What I Look For In a Dub

The sub vs dub is a trite and stupid conflict. You would understand that some things can't be translated well enough or something they have to make it better to understand or to match the mouth flaps or just about anything you can think of in a dubbing. Even Miraculous Ladybug has this trouble because they are dubbing something that still has the original plot, spirit, and characterization in mind. I am not asking a word-for-word dubbing that includes the culture that might fly over their heads or something.

I don't hate dubs. I grew up with the dub of Pokemon, Yugioh, and Digimon for Godoka's sake. As a kid, I was unaware of 4Kids' infamy. At the time, all I could think was how cool the Pokemon contests and battles were. Even before starting to watch the original series with subs, I still don't get the hate on dubs.

Yes, I am well aware of terrible dubs. I kept a mental list of awful dubs out there (Cardcaptor Sakura Nelvana Dub, One Piece 4Kids Dub (the VAs are talented, just 4Kids doesn't have the talent), Free! (like OP, has talents onboard but the failure to keep the spirit of the original... They got the slice of life tone down and kept the dramatic moments. However, it felt more like an abridged series and 50% Off is a better abridged despite my dislike towards abridged in general. The stupid lines like the backstroke all days comment is disingenuous to a series that garnered recognition beyond the fact it's aimed at girls.)).

And decent ones (Tiger and Bunny, Naruto, One Piece Funi Dub).

And awesome ones (Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, My Hero Academia).

Looking, dubbing is hard work. Scripting to make a natural flow of conversation without making it awkward or finding voice actors who can work with the script and interpret in the right direction is a difficult task. Translating cultural contexts is hard; either they have to make it in their country's context or outright change the context. In fansubs, at least they can explain in little notes.

Seriously, there is a major difference where someone has a major handle on a series in which they do whatever they wanted and a known production which has a lot of material which they have to understand and translate.

Look at Voltron Legendary Defender where the staff created the story, cherrypicking things from previous incarnations and make it their own. Sure there are writing problems that I don't blame the creators for because the writers they hired aren't as great as say the writers of Gravity Falls or Over the Garden Wall. VLD S4 might as well be considered filler despite its plottiness; when you concentrate on the plot too much, you will neglect the characters. Let your characters take the front row seat, not the plot. Even Osomatsu-san, a gag anime, have their characters at the forefront in their most dramatic pieces like "The Letter" or "Jyushimatsu Falls In Love". Even in their most funny pieces like "The Karamatsu Incident" where Karamatsu was kidnapped by Chibita in an act of revenge, there was clearly something there for the characters where we see a friendship between Karamatsu and Chibita and the brothers' lack of concern for their second eldest. This is one of the major problems with VLD's writing; when they focus on characters, it's great in S3 but when they don't...well...you saw the disaster that is S4. I didn't hear an announcement of season 5 yet so I think the criticism is very bad enough for the team to get together that all they are releasing now is some character stuff. The writers must have been hit hard by the criticisms and try their hardest to rewrite and refine the scripts.

Much like adapting a manga into an anime or adapting anime into film, adapting Japanese culture in the text is difficult. Some could be subtle social commentary such as the Japanese western superheroes anime (Tiger and Bunny, HeroAca, OPM). Or outright Japanese culture, expectations. There is a reason why Power Rangers Samurai failed in that respect because American feminism is different from Japanese feminism.

I don't hate dubs just because I know how difficult it is to dub. Even the dubs I don't like just makes me meh nowadays and just tell other people to make their choice to see it or not. Look I watched bad movies like Manos: The Hands of Fate and The Room because I want to.

Sometimes a dub can improve on the original series. Just look at Ghost Stories, a mediocre anime that is best described food-wise a sloppy cheeseburger. The dub is a grilled cheese sandwich with eggs. Like it's not a delicacy or a rare treat but it's still something glorious to witness in its full cookery.

Like that's a dub job that everyone can get behind.

Think dubbing as another art form unto itself.

I never actually watched the Animax CCS dub, the second one after Nelvana's failed dub Cardcaptors. For CCS, the only other dub I ever watched for them was when Funi came in and dubbed the Sealed Card movie, a dub that is decent and managed to make the same spirit of the original CCS came through.

Just because I have a laidback attitude towards the existence of dubbing does not mean I have my own requirements for a dub. Like any show that originated elsewhere like France, I need to see the original in order to see what they are aiming for. With added research on culture, history, etc.

