Va Choreography, General SFX, Original Soundtrack
While the original Japanese dub was spectacular, the English dub Funimation licensed was more or less a hit or miss on several occasions, in that I'll straight up and say that the Original was quite a bit better. I mean at times the Funimation Dub just sounded cheesy, as the scripts by John Michael Tatum sucked out loud, whilst the original had a serious cast with plenty of industry veterans at their disposable such as Hiroshi Kamiya as Levi, Marina Inoue as Armin, Kaji Yuki as Eren & newfound talents such as Ishikawa Yui, who was absolutely born for her role as Mikasa Akerman.
Voice Actors as Eren Yaeger -
Yuki Kaji in Japanese CastingA versatile voice actor, reprising many notable roles for a decade now, in productions such as Noragami or Shinsekai Yori and now in Attack on Titan as Eren Yaeger. Yuki Kaji fits perfectly with Eren's character, as someone who's able to sound bold and rash, while still being able to sound like he's in his adolescence and has yet to mature. As he blends the right amount of girth and softness to his voice, for a commanding performance that can be progressive and confrontational with good dynamics, yet still able to transition well into casual dialogue, displaying Eren's softer demeanour as well. He's able to command Eren's voice with the reckless abandon and desperate fighting spirit that's characteristic of Eren's rage filled sentiments and his stinging heart of betrayal, even when fed pretty awkward lines at times, Yuki Kaji is still somehow always able to sell it in convincing fashion, a testament to his experience as well as ability, always having the correct amount of pacing, as well as seizing the moment with excellent modulation. A great performance by Yuki Kaji, who was well casted for the role.
Papenbrook Bryce in English CastingOn the other hand, Bryce's performance sounded 2-3 years too young and behind in puberty. Almost always sounding cheesy and too young in every scenario, botching many establishing moments and scenes with cringe worthy dialogue, constantly reminding us of how much of a mismatch he is for his role, effectively highlighting Attack on Titan's script issue's unconvincing expository dialogue. In his every attempt to sound "Serious" or "Grim" had me laughing at how unmistakable corny and bad it was - I'm sorry his performance is so blatantly mismatched, cliche and uninspired to the point of hilarity. Just bad - Hilariously so. Who did a better job voicing Eren? lets just say that in my mind, Bryce needs a real lesson in manhood from Yuki Kaji or Ono Diasuke who stars as the ever manly Erwin Smith. I've hardly ever seen a character ruined to this magnitude in such as distastefully hilarious manner and voiced like such a complete wuss while Eren frolics and swings around like spiderman screaming like he's on the edge of retardation. Just Bad - Really Bad - You ever hear your kid brother play with his action figures while voicing them at eye level? yeah it's that bad, the eight grade syndrome is strong with this one.
Voice Actors as Mikasa Ackerman -
Ishikawa Yui in Japanese CastingI can die happy now - Just kidding, though Ishikawa Yui's role as Mikasa Akerman was perfect, contributing so much to her character, being a huge factor in why I felt Mikasa, while a pretty stoic character with lots of baddassitude, was still so incredibly adorable and heartfelt, in that her character deep down is pretty simple, in such fresh and liberating fashion. Ishikawa Yui is still a rookie VA, she absolutely commanded her performance as the adorably determined bad ass that Mikasa actually is, proving herself as an exceedingly important young talent and asset as a voice actress. Ishikawa Yui has just the right amount of strength and grit in her voice, whilst being able to sound charitable, sweet and beautifully simplistic, to contrast her scarily confrontational and defensive demeanour in such a beautiful fashion. Ishikawa Yui has Yandere, Kuudere & Tsundere in spades. From calling Eren's name aloud to threatening Eren's enemies, it's always done in an eerily dreadful and collected fashion or a sweetfully solemn and mature tone. It's rare to have such a commanding performance that alone makes watching Attack on Titan just to see her performance worthwhile, speaking to the excellent amount of synergy her voice had with the visual character animations as a whole. An immensely awesome performance, and a fantastic casting choice.
