The many voices of Tezuka's Characters

[tailz]

Hello All. I am going to warn you before I start: Please do not start fights here about which voice cast or dub's are better. This happend on another thread before and it just turned out to become an endless battle, so Please Don't. If you feel like you are going to do that with me (or anyone else here) then please do not post on this thread at all to be on the safe side. Only say appropiate stuff about other people's opinions. Thank you.

Anyways, I will be talking about the many different voices of various/common dubs of Tezuka anime: No. 1 Astro boy: Astro's voice was amazingly well done both in English and Japanese in the 60s series. I didn't get to hear the Latin voice that much, but as far as I can tell, It sounded alright. They all sounded like an average little boy voice and were very great dubs for being made in the 60s. Mari Shumizu and Billie Lou Watt are my most favorite voices for the AB 60s dubs. However, in the 80s series, Astro's English voice sounded a bit whiny to most fans and some even say that the English dub was quite awful in terms. I'm more JP when it comes to the 80s AB series. As for the 03 series, I liked them all. All of Astro's voices were very great there and showed soo much emotion and power into it. Even the Latin and Portuguese dubs were very good! I've also heard about his Canadian voice. I don't think I've ever heard it before, but since its french, it probably would sound pretty good. Also, he was acted by an actual 12 year old boy in those!

No.2: Dr. Ochanimizu: I couldn't really tell you much about Dr. Ochanimizu's voices but I would have to say I enjoyed his 03 voice the most. The 60s voice was also pretty good, but sounded a bit... Strange. I guess it was good though, cause I've always liked the original series. I liked his 2003 voice because it sounded like what an actual 50 or 60 year old would sound like. (I'm talking about the English voice here.) But of course, Japanese voice was a tad bit better cause it sounded original! The 80s English dub voice was probably the least fitting for him. It was too deep and shallow for him and sounded more like it would belong to Dr. Tenma!

No.3 Dr. Tenma: Speaking of Dr. Tenma, I enjoyed his English 2003 voice. It gave out that strong feeling and he really let out a lot of emotion there. Especially when he talks about Tobio. His 80s and 60s English Voices were ok, but it seemed like he dragged on sentences too much. His Latin 03 voice sounded almost the same as the English voice.

No. 4 Uran: I never heard Uran's 80s English voice before, so I can't review over that. As for the JP voice and English 60s voice, I liked them. They showed off that cute and innocent charm to her. I enjoyed the 03 English voice as well, but only one thing bothered me about it. She sounded a bit boyish there. I guess it was because she's a tomboy or something. Makes sense.

No. 5: Cobalt: I just enjoyed them all. His English voice was a bit goofy sounding, but suited his personality. His Japanese voice was cute and enjoyable to listen to. Too bad they didn't add him in the 80s series and 03 series. And I don't see why they didn't. Especially for the 80s series since most of them were based off the 60s series. (I could definitely see him in the 80s series!)

No. 6: Black Jack: Now it's time to head up on the English,Hispanic, and Japanese voices for Black Jack. His English voice just needed a bit improvement here and there. I am not going to say anything more. I love his Japanese voices! They were perfect in every way and really suited his personality and looks. The voice actor(s) also showed soo much emotion and put soo much power into it. I loved them a lot and really enjoyed the series listening to the Japanese voice! The Latin/Hispanic voices (Yeah! Us Hispanics have Black Jack! lol.) were ok, but I think he talked a little too fast and was a bit (Just a tiny bit.) wooden and slow on a emotion at times. This just may be because of the language.

No. 7: Pinoko: I fell in love with Pinoko's Japanese voice as soon as I heard it. Her voice was cute, suiting, and a joy to listen to! I like to hear her sing! As for the English voice I just think it also needed a bit improvement. The English voice cast were probably amature Voice actors that were just starting out. (Rookies) Also Like for Uran's English 03 voice, it sounded a bit boyish and at sometimes even a little manish! lol. Sorry, that's just my opinion there. I just had to let it out. I also enjoy her Latin voice. It's very cute and fits her well!

