My anime crew?

[SinXAzgard21]

I don't like dub anime but if I can't find it in subs I'll take what I can get.

[Tiaan]

*jumps in* I like anime too : ) since I was a wee girl, back when they sold stuff like Urotsukidoji in HMV and mothers would buy it for their kids disregarding the '18' rating since 'its just a cartoon, how bad could it be!' At least my mother did that for me... I got quite a shock when I watched it!

Someone mentioned Princess Tutu a while back, I loved that one... and actually really enjoyed the dubbed version, since Luci Christian, who voiced the lead, has such a lovely voice (same as School Rumble which I watched in dub because of her).

At the moment I am into the remake of Hunter x Hunter; which if I'd seen the artwork or had known anything it before I would probably have skipped it, not my usual choice at all! But I've been so pleasantly surprised by the quirky all male cast. Really fun series! I can highly recommend it.

Anyway! Hi everyone : )

[Koibito]

I can only speak for myself of course.

I don't think St. Seiya got big here in the U.S.  It was Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) that most people got attached to here from what I remember.  DBZ was massively huge, anime chatrooms were full of younger fans going on and on after each day's episode commenced.  Yes, it was that huge, and whilst its fanbase has shrunk with people getting older, it still does have its devotees.

I do recall reading online though, that around many parts of the rest of the world outside Japan and the U.S. / Canada, St. Seiya was 'the big action anime' to get popular in the 1990s, especially in Mexico and other regions of Latin / S. America.

I'm old enough to remember all the series of the 1980s (The Littles, Heathcliff, GI Joe, etc, plus many of Disney's 1980s/1990s animated series) that were conceived and story-written here in the U.S., but all animation production was done in either France or (mostly) Japan, animation handled mainly by TMS, Toei and Topcraft (Studio Ghibli grew out of remnants from Topcraft).  Eventually by the mid 1990s, Japan got too expensive, so now most productions (like the Simpsons) are done in S. Korea.

Yeah, but it did gain an audience of some proportion. It was alongside DBZ as far as popularity, but where DBZ excelled to become the #1 world's most popular Manga. Saint Seiya shrunk to obscurity becoming popular among certain groups. Shockingly enough, it may even continue soon. The sequel series has been on hiatus for about a decade now and the writer has had interviews on it with plans for it to continue. That plus the fact that merchandise is coming out quite a bit recently (new figures and even a PS3 game) shows that the popularity could come back soon. It's in the same vein as One Piece where it was a hit yet 4kids killed U.S. popularity before it bounced back and is currently thriving. It'd be pretty neat if something as obscure and old as Saint Seiya made a comeback, plus the manga is pretty great in my opinion.

[Haruki]

Someone mentioned Princess Tutu a while back, I loved that one... and actually really enjoyed the dubbed version, since Luci Christian, who voiced the lead, has such a lovely voice (same as School Rumble which I watched in dub because of her).

I'm not sure what all got released out of ADV/Sentai's titles over there in England, but if you want more of her, she is in many dubs that were done under that umbrella.  I forget exactly what anime titles though.

She's been in the dubbing gig for a long while now.

I could rattle off a bunch of names from past and current studios that I've enjoyed hearing.  They've given their voices over to some of my most favorite anime and their characters.

Yeah, but it did gain an audience of some proportion. It was alongside DBZ as far as popularity, but where DBZ excelled to become the #1 world's most popular Manga. Saint Seiya shrunk to obscurity becoming popular among certain groups. Shockingly enough, it may even continue soon. The sequel series has been on hiatus for about a decade now and the writer has had interviews on it with plans for it to continue. That plus the fact that merchandise is coming out quite a bit recently (new figures and even a PS3 game) shows that the popularity could come back soon. It's in the same vein as One Piece where it was a hit yet 4kids killed U.S. popularity before it bounced back and is currently thriving. It'd be pretty neat if something as obscure and old as Saint Seiya made a comeback, plus the manga is pretty great in my opinion.

4Kids used people who did dubs for The Slayers, Lodoss War and the like.  The VAs weren't the problem for their releases (lots of folks like to trash 4Kids' dubs).  The problem were in the script-writers and the higher-ups (*cough* Al Khan *cough*) who were going after the absolute WRONG titles....maybe sans Pokemon, to attempt tailoring for a younger audience and going up against the censors.

For those reasons to me, they were easily one of those companies that's absurdly easy to mock.

Of course, they've been seriously knocked down a few pegs (mostly in financial terms), finally getting that CEO named above to resign his post and a refocusing of goals.  I guess they're doing their own productions now and going to outside sources (like Funimation) to get anime (like a 'watered down' version of DBZ Kai....done by Funimation themselves, not 4Kids) to air on their block on the CW network.

