Review of the SHnY DVD

[ainsoph9]

I just got the first disc of the SHnY anime. I watched the first episode in sub (of course). However, I must say that the fansubs delivered better translations in some spots in particular. For example, when Haruhi dragged Kyon to the top of the stairs, in the fansub, he says, "This feels like extortion." In the official version, he says, "I feel like I'm being shaken down." I just think that extortion gives a stronger and funnier image. As for the extras, they are good, better than what most anime DVDs deliver. For the Hirano Aya fans out there, they have a lot of footage of her in the extras (Try to ignore the high pitched buzz in the background though; it hurts!). The sound and video quality are good, but it puts me out that they have 5.1 for the English dub and not for the Japanese audio. I have not watched the rest yet but plan to do so, probably never in the dub though.

[Dan]

The subbers were probably thinking "exortion" is a Koizumi-ish word, and wanted something a bit simplier for Kyon. As mcuh as I hate the though of buying dubbed anime, I'll support Yuki and buy it next time I'm at BestBuy.

[Beware the talking cat]

If the 'extortion' was the worst translation you noticed, I do not know whether to envy or pity you.

Future men and otherworlders(time travelers and sliders) do not seem bad to you?

(On another note, I discovered that I can preorder the SHnY LE vol 2 now. I need to do so soon.)

[TheGiftedMonkey]

I had a thread similar to this elsewhere I believe where I expressed my view on the dub. I don't think they did a bad job at all. The line Kyon says at the top of the stairs is:

"I feel like I'm being bullied out of my lunch money here."

The scripting for the dub really isn't so bad. Crispin Freeman portrays Kyon's character with precision.

[ainsoph9]

The problem is not with the dub (although I hate Asahina-san's English voice, etc.) but rather with the sub. The sub sometimes lacks the punch that it should have in the dialogue. While I do agree that the word "extortion" is probably too big for Kyon, it does tend to carry the strength of the humor a bit more.

As for the DVD itself, it has both English and Japanese on it, so there is no need to worry there. It is just that the audio for the dub had more effort put into it because it uses a better encoding than the encoding for the Japanese. The way some of the voices in English sound though, no improvement in the audio encoding could help them...and I most certainly do not want to hear them in surround sound either.[/i]

[quigonkenny]

I just got the first disc of the SHnY anime. I watched the first episode in sub (of course). However, I must say that the fansubs delivered better translations in some spots in particular. For example, when Haruhi dragged Kyon to the top of the stairs, in the fansub, he says, "This feels like extortion." In the official version, he says, "I feel like I'm being shaken down."

Did you just watch Melancholy 1, or did you watch Episode 00 (the "first episode"), also? If you missed Episode 00, you might want to watch that one with the dub on, at least once. The VAs' "bad acting" voices are a blast in English, especially Asahina's and Koizumi's. And you really don't want to miss out on Kari Wahlgren (FLCL's Haruhara Haruko) as Tsuruya-san. Highlight of the DVD.

(although I hate Asahina-san's English voice, etc.)

Blasphemy!

[ainsoph9]

Actually, I have seen the entire series before it was licensed. After the initial posts, I wound up watching some of Episode 00 in English just to see if I could take the punishment. I found out that masochism is just not for me. Originally though, I had watched Melancholy 1 in Japanese and was happy for the most part, except for some parts of the sub. As for the dub in general, all I will say is that I have heard better.

[Beware the talking cat]

Why is it in 4:3?
I rather assumed it would be in 16:9 like on TV, so it was rather disconcerting.

[quigonkenny]

Why is it in 4:3?
I rather assumed it would be in 16:9 like on TV, so it was rather disconcerting.

Huh? Where did you get that idea? The only episode in 4:3 was Episode 00, which has always been 4:3. The rest (and the end of Episode 00, of course) are in 16:9. Now, I can only speak for the LE version, which is gorgeous, but Amazon.com has the normal edition listed as 1.78:1 as well.