feels like a case of miscasting. Mr. Swasey sounds far too old for this character. He also sounds too refined. Calling Joong-pil unrefined is a bit of an understatement; he smokes, swears constantly, and isn't very smart. The performance falls short of perfectly matching the character because it's too suave and confident. Mr. Swasey's Joong-pil is too smart and composed. Adding a little bluster and disorganization by varying the character's pitch would have added a lot to this performance.



Tommy Drake plays Soo-dong, Joong-pil's friend and partner in dubious activities. This performance also sounded far too old for the character. Otherwise, it's a fair performance with only a few trouble spots. Of these, the most apparent is when a teacher disciplines Soo-dong. The scene calls for Soo-dong to exaggerate his experience, but Mr. Drake goes too far in this scene. Rather than make Soo-dong a weak character prone to some whining, he makes the character into an almost hysterical crybaby. It's an isolated incident, but nonetheless it's one where the overacting was so apparent that it leaves a bad impression on later scenes that feature superior acting from Mr. Drake.



Kira Vincent-Davis voices Min-hee, the love interest of the story and resident good girl. In this case the voice matches the character, yet doesn't quite make the most of the character. The problem here is that Ms. Vincent-Davis keeps her voice too sedate in a few scenes. It's appropriate most of the time, and these quiet scenes are handled well. However, there are a few scenes where Min-hee shows interest or excitement while spending time with Joong-pil, yet the voice doesn't deviate enough from Min-hee's calm tones. It's not a glaring problem, but the performance isn't as strong as it could have been. A little bit of energy in these scenes would have gone a long way to bringing the character to life.




Kevin Brown plays Young-mahn, a friend of Min-hee and one of the nicer people we meet in the film. This is a solid performance. It's quiet and doesn't express a lot of emotion, but it matches the character. There's nothing to complain about out of Mr. Brown's performance.



Kaytha Coker offers the best work in Conduct Zero as Na-young. Not only does Ms. Coker do an excellent job of expressing her character's anger and hostility, but she also handles her character's slower dialog with equal skill. The performance sounds natural, and there are no outstanding trouble spots.



The Rumor Mill is a set of good performances from Chris Patton, Illich Guardiola, Paul Locklear, and Jay Hickman. For the most part the dialog here was natural and kept a quick pace, with the only exception being Illich Guardiola. Mr. Guardiola occasionally has a bit of trouble keeping up with the quick pace of the dialog, but it's not a major flaw. Chris Patton does an especially good job, and has one of the best lines in the entire film. Fans should note his delivery of the line, "...and the forecast was calling for pain." It's not to be missed.



I'd also like to take special note of Shelley Calene-Black's performance as Joong-pil's mother. This is a good performance that falls just short of being great. All this performance needed was to make the character less nice. A higher voice with a screeching edge to it would have been more appropriate. Otherwise, the performance is well emoted and embodies the basic idea of the character.



Stopping to reflect on the dub as a whole, it pains me to say that the dub didn't live up to my expectations. The dub isn't terrible and will probably be good enough for many fans, but it still has many problems. Some of these are fairly minor. For example, the dub takes a conservative approach to the characters. They don't sound as quirky as their actions imply. Also, there are a few re-writes in the script that localize cultural references. These edits wouldn't normally be a problem, as none of the edits make a significant difference to the plot, but they don't always match the action of the video well.



The dub's biggest problem is the fact that most of the audio doesn't sound natural on a technical level. Acting and voice-to-character matching aside, the dialog in Conduct Zero sounds unnatural. Ironically, the high audio fidelity of the dialog is too rich and immediate to be believable. Most of the sounds, such as the sound of feet scuffling along the floor or objects as they're set down on tables, contrast with the dialog because the rest of the audio is hollow in comparison. Many of the sighs and breaths are far too loud and discernable. There are also a few occasions where the characters turn around or walk away from the camera and the audio doesn't match the movement. It's obvious that the dialog was not recorded on-site along with the rest of the effects.



These problems are most notable in the fight between Joong-pil and Sang-mahn at the end of the film. The scene itself is chaotic and disorganized. However, that reflects and magnifies a deliberate attempt to make the scene crude. During the fight the two characters fall down and turn away from the camera, and the audio for the Korean language track reflects that. The volume levels rise and fall along with the action on the screen. In contrast, the dub lacks any of these qualities. It's good on some level, because it sounds polished and refined, but those qualities don't work to the dub's advantage. The fight is so primitive and visceral that it demands those imperfections to complete the scene.



What's interesting about this problem is that it doesn't exist in anime per se. That's because audio in anime keeps everything at a consistent level of quality. It's easier for audiences to suspend their disbelief when there isn't a significant difference between the sound effects and the dialog.



From all this, readers might be tempted to pass on Conduct Zero. However, I think that to do so would be a mistake. The dub may not be up to Industrial Smoke and Mirrors' usual standard of excellence, but the movie is well worth watching. People who read the back of the DVD case or look up a plot synopsis might think this movie is a teen romantic comedy. That might be true on the surface, but this movie is really about perception. For example, there's a scene where Min-hee and Na-young face off. The setup for this scene is a contest to see which of the girls is willing to endure the most disgusting feat to prove herself. However, we don't see the contest itself. Rather, we see the aftermath as the girls make themselves miserable. The fact that we're left to imagine events rather than shown every gory detail makes the scene honestly funny rather than a sight-gag, but it also shows that the movie's strongest point is its choice to not show the audience what happened.



Several encounters in Conduct Zero aren't shown to the viewers directly, instead being explained through the lens of the Rumor Mill. The beginning of the movie shows Joong-pil and Sang-mahn to be superhuman fighters worthy of any movie or anime. The fight between Sang-mahn and the judo club is certainly one of the most stylish action sequences I have seen in my entire life. It's not the longest or flashiest, but it manages to be visually splendid without being ostentatious. Finally, the fight at the end of the movie shows the truth of what happens in all its gritty truth as well and also lets the audience know how it turns out in the minds of the Rumor Mill. Altogether, the movie makes offers a lot of insight into the nature of tall tales. This also adds some replay value for the disc, as it invites viewers to go back through the movie and translate the Rumor Mill stories into the truth.



The main plot between Joong-pil and Min-hee also takes on more meaning than viewers might expect. There's a bit of meandering in the plot that may annoy people who are used to the trim style of Hollywood cinema, but it's still good material. While this appears to be a romantic comedy, and has the ostensible plot of one, it's really a story about the development of the characters from stereotypes to actual people. The movie begins by setting down expectations for the characters and exploring how these turn out to be true and how they are false. The insight into the characters is refreshing and honest because it's not about making these people into poster children, but rather exploring who they really are. The choices they make are occasionally surprising, and even though they might not be the choices that the audience wants them to make, they're still choices that make sense.



When everything is said and done, there are plenty of reasons to watch Conduct Zero. The movie goes far beyond a typical comedy and offers a worthwhile message about people, both in the way that we see them and in the way they truly are. Despite its eccentric humor and bold characters, there's a respectable depth to the story. It's subtle enough that some viewers will probably miss the best parts of the movie. However, those who do see what's going on beneath the surface will enjoy a movie that offers a lot more than it claims to.



Questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail me at way.jeng@gmail.com



Copyright 2004 Way Jeng