Lots of new info incoming from the NicoNico Chokaigi 2 event

[Mjollnir]

Voice acting isn't just a matter of personal talent. It's a highly technical and specialized job based much more on organization, direction, efficiency and teamwork than any other acting specialization.

It's just people saying words. Even I can do that!

[Vilhem]

Let's call it for what it really is: convenience and location.

Assembling an "all star" cast in Japan is not as big of a feat as it is here in the US. Paid work aside, here in the US, companies have to factor in other things like flying people in to their studio etc.

In Japan, anybody who is anybody in the industry (not just voice acting, but any kind of entertainment) is in Tokyo. A 2hr train ride to a certain area in Tokyo is much cheaper and faster than flying someone from say..New York, to a California based studio to do voice work.

This article here explains in better detail the differences between Japanese and American VA industry..

Here's some quotes directly from the article which sum up the differences:

if you're gonna make it AT ALL in the entertainment industry in Japan, you gotta be in Tokyo.

I mean, that's where everything is. That's where all the major TV networks and film studios are, and more importantly, that's where all the talent agencies are. And you're going nowhere in the competitive world of voice acting in Japan without a good agent. And you're not going to find one unless you're in Tokyo. For the simple fact that they're simply not looking anywhere else. The directors of major Broadway plays aren't scouting for the PERFECT actor in Rhode Island or Massachusetts. An ad agency based in Burbank isn't going to go on a major talent search throughout the midwest in order to find the PERFECT person to act in an Oreos commercial.

That's basically it. You need to live in Tokyo, no exceptions. Unless, you know, you're a major name who already made your stardom in Tokyo and want to move elsewhere, and the studios consider it a worthwhile enough expense to record your lines remotely, using the internet and some software. That's obviously not as big a deal in Japan as it is here in the US - Japan isn't as massively expansive a country as the US, so it would obviously be a lot cheaper and easier to buy a train ticket to Tokyo for a day in the recording booth, as opposed to a 9-hour flight to bring someone on the East Coast to Los Angeles.

Insofar as being a voice actor in Texas: There is simply not much acting work in Texas, and frankly anime dubbing doesn't pay very well. If you're really serious about acting and you're good, you probably want to move to a city that will offer union jobs, many more networking abilities, and maybe opportunities to break into live action work. So quite a few of the bigger names to come out of Texas now live in LA or New York (which has a lot more theater than LA, but less of everything else).

You still hear them pop up on Funimation dubs from time to time, though, since software like SourceConnect (a plug-in for ProTools, the ubiquitous audio recording workstation) allows dub sessions to happen over the internet, provided the actor has access to a decent recording studio. And they'll sometimes fly in just to record a show as well. But sometimes it's just not worth the expense.

It's an expense to keep voice actors around for longer than necessary out here. In Japan, it isn't. Because, chances are, if they're a voice actor, they're staying in Tokyo.

I'm sure the JP voice actors are talented and all, but I'm willing to bet the main reason why they're accessible is because they're all in the same area; that is, they don't need to pull actors from all over the country, which is an added expense.

Their "Tokyo hub" for entertainment is our "Los Angeles", "New York" etc.

[fusional]

Voice acting isn't just a matter of personal talent. It's a highly technical and specialized job based much more on organization, direction, efficiency and teamwork than any other acting specialization.

||||||||||||||(*￣ﾛ￣)なに？？？ ふむ。。。

(です)

[Rowyne]

Voice acting isn't just a matter of personal talent. It's a highly technical and specialized job based much more on organization, direction, efficiency and teamwork than any other acting specialization.

Did you seriously just say that standing in a sound studio, speaking into a microphone is a grander production than film or musical theater?

The amount of personal outrage I see from some people because someone dares to tell them that Japanese voice acting is in average technically better than what you see in NA is hilarious, and very much akin to the reaction you get from a Justin Bieber fan when you tell her that there are better musicians around.

Actually, the only one I see getting outraged is you. Everyone here has done a pretty good job at keeping their posts level-headed, despite the fact you keep implying that all VA outside of Japan is so inferior it's garbage.

[Vilhem]

Did you seriously just say that standing in a sound studio, speaking into a microphone is a grander production than film or musical theater?



Actually, the only one I see getting outraged is you. Everyone here has done a pretty good job at keeping their posts level-headed, despite the fact you keep implying that all VA outside of Japan is so inferior it's garbage.

Don't let him get to you <3 For all the accusations that he's thrown, it seems to me he's the one taking the most offense at people disagreeing with him.

I saw nothing wrong or inflammatory from your posts, so the accusations of paranoia and whatnot was pretty..random lol Ah well, that's how he rolls though.

[fusional]

Did you seriously just say that standing in a sound studio, speaking into a microphone is a grander production than film or musical theater?

well, duh. clearly voice acting for panty & stocking with garterbelt requires *much* more of whatever stuff he said than, you know, dumb stuff like this. (and only japanese voice actors can pull it off, obviously)

[Abriael]

Did you seriously just say that standing in a sound studio, speaking into a microphone is a grander production than film or musical theater?

