Redemption: Naruto Dub Review (Episode - Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior)
Well, after much internal debate, I can now declare that the dub for Naruto is done well enough for my tastes.... at least for now. I know I bashed the hell out of it in my first review, but I did state a caviet it sometimes takes a few episodes for a show to hit it's stride.
Well, it's at a full gallop now.
Last weeks episode: "Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior" finally put to rest some of my fears, and forced me to accept that some cuts must stand on TV. I still have some issue with Maile Flanagan as Naruto, but he is flowing out of her much more naturally as a character ... so I'm less concerned than I was. Kate Higgins is doing well as Sakura and Yuri Lowenthal makes a good Sasuke.
However, I get more and more impressed with Zabuza and Kakashi as the show progresses. Steven Jay Blum (best known as Spike on Cowboy Bebop) as Zabuza was a perfect fit, and Naruto fans should count themselves as fortunate to have landed this talented VA as the first real villain of the show. Pitted against Dave Wittenberg as Kakashi (who has had some very memorable and diverse roles including Sora in .hack//SIGN and Kei Kusanagi in Please! Teacher), and you have two foil characters that have a ton of electricity when they clash.
Most impressive of all in "Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior" is the sequence these two voice actors dual each other with ninjitsu techniques, voicing the jutsu "in-time" with each other in Japanese. In a surprise move, Viz chose not to translate the jitsu, instead keeping it true to the original Japanese script. It had to be an extremely difficult sequence to pull off and direct, and it turned out incredibly well. I'll count this as the turn-key moment that sold me on the dub. I went back and rewatched the original sequence on the fansub, and I almost like this version better.
Now that is something.
That's not to say that I would buy the Toonami version of the show. The edited version is due out on DVD in December, but I think I'll wait for the uncut version of Naruto when it hits the shelves next year. Fortunately, Viz will be releasing it uncut, but we will have to wait a bit longer ... at least, for now.
Well, it's at a full gallop now.
Last weeks episode: "Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior" finally put to rest some of my fears, and forced me to accept that some cuts must stand on TV. I still have some issue with Maile Flanagan as Naruto, but he is flowing out of her much more naturally as a character ... so I'm less concerned than I was. Kate Higgins is doing well as Sakura and Yuri Lowenthal makes a good Sasuke.
However, I get more and more impressed with Zabuza and Kakashi as the show progresses. Steven Jay Blum (best known as Spike on Cowboy Bebop) as Zabuza was a perfect fit, and Naruto fans should count themselves as fortunate to have landed this talented VA as the first real villain of the show. Pitted against Dave Wittenberg as Kakashi (who has had some very memorable and diverse roles including Sora in .hack//SIGN and Kei Kusanagi in Please! Teacher), and you have two foil characters that have a ton of electricity when they clash.Most impressive of all in "Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior" is the sequence these two voice actors dual each other with ninjitsu techniques, voicing the jutsu "in-time" with each other in Japanese. In a surprise move, Viz chose not to translate the jitsu, instead keeping it true to the original Japanese script. It had to be an extremely difficult sequence to pull off and direct, and it turned out incredibly well. I'll count this as the turn-key moment that sold me on the dub. I went back and rewatched the original sequence on the fansub, and I almost like this version better.Now that is something.
That's not to say that I would buy the Toonami version of the show. The edited version is due out on DVD in December, but I think I'll wait for the uncut version of Naruto when it hits the shelves next year. Fortunately, Viz will be releasing it uncut, but we will have to wait a bit longer ... at least, for now.
