Okay here's my general impression of the One Piece new dub. Being a fan of the original Japanese version I can say I was a bit underwhelmed. The dub was not as "perfect" and it was promoted to be. Still, that's only because I'm pretty much married to the Japanese cast.
But here are a few key points:
1. The dub is 10 times better than the 4kids dub.
2. I love the fact Funi's dubbing OP/ED again
3. The dub isn't rubbing me the wrong way the Naruto dub did when it started on CN, and THESE DAYS I worship the Naruto dub and, outside of two actors, it's pretty much on par with the Japanese version. IMHO.
Okay now here's the deal.
Luffy- Sounds like Ash from the original Pokemon dub. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The acting is good but Mayumi Tanaka's take on the voice is just so quirky and unique. And this isn't a jab on the "perfection" of the Japanese version. Maile Flannigan made Naruto her own, Sean Schemmel made Goku his own, Justin Cook made Yusuke Uremeshi his own, Richard Casino made Kenshin his own, HELL, even DAN GREEN made Yugi/Yami Yugi/Atem HIS OWN. I just don't get that vibe from Luffy but as the Jaya arc continues we'll really see if Colleen Clinkenbeard is up to task.
Nami-Perfect. Spot on. I don't care if it is the Kaname Chidori voice. It works.
Ussopp-Sonny Strait uses his natural voice, which actually sounds like a GOOD version of the 4kids actor. A lot of people said it sounds more like his Krillen voice but I disagree. It's pretty decent.
Zoro-I prefer Marc Diraison. Sorry, but if you take away the corny dialogue he was the PERFECT voice for Zoro. Right now it sounds like Chris Sabat is trying to hard and the voice is too deep. But hey, I didn't like his "frog in my throat" Kuwabara at first and now I couldn't imagine anyone else doing the voice. So I'm giving it time.
Sanji- Honestly, too young. There was a "coolness" to Japanese voice that is no longer there in the English version. Eric Vale is OK, he's just not winning me over. But he is better than David Moo who pretty much raped the voice (and I actually LIKE his Xelloss from Slayers).
Chopper-I slightly prefer Lisa Ortiz's take on the voice. But that's only because I'm a Lisa Ortiz fanboy (she MADE Lina Inverse). Brina's performance is actually very good but at times sounds a bit whiny and less cute and Ortiz captured the cuter side better. But at least we have no "man voice" coming out of big Chopper.
Robin- Would be fine if she didn't make everything sound so…sexual. There's a certain breathyness to here voice that needs to be toned down a bit. More mysterious and less...I can't say it...
Still, as far as crediting the dub on it's own merit's it's okay. Definately better than the 4kids dub and for a first episode it is above average.
Just to let you guys know I was underwelmed by Naruto, YYH, and Yu-gi-oh's dub when I first seen them and these days I prefer them even to the Japanese version (well, Yu-gi-oh is stretching matters ). The jist is this is just my first impression opinion and I think the dub will improve overtime as the actors get more accustomed to their characters. I just hope I'm not disappointed in this like I am with the Bleach dub. (Sorry, it's just not as "fun" as the Japanese version).
O-chan