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GNPixie
Joined: 25 Jul 2018
Posts: 298
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:03 pm
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Its probably just me but I really wasn't a fan of Silverstein's Char in in The Origin in comparison to Kopsa but his F.F. is pretty great. It might be because I was exposed to Kopsa's take first though.
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KitKat1721
Joined: 03 Feb 2015
Posts: 953
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:13 pm
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Yes, thank you for this feature! Awesome stuff ANN!
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Northlander
Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 901
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:15 pm
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I only really remember it from one picture, and it's not an anime per se, but wasn't Yugiri from Final Fantasy XIV voiced by a black woman? You know, the woman who were killed together with her children by their husband/father?
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Punch Drunk Marc
Joined: 04 Oct 2013
Posts: 1742
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:37 pm
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Great piece. A bunch of these actors, some I didn't, and there were some I knew about but didn't know were black (like Mela Lee and Keith Silverstein). That's why it always baffles me when people claim there aren't enough enough Black VAs. There's a lot of them, people just don't pay attention and do the research.
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MarshalBanana
Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5320
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:42 pm
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This may sound a bit stupid, but I never knew Keith Silverstein was black. I've seen his photo before, however at a glance it's hard to tell.
Beau Billingslea is definitely the most iconic of all of them, he's like the James Earl Jones of Anime. He was also the narrator in Outlaw Star.
There are more than I had thought(I knew the man who played Hol Horse was black), yet I'm not surprised, when most of their roles are either Japanese, and most none Japanese characters are either white Americans or Europeans, you are not going to hear anyone sounding any different from the white actors.
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Minos_Kurumada
Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 1010
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:09 pm
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Remember when HeroAca used a black VA for a black character and people complained because he sounded too black?
Sometimes you can't win, this people would lose their minds in LATAM, every character is some mexican guy.
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Divineking
Joined: 03 Jul 2010
Posts: 1293
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:33 pm
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Punch Drunk Marc wrote: | Great piece. A bunch of these actors, some I didn't, and there were some I knew about but didn't know were black (like Mela Lee and Keith Silverstein). That's why it always baffles me when people claim there aren't enough enough Black VAs. There's a lot of them, people just don't pay attention and do the research. |
Hey I'm the guy who wrote the article. I agree there's more Black VAs in the industry than who are generally well-known, but we could certainly stand to see a lot more. For all the actors that were mentioned only a few of them are well-known or have had leading roles, and last year alone had over 100 English dubs in production, so yeah, there could stand to be more diversity than what we're currently getting.
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Punch Drunk Marc
Joined: 04 Oct 2013
Posts: 1742
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:39 pm
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Divineking wrote: |
Punch Drunk Marc wrote: | Great piece. A bunch of these actors, some I didn't, and there were some I knew about but didn't know were black (like Mela Lee and Keith Silverstein). That's why it always baffles me when people claim there aren't enough enough Black VAs. There's a lot of them, people just don't pay attention and do the research. |
Hey I'm the guy who wrote the article. I agree there's more Black VAs in the industry than who are generally well-known, but we could certainly stand to see a lot more. For all the actors that were mentioned only a few of them are well-known or have had leading roles, and last year alone had over 100 English dubs in production, so yeah, there could stand to be more diversity than what we're currently getting. |
This is true, but you also have to factor in that some actors of them may not want to pursue VA work full time, especially with how grueling it can be and how little it pays if you arent at the tippy top . For some its just in between work while they wait on more major gigs in TV or the stage. Its a good way to fill out a portfolio.
I'm just glad that there are some period.
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Silver Kirin
Joined: 09 Aug 2018
Posts: 1122
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:43 pm
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Since I'm from latin-amercia I only watch anime dubbed into neutral spanish and subtitled if it doesn't have an official dub, still, I'm fascinated with English dubs of anime and I have to say that Cowboy Bebop is truly one of those shows that sounds amazing in English.
It is incredible to see that the USA dubbing industry has so many talented and diverse people working in it.
If I had to mention an latin-american voice of african descent the only one that comes to my mind is Kalimba Marichal, he voiced Kitaro in the 90s version of Ge Ge Ni Kitaro, and some characters in DBZ, Cowboy Bebop and Slam Dunk, but he also voiced cartoon characters like the Arnold in Hey Arnold! and did the singing voice for Simba in The Lion King, however he retired from voice-acting to continue his music career.
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Lactobacillus yogurti
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
Posts: 845
Location: Latin America
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:47 pm
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Silver Kirin wrote: | Since I'm from latin-amercia I only watch anime dubbed into neutral spanish and subtitled if it doesn't have an official dub, still, I'm fascinated with English dubs of anime and I have to say that Cowboy Bebop is truly one of those shows that sounds amazing in English.
It is incredible to see that the USA dubbing industry has so many talented and diverse people working in it.
If I had to mention an latin-american voice of african descent the only one that comes to my mind is Kalimba Marichal, he voiced Kitaro in the 90s version of Ge Ge Ni Kitaro, and some characters in DBZ, Cowboy Bebop and Slam Dunk, but he also voiced cartoon characters like the Arnold in Hey Arnold! and did the singing voice for Simba in The Lion King, however he retired from voice-acting to continue his music career. |
To be fair, I think there aren't a lot of people of African descent in Mexico... ANd yes, most anime dubs happen in Mexico.
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zawa113
Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7358
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:26 pm
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Awesome article! I'll admit I play more games than watch dubbed anime, so sometimes I'll need to look through and go "Oh wow! They voiced this character in Persona 5 or the Danganronpa series!" and then the voice can pop into my head almost instantly. They're all just so damn good and I'm glad to know more about the people behind those voices!
I'm also noticing that it seems like almost EVERYONE voiced someone in Fire Emblem Three Houses (I'll need to start playing that soon)
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enurtsol
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14763
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:59 pm
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Black actors / actresses tend to gravitate more towards Western animation due to representation
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Gemnist
Joined: 10 Feb 2016
Posts: 1758
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:27 pm
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I’m a total dub fan, yet legitimately had no idea that Keith Silverstein and Mela Lee were African American.
Regardless, diversity is something sorely needed in the community, so thank you ANN for showing this brief yet revealing spotlight on the talent that will hopefully make way for many more to come.
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Eivion
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 569
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:38 pm
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Haven't watched many dubs the last decade or so so I had no idea how many more black VAs entered the industry. Its nice to see.
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TsukasaElkKite
Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 3951
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:46 pm
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This is a fantastic list!
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