@DisneyAnimefan1995 "Hope he gets to make an appearance voicing someone in the Marvel/DC universe or better yet Star Wars. :)"

Well, we do have one now...shame we'll never hear it though...

His performance as Zarkon in Voltron Season 5, Episode 2 is among some of the best voice acting that Neil has ever done in his career, without spoiling too much, it was an amazing performance he gave, giving it his all and it really shocked me what happened in that episode.

Happy Birthday Neil Kaplan!

@Zabel Now it's left to FUNimation, seeing the CrunchImation (or FUNiRoll?) anti-Netflix/Amazon partnership that just happened.

Seeing as it's being brought over as a niche merchandising piece, rather than an actual network show (as IGPX, Space Dandy, Afro Samurai, or Animatrix)...it doesn't necessarily have a dub planned.

Seeing as FUNi gets all of CR's licenses now...if we get dubs for home distribution, Berserk's will likely be very barebones, & almost definitely done in Texas, so we won't get anyone like Neil or Steve Blum or Stephanie Sheh.

Here's hoping FUNi starts using LA studios, such as NGP, to make this possible.

@huzaifa_ahmed Crunchyroll already said there will be a dub on the home release.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-07-01/crunchyroll-to-dub-release-anime-on-bd-dvd/.103876

Whether or not Funimation has the license is kind of up in the air since we don't know when the dub was made in relation to the deal with Funi. Even then, Funimation HAS brought in talent from other studios for certain dubs. They did it for the post-Geneon episodes of Hellsing Ultimate and I believe the Bayonetta anime was also their responsibility.

@Nightmare Crusher FUNimation has the home distribution license. Anime dubs are largely made as little side projects to put on DVD's (as opposed to domestic shows which are done for networks), so it'll definitely be dubbed by FUNi with the typical VA's that work for cheap in their local Fort Worth area.

Of course...that's what I thought before I remembered that, oh yeah, this has reprisals from previous characters. & yeah, they've *outsourced* to other studios to keep a consistency to please fans of previous dubs, *BUT* I don't think FUNi has a history of outsourcing for the sake of variety/diversity.

& it is especially lame considering their massive monopoly on anime in general. More anime fans need to bring this up in sub/dub discussion. I really hope FUNi takes notice.

& I'm not sure if they'll keep reprisals here, seeing as the Japanese recasted (IIRC) & FUNI mirrored that for GitS.

@huzaifa_ahmed The new Berserk series has the same actors from the movies and the dub for those kept the dub cast. There is a precedent for the dub cast sticking around regardless of the Japanese cast. Whether or not Funi will stick to that cast I can not say.

@Nightmare Crusher All I can say is...if it takes a crowdfund, so be it. It'd be nice if they unionized if they did that, as well, but I'm not holding my breath considering their history.

@huzaifa_ahmed They should at least get Marc Diraison and Carrie Keranen back. And hopefully Kevin T. Collins. If they do that then I won't have a single problem if the rest are Funimation voice actors.

@Zabel Well Mob Psycho 100 is dubbed by FUNi and they're using and entirely CA based voice cast, so there's no reason why they wouldn't do the same for Berserk.

@Ichigo341578926 No Carrie or Kevin unfortunately. :(

It's being done at Bang Zoom (as opposed to NYAV) so it's pretty insane that they arent getting even Carrie back. I'm entirely unsure what's going on, although I am certain that money has at least something to do with it.

@huzaifa_ahmed I'm not sure where you saw that information, but I can't see to find anything about where the dub is being recorded anywhere?

@Ichigo341578926 https://i.redd.it/3kw3hb8fqbfy.png

Twitter.

@huzaifa_ahmed Well that sucks. Very curious about Carrie not coming back though? Kinda weird actually.

@huzaifa_ahmed First of all how do we for absolute sure that the new Berserk series is being done at Bang Zoom. Second of all, there could be several reasons for the tweets Carrie and Kevin put out.

Perhaps recording on the dub hadn't even begun yet or perhaps it's because of NDAs, a common reason for voice actors to ignore or deny fans asking them things. Can we all just wait for a proper announcement before we completely jump the gun on it all?

@JRPictures

Yeah, let's try not to get too hasty here. Definitely remember some of the VAs from Persona 4 (Lowenthal and Karen Strassman for sure) saying that they hadn't heard anything about the animation's dubbing and then the dub was announced and released barely a couple months afterwards. NDAs are tight and no one is ever going to randomly spill the beans in response to fan questions on Twitter before the official announcement is made.

