Xbox 360 Why is the voice acting always bad in Japanese games?

[unreal83]

Specifically what I mean by this is when it's voiceover from actors who are otherwise talented. Do the acting directors just not care as much in Japanese productions? They never sound like people. Look at Troy Baker. He was outstanding in Bioshock Infinite and obnoxious as Jake Meuller.

Same goes for the actor who plays Chris. He sounds like a terrible meathead. And then he goes and voices Ezio and does a great job.

Laura Bailey. Good job as Serana in Skyrim. Terrible job as Christie in DOA5.

Why does this happen? I know theae actors are capable of good work but as soon as you put them in a Japanese game their acting just seems so bad.

 

[BlackSolaris]

I don't know what you mean. Are you saying that some voice actors play some rolls better than others? I don't think that it is because of where the games came from. Because if you are trying to imply exactly that, how do you explain the Metal Gear Solid series?

And Japan does care about voice acting, even a little too much than us.

 

[lindbergh]

I think most fighting games like DOA, Tekken, Street Fighter have terrible voice acting. This is because it is not an integral part of the game. Also, games in the past like Resident Evil 1-3 and Destrega have very horrible voice acting. I find terrible voice acting in games quite funny though.

 

[blaze]

Maybe you think the voices are terrible because you can't understand the language and the nuances ? If not, I have no clue, mostly because I play games in a language I can understand, and sadly japanese isn't one of them.

 

[BitesizeCrayons]

That's an interesting question. It's similar in anime; the voice acting is ludicrous in dubbed anime, but that doesn't mean the voice actors don't have talent. Japanese media is always very fickle, and maybe it's hard to do voice acting for it without being goofy.

 

[DiamondCardz]

I think it's more of how the games are made. Some Japanese games can be quite...strange compared to American games, so in my opinion it's no surprise that the voice acting can sometimes be a little off. Some Japanese games have had really good voice acting though.

 

[Claptrap]

I dunno, it just happens with dubs in general. Then again, the Japanese games I've been playing lately have good dubs. Disgaea 3 and Persona 4 Golden. Speaking of, I think Troy Baker did the voice for Kanji Tatsumi in P4G? Love Kanji's voice, so he did a great job in there, IMO.

 

[danealegana]

I guess its just because how they pronounce words in their language. Its really powerful as you hear.

Their diction and everything. Its kinda like anime too. I hate watching english dubbed animes, I like hearing the Japanese voices and just reading the subtitles.