No. 8: Sharaku: So, I pretty much just liked all of his Japanese voices, especially the Black Jack 2004 voice. I liked how the voice actress made his voice sounded a bit more mature in those. I have to say though, his Latin voice was weird. It sounded like a grown man more than a boy. When I heard his Spanish voice I was like, "God, what did we Latins do to Sharaku's cute boy voice? Must've hit puberty a little early." lol. Anyways, all of the young boys sounded like that in Black Jack 2004 Latin dub. I'm not sure about the Portuguese dub, I only watched like 2 minutes of it. I'm pretty sure it's similar though.

No.9: Dr. Kiriko: Dr. Kiriko's Japanese voices were perfect and suited his character well. I've never heard the English voice before, so I'll never know. I'm pretty sure it would've needed a bit improvement though.

No. 10: Sapphire: I really enjoyed Sapphire's English voice a lot. Though, it can sometimes sound a bit squeaky. It fit though, so it was pretty good. I enjoyed her Japanese voice a bit more though cause it showed that boyish side of her and at the same time, a girlish side. That's why I liked it a bit more than the English voice.

No.11: Tink: Both of them were equally good. His English voice was pretty accurate and enjoyable to listen to, while his Japanese voice was cute, perky, and innocent.

No.12: Kimba: For me, I liked Billie Lou Watt's Kimba voice. I've never listened to his Japanese voice before. (Well, I did listen to his 80s voice when he was young in the first few episodes, but not sure if that's the same voice actress or not.)

No.13: Unico: I liked his Japanese voice. It was cute. But I'm not sure about his English voice, cause I've never even heard it before. Though, by hearing about what people said about it, I'm guessing it wasn't that great. (I've heard that the English dub was awful. Not sure if it's true though.) I've only heard his Japanese voice by watching a commerical for one of the movies.

No.14: Wato: I forgot to include Wato's voices! I've never heard her Latin voice, so I can't judge that. I like Wato's Japanese voice cause it gives out emotion and sounds very tomboyish, which suits her personality perfectly.

No.15: Osamu Tezuka (Black Jack 2004): I liked it, and that's pretty much all I have to say about it. Sounded close to his voice. Again, I've never heard his Latin voice, but I'm pretty sure it was accurate.

Well, that's about it. I have nothing else more to share about what I think of the voices for other Tezuka characters. I have said enough. So, tell me what you guys think about their voices in different dubs? Did you like the English dubs more than the Original Japanese dubs? As for me, I'm more Japanese than anything, so I say Japanese dub FTW! (Just my opinion though.) What's yours?

[Tetsuwan Atom]

Well there is kind of a obvious reason why the Japanse would be the only one that adds up.
Not because i am a dub hater which i am not but in most other Dubs most voices actors had no idea how to portrait certain charachters because most of them din't know anything/much about them or in the older days with localization they would change so much that it wasn't anything like the original at times.

And i haven't died as you can see lol just haven't been on the forums for some reason.

[AprilSeven]

Good to see you, Tetsuwan Atom!

I have to say that I equally enjoy hearing the original voices used, and the English dubs.

I was much more opinionated when I first joined this site, but truthfully, there is good and value in each of the versions . . . if I had my way, I'd own every one! I'm not as familiar with Black Jack, so I can't comment. And the 1960's English anime will probably be my favorite forever because it was the first one I saw, but I was thrilled and impressed with the fact that they created a 2003 version, and also updated the story to be more of a complete "arch"

I only wish that Cobalt and Chi-tan had been included, because I love them too!

[tailz]

Well there is kind of a obvious reason why the Japanse would be the only one that adds up.
Not because i am a dub hater which i am not but in most other Dubs most voices actors had no idea how to portrait certain charachters because most of them din't know anything/much about them or in the older days with localization they would change so much that it wasn't anything like the original at times.

