I ran into this clip of the English dub Animax did for episode 148 of Inuyasha, and I found it quite fascinating when juxtaposed with the Ocean Group dub.
Although the Animax dub actress is rather flat in her delivery compared to Willow (who's more expressive and uses emotion in her voice), I do think it's interesting that both actresses depict Kikyou using a more melancholy tone of voice. What do you guys think?
I honestly think the Animax dub isn't bad at all, but I do like the quality of the Ocean dub better.
Although the Animax dub actress is rather flat in her delivery compared to Willow (who's more expressive and uses emotion in her voice), I do think it's interesting that both actresses depict Kikyou using a more melancholy tone of voice. What do you guys think?
I honestly think the Animax dub isn't bad at all, but I do like the quality of the Ocean dub better.
I have seen this get brought up so many times that it actually warranted a post of it's own here. But I just want to clarify one big misunderstanding that some fans seem to have regarding the correct spelling of Kikyou's name, which is often subject to debate.
As far back as I can remember, when Inuyasha was starting to pick up here in the West (and this was before Viz even licenced it for official US release), fan translators often romanised Kikyou's name with a 'u' at the end of her name, and this was the spelling most people went with at the time. When Viz acquired the rights to the series and started publishing an official English-translated version of the manga, fans of the Viz release became familiar with their romanisation of Kikyo's name without the 'u.' As a result there has been considerable debate as to which is the actual correct spelling, and not everyone who engages in this conversation is qualified to answer this question.
So which version then, IS the correct spelling? Well, as someone who's been studying Japanese writing and grammar for eight years and excels in the English language, I can safely say BOTH are correct, and here's why:
Kikyo without the 'u' follows the English standard for romanising Japanese words and names, whereas Kikyou with the 'u' is the actual correct transliteration of the kanji spelling of her name.
To help explain this better, I have a more detailed explanation with pictures below:
As far back as I can remember, when Inuyasha was starting to pick up here in the West (and this was before Viz even licenced it for official US release), fan translators often romanised Kikyou's name with a 'u' at the end of her name, and this was the spelling most people went with at the time. When Viz acquired the rights to the series and started publishing an official English-translated version of the manga, fans of the Viz release became familiar with their romanisation of Kikyo's name without the 'u.' As a result there has been considerable debate as to which is the actual correct spelling, and not everyone who engages in this conversation is qualified to answer this question.
So which version then, IS the correct spelling? Well, as someone who's been studying Japanese writing and grammar for eight years and excels in the English language, I can safely say BOTH are correct, and here's why:
Kikyo without the 'u' follows the English standard for romanising Japanese words and names, whereas Kikyou with the 'u' is the actual correct transliteration of the kanji spelling of her name.
To help explain this better, I have a more detailed explanation with pictures below:
As the title suggests, Kelly Sheridan confirmed on her facebook that Inuyasha: Kanketsu-hen is in fact being dubbed right now.
It is unknown at the moment as to whether or not Willow will be returning as Kikyou, but I am on it! I do have a gut feeling she will be since Kikyou only has six episodes total, and this isn't including any of the flashbacks. So she *should* be able to fit it into her schedule. :)
When I do get official word on Willow returning, I will post it on here.
Stay tuned!
[Edit]: I heard back from Willow, and she is returning as Kikyou! She starts her first recording session later today. How very exciting! :)
It is unknown at the moment as to whether or not Willow will be returning as Kikyou, but I am on it! I do have a gut feeling she will be since Kikyou only has six episodes total, and this isn't including any of the flashbacks. So she *should* be able to fit it into her schedule. :)
When I do get official word on Willow returning, I will post it on here.
Stay tuned!
[Edit]: I heard back from Willow, and she is returning as Kikyou! She starts her first recording session later today. How very exciting! :)
21/04: Animazement 2010
Hey guys!
It's been a while since I last updated this. But, after one hell of a stressful four months, I am in dire need of a REAL vacation. So I have decided to join my mates on a road trip to North Carolina to attend Animazement 2010, my first con since 2008. (I'll once again be donning my trademarked union jack shirt for this con, but only because my mates asked me to, lol).
Among the guests that are going to be present there include Richard Ian Cox and Toshifumi Yoshida who have both worked on the dubbing of the original Inuyasha series. So hopefully I'll be coming back with more dub news since I'm sure that's bound to come up at their panels. So far there's been no word from Willow herself on potential future involvement with the project, though she did say a few months back that if the new series does get dubbed she's sure she'll be a part of it.
Speaking of Willow, sadly she will not be attending Animazement, but Noriko Hidaka (Japanese Kikyou) will definitely be there for anyone who's interested. I'm definitely going to be attending her panels since I've always wanted to meet Hidaka-san in person and she's actually the main reason I decided to go to this con. As a voice artist, she's bloody amazing and there are so many questions I'd like to ask her, especially since I feel they'll help me with my compare and contrast essay on both her's and Willow's portrayal of Kikyou.