Not entirely sure, and not inclined to look into it.  Last 4Kids title I bothered with was Yu-Gi-Oh!  Had familiar VAs who I KNOW could put out a decent dub.  TOO many liberties taken with the scripts though, giving the series a laughable excuse of a dub track that turned its pre-built fanbase away.

Hopefully they're not eying up a possible St. Seiya reboot.

[Tiaan]

Sure, please give me some names of some shows!

I like Vic Mignoga too, his voice really gives me tingles sometimes. It has to be a really good show for me to watch it in English though, in my opinion the rest of the cast never seem to match up to the talent of those two (and one or two others) and wind up sounding a bit generic and cheesy. I also saw Super Gals with Luci, that was pretty fun but again the rest of the voice acting sucked.

[Haruki]

Tiaan, maybe these will help.  They're filmographies (or...should that be anime dub'ographies) for both VAs.

Luci Christian
Vic Mignogna

And I just picked up Clannad too.  Luci plays the major female role in there, Nagisa.  Though that's a slice-of-life drama (based off a visual novel game), so I don't know if you'd be into that or not.

ADV/Sentai and Funimation do quite good casting major characters, but .....I agree with you.  Minor /secondary characters are often given the shaft.....usually less-experienced actors just getting started in doing bit parts and such are given those roles.

[Tiaan]

Thanks Haruki. I have watched Clannad in Japanese, didn't know Luci was voicing the English version! Oh well! I didn't find it so good that I'd want to rewatch it, despite a lot of people recommending it. Well, it was good, but not as memorable as a lot of others.

I'll watch most genres of anime, they all have series' that resonate with me. In general I tend to avoid the mecha stuff, despite having seen some really good ones of those too, and the really generic overly fanservice ones *yawns* fanservice can be fun, but not all the time!

[Caeli]

The constant fan-service (and actually, the main male character) in Love Hina was one reason that I actually got turned off of the manga/anime. It was interesting and cute at first, but after the 20th time, I got a little bored with the lack of substance.

[Tiaan]

It can add some humour, like in Haruhi Suzumiya, with Mikuru and the constant forcing her to wear costumes but you get those series where there really is just nothing but fanservice, just some vague plot that's feels like it's been pulled out of a 'DIY anime script' book or something. Can usually spot those a mile off though.

Don't know if it's ever put me off an otherwise good series though (not that I've seen Love Hina so I don't know if it's good!).

Did anyone watch Highscool of the Dead? That was so packed full of the most blatant fanservice, all the way through but somehow it was still really good.

[Haibane]

I think I'm the only anime fan online who exclusively watches anime in dub format.

I think you may be exaggerating there a little

Did anyone watch Highscool of the Dead? That was so packed full of the most blatant fanservice, all the way through but somehow it was still really good.

I enjoyed it. In fact a twisted part of me enjoyed it more because so many people slated it for the fanservice. The boobs and bums and panties aside, I thought it was a great story and would make a great RP.

[Haruki]

The constant fan-service (and actually, the main male character) in Love Hina was one reason that I actually got turned off of the manga/anime. It was interesting and cute at first, but after the 20th time, I got a little bored with the lack of substance.

And to think, 10 years ago, Love Hina was literally all the rage online.

Guess all those folks who got into it wised up and found better anime.

A better, more realistic anime that is set in an apartment building is Maison Ikkou, which Ken Akamatsu (creator of Love Hina) cited as some 'inspiration' for his work.

MI is many times over, better than Love Hina.

Tiaan, like you, I'm also sure there's quite good mecha series out there, some that feature other elements I like. (political bickering, romance, drama), but the whole 'fighting in giant robots that could take out the entire solar system' thing just never does it for me.  I never was (nor still am) one into sci-fi 'anything'.

It's why I'm sure I'm the only lowly sap who's not touched the Star Wars franchise yet, with no intents or reasons to do so.  Sure, it's a groundbreaking, sweeping series of movies, especially EPs IV, V and VI, but 'the final frontiers' of the universe.....yeah.

Now give me a time machine to take me back to the medieval days or some means to hop into a fictionalized setting like that of Middle Earth, or the worlds told of in anime like Fushigi Yuugi, Saiunkoku or Twelve Kingdoms.....mmmh,  That stuff makes me get all fanboy crazy.  ^_~

I think you may be exaggerating there a little

Mayhaps I am.  I need to remind myself, not every anime fan in this world is online, be it a forum or Facebook or whatever else medium there is.  Some choose to keep their love of anime 'in the closet', so to speak.

