So... Merlwyb will be voiced

[Denmo]

Japanese voice acting is normally higher quality than the original even on American games or cartoons.

Sure sounds like an opinion, Abe!

just sayin'!

[Anima]

Well, I, for one, will be watching the Cutscenes from all Available Languages (JP, EN, FR, DE)

I watch Anime, so I'm kinda used to JP-VA, and I also like Final Fantasy EN-VA like Balthier, Judge Gabranth and the other guys in FFXII & FFXIII. Besides those, I kinda liked the EN-VA in FFXIV, albeit there wasn't much lines. I'm not an expert in these kinds of stuff (Obviously) but I think both Language has its' own Unique-ness and feel to it.

(I kinda liked EN-VAs with accents (british) mostly, while JPs being the overall, All-in-all, If done properly, both sounds magnificent >.>)

Other than EN and JP Voice Acting, I've never heard of FR or DE Voice Acting, so this will be a new experience for me and I'm looking forward to it!

[Abriael]

Sure sounds like an opinion, Abe!

"opinion" is normally a copout. There are things in the world that are factually right and factually wrong, as much as relativists like to try and hide it. At least I brought plenty to support what I say.

"just sayin" is, of course, another copout.

[Denmo]

"opinion" is normally a copout. There are things in the world that are factually right and factually wrong, as much as relativists like to try and hide it. At least I brought plenty to support what I say.

"just sayin" is, of course, another copout.

Wow, you sure won this argument....?

[Abriael]

Wow, you sure won this argument....?

It's ok. I understand you're mad. Someone must have told you that lalafells aren't going to have beards.

I won nothing. To have an argument, there has to be arguments on both parts, instead of one part bringing arguments and the other pointing and saying "No you're wrong!"

[Denmo]

[Abriael]

...Or replacing the arguments they don't have with motivated pictures.

By the book.

[Denmo]

[Elexia]

Sure sounds like an opinion, Abe!

just sayin'!

Opinion in this regard only goes so far though. When something sounds bad it generally sounds bad, when something sounds good it'll sound good.

It's the same as looking at "B Movies" and "Hollywood productions", I'm pretty sure most can agree that the acting in B movies is rarely top notch, this is exactly the same as VA/VO work between west/east. Japanese VA/VO work isn't "superior" but you'll rarely find VA/VO work in western games that's honestly above average and a lot has to do with voice direction, but it also has to do with the fact I've noticed few western VA/VO folks put a lot of emotion into what they do, especially if it's "silly" they won't take it seriously whereas I've seen mostly JP/KR VA take every type of role seriously. There's no right or wrong since as said it's mostly voice direction, but when you really sit down and look at it, it still falls down into the actor themselves.

While it sounds weird, taking even silly stuff seriously is why people like Jim Carrey got famous as an actor. Not sure what the exact english phrase is for this, but when a VA know they're "just simply in a cartoon/game" you can really tell compared to when I watch certain animes and play certain JP released games, the VA play the part as if the characters are them. I've honestly seen so few localizations and western games/cartoons that were like that. Hell the 70s and 80s in Japanese anime weren't even that great either, very few were really well done untill the mid-late 90s.

Someone used Cowboy Bebop as an example, that anime was designed more like a western cartoon than it was an anime.

[Denmo]

The only point I was trying to make was that saying Japanese voicework > all is simply a matter of opinion, regardless of how much experience one may have on the subject.

There's tons of hard working, talented, and incredibly good VA's working in America, and elsewhere. You're usually not hearing them in dubs of Japanese stuff (anime, vidya) because localizing anime is a risky business, and hiring the top talent is expensive. Abe should know. He's worked in it. For 6 years, I might add.

I do agree that I prefer most Japanese dubs over English dubs. But it's not a matter of Japan being better at VA. It's a matter of localization usually doing a crappy, cheap job of it.