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Before I begin my (unprofessional) review of the GANTZ live action film, I want to preface it by saying that I have never read/watched the manga/anime (although I plan to now); therefore, if there were differences that were unsatisfying to the GANTZ otaku, unfortunately, for the moment, I can't sympathize - ごめん。
しましょうか？Let's begin!
Last Thursday was the one night world premiere of the live action GANTZ film! The event was extremely significant for reasons beyond the amazing movie itself. This one night live event took place in Hollywood and was streamed in 333 theaters across the US. When you stop to think about it - isn't it amazing that a Japanese film could come to America and have the opportunity not only to set up an event of this magnitude, but do so successfully? It seems that anime and manga have come a long way since the Pokémon days, and I say Pokémon, not because Sailormoon and Speed Racer weren't successful anime in America, but it wasn't until the world was dominated by Pokémon that mainstream consciously recognized these cartoons as being Japanese.
I digress.
Film Review:
First off, the film was, to the disappointment of many anime fans, dubbed. Yes, dubbing provides us with many "lol" moments where there shouldn't be any and often produces ear-stabbing audio, but not only did the storyline, gore, and graphics negate all the poor voice-acting choices, I think I can understand why it was dubbed and not subbed. During the interview, Ninomiya-san (correct me if I'm wrong) stated that he hoped the film had left a positive lasting impression on many first-timers about Japanese films so that in the future they would look forward to seeing one again.
Let's be fair long time anime/foreign film fans, our eyes have had years of speed read training with these subtitles, and I've experienced first hand the rejection (and laziness) that non-anime/foreign film people feel towards subtitles.
The beginning of the film does a good job of grabbing your attention and the storyline keeps you hooked ( as do the sexy asian men :3 ) There is comedy, nudity, gore, love, a dash of pyscho - it was the perfect combination for a good sci-fi(ish) film. Oh and on some Nodame Cantabile type status, GANTZ leaves you hanging at the end. "And then just as he is about to strike... THE END! :) GO SEE THE SECOND MOVIE!" o___o;
It was a good introduction for a n00b to the GANTZ world, like myself, and probably a treat for the fans since they didn't force the whole series in a movie. Overall happy I got a chance to partake of this one-time event - I'd definitely do it again if/when the chance comes around!
So, for those of you who attended the premiere, what are your thoughts?
General question, what do you guys think about the whole subbing and dubbing issue with anime/foreign films?
La Tenoli
I agree entirely with you on the subbing vs dubbing issue. Perhaps since I've dedicated hours to reading the subs as oppose to enduring the dubs it makes me a bit bias.
ReplyDeleteWhile I can understand why some ppl would feel that having to read might hinder their experience. They should recognize that as a fallacy, as I think the exacf opposite is true.
I believe language is a powerful thing. Enough so that when heard, even if you are not familiar with the paticular language. It is still understandable and much is not lost as far as feeling goes. We can judge many a emotion without having to understand a single word. I believe even more so that in dubbing some of the emotion and meaning infused into the overall message by the actors is lost.
When we think of famous movie scenes and monologues that stick out to us. I'm sure we will agree that tone, intonation and speech are just as Important as the visual aspects. Imagine now those same scenes with what usually is subpar translation and bad lip syncing. The scenes seem to fall apart, I much rather read the words then have anything possibly taken from my movie experience.
I'm sure many would agree.
When I seek out games I usually try to go for the Japanese version so I can practice my Japanese, but I don't mind dubs.
ReplyDeleteI think dubbing has come a pretty long way and isn't so bad anymore. What I find myself appreciating nowadays is their ability to make people sound normal. Japanese anime and games, for example, have a tendency to have girls with obnoxiously grating high pitched voices that are so annoying you want to stop watching and teenage boys who sound like little girls. Dubs do not do this, and for that my ears can be grateful.
But I don't think that meaning or feeling is usually lost or that translations are subpar that often anymore. It depends on who's doing the dub and whether or not it was actually there or done well in the first place. Terrible Japanese actors exist, just as good English speaking actors also exist.