Feeling Awkward about English Voice Acting

[Huaaa17]

I feel the same way, english va are more awkward when hearing it. I'm fine hearing it for other game though.

 

[hib]

Voice Direction ! ! Script Guiding ! !

These Are What These Games Need ! ! ! ! ! ! I've Listened To Romance Eng Voice Lines In More Big And Professional Companies , They Were Very Good ! ! ! !
It's Just In The Western Space Indie / Amateur Visual Novel Circle There's Less Of A Job Culture Around Voice Acting In Doujin Spaces Compared To The Eastern Areas , That's What I Think Though . . . . .

A Thing That Could Compare To The NSFW ASMR Circle Is EN Vtubers , But That Seems More Off Script . . . . . .

 

[FrozenFrog]

Unlike in Japan, voice acting in the west (or at least the US where I'm from) has been treated as an "easier" or "lesser" art in the public consciousness for a long time. It's gotten better for sure, but it still persists in some areas--such as hollywood where the major voice acting roles in animated movies are not given to voice actors, but celebrities with little to no voice acting experience. (Meanwhile, in Japan, the voice actors are -also- celebrities in their own right.) The various meme videos that have emerged over the years showcasing the most awkward and awful english dubs with questionable translations haven't helped that perception, either.

However, one thing I have come to understand in recent years is that there are english voice actors just as talented and powerful as japanese ones. The "bad" japanese voice actors, which are just as plentiful as english ones, are never heard because those are never exported to a larger worldwide audience. We just know about more "bad" english voice acting because that media is more accessible to us and because voice acting was not valued for a long time, allowing more mediocre voice acting to be considered acceptable.

While I am normally a "subs over dubs" person when consuming Japanese media, to say that all English voice acting is inferior to the Japanese is just not true these days. Though voice acting consistency in the West still needs some work (in regards to keeping the same dub voice/tone for a character across different dubs).

 

[anibroco]

I feel the same way! English isn't my native language, so I can handle English... What I can't stand is Spanish, it makes me feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. The only game I could handle was A Double Side Mirror. But I played that a loooong time ago, so I can't say the same anymore.

 

[ynnaliaa]

For English voice acting, I'd say it depends on the game and the cast. I'm not against English VAs, but sometimes I feel a little awkward at first because I'm so used to hearing Japanese VAs in otome games

If the English voices fit the characters and the delivery feels natural, though, I can get used to them pretty quickly. But if the acting feels forced or doesn't match the character's personality, I'll probably switch back to Japanese.

So basically: not anti-English VA, I just need the voices to feel right for the characters.

 

[Yuuu701]

I always found the EN va to be awkward and cringey. I preferred listening to JP va in both anime and otome games. The JP feels more natural to me. I think the tone in their voice is what makes it sound more natural. Since each language has different tones how words can be pronounced, the JP version is more polished for this kind of work.

 

[kometto]

It got better for me with exposure and skill of the VA. I started a OELVN with voices muted, but decided to give it a chance and got used to it, finished the whole game with voice on and enjoyed the performances.

 

[LivEnblem]

Yeahh actually, the english dub isn't all that bad, but It is likely due to the usual differences, the Japanese version feels far friendlier and more natural.

 

[Qiangwei]

I agree I find it very awkward especially if the actors have to pronounce foreign names

 

[nurseaide]

Same here! Since I love to hear jp VAs, i always either turn off the eng VAs or choose jp verson.