• The naturality and flow, staying within the confines of the context of the show (setting, world, conversation). If the dialogue is somehow so ridiculous, they have to make it work. If there is something Japanese-based joke based on language, they have to adapt it somehow. I still don't get the Deku thing in the Funi dub of MHA where Uraraka said the nickname was cute rather than having the nickname's alternate reading; it took place in Japan that Funi did not take away so why change the alternate reading to something that a girl thinks is a cute nickname? Also, I don't get why they change takoyaki to octopus fritters? 
• Did they manage canon well? How are they going to adapt it without losing the actual canonical events and dialogue? If they have to change the dialogue in order to fit the mouth-flaps, they still have to make it close enough to the original dialogue. 
• Does the voice acting do well? Do the voices fit some extent? It is voice acting after all; there is a reason why Andrea Romano is regarded as the Queen of animation/DC. Look at Ian Sinclair's Brook in the Funi's dub of One Piece; his personality, laugh, everything was perfection and I can listen to his laugh all day.

Yeah, voice acting is low on the list because I'm far more concerned about how they execute the Japanese aspects (will they keep it or not? Because if they are keeping it, they still have to match the mouth-flaps and make the dialogue flow with the mouth-flaps. Or they will keep the setting and try to pass it off as some radio tower or something? Despite it being an obvious Japanese trademark? When I was a kid, even I recognize the Tokyo Tower is nowhere located in America.)

Now I am more concerned about the world they lived in. I don't nitpick at how the Haikyuu dub used the American system for height or use of dude. At least, their usage of dude is not as insistent as in the Free! dub.

I want dubs to do well.

Which is why I am surprised to not see dubs for popular anime like Osomatsu-san. Free! got a dub due to its popularity but Haikyuu finally got a dub just last year with the second season dub pushed back in March or April for quality control just like how Atlus pushed back the localization for Persona 5.

I mean Funi is still dubbing One Piece! They are behind the actual Japanese which is nearly 900 at this point. They're nowhere close to the Dressrosa arc at all.

CCS Clear Card has a Funi dub coming soon and of course, I am going to watch it. When Funi got the dub and dubbed only the second movie, it was a good dub in a short amount of time; the voices fit the characters and they got the spirit down.

How addicting is this series and I'm talking about the GBBO, isn't it? It's also relaxing to watch them bake and experiment pastries.

And make me crave the pastries and desserts.

First Impressions: CCS Clear Card Arc anime

So I watched the first episode of the series and I greatly enjoyed it.

There are many callbacks to the original series. There is one soundtrack that always accompanied Yamazaki's storytelling and the OST came back! In addition, the title cards and the breaks to the commercial cards are similar to the original series.

The original seiyuus are back and they are just as great now as they were before.

I just have one question: Is this a mashup of the anime and manga? Is it a continuation of the anime adaptation?

Because it sure as hell doesn't have the same amount of cards.

I checked! Looking at the manga version, there are fewer cards because, in the manga, only 19 exists. However, in the anime version, 52 or 53 if you count the Hope Card exists. And in the anime of CCS Clear Card, there are more cards there in the conversation with Yue. Hell, when we see the cards in Sakura hands, it's looked like a full deck rather than just a two dozen cards. I think I would notice fewer cards.

Not to mention, we are treated to the flashback of the airport goodbye with Syaoran giving Sakura the teddy bear. And Sakura did not make the teddy bear then. Wei was even featured in that flashback in the same place he was in that airport goodbye scene! They are in the exact same clothes, position, everything is exactly like the final episode of the original series! And it's in the style of the new anime series! We explicitly see him not carrying the pink Sakura teddy bear!

When we got dialogue in the flashback, it sure as hell wasn't the same as in the OVA where the pair exchanged whether or not they can name the bear after the other. It was Sakura and only Sakura who asked she can name the bear after him.

Hell, there was a brief recap which shows the first episode, the Shadow, the Watery, the Time, Final Judgment, Eriol's first appearance, the SyaoSaku swing scene, the teddy bear exhibition, the transformation of Light/Dark, and the last episode!

The original team came back! From writer to the animation studio! And I'm sure as hell they didn't forget the original series! They would have to pick the montage out!

Then what about the OVA then which basically is the manga version? It basically says the Prologue for Godoka's sake! What the couple wore in that episode is different from their airport goodbye in the anime!

In the same episode, we see Sakura sewing up the teddy bear with Kero explicitly saying that she was doing before his return to Hong Kong. She was even wearing the same outfit she wore on the airport goodbye! She didn't wear the same outfit as in the Prologue! But the previous flashback regarding the couple was the airport goodbye! And Sakura clearly did not bring the bear along on that airport goodbye! When Syaoran was going back to Hong Kong just the same in the bus trip when he retrieves the Sakura teddy bear in the manga!

