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[MetatronM]

I figured that, since the old FMA thread is pretty much buried and was probably just chock full of spoilers that could easily ruin the series, it was time to celebrate tonight's U.S. arrival of the Elric Brothers with a brand spankin' new FMA thread.

It is my expectation that by coming to Adult Swim, FMA will probably pick up at least a couple new fans around these parts, so it seems only fair that they have a decent discussion thread that isn't riddled with massive series spoilers. So if you've seen the series, by all means feel free to join the discussion, but try to lay off the spoilers as much as possible. If you really want to discuss the events of the later parts of the Japanese run of the series, then go dig up the old FMA thread.

Don't forget, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST airs tonight, Saturday, November 6 at midnight on Adult Swim.



So watch FMA.......


....or else.

 

[Gantz]

Please don't subject yourself to the gawd awful dub.

 

[Cloudy]

BEST ANIME EVAR!

 

[Discharger]

There is a 99% chance the dub will suck, but as long as they don't alter the content like Fox Kids did with One Piece, I can forgive them. I'd still rather watch the copies I've got burned on DVD though, but instead of telling people about the series now, I can tell them to watch it first (providing it's not altered except for the audio track).

 

[nubbe]

BEST ANIME EVAR!

IAWTP

 

[nataku]

Is this gonna be edited at all? I know Adult Swim is supposed to be... adult, but FMA is a pretty violent and bloody show.

 

[Tenguman]

Is this gonna be edited at all? I know Adult Swim is supposed to be... adult, but FMA is a pretty violent and bloody show.

Doubt it. They are pretty good at keeping all the good stuff. Wolf's Rain for example

 

[DarthWoo]

Speaking of altered content, I damn wish they had put Gundam Seed on Adult Swim. I didn't realize until last night that they had moved it from Saturday night to early Saturday morning, and they had gotten to the

Spoiler

Nicol's death

episode. Naturally they cut out all the important parts of that scene, so that it just looks like

Spoiler

Nicol's Gundam gets hit, he whines about his piano, then it explodes. You never actually see his expression or him using his dying breaths to ask Athrun to flee.

 

[MetatronM]

Please don't subject yourself to the gawd awful dub.

From what I've heard, the version they showed at the conventions was a rush job and that the dub has been redone. Don't know if it's true or not, but it's what I've heard.

The few clips I've heard seem like they could go either way. Ed's voice struck me as being really terrible at first, but I think that just might be from the initial shock of hearing a different take on his voice as it sort of started to grow on me a little. The first episode should be a pretty good test, since we get some crazy Ed and some dead serious Ed, so we'll get to see how well his VA can handle his many moods.

I'm pretty skeptical of Alphonse, though. Having a kid of Al's own age seems like a pretty big gamble. From what I've heard so far, he sounds a little stiff and unnatural, though the actual sound and pitch of his voice is dead on.

So hopefully the dub will be tolerable.

 

[Wheeljack539]

Most dubs today are pretty good to great. But I've longed since learned that anyone listening to a dub of a series that they cherish for the first time will probably hate it anyway, as it doesn't match what they think it should be.

I've never seen FMA save for a few clips, those being the dub, and for the most part it sounds fine.

I look forward to it tonight.

 

[speedpop]

ANY anime that has been dubbed sounds atrocious and not only that, misses certain elements in an episode. The closest thing that was ever a decent dub was the Ghost in the Shell movie.

Then again, I am not American so it just might be my distaste for the accent at times

 

[MetatronM]

ANY anime that has been dubbed sounds atrocious and not only that, misses certain elements in an episode. The closest thing that was ever a decent dub was the Ghost in the Shell movie.

Then again, I am not American so it just might be my distaste for the accent at times

I consider Cowboy Bebop's dub to be better than the original Japanese VA. And FLCL's dub is downright perfect. Those are the only two that I can think of off the top of my head that have genuinely great dubs. After that, they range from decent/tolerable to god awful, most frequently hitting somewhere in between. I'm hoping FMA falls closer to the tolerable range.

Regardless, this thread isn't about dubs vs. subs. It's about the greatness of Hagane no Renkinjutsushi.

 

[Chrono]

Don't forget about Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

It airs right after FMA. Here is a preview. The major's voice sounds like some 35 year old lawyer trying to act tough.

 

[MetatronM]

Ghost in the Shell can have its own thread.

 

[Chrono]

Ghost in the Shell can have its own thread.

I wasn't gonna hijack the thread or anything... Just a reminder for people to keep their TVs on after FMA.

