Only The Bitch Knows

The Horrors Of The Kanon Dub

Let me clear this up before I begin this post by saying I equally love dubs as much as subtitled versions of anime. I’m one of the rare people in the middle who doesn’t necessarily mind either in the slightest; however, even I will draw the line at dubbing that doesn’t fit the basic character persona. I’m generally very descriptive when it comes to what I do and don’t like about a voice since a single tone, pitch, or mannerism carried out can make or break a character. So it’s only right to be so thorough, and after hearing the dub for the Kanon (2006) sneak peek I honestly have nothing but negatives that want to roll off my tongue in a matter of moments.

Before I start please watch it for yourself to understand the sheer reason why I cringed at every possible moment Ayu opened her mouth.

Okay, I’ll give you five minutes for your ears to stop bleeding before I begin.

First off, what have they done to cute, little Nayuki? While her speech is pretty reasonable it seems to distract one from the actual character due to an almost forced performance. She did have one moment where I had to stop and say I could give it a chance, where a thoughtful sound escaped Jessica Boone, “I was just remembering having this same conversation with you years ago.” That, for me, made me continue watching the dub solely to see if it could live up to Kanon’s beautiful name. Despite the suddenness of dynamic changes, odd pauses, and seemingly a vanishing act when it came to a solid character voice from Nayuki—Ayu’s voice actor just topped the cake.

When did Ayu become a little monster? Why did they take her innocence away so damn easily? Her vocals were harsh instead of sweet, and completely engulfed in a bossy nature that—if I had watched the dub first—would’ve made me despise Ayu (since she was my least favorite character on my first watch through the subbed version). I never pictured her to yell so much. She seemed to lose a lot of charm she once possessed, not only that she also seemed set of making sure to disperse any type of clumsiness she had. I believe even her Uguuu was diminished into a bratty pitch that made my eye twitch to such a degree.

The English Yuuichi gave a better Uguu then Ayu, and yeah I am being extremely harsh; regardless, these dubs are plain out terrible in my opinion.

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