Grave of the Fireflies (2012)

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by joe_b

That is exactly why the original Japanese track wins, hands down. They clearly used a young child to voice Setsuko and a teenage boy for Seita. Even in the new dub, the actress voicing Setsuko is clearly a grown woman imitating a child and the results are (typically) somewhat grating. My first viewing was with the new English dub, followed by the old. Setsuko's voice is less annoying in the updated track, but Seita's voice was very similar in both English dubs. I almost thought it was the same actor on both, though the delivery is a bit more natural on the new dub. The aunt's voice on the new track is a definite improvement. The actress on the original English dub sounded slightly southern to me and didn't quite sell the snippy attitude required of that character.

This was my first time seeing Grave of the Fireflies and it definitely lived up to it's reputation. I'm not usually one to cry during a movie, but I was left quite shaken. I even found myself putting my hand to my mouth in shock during one scene. Extremely powerful stuff... one of the most depressing things I've ever seen, but it leaves a lasting impression. A little human kindness can go a long way, folks.

The original dub was actually done by a dubbing company located in Texas so that my be why.

I like this movie, but I also came across a criticism of it that does make sense as well. It is a bit emotionally manipulative.