Any dubbed anime that's DECENT?

[Cidolfas]

English VA’s aren’t necessarily good - they can be awful. The more important point is that Japanese VA’s aren’t as good as they seem. That’s becuase there’s a disconnect. We don’t actually understand, viscerally, what they’re saying. Essentially we hear some neat sounds, and we read some words, but our brain doesn’t directly associate one with the other. Emotional range or veracity is generally lost in the translation - meaning it’s almost impossible for us to judge whether a Japanese VA is good or bad. But since there are plenty of English actors which are indeed bad, the Japanese experience is often considered better.

To be honest, anime scripts are often so corny that being shielded from their full impact is often the only way to enjoy them. ^^; But a really good anime can be enjoyed in English. Slayers was excellent with this, because it joined a great cast with a script which went through very professional localization: the script is not word-for-word from the Japanese, but calculated for an American audience. The end result is something us Westerners can actually enjoy for what it is.

In my own opinion, I’d rather have a mediocre (i.e. not horrible) English dub than a Japanese dub. I feel it’s much more “accurate” to my own experience… and of course there’s the fact that I don’t have to keep jumping back and forth between subtitles and the action.
There are exceptions to this, of course… animes that are full of Japanese references (such as Samurai Champloo) I’d rather see in Japanese.

[Dragons_Revenge]

You may be thinking of the OVAs, not the series. I agree that the OVAs left a lot to be desired. The series had Lisa Cortez (or some such) as Lina.

I ment the whole thing. And the English VA for lina was the same one throughout the whole thing.

[demigod]

I agree with Cid on this one (I think).

While I don’t automatically shun English dubs, I usually prefer Japanese. Because I don’t register the sounds as words, I can’t necessarily identify the inflections and variations in tone that I naturally pick up in English.

[Cidolfas]

I ment the whole thing. And the English VA for lina was the same one throughout the whole thing.

It absolutely was not. Good lord, no.

The Slayers (TV Series 1995– ) - IMDb

Lina was played by Lisa Ortiz in all three TV shows. She did an excellent job.

Slayers the Motion Picture (1995) - IMDb

She was played by Cynthia Martinez in the OVAs. She did a mediocre job at best.

[Dragons_Revenge]

I am shamed -_-

Either way, I wasnt a fan of the dub at all. Neither hold candles to Megumi Hayashibara.

[Zhare]

Yeah, everything Disney’s picked up has had actual Hollywood actors in the role.
I found Haibane Renmei to have pretty good actors, though the script itself was pretty bad.
The best dub I’ve seen by far is Slayers Next. Not only do the voices fit the characters well, the actors can actually act for the most part, and there are few cringe-worthy parts that aren’t part of the actual script.

I dont recall Spirted Away having Hollywood actors dubbing it

[Dragons_Revenge]

The chick who played Lilo in Lilo and Stitch is Chihiro. Funny thing is, she was also Sumara in The Ring movies.

[kirokokori]

The chick who played Lilo in Lilo and Stitch is Chihiro. Funny thing is, she was also Sumara in The Ring movies.

The person who playes Samara did Chihiro’s voice? Wow, that’s weird.

[Dragons_Revenge]

I didnt know that either until I was looking up the cast. Crazy.

[Izlude1984]

“I can’t wait to get started on this adventure!”
sounds so much better than
“A rushu mishi arabara areery ron pon!”

At the same time…

“Hello, my name is {ambiguously stupid sounding japanese name said in english}”
sounds much worse than
“{bunch a shit I don’t understand that is too high-pitched if female, and all the same if male… deep and indignant.}”

[Seraphim_Ephyon]

Izlude makes a good point. English VAs trying to pronounce Japanese names sound horrible.

[Dragons_Revenge]

Thats why I watch 'em in japanese