Now, in the anime version, Syaoran returned to Tomoeda temporarily for Sakura to confess her feelings to him in the Sealed Card movie. That is the only time Sakura have to craft her teddy bear before he returned to Hong Kong and make the promise he made in the manga. She could have given the teddy bear then.

And we heard the conversation in the manga where Syaoran promised Sakura when he finishes with business in Hong Kong, he will come back.

I know my CLAMP, okay. It's just honestly confusing to see the recap and the references to the last episode with no connection to the manga beyond the teddy bears and by that, I mean the Sakura teddy bear.

I guess I have to see more. If it is indeed a mashup of the anime and the manga. Or a continuation of the anime.

I mean I would need to see the cards, any card usage that is not of the 19 manga version, that would explicitly tell me.

Or Meiling will come.

Or any reference to past adventures that was in the expanded animeverse. Even a reference to the Sealed Card events.

I'm sorry for the rant. It's just been tickling my mind since I watched the episode.

Regardless, I deeply enjoyed the first episode. I can see some differences between anime and manga and hope that continued.

Edit: Having seen the second episode, there was indeed mentions of Wei and Meiling! So this does take place in the anime continuity!

I wonder....

Imagine the potential of this could come from this!

Admittedly, my investment in the Dabi Todoroki Theory stemmed from story potential. 

As of now, Midoriya and Bakugou have personal stakes in the coming battle. Midoriya due to his connection with All Might and his relationship thus. Bakugou due to the fact his interactions with VA. Stain impacted the society certainly and his presence was felt in-story despite his incarceration.

Look at it this way: In Miraculous Ladybug, we are invested in the Agreste fucked-up plotline due to Adrien himself. Adrien has personal stakes in the plot because you know, angst with a father who has a goal in mind who may or may not want to warp the world for his own goals. Marinette has a crush on Adrien and knew little about the Agreste disaster. All she knows is his father is distant but caring. Her only connection to the entire plot was her crush on Adrien. I am not talking about character development here, folks. I am talking about personal stakes in the plot. Most of the time, Marinette felt like she is on the outside, looking in the conflict. Seriously, her main interactions with the plot were due to her saving the day, interactions with Adrien and Gabriel, and possibly meeting new superheroes. 

Others don't have much beyond their standard fights against VA. Okay, so the Hideout Raid Arc has severely impacted everyone. Remember Tsui's tears. Remember how Aizawa cannot expel the class. That is how bad the arc affected everyone. 

Every arc is building up the tension. I mean right now, the current arc is based on Todoroki and Bakugou passing the Hero License Exam with others while Deku and others who participated in the mission recover. Those guys need the rest for now until the plot moving again. 

So to say a brother is a villain and on the VA no less? Then Shouto Todoroki has personal stakes! That meant his backstory will soon become a part of the plot possibly due to the fact it was Dabi's motivation. 

If to say a classmate, a particular close classmate is a villain and a spy the entire time? Then the entire class has personal stakes on the plot! They want their friend back or to understand what is his thought process for even joining VA well before UA. 

Beyond just doing the right thing to stop the bad guys, tension, and stakes building up, I felt that people should have personal stakes in the future battle at hand. 

Seriously, if the Dabi Theory is true, then it will be great for Shouto! Character-wise because just imagine the plot interweaving well with the Sports Festival arc. The Hideout Raid arc did well with the Sports Festival arc in terms of Endeavor. 

We see Shouto's character development since the Sports Festival arc. I am interested to see how his story could be taken beyond the abuse with a brother taking the helm of villainy to take down their dad, damn the law. Doesn't help that Dabi is a killer. 

I want to know more of the class beyond just peeks of their character development in certain parts of the arc. 

Fanfic Recs: CCS AUs

Let me tell you this: I will read CCS AU's like no tomorrow. If I even see a oneshot of such an AU, you bet I am going to read it. My love for CLAMP is right there in my username for the love of Godoka. On that note, Yes, I will see every magical boy/girl imagining of a particular work anywhere, fanfic or otherwise. The magical girl genre has a soft spot for me and no, I don't consider it feminism on the Japanese feminism bar. Hell, I don't consider CLAMP much feminist either (yes, they got guys breaking barriers with their house husband tendencies and the fact their soulmates is both het and same-sex) yet they are still one of my favorites. I simply enjoy the genre and just let me enjoy something I like without the cries of feminism or any other -isms. Yes, people should take a stance to be more diverse and progressive but having that does not mean it would automatically be good. Big Hero 6 has problems with its race, both in the comics and the movie, but the story is solid enough. I do understand the necessity of diverse media but can't people just enjoy something regardless of lack of progressiveness? I'm annoyed to see people put down flawed characters and designate entirely by their bad traits. I saw this across fandoms from VLD to HeroAca. It's annoying and I made it a point to not interact with fandoms.