I very much doubt I'll have the same kind of one-on-one time with her that I was fortunate enough to have with Willow two years ago, but I'm confident I'll have enough material to cover. ^_^
The bonus is that Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese Inuyasha) is going to be there as well, and he was also at Otakon 2008 when Willow attended a con for the first time since 2001. It'll be interesting to hear what both he and Richard will have to say about the character that they both voice. I'm sure they'll both have a slightly different point of the character, especially given the different reception Inuyasha gets in Japan as opposed to the US.
The rest of the time though, I'll most likely be bouncing off of walls with fangirly joy after meeting Hidaka-san. (Yes I'm a huge fan of Hidaka-san, you can all shut up now). >.>
Either way, roll on end of May! :)
It's been a while since I last updated this. But, after one hell of a stressful four months, I am in dire need of a REAL vacation. So I have decided to join my mates on a road trip to North Carolina to attend Animazement 2010, my first con since 2008. (I'll once again be donning my trademarked union jack shirt for this con, but only because my mates asked me to, lol).
Among the guests that are going to be present there include Richard Ian Cox and Toshifumi Yoshida who have both worked on the dubbing of the original Inuyasha series. So hopefully I'll be coming back with more dub news since I'm sure that's bound to come up at their panels. So far there's been no word from Willow herself on potential future involvement with the project, though she did say a few months back that if the new series does get dubbed she's sure she'll be a part of it.
Speaking of Willow, sadly she will not be attending Animazement, but Noriko Hidaka (Japanese Kikyou) will definitely be there for anyone who's interested. I'm definitely going to be attending her panels since I've always wanted to meet Hidaka-san in person and she's actually the main reason I decided to go to this con. As a voice artist, she's bloody amazing and there are so many questions I'd like to ask her, especially since I feel they'll help me with my compare and contrast essay on both her's and Willow's portrayal of Kikyou.
I very much doubt I'll have the same kind of one-on-one time with her that I was fortunate enough to have with Willow two years ago, but I'm confident I'll have enough material to cover. ^_^
The bonus is that Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese Inuyasha) is going to be there as well, and he was also at Otakon 2008 when Willow attended a con for the first time since 2001. It'll be interesting to hear what both he and Richard will have to say about the character that they both voice. I'm sure they'll both have a slightly different point of the character, especially given the different reception Inuyasha gets in Japan as opposed to the US.
The rest of the time though, I'll most likely be bouncing off of walls with fangirly joy after meeting Hidaka-san. (Yes I'm a huge fan of Hidaka-san, you can all shut up now). >.>
Either way, roll on end of May! :)
03/04: Birthday Wishes
Guess what guys! Today is the holiest of all days. It is Willow's 33rd Birthday!
29/03: This Is It + Dub News
It's finally over guys! The final episode of Kanketsu-hen finally aired, and I have to admit the battle with the shikon no tama turned out a bit more climactic than the manga counterpart. I still however felt it could have been concluded better than just "wishing it away," but I digress. I won't go into details, but I will let you guys watch it for yourself here.
One thing I am happy about though, is that Inu/Kag fans can now be satisfied with this, and I don't have to hear the whole "OMG! NO KISS I'M SO MAD!" like I did back when the manga originally ended in 2007. That was quite a riot back then, but fortunately this evens out the score a bit. I think it's only fair at least, especially since Inu/Kik got considerably more snogging scenes in the anime than what was actually given in the manga. :)
So...dub news now!
One thing I am happy about though, is that Inu/Kag fans can now be satisfied with this, and I don't have to hear the whole "OMG! NO KISS I'M SO MAD!" like I did back when the manga originally ended in 2007. That was quite a riot back then, but fortunately this evens out the score a bit. I think it's only fair at least, especially since Inu/Kik got considerably more snogging scenes in the anime than what was actually given in the manga. :)
So...dub news now!
After hearing about three different dubs of Inuyasha in addition to the original Japanese version, I honestly felt that the best versions were by far the original Japanese and English dub versions.
Even though both Noriko Hidaka and Willow Johnson were well received by fans in general, I have in the past heard fans of the dub disliking Hidaka's portrayal for making Kikyou sound "too old," and fans of the Japanese original disliking Willow's portrayal for making Kikyou sound "too evil." I even came across a Kikyou fansite once where the webmasters even blamed Willow's portrayal as contributing to Kikyou's unpopularity within the fandom, though I can safely say that Kikyou has been hated on in North America with Hidaka's portrayal alone, and this being LONG before Willow even got assigned the role of the character.
After considering everyone's opinions on the matter, while I can most certainly understand why some fans lean more towards one actor over the other, I honestly found that---all preferences aside---both the voices of Hidaka and Willow were appropriately assigned to the character, given how the character is written into the story. I also found that the portrayal of the character by both women were relatively the same with very few differences.
