Okay, one thing that I want to discuss is Dubs vs. Subs because I want to try to add something to a conversation that probably should be dead but isn't for some reason. Bearing in mind, I myself have a preference for dubs in any given show or game, I want to talk more about two particular things that I don't think get covered enough outside specific circles: the first is why certain people always say subs are better than dubs, and the second is how a dub or sub's cast can affect your opinion of a show or character.
The first is easier so I'm going to cover that first, namely, why do dub haters seemingly always believe that subs are always better than dubs and why do people with preferences for dubs never seem to have anything insulting to say toward subs? Well, there are two possible answers but, at this stage in time I think it leans more toward one than the other.
The first answer, which any dub hater will give you with no real substantive evidence, is that subs are just better. They talk about how the quality of voice acting is higher because anime is more of a thing in Japan than it is in the West and, while that may have been true at one point, we've reached a point in time where anime is big enough in the West that people in the West are actually starting to make their own Anime, the way Monty Oum did with RWBY. Shelter is an example of an American working with a Japanese Studio to make an Anime Short Film, which once upon a time was completely unheard of, so I think it's safe to say that we're no longer at a point in time where saying "Anime is a Japan-only thing" is a valid reason anymore.
One reason I've seen many dub vs. sub debaters bring up is that they hear the Japanese voices first and then the American voices far later, which is still the case sometimes but not always, and it was almost never a complete "I heard the Japanese voices first" because Anime came to the West long before anyone had the opportunity to watch the Japanese versions first and, while you could argue back then that the cheesy voice acting for things like Akira and Ghost in the Shell were lower quality than Japanese dubs back then, Anime was released at a time before people could watch the Japanese version first and, by the time that had become a thing, dubs like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, YuYu Hakusho, Trigun, and Samurai Champloo were good enough that they could reasonably be preferred even if the subs were heard first.
However, there are still some people who say that an anime like YuYu Hakusho has a shit dub, which I will come back to in a moment but I want to illustrate why some people might still think that.
Some people have argued that the reason people shouldn't hate dubs so much is because English is, to quote Gigguk for a moment "THE LANGUAGE THEY FUCKING SPEAK!!" but, to be honest, maybe that's the point. Maybe the reason they love subs more than dubs, for a lot of anime at least, is because they don't speak Japanese.
MatthewMatosis is the only person I've heard make this argument before but he's stated in several videos, particularly the ones on The Wonderful 101, Catherine, and Ico, is that it's harder to critique a dub if you don't understand the language that's being spoken. Because these people don't speak Japanese, they may have a hard time distinguishing a good delivery from a bad delivery, even people who are emotionally intelligent or observant in this area have a tough time discerning a bad delivery from a good one when it's in Japanese.
Now, as for the comment on YuYu Hakusho's dub, the Youtube commentor who stated that used Hiei as his example and I think that's an absolutely terrible example because Hiei's English Voice is far better than the Japanese one. Allow me to elaborate.
In the English Dub, Hiei is sarcastic, has black humor, is very serious, and is also quite cocky in a calm way. He's essentially an edge-lord version of Dante if DmC: Devil May Cry didn't botch that entirely. His delivery reflects that. He's calm when giving his insults and sarcasm, and even his quiet anger is still stern when it needs to be.
However, the Japanese dub gives Hiei a much deeper voice that is very loud and very projected. While his delivery isn't awkward, that doesn't suit Hiei's character at all. Chuck Huber is just as deep voiced as he needs to be to get Hiei across properly but is not so deep that he sounds exactly like Vegeta, which in the Japanese dub, he does.
Vegeta and Hiei are often compared to each other as Anti-Heroes in their respective series but I think those comparisons are misplaced because Vegeta is far more loudmouthed and cocky than Hiei ever was. Sure, Hiei was like that before his rework but, when he was added to the cast officially as an anti-hero, he calmed down quite a bit. Sure, he's cocky but he's much more stoic about it, compared to Vegeta, who never stops boasting about his Kingdom and his Pride.
For as much as I think acting is important to characterization, I do believe that the script and voice itself are also key ingredients. Again, I'm using Hiei as my example.
In the Dark Tournament, when Kurama is about to fight Touya, Hiei has a flashback to Seiryu and his fight with him. In the Japanese Dub, Hiei just talks about how Seiryu was this impressive master of ice who he only managed to beat because he went straight for the kill. This makes no sense for two reasons. First of all, it doesn't work in the context of Hiei's character. While Hiei does give credit where credit is due, he's never complimentary about it, if he has something good to say about someone, it will be purely observational. The second reason this doesn't work is because, in that actual fight, Hiei managed to kill Seiryu without taking any damage. And, considering that Hiei's arm and legs were frozen solid before the end of the match and he just shattered the ice with his body movements, I think it's safe to say that even if Seiryu was a master of ice, Hiei would have no reason to compliment him. Not to mention it has nothing to do with the fight at hand.
In the English dub, the dialogue is changed entirely. Now, instead of praising Seiryu, he's talking about how Seiryu thought he could get by on half his lessons and then manages to bring it back by comparing him to Touya, which connects the flashback to the fight quite properly.
Now, to go to Hunter X Hunter on this, which has a dub that is currently not finished, bearing in mind I have not seen the 1998 version, one character whose voice I'm genuinely hoping gets a particular voice actor is Feitan.
In the sub, Feitan has a very soft voice, he speaks quietly but not without intent. He's serious but has a love of games. Now, because I've compared Feitan to Hiei, I want to say that I do not want Chuck Huber voicing Feitan. For as many similarities as they have, Chuck Huber has a particular voice and cadence that does not fit Feitan.
However, one voice actor I think would probably do him justice is Steve Staley. That voice actor has a voice that is deep just like Feitan's but in a much different way and he himself has proven that he can do soft voiced deliveries while still delivering emotion. Yuri Lowenthal might be a decent pick but, besides being too obvious, I don't want another anime character that sounds like Sasuke. Yuri Lowenthal already voiced Haseo, Sasuke, and is now voicing Mercury Black, there's absolutely no reason why we need him voicing Feitan.
However, this does raise an interesting point. Most anime are adaptations of manga or other source material, which means, for the most part, character designs are pretty set in stone by the time they get to the actual pre-production. However, this also does somewhat limit potential for who can sound like what.
Generally, when making an original work, you can just hire whoever does the best job and, in animation, the character they're playing can have their design altered to suit the actor's particular voice. And, likewise, in live action film making, this isn't an issue because the actor sounds like themselves. Anime generally doesn't really have those benefits, however, unless it's something like Anohana which is an original work and not an adaptation, which is pretty rare all things considered.
If you can't design your character to look like they sound like the chosen voice actor, your only solution at that point is to pick a voice actor who has simultaneously the right voice and the right delivery on all their lines, which limits your options quite a bit.
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