 

[slayn]

FLCL and especialy record of lodoss war are two I think the dubbed voices are better than the original.

english RoLW has an awesome narrator, whereas in the japanese version its just some normal guy telling you stuff.

 

[J2 Cool]

Don't forget about Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

It airs right after FMA. Here is a preview. The major's voice sounds like some 35 year old lawyer trying to act tough.

awesome action right there and music. Think it may be the kind of series I've been looking for. Chicks voice sounds to girlish and preachy though. I don't like it. But anyway, on dubs .s subs. It's true a good portion of dubs are shit but I think it's really what you watch first that determines what you like. I'll never like Trigun's dub, ever. His japanese voice is too good. But Cowboy Bebop, the English cast just feels right. They're amazing. Berserk meanwhile I know has a some stuff that sounds bad but I've already attached the voices of Guts and Griffith to their characters. So yeah, it's up in the air if FMA's VA will be good but Im sure I could get to like it and identify the voices with the characters. It's not that big of a deal

Oh yeah, and I agree, FLCL's dub was fantastic.

 

[Randam_Hajile]

Adult Swim announced that FMA will be completely un-CUT, but that they'll be darkening some of the bloodier scenes.

As far as the dub is concerned from the clips that I've seen, I felt that Al's voice sounds perfect (for a dub, and I don't watch dubs =P) but his delivery is awful. He really sounds like he's just reading from a script. Hopefully he'll get better, as FMA is a very emotional show that requires some top-notch voice acting to deliver it's powerful scenes.

On that same note, Adult Swim has announced a campaign on http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com to make FMA the highest rated anime ever on Adult Swim. They feel that it has the potential to show people the deeper, more emotional side of anime, and if they can pull off some good (not decent) voice acting, I'll totally agree with them.

 

[Mairu]

I have the first and every episode set to tivo (at best quality, of course!) and I plan on buying the DVDs next year, but I don't think the dub will be very good. The previews on fullmetalalchemist.com are disappointing and I hate Ed's voice actor.

Even so, it still deserves support as it's a fantastic show and probably my favorite overall

 

[MetatronM]

Yeah, I plan on buying the DVDs too (all billion of them).

I hope they don't make the bloody scenes too dark. They're bloody for a reason. And there are at least a couple over the course of the series that really can't be masked with darkness. It does make sense for the first episode though.

 

[MetatronM]

Less than 30 minutes until the premier (unless you're on the west coast...I presume your Adult Swim doesn't start for another coupel hours).

 

[Dead]

Godamnit, watching this is going to make me want to rewatch the entire series over again. And Im definately buying the DVDs. Theyre going to release the awesome Metal Box like they did for the Japanese DVDs

 

[Wheeljack539]

Less than 30 minutes until the premier (unless you're on the west coast...I presume your Adult Swim doesn't start for another coupel hours).

Nope, not for another 3 hours and 20 minutes from now. Though I'm looking forward to the inevitable moaning and groaning to help pass the time.

 

[MetatronM]

Alright. It's time, kids.

 

[Claus]

That voice just does not match Ed at all. Sounds too nerdy and not hyper enough.

 

[Beezy]

That voice just does not match Ed at all.

I agree...

 

[Cloudy]

The dub is not bad at all

 

[Dead]

Als voice sounds.....bored

 

[Claus]

Lust sounds pretty good.

 

[Beezy]

Lust's voice is perfect.

 

[Dead]

Lust sounds pretty good.

yeah I agree

 

[Matlock]

Nice anime so far, nicely paced...a bit of humor here and there, and interesting characters.

 

[Beezy]

What happened to "who are you calling as small as a bean that makes you want to step on them?!!!" I was hoping they wouldn't change that...

 

[MetatronM]

I'm pretty pleased so far.

I think Al will grow into it. Remember he genuinely is a 12 year old kid doing the voice, so I think he's a little stiff and nervous.

Ed is different, but I think he works pretty well.

 

[Dead]

Equivalent Trade sounds a lot better than Equivalent exchange. Just a tiny minor gripe tho

 

[Matlock]

Equivalent Trade sounds a lot better than Equivalent exchange. Just a tiny minor gripe tho

I like the first law of thermodynamics better, but that's just me.

 

[MetatronM]

I'd say they did a pretty good job. I'm a little disappointed with how they hacked up the Ready, Steady, Go video, but I suppose that's a relatively small price to pay.

 

[Dead]

wtf!?! Gits SAC???

 

[SuperPac]

Great show, great dub. It may sound a li'l different but I think they've captured the personalities of the characters nicely. By episode 3 you won't even notice the differences.