[Caeli]

I actually started off with Maison Ikkoku (the manga), and didn't really enjoy it.

As for fandoms - I was never really into being a part of "fandoms". I enjoy my anime, love it and love to talk about it, but I generally chat about it with friends, rather than going all gung-ho online and duking it out with other fans.

[Faustus]

I like Vic Mignoga too, his voice really gives me tingles sometimes. It has to be a really good show for me to watch it in English though, in my opinion the rest of the cast never seem to match up to the talent of those two (and one or two others) and wind up sounding a bit generic and cheesy. I also saw Super Gals with Luci, that was pretty fun but again the rest of the voice acting sucked.

Vic is a pretty decent VA, though he has been terribly type-casted since obtaining his role as Edward Elric. Sadly, I have beef with the man himself. . . It's a shame, really, that such problems appeared, but! Beef with him aside, he does a pretty nice job with his acting.

Tiaan, maybe these will help.  They're filmographies (or...should that be anime dub'ographies) for both VAs.

Luci Christian
Vic Mignogna

And I just picked up Clannad too.  Luci plays the major female role in there, Nagisa.  Though that's a slice-of-life drama (based off a visual novel game), so I don't know if you'd be into that or not.

ADV/Sentai and Funimation do quite good casting major characters, but .....I agree with you.  Minor /secondary characters are often given the shaft.....usually less-experienced actors just getting started in doing bit parts and such are given those roles.

Oh, why hello there, Luci. She's another VA that I'm fond of, though sometimes she get's picked for roles that I hadn't expected for her voice-type! Until I looked at her filmography, I was totally unaware that she was playing Hungary in the Dub of Axis Powers Hetalia. Geeze, and I own all of that and still didn't notice.

There is some truth behind the major casting doing well, while secondary are given to the less experienced - However, we do that in natural theatre as well. The chances of a new-into-the-business individual earning the lead spot is pretty low : You had to have really impressed us with your audition. But we stick them in the secondary roles so they have longer to adjust. It's terrible to throw someone new into it, because of everything they have to learn, and the stress that comes with it.

Voice acting is similar (it's just another form of theatre, really!), so I can understand their reasons for that.

[. . .] It's why I'm sure I'm the only lowly sap who's not touched the Star Wars franchise yet, with no intents or reasons to do so.  Sure, it's a groundbreaking, sweeping series of movies, especially EPs IV, V and VI, but 'the final frontiers' of the universe.....yeah. [. . .]

Nope! I have yet to even watch a single one of the films all the way through. Mind, part of that is related to being raised in a Trekkie household and having it forbidden here, but the other part comes from when I tried to watch it. . . I became so bored by it that I turned the film off. 

[Haruki]

I actually started off with Maison Ikkoku (the manga), and didn't really enjoy it.

As for fandoms - I was never really into being a part of "fandoms". I enjoy my anime, love it and love to talk about it, but I generally chat about it with friends, rather than going all gung-ho online and duking it out with other fans.

Well, Maison Ikkoku was put out in a different time....early/mid 1980s, and is also (with Urusei Yatsura) one of Rumiko Takahashi's earlier works before she honed in on her style and obviously hit it out of the park with Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha, both which are now cited often as favorites....the former with those who started out in anime back in the 1990s, and the latter with the newer generation introduced to anime by Cartoon Network and other means.

Consider yourself lucky.  I know no one in my area....which is mostly a semi-rural farming region, nearest cities of 50,000+ to my north and 30,000+ to my south are not very artsy (esp. liberal arts, where anime sorta kinda falls into.....it 'does' count as foreign film in some circles), the people around here are kinda cheap/lives within means, and there is no big college or convention scene to help push anime along a bit more.  As such, there's no one my age who's into anime 'to' talk about it with.  Thus why I have to subject myself to the online sorts.

Not that all folks online are terrible.  This thread is example of it.  I state my preferences in what I watch and how I watch anime, the little rants and raves towards series and characters, and my own personal histories of anime.  I read out others' opinions, understanding and respectful of them.

I do not care for the other online fallacies......the sub/dub wars, the fangirling/boying ('claiming' characters), and other such foolishness.

Vic is a pretty decent VA, though he has been terribly type-casted since obtaining his role as Edward Elric. Sadly, I have beef with the man himself. . . It's a shame, really, that such problems appeared, but! Beef with him aside, he does a pretty nice job with his acting.

It'll happen.  It happens with Hollywood too though, so it's all kind of the same.  It does drive me a little nuts too though, considering if one looks at just those two profiles and respective filmographies alone, they've VA'ed in many different varying roles.

