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U.S. Naruto's voice actor

PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:33 pm
by Mega.EXE
XD Now that's rich

Whoops double post but anyway that's the Sexy no Jutsu Naruto atleast that's what my friend said ah maaaan It's still funny that's it's like a 50-year lady though XD But I still think that it's really Nuruutoe right there

PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:37 pm
by Mega.EXE
Whoops double post but anyway that's the Sexy no Jutsu Naruto atleast that's what my friend said ah maaaan It's still funny that's it's like a 50-year lady though XD But I still think that it's really Nuruutoe right there

PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:54 pm
by uc pseudonym
Indeed she is. I'll be brief, as I've said this before, but I really wish they'd use actual young males for young male characters. Audiences can tell and I at least am annoyed by the dissonance the voice causes. Not that I can complain much, because I don't watch Naruto.

I compressed your posts, by the way.

PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 3:00 pm
by Mega.EXE
Oh Arigatou UC-Sama But yeah I found that hilarious

PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 3:57 pm
by beau99
uc pseudonym wrote:Indeed she is. I'll be brief, as I've said this before, but I really wish they'd use actual young males for young male characters.

There's a reason why they do what they do.

Simply put, older females are better at doing young male voices.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:08 pm
by mitsuki lover
Also boys' voices do tend to change at a certain age.With some it's earlier and others it's later.It should be noted that the VA who did Al on FMA was only about
10 or 11 when he did it so they didn't have to worry about his voice changing.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:23 pm
by KhakiBlueSocks
Yeah, when I first saw how old she was, it really shocked me! But, then again, it's not that unusual for young boys to be played by middle-aged women! Example: Naota (FLCL) is played by Barbara Goodson--AKA Rita Repulsa on Power Rangers. Izzy on Digimon was played by Mona Marshall, and Jim Hawking from Outlaw Star was voiced by a woman too...I can't think of her name right off the top of my head, sorry, but she also does the voice of Tsubasa from .hack//sign.

The same thing happens in Japan too--Yuki from Fruits Basket is voiced by a lady, and Shinji Ikari from Evangelion is voiced by Megumi Ogata. (No guy I know can scream like that!)

Update: The actress I couldn't place a name to is Brianne Siddall. In Outlaw Star, she was credited as "Ian Hawk"

PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:03 pm
by uc pseudonym
beau99 wrote:There's a reason why they do what they do.

Simply put, older females are better at doing young male voices.

Simply put, I disagree. Older females may well be better voice actors, but they are not better at sounding like young males. They sound like older females trying to sound like young males, and for good reason. The example I was going to bring up has already been raised: Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist. This is obviously a matter of opinion, but I think he does a professional-level job. I presume, though I cannot think of any examples at the moment, that there are people who play younger opposite-gender roles that I feel do very good jobs, but that does not change the fact that I still hear a woman's voice from the mouth of a male character and it feels off.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 2:43 pm
by beau99
Sorry, I'm just saying what is considered fact in the USA. Though to be fair, I'm more familiar with non-anime VAs.

Tara Strong is awesome at doing male characters. If she did anime, I'd... well, I don't know really.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:42 pm
by MasterDias
But, outside of the boy who plays Alphonse, I can't think of any other kids who do voicework (especially for anime) off the top of my head.
...and if you need a voice for a high-pitched young boy, most male voice actors would sound too low.

The concept is not anything new however. In operas, young boy parts were often given to women.

Tara Strong is awesome at doing male characters. If she did anime, I'd... well, I don't know really.

Until you said this, I hadn't been aware Tara Strong had done male voices. But I see she has, from her Wikipedia profile.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:39 am
by Eaglestrike
There was Naruto on Cartoon Network last night. I just couldn't watch it. The Voice Actors are so...bleh. I completely disagree with older females being better for young males. You can completely tell it wasn't a younger male doing his voice and just sounds bad, IMO.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:06 am
by KhakiBlueSocks
To be honest, I still can't tell the difference between if a female or a male does the voice of a young boy, unless I know the V/A's voice from other anime. Unless your ears know EXACTLY what to listen for in terms of gender, I think it would be quite difficult to differenciate between a middle aged lady dong the voice of a 10-year-old, an actual 10-year-old boy, or a 30 year old guy. For about two years, I didn't know that Jim Hawking (Outlaw Star) or Izzy (Digimon) were acted by women! They're just that good at what they do!

