Naruto Preview Released for CN

[Hatake Kakashi]

Any of you guys see it? So far, it doesn't look like the American licensing companies have done TOO much damage, though I can't say all of the translations will be all that great. Rumor abounds that Hokage will be translated into "Head Ninja." Now, while this sounds harmless enough, I could just hear how some conversations could go now....

Hokage: Well, I see you're in good health, Sand Head Ninja.
Kazekage: I am, and how is life treating you, Leaf Head Ninja?

Meh. I'm willing to bet that they'll be translating Jounin, Sannin, Chuunin, and Genin as well... hopefully nothing too atrocious.

On a happy note, I got my wish for this series! Steven Blum (Spike Spiegel) has been confirmed as the voice of Hatake Kakashi. My character has just become by FAR one of the most incredibly cool characters.... ever.

You can download the preview from narutofan.

[doodle]

I can't find the preview on narutofan

This is probably the most viewed anime currently running on Japanese tv, and is going double in popularity when it reaches CN. Within 1 month of its release, every cartoon viewer will know about Naruto, and probably 95% of the viewers are going to at least like it, with 85% going to adore it.

I personally like Naruto, but it kind of follows DBZ in programming style. Not quite as slow though.

As for the butchering, well no blood is obvious, I wonder how the sexual humor will be covered up, and what will translations be like. I hope its not as bad as One Piece.

[Sabaku no Gaara]

I agree that Steven Blum/David Lucas is a great choice for Kakashi...I just hope they don't screw with some of the character's personalities...like Gaara...~_~

[Shadow Otenaki]

No. Spike is a bad choice. Very bad. His voice pitch isn't right for him.
Need to have someone with a similar pitch to the japanese VA.
Just like Mugen from Samurai Champloo. Spike is all wrong for Mugen.
All I remember is that they're keeping the japanese names for the techniques.
I would hope they keep sannin, jounin, chunin, and genin too.

But I saw the preview. It was kinda alright. I didn't like the first part though.
'Hated and feared by students'? o.O
He's not feared...they just hate him.

[EVILNess]

That "preview" was nothing but a cop-paste of the Japanese show! If you have seen Naruto, then you can recognise the voices from their yells and stuff.

Also I forsee large portions of episodes cut, a total revamp of Jirayu's (sp?) personality, and what the heck are they gonna do about Naruto's more seductive moves?

What about Harem no Jitsu?!?! :eek:

Plus like a previous poster said, their is also Gaara, and him gruesomely killing several people.

I bet that the guy that does Inuyasha is gonna be either Naruto or Saske.

With maybe Shippo going to Konoharmaru.

(My spelling of the character names is horrible so forgive me.)

[Gineko]

I have no hope for the translated version. If 4Kids is the one doing it you can bet they are going to murder it.

And they're editing in swimsuits for the sexy no jutsu and harem not jutsu.

and if the voice actress for shippo is anyone in naruto, it had better be for either Ino or Sakura, or not at all.

[Lucerin Red]

Johnny Yong Bosch is doing naruto, he's the guy that did vash and kiba
Mark Hildreth is doing sauke, he did Dr briefs from DBZ
Rachael Lillis is doing sakura, she did the voices for misty and jesse from pokemon
Eric Stuart is doing Gara, he was brock

that's all they have listed aside from david lucas

[EVILNess]

The company that licensed Inuyasha is the one that got Naruto, not 4kids.

And all I can say is "thank you omnipotent 13 yr-old who runs the universe."

[Hatake Kakashi]

Johnny Yong Bosch is doing naruto, he's the guy that did vash and kiba
Mark Hildreth is doing sauke, he did Dr briefs from DBZ
Rachael Lillis is doing sakura, she did the voices for misty and jesse from pokemon
Eric Stuart is doing Gara, he was brock

that's all they have listed aside from david lucas

*sigh* So... they get one really great voice actor for Kakashi... then flush the rest of the voice acting down the toilet. I could just cry. I can already see how this is going to turn out....

Pity. This really did have potential.

[Gineko]

The company that licensed Inuyasha is the one that got Naruto, not 4kids.
Are you sure? I read in Newtype or some other anime magazine that 4kids had gotten it. either way looking at that voice acting list, I still have little hope.

[Psrdirector]

As long as the voice actors sound like the sex of there carictures its alright. Ive seen anima where a very male voice was doing a womans voice.

[In Hindsight]

I don't get what everyone's worked up about.

You're gonna continue to download the fansubs and whatnot, right? You know, instead of waiting five years for the localized broadcast to catch up and all. Why would the English VO matter, then?

