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REVIEW: Attack on Titan episodes 1-5 (English Dub)


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:37 pm Reply with quote
I've seen the trailers before and thought it was okay for the voices. It's nice to see an improvement for the animation visuals although I thought Production IG did a pretty good job already. I kinda prefer the Japanese opening for the first episode.
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jojothepunisher



Joined: 04 Sep 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:47 pm Reply with quote
Where can I watch this english dub?
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PachiPortrait



Joined: 23 Jul 2013
Posts: 34
Location: Raleigh, NC
PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:01 pm Reply with quote
I suppose the occasional snide, quippy lines were foreshadowed by Levi's dialogue in his preview clip. I'm guessing we have Tatum to blame for that. Won't bother me too much, but I wish he'd stop writing that way. Neutral
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:14 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
It takes only 100 minutes to see how this off-putting pile of harsh offal can inspire so much passion...
Quote:
...off-putting pile of harsh offal...

Neato metaphor.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:23 pm Reply with quote
Looking forward to watching it on Toonami, especially with such an excellent dub review.
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Nemui_Nezumi



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 343
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:26 pm Reply with quote
can't wait for june~~~

Quote:
However, it's safe to say that by the conclusion of episode 5, you're either completely hooked or you're never going to be.


ehhh, that's not really true, if I'm honest I only started liking the series around ep 10 (I marathoned the 10 first episodes in one night so there wasn't the pacing issue or at least I didn't noted it as much as when I folllowed the series weekly after that), spoiler[I would say the decisive point where you know you will like it or not is at the end of the first arc]

Stark700 wrote:
(...) I kinda prefer the Japanese opening for the first episode.


eh? they're not using the original ops/eds?
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:49 pm Reply with quote
To me Funimation is the best dubbing company, and that makes me have faith on every new project they undertake. However, the dub clips I have heard from Attack on Titan have shaken my confidence on this dub. This review has confirmed my fears that this dub seems to have altered the personalities of the main characters.

I want this dub to be amazing because I want Attack on Titan to become an even bigger hit than it already is, and I do not want to watch again 25 episodes subtitled; it can get tiresome. I am still looking forward to this dub, and I will keep my fingers crossed, hoping that the dub has only made superficial alterations to the spirit of the show.

I am not a purist, and I am aware that changes need to be made when adapting a work to another language. But I dislike a dub that betrays the spirit of the original language version. I hope Funimation does not disappoint me.
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Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 1236
PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:50 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The bad news for sub purists is that nearly every spoken line differs from the exact translation.

Are you serious? You still, after all this time, believe that the subtitles are an "exact translation" (which is impossible anyhow) of the Japanese? SMH, ANN. S-M-H.
Quote:
Funimation's dubbing team have wisely decided against archetypal "anime character" voice direction, where everyone has perfect enunciation and even gasps or shouts in melodic, clean, choir-boy "head voice."

To be honest, the dub doesn't sound up to Funimation's usual standards, it has that wonky "theatrical" sound, that "archetypical" quality to it that normally funimation eschews, thankfully (because it sounds like crap), and CA studios espouse.

I don't know what caused Mike McFarland to take leave of his senses here but the writing, casting and direction of this dub are all suffering greatly for it. Hopefully this is just a one-time insanity and not a sign of bad McFarland dubs to come.
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Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:55 pm Reply with quote
PachiPortrait wrote:
I suppose the occasional snide, quippy lines were foreshadowed by Levi's dialogue in his preview clip. I'm guessing we have Tatum to blame for that. Won't bother me too much, but I wish he'd stop writing that way. Neutral



Okay, admittedly, I haven't seen the show yet. However, I have watched a dubbed anime that had J. Michael Tatum as the head writer for the English script, and that was the entertainingly terrible so-bad-it's-good guilty pleasure that is Future Diary. I'm a little more forgiving of his script since the show itself was over-the-top insane in it's badness, so it fit. However, I am starting to get a little worried when seeing the changes Hope described in Attack on Titan's script. Especially since Mr. Tatum is apparently head writer for this. Oh well. At least he isn't Steven Foster...?

(Please let this show sound good overall, please let this show sound good overall...)[/b]
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:15 pm Reply with quote
Echo_City wrote:

I don't know what caused Mike McFarland to take leave of his senses here but the writing, casting and direction of this dub are all suffering greatly for it. Hopefully this is just a one-time insanity and not a sign of bad McFarland dubs to come.


Er, these episodes aren't publicly available yet - this review is based on a screener disc provided for review purposes. Are you saying the writing, casting and direction of this dub is bad based on the few seconds-long clips that are out there? I think they've released less than 7 minutes of audio.
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Tanteikingdomkey



Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 2345
PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:35 pm Reply with quote
Nemui_Nezumi wrote:
can't wait for june~~~

Quote:
However, it's safe to say that by the conclusion of episode 5, you're either completely hooked or you're never going to be.


ehhh, that's not really true, if I'm honest I only started liking the series around ep 10 (I marathoned the 10 first episodes in one night so there wasn't the pacing issue or at least I didn't noted it as much as when I folllowed the series weekly after that), spoiler[I would say the decisive point where you know you will like it or not is at the end of the first arc]

Stark700 wrote:
(...) I kinda prefer the Japanese opening for the first episode.


eh? they're not using the original ops/eds?