Trina Nishimura in English CastingWhat would happen if you put Trina Nishimura into an Action series? well meh.. Compared to Ishikawa's tight pacing and tone as opposed to Trina Nishimura's more open and modulative performance, it's pretty weak in comparison, being that the dynamic between Mikasa's softer demeanour, to her scarily defensive demeanour is greatly diminished by Nishimura's looser voicing of Mikasa. Trina Nishimura's voice is more resonant and loose, clashing against Mikasa's stoic and intense personality, as the contrasting dynamic between her different traits are cheapened by Trina Nishimura's eagerness to voice Mikasa as overly expressive and exaggerated. Whilst Ishikawa Yui's performance across the series highlights the contrast between the two, speaking to her development as a character. In reality Mikasa has a simpler motivations, that's what makes her so intense and adorably determined, so it makes sense for her to sound more conservative and monotone to highlight her stoic and toughened demeanour. Nishimura plays way too much with her sense of intonation and dynamics, making Mikasa sound frail and unstable, when Mikasa really is more of the "Strong Silent" type, who's emotionally intense to a fault, whilst sounding innocent and feminine. So when she does speak and act up, Ishikawa Yui's performance is far more significant being that her usual conservative and stoic demeanour contrasts her performance's sudden transient intensity when she is more expressive, whereas Nishimura's performance seems watered down due to her lack of focus. It's clear Ishikawa Yui is far more aware of this dynamic than Nishimura will ever be.
Voice Actors as Armin Arlert -
Marina Inoue in Japanese CastingMarina Inoue does a decent job in voicing the shy and quietly spoken Armin, and is well suited for the role. At times though I do think Armin sounds a bit too effeminate and bit too young as well, in which case yet again, I don't really like the practice of casting female VA's in male roles. I'm pretty positive that, even if it's Japan, a man will indefinitely sound more like masculine than a female voice actresss. While it may be hard to find a younger male voice actor within the industry, it definitely should still be possible to do so. I do understand however, that many female VA's exist within the industry and it's relatively easy for people such as Marina Inoue to add enough girth and loosen up her voice to pass as a younger and frail adolescent male, & she does a good job at it. I do like how she's able to sound calm and curios, but youthful enough to match Armin's small frame pretty well. However when she acts up, it becomes more apparent that Armin's VA is actually female, because when she raises her voice and provides more airflow, it's becomes less natural sounding and more of a coy imitation of Armin's character
Josh Grelle in English CastingJosh's performance is definitely a step up in sounding more authentic when sounding masculine, because Josh is male. Josh's performance is still able to sound adolescent enough, while having a drier and more progressive voicing of Armin. However some of his performance was selled short due to corny expository dialogue and such. I also found that Josh Grelle over did it when it came to Armin's yelling and screaming, to the point where I just sort of wanted to punch Armin in the face. I feel quite a bit of his delivery was too forced in his intention to make Armin's character and the given situation more intense with his overly expressive delivery at key establishing moments, though when he's speaking normally during times of thought or solemn, I don't mind his performance at all.
Voice Actors as Reiner Braun -
Yoshimasa Hosoya in Japanese Casting
A versatile VA that I continue to grow familiar with, starring in roles such as Arata in Chihayafuru, Sentarou in Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the slope) and in Ajin as Kaito. This time around he stars as Reiner Braun, a similar role to Sentarou in Kids on the slope, and does a great job voicing himself with adequate amount of girth as Reiner Braun with a heavy build and constitution. Yoshimasa did an excellent job portraying himself as casual and collected, whilst sounding daring and ready for a challenge. Commanding his performance with confidence and his gritty resonance , having a strong sense of dynamics and punctuation to making Reiner seem like he means business. One of the more memorable performances within Attack on Titan, as he's excellently casted and performed spectacularly as well.
Robert McCollum in English Casting
A pretty decent performance by Robert McCollum, though I do think it was overshadowed by Yoshimasa performance leaving something to be desired in the process. Being that, despite sounding similar, Yoshimasa had a more resonant and fuller tone, whilst making better use of his punctuation of words, dynamics and modulation. In the end Robert's voice was more toned down and composed, where I feel it's a better fit if he's a bit more rougher and grittier with it, because Yoshimasa on the other hand, absolutely killed it with his role as Reiner Braun. Again, on the English cast, Robert's performance was perhaps one of the more notable, amongst some of the best in my opinion. Though unfortunately it seems his performance was overshadowed by Yoshimasa fantastic rendition of his role as Reiner Braun.
Voice Actors as Levi -
Hiroshi Kamiya in Japanese CastingThe fabled Hiroshi Kamiya does it once again, this time as the sadistic and condescending Captain Levi. I felt slightly a bit off put initially by Hiroshi voicing Levi, as I'm just so familiar with his voice and him being casted in straight man roles such as in the Monogatari series, Tsukoyomi Moonphase or even Arakawa under the Bridge. Thankfully I've grown to like him potraying himself with a bit more of a sour attitude and with a condescendingly dark nature. Always confrontational, with piss and vinegar, and generally in a bad mood. I found his voicing of Captain Levi to be pretty great, though like I've said, occasionally I'm a little off put by his voice, because sometimes I feel he slightly overdoes it sometimes. None the less, a decent casting choice and good performance by the veteran Hiroshi Kamiya.