And i haven't died as you can see lol just haven't been on the forums for some reason.

Yes, I do agree with you Tetsuwan Atom. I am also not a dub hater myself, I just go with the original Japanese dubs cause I like the feelings and emotions each voice actor gives out. And I have noticed how much dubs progressed through the years. Usually back in the 90s, most dubs were poorly funded and sounded a bit muffled and echoed. Now, they have great companies who are dubbing them and the quality is very clear!

Oh, and welcome back, btw. I remember seeing you on one of F-Man's threads last year. Good thing you're still alive!

[Earthshine]

I don't recall any fights being made over this subject on this forum ever, at least not since the days of Toshio.

When it comes to the original Japanese dubs there is little argument that can be made over their quality compared to their Western counterparts; the original is better. However as stated the dubbing quality here in the West has gotten exponentially better now that anime and dubbing has been seen as something that can be mainstreamed and marketed. More money is being made so more money is being poured into distribution quality.

For me personally though it depends on the voice itself; for example I really do.not.like Pinoko's Japanese voice in the 1990s OVA. I just don't. Even her voice in the 2004 TV series gets me gaining a headache real quick. But that's just me. There are also other examples as with Dr. Ochanomizu in the 2003 anime. I really love his English voice over his Japanese voice because to me his Japanese just sounded SO HARSH for his character. He sounded to me like he was rasping. I know he's an old man but come on... most old men I know do not rasp like that.

I really loved the English version of the 1960s anime too over the original simply because I liked the voices overall better.

But the Tezuka dubs are getting better. Jungle Emperor Leo, Metropolis (dubbed in 2002 I think actually...) and Phoenix all had a GREAT English dub and I always listen to these in their English representation. So for me it just depends on the individual voices at the time.

[tailz]

Oh, really? Cause I think everyone here Loves Pinokos original Japanese voice. Don't know why you don't, though understandable. Not everyone likes certain voices. Personally, I don't like the Black Jack 90s dub cause of my problems with poor voice acting and low budget companies, but of course this may be because I'm not all western.

Anyways, if you don't like her JP voice, then watch it in Latino. Her voice sounds nice.

[Crazy_Red]

For me personally though it depends on the voice itself; for example I really do.not.like Pinoko's Japanese voice in the 1990s OVA. I just don't. Even her voice in the 2004 TV series gets me gaining a headache real quick. But that's just me. There are also other examples as with Dr. Ochanomizu in the 2003 anime. I really love his English voice over his Japanese voice because to me his Japanese just sounded SO HARSH for his character. He sounded to me like he was rasping. I know he's an old man but come on... most old men I know do not rasp like that.

I really loved the English version of the 1960s anime too over the original simply because I liked the voices overall better.

I think the reason why Ochannomizu voice was so raspy was that Hisashi Katsuta was aging. He was 76 at the time, so I assume that his age affects his ability to act. He’s played Ochannomizu for a long time because Hisashi Katsuta is associated with him. I think this is the reason why the staff hired him for the 2003 version regardless of his age. However, he didn’t voice Ochannomizu in the 2009 movie or in any recent Astro Boy commercial. I do agree with you in that I like his English voice better. I also like his English voice for the 60’s English dub.

There’s a lot of Tezuka works out there, but I’ll talk about Jetter Mars’s cast. For Jetter Mars, I like the Japanese cast the most overall. I don’t think there was an actor/actress that gave a bad performance or sounded out of place in the Japanese version of Jetter Mars. Everyone’s voice fitted their character and the acting was done really well. I think the strong acting really helped increase the enjoyably of the show. Mari Shumizu’s voice for Mars was really cute. I was surprised that Mari Shumizu was able to make Mars sound a bit different than Astro by making him sound younger and more mischievous. Miri’s voice is really pretty. She sounded young, but not too high pitched (for the most part). Melchi’s voice was cute. Also, you could also really appreciate Goro Naya’s (Dr. Yamanoue) and Hisashi Katsuta’s(Dr. Kawashimo) acting, especially since they were young and healthy during those times. I think the reason why their performances in the Japanese version were great was because the actors/actress where old enough to be experienced but young enough to be in good health.