I have a feeling that the reason some of you guys don't like female V/A's playing male characters is because it's distracting from the anime. You see this strong, butch, hyper character on screen, who's going to beat the bad guys, but in the back of your mind, you're thinking "Hey! She's old enough to be my mother!"

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:20 am
by Eaglestrike
In Naruto's case, I actually could tell. Didn't sound like a 12 year old boy. But maybe it's because I normally watch Naruto in JP with subs. I don't know any Japanese but you can still tell a bit from vocal patterns and the difference is noticable.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:34 pm
by MasterDias
From the episodes I've seen, I've thought Naruto's voice actors were generally really good at their roles. Kate Higgins, Yuri Lowenthal, and Dave Wittenberg did great jobs.
And it certainly beats various 4kids hackjobs by a very, very long shot...

And, as I said before, I can think of very few kids that voice act in anime.

In Naruto's case, I actually could tell. Didn't sound like a 12 year old boy. But maybe it's because I normally watch Naruto in JP with subs. I don't know any Japanese but you can still tell a bit from vocal patterns and the difference is noticable.

You are aware that Naruto's seiyuu is female in Japan as well, right?
Junko Takeuchi has done a number of young male roles.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:49 pm
by Eaglestrike
Then I guess my knowledge of the english language lets me know how "fake" it is in that version, or maybe the JP VA is better.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 1:57 pm
by Mega.EXE
MasterDias wrote:From the episodes I've seen, I've thought Naruto's voice actors were generally really good at their roles. Kate Higgins, Yuri Lowenthal, and Dave Wittenberg did great jobs.
And it certainly beats various 4kids hackjobs by a very, very long shot...

And, as I said before, I can think of very few kids that voice act in anime.


You are aware that Naruto's seiyuu is female in Japan as well, right?
Junko Takeuchi has done a number of young male roles.


Yeah I thought everyone knew that I mean RockMan's Seiyuu is a girl and so is Ryoma's I'm not complaining about Japanese Seiyuu's I'm complaining about U.S. VA's

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:06 pm
by Tenshi no Ai
KhakiBlueSocks wrote:For about two years, I didn't know that Jim Hawking (Outlaw Star) or Izzy (Digimon) were acted by women! They're just that good at what they do!


Wow, and here I just found out :/ Ever since I watched the Digimon dub way back when, I never would've guessed... But I think now that I think about it, it makes sense.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:52 pm
by uc pseudonym
MasterDias wrote:But, outside of the boy who plays Alphonse, I can't think of any other kids who do voicework (especially for anime) off the top of my head.

That's true. I'm more lamenting something that slightly annoys me, not expecting anything to change or saying it's the worst thing since unsliced bread.

However, I will say this: there are plenty of child actors, even ones for theater. It isn't as if young males are incapable of playing these roles or there is so little talent there to be forced to use older women.

KhakiBlueSocks wrote:I have a feeling that the reason some of you guys don't like female V/A's playing male characters is because it's distracting from the anime. You see this strong, butch, hyper character on screen, who's going to beat the bad guys, but in the back of your mind, you're thinking "Hey! She's old enough to be my mother!"

I think I'm fairly confident in saying what I don't like is the sound itself. This is because some Japanese voice actors who do the same thing don't annoy me, likely because I am not as able to distinguish gender inflections in Japanese.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:50 pm
by Kurama
I Love Naruto`s Voice Actor! She seems so nice! I think she does a good job as Naruto, well from my prospective. lol

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:53 pm
by KhakiBlueSocks
Imagine telling your grandkids what you did for a living!

"When I was younger, I played a boy named Naruto on TV."

"What's TV?"

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:54 pm
by ChristianKitsune
I hope this thread won't turn into Let's Bash Naruto's Voice Actor...is it really that big of a deal? :/

I happen to think that she does a neato job on naruto, and you know, VIZ must think so too otherwise why would they hire her?

