Cowboy Bebop (1 Viewer)

[Chad Ferguson]

I heard that the theaterical release was happening this jan. I was just wondering if it will be coming to Vancouver as well. Also, I'm assuming it will be the dubbed version playing, can anyone confirm?

 

[Angelo.M]

Chad:
This link might answer your question:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/1981.html
Can't wait to see it.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

All theaters recieving the film will get BOTH dub and sub prints, the former of which hopefully they'll never unpack

 

[Richard Kim]

One very interesting tidbit mentioned in the article is that Columbia Tristar is planning on providing theaters with both dubbed and subbed prints. This could allow theaters to have special showings of the film with its original Japanese soundtrack.

This seems to indicate that the dub will be given preference over the sub. Ineresting. On the other hand, Cowboy Bebop is possibly the best English anime dub I've ever heard.

I can't wait for January 3rd!

 

[DaveBB]

Could this thread be any more ambiguously titled? Wouldn't "Cowboy Bebop: Possible January 2003 Theatrical Release. What Version?" be a better title?

 

[Rob Lutter]

Believe me, don't think twice about seeing this movie in theatres... it is AWESOME!
I sure as hell hope it comes to Orlando!

 

[Derek Faber]

Dub or sub, I want to see this in the theater, badly.

The movie kicks so much ass.

Actually, I hope I get a dub print, as I've seen it subbed and well the subtitles will probably be fuzzy as they were when Metropolis was out.

 

[Francois Caron]

Hopefully it'll also stop in Montreal. We had Spirited Awsy for a few weeks at the AMC, but alas it was dubbed. And for me, any movie with plenty of Japanese mythology (both real and imagined) should be viewed in its original language. Cowboy Bebop however is the exception to the rule, being one of the rare anime which (as described by so many) has an English language track that doesn't suck.

 

[Calvin_Su]

All theaters recieving the film will get BOTH dub and sub prints, the former of which hopefully they'll never unpack

Are you familiar with the Cowboy Bebop dub??

In case you didn't know, it's the best anime dub ever made, bar none. and most consider it even better than the Japanese track.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Yes, I am familiar with it

Dubbing is wrong, plain and simple. Be it anime or Citizen Kane replacing all or part of the original actor's performance is wrong.

No OSL, No Sale

Plain and Simple

 

[Lowell_B]

While I'm not quite as adamant as Jeff is (When I got my boxset, I watched the English dub first, mainly because I was familiar with it, and loved it. Then I watched it with the Japanese track and loved it even more.), I really have to agree with him. Why is dubbing looked down upon in live action yet seems to be accepted (as long as it's a good job ala Bebop) with anime? While I can at least see why a few people would prefer the dub, what is with the vast dub over sub support for Bebop?
Here's hoping a shiny new subbed print comes to the Boston area.
Lowell

 

[Cary T]

I'm with Jeff, non-OSL is no different than non-OAR.

 

[Rob Lutter]

Have you ever listened to a dub with the literal Japanese translation? It is TOTALLY different! They change the script to match the "lip-flaps" of the characters. On some shows, the subs can give the show an entirely different mood. Believe me, while a dub may be "good" in your eyes, nothing can beat what Mr. Wantanabe wanted in the first place

 

[Richard Kim]

While I can at least see why a few people would prefer the dub, what is with the vast dub over sub support for Bebop?

Because the dub is extremely well done, compared to the dull, wooden performances in other anime dubs. The voice actors and everyone else involved gave it their all, and it greatly improved the experience of watching the masterpiece created by Sunrise and Watanabe. Believe me, if the dub sucked, I'd be all for watching the sub.

Also, I'm a little more lenient when it comes to foreign language dubs in animation compared to live action, since we're not actually seeing the voice actor on screen.

Right now, I'm watching the series on DVD in Japanese for the first time, and it's definitely a different experience from the English dub. Spike's voice sounds wierd and takes some getting used to. Also the subs aren't really that expressive and contain some awkward phrasing, compared to the dub.

 

[Francois Caron]

Dubs on their own are not all that bad. The problem is that more often than not, a dubbed track may not properly translate the mood of a particular scene. This includes the use of literal translations where the exact same words might represent the exact same objects, but they may deliver a totally different emotional response from a person.

Here's an example. And bear in mind that I seamlessly live in both French and English every day of my life. Last Sunday my sister and I went out to celebrate my dad's birthday at a local steakhouse. As an entrée, I ordered "escargots à l'ail". In English, this would be translated as "garlic snails". Now which of these terms sounds more appetizing?

I should have seen the dish for what it was on its own. Yet, my reaction to the dish was affected by the language I used to visualize it in my head! It's the first time I've ever tried the dish. If I tried them with my mind locked into English, I would not have enjoyed them as much as when I tried them with my mind locked into French. In English, snails are slimey buggers with shells on their backs. In French, escargots are a delicacy. Same word, same object, totally different emotional reaction.

The major problem with today's dubbed tracks is that more often than not, they're translated by people who although they may know the words in both languages, they may not necessarily have a full grasp of the cultural background that engulfs one of the two languages. It's not enough to understand a particular language; you also have to know the culture that surrounds that language. You have to feel the language as well as understand it.

A language is very much like a melody. It flows with the culture that surrounds it. So when a dubbed track doesn't "sing right", the dub is more likely to become a total failure. But in the case of Cowboy bebop, somehow the melody was translated properly! They may not use the exact same words between the two languages, but somehow the emotions appear to have been properly carried over from Japanese to English.

It's a difficult phenomena to describe to people who are basically unilingual. But for those among us who are inundated by more than one language each and every day of our lives, this phenomena follows us wherever we go. We may not realize it's there, but it is there every waking minute.

In my case, this phenomena influences my choice of subbed or dubbed tracks on a Japanese feature. If the English language track doesn't "sing" right, I switch over to the Japanese language track and English subtitles. Of course, it could happen that even the subtitles are no better, increasing the risks of ruining the presentation.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Francois, Salute!

Couldn't have said it better myself. Using your analogy, the Bebop dub had to come down an octave to reach the highs

The Japanese cast features some of the finest vocal talent in Japan, Megumi Hayashibara (Faye, best known in the US as Rei in Evangelion) and Koichi Yamadera(Most famous at least to me as the modern day voices of Captain Harlock and Susumu Kodai, but others probably know him as Ryoga from Ranma 1/2). Don't say "it sounds weird", LISTEN to how the voices were supposed to sound. LISTEN to the nuances of the performance. To use another analogy, the Japanese cast is a 96/24 PCM track while the dub is an MP3. It may still sound the same to many people, but the highs and ambience have been squashed.

 

[Calvin_Su]

Dubbing is wrong, plain and simple.

please... :rolleyes
I usually prefer the OSL to the dubs in anime, but when the dub is well done with an accurate translation, and good voice acting that sounds appropriate fro the characters, I prefer that to reading subtitles.
David Lucas as Spike sounds much better than the Japanese voice actor, imo.

 

[Rob Lutter]

comment deleted

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Fine Calvin, why don't you try originating a character and then see someone just delete your entire performance because someone is too lazy to read. See how you like it

The Japanese respect our films enough to show subtitled versions of virtually everything, often sub ONLY of the films we produce. We should exhibit the same courtesy.

 

[Calvin_Su]

Fine Calvin, why don't you try originating a character and then see someone just delete your entire performance because someone is too lazy to read. See how you like it

If I am voicing an animated character, I would realize my voice isn't the only one that can work with the character i am playing.

Anyway, all I said was that the Bebop dub is a VERY good one, better than the OSL in my opinion. If a dub is well done(like Bebop), I prefer it to the OSL.