The
dub of Hellsing is considered one of the best of its kind, but the
journey wasn't an easy one. Taliesin Jaffe, who directed the dub, said
there were adventures at every turn. Yes, there was a lot of discussion
among the dub staff, the U.S. arm of what was called Pioneer (now
Geneon) and the Japanese rights holders on how to handle the dub. Crispin
Freeman has gotten good reviews for his work as Arucard, and he's said
that the vampire is his favorite role. Jaffe said it took some work
with Freeman to find Arucard's voice, which is pitched at the lower end
of the actor's range. Casting Freeman as Arucard was the key to filling
the Hellsing cast in more ways then one, because, according to Jaffe,
all of the other voices had to be chosen to play off his performance,
especially the villains.
The
Hellsing dub script is not exactly the same as the subtitle script, and
Jaffe said that's because the subtitles can't be performed to fit with
the onscreen lip flaps. He mentioned that one of the subtle challenges
was to get the "spellcasting" lines just right, especially in Hellsing
episode six. The English-language version of Arucard's "control art
restrictions" speech is different from the Japanese original in the way
it emphasizes each phrase, and Jaffe said it took a lot of work to get
that just right. The current Hellsing series ends with a cliff-hanger,
and Jaffe mentioned that there's been plenty of talk about making a
second Hellsing anime series (certainly there's lots of raw material
from the extensive Hellsing manga), but there's nothing close to a
decision yet.
In
another feature from 2003's Sugoi Con on this site, translator Neil
Nadelman said he preferred the Osakan dialect to be interpreted as a
Brooklyn accent when characters from that Japanese region speak
English. Jaffe has a different opinion. He thinks that a British
cockney accent is more fitting, "because they're supposed to be hicks"
and cockneys are supposed to be the lower middle class in England.
Jaffe's preferred roles are villains because they're just more fun than
good guys, especially in video games. Jaffe's most recent acting work
is in the Wolf's Rain and Licensed by Royalty dubs. Then there are his
upcoming roles in...oops, we can't tell you yet.
The
dub of Hellsing is considered one of the best of its kind, but the
journey wasn't an easy one. Taliesin Jaffe, who directed the dub, said
there were adventures at every turn. Yes, there was a lot of discussion
among the dub staff, the U.S. arm of what was called Pioneer (now
Geneon) and the Japanese rights holders on how to handle the dub. Crispin
Freeman has gotten good reviews for his work as Arucard, and he's said
that the vampire is his favorite role. Jaffe said it took some work
with Freeman to find Arucard's voice, which is pitched at the lower end
of the actor's range. Casting Freeman as Arucard was the key to filling
the Hellsing cast in more ways then one, because, according to Jaffe,
all of the other voices had to be chosen to play off his performance,
especially the villains.
The
Hellsing dub script is not exactly the same as the subtitle script, and
Jaffe said that's because the subtitles can't be performed to fit with
the onscreen lip flaps. He mentioned that one of the subtle challenges
was to get the "spellcasting" lines just right, especially in Hellsing
episode six. The English-language version of Arucard's "control art
restrictions" speech is different from the Japanese original in the way
it emphasizes each phrase, and Jaffe said it took a lot of work to get
that just right. The current Hellsing series ends with a cliff-hanger,
and Jaffe mentioned that there's been plenty of talk about making a
second Hellsing anime series (certainly there's lots of raw material
from the extensive Hellsing manga), but there's nothing close to a
decision yet.
In
another feature from 2003's Sugoi Con on this site, translator Neil
Nadelman said he preferred the Osakan dialect to be interpreted as a
Brooklyn accent when characters from that Japanese region speak
English. Jaffe has a different opinion. He thinks that a British
cockney accent is more fitting, "because they're supposed to be hicks"
and cockneys are supposed to be the lower middle class in England.
Jaffe's preferred roles are villains because they're just more fun than
good guys, especially in video games. Jaffe's most recent acting work
is in the Wolf's Rain and Licensed by Royalty dubs. Then there are his
upcoming roles in...oops, we can't tell you yet.