Matthew Mercer in English CastingMathew Mercer's performance was more subdued and collected, making Levi seem more approachable. While we don't know exactly how old Levi actually is, however Mathew Mercer adds a bit too much girth to his voice making Levi seem much older than he appears to be, being that he has a relatively small frame. I personally would assume Levi is around 25 yrs of age, and for someone with a frame of his size, Mathew Mercers voicing of Levi seems fitting even despite occasional issue's. I do like his less expressive and collected voicing of Levi, being that in comparison, Hiroshi Kamiya's voicing of Levi is a lot less subtle and sometimes over bearing. It's up to the individual watching whether they want a more taunting and confrontational Levi or a more subdued and collected one that Mathew Mercer offers, for me, I'd pick Matthew mercers voicing over Hiroshi Kamiya's. In the end a pretty good performance and casting selection.
Voice Actors as Erwin Smith -
Ono Diasuke in Japanese CastingAn irreplaceable casting choice by the veteran Ono Diasuke for an unforgettable and a most memorable performance. Ono Diasuke's voicing of Erwin Smith is the embodiment of manliness and pride, able to stir the hearts of his people, as his voice was striking and daring, without hesitation or doubt. When regularly speaking, he sounds ambiguous and often intimidating, however he's also able to be charitable and sympathetic. A commanding performance nearly as irreplaceably good as is Ishikawa Yui's role as Mikasa. An undoubtedly perfect casting choice for erwin smith and an excellent performance by Ono Diasuke.
John Michael Tatum in English CastingI blame John for #A butchering his role as Erwin and #B for ruining the script with some terrible cheesy and clunky dialogue as he was responsible for writing it. Who in the right mind thought John Michael Tatum to be a fitting selection for Erwin's role? It was bad, over exaggerated and just clunky. Where Ono Diasuke completely nailed it, John ruined Erwin's voice entirely, being completely overshadowed by the latter performance. John's rendition Erwin's signature battle cry's were cheap and forced. Erwin Smith's role was distastefully ruined by John Michael Tatum, who otherwise did a fantastic job in a series such as Stein's Gate, though in general his scripts are ATROCIOUS!! with a Capital A!!. Sometime's I feel really good about Funimation and English dubs in general, though at times like these, I feel like John Michael Tatum is just spreading more Funimation Cancer to Anglo-sphere countries across the world.
Voice Actors as Ymir -
Saki Fujita in Japanese CastingSaki Fujita's role as Ymir's is similar to my experience with how Hiroshi Kamiya voiced Levi, just female though. Being that, both are relatively indifferent and unapproachable, though Saki has more of an emphasis on being sarcastic and is generally more provocative. She also does a fantastic job in S2 in Ymir desperate moments when she acts up, and I quite a fan of her more casual and generally sarcastic tone. As I feel she has a lot of chemistry with Christa, who's seemingly a counterpart that compliments her personality pretty well. I wouldn't go far as to say her performance is outstanding, though I really don't see many issue's and Saki Fujita is such as good fit, as her performance is seamless as she has a great amount of chemistry with others as well as her role as Ymir. In the end I favour Saki's rendition for more serious situations as Maxwell comes off as slightly cheesy, though that's just my opinion.
Maxwell Elizabeth in English CastingThe funny thing about the Funimation dub is they have great VA's on their bench instead of on their front line up, which really is quite a shame since voice actresses such as Maxwell Elizabeth did a phenomenal job as Ymir. Maxwell does a great job in being sassier, whereas Saki's rendition is more boyish and blunt, Maxwell's voice is sibilant and cuts like a knife. I also find her voice is a bit more indifferent as she's better at distancing herself from others with the way she speaks, whereas Saki is more direct and blunt in that manner. Though both actresses have stellar moments within the dialogue for me to draw a definitive line separating the two. In the end I'd probably pick Saki's rendition for myself personally, as I tend to favour the slightly fuller tone she has, that has more broad harmonics and resonant low tones, though it really is up to the given person in the end, me I just like Ymir more as a blunt and sarcastic gal.