@JRPictures @NCZ https://twitter.com/AutovoltSupreme/status/801913853823111168

I really appreciate your guys' positivity.

@huzaifa_ahmed Ok, but that's a single tweet with no link to G.K. saying she was working on it let alone saying Bang Zoom is involved.

I'm not taking that seriously until an actual source appears that backs it up.

@JRPictures I suppose so, but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution as opposed to maintain high hopes to be met with disappointment.

@JRPictures http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-03-18/funimation-reveals-english-dub-cast-for-new-berserk-anime/.113594

I'm sorry to say this, but the time to stop being in denial is now.

I don't like it either but this is now confirmed. And hopefully no one blames Funimation for the recasting on Guts or Casca because the blame for that goes more to Bang Zoom for not getting the original voice actors (who work for their company) back, than Funimation for sending it to Bang Zoom most likely thinking that it would be easier to get them back if it was dubbed in L.A. than if it were to be dubbed in Dallas.

@Ichigo341578926 Yes unfortunately that's what the truth is for now and I'm extremely disappointed that my faith in Crunchyroll (not Funimation since they're only distributing the show for them) was not rewarded.

Awaiting the original English cast reprising their roles was the only reason I'd give the new Berserk series a watch (which is frankly a horrible adaptation in general) and now I feel no desire to do so.

I'm rightfully annoyed and extremely disappointed now especially when Crunchyroll has received requests time and time again to hire Michael Sinterniklaas and NYAV Post to handle the series.

@JRPictures I'll still watch the dub since I really liked the series, and this season. I honestly didn't mind the CG animation for it. In fact I thought it looked better than any CG animated Anime I've ever seen before. Plus, at least the replacements aren't that bad of choices. I do question Steve Staley as Griffith though. But I don't mind Kaiji Tang as Guts (mostly because I've honestly mistaken him for Marc Diraison before). And I feel that Karen Strassman would fit better for how Casca is after the Golden Age arc than Carrie Keranen could anyway (in fact I feel that might have had a part to do with the recasting of her). I mean I still don't like THAT they did recasting but I don't mind what we got. I am still curious why they recast Guts though. I wonder if something happened to Diraison that wasn't announced? Or if he chose not to come back? Very curious.

@HK-47 master This is probably obscure as ****, but both Neil & his A-list sound-alike Corey Burton, dub over an actor named Naoya Uchida.

Neil as Madara/the Masked Man, & Corey as Captain Hook, in the Kingdom Hearts games.


The best part? Corey played Megatron as well. & as earlier stated, Kaplan sounds *very* similar to him.

So yeah, I'd love to hear Neil as Megatron.

He has that sort of voice, just the right depth & texture.

@huzaifa_ahmed

I'd argue that Naoya is dubbing over Corey, given that Captain Hook is an American made character.

@Sk8erPrince The Peter Pan story is Scottish; the author who created Captain Hook was a Scotsman.

@Sk8erPrince In that case, David Kaye didn't have to dub Joji Nakata in Transformers Cybertron, & Fred Tatasciore didn't dub Kenichiro Matsuda.

The Kingdom Hearts games are Japanese. Sure, they have English dubs lavishly (for a dub) funded by Disney, but they're definitely developed for Japan first.

Bill Farmer has mentioned that Kingdom Hearts games are "done in Japan & we LOOP them into English".

@huzaifa_ahmed

Do you want me to be frank? It should be pretty obvious that regardless of whether or not the KH games originated from Japan, anyone that's an English speaking native does not care about KH in Japanese. I'm sorry, but Disney characters only sound right in English, regardless if the work done is ADR, as opposed to prelay.

@huzaifa_ahmed

http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Peter-Pan/Captain-Hook/

Might want to double-check your chronology...

@NCZ I dont think I understand what you mean to imply, here?

@NCZ Could you clarify why I should "check my chronology" regarding Captain Hook?

@huzaifa_ahmed


corey burton voiced Captain Hook before naoya uchida ever did (i.e. his many disney cartoon appearances, return to neverland) and Uchida wasn't even Captain Hook's first Japanese voice in KH

@NCZ Well, a dub is a dub; the Beast Wars VA's were still dubbing the Unicron trilogy, despite having voiced those characters years before the Japanese actors. But I see your point.

