Are Vancouver dubs going to go extinct?

[drakh]

Originally Posted by IMB

He was credited as "Don Brown" in last year's Asterix movie, which only mentioned the Vancouver studio. Mike Shepherd is also in that, but I don't know if he's relocated to Vancouver. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I never fully trust credits. And I don't think there would be anything preventing them from hiring people in Alberta under ACTRA contracts if the situation warrants it. Given the mixed cast we've been seeing, there really is no way to know for sure who's working under which contracts any more.

[millicent]

Originally Posted by drakh

Hasn't Don been moonlighting for Blue Water for the last decade? If he's in Alberta, and BZ is using someone other than Ocean to record in Vancouver, they might just have written him off as no longer available.

Y'know, the thought oddly never crossed my mind, but him having relocated a while ago (with Tom and Jerry Tales possibly being his last big BC show) would really add up. With "William Scott" racking up Alberta credits in addition to regular BC stuff as M. Dobson the notion of the latter just having done this all out of Vancouver seems plausible, but Brown suddenly switching over to almost entirely Bluewater dubs would seem a bit odd in comparison--even taking into consideration the fact that Brown doesn't appear to have ever been as ubiquitous a figure in the scene. Still seems like he might have popped up once in a Ninjago or something like that. Even his Superbook role or his Silent Mobius reprisal could have just been done out of Calgary (or Edmondton for that matter)--with Brown pulling a James Beach essentially.

Else, a random thought. This goes back decades, and a lot of the relevant people might be out of the picture anyway for this connection to have any weight now, but Bang Zoom and Ocean technically collaborated before in a sense--with Eric P. Sherman credited as producer on Sunrise's Gundam 0079 TV, Zeta Gundam, and Char's Counterattack dubs. Even then, I imagine that connection came about solely from Sunrise's end--perhaps wanting someone closer to their CA offices that was also experienced in dub production in Sherman.

[drakh]

Originally Posted by millicent

Else, a random thought. This goes back decades, and a lot of the relevant people might be out of the picture anyway for this connection to have any weight now, but Bang Zoom and Ocean technically collaborated before in a sense--with Eric P. Sherman credited as producer on Sunrise's Gundam 0079 TV, Zeta Gundam, and Char's Counterattack dubs. Even then, I imagine that connection came about solely from Sunrise's end--perhaps wanting someone closer to their CA offices that was also experienced in dub production in Sherman.

Yes, Sherman worked on those dubs as a consultant for Sunrise. Keep in mind though that that relationship started before Ocean and BZ were direct competitors, possibly before BZ had their own recording studio and mainly worked for Media Blasters. And it ended with BZ taking over as Sunrise's dub producer for F91 and Overman King Gainer.

[IMB]

World Trigger seems to be a cursed project. The original show's dub was produced by Ocean directly for Toei USA. The English version skipped the filler arc because. It then aired on an extremely obscure US TV channel in 2017 before being forgotten until earlier this year. As a way to build up interest for the upcoming revival, the episodes Ocean dubbed were dumped onto Crunchyroll. I was happy to see Toei promoting it throughout the year, but I still wasn't sure the dub would continue. There's always the lingering thought that Primo TV could pick it up again for a Miami dub of the new episodes.

Then we found out that Toei didn't just randomly dump those episodes on there. Crunchyroll had actually licensed it and it was going to be a part of their upcoming home video push with Sentai. This made me kind of optimistic the dub would continue. Yeah, CR hasn't done anything with Ocean in years, but why wouldn't they just continue the old simulcast relationship with Toei if they weren't planning something bigger? This is a direct continuation and given its late-night slot, it'll likely have a manageable episode count. World Trigger isn't close to A-tier Shonen Jump popularity in the west, but it has its fans. It's the kind of thing I can see them doing as one of their seasonal dubs, assuming that was possible and Toei Quality doesn't mean the home video masters are dramatically different.

Now Funimation is buying Crunchyroll ... To be fair, it's probably too soon for that to have any impact. World Trigger's revival starts next month. Sentai hasn't even solicited the original's discs yet, so the decision on whether or not to dub the next season could be made before that even ships.

