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Like smothered, covered, diced, and chunked ... Episode 3 of Naruto on Cartoon Network brought some relief, but solidified a few misgivings.
First the relief. The dubbing does get better as the VA's find their voices. I think that the picks for Sakura and Sasuke are pretty solid, though I am still not sold on Naruto himself. I'm curious to see how he is once things get serious. We'll get a whole lot of Kakashi next week, and I'm looking forward to that as well.
For the misgivings, they keep cutting out things ... and I just have to wonder "what's the point?" For instance, in this episode there is an instance where Naruto and Sasuke get bumped into a kiss. Homoerotic/homophobic comments aside, it is meant to be funny... and in the sub it is very funny. The joke is somewhat lost in translation here. Same goes for Naruto on the pot. They zoomed in on him a bit, and cut the scenes so you could not see the toilet as much. There are few things as funny as a cartoon toilet.
Anyway, only time will tell if it gets better.
For the Sub, I have made my way through Season 1, and I am pretty pleased with what I have seen. Naruto has not grown up as much as I'd like yet, but he is learning quite a bit. The other members of his team also continue to grow. It's an interesting character study as they work their way up the ninja ladder. The first season ends with Naruto's whole team taking the test to become Chunin. Will the group of young rookies pass the difficult trials? Guess I'll need to watch more and see.
Feel free to discuss more in the forum.
First the relief. The dubbing does get better as the VA's find their voices. I think that the picks for Sakura and Sasuke are pretty solid, though I am still not sold on Naruto himself. I'm curious to see how he is once things get serious. We'll get a whole lot of Kakashi next week, and I'm looking forward to that as well.
For the misgivings, they keep cutting out things ... and I just have to wonder "what's the point?" For instance, in this episode there is an instance where Naruto and Sasuke get bumped into a kiss. Homoerotic/homophobic comments aside, it is meant to be funny... and in the sub it is very funny. The joke is somewhat lost in translation here. Same goes for Naruto on the pot. They zoomed in on him a bit, and cut the scenes so you could not see the toilet as much. There are few things as funny as a cartoon toilet.
Anyway, only time will tell if it gets better.
For the Sub, I have made my way through Season 1, and I am pretty pleased with what I have seen. Naruto has not grown up as much as I'd like yet, but he is learning quite a bit. The other members of his team also continue to grow. It's an interesting character study as they work their way up the ninja ladder. The first season ends with Naruto's whole team taking the test to become Chunin. Will the group of young rookies pass the difficult trials? Guess I'll need to watch more and see.
Feel free to discuss more in the forum.
I got caught last night by Naruto in a big way. I blew through 7 episodes of the show in a single sitting ... and that is a long sitting for me. Given the pace on Cartoon Network, it will take weeks to catch up with it in English. By the time I got through the first saga (the first 19 episodes), it seemed everything I knew about the show got turned on its head. Evil was good, good had evil, and I found that even the "smallest tool" deserved my empathy and respect.
If you can get through the dub on Cartoon Network, the story underneath will be worth it. I think the show will surprise many of you, it's hard to get through the saga without a lump in the throat ... at least in the original Japanese.
It's far from perfect and Naruto does have its shortcomings. There can be a little too much exposition, too much review in the beginning of each episode, and a lot of showboating by the main character. But, there is good characterization, great ninja action, and a ton of detail. Oh, and there is a good deal of blood. After watching the first two episodes in English, I don't see how they will airbrush it all out on Cartoon Network and still hold a coherent story.
Regardless, the show is really good. It has left a lasting impression on me in just a few short episodes.
The first saga centers around the newly formed Ninja Team 7 from the Leaf Village: Naruto, the orphan misfit who only aspires to be acknowledged by the entire village as the greatest ninja ever; Sasuke, Naruto's rival and highly skilled teammate; Sakura, the booksmart and pretty ninja girl; their sensei Kakashi, who hides much skill under his carefree exterior. Each of them has their strengths and weaknesses ... and despite the early bumps, they seem to work well together as a team.
However, the team ends up biting off more than they can chew with their most recent mission. Normally regulated to boring "D" class missions, Naruto fights to get a more exciting "C" class mission. These are usually reserved for more experienced ninja. In the mission, they are charged with protecting Tazuna, a bridge builder, from bandits on his journey home.
If only it were that simple. Tazuna, it seems, is in a bit more trouble than he let on. The "C" mission becomes a "B" very quickly, and when a rogue ninja called Zabuza comes hunting the bridge builder... the mission gets even harder. Ninja Team 7 finds itself in over its head, and all the members are forced to start growing up fast if they wish to survive.
And they do. The characters grow in strength and maturity and learn a lot in the process. Throughout the first saga, Naruto is finding his strength and inner voice - and learning to control the power within. Hey may yet grow into the great ninja he wants to be.
I would not want to do it too often, but I enjoyed getting caught by this series and staying up late to finish the first saga. I'm curious to see if the dub gets any better ... and in fact I'm really hoping it does. Naruto is just too good of a show to go unseen because of a poor Dub execution. I'll keep my fingers crossed for everyone.
Feel free to discuss more in the forum.
If you can get through the dub on Cartoon Network, the story underneath will be worth it. I think the show will surprise many of you, it's hard to get through the saga without a lump in the throat ... at least in the original Japanese.It's far from perfect and Naruto does have its shortcomings. There can be a little too much exposition, too much review in the beginning of each episode, and a lot of showboating by the main character. But, there is good characterization, great ninja action, and a ton of detail. Oh, and there is a good deal of blood. After watching the first two episodes in English, I don't see how they will airbrush it all out on Cartoon Network and still hold a coherent story.
Regardless, the show is really good. It has left a lasting impression on me in just a few short episodes.
The first saga centers around the newly formed Ninja Team 7 from the Leaf Village: Naruto, the orphan misfit who only aspires to be acknowledged by the entire village as the greatest ninja ever; Sasuke, Naruto's rival and highly skilled teammate; Sakura, the booksmart and pretty ninja girl; their sensei Kakashi, who hides much skill under his carefree exterior. Each of them has their strengths and weaknesses ... and despite the early bumps, they seem to work well together as a team.
However, the team ends up biting off more than they can chew with their most recent mission. Normally regulated to boring "D" class missions, Naruto fights to get a more exciting "C" class mission. These are usually reserved for more experienced ninja. In the mission, they are charged with protecting Tazuna, a bridge builder, from bandits on his journey home.
If only it were that simple. Tazuna, it seems, is in a bit more trouble than he let on. The "C" mission becomes a "B" very quickly, and when a rogue ninja called Zabuza comes hunting the bridge builder... the mission gets even harder. Ninja Team 7 finds itself in over its head, and all the members are forced to start growing up fast if they wish to survive.
And they do. The characters grow in strength and maturity and learn a lot in the process. Throughout the first saga, Naruto is finding his strength and inner voice - and learning to control the power within. Hey may yet grow into the great ninja he wants to be.
I would not want to do it too often, but I enjoyed getting caught by this series and staying up late to finish the first saga. I'm curious to see if the dub gets any better ... and in fact I'm really hoping it does. Naruto is just too good of a show to go unseen because of a poor Dub execution. I'll keep my fingers crossed for everyone.
Feel free to discuss more in the forum.
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