And yes, I love CCS far too much. I love both the anime and manga. I am currently reading the Clear Card arc and I am loving it. I will see the anime adaptation as well.

I mean the OVA is closer to the manga after all. And it's not like they are doing the reboot a la FMAB treatment. The anime is fine on its own and all they need is just a special. Considering how CLAMP has creative control in the original anime, I am not surprised. Come on, CCS Sealed Card is basically one big hint to the beginning of TRC. CLAMP didn't disown it, unlike the TRC anime.

I think I heard a dub about a CCS Clear Card dub. Given my dislike for the Cardcaptors dub, imagine my surprise when I heard the dub for the second movie. From then onward, I am expecting a pretty good dub from Funi. I mean they got MHA under their belt with legit good dubbing and I know they can do the pretty good dub. Even Haikyuu got a pretty good dub job; admittedly,  I know it comes from another studio but still the quality of the HQ dub in comparison to Free...is amazing. At least in HQ, it sounds natural and flowed well. While Free! is a bad dub under Funi's care, I'm still optimistic about the future dubs.

Anyways, let's get moving.

brilliant lights will cease to burn (by my hands I'll reignite them): Midoriya Izuku is quirkless. This, he knows very well. This is also what he knows: Weekends and vacations are reserved for walking neighborhood dogs. The elderly are the most powerful people on Earth. Local gods are picky eaters. Trust is a feeble, feeble thing. Magical cards are incredibly difficult to seal, especially when the world thinks you're a vigilante. Heroes are not magicians, but magicians can be heroes. Becoming a Cardcaptor-slash-magician wasn't on Izuku's bucket list, but he'll be damned if he doesn't make the best of it.

Review: It basically Deku as the Cardcaptor and future Master of the Cards. We are going to see him capture the cards, pass the Final Judgment, officially become the Master, meet Yue, and transform the cards into Deku Cards.

However, as expected of Deku, he wanted to learn more about magic and get a handle on magic. He's just done in this situation right now: being an accidental vigilante (because he is the only one who seals them) and now getting caught up in situations that he shouldn't be doing like getting arrested or meeting spirits and yokais. It's amusing though because due to the new chaos in his life, Deku now has such a busy schedule. It's hilarious because his secret keepers called him a magical boy, even giving him a magical girl-inspired outfit. His fans commented on how cute he looked in his new costume. Most of his gadgets are also magical-girl-inspired too with the exception of smoke bombs. Then there's the issue of his magical potential to become an incredible magician.

I enjoyed how the fic made a part of the city an Expy of Tomoeda. Deku is basically the Kinomotos here, helping the people. It does help that his new wish was similar to Sakura was to make everyone happy and to smile. Like everyone who met Deku like him enough to protect him from the securities because they know Deku is the kindest, sweetest, gentlest person they know who was willing to help anyone.

I noticed that the heroes who helped and saw Deku's actions as heroic because they can see they can barely do any damage to these 'villains'. And they are so out of their depth. They don't consider magic existing or that this might be something they can't handle. They are doing their jobs as heroes and I feel they are being the scapegoats just because they don't have the capability to fight these so-called villains. Everything thinks Deku has a quirk even though those who knew Deku knew he is using something that is not a quirk. Even Kacchan knew this and probably just laughing in the faces of the media who think it's a team. The fans are way too hard on the pro heroes and don't know the details that Deku and his secret keepers knew. Deku doesn't blame the heroes or his fans for their lack of knowledge of the world of magic. The magic that is far more powerful than any quirk they know and have.

Speaking of magic, this magic was based entirely on CLAMP canon. Like CLAMP, it crossovers with xxxHolic, the main staple of the CLAMP universe. Let me tell you this: it's very spoilerific if you don't know CLAMP canon. Just a warning. If you know your CLAMP, you would recognize certain events and rules and such and such. Seriously, I was internally screaming when I saw the fic was using CLAMP's famous rule of names.

