Canadian anime dubs

Oh by all means discuss the non-Ocean Westwood dubs but there's even less decent ones from the rest of Canada. The only Blue Water dubs I've enjoyed were G Gundam and ZoiRAB CC/GF. The rest... I can't even explain how bad they are.

Then you want to get to the bottom of the barrel? You've got dubs like Bakugan and Spider Riders. Bakugan's actors are fine in Total Drama Island and such but in Bakugan they sound horrible. I blame the director and the dialogue but man they're just unbelievably bad. Spider Riders I guess wasn't nearly that bad but it sure wasn't what I'd call... good.

Recent Blue Water failures I've heard... Hunter x Hunter's dub, which is pretty horrible asside from a few voices. Flame of Recca's dub from a few years before that is possibly even worse. The way they butchered the pronounciation of ninja is simply baffeling.

Since other people have mentioned their tier list for dubs... I guess I will too.

1) FUNimation (they put out very few dubs I don't enjoy)
2) New Generation Pictures and Bang Zoom (making the best LA dubs lately)
3) Studiopolois (granted they suck hard when they suck but when they do it right, it's fantastic)
4) Animaze / ZRO Limit (Code Geass knocked them down several pegs from what they used to be able to do)
5) NYAV Post
6) Other LA Studios
7) ADV
8) Other NY Studios besides 4kiRAB
9) Ocean Westwood
10) Ocean Blue Water
11) 4kiRAB
12) Other Canadian Studios

I think that was all of them.
 
It's usually 50/50 on my part. I either like the decision or I don't.

*With really good acting
**With really bad acting

Vancouver
Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Double-0*
ZOIRAB: NC 0*

Calgary
Crest / Banner of the Stars**
ZOIRAB: CC & GF*
Mobile Fighter G Gundam**

That said, here's my region's best studios
Vancouver - Ocean Studios
Calgary - Blue Water (on some animes)
Los Angeles - ZRO Limit Productions (XENOSAGA EP I-III, Wolf's Rain)
Texas - "In house" acting
 
You know, personally, I've always found the Canadian dubs to be vastly underrated. People write them off too quickly, especially at the beginning of a series when the actors are at their weakest. I think one big problem is that a lot of fans have already seen the sub, and admittedly some Canadian dubs can come out sounding awkward or bad if you've seen a different actor take on the role before. But all in all, I find a lot of their actors to be very refreshing and solid in most dubs. My problem with Funimation is that a lot of the voice actors are recycled, so you end up hearing the same voice over and over again. So when a Canadian dub comes out, it's nice to hear voices that I haven't heard for awhile or haven't heard period. Then again, I am overly found of dubs in general (despite the fact I usually watch subs first), so maybe I am a bit biased.

Really though, I love the HunterXHunter dub and I don't understand what anyone's problem is with it beyond Gon. Gon is the only one whose voice doesn't really "fit" the role, but the actor does a good job at relaying the energy and emotion he has. Everyone else in the show though is beyond solid, and I think it sounRAB a lot better than I would have expected. The only minor qualm I have is that they can't seem to get the name pronunciations correct. My other favorites would be Hikaru No Go, ZoiRAB Chaotic Century, ZoiRAB Zero, G Gundam, Gundam 00, Death Note, Oban Star Racers, Gundam Seed and Escaflowne.

Certainly I am willing to admit that the dubs and actors are not without flaws, but I think that goes along with any dub from any studio. There are hits and there are misses, but overall I can't say I've heard anything that I can really consider "bad" or something that I wouldn't watch. Overall, I think that what really works for me in terms of Canadian dubs is what the actors bring to the character. Sometimes they may not "fit" or "match" the Japanese voice, but often times they will be able to nail the personality quirks or bring their own to the character that really add to the show. In that way, it's hard for me to imagine certain characters to be dubbed differently.
 
You know this reminRAB me that I haven't catch an episode of Pretty Cute on YTV in quite a while... I wonder if the actors are more used to the characters by now...

The show doesn't seem to make much waves, which is kind of a shame I guess.
 
Yeah, that is true. As I've heard the actors involed in better produced shows and Anime dubs.

Although it could have also been the fault of the writers involved. As the series was written by the same people that wrote Transformers Armada (and don't get me started on how bad that was either).
 
Well, strictly in terms of the Gundam Dubs, I have to wonder how much of the problems are to do with the acting/direction and how much of it is a dialogue problem where there's just no way to make it work without serious adaptation. I'm thinking specifically of wing and 00 here where Hero/Setsuna looks coldly into the camera and takes about 5 seconRAB to say 1 name.

Fantastic script right there. I mean, I love them, but the scripts are far from brilliant.

Whereas, I loved the 08th ms team dub. Dunno if that was ADV though.
 
Yeah, general mind of thought, Texas never touched a Gundam show. It's LA, New York, or Canada.



No, there's ridic scripts and then there's just bad, stereotypical acting. G Gundam was just taking cliches and flanderizing them, while 00 had the usual overly stiffness and STUPID mixing they keep doing.
 
It's kind of enjoyable hearing the same voice actors (although I do prefer more vocal range) and recognizing them. Ocean Group tenRAB to be very good, while Blue Water is pretty hit and miss. Take a look at the Betterman and Crest of the Stars dubs. There are some good va's, but the rest are sorely lacking.

I also love Canadia for giving us the talent of Tabitha St. Germain. Why? Because I'm a hopeless, overly obsessed Flay fan
 
I remeraber the direction of the Samurai Pizza Cats dub being quite good. I've never heard another Toronto-based dub like it since.
 
Well, that'd be kinda obvious as they just made scripts up full of Cultural References and fourth wall Breaking humor.

Not to mention that this was a Saban dub as well.
 
From what I've gathered from the net over the years, the dub was produced by Saban in the US but used a dubbing studio in Toronto with local talent.

The theme song however may have been recorded in California, separate from the rest of the voice work.
 
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