 

[Belfast]

Yeah, I admit I was pretty impressed. Al sounds good. Ed sounds good, too. Perhaps the only real gripe is that he sounds a bit older than he should be, but yeah, its really just getting used to a new voice. Regardless, I thought the delivery and actual voice *work* for all of the characters was excellent. Dialogue flowed in English just about as well as it did in Japanese with very few odd gaps/changes. Seriously, though, if you're miffed about it, watch this, then go watch a 4Kids dub. Then you'll see what us One Piece fans have to deal with.

GITS was pretty good, too. These are both series I unfortunately stopped watching after their first few episodes (FMA up to around 12-13, GITS to like 5-6). Actually, it was during a period where I stopped watching anime altogether for a little while. So it'll be nice to watch them again from the start and with above-average dubs, too. If only my beloved OP got the same good treatment.

 

[zarkand]

Just my thoughts on the voice actors.

Ed: In some spots it sounds like Vic (Ed’s voice actor) was trying to mimic Justin Cook's Yusuke. I got the feeling he was trying to get a feel how play Ed in this episode. Overall pretty good, I thought his outbreak for hearing the word small was nicely done.

Al: The voice actors lack of experience hits home. The voice it self I thought was passable, however. With more experience and some training or help from the other cast members Al's VA can get better.

Rose: Good VA. I don't have any real complains with her.

Lust: For as much as was heard, great.

Cornello: A few dry spots, but he sounded okay.

Background characters: No complains.

My opinion on the dub, there are some spot that need work, but FMA can turn into a pretty good dub when they improve on what needs work.

 

[MetatronM]

Yeah, I'm really happy about how Lust sounds.

We seem to be of very similar opinions on the dub, zarkand. I also think that they have the right voice for Alphonse, he just needs to learn to loosen up and get into the role. He seems a bit nervous and timid, but I think after he gets a few episodes under his belt, he'll do just fine.

So, yeah, for you West Coasters, the FMA dub turned out to be pretty decent.

And don't forget, if you miss the first episode of Fullmetal Alchemist tonight, you can always catch the second run on Thursday night at 12:30 am.

 

[zarkand]

I wonder why they when with a 12 year old boy with Al. I'm sure that they have voice actress that can play Al just fine. Looking over the dub cast, I think Funimation is preparing a bigger pool of voice actors for upcoming roles in the animes that they have acquired. A few of the bigger roles have people will little experience, or at least little experience with anime. They do have some on the senior voice actors Funimation have (Dameon Clarke, Chris Sabat, Sonny Strait, Chuck Huber), so it may support my theory.

 

[MetatronM]

I kind of like the idea, so long as he gets comfortable in the role. It was a pretty gutsy decision, though.

Having a 12 year old do the voice does add that certain degree of youth and innocence thatAl has. I think if he improves even just a little bit (which he surely will), he'll make a pretty good Alphonse.

 

[MetatronM]

No west coast people watching now?

 

[Agent Dormer]

I just caught it on the repeat. Not too bad.

 

[Wheeljack539]

Impressive, as this is the first time I've watched this. Damn now I gotta stay up for the repeat and wait 'til Thurs. so I can buy a blank tape to record the next repeat.

The dub overall sounds like it'll be a real winner when everyone settles into their roles(again, basing how the overall acting is now, as I've never seen the japanese version). I especially liked when Al yelled at Rose to look at him when he revealed his arm and leg to her. Al sounds ok, oddly enough far better than the admittingly flat voice in the preview, so he has time to improve.

 

[Wheeljack539]

I wonder why they when with a 12 year old boy with Al. I'm sure that they have voice actress that can play Al just fine.

Well, it's a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. You've no doubt heard fans of other shows complain about why can't they get a kids voice to do actual kids voices. Of course this turns a full 180 when the kid is so-so to not being that good.

This isn't the first time Funi's used kids voices, as there was one in Blue Gender and a few in Fruits Basket for Kisa and Hiro Souma. Hmm, now that I think of it, I think that the VA for Al did play Hiro in FB.

 

[MetatronM]

Impressive, as this is the first time I've watched this. Damn now I gotta stay up for the repeat and wait 'til Thurs. so I can buy a blank tape to record the next repeat.

The dub overall sounds like it'll be a real winner when everyone settles into their roles(again, basing how the overall acting is now, as I've never seen the japanese version). I especially liked when Al yelled at Rose to look at him when he revealed his arm and leg to her. Al sounds ok, oddly enough far better than the admittingly flat voice in the preview, so he has time to improve.

Glad you liked it. The show does get much better.

 

[kiryogi]

Gah at opening, they better have original openings on the DVDs <_< silly thought, but honestly they better.