I make this a problem with the MHA fandom and their refusal to see Kacchan as a flawed character. He's an asshole but he's an interesting and well-written asshole. The narrative does not excuse his actions. Hell, his only friend in UA is Kirishima. He was nearly killed, kidnapped, his rescue was shown in full HD in front of Japan, he got punched in the face metaphorically and physically by his classmates and Deku especially, failed the Hero License Exam, didn't even have a Hero Internship. This fic made Deku and Bakugou's relationship on a standstill with Deku actively avoiding Bakugou until he does something in his life that is not being a huge ass. Deku called him an anomaly and didn't deny or confirm they are friends. It wasn't bashing which is a good thing. The only thing I can describe Bakugou in the fic and his relationship with Cardcaptor Deku is a standstill.

While Mineta hasn't appeared, I will say this: do not bash him. Punish him for his sexual harassment or paint his actions as bad that he either didn't realize because he's a teenage boy or that he could redeem himself; Make him the butt monkey or punish him repeatedly each arc or time like Kacchan in canon; make him take responsibility for his actions! Just don't bash him, please don't. Character bashing is one of the least creative things an author should do.

At it isn't bashing.

The OC's are nicely done. They are their own individuals and because of their friendship with Deku, they are protective of him and cheered him on. They don't know why Deku is doing this but they are supportive of him and will protect him.

Honestly, I can't wait to see the Final Judgment and the change into Deku Cards. Really, I rather want to have people actively help him, an active hand in his card capturing duties and later the Deku cards.

Inheritance of Cards and Demons: When Kinomoto Sakura died, she set it up so that her cards would go to the person who not only deserved them but needed them. Vanishing across dimensions, they reappear in Assiah. Just in time for new Junior High School student Okumura Rin to find them. And so the cycle begins again. But when the new Master is also the Son of Satan, nothing is going to be easy.

Review: Unlike the other fic that has some reference to CCS, this is a fic that takes a lot including the romantic portion. This fic is more CCS than the other fic. Hell, both of these fics even took on Sakura's invincibility spell as their own and her wishes as their own. And they're both the successors of the Sakura Cards, now Rin/Deku Cards.

The other fic employed more CLAMP stuff than this one though. While both build upon the canon of the magic of the CLAMP world, this one just referenced events. The other fic doesn't reference the events as much as they have the people instead because the people made all the difference and of course, these people won't say anything unless asked or have to take a lesson or anything. I felt it was more like a bit of trivia and have so little impact on the story as much. Hell, even referencing the fact the worlds seemed to be breaking down in the TRC due to Fei Wong Reed's machinations with Mephisto knowing about it just made it trivial. The only thing CLAMP-like that made any sense and made things more viable was Yuuko's quote of hitsuzen. Any other thing the fic references of CLAMP was too trivial and didn't impact the story at all. At least Rin spread the idea of inevitability to his friends.

This is just a nitpick but sometimes sentences repeat itself or could have been better phrased. Some sentences tell outright rather than let the action speak for itself. I know it's not a manga but at least show the actions rather than stating the obvious. It's nitpicky. Sometimes it can be best to tell when it is most effective (see Shouto Todoroki) but show, don't tell is still an effective rule of thumb.

Due to the changes the world of CLAMP made to the BA, Rin matured better and freer from his ordeals. His family has no clue why he was acting the way he is, out of touch with his maturity. He even has friends by his side, no matter how much he tried to push them away.

I think the best feature of the fic would be character development. Everyone matured one way or another. Rin is much different from canon Rin because of his experiences as a magician. Considering that we're in quite a whammy chapter in Aoex, this fic doesn't excuse the fact Yukio can be an ass and had serious issues. Rin knew about these issues and hoped his brother went to him to talk at least but alas, Yukio defected to the enemies' side with all the madness he cannot control. Even with the new revelations, Mephisto kept... I think it's inevitable Yukio would go to Lucifer's side. I mean the foreshadowing and the hints had been growing in large amounts. In this fic, the pair finally reconciled and talked it out before Yukio fell into a downward spiral.

Nothing can say more canon divergence than the fact it has well-written individualistic OC's. I love the OC's a lot, even those who would have been expies of their counterparts in the original CCS series. Both fics have well-defined OC's that fit into the fic's canon.

I also like how the fic expanded on new cards and worldbuilding. Now, the crossovers extended to even Detective Conan and Lyrical Nanoha. Although like the CLAMP thing, it's like trivia and has zero impact on the actual story but the worldbuilding. Worldbuilding is exactly that but not to the point of needless impact. The OC's have more impact on the plot, even if they only appeared for a couple chapters. Their presence was felt by the characters that even the original Aoex cast knew this. Even in the ending, we got the OC's there with Naoko frightening the shit out of Todo.

It's a long read although I'm sure people who read fanfics would find it a fast read though.

And that's all I suppose. Maybe my next Fanfic Rec Post would be Magical Girl AUs.