For me it wasn't until around episode 7 where you know what happens, and it stopped feeling like a death march to me.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2240
PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:36 pm Reply with quote
This review is almost ridiculously thorough (but in the best way possible!) so kudos to you, Hope! (Or JO, either way. Anime hyper)

I'm a little worried reading about child-Eren's voice, considering how much those first episodes focus on him, but hopefully it's more wince-inducing rather than cringe-worthy. But the emotional suckerpunch of the opening eps will probably make up for it. Anime hyper

Those possible hints of re-characterization also sound worrying, but I'll just have to draw my own conclusions when the show airs. I'm hoping they're just minor tweaks that don't affect the show in the long run. ^^;
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:52 pm Reply with quote
I recognised that the review would be by Hope from the blurb alone. Awesome.

Hope wrote:
However, it's safe to say that by the conclusion of episode 5, you're either completely hooked or you're never going to be.


Nah, that's not true. The opening episodes of Attack on Titan were the weakest. I initially hated the show, and yet by the end I was a fan (not a very big one, but a fan nonetheless).

Once Eren actually gains some power and goes from being an angry little **** to being an angry badarse, that's when the show really picked up. Also see Mikasa's skills, Armin's strategies, the Recon Corps competence and planning, and the two internal conflicts (between both human factions against the other and the You Know Who versus everyone else). Attack on Titan's setting will always be its strongest point, but it was initially hard to really appreciate it. Those opening few episodes were too weighed down with whiny brats and stupid tactics.

Tl;dr: the show started off poorly and then picked up big time when the characters became useful and the story found its feet.

Hope wrote:
A bunch of stuff with examples about how the characters' personalities got changed.


I'm conflicted. I'm generally against personality changes in English dubs, but based on your examples I actually liked what they did with Eren and Mikasa. Eren was always way too angry and pissed off to be likeable, while Mikasa was always too passive to be truly sympathetic. Making Eren more philosophical and Mikasa have more of an edge to her is something I can support. Now, do I like the changes for Armin? Er, not so much. He made sense as a smart pacifist, so I reckon they should have left him alone.
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Cyclone1993



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 947
PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:13 pm Reply with quote
Akane the Catgirl wrote:
PachiPortrait wrote:
I suppose the occasional snide, quippy lines were foreshadowed by Levi's dialogue in his preview clip. I'm guessing we have Tatum to blame for that. Won't bother me too much, but I wish he'd stop writing that way. Neutral



Okay, admittedly, I haven't seen the show yet. However, I have watched a dubbed anime that had J. Michael Tatum as the head writer for the English script, and that was the entertainingly terrible so-bad-it's-good guilty pleasure that is Future Diary. I'm a little more forgiving of his script since the show itself was over-the-top insane in it's badness, so it fit. However, I am starting to get a little worried when seeing the changes Hope described in Attack on Titan's script. Especially since Mr. Tatum is apparently head writer for this. Oh well. At least he isn't Steven Foster...?

(Please let this show sound good overall, please let this show sound good overall...)[/b]


If memory serves, Tatum was the writer for the Steins;Gate dub, which has to be one of my favorite dubs. Sure somethings had to be changed but it turned out to be a fantastic product.
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PachiPortrait



Joined: 23 Jul 2013
Posts: 34
Location: Raleigh, NC
PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:33 pm Reply with quote
Akane the Catgirl wrote:
Okay, admittedly, I haven't seen the show yet. However, I have watched a dubbed anime that had J. Michael Tatum as the head writer for the English script, and that was the entertainingly terrible so-bad-it's-good guilty pleasure that is Future Diary. I'm a little more forgiving of his script since the show itself was over-the-top insane in it's badness, so it fit. However, I am starting to get a little worried when seeing the changes Hope described in Attack on Titan's script. Especially since Mr. Tatum is apparently head writer for this. Oh well. At least he isn't Steven Foster...?

(Please let this show sound good overall, please let this show sound good overall...)[/b]


Oooh, I wouldn't dare expect this script to be Future Diary-level bad, no way. Anime hyper And I believe Hope would've warned harder against this dub rather than support it had that been the case; the adaptive script was one of her breaking points in tolerating Future Diary, as I recall.

She gave the dub a strong recommendation all concerns notwithstanding, so I wouldn't worry. There'll be a "your mileage will vary" factor with those line changes, most likely, but if they're anything like the few clips we've already heard and Tatum's past work, the rest of the strengths mentioned in the dub should be more than enough to weigh towards quality, just as Hope ultimately said. My speculation. Smile
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