Are Vancouver dubs going to go extinct?

[drakh]

Originally Posted by IMB

This is the first anime Hasbro has handled themselves since ... Idaten Jump? It's been a really long time. I guess it's because none of the production committee members on ZW have any international branches. Hasbro usually doesn't work with Ocean. I'm not certain of the specifics behind the dubs of the first two Zoids series (did Hasbro actually do them?)

Hasbro was not explicitly credited, but the only non-Ocean/Westwood people in the credits were a bunch of "creative consultants" who I believe were largely Hasbro employees at the time.

(And actually, Hasbro's logo is on the DVD.)

[PacoSlimee]

Originally Posted by martyyahar

I don't think too many new dubbing scenes are going to come about anytime soon.

Well not to derail from the discussion about Vancouver, but I do know of one potential new dubbing scene popping up soon/maybe. That being a San Francisco based VO studio does have an anime dub lined up. I won't get into names, but all the connections I've heard seem legit and I've bumped into a couple existing SF based actors at networking spots. But this was all pre-covid so I have no idea how this potential SF dub was affected.

To get back on topic, one thing I had heard back in the day was that studios in Japan would commission pilots to various dubbing markets (Like how there are pilot dubs of One Piece with Blue Water, Ocean, and Funi casts floating around). Does anyone know if this is even still a practice? I'd be curious to find out if Vancouver is just not in the discussion of being a potential dub location for some odd reason.

[martyyahar]

Originally Posted by PacoSlimee

Well not to derail from the discussion about Vancouver, but I do know of one potential new dubbing scene popping up soon/maybe. That being a San Francisco based VO studio does have an anime dub lined up. I won't get into names, but all the connections I've heard seem legit and I've bumped into a couple existing SF based actors at networking spots. But this was all pre-covid so I have no idea how this potential SF dub was affected.

Not sure if this makes a difference, but San Francisco isn't 100% new to dubbing anime. They dubbed the SaiKano series, and the JOJO's Bizarre Adventure OVAs. That's not much at all, but I have to wonder if I'm missing more. I have no idea what you heard or what your contacts said, but I have to imagine it helps that some licensors/ distributors (Crunchyroll, Viz, and Netflix included) are based there. In fact, I think it was Viz who commissioned the JOJO's/ SaiKano dubs in San Francisco back in the day. I guess that's more a revival than a resurgence, tho.

[IMB]

Originally Posted by PacoSlimee

To get back on topic, one thing I had heard back in the day was that studios in Japan would commission pilots to various dubbing markets (Like how there are pilot dubs of One Piece with Blue Water, Ocean, and Funi casts floating around). Does anyone know if this is even still a practice? I'd be curious to find out if Vancouver is just not in the discussion of being a potential dub location for some odd reason.

I don't know how common competing test dubs ever were, but I imagine pilot dubs in general are less common nowadays. Most anime is presold to international distributors prior to a single episode airing. With the exception of Netflix, those companies are also anime-specific, so Japanese promotional materials are unlikely to be an issue. TV sales are no longer a concern either. Unless it's when a series is in development and looking for funding (Snack World, Mecha-Ude), I'm not sure the production houses would commission dub pilots anymore. Their use would be limited. The only exceptions would be the kids stuff, which in a lot of cases is still handled the old way.

Among the anime specific distributors, I'd be surprised if Ocean was still in the conversation for shows during the studio bidding process. Maybe when Crunchyroll first started dubbing series, but not anymore. If your biggest concerns are cost and "star power" (to promote the show), there are obviously better options elsewhere.

Originally Posted by martyyahar

Not sure if this makes a difference, but San Francisco isn't 100% new to dubbing anime. They dubbed the SaiKano series, and the JOJO's Bizarre Adventure OVAs. That's not much at all, but I have to wonder if I'm missing more. I have no idea what you heard or what your contacts said, but I have to imagine it helps that some licensors/ distributors (Crunchyroll, Viz, and Netflix included) are based there. In fact, I think it was Viz who commissioned the JOJO's/ SaiKano dubs in San Francisco back in the day. I guess that's more a revival than a resurgence, tho.

