Brigid wrote:I *love* the songs, it's having Kurama sounding like a preteen girl in the series that drives me nuts.
And it's true, I haven't seen more than a few episodes in the original Japanese. Partially because I didn't have access to the entire series subbed, and partially because it was just easier to watch the dub.
Really, aside from Kurama being voiced by a woman, I don't have a problem with the original cast. (Heck, Kuwabara sounds less like a total idiot from what I've heard, and that's a plus right there.)
And I rather like it that they had Yoko Kurama's voice deeper in the dub. It's a bit of continuity with the original voice work and makes him sound just a bit creepier.
The problem with the dub isn't the VAs. I like FUNi VAs (even though I like the originals better). The problem with the dub is...they wrote probably the worst translations I could think of. They were all right in dubbing at the beginning, but as it went on, they changed stuff, changed it to the point where it barely made sense. Yeah it made sense if you're not paying attention, but if you stop and think about some of the stuff, you'll be left scratching you head.
Example: Karasu's power
In the sub it's pretty easy to understand: Karasu's ability is he is able to create exposives from his Youki. But, you have to be at a certain level to be able to see it, otherwise it will look like he touches people to make them combust. Kurama at first is not up to that level to be able to see his Youki. Karasu manifests one of the bombs futher, allowing him to see it. As Yoko Kurama, Kurama can see them (and thus the audience can too). But when he changes back, he can't again, but that one part where Yusuke screams out "Kurama don't move!" Yusuke can see them because he is at that certain level.
All makes sense.
In the dub, I was left scratching my head
Karasu makes "invisible" bombs that seem to turn back and forth from being visible and not out of his "Spirit" Energy. (Not Demon Energy). And then Kurama can't see it, then Karasu apparently uncloaks his bomb and then Yoko can see it, and then Kurama can't again and Yusuke somehow can. They don't explain it at all.
The worst part of the dub is the Sensui arc. I watched it first in english and by the end I was confused. I mean they made so many plotholes and created whole new paragraphs of dialouge. For example, when Yusuke and Sensui confront each other in the original, they exchange dialouge about how Sensui was luring Yusuke to fight him and that he didn't even care about his portal, to which Yusuke slams him across the face, disgusted that he would go through all that just to fight him.
In the dub, it's some weirdo dialouge about how Yusuke is killing humans and becoming evil or something, and how much Yusuke's life sucks.... The important thing to note that Sensui doesn't say that he doesn't care about his portal.
But later, when Yusuke is up against Kazuya, he says, in the dub "one of you said you didn't care about the portal" when they didn't even include that line earlier!
Such horrible script writing.
I couldn't even understand what Sensui was trying to do until after I watched it in Japanese. And there are very poorly written episodes, such as Kuwabara's fight with Toguro Ani in the 2nd episode. Toguro Ani says "NEEHEHE I HID OUT SO IN THE BETTING WE COULD BE RICH!"
Why do they think Toguro Ani would even remotely care about being rich? That's the stupidest line ever. If they had kept it the same I would have liked the dub, but it's just full of bad script writing,that's why I don't like it.
when I saw him lift that slab of concrete all by himself at the end. He is surprisingly strong.