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INTEREST: Funimation Voice Actors Discuss Discrimination Against Asian American Talent


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ebronstein



Joined: 25 Oct 2018
Posts: 45
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:18 pm Reply with quote
I've been waiting for someone to talk about this.
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LightningComet



Joined: 10 Jan 2021
Posts: 48
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:20 pm Reply with quote
Often times, it is the topics that require and/or demand the most discussion that don't have enough said about them. Systemic racism is one of those problems. It is my belief that those who take a stand against it, either by sharing their own experiences or expressing the utmost support for the oppressed are the people doing the right thing.

So, here I am, trying to do the right thing.

To Emi Lo, Apphia Yu, Shawn Gann and any and all other individuals that have placed themselves squarely in the spotlight and voiced their grievances in the face of hate, I stand by all of you against oppression, whatever form it takes, be it unfair treatment in the workplace, police brutality, entire governments convinced of their people's superiority, sheer ignorance and insensitivity, or misguided hatred. These are all terrible practices (not events, but practices) that must be fought against.

It may not mean much from an anonymous user on the Internet, but I thank all of you for championing justice, equality, and kindness. You are truly inspiring.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:34 pm Reply with quote
I agree with people who can get their foot in the door, but it's not that easy, even for 'name' actors and actresses. For example, Cruella's about to bomb, just like Harley Quinn and that last Charlie's Angels before it, and those stars have been in movies which made money. You also have to have years of loyalty and build on it, like with Mugen Train. There's also a matter of buying power Black Panther is as high as the African-American community can get at the box office, while Crazy Rich Asians is, you get the picture. So concepts with broad appeal are also important to be good at pitching. As for Black Widow, we'll find out soon if Scarjo can carry a $200 million picture. But I wouldn't be against that argument of casting an actor of color for BW. Until then, youu'll have to make Sheng Chi a better winner than Mortal Kombat. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for more Parasites and Minaris to break out.
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Blankslate



Joined: 30 Jun 2015
Posts: 425
Location: Atlanta, GA
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:37 pm Reply with quote
Glad that some are speaking out now. It bugged me for decades that an "English dub" basically meant "white dub" especially since anime is a Japanese medium.

On the topic of diverse casts, I'm glad we've come such a long way in a short time (hell it hasn't even been 10 years since Michiko & Hatchin had a majority white cast).
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Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1207
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:46 pm Reply with quote
Glad they go to speak up, we should know that we should hire people fairly regardless of ethnicity.

And while some miles to go, kudos again for FUNimation for promoting and diversifying their range of actors as of late, especially from the likes of Caitlin Glass from her recent ADR jobs.

Keep up folks!
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Chris Handsome



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:48 pm Reply with quote
Did people forget a Japanese-American founded Funimation and turned it into the anime juggernaut of the 2000s? Which it still remains pretty much today, although I really question their oversaturated of crappy quality stuff from the last decade with localizations that make early Dragon Ball Z look genius.
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Romuska
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Joined: 02 Mar 2004
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:49 pm Reply with quote
I remember at Anime Expo I once asked an ADR director why they didn’t cast a Black actor to play the one Black character that appeared in the anime they had screened. He sarcastically replied “do you think we should hire all Asian actors to play the Asian characters?” Just one more reason why I don’t watch anime dubbed.
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Casval Rem Deikun



Joined: 24 Feb 2021
Posts: 266
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:51 pm Reply with quote
"... will hire those they are close to or are already familiar with." This has been a huge issue for so long, especially Funimation. The buddy-buddy club.
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Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1207
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:52 pm Reply with quote
Romuska wrote:
I remember at Anime Expo I once asked an ADR director why they didn’t cast a Black actor to play the one Black character that appeared in the anime they had screened. He sarcastically replied “do you think we should hire all Asian actors to play the Asian characters?” Just one more reason why I don’t watch anime dubbed.


What year was it? Because as of late, that practice is changing.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:58 pm Reply with quote
Blankslate wrote:
Glad that some are speaking out now. It bugged me for decades that an "English dub" basically meant "white dub" especially since anime is a Japanese medium.
Voice work for Anime doesn't pay much, so a lot of VAs pass it up or eventually move on to something else, and that includes black and Asian actors. I do agree that certain titles like Michiko & Hatchin should have had more black VAs, especially Michiko(that crap Monica spouted about them being the same ethnicity never sat right with me). But modern Simpsons casting doesn't really work in Anime as only a small amount of characters are Caucasian, and you can't just put out of work the vast majority of people who work in the industry overnight..
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Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1207
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 2:02 pm Reply with quote
Casval Rem Deikun wrote:
"... will hire those they are close to or are already familiar with." This has been a huge issue for so long, especially Funimation. The buddy-buddy club.
Yeah, especially from 2000s up to early 2010s, in which the majority of FUNimation dubs had Chris Sabat, Eric Vale, Caitlin Glass, Vic Mignonga, Mike McFarland, John Burgmeier, etc.
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Takkun4343



Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1493
Location: Englewood, Ohio
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 2:06 pm Reply with quote
MarshalBanana wrote:
I do agree that certain titles like Michiko & Hatchin should have had more black VAs, especially Michiko(that crap Monica spouted about them being the same ethnicity never sat right with me)

I struggle to understand the belief that Michiko is black. When I watched the first six episodes subbed, and later the whole thing dubbed, I always perceived Michiko as a brown-skinned Latina as opposed to any degree of black. I can understand where the "Michiko is black" perspective comes from, what with her manner of speech as the series goes on, but saying she's black without any concrete evidence that she is black like with Atsuko - whose VA should honestly have more roles in the industry as she does - is downright presumptive and borderline ignorant.
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Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1207
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 2:11 pm Reply with quote
To be fair, it could have been better to cast an Afro-Latino in such in which if this was dubbed today, Anaris Quiñónes would have been the voice.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 2:30 pm Reply with quote
Takkun4343 wrote:
I struggle to understand the belief that Michiko is black. When I watched the first six episodes subbed, and later the whole thing dubbed, I always perceived Michiko as a brown-skinned Latina as opposed to any degree of black. I can understand where the "Michiko is black" perspective comes from, what with her manner of speech as the series goes on, but saying she's black without any concrete evidence that she is black like with Atsuko - whose VA should honestly have more roles in the industry as she does - is downright presumptive and borderline ignorant.
Well You don't need evidence to prove that a black character is black, as someone pointed out before she is most likely Afro-Brazilian, so unless there is any concrete evidence to prove otherwise. And even if for argument sake we go with your perception of her being brown, what's that middle eastern or mixed race?, Monica Rial is still Caucasian not brown.
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Sakura Shinguji



Joined: 09 Feb 2005
Posts: 190
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 3:06 pm Reply with quote
Worth mentioning that both Emi and Shawn have commented on Twitter about being less than thrilled about the clickbait-y article headline Indiewire came up with, and that that title plus the final editorial direction of the article overall kind of gets away from what they thought they were being interviewed for.
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