Forum - View topic
NEWS: Yakuza 0: Director's Cut Game Unveils English Dub Cast, Opening Theme Song Trailer


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Flared



Joined: 08 Sep 2013
Posts: 112
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 10:26 am Reply with quote
Sega still sticking with Yong Yea I see...
*sigh*

The dub cast were always going to be in an uphill battle against the original Japanese cast considering how good and beloved they are, but he is very much a weak point.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
oilers2007



Joined: 23 Sep 2022
Posts: 177
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 10:33 am Reply with quote
Let me guess, it's another Yakuza remaster that censors all the funny jokes and scenes. Think I'll pass.

Flared wrote:
Sega still sticking with Yong Yea I see...
*sigh*


Companies love popular YouTubers because they bring in free advertising.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5731
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 2:15 pm Reply with quote
I wonder if they are going to produce English dubs for all the pre-LAD games, or just this one because a lot of people in the west got into the series through it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2695
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 3:13 pm Reply with quote
.....a car literally runs over Kiryu....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1311
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 3:44 pm Reply with quote
oilers2007 wrote:
Let me guess, it's another Yakuza remaster that censors all the funny jokes and scenes. Think I'll pass.

Flared wrote:
Sega still sticking with Yong Yea I see...
*sigh*


Companies love popular YouTubers because they bring in free advertising.


And by "funny" you mean outdated jokes meant to punch down?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 7189
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 5:38 pm Reply with quote
oilers2007 wrote:
Let me guess, it's another Yakuza remaster that censors all the funny jokes and scenes. Think I'll pass.


I’m curious as to what these alleged funny jokes and scenes you’re referring to.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MyMasterMatthew



Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 243
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 6:28 pm Reply with quote
I'm someone who only gets Nintendo consoles, and I've wanted to dip my toes in the Yakuza series for a long time, so I was really excited when this was announced as a Switch 2 title. Then, I learned more. Unfortunately, as I'm not interested in games sold as digital, game code, or game-key code, I suppose this just wasn't meant to be for me.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Loogoo T Lexter



Joined: 21 Feb 2025
Posts: 25
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 7:33 pm Reply with quote
Flared wrote:
Sega still sticking with Yong Yea I see...
*sigh*

The dub cast were always going to be in an uphill battle against the original Japanese cast considering how good and beloved they are, but he is very much a weak point.


YouTubers getting into voice acting was one of the worst things to ever happen to the industry.. Regardless of all the western standards recent Yakuza games has bent over backwards to adhere to they refuse to listen to any western feedback on this guy's performance being universally hated . Considering how many other companies have dropped EN VAs due to fan backlash it's surprising.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
psh_fun



Joined: 22 Oct 2023
Posts: 154
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 8:12 pm Reply with quote
Ryuji-Dono wrote:
And by "funny" you mean outdated jokes meant to punch down?


That's why fans love the series though. If people have issues with that and can't handle classic games then they can choose not to play it. In Yakuza 0 specifically Kiryu scolds a high school girl for calling the old man who buy her used panties perverts by saying there's nothing wrong with that and she should be more open minded. Laughing It's a very funny scene.

The gentrification of Yakuza and it's American fandom is something that's probably worth of studying. A series where it's original creator was always so adamant that the series was for adult Japanese men and he had zero interest in catering to women or overseas fans. A lot has changed since he stopped working on the series. It'd be one thing if they only did that to the newer games but to retroactively go back and censor classic games and refuse to release them as they originally were is very sad to see happen.but not an uncommon thing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
thecowardlyantoine



Joined: 04 Aug 2023
Posts: 47
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2025 10:54 pm Reply with quote
I never played the remasters myself and have only played the originals but one scene that I did see people on social media say got censored in the remaster of Yakuza 4 was the scene of Hana on the phone with Akiyama and being worried she would be raped by some thugs fighting outside her building and Akiyama just busts out laughing at her for thinking she would be in any danger of that (she's really overweight and unattractive). That scene was really funny.