The typecasting is a fandom thing, and yes, it drives me batty to no end.

Oh, why hello there, Luci. She's another VA that I'm fond of, though sometimes she get's picked for roles that I hadn't expected for her voice-type! Until I looked at her filmography, I was totally unaware that she was playing Hungary in the Dub of Axis Powers Hetalia. Geeze, and I own all of that and still didn't notice.

And THAT my friend, makes a good VA.  Versatile and able to tweak vocal tone and the like to the point where you can't tell who it is.

Sadly there are few like that.  It's too bad the LA scene doesn't get much work for anime anymore because the studios that used those actors (Geneon, Media Blasters and the now-defunct Bandai) have all curtailed dubs to a nimimal amount, or are (in Geneon's and Bandai's cases) out of the business entirely.  Some of the LA voice talent did some of the best dubs in anime back in the early-mid 2000s.

(stuff related to theatre acting and voice acting)

Makes perfect sense.  ^^

Nope! I have yet to even watch a single one of the films all the way through. Mind, part of that is related to being raised in a Trekkie household and having it forbidden here, but the other part comes from when I tried to watch it. . . I became so bored by it that I turned the film off. 

Glad to know I'm not alone in that camp.

Star Trek was actually something I did attempt to get into back in the early 1990s, starting with the Original Series and on into TNG.  I don't know what happened along the way.  What I did watch though I did actually enjoy a bit, though my recollection of the episodes i seen is pretty much nil nowadays.

[Caeli]

Consider yourself lucky.  I know no one in my area....which is mostly a semi-rural farming region, nearest cities of 50,000+ to my north and 30,000+ to my south are not very artsy (esp. liberal arts, where anime sorta kinda falls into.....it 'does' count as foreign film in some circles), the people around here are kinda cheap/lives within means, and there is no big college or convention scene to help push anime along a bit more.  As such, there's no one my age who's into anime 'to' talk about it with.  Thus why I have to subject myself to the online sorts.

I have very few friends that I know from RL and school who are into the genres of manga and anime that I tend to enjoy, actually - all of the people who I know enjoy anime, usually only dabble in the popular fare like Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach. One of them does really enjoy all things Japanese (including anime), but again, he mostly picks up the popular stuff, not any of the obscure titles or shojo titles I tend to find exciting and fun.

All of the people who I do talk shop with are friends that I originally met online, and who I subsequently met in RL and now enjoy a close friendship with. :) That was purely luck, though, that we shared many interests in addition to anime, and are so close in age.

[Chris Brady]

For the record, I have no issues against anyone who likes Dubs.  It's a personal choice, and I respect that.  Although to the guy who preferred Dubs to Subs, because it was 'funnier', I no longer will talk with you.  Ever.

[Caeli]

You know, it would be really cool if we could establish some kind of... anime club-esque group here. You know, we pick one anime (or manga) to watch (or read), and then discuss it at intervals. It's been a long time since I've picked apart anime with anyone because it's more of a niche hobby, especially once you get past the popular and big-time series.

[Chris Brady]

That would be kind of cool.

[Haruki]

For the record, I have no issues against anyone who likes Dubs.  It's a personal choice, and I respect that.  Although to the guy who preferred Dubs to Subs, because it was 'funnier', I no longer will talk with you.  Ever.

'Funny' is a subjective thing.

The only dubs I find funny are those that are truly, laughably bad.

Caeli:  I rather like that idea too.  :)  I'm not sure what I'll be able to do about some of the things I don't own, but I'll do what I must to track them down.  For those I do know and own (thus have easy access to), I'd be happy to join in with commentary and such.

[Faustus]

I second the club-esque thing whole-heartedly! I'll be very apt and able to watch and commentate on series as of... Oh, God, next Wednesday. Wow, that date sneaking up on me made me have a pit-fall....

Anyway : Yep, totally on that! Thankfully, many series are available online, though most are fansubbed (Haruki - Is there a way to assist you with the issues involving subtitles? I feel for you on that, as the dubbed versions are nigh-on impossible to come across without shelling out the money for it : something I don't normally mind, but surviving on a college kids funds make it...eh...)

[SinXAzgard21]

So... University of the Dead RP? (instead of High School of the Dead.)  -looks around and whistles-

[Haruki]

I second the club-esque thing whole-heartedly! I'll be very apt and able to watch and commentate on series as of... Oh, God, next Wednesday. Wow, that date sneaking up on me made me have a pit-fall....