Of course, it is obvious to most that Hidaka and Willow do not sound the same vocally, but Willow matching her voice to meet Hidaka's is not the point of dubbing. In fact, I have seen dubbed anime in the past where the English actor has tried to match the sound of their voice to that of the original Japanese actor, and very few have been able to pull this off successfully without creating a different impression of the character all together. Instead, I prefer for an actor to portray the character as they are actually written and to the best of their ability, as opposed to trying to literally sound like the original Japanese actor, and this is where I feel Willow is strongest as an actor. No, Willow doesn't sound blood-thirsty as she screams her lungs out like Hidaka does when portraying an enraged and resurrected Kikyou, but she nonetheless still gets the point across that Kikyou is enraged over the circumstances of her death, while adding something of her own to the role.
I'm not going to compare and contrast every single Kikyou episode of the series since that will take too long, but I will however, do it for the shorter Kanketsu-hen series if it gets dubbed and if Willow is recast in the role. For this particular series of blog posts though, I am going to simply compare and contrast how Hidaka and Willow portray living Kikyou, resurrected Kikyou, and amorous Kikyou. But that'll be a post for next time.
In the mean time, I will entertain you all with a multi-language video of three of Kikyou's voices until then. Enjoy!
Even though both Noriko Hidaka and Willow Johnson were well received by fans in general, I have in the past heard fans of the dub disliking Hidaka's portrayal for making Kikyou sound "too old," and fans of the Japanese original disliking Willow's portrayal for making Kikyou sound "too evil." I even came across a Kikyou fansite once where the webmasters even blamed Willow's portrayal as contributing to Kikyou's unpopularity within the fandom, though I can safely say that Kikyou has been hated on in North America with Hidaka's portrayal alone, and this being LONG before Willow even got assigned the role of the character.
After considering everyone's opinions on the matter, while I can most certainly understand why some fans lean more towards one actor over the other, I honestly found that---all preferences aside---both the voices of Hidaka and Willow were appropriately assigned to the character, given how the character is written into the story. I also found that the portrayal of the character by both women were relatively the same with very few differences.
Of course, it is obvious to most that Hidaka and Willow do not sound the same vocally, but Willow matching her voice to meet Hidaka's is not the point of dubbing. In fact, I have seen dubbed anime in the past where the English actor has tried to match the sound of their voice to that of the original Japanese actor, and very few have been able to pull this off successfully without creating a different impression of the character all together. Instead, I prefer for an actor to portray the character as they are actually written and to the best of their ability, as opposed to trying to literally sound like the original Japanese actor, and this is where I feel Willow is strongest as an actor. No, Willow doesn't sound blood-thirsty as she screams her lungs out like Hidaka does when portraying an enraged and resurrected Kikyou, but she nonetheless still gets the point across that Kikyou is enraged over the circumstances of her death, while adding something of her own to the role.
I'm not going to compare and contrast every single Kikyou episode of the series since that will take too long, but I will however, do it for the shorter Kanketsu-hen series if it gets dubbed and if Willow is recast in the role. For this particular series of blog posts though, I am going to simply compare and contrast how Hidaka and Willow portray living Kikyou, resurrected Kikyou, and amorous Kikyou. But that'll be a post for next time.
In the mean time, I will entertain you all with a multi-language video of three of Kikyou's voices until then. Enjoy!
I shot this video 200 years ago when Willow was a guest at Otakon 2008, and I forgot I still had this stored on my camera's memory card. So I thought I'd go ahead and share the last few minutes of the video where she answers a question regarding Kikyou.
I apologise ahead of time for the quality of the video. I had to really shrink it down in size in order to get it to upload properly without getting aborted. I'll try and upload a higher quality version later.
I apologise ahead of time for the quality of the video. I had to really shrink it down in size in order to get it to upload properly without getting aborted. I'll try and upload a higher quality version later.
10/02: Valentine's Day Theme Layout
Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I thought I'd go ahead and make a Valentine's Day Kikyou themed layout just for the occasion.
Don't worry, it's temporary. The default layout will be back up on Monday. :)
(So please don't kill me). ;)
-Webmaster
Don't worry, it's temporary. The default layout will be back up on Monday. :)
(So please don't kill me). ;)
-Webmaster
31/01: New Layout: Kikyou Theme
Hi Everyone,
First, I'd like to thank all of you who left me nice comments on the last post regarding the new layout. Your comments are much appreciated. :)
In regards to the choice of layout, I have to be honest and say that I debated for a long time as to what to do for the third revamp. Since last year I've been wanting to go with a character-themed layout just to do something different from the past two layouts. One such layout that I came out with early last year was a Flash version of the site that featured four anime characters that Willow voiced during her voice over career.
First, I'd like to thank all of you who left me nice comments on the last post regarding the new layout. Your comments are much appreciated. :)
In regards to the choice of layout, I have to be honest and say that I debated for a long time as to what to do for the third revamp. Since last year I've been wanting to go with a character-themed layout just to do something different from the past two layouts. One such layout that I came out with early last year was a Flash version of the site that featured four anime characters that Willow voiced during her voice over career.