Saikano was Viz, but IIRC the Jojo OVAs were actually from the Japanese producer, who tried releasing it themselves.

[martyyahar]

Originally Posted by IMB

Saikano was Viz, but IIRC the Jojo OVAs were actually from the Japanese producer, who tried releasing it themselves.

Ah, my mistake. Thanks for the correction.

[drakh]

Originally Posted by IMB

I don't know how common competing test dubs ever were, but I imagine pilot dubs in general are less common nowadays.

Years ago I recall hearing that Ocean had an office in Japan for courting work directly from the anime studios. No idea if they still do, but the Kingdom dub guys does.

Originally Posted by IMB

Among the anime specific distributors, I'd be surprised if Ocean was still in the conversation for shows during the studio bidding process. Maybe when Crunchyroll first started dubbing series, but not anymore. If your biggest concerns are cost and "star power" (to promote the show), there are obviously better options elsewhere.

And how many bidding contests are there really? Funimation and Sentai have their own studios. Netflix wants dubs for all their major markets so they go to VSI. That leaves the rest fighting for Crynchyroll and Viz's modest dub output. It's a very different time from when you had nearly a dozen active dub producers in LA alone.

(And now there's talk about Sony buying Crunchyroll and merging it with Funimation. I bet Bang Zoom and Studiopolis are offering their firstborn for Yashahime.)

Originally Posted by IMB

Saikano was Viz, but IIRC the Jojo OVAs were actually from the Japanese producer, who tried releasing it themselves.

Yes, Super Techno Arts was a subsidiary of APPP. They were super slow and cautious, releasing it on 2 episode DVDs every blue moon. It was quite the memorable debacle, and even weirder because their rep was an animator who was freelancing on shows like Samurai Champloo and Black Lagoon in between something happening with Jojo.

[IMB]

They haven't formally announced this yet, but since they're credited on the official site ... Digital Sound Magic is doing the English version of the upcoming VR visual novel AltDeus. They have the main cast listed with audio clips in both English and Japanese.

Originally Posted by IMB

They seem to still have the cast do VO for the TCG commercials, though who knows how far in advance those were recorded.

They've been reusing the same audio for the last 5 commercials ...

The common speculation is that the dub is skipping the current season. As I previously mentioned, it's a weird magical girl spinoff that isn't as directly a promotional tool for the TCG as earlier iterations. The next Vanguard anime, Overdress, is meant to be a big 10th-anniversary push, so it'll hopefully resume with that.

[IMB]

I've seen some people talk about this on Twitter, so I might as well share it here. Giles Panton dropped this little nugget in August:

I'm working on a dub in Van right now so there's at least one happening.

That would've been too early for Yashahime and in an earlier Tweet, he indicated it's something else anyway. Giles isn't in Zoids Wild. It would seem premature, but maybe Zoids Wild Zero for a conservative guess? I don't know.

Speaking of Yashahime, David Kaye seemed to coyly imply he'll voice Sesshomaru again. I'm not sure what that would suggest. The show isn't in the SAG database ... yet.

[drakh]

Originally Posted by IMB

Speaking of Yashahime, David Kaye seemed to coyly imply he'll voice Sesshomaru again. I'm not sure what that would suggest. The show isn't in the SAG database ... yet.

Well, if COVID has crushed the barrier for VAs dubbing from their home studios, that opens up a lot of options. I think it's possible for non-US SAG members to work under their home countries' union, but I would expect they'd have to be physically in the country, so presumably Yashahime would have to go through SAG even if it's Ocean that's doing it.

Else, going down the SAG db rabbit hole, I noticed that NYAV Post is working on "Kingdom Season 2" (2019 dubbing contract). Could be something else though. Did Netflix dub the Korean Kingdom live action series?

[SNaG]

Originally Posted by drakh

Else, going down the SAG db rabbit hole, I noticed that NYAV Post is working on "Kingdom Season 2" (2019 dubbing contract). Could be something else though. Did Netflix dub the Korean Kingdom live action series?

Yeah NYAV/Netflix did season 1 of the Korean drama so I imagine that this entry applies to season 2 of the same Korean drama and not the anime. (I got my hopes up too for the anime)