Did you seriously just turn " It's a highly technical and specialized job based much more on organization, direction, efficiency and teamwork than any other acting specialization." into "it's a grander production"?

What does it being a more technical job depending more on direction, efficiency and teamwork have to do with it being "grander" exactly?

Voice acting involves a much quicker pacing than other acting specializations, it also often involves adhering to a pre-determined character more, with less room for personal artistry and invention. In addition to that it normally involves giving emotion to faces that show a lot less emotion than a human face. It also has tighter pre-determined budgets.

That means that voice actors need to work on the clock under a stricter organization and direction, with a tighter teamwork with everyone involved. It's more of a technical job less based on personal talent.

How did that become "grander" again?

Actually, the only one I see getting outraged is you. Everyone here has done a pretty good job at keeping their posts level-headed, despite the fact you keep implying that all VA outside of Japan is so inferior it's garbage.

"no! you're madder than me!"

Sorry, but use of all caps, hyperbole and continuous use of strawman arguments and warping of what someone else says to make it look worse (like what i bolded above, that no one in this thread ever got near to say) doesn't make you guys look calm, at all.

[Fleurette]

I believe you need to check the difference between "it's unlikely" and "no way that'll happen".

It's a rather large difference.

The rest of your post is, just like that, full of over-emotional hyperbole.

No one ever talked about "master races" (lol, could you pull any more of a strawman argument?). No one ever said that Americans can't do "good" voice acting.

You know, it's weird...i actually thought you were smart enough to detect sarcasm through hyperbole. My mistake! How silly of me. :D

Did you seriously just say that standing in a sound studio, speaking into a microphone is a grander production than film or musical theater?

I think he did.

as a big fan of musical theater as well as having been an actor for both mediums (theater/voice acting), that is where i draw the line. if you honestly think voice acting is the most intense of all forms of acting, then you are either:

a) extremely biased
b) don't know what the heck you're talking about.
c) all of the above

i'm gonna call this c. Voice actors probably have it the easiest out of ANY form of acting; the lines are all right in front of them. The characters perform all of the actions for the actor. They are not preoccupied with what they're doing. If they do their line with the wrong inflection, the director points them out as soon as they do it.

In theater, however, you memorize every. single. line. all of them. You as the actor must remember the actions/inflections given to you by your director in order to convey the message across. And sometimes, you even have to dance and sing at the same time. And the dancing may be extremely intense. It may look easy, but trust me, it is an extremely difficult thing to do without sounding out-of-breath at the same time, and i applaud the broadway actors and actresses who do that on a daily basis.

If you still don't get it, I suggest you go watch some West Side Story/Rent/Gypsy or something and get back to me on that opinion. (and if you happen to look up gypsy, look up the cast with bernadette peters! i saw her live years ago when she played the mom and she was phenomenal.)

if you still feel the same way after that, then have fun being easily offended by people and misinterpreting everything they say! i'm sure you're having loads of it already! :D

[Abriael]

You know, it's weird...i actually thought you were smart enough to detect sarcasm through hyperbole. My mistake! How silly of me.

Maybe if you want to be taken seriously you may want to try and make your point without hyberbole and strawman arguments?

I didn't miss your point, you're the one that exaggerated it to the point of not being relevant to the conversation at hand.

I think he did.

as a big fan of musical theater as well as having been an actor for both mediums (theater/voice acting), that is where i draw the line. if you honestly think voice acting is the most intense of all forms of acting, then you are either:

No, he did not. And just as Rowyne did, since you can't really counter my argument, you transformed it into something it isn't.

I suggest reading this, because it's what you're doing.

What does it being a more technical job depending more on direction, efficiency and teamwork have to do with it being "more intense" exactly?

It's not a matter of intensity, it's a matter of more technical as opposed to more artistic and having more wiggle room for personal inspiration. It's a matter of requiring more organization and sticking to direction and schedule much more strictly because you *have* to complete a given number of lines in a given amount of time.

Stage acting is a very difficult art, but no one talked about difficulty. Mind you saying that voice acting is the easiest form of acting is ridiculous. It's differernt.

Having a character performing the actions and doing the expressions for you doesn't make it easier. It's a challenge, not an advantage. It makes it more technical as opposed to artistic, and it has nothing to do with it being easy or hard (which is why i never talked about "easy" or "hard"). It's a very different line of work requiring a partly different skillset.

if you still feel the same way after that, then have fun being easily offended by people and misinterpreting everything they say! i'm sure you're having loads of it already!

Luckily I'm not the one "misinterpreting" what everyone says here. I'm not the one magically turning "technical" into "grandiose" or "intense".

Lemme know when you're ready to discuss what I actually say and not your personal warped misrepresentation of it, ok?

In the meanwhile enjoy your English VOs, no one's taking em away from you.

[HiirNoivl]

well, duh. clearly voice acting for panty & stocking with garterbelt requires *much* more of whatever stuff he said than, you know, dumb stuff like this. (and only japanese voice actors can pull it off, obviously)

I have an eternal sad now.