[EVILNess]

I personally don't give a whit's ass what they sound like, but I'd still like to hear just to compare.

[Psrdirector]

If i watch it, if, it will be on cartoon netwrok only, thats about it

[Hatake Kakashi]

I don't get what everyone's worked up about.

You're gonna continue to download the fansubs and whatnot, right? You know, instead of waiting five years for the localized broadcast to catch up and all. Why would the English VO matter, then?


Generally, the reasons the fansub-downloading "purists" get all worked up over things like these are multiple:

1] Fansubbers GOOD! Licensing company douchebags BAD! What happens frequently, and by sheer coincidence in this case, is that a decent (and possibly somewhat popular) anime gets spotted in Japan. Fansubbers begin to pick it up and pour countless hours of their time into translating the anime to be released on networks for those who are "in the know" to find and enjoy the way the show was meant to be. If this means that there is a kid who can transform into a ravishing, unclothed woman for nothing else than to incite the nosebleed gag common to such situations in anime, then that's the way it is meant to be seen. None of this editing in clothing where there was none. None of this replacing dialogue to suit the finicky and oversensitive American palette. Just the show as it was created, with the added benefit that now the populace can read what is being said.

Now the big Enema... err.. Anime company decides their current anime project has finally worn down, lived out it's life. It's time to release something new to generate more of that almighty green dollar. They check over in Japan, and lookie here! Seems the fansubbers are tapping into something that's becoming popular over on our shores! For FREE! Well, damn, we can't let that happen! So they "license" (read: Steal, then copyright) the anime, paying the creators far less than what the show is worth. Now of course, they'll make their buck off of all the moron little kids who will whine endlessly until their parents purchase every and any thing that has anything at all to do with this cool new show. This isn't the bad part, really... that's just American ingenuity. Making a buck off of someone else's toil. Way to go. The thing that I find reprehensible about it is the company immediately begins to threaten the fansub groups who are putting their own work into it for FREE and spreading it around for others to enjoy. Suddenly, the highest quality (and thus, most often well-known) fansub groups drop the project, and as nobody will pick it up again, we get to sit through the mediocrity (at best) that the licensing company will put us through just to see what will happen in the end. So there we have the greatest source of our guilty pleasures being cut from us.

2] Nine times out of ten, the licensing company couldn't give a rat's ass about the product they're passing out, which leads to sub-par translations at best. The voice actors in many animes are by far less convincing than a porn queen with a co-star that has a penis the size of a baby's pinky. Erect. Pieces of the story are edited or removed to suit the sensitive anally-retentive public, and with most basic animation and sequences aside, the product as a whole suffers.

We get worked up because it's something we enjoy as a hobby, but when it's castrated and sterilized and shredded, it just isn't the show we got addicted to.

[Krylo]

I've not heard of licensing companies going after fansubbers before. In general it isn't done because the two products are so different that profit margins aren't hurt much, if at all. Not to mention that many fan subs are done over seas, meaning that they CAN'T threaten them from American soil. Then there's legal costs outweighing any returns they could conceivably get, cost comparison, the fact that stopping them now won't get rid of all the earlier episodes, etc. etc. In the end companies would lose money by bringing them to court, and wouldn't gain any appreciable amount by even threatening them. There's no point to it. Some companies will just because they're jack asses, but, again, in general they won't.

Sidenote: This is on Cartoon Network. A channel full of things like Ed Edd & Eddy, Kids Next Door, Hamtaro, Baby Looney Tunes, etc. This isn't for adult swim, even, it's for Toonami, alongside things like the edited version of DBZ, 4Kids One Piece, Zatch Bell, etc. If you thought, even for a second, that they'd have nudity on something that is going into a time slot directed toward young teens, you're insane. Of COURSE they edited in swim suits. The only way you'd see it without swim suits is if it was put on a premium channel, like Cinemax or HBO.

And, of course, the vast majority (if not all) anime that is licensed over here comes out on DVD, unedited with a subbed soundtrack.

[Palidin]

But! if we hear the opening in English It might just bomb.
all of the anime I've seen that has a engish (no offence to the languge cause this is what I type in) Bomb'd

[Hatake Kakashi]

I've not heard of licensing companies going after fansubbers before. In general it isn't done because the two products are so different that profit margins aren't hurt much, if at all.... Some companies will just because they're jack asses, but, again, in general they won't.

It was done in this case. The fansub group ANBU was among the most popular of fansubbers (mainly because their translations were pretty dead-on, and amusing) until the anime was licensed. I'm not sure if it is Viz that still holds the license to the anime, or if they whored it out to someone else, but it was they who sent the unwelcome letter to ANBU, who quickly ceased distributing fansubs shortly thereafter.


