Luffy: Mmmm… Hard to say, really. Ms. Tanaka, talented though she is, thoroughly fails to sound like a seventeen year old male. To me... kind of sounds like an old woman with a rolled up tissue in the back of her mouth. As for Ms. Clinkenbeard, it's great, but the raspyness does get a bit grating after too much exposure. At the same time, I love Ms. Tanaka's enthusiasm, like she's gonna explode with pure joy and enthusiasm at any given moment, and she really nails the serious moments much better. On the other hand, Ms. Clinkenbeard is much funnier during the comedy bits, and isn't bad at all during the other parts herself.. It's a really painful choice to make, but I'm gonna have to go with English. The pain Ms. Clinkenbeard endures to give a constantly wonderful performance is admirable, and actually sounding like a man also helps.
Zoro: Mr. Sabat, for sure. Mr. Nakai sounds too old for my taste, and also rather unmotivated. Also, like Luffy, Mr. Sabat's ridiculously cool voice fits the comedy parts like a glove.
Nami: Er... tie? Can I do that? Okay. Tie it is.
Usopp: Mr. Strait wins, hands down. His energy and personality in pretty much every one of his lines truly shows off the man's talent, and there really isn't a better voice for the character. Not only does he sound like that crazy, off-the-wall guy we know and love, but he also just sounds like the sort of person it would be fun to hang around, which can be hard to pull off with a character like that.
Sanji: If you had asked me when the Funimation dub first came out, I would have said Mr. Hirata without even blinking an eye. Now? I'm gonna go with Mr. Vale. What swayed me was the staff commentary he did. In the beginning, I was sort of confused with the English voice, and I thought he didn't sound nearly cool or suave enough. But after listening to Mr. Vale's opinions and ideas on the character, I must say I've grown to like his interpretation on Sanji much better.
Chopper: Ms. Palencia, if you're reading this, know that I love your work, and have been honestly stunned with your performances in several shows you've done, you're a fantastic voice actress. However, this simply was not your best work. I don't know, I sort of got the feeling that the English voice was trying too hard, especially during the serious parts. Plus, Ms. Otani is freaking PIKACHU. As a child of the 90's, I can't deny the Japanese voice a win.
Robin: Ms. Young dominates this one. Ms. Yamaguchi sounded intelligent, but meek, quiet, and shy. FUCK THAT. Ms. Young is assertive, calculating, badass, and is still smartest person on the boat. English Robin sounds like the true badass archeologist who's been on the run all her life, plus she's smart and she knows it. Screw Japanese modesty, I want a real woman!
Franky: This isn't honestly fair, as we haven't heard much English voice from Franky yet. However, based on first impressions, I'd have to say that Mr. Seitz came across as a much better Franky. Sorry, but there can really be only one voice for Franky, and it does not sound nasal, no matter how much Oda likes the Japanese voice. Of course, the stuff we heard in the video game isn't perfect either, but that's to be expected, considering how little the English cast knows about the character. But as a start, English Franky, is great, and it's only natural that our favorite cyborg pirate sounds best in the land of fries and cola. That "little friends" bit from the end of Unlimited Adventure, was, Frankly, hilarious, and shows how much potential Mr. Seitz has once he gets a chance to work on the real animation. Just a little tweaking, and Mr. Seitz will steal the show in a SUUUUUPER fashion.
Brook: Well, we have no English voice, but since I've been choosing mainly Funimation so far, I'm gonna be nice and guess that the Japanese voice will be better, and give him the point. Mr. Nagashima's performance is brilliant in so many ways, and honestly, whoever the English voice will be has a lot of work cut out for him to even get close to the standard set by the original.
So that's what I think. Was it biased? Maybe, but it's still what I feel. Voice acting has been a career I've always admired, and so I put a lot of thought into this. Even picking a favorite has been incredibly difficult for me, as choosing one over the other is like digging a knife in my gut, but, well, in the end, the choice is clear. With a score of 7.5 out of 9, Funimation wins.
[[My series COMIXSCAPE!](