However, since I was introduced to the Greek dub of Jetter Mars first, Dr. Yamanoue’s Japanese voice surprised me. Goro Naya gave Dr. Yamanoue a deep, rough voice (similar to his role as Zenigata from Lupin the III) . The Greek voice was hoarse, but unlike his Japanese voice, it’s not deep. However, I do think Goro Naya’s deep voice does fit the authoritative side of Dr. Yamanoue. I think the most notable element of Goro Naya’s performance is that I think he can act really well. He really seems to get the sense of the characters he plays. He can change from an authoritative tone to an angry tone or to a soft tone for Dr. Yamanoue on a drop of a hat. With a character like Dr. Yamanoue, I think it really helped in characterizing him. It’s no supprise that Goro Naya had a fruitful acting career.

I think that this might be an unpopular opinion, but I still like Dr. Yamanoue’s and Dr. Kawashimo’s Greek dub voices, although I don’t think Dr. Yamanoue’s performance in the Greek dub has the same variety as Goro Naya’s acting. Makes me wonder how the Greek version would handle episode 8 if they dubbed it . Maybe it’s because I’m nostalgic towards the Greek dub, but I think his voice does capture some of Dr. Yamanoue’s mean side. Dr. Kawashimo Greek actor makes Dr. Kawashimo sound warm and welcoming which is perfect for the character.

For Tezuka anime, I usually like the Japanese version the best but I’m open minded towards dub performances. I’ll probably talk about my feelings towards the other Tezuka characters/series in a later post.

[Earthshine]

Oh how completely semi-ethnocentric of me to completely forget the various European dubs!

Doesn't help that I've only heard of the German 1980s Astro Boy dub and its CATCHY opening song.

As for the fact about the Japanese VA for Ochanomizu - I honestly didn't know that but it makes sense if the VA was that old and not in the best of health or as fit as he could have been. However then again I've noticed that in a lot of animes when an older character is present the voice always seems so very harsh, almost cartoonishly so. Of course there are exceptions to this rule but it's just trend I've noticed for a long, long time.

The Japanese probably have such a good dubbing standard because of their animation. Japan is still considered the world leader in animation studios so they have a lot to prove and keep at a high quality. Also their work ethic and sense of national pride is probably a factor. It's quite admirable. They animate so much thus they dub a lot so they've had a long time to perfect their industry (even if some of their processes make me raise an eyebrow, such as them animating first before voice-work).

I make a point to never dismiss a dub simply because it's a dub and side with the Japanese simply because it's Japanese (a lot of anime fans do this and it's quite irritating and sad ) before hearing the quality of both. And as I said it's usually for me a one on one thing; one character sounds better to me than another. Then again there are some works overall that I do like better (most Tezuka anime I DO like better in their original format). It just depends

[tailz]

Oh, I'm not siding with it just cause its Japanese, I'm siding with it cause I'm more used to hearing the Japanese voices come out of the cast of characters. Besides, the first time I noticed Black Jack was when I saw a picture of him with Pinoko and the rest of the drs. on it. Then I watched the first episode of the 2004 series on youtube, and I thought to myself, "Neh, its alright." and I have been watching it ever since. And yeah, I just randomly stumbled upon the 90s english dubs a few months later.

[Earthshine]

Oh, I'm not siding with it just cause its Japanese

Didn't accuse you of such, never even thought you did. I was referring to some other people that I have met in my past as well as pointing out a small trend in the anime community. I believe these types of people are called Weeaboos? Yeah, sorry if you thought I was accusing you (or anyone here). I was just speaking frankly.