@GreenGoblin75
I thought this guy was a good voice actor... and then I heard his "Madara Uchiha"/Masked Man voice. Holy crap, he is an AMAZING voice actor.

@GreenGoblin75 I know nothing about Naruto, but holy crap was Masked Man an amazing voice role. O.O

@Domayv I don't think Neil Kaplan would be appearing in any anime voice over at Bang Zoom! Entertainment anytime soon, regardless if the anime is union or non-union.

Reason being is not because he would have to compete with the veteran voice actors and the new voice actors (from the AX auditions) for roles during auditions. But also the fact that the producers, casting directors, and the ADR directors that have worked on a lot of the anime titles at Bang Zoom! either do not know Neil or have close ties with him and his agency, compared to the other veteran voice actors they've been regularly using for their dubs, like Karen Strassman, David Vincent, Mela Lee, Julie Ann Taylor, Michelle Ruff, Patrick Seitz, to name a few.

This is why Neil Kaplan normally does his anime voice over work at Studiopolis, due to the strong ties he has with the people who know his work (e.g Jamie Simone, Suzanne Goldish, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn), and regularly use him in some of their dubs that he is in (e.g "Naruto Shippuden," "Bleach," "Digimon Fusion").

@DisneyAnimefan1995 are there any equivalents to him voice-wise at Bang Zoom! Entertainment?
I know Steve Blum has Keith Silverstein; Dave Wittenberg has Johnny Yong Bosch, Grant George, Sam Riegel, Robbie Daymond and Erik Scott Kimerer; Mary Elizabeth McGlynn has Laura Post; Yuri Lowenthal has Steve Staley; Crispin Freeman has Keith Silverstein and Marc Diraison; Kari Wahlgren has Michelle Ruff, Cristina Vee, Lauren Landa and Carrie Keranen; Laura Bailey has Lauren Landa, etc.

@DisneyAnimefan1995 Also, word your sentences better. They're muddying what you are saying (explain this paragraph "Reason being is not because he would have to compete with the veteran voice actors and the new voice actors (from the AX auditions) for roles during auditions. But also the fact that the producers, casting directors, and the ADR directors that have worked on a lot of the anime titles at Bang Zoom! either do not know Neil or have close ties with him and his agency, compared to the other veteran voice actors they've been regularly using for their dubs, like Karen Strassman, David Vincent, Mela Lee, Julie Ann Taylor, Michelle Ruff, Patrick Seitz, to name a few." fully)

@Domayv How am I muddying the sentences in the paragraph? I explained my reason as to why Neil will not appear in any Bang Zoom dubs on the second paragraph, unless if I need to make a perfect picture to you.

1. Bang Zoom! to this day is cheaper, compared to the more pricier Studiopolis, the recording studio he currently does his anime voice work. Which is ironic, since Neil has been doing voice over work since around the late 1990's/early 2000's on shows distributed/localized by Saban Entertainment, such as "Power Rangers" and "Digimon". It was around the same time period that Bang Zoom! was beginning to start dubbing anime, with Rurouni Kenshin being the first dubbed title at their studio. Maybe he didn't want to work with Bang Zoom!, because in his eyes, it was not as expensive compared to Studiopolis and the recording studio that recorded many of the shows from Saban.

2. Neil would have a hard time during auditions against the veteran voice actors that have a worked at Bang Zoom! Entertainment for a while (e.g. Karen Strassman, Johhny Yong Bosch, Stephanie Sheh, Patrick Seitz etc..) and the new generation voice actors that had started out through the BZ auditions at AX and taking their workshop classes (Cristina Vee, Max Mittelman, Erica Mendez, Erica Lindbeck, etc..).

3. The people involved on working on the anime dubs at BZ! (the producers, voice directors, and casting directors), most likely do not know Neil, and/or have never been associated with him.

@DisneyAnimefan1995 now that is a much better explanation. That being said, which types of characters Neil would normally voice would instead be taken by other voice actors if done by Bang Zoom!

@Domayv Patrick Seitz, Matthew Mercer, occasionally Keith Silverstein

& it's not impossible to have Kaplan be introduced to Bang Zoom, as he is good friends with Tony Oliver & Wendee Lee...

...not to mention, with enough money (& we know that Neil is willing to do anime rates), they brought over Hynden Walch, Fred Tatasciore, Josh Keaton, & even Dave Fennoy lol.

