Fan Voice-Acting Pages
(Parody Dubbing, Fan Dubbing, Radio Plays)

This month started so well. Usually I start looking for a topic for Last Exit about one to two weeks before the column is due, but this time I hit upon the topic while writing the last column. I was covering voice actor sites, if you'll recall, and while browsing, I noticed that the "Fan Subtitlers" link on the Turnpike homepage now read "Fan Subs/Dubs". I wasn't sure when that had happened, maybe a long time ago, but I was intrigued. Were there really enough amateur voice acting projects to merit a Turnpike page? I checked it out, and was amazed by the number of links. I did a quick count and came up with about 120. More than enough for a column!

Boy, was I stoked! I had to start work on the column a week late because of Katsucon, but I didn't care, because I had a great topic! I started working at a new client right after the convention and didn't work on the column for days because I was too exhausted to do anything but sleep, but I didn't care, because I had a great topic! I got no browsing done the following weekend, but I didn't care, because I had a great topic! Then I finally got down to browsing.

It was then that I realized just how badly I'd screwed myself.

Note to self: Never, ever, ever assume a topic is "great" until you actually browse the @#$%&!@ sites! The sites in this category were mostly simple and boring, with a large portion of them apparently dead, not having been touched for six months to a year. And the bad links! Of those 120 sites, over 35 of them weren't even there! (I do send Jei a list of bad links with every column I write, in case you're wondering.)

The thing is, I should have known better. This is not a topic that inspires great web sites. In most cases, you simply have a group of fans trying their best to complete an acting project, and they put up a simple site to promote the project.

Oh, well. From what I hear, a lot of my readers read this column for the editorial rather than the web picks, so this debacle won't matter, right? (big sweatdrop) Sigh... Let's get on with it. Remember, the pickin's were mighty slim, so be kind when writing that flame-mail.

We'll start with the parody dubbers. Parody dubbing has been a part of anime fandom in America for around 15 years, I think. If you've never watched a parody dub, it's a fairly simple concept. A group of fans takes an anime and replaces the audio with their own voices, the result being a silly parody of the original. The better groups actually re-edit the anime to better fit the jokes.

The earliest parody dubs of which I'm aware were Pinesalad Productions' dubs of Dirty Pair. Unfortunately, their site was one of the 35 bad links, so let's instead start with another classic parody dubbing group, . Be forewarned, this site can take quite awhile to load, especially when you're downloading at 31.2, like me. But for people interested in the history of parody dubbing, it's not a bad site to visit, as it has detailed info on their parodies going all the way back to 1989 and their first work, "Dirty Pair: The Arrest of Mr. Macek". And when I say detailed, I mean detailed, with the full story of the genesis and production of each dub given a long write-up.

is another site worth checking out. I recognize the name from the posters advertising their showing at conventions (AX?). The write-ups for each of their projects are funny. Even better is the animated gag reel at the bottom of the page for each title. The promo for "Super Dyna Warrior Jewish Rangers" has to be read to be believed.

isn't that great of a site, but go to the "Anime Parodies" section and read the promos there for a few laughs. They have a talent for parody names, like "Magical Girl Purty Skanky". Available titles include "NEON GENESIS SOUTH PARK". I'm considering ordering that one.

One of the things that I liked about the Parody Dubber section is that titles were actually completed and available. That's more than I could say for the fan dubbing section, where fan groups attempt to produce accurate dubs of anime. Now, to be fair, a true fan dub is one hell of an undertaking. To translate, cast, dub, mix, and distribute an anime is lot of work. So it's not surprising that so few ever get made. In fact, I didn't find a single one. The one I remembered from the September 1998 column is now among the bad links. If you're involved in the creation of a fan dub, and you do have finished product to distribute, I'd appreciate you dropping me a line. There were 47 fan dub links, and of those that weren't bad links, none had finished anything that I recall.

A problem I ran into when covering fan dub sites was that quite a few of them were the same in terms of quality, being well-made but simple sites with the same basic data: info on the project, parts to be cast, info on how to audition, and audio clips from parts already cast.

is a good example of the type of site you'll find when browsing the fan dub section, one of the better sites, in fact. This is a group that plans to dub the magical girl series Nurse Angel Ririka. The site virtually bubbles over with enthusiasm for the project. In the media archive, you can hear clips from two actresses that have been cast. I listened to a clip of a magical attack being cast, and the voice had echo added for effect, a nice touch. On the auditions page, you'll see a list of characters and lines. To audition, you record yourself as the character speaking those lines.

One of the things I found curious about the audition section on most of the sites is that all you are usually given are lines taken out of context. The above site is better than most in that a screen capture of the character saying the line is provided, which helps you to establish the necessary emotion. I also liked the audition page on . The site author describes in detail the qualities desired for each voice. For example, Hamel "has a sad, tenor lilt to his voice ... it sounds calm, but one must be prepared to make horrible screams of agony."

Still, in every site I visited save, I think, one, the audition lines are given out of context. As I understand it, when one auditions for a speaking part, aren't you usually given the line you're supposed to follow? I really think that would help. (Of course, some lines need little, if any, context...)

A couple more sites:

is a group that specializes in performing Utena. The centerpiece of this site is "Scenes From an Elevator". If you've seen Utena, you're familiar with the scene in nearly every one of the early episodes, in which the student council rides an elevator to the meeting place while reciting an oath (motto? pledge? not sure what you'd call it). Well, in this version, a parody, the elevator gets stuck and the council is trapped inside. Hilarity ensues. Three episodes of this fan-fiction have been recorded and are available for download.

is another site I'm using as an example, this time of a "voice actor resume". Ms. Woog is one of a small number of actors who like doing fan plays so much that they use online resumes to attract more work. (Some would also like to break into professional voice-acting.) The "About Me" section lists her formal training and experience. In the "Productions" section, you can find links to every project in which she has played a role. And of course, there is a "Clips" section where you can hear her voice for yourself (not bad).

And now, if you please, I will burn through a few sites that have one thing in common: finished material to order or download.

And thus endeth the web picks. Let's check out the mail.