Sidenote: This is on Cartoon Network. A channel full of things like Ed Edd & Eddy, Kids Next Door, Hamtaro, Baby Looney Tunes, etc. This isn't for adult swim, even, it's for Toonami, alongside things like the edited version of DBZ, 4Kids One Piece, Zatch Bell, etc. If you thought, even for a second, that they'd have nudity on something that is going into a time slot directed toward young teens, you're insane. Of COURSE they edited in swim suits. The only way you'd see it without swim suits is if it was put on a premium channel, like Cinemax or HBO.

Swimsuits are among the most minor of changes. What do they intend to do with a few of the more complex issues and characters in the show? Haku, for example, was a definite Bishounen , that is, a pretty boy. Animes typically define Bishounen as an effeminate male character, most often very attractive, who, regardless of the part he plays, is often homosexual or is thought to be by another character. Are they going to edit who Haku is merely to still their fears that an "unwholesome" character might be shown in a cartoon on television? What of Jiraiya's perverse obsessions? Tsunade's pronounced figure? The list goes on and on. I'm merely hoping that the people in charge will finally take a civil attitude towards the differences and variety present in the human race --and thus, in anime characters-- and show and tell the story as it was meant to be portrayed.



And, of course, the vast majority (if not all) anime that is licensed over here comes out on DVD, unedited with a subbed soundtrack.

I still think they'd be wiser, in this aspect, to give one of the better quality fansubbers a job for doing this. They've already got this coming out, little by little, for free, for no other reason than they love what they're working on.

[SanbaiShi]

Awwwwww! I was really hoping that Funimation (Full Metal Alchemist, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Fruits Basket) was going to get Naruto when it came to North America. *sigh* Hmmm...Stephen Blum is talented, but I dunno if he can pull of the wry Kakashi voice... And Johnny Bosch? He does the Vash laugh awesome, but can he cackle for Naruto the way his japanese counterpart does? And I did NOT hear someone say that Brock's voice actor from Pokemon was doing Gaara. No. I refuse. Sakura is just a side character, so I couldn't care less who does her voice.

On a more positive note, CN did have two separate showings of Gundam Wing - cut and uncut. I know there wasn't much of a difference between the two, but hell, I can dream, can't I? Maybe they'll do the same for Naruto. Let's just hope for the best...*wipes tears away*

[BlackMageGirl!]

Hey sis, it could be worse. Like...substitute Stephen Blum for Lex Lang as Kakashi and have Sandy Fox perform Sakura's voice. *shudder* I'll stop speaking of evil things now.

It really is a shame that Funimation didn't get Naruto. I'm not sure if I'm even going to watch it after watching the many fansubs I "borrowed". I really don't see any hope of it not being bad.

[Salookanana]

UPDATE!

I checked around and heard from relieable sources who will play who on the US Version


It seems that the guy who plays Luffy on One Piece will be doing Naruto, the guy who did Shinji from Eva will be Garra and finaly Sasuke will be the guy who does Ussopps voice from One Piece!

Also, they will be tranlating all the moves and names.

Now we all know!

Ok, im lying! I just wanted to see your reactions! Got ya good huh? Heheh. Lets hope they get good voice overs and leave the names alone.

[Intern Nin]

Where in the seven hells did you get that information from?

[Salookanana]

Would you believe that it came to me in a dream? Heh, got ya. Highlight my message above. I had to make that joke...To all those now freaking out, i was joking! Man it would suck if it were true...

[Intern Nin]

Oh. Yep you got me good. Good one, Salookanana.

[SABB]

I sent this email to him (btw you can pick up all voice over people's e-mails and aim sn at crystal acids) and this is what I sent and also his reply::

my email::
why?! why do you have to play Gaara??????????!!!!!!! your cool but
not fit for his cold evil/sad/cute aditude! im crying cuz i just read
the voice actor listing for the naruto english dubbing....im sooo
saddddddd!

--sad as hell naruto fangirl



his answer::
a) I am not playing that role-it's obviously being done in L.A.
b) Even if I was, who do you think you are to even have a say? Get a
life.

-------------------------
he's so mean!!! :(

Btw i already sent Johny yong Bosch an email but we're friends so im sure he won't be mean about it cuz he's cool. After getting that e-mail i e-mail Vic mignogna and complained about eric...genious? i think not.

[Meister]

Welcome to the forum, SABB. Hope you enjoy your stay. :)

Please don't double post; use the edit button instead. Thanks. Also, if you haven't done so yet, please read the forum rules.

[Fenris]

Would you believe that it came to me in a dream? Heh, got ya. Highlight my message above. I had to make that joke...To all those now freaking out, i was joking! Man it would suck if it were true...

It might have been a good joke, if you used the correct spoiler tags. I can see the black text quite easily without moving closer to the screen.

[Salookanana]

*cough* what are you talking about? there is nothing there! look for your self! Crazy hallucinating people ....*cough*

[Fenris]

Ok, im lying! I just wanted to see your reactions! Got ya good huh? Heheh. Lets hope they get good voice overs and leave the names alone.

It should be this:Ok, im lying! I just wanted to see your reactions! Got ya good huh? Heheh. Lets hope they get good voice overs and leave the names alone.

Lean in closely and read: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Now try the same here: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Highlight the above.
Use 111111, not Black. That's six ones.

Note: Quote spoiler text is 222222.

EDIT: you do not have to give a reason for changing the color, Salookanana. It again should be 111111.

[Salookanana]

Fenris: Thanks, i didnt know/notice. My moniter doesnt have the best range of colors, you see... But i made the changes and will remeber 111111!

Back on topic: any body have an idea when its coming out? I cant wait. And will they have "Uncut" versions of the show and "Cut" versions, ala DBZ? i hope its uncut....

[SABB]

hey I just had the funniest revalation..... if they were to translate the japanese jokes it would screw everything up for example::
Naruto:First you have to know about brown tiger stiped cat...
Konohamaru: You mean Chakra?
Naruto:Yea..That's what I meant i was just testing you...
---they will destroy it, grrr!!!!!!!
and Eric Stuard is mean!!!!!

[Excelsior!]

if the guy who plays shinji ever plays another voice again that i have to hear i will shoot myself. his voice kinda has that effect on me. (at least, in eva.) Anyway, im gonna give the same spiel I always give on these disscussions, which is basically that im sure ill like the english way better because its in my language that I grew up with, japanese is not and therefore, lame. So yay for me. OH WAIT! I forgot, I hate Naruto, so I dont care. (no seriously, I really forgot that. see, I used to like it, but now I hate it, so im not in that state of mind completely yet.) uhh...yeah....

[Hatake Kakashi]

Yeah. Hey, thanks for contributing to the convo. Or something.

All in all, I'm a bit worried about this series. I enjoyed the fansubs... at least while ANBU had them, and am PRAYING that at least someone with an appreciation for the art that is anime will take control here. It would turn out really well if the guys who did Bebop got ahold of the direction for creative influence. Bebop was a perfect example of what happens to an anime when the company cares more about the product than about selling more and more gimmicks and toys.

[SanbaiShi]

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Guess what! Viz (the company that gained the license for the North American release of Naruto) has officially released the voice actor list! And its NONE of the actors we've all been gabbing about!!!! Narutofan.com has the skinny! Click HERE (http://www.narutofan.com/index.php/content-americanized%20naruto,voice%20actor%20guide) to gape at the juicy details! And if you want to look up the history behind each of these voice actors, go here (http://www.voicechasers.com/) and copy/paste their name in the search box to find out their resumes...

Again, AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


PS> Oh, but Steve Blum is on the cast, just not as Kakashi --- just so that anal retentive bastards don't nit-pick me about it.

PSS> Oh....and mah sister is a MORON!!!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!! I just had to say that 'cause she so damn popular and all! Errrrr...*runs and hides*

[BlackMageGirl!]

I would like to point out that my sister is a meanie head. =P

On-topic: I do have to give her the credit for this find, though it's like pulling out my teeth sayin it. What I like is that most of the voice actors in this APPROVED SUPER SPECIAL LIST!!! (or so says Sanbai) aren't the same recycled anime voice actors you would normally hear. They're pulling in new talent, and I'm quite interested in hearing well they turn out. And quite hopeful.

[P-Sleazy]

/l\
/l

And the unhopeful have become hopeful. That is all.

[EVILNess]

I think I'll keep on getting it the way I have been getting my Naruto and One Piece.

I have a friend who "gets" them, he makes a DVD, and we have a tri-weekly marathon of like whatever anime we he "got".

[Fabricated]

Just watched the first episode.

Naruto's voice is kinda annoying, but it's not the same man-boy voice that 99.9% of translated anime gets. He actually sounds something like a kid.

The translation seems alright. Typical sentence order changes for lip-sync, and only the Jitsus seemed to have given a generic name (Shadow Clone Jitsu, etc). Can't expect people who don't know Japanese to understand what the hell "Kage Bunshin no Jitsu" means, especially since he screams it 500 times an episode.