0 has quite a few scenes of rape from what I remember of it so I wonder if they'll remove any of those. Some of them are played seriously for the story while others are played off as comedy like Majima and the old woman.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 5348
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2025 9:46 am Reply with quote
Flared wrote:
Sega still sticking with Yong Yea I see...
*sigh*

The dub cast were always going to be in an uphill battle against the original Japanese cast considering how good and beloved they are, but he is very much a weak point.


There seems to be at least some acknowledgement considering they have someone else doing the karaoke. That might have been the part that stuck out to me the most. It's not like having a different singing voice is an unknown thing since not every actor can do it, so it gave an impression that they didn't care. Even if the thinking was that most people doing karaoke aren't all that good at it, it didn't work here since the singing in the series has always been good.

I've liked Yong's voice work elsewhere, but I think this was a case of miscasting on the particular role.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mulletZERO



Joined: 08 Aug 2008
Posts: 188
Location: USA
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2025 11:47 am Reply with quote
Oh hey David Hayter is gonna be in this!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 7189
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2025 3:14 pm Reply with quote
Loogoo T Lexter wrote:
Considering how many other companies have dropped EN VAs due to fan backlash it's surprising.


Voice Actors typically only get replaced if they screw up legally (really bad), they can’t or simply chose to no longer do the role for a given reason, or there’s some kinda dispute between them and the production company/director they work for.

You don’t usually replace a voice actor because a segment of fans, a number of whom prefer the original voice actor from the media’s point of origin because they think their performance is underwhelming “after the fact”.


psh_fun wrote:
That's why fans love the series though.


That’s why “some” of us love the series. Not all of us like the game’s janky attempts at humor offensive or no.

psh_fun wrote:
If people have issues with that and can't handle classic games then they can choose not to play it. In Yakuza 0 specifically Kiryu scolds a high school girl for calling the old man who buy her used panties perverts by saying there's nothing wrong with that and she should be more open minded. Laughing It's a very funny scene.


Funny if we’re overlooking the well documented problem of sexual harassment (on top of sexual assault) that Japan’s had a problem with for years. Though it is funny in light of the circumstances that will lead to Kiryu going to prison after the events of Yakuza 0

psh_fun wrote:
The gentrification of Yakuza and it's American fandom is something that's probably worth of studying. A series where it's original creator was always so adamant that the series was for adult Japanese men and he had zero interest in catering to women or overseas fans


If you’re referring to Nagoshi his thoughts that the series was intended for adult men is interesting in light of the fact that the game has a notable female fanbase not hurt by all the attractive male characters central to the game.


psh_fun wrote:
A lot has changed since he stopped working on the series. It'd be one thing if they only did that to the newer games but to retroactively go back and censor classic games and refuse to release them as they originally were is very sad to see happen.but not an uncommon thing.


The last game that Nagoshi worked on was Lost Judgment and I would argue not much has changed. A lot of the quirky weirdness is still there as is the occasional display of bad writing.

Like A Dragon is still well Like A Dragon.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
igiari21



Joined: 16 Jul 2016
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2025 4:44 pm Reply with quote
This genuinely might end up being the worst dub in the series and that's saying something.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Zased



Joined: 30 Nov 2024
Posts: 142
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2025 5:23 pm Reply with quote
BadNewsBlues wrote:
If you’re referring to Nagoshi his thoughts that the series was intended for adult men is interesting in light of the fact that the game has a notable female fanbase not hurt by all the attractive male characters central to the game.


Nagoshi seemed fine with women and non-Japanese players liking the series but he simply never wanted to change the series to cater to them or for the series to lose it's core identity. I haven't played the newer games since Nagoshi left so I don't know what they're like now or if things have indeed changed from that original vision for the series though.

I feel Yakuza is one of those series where people tend to confuse what the characters and games are actually like versus the head-canon certain parts of the community seem to have imprinted on them. If all anyone knows about Yakuza from is out-of-context clips and screenshots or the Dame Da Ne meme then it makes sense. I see a lot of people post that screenshot of Kiryu saying that you can't judge someone just because they don't conform to society's standards of sexual normalcy thinking it's a really inspirational quote but very few people seem to know that quote is from a scene involving pedophiles. I don't think most of those people would repost that line if they knew that's who Kiryu was defending.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group