Did Kamina just say "Adiós, Jiha Village!"? Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann dub discussion

[Regulus Tera]

Okay, so did any guys who had not previously seen Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann watch it? What are your impressions of it two episodes in? I don't want this to become a "subs rule/dubs drool" tirade.

[Loyal]

I watched it last night. Kamina sounded off, but acceptable. He at least sounded heroic, just not the right kind of heroic. If you take out the comparisons to original Japanese though, it's fine.

Simon sounded just like he was supposed to.

Yoko... well, I don't really know what to say about her.

Now and Then, Here and There is an awesome show.

I was wondering what the hell that show was called. Needless to say I'll also be watching that in future Mondays.

[Ogianres]

Well I have had very limited exposure to most animes, dubbed or subbed, and as such I think I can provide a newcomer's point of view. Gurren Lagann was completely awesome, if not taken seriously. Which I didn't.

The mood was set by the openeing, which featured lasers and mecha, making me brace for something that would be great in a completely ridiculous way; I had no predisposition to believe that this would be serious at all, and with that in mind, I enjoyed it. Kamina is completely cool, so cool that he says "bust through the heavens with your drill!" And Simon is an alright character, his voice is slightly grating, but his character definitely has room for growth/random spurts of awesome. The female chracter, whatever her name was, was complete stereotypical anime barely-dressed bullshit, but it was something that I was willing to accept given that I wasn't taking it seriously at all, not to mention the awesome cleavage jokes and gags.

All in all I enjoyed this like I enjoy the Powerthirst commercials. Not taking it seriously nor expecting those involved in its making or execution to take it seriously.

[Julford Hajime]

I made the mistake of trying to take TTGL too seriously the first time I watch it; I didn't like it. Around episode 3-4, though, I realized I shouldn't be taking it seriously at all, and I should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Best. Ride. Ever.

And I'll agree that Kamina's voice wasn't horrible, it just wasn't the same kind of awesome that the Jap voice was. Unfortunately, I ended up sleeping through most of the 2 episodes (I fell asleep around ten, and was planning on waking up to watch TTGL. Alas, that plan failed), only catching the first five minutes of episode 2. Still, from what I saw, Yoko was... meh, Simon was alright, and Kamina was decent to good. I still plan to watch the series, at least, so they can't be THAT bad.

It's just difficult to watch a series in a language that you didn't originally watch it in, because the voices sound horribly off key with what you remember. I can't watch DBZ, Bebop, or any of the Gundam series in Japanese, because I heard the English voices first.

[Regulus Tera]

Originally Posted by Ogianres

The mood was set by the openeing, which featured lasers and mecha, making me brace for something that would be great in a completely ridiculous way... And Simon is an alright character, his voice is slightly grating, but his character definitely has room for growth/random spurts of awesome.

Just so you know, and this is not a spoiler by any means, that guy in the opening was Simon.

And I'm glad that you're enjoying it. You're in for the trip of a lifetime. [/shamelessly stolen from Doctor Who ads]

[Robert Paulson]

Originally Posted by Regulus Tera

Okay, so did any guys who had not previously seen Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann watch it? What are your impressions of it two episodes in? I don't want this to become a "subs rule/dubs drool" tirade.

Well, I just got back from watching the first two episodes I recorded. I will say this; Gurren Lagaan is pure action. Like, non-stop action. You can't rest for a second, because shit is always going down. Like Ogianres and Julford Hajime said, you can't take it seriously. Sure, there are serious moments in it, but this is something you watch only for the adrenaline rush.

As for the dubbing, I would say, overall, very good. Not fantastic, but good enough. The only Japanese footage I've seen of Gurren Lagaan was a trailer, and I will admit that Kamina sounds more his part in Japanese than he does in English, but he doesn't sound horrible in English. I also liked the voices of Simon and Yoko, although that might be because I'm a fan of Yuri Lowenthal and Michelle Ruff. Lastly, that guy who sounded like a stereotypical gay man was funny! Still, Kamina could've sounded better, but at the very least, I'm grateful that the majority of dub jobs these days isn't like the dark ages of retro 1990's anime dubbing. *shudders* Complain all you want, at least Gurren Lagaan sounds better than, say, Pokemon.

I was annoyed by the commercial cuts, but I suppose that's what happens when you watch a lot of shows on DVD or over the internet. The music was pretty good, and the animation quality ranges from decent to HOLY SHIT THAT'S INCREDIBLE!!!!!! All in all, I like Gurren Lagaan. It lives up to the hype. I'll be watching more of it.

Just, like I said, don't take it too seriously. Yoko is practically sexual fanservice incarnate, for example.

[Kim]

Crispin Freeman would have been awesome, though I think him doing Lord Genome's voice would have been cool too.

[Donomni]

The fact that I haven't actually watched TV in months has kept me from seeing TTGL, but I'll figure something out to remedy this problem.

[synkr0nized]

I'm just coming in here to say that folks sounded stupid, which is unfortunate, and that Now and Then, Here and There is pretty ugh.

Opinions! Pew Pew!

Also, that's a big pair for a fourteen-year-old (no need to paste the relevant image, I've seen it). Fucking Japan.

[Sithdarth]

Having just marathoned through all the subs I have one thing to say: I will never again think "No way can that mecha every get bigger than that." Seriously I mean there is ridiculous, and then there is ludicrous, and then there is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which manages to go all the way back around to that special kind of awesome.

Also, what the hell is up with Galaxy Shuriken. Though it did manage to remain awesome somehow.

I'm kind of reluctant to watch the dub as I can't tell if it'll get butchered in the latter parts. Though it might turn into its own special form of awesome train wreck more than worth rubbernecking. Either they'll stay faithful and it'll stay awesome or it'll be so absolutely horrible that it will be glorious as it self incinerates. I will accept nothing less.