Something One Piece fans might find interesting

[mochi]

before 4kids was chosen as the dubbers, Toei had ordered 4 other companies to produce "Pilots" for a dub...one of which was Funimation

 

here's a clip from the pilot dub of one Piece

 

edit: here is a video with more information

[Top Gun]

Now that's...something.  Luffy just sounds brutal.

[Sketch]

This is one of the few good things to come out of someone other than FUNimation getting One Piece initially. If they had gotten One Piece back around when this test dub was made it wouldn't be anywhere near as polished as the dub was in 2007 and beyond. We'd probably still be hearing Eric Vale as Luffy if Toei approved that test dub. I can't even imagine Vale pulling off most of Luffy's most memorable scenes using that voice.

 

At best the dub would have improved like DBZ's has but it would probably still have some leftover casting, terminology and dub quirks from 2003-era FUNimation like DBZ still does. In the end, while One Piece may have lost its chance at being a bigger name here we get a much better English adaptation out of it.

[StarPanda]

Dam  im glad 4kids dubbed it 

[DangerMouse]

At best the dub would have improved like DBZ's has but it would probably still have some leftover casting, terminology and dub quirks from 2003-era FUNimation like DBZ still does. In the end, while One Piece may have lost its chance at being a bigger name here we get a much better English adaptation out of it.

 

Damn. Yeah looks like I'm glad we had to wait since now we're getting a fantastic dub and cast.

[The1gairon]

Oh boy i wonder what this is like!

 

*Luffy sounds like Barry White compared to Colleen*

 

*stops video*

[DangerMouse]

Oh boy i wonder what this is like!

 

*Luffy sounds like Barry White compared to Colleen*

 

*stops video*

 

LOL

 

 

Colleen does such a great job!

 

[ben0119]

Wow, that's really interesting.

 

See! I told you guys the 4Kids dub wasn't that bad!  But, why the fuck did they change Ace's name to Trace?  Hell I don't even remember that.

 

Old Gold Roger was better.  Liked the original Zoro better too.

[ben0119]

This is one of the few good things to come out of someone other than FUNimation getting One Piece initially. If they had gotten One Piece back around when this test dub was made it wouldn't be anywhere near as polished as the dub was in 2007 and beyond. We'd probably still be hearing Eric Vale as Luffy if Toei approved that test dub. I can't even imagine Vale pulling off most of Luffy's most memorable scenes using that voice.

 

At best the dub would have improved like DBZ's has but it would probably still have some leftover casting, terminology and dub quirks from 2003-era FUNimation like DBZ still does. In the end, while One Piece may have lost its chance at being a bigger name here we get a much better English adaptation out of it.

 

I mean, it was just a test dub.  Surely they wouldn't have kept using Eric Vale using that voice would they?  Good lord.

 

But, if that was Funimation's audition, I can see why 4Kids won LOL.

 

Would it have ever been though?  One Piece is seen as silly and kiddy, and comes across that way even without the 4Kids dub.  Other shows that made it big are seen as "cool" and "badass."

[The1gairon]

Ace is a term from poker.  Poker isn't a very family-friendly subject, or at least it wasn't back then.

[Sandstone]

Cesar Clown is a character that comes into play much later in the series than (I believe) was aired on Toonami, which is a shame cause he's one of the best villains in terms of motivation and personality. It'd be awesome to see Frieza's English voice actor playing him as well, would fit well.

 

Also, I hate Sanji's English voice, it's just a bad fit and he sounds stupid and totally the opposite of what he sounds like in Japanese.

[mochi]

Cesar Clown is a character that comes into play much later in the series than (I believe) was aired on Toonami, which is a shame cause he's one of the best villains in terms of motivation and personality. It'd be awesome to see Frieza's English voice actor playing him as well, would fit well.

 

Also, I hate Sanji's English voice, it's just a bad fit and he sounds stupid and totally the opposite of what he sounds like in Japanese.

the 4kids voice was actually closer to how Sanji's Japanese voice sounds, weirdly enough

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6AlyiHZ2fc

[Sandstone]

It's at least closer to the same vocal tone, I just don't get why the English Dubbers insist on giving him a voice that makes him sound like a goofy character. He's so rugged and mature sounding in the Japanese, like such a difference it's not even funny. I can't see some of his more epic scenes being acted out with those voices:

 

Sub:

 

Dub:

 

This is the closest I've seen in the English Dub portraying his accurate personality in the Sub, but it's still not that great and worse is that it's not very believable in terms of emotion. He doesn't sell me the lines the same way and it ends up sounding amateur by comparison.

 

When he's being a chivalrous or silly pervy goober it's even more of a noticeable difference in the emotion and personality imo:

 

 

 

Dub:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxNR-hCHg7A

 

 

And don't get me started on the differences in his interactions with Usopp and Zoro, which are some of the best comedic moments in the series because of the overly serious tones and emotions expressed in the context of what they are actually arguing about.