Of course, sub snobs will hate it.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Eh. The voices were alright... so far. I did appreciate the restraint used in editing the eps... from what I can tell, the only thing really missing is some of the language and blood from the nosebleed gag. Other than that, they've been fair with it... at least for the first 2 eps.

Kinda wish they'd have released more though. They've got it on for 2 hours tonight, but it's the same 2 eps twice. Bah. From what I heard from the clips, Kakashi didn't get Blum for a voice, a pity to be sure, so it makes me wonder if he'll be voicing someone like Orochimaru instead.

Overall, yeah, I'm a sub-snob, but I'll keep watching when I get the chance. I want to see how the rest of this translation goes. Don't expect that I'll be giving up my collection of downloaded subs though.

Edit: Finally got to looking at that list Sanbai-chan provided (sorry, I know it's bad form, but I couldn't resist.). Zabuza is an awesome character and all, I just think it's a pity that he and Haku had such short tenures in the series. Looks like they'll be going through some of their best voice talent rather quickly.

[phil_]

I'm not disappointed. After what 4kids did to Shaman King and One Piece's voiceovers and editing, I'm glad Viz kept this to themselves and got decent voice actors. I have to agree with Fabricated on Naruto's voice, but, again, it's better than what happened to Luffy and Yoh. I have to praise them for leaving "Genin", "Jonin", "Hokage", "jutsu", and, presumably, "Chunin" alone. They also did a decent job translating jutsus.

I must ask, though, did Naruto say "Believe it!" so often in the Japanese dub?

EDIT: Oh, and SABB's conerns about the chakra joke were unneeded--
"First, you gotta know about cat-tra"
"Uh, don't you mean 'chakra?'"
"Don't question me! And all the cool ninja say 'cat-tra!'"

Kakashi of the NPF, Blum will be Zabusa. EDIT: And, like the jonin you are, you ninja edited me :sweatdrop

[BlackMageGirl!]

Watched the first two episodes of Naruto. Well...it's not the best, but it could've been very very bad, and it wasn't. I'm glad of that. ^_^;;

Though, I still think the best voice was Ebisu-sensei's (Konohamaru's teacher). Crispin Freeman does an awesome job, as usual.I am not a Crispin Freeman fangirl. -_-;

[Intern Nin]

Well it wasn't the horrible, smelly pile of excrement I thought it would be. It was definitely better than the One Piece and Shaman King dubs. Hell they even kept some of the oringinal soundtrack.

[Hatake Kakashi]

I'm not disappointed. After what 4kids did to Shaman King and One Piece's voiceovers and editing, I'm glad Viz kept this to themselves and got decent voice actors. I have to agree with Fabricated on Naruto's voice, but, again, it's better than what happened to Luffy and Yoh. I have to praise them for leaving "Genin", "Jonin", "Hokage", "jutsu", and, presumably, "Chunin" alone. They also did a decent job translating jutsus.

I must ask, though, did Naruto say "Believe it!" so often in the Japanese dub?

EDIT: Oh, and SABB's conerns about the chakra joke were unneeded--
"First, you gotta know about cat-tra"
"Uh, don't you mean 'chakra?'"
"Don't question me! And all the cool ninja say 'cat-tra!'"

Kakashi of the NPF, Blum will be Zabusa. EDIT: And, like the jonin you are, you ninja edited me :sweatdrop

Yeah, I was pleased how they kept the terms for the most part... even if some were mispronounced. But hey, I can't expect perfection. Not yet. As for the "Believe it" phrase, I don't recall that being in there half as much as "I'm incredible!" and "Baka!"

How I do miss that..

And for the record... One Piece, at least the dubbed version that I've seen... sucks ASS. :cool:

[Aerozord]

well blood was in there (though greatly reduced) and they even said things like kill and die (be suprised how rare that is). Voice acting was decent. Not great, but most are atleast tolerable. Lord Hokage (no freaking clue how to spell it) was perfect so he offset Naruto's.

So you know One Piece and Shaman King sucked because of 4kids. Everything they touch is a mutalated perverted mockery of what it once was.

All in all, it wasn't the edits that got me it was the show itself. Something just felt off and the sound effects were lame. Just doesn't seem to translate well from the manga (granted this is manga to edited so cant say for sure). Then again I was never a huge Naruto fan, its good but not great in my opinion. Hope things pick up.

...I am so gonna get flamed for that last paragraph

[Fenris]

Well, me never having read the manga, or seen it elsewhere, thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it to be very humorous, and I'm now addicted only after seeing two episodes. I find the voice actors to be charming, for lack of a better word.