Anyway : Yep, totally on that! Thankfully, many series are available online, though most are fansubbed (Haruki - Is there a way to assist you with the issues involving subtitles? I feel for you on that, as the dubbed versions are nigh-on impossible to come across without shelling out the money for it : something I don't normally mind, but surviving on a college kids funds make it...eh...)

Well, computer monitors are more highly customizable than a TV.  Higher contrasts/sharpness levels, color/depth, along with changing the screen resolution.  Since subtitles are going to be a part of the slideshows / video compilation projects I'd be doing for family / friends (for my new line of work), and I've been working with those in my first project, they should be no issue for me in this instance.

Yeah, unfortunately, dubs are only available either through buying the physical media usually.  The absolute newest series being broadcast online (via Crunchyroll, NicoNico, etc) as I understand, are sub-only, and companies like Funimation offer few dubs online.....and in that, those are usually series people aren't following anymore, are not the sorts of series the 'die hard' fans want (they tend to only license action, 'harem' and more high-profile works...not 'slice of life', shoujo/josei, and comedy like ToraDora, Oreimo, K-on! and others that have run in the past year or so...those going to other companies instead who only put out limited sub-only pressings of discs), or are limited in ep count (usually the first 4 eps or so).  The reason for that is monetary, obviously....dubs cost $$$, and they make that through DVD / BluRay sales.

Anime is one of those very fast-paced hobbies to follow.  It's killed me countless times in the RPing realm when there's a series I watch, I want to play canon or make an OC to fit the setting, but when I take it online, no one is willing because they've all moved on to the next big title.  Of course though, that's just a side thing...I wouldn't be watching these series to play off, I'd be doing so to comment on them.

Now if it happened where a title came up that I do have on hand already in disc form and it has a dub, I can just cue that up on my DVD player right here on my PC and play back in English.  While I suppose those will be few and far between, as we'll want to probably focus on newer titles rather than 'legacy' titles, there's still some older things that may be found out there and watched.

Wednesdays hmm?  That could work.  Middle of the week, not much going on for many folks (unless they're already busy as it is anyhow throughout the whole week), but it just feels like a good time.  I know for sure I have nothing going on those days.

[Aiden]

-checks in and raises hand-

I consider myself a moderate fan, some series I really like. My favorites being Initial D (The very first Anime I ever saw), GTO and Berserk.

The ones I am currently following is Beezlebub, funniest Anime I have seen in a long time.
BEELZEBUB Opening 1 HD

The basic story, a baby demon is sent from his father (the demon lord) to earth to be raised by a human parent. The parent being a delinquent who the baby bonds to and he tries to pawn the baby on someone else to raise.

Lots of demons, fighting and funny baby moments. (Ohh and maids)

[Tiaan]

You know, it would be really cool if we could establish some kind of... anime club-esque group here. You know, we pick one anime (or manga) to watch (or read), and then discuss it at intervals. It's been a long time since I've picked apart anime with anyone because it's more of a niche hobby, especially once you get past the popular and big-time series.

Yea! This is a great idea! Any ideas which series we could talk about? The winter 2012 season is only a few episodes in, up to about episode 3 or 4 for most new shows. There hasn't been anything that's really jumped out at me yet, like Steins Gate did a few months ago but it's still early. Nisemonogatari might turn out to be interesting (it's the follow up to Bakemonogatari which was pretty special, and unique).

Or we could pick an older series that we haven't seen and watch an episode a week.

[Haibane]

You know, it would be really cool if we could establish some kind of... anime club-esque group here. You know, we pick one anime (or manga) to watch (or read), and then discuss it at intervals. It's been a long time since I've picked apart anime with anyone because it's more of a niche hobby, especially once you get past the popular and big-time series.

I'd be up for this. We have tried this in another anime forum I frequent and what we found there was that the anime we discussed should be SHORT, and by that I mean only a half-season (up to 13 eps) or a season (26 eps) as interest and comments dried up when we tried our first series of 52 eps and even a 26 ep series proved troublesome.

I'd therefore recommend, as our first discussion project, something about 13 episodes long, or a manga that's not too long and freely available on one of the more well know sites like manga fox.

What we discuss need not be current, or airing now (though it would be fun if we could find something current) but we could discuss something of a few years ago - at least we could try to agree on a series we know well that we won't lose interest in part-way through.

For me to hold my interest it'd need to hover around the slice of life/high school/romance/shoujo-ai/interpersonal relations type area. It can have elements of darkness (Paranoia Agent anyone?) or craziness (Fooly Cooly) but I'd struggle to keep interested in something with mosters, big swords and magical girls.

Tiaan - Nisemonogatari sounds like it might be a good choice!