[Sandstone]

I'm a bit biased though since Sanji is my favorite Straw Hat (other than Luffy) for numerous reasons.

[mochi]

I'm a bit biased though since Sanji is my favorite Straw Hat (other than Luffy) for numerous reasons.

something I have an issue with is that they got rid of all of Sanji's catch-phrases in the funimation dub

 

he almost never says Nami-swan/Robin-swan(on odd occasion one sneaks in depending on who wrote that ep's dub script)

 

and he's never said "Mellorine" once in the dubbed eps

 

(he quickly mutters it in Obahan time's dub but never in any of the episodes proper)

[Sandstone]

Yeah, that also bothers me, as it is one of the thing that cements the goofy side of his personality, though he's far from a comedic charactee normally. He adds Swan to the end of any girl he really likes, it's hilarious because alot of characters in One Piece use suffixes, I forget what they are called in Japanese, related to their character. San is the only one that does such a thing in situational instances.

[Top Gun]

Sanji still adds affectations in the dub, things like "Nami-sweet!"  I'm fine with them not using the original honorifics, because honestly outside of very limited cases they just sound absurdly out-of-place in English.

 

And I can't say I have any real problems with Eric Vale's take on the character in general.  He has a different timbre than the Japanese actor, but he gets most of the emotional beats right.  The only thing David Moo sounded close to was a stroke victim.

[Sandstone]

It's still not as good, and Nami-sweet sounds fucking retarded no one says that in English and even if they did he sure as hell didn't sell me on it being something the character actually says on a regular basis. Funimation is better than 4Kids but it's just "ok" it's not as good as the Japanese not even close, especially Sanji's voice it's just "ok".

[Top Gun]

No one uses honorifics in English either, so what would you have them do?  You're not going to get an exact match for that sort of vocal affectation, so you're basically damned either way.  Sure, it sounds awkward, but in a derpy lovestruck way that's generally in-character with that side of Sanji.

 

And on the contrary, I'd rank OP as an absolutely top-tier dub job, which is remarkable given the absurd number of episodes that have been pumped out by this point.  The main cast is very comfortable with their roles and have aptly handled both the big dramatic scenes and the goofy comedy, at least in my experience.  I mean yes, you're not going to beat out the likes of Mayumi Tanaka or Ikue Otani, but Colleen and Brina do a damn fine job in their own right.

[ben0119]

Ace is a term from poker.  Poker isn't a very family-friendly subject, or at least it wasn't back then.

 

Seriously?

 

I'm more apt to think of "Ace" in the terms of someone that's really good at something, like an ace pilot.

[ben0119]

#weebalert

[ben0119]

Sanji still adds affectations in the dub, things like "Nami-sweet!"  I'm fine with them not using the original honorifics, because honestly outside of very limited cases they just sound absurdly out-of-place in English.

 

And I can't say I have any real problems with Eric Vale's take on the character in general.  He has a different timbre than the Japanese actor, but he gets most of the emotional beats right.  The only thing David Moo sounded close to was a stroke victim.

 

Don't remember Sanji saying Nami-sweet and I know he says Nami-swan.  Don't recall him saying stuff like that being especially rare either.  Either way comes off fine to me.  Yeah honorifics in a dub don't work well at all most of the time.

 

Stroke victim. What about Brooklyn Barney?

[ben0119]

the 4kids voice was actually closer to how Sanji's Japanese voice sounds, weirdly enough

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6AlyiHZ2fc

 

 

Wait a minute, how the hell does 4Kids Sanji not have the lollypop in that video?

[ben0119]

It's at least closer to the same vocal tone, I just don't get why the English Dubbers insist on giving him a voice that makes him sound like a goofy character. He's so rugged and mature sounding in the Japanese, like such a difference it's not even funny. I can't see some of his more epic scenes being acted out with those voices:

 

The only one with the goofy voice is 4Kids.  On Funi he sounds goofy sometimes, but at the appropriate times, lovesick mode, etc.

 

Sub:

 

 

 

Dub:

 

 

 

This is the closest I've seen in the English Dub portraying his accurate personality in the Sub, but it's still not that great and worse is that it's not very believable in terms of emotion. He doesn't sell me the lines the same way and it ends up sounding amateur by comparison.

 

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about here.  Sounded good to me.  Definitely badass.

 

When he's being a chivalrous or silly pervy goober it's even more of a noticeable difference in the emotion and personality imo:

 

 

 

 

 

Dub:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxNR-hCHg7A

 

 

 

Pretty sure you are just inventing this in your head.  And how much of the dub have you even watched?

 

And don't get me started on the differences in his interactions with Usopp and Zoro, which are some of the best comedic moments in the series because of the overly serious tones and emotions expressed in the context of what they are actually arguing about.

 

Uhh, they do the serious arguing about stupid shit in the dub all the time...