Originally Posted by IMB

The two Canadian studios listed as Netflix preferred partners are both Montreal-based, so maybe they'll land something notable again through that. So far, that's only materialized itself in a few live-action dubs but we're in the early days. I was surprised to see that those dubs received a tax credit. Hopefully that'll open the door to opportunities that the Montreal pool usually doesn't get. I want to see the reactions if a bunch of Arthur VAs got to voice leads in a hard scifi anime on Netflix.

Getting warmer ... It's interesting to note that appears to be a subcontracted project (from Iyuno, who were responsible for AICO's original iconic dub). I don't believe Difuze's other Netflix dubs were.

While looking for something else, I stumbled upon a few Montreal VAs confirming their involvement in an upcoming Japanese RPG. I won't name it because the game doesn't have a release date yet, so they might be stepping on some toes by talking about it. It's not a huge AAA release, but it's not low budget and it's definitely surprising to see it land in Montreal, especially given the publisher.

[IMB]

Bushiroad's latest cross-media franchise is getting dubbed ... by Bang Zoom (they coming after the Miami studios with that Spanish dub, too?). I only mention this because the last two IPs they handled internally (Buddyfight and Cardfight Vanguard) were done with Ocean at the Alberta studios.

I would usually take that news, coupled with the total silence regarding Vanguard's dub, as a sign that this is the next anime franchise that started in Canada, only to end up in the U.S. However, there is reason to believe there's nothing to be concerned about. The latest TCG ads are narrated by Tim Hamaguchi. Another one is narrated by a seemingly new child actress - which is not something the U.S. studios usually do for TV shows.

Bushiroad's big annual TCG presentation is this week, so we might get some news on this soon. Right now, the anime is between seasons in Japan. The next one has been teased as some big 10th Anniversary project. That'll probably be a spring debut at the earliest.

[IMB]

Originally Posted by IMB

Bushiroad's big annual TCG presentation is this week, so we might get some news on this soon. Right now, the anime is between seasons in Japan. The next one has been teased as some big 10th Anniversary project. That'll probably be a spring debut at the earliest.

The reveal only elevated those concerns. The next season is a total revamp with a new set of characters, a new animation studio, and a new release format (seasonal instead of weekly until the money stops) with the intent to make the show enjoyable to a "wider audience." It premieres in April.

If there was ever an opportunity for the show's dub to switch production houses, this would be it. It's awfully coincidental that it's dropping just as Bushiroad starts their first dub with someone else ...



If this is the end of their relationship with Ocean, I've got to wonder what happened. A decade is a long time to work together. It's difficult to believe it's a money thing. Not only were these shows non-ACTRA productions, but Bushiroad's international offices are based out of Singapore. Their dollar is almost at parity with the Canadian one. However, $1 SGD = $.75 USD. If that wasn't enough, the Government of Alberta even chipped in some loonies (they're only credited on-screen in one season, but this page suggests it went on).

[drakh]

Originally Posted by IMB

If this is the end of their relationship with Ocean, I've got to wonder what happened. A decade is a long time to work together. It's difficult to believe it's a money thing. Not only were these shows non-ACTRA productions, but Bushiroad's international offices are based out of Singapore. Their dollar is almost at parity with the Canadian one. However, $1 SGD = $.75 USD. If that wasn't enough, the Government of Alberta even chipped in some loonies (they're only credited on-screen in one season, but this page suggests it went on).

Bang Zoom has 3 different facilities to feed, and with Sony/Funimation gobbling up a major client like Crynchyroll, I assume they're aggressively going after any remaining dubbing work that's still up for grabs. And I would never underestimate their ability to undercut the competition - every time the market has contracted, they've always been the among the ones left standing.

[IMB]

Originally Posted by IMB

Now Funimation is buying Crunchyroll ... To be fair, it's probably too soon for that to have any impact. World Trigger's revival starts next month. Sentai hasn't even solicited the original's discs yet, so the decision on whether or not to dub the next season could be made before that even ships.

It seems that was the case, as Toei teased season 2's dub (this is new material), with news coming sometime soon. That certainly sounds like Cathy Weseluck as Yuma. Osamu is probably Brian Doe (he shared the event's announcement on Twitter), but he and Cole Howard sound nearly identical.