I mean seriously, who could play the naruto we know? Are there ANY young boys (besides Aaron Dismuke of Funimation) that are voice actors? And coudl you guys really see that kid playing Naruto? (I can't...)

I really don't see the big deal... and I don't see the point in this thread...it seems that you guys are making fun of this lady...when you really shouldn't be..

Sorry if I offended anyone...that's just my worthless two cents.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:58 pm
by Mega.EXE
ChristianRonin wrote:I hope this thread won't turn into Let's Bash Naruto's Voice Actor


XD to late CR

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:22 pm
by KhakiBlueSocks
ChristianRonin wrote:I happen to think that she does a neato job on naruto, and you know, VIZ must think so too otherwise why would they hire her?

She's a great V/A! It took me by complete suprise when I found out that Naruto was voiced by a woman! She plays our favorite ninja very well...believe it!

ChristianRonin wrote:I mean seriously, who could play the naruto we know? Are there ANY young boys (besides Aaron Dismuke of Funimation) that are voice actors? And coudl you guys really see that kid playing Naruto? (I can't...)

Me neither. Naruto is a teenager, while Al is a preteen. The voices wouldnt' match up. Besides, Aaron Dismuke's voice is a little too gentle to play "genki" Naruto...besides, can you imagine him trying to do Naruto's "Sexy Jutsu" voice? (I would rather NOT imagine!)

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:48 pm
by Mega.EXE
KhakiBlueSocks wrote:She's a great V/A! It took me by complete suprise when I found out that Naruto was voiced by a woman! She plays our favorite ninja very well...believe it!


Heh heh favorite ninja Rock Lee is one of the only cool people in the hole series other than Kakashi and Gai

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:53 pm
by Roy Mustang
KhakiBlueSocks wrote:Me neither. Naruto is a teenager, while Al is a preteen. The voices wouldnt' match up. Besides, Aaron Dismuke's voice is a little too gentle to play "genki" Naruto...besides, can you imagine him trying to do Naruto's "Sexy Jutsu" voice? (I would rather NOT imagine!)


Another answer to why he couldn't be pick to play the role is, because he only has a deal with Funimation as far as I know.


Wingzero22

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:05 pm
by beau99
^ Yep.

FUNimation VAs are under contract and must do FUNimation dubs.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:05 pm
by Roy Mustang
beau99 wrote:^ Yep.

FUNimation VAs are under contract and must do FUNimation dubs.


Well, not all. Some do have a contract with Funimation and ADV.


The way that it looks, the ones that have more years of voice acting have these kind of contracts.




Wingzero22

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:58 pm
by MasterDias
KhakiBlueSocks wrote: Me neither. Naruto is a teenager, while Al is a preteen. The voices wouldnt' match up. Besides, Aaron Dismuke's voice is a little too gentle to play "genki" Naruto...besides, can you imagine him trying to do Naruto's "Sexy Jutsu" voice? (I would rather NOT imagine!)

...
Not quite actually. Naruto should technically be older than Alphonse. Naruto is 12 at the start of the series. Alphonse is 10 when he loses his body.

Well, not all. Some do have a contract with Funimation and ADV.

And you have some like Vic Mignogna who fly around the country trying to get various roles...

PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:26 am
by Mega.EXE
MasterDias wrote:And you have some like Vic Mignogna who fly around the country trying to get various roles...


But Vic Mignogna is a beast! XDDD

PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:05 pm
by mitsuki lover
Naruto is done by VIZ which is up in Vancouver,B.C. and Funimation is down in
Texas as is also ADV(I believe).So just consider the logistics of a minor having to travel from Texas to B.C.
Also if you have read the end credits to any of the shows that are produced by
VIZ it always seems that the vocal work for them is done by The Ocean Group.
Frankly I don't know why people keep getting VIZ mixed up with Funimation or some of the other production companies in the States,but they some how manage to do so.
btw:Is Vic Mignogna CONTRACTED to Funimation or is he a free lancer?I know I read where Tiffany Grant is a free lancer which is why she can do other than
ADV productions as well as ADV.