One manga series I've been able to read from start to finish was Azumanga Daioh. It was pretty funny. The teacher, Yukari, (not to be confused with the Yukari in Persona 3.) was my favorite character, and Osaka was my second-favorite, but Chiyo and Sakaki have their moments, too. It's not as good as the author's more recent Yotsuba! series, but AZ has its moments, too.
Well then, imagine my surprise when I saw clips of the anime version of AZ on youtube not too long ago.
Keep this in mind, I saw bits of AZ in Japanese with English subtitles, for authenticities' sake. (It is set in Japan after all; wouldn't it make more sense for the characters to be speaking Japanese?) I will tell you the following with absolute sincerity:
The anime version of Azumanga Daioh SUCKS compared to the manga version!!!!!!!!
The voice acting is irritating beyond belief, the animation is sub-par, the music is also irritating, and the jokes just don't work as well in animated format. I know a few online people who despise AZ. I tell you this; if you've only seen the anime, I totally agree! Read the manga, instead! It's way better!
I know it's hard to judge acting in a foreign language, considering for today's example that I can't comprehend most Japanese without English subtitles, but I can tell you, the voices in AZ are mediocre when compared to the Japanese versions of Cardcaptor Sakura, Evangelion, and Haruhi Suzumiya. It's like they were trying to sound as grating as humanly possible. Ugh. Now I feel like checking out the AZ novels again, just to wash away the terrible-ness.
That's something I've noticed about comic books. They, like regular books, have the advantage of you the reader being able to use your imagination. If I didn't like someone's voice in the tv or movie version, I can just replace it with my own imagined voice. I do this quite often. Behold; a list.
-In FMA, I agree that most of the English voices were superb, however, I don't think Envy sounds his part. He doesn't sound, evil enough. So, when I read his dialogue in the manga, I imagine his voice sounding like Albedo from the Xenosaga games. It's perfect! It's totally how Envy talks! Or so I think.
-In CCS, I imagine all of their voices as they sounded in the show . . . or, as how they would sound if they spoke English, except for Kero-chan. As I said before, Kero-chan is one of the few book characters I've ever imagined speaking . . . in my own voice. Um . . . I know it's hard to describe a voice without a soundbyte . . . um . . . my natural range in somewhere in the tenor range, so it's kinda high-pitched. But yeah, my vocals suit Kero-chan beautifully! I swear!
-In Tsubasa, the anime version anyways, Fai-san sounds like a mellow Edward Elric. However, when I read his lines in the manga, I imagine him sounding like the English version of Itsuki Koizumi instead. Yeah, that's right; Johnny Yong Bosch should've gotten the part! Well, he does in my imagination . . .
-And yeah, my imagined voices for the girls in AZ were a lot better than their anime renditions.
But I'm still pissed over the anime adaptation of Azumanga Daioh. It sucks as much as the anime I saw as a teenager. And that's saying a lot, right there.