@huzaifa_ahmed Then maybe Tony Oliver can use him in some future dubs he directs. I know he likes to reach out further than most ADR Directors at Bang Zoom!. Also, he has appeared in some Bang Zoom! dubs (Nightwalker, Arc the Lad), but they were really earlier ones.

Hynden Walch only appeared in Haruhi Suzumiya (directed by Alex Von David), Lucky Star (directed by Alex Von David) and Gurren Lagann (directed by Tony Oliver). Fred, Josh and Dave were only in The Laws of the Universe (directed by Wendee Lee), and that was because the company who commissioned it splurged more money than normal.

Also, Neil falls into his own category though. Patrick and Matthew are too light-sounding to act as alternatives for him. Doug Stone and Dave Mallow are much closer alternatives for him at Bang Zoom!.

@Domayv My best explanation is that Hynden was prompted by her agent for the big-budget IGPX, & happily took dub jobs from Bang Zoom for a few years, until her agent said "enough is enough", unsatisfied with the return on the jobs. I'm not sure how Kari, Steve, Crispin, & a few others manage it, & how their agents feel about it.

Anyhow, Doug Stone is close, but Dave Mallow is much too light. Matthew Mercer & especially Patrick Seitz (if he would lose the "nerdy Travis impression" accent) have much darker timbres. Matt (like Troy, Kaye, LaMarr) is a medium baritone (on the lower end) & Patrick (like Travis) is a low (on the higher end).

Paul St. Peter, while not sounding as...rough, as Kaplan, also has a low baritone nearing bass (à là Tatasciore & maybe Sobolov)

Richard Epcar also is not quite as deep (deeper than Troy but lighter than "low baritone"), but very rough & older-sounding.

I suppose I might also mention that David Sobolov, JB Blanc, & KMR also recorded at Bang Zoom for GotG...but, that's obviously out-of-the-question.

@Domayv I'm also bludgeoning myself over the fact that I didn't see that Neil Kaplan was in MSG the Origin last year - IIRC this was at Bang Zoom...or NYAV Post, but Im on mobile

@huzaifa_ahmed Richard Epcar and Doug Stone are Bang Zoom!'s closest answers to Neil Kaplam (for a fun fact, Richard was going to voice Optimus Prime in RID 2001 until Neil Kaplan took the role). As I've said earlier, Seitz (and by extension Crispin Freeman, Marc Diraison, Keith Silverstein and Travis Willingham) and Matthew Mercer are still to light-sounding to act as alternatives to him.

For Gundam: The Origin, it was done by NYAV Post but the majority of the voices are done in LA.

@Domayv It's twisting hairs at this point, but I still say Pst.P>>Travis/Patrick>Neil>Epcar>Troy/Matt>>Marc/Crispin>>Keith.

Seriously, this could use a list. Preferably based on Audacity readings or the like.

@huzaifa_ahmed hers how I put it
Pst.P>>Epcar>>Neil>>Travis/Patrick/Marc/Freeman>>>Keith>>Matthew/Troy
Freeman/Marc is deeper sounding compared to Matthew/Troy

@Domayv What happened to my comments?

@huzaifa_ahmed I dont want this to lead into another incident like what happened with Brad Swaile

@Domayv I said this elsewhere, but I really think that Neil Kaplan sounds a lot like Fred Tatasciore. A bit lighter, but I do think he's deeper than Travis & Patrick.

Just clearing out my old messages.

@huzaifa_ahmed I'm a little late on the comment, but here it goes:

"& it's not impossible to have Kaplan be introduced to Bang Zoom, as he is good friends with Tony Oliver & Wendee Lee..."

Even if Tony and Wendee are friends with Neil, it still falls down to Neil's current schedule and IF TPTB of the recording studio, like in this case Bang Zoom! Entertainment plus the production team are familiar with Neil Kaplan and have associated with him before.

It's clearly a business all about relationships, if the studio and especially the production team (producers, casting/voice directors, etc...) like working with the particular actor/actress they will continue to contact them and hire them in their different projects over and over again.

The same reason could be said as to why the likes of Karen Strassman, Mela Lee, and David Vincent primarily do anime voice work at Bang Zoom!, but not so much at Studiopolis.

@SSJ4Godot IKR.

@SSJ4Godot

I totally agree ^.^