Voice Actors as Christa Lenz -
Mikami Shiori in Japanese CastingI had almost mistaken Shiori's performance as Kana Hanazawa, being that her voice is quite similar to Hanazawa's role as Nadeko in the Monogatari Series and Onodera in Nisekoi. I was mistaken. However yes, if I were to describe her voice, those are the two anime I would refer to for comparison. Generally high pitched, sweet and resonant, Christa is always seemingly polite and well mannered. Usually supporting others in the background as she's shy and generally unnoticeable. I think Mikami's performance, along side Ymir's in S2 (Due to their character arc) was pretty great, considering that both characters were more front and center in a less Eren-centric storyline. I love when she act's out, as her sense of dynamics and intonation can be pretty explosive at times. I kinda dislike how she's a bit of a simplistic character, always opting to be polite, but this change in her attitude and behaviour was refreshing. A pretty solid casting choice and performance.
Bryn Apprill in English CastingAn ok performance, though somewhat hit and miss. You see, I find that both actresses have similar problems, though Brynn April's rendition emphasizes these problems to a larger extent, and I felt that in important establishing scenes and dialogue, her voice often seemed somewhat cheesier, as I found Mikami's rendition was more steady and had more emphasis on punctuation and such. In the end I felt that, Bryn overdid it a little, being too eager to make Christa too expressive and dynamic, as I felt Mikami's rendition was more grounded and more suited for her supposed age. I found that Bryn Apprill's voice was somewhat off-putting because her renditions sounds more like an imitation of an adolescent girl rather than actually being one, as I found her rounder and more saturated voice to be somewhat distracting. In the end I do think that Mikami's performance was slightly more preferable and that Brynn Apprill was just an ok casting selection.
Voice Actors as Jean Kirstein -
Kishou Taniyama in Japanese CastingI like Kishou Taniyama's rendition of Jean quite a lot, I think it's fitting. It fits well with his age, and also his motivations as a character. Jean is usually doubtful and human in the sense that he's afraid as well, and is not afraid to admit so. In that, Jean's dialogue is often defensive and sarcastic and Kishou Taniyama does a great job in sounding disinterested and unsatisfied. Usually having a sense of confidence and grit, whilst being pessimistic about the war with the Titan's. He does a great job in more serious moments, as well as more laid back ones. In my eyes his voicing of Jean, is quite similar to that of Saki Fujita's role as Ymir, in that they're quite similar characters in these respects. None the less, a decent casting choice and performance by Kishou Taniyama.
Mike McFarland in English CastingMike Mcrfarland is quite similar on the other hand, though my main issue with his voicing is that he sounds quite a bit older than what Jean age is supposedly actually is. Mike sounds more like he's in his mid twenties as opposed to a sourly pessimistic and adolescent 15 teenager. In my eyes he sounds more like Spike Spiegel than he does Jean Kirstein. I think it'd be best to actually nab a voice actor of the correct age instead of enlisting Funimation veterans and such for the job, as I don't find that Mike himself misread any of the situations within his dialogue, it's just that the casting choice itself is somewhat of a mismatch to begin with. It's the equivalent of having a High-school flick, without actual teenagers - Something you see all too often. In the end a decent performance, though a mediocre casting selection for the given character.
Voice Actors as Conny Springer -
Hiro Shimono In Japanese CastingA pretty great fit for a guy Connie who has a smaller build and is the age of 15. His voice is masculine enough, though pitched in a way that unmistakably makes him seem like an adolescent, though has enough grit and girth to his voice to not sound to measly like Marina Inoue's rendition of Armin. In addition, Hiro's voice is lightweight and agile enough to also nail his more sarcastic and casually sly dialogue he has. Hiro Also did a fantastic job in more solemn and serious scenes, with great sense of pacing and punctuation, as he's able to emphasize Connie's emotional breakdown's when his voice is more shaken and unstable. A great casting choice and performance by Hiro Shimono.
I feel quite similarly in Clifford Chapin's rendition of Connie's role, being that they are both seemingly age appropriate casting selections, and have similarities in their voices. However, Clifford's voice is less grittier and more sibilant. He also has a set of harmonics that's sweeter and more mid ranged focused, though it's never to the point where he sounds to feminine. I do think on rare occasions though his voice does seem slightly a bit squeamish when he's worried or shaken, whereas Hiro already has a more deeper and grounded voice so that's never really an issue. In the end a good performance, that's somewhat more expressive and emotional than Hiro's, however it's also somewhat more squeamish as well on rare occasions.
Voice Actors as Annie Leonhart -
Yuu Shimamura in Japanese CastingI almost as fond of Yuu Shimamura's performance as I am of Ishikawa Yui's performance as Mikasa. I continue to grow familiar with her slick roles in productions such as The Kubikiri Cycle as Akane. I love her slick and disinterested way of speaking, often placid and steadily paced. Her voice sounds grounded as her voice is more resonant with lower tones, and her use of punctuation and modulation is steady and perfect for her whimsical and indifferent attitude. Often casually spoken, opting to say more with less, usually being casually suggestive and ambiguously pessimistic about her intentions, as syllables roll off her tongue subtle and fast. The rare time she does break composure she elicits an exuberant and maniacal laugh (Which was perfect by the way) and does an awesome job at being sleazy and a little yandere at that. A most memorable performance and a personal favourite of mine, it's just too bad we've yet to see much more, due to story developments within the first season. An awesome casting selection and an underrated voice actress.
Lauren Landa in English CastingOnce an again just an ok performance, I mean for me, I find that for every well established and fantastic casting selection from the original dub, the English dub is often overshadowed as a result, and this case isn't any exception to that rule. Laruen's rendition quite frankly is just over done in many circumstances, it just comes off as aloof due to her tendency to play with her sense of intonation and modulation too much. Yuu Shimamura absolutely nailed Annie's role, so I don't get why they couldn't get a more similar sounding voice actress who prioritized emphasizing the same things as done previously, because Annie came off as sort of corny in establishing moments, often rearing either to far left or right if you know what I mean. Yuu's more disinterested and more monotone dialogue was great for her character, because it highlighted the rare times she did chose to be more expressive when acting out and such.
Voice Actors as Sasha Blouse -
Yuu Kobayashi in Japanese CastingPopular as she is memorable in my book for her hilariously eccentric and versatile voice, I couldn't think of a better person to be casted as Sasha Blouse, as Yuu Kobayashi has also embraced similar roles such as in Gintama as Ayame Surotobi, in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and even in Stein's Gate. Her voice is more mid range centric, as she has this sort of plastic resonance to her voice that makes her eccentric dialogue all the much more better. As Sasha Blouse is supposed to be a simplistic country bumpkin, I really couldn't think of a better fit than Yuu Kobayashi, as she does this perfectly. I love her when she mentally collapses with her loony screams and shaken voice, along with her clunky use of slang, it compliments her simplistic character and to great comedic affect. Though it not all jokes and laughs as she can also sound endearing and charitable in more solemn and serious scenes, showing another side of her simplistic self that complimented these more dire situations well, while blending it with her typical rash and eccentric dialogue perfectly. An excellent castinng choice and a wonderful performance by Yuu Kobayashi.
Ashly Burch in English CastingAnother excellent casting selection, as Ashly Burch is great at playing characters who act up or are generally aloof or silly, though she has relatively small experience as a VA in the anime industry as Mayuuri in Steins;Gate, she has other memorable performance in roles such as Tiny Tina in Borderlands 2 , and as Tiny Tiny she was F*%#n' spectacular and hilarious at that, it's really no surprise she also nailed her role in Attack on Titan as Sasha Blouse. Her rendition was a little less comical, though a bit more strident, as she has a tighter voice and set of harmonics, also being slightly more higher pitched as well. I like that, cause' although I like Yuu's performance, I also yearned to see Sasha voiced a tad bit more seriously as well, and Ashly Burch's performance is seemingly a bit more mature in that respect. In that her voice is not as frantic, but slightly more composed, using her sense of dynamics and modulation excellently to enhance the sense of urgency a scene can have. Ashly is also fantastic in being more charitable and shy in more day to day scenes when she tries to be polite and go unnoticed. A Fantastic casting selection and performance, being arguably the best the Funimation Dub has to offer.
Segment Conclusion -
Though the Funimation Dub had some pretty mediocre casting selections, they also had some excellent VA's as well... on bench roles that is -_- I mean, it's a damn shame that more important roles didn't really see the light of day due to some horrendous casting choices and performances, as the Original Japanese Dub was Fantastic all round. Whereas, Funimation failed to #A write a good script (Thanks to John Michael Tatum) #B Cast characters appropriately, #C almost completly ruin the 3 main characters with sub par performances and a God Awful rendition in English of Eren by Papenbrook Bryce. What do I think of the English Dub? It's pretty bad, especially for aforementioned reasons, bad enough to start making me contemplate if I should dual review both English and Japanese dubs. Do yourself a favour and watch the Japanese Dub, trust me, even if you don't have to read subs, the English dub isn't worth ruining your first time like it did mine. Just read for pete sake, and watch/listen to the fantastic Japanese rendition. If you're to slow at reading (Sucks to be you) just simply pause when you need to.
Original Soundtrack & SFX - Thoughts & Impressions
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| Hiroki Sawano |
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| Shizuou Kurahashi |
Hiroki Sawano on his work on S2 - "Continuing from the first season and approaching it in new ways for the new characters, I tried to create a